Saturday, 15 August 2026

Another Look at Gemstones, Part 2

This follows on from part 1, and here are the main precious and semiprecious gems I use as treasure.
Here more than fancy and ornamental stones colour is very variable. Diamonds can come in clear white, ice blue, pink or yellow forms. Spinel comes in a range of colours, as does Topaz. Indeed, some of the best known types are actually different colours of other types: Sapphire, Padparadsha and Ruby are all different colours of Corundum. Similarly Amethyst and Citrine are varieties of Quartz (which has other types in the first post), while Aquamarine, Morganite and Emerald are all variants of Beryl. Thus this post inevitably makes simplifications and should not be taken as a serious mineralogical guide, merely ideas for DMs looking to make their treasure hoards a little more interesting. As always, DM discretion about all aspects (especially value) applies. 

Alexandrite 

Colours: Iridescent/multicoloured
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 2d6 x 20gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 100gp
Large (walnut-sized): 1d10 x 200gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 1d10 x 500gp

Amber 

Colours: Roll 1d10:
1: Pale Yellow, 2-3: Yellow, 4-7: Golden Yellow, 8-9 Orange, 0: Brown
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 10gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 20gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 20gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 50gp

Amethyst 

Colours: Purple
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 10gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 20gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 20gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 50gp



Aquamarine 

Colours: Pale Blue
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 10gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 20gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 20gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 50gp


Beryl 

Colours: Roll 1d10 1: Clear, 2-3 Red, 4-5 Yellow, 6-0 Green
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1
Medium (hazelnut-sized):
Large (walnut-sized):
Huge (tangerine-sized):


Black Pearl 

Colours: Black
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 100gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 200gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 200gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 500gp


Citrine 

Colours: Yellow
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d6 x 50gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 2d6 x 50gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 50gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 100gp




Diamond 

Colours: Roll D10: 1: Blue, 2: Yellow, 3: Pink, 4-0 Clear
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 300gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 2d6 x 500gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 1000gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 3d10 x 2000gp


Emerald 

Colours: Green
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 300gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 2d6 x 500gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 1000gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 3d10 x 2000gp


Fire Opal 

Colours: Orange with Iridescent flecks
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 300gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 2d6 x 500gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 1000gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 3d10 x 2000gp



Garnet 

Colours: Red
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d6 x 50gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 2d6 x 50gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 50gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 100gp

Iolite 

Colours: Purple
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 10gp 
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 20gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 20gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 50gp

Jacinth 

Colours: Orange
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 100gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 200gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 200gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 500gp




Jadeite 

Colours: Cloudy Green
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 10gp 
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 20gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 20gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 50gp


Morganite 

Colours: Pink
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 10gp 
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 20gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 20gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 50gp


Opal 

Colours: Pale Blue or Cyan with Iridescent flecks
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 100gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 200gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 200gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 500gp



Padparadsha 

Colours: Pink-Orange
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 300gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 2d6 x 500gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 1000gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 3d10 x 2000gp


Pearl 

Colours: White-Pale Gray
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d6 x 50gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 2d6 x 50gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 50gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 100gp



Peridot 

Colours: Lime Green
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d6 x 50gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 2d6 x 50gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 50gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 100gp


Ruby 

Colours: Red
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 100gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 200gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 200gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 500gp



Sapphire 

Colours: Roll 1d10: 1: Pink, 2: Yellow, 3-0: Blue
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 100gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 200gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 200gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 500gp



Scheelite 

Colours: Yellow
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d6 x 50gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 2d6 x 50gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 50gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 100gp



Spinel 

Colours: Roll 1d10: 1-2: Blue, 3-4: Purple, 5-0: Red
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d6 x 50gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 2d6 x 50gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 50gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 100gp

Topaz 

Colours: Roll 1d10: 1-2 Blue, 3-4: Orange, 5-0: Yellow
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d6 x 50gp
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 2d6 x 50gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 50gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 100gp



Zircon 

Colours: Roll 1d10: 1-2 Blue, 3-4 Green, 5-6 Orange, 7-0 Brown
Suggested Values:
Small (pea-sized): 1d10 x 10gp 
Medium (hazelnut-sized): 1d10 x 20gp
Large (walnut-sized): 2d10 x 20gp
Huge (tangerine-sized): 2d10 x 50gp


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