Materials

These are some of the magical materials that can be found in the Estian Islands. They are almost all essences of some sort.

Gems

For very large transactions, or as a means of easy-to-transport value storage, gems are preferred over coins. A thousand gold pieces weighs twenty pounds, while a ruby worth the same maybe weighs an ounce. Many types of gems are also intrinsically useful as essences and magical foci, making them highly desired by artificers.

Each cardinal gemstone is also linked with an element, a rune, a deity, and a school of magic. There are a myriad of lesser gemstones, such as alexandrine, carnelian, and aquamarine, but those are mostly used for decorative purposes.

Gems can be exchanged for their equivalent coin value in most larger settlements. The value of a gem depends on its type, size, clarity, and cut. A gem's monetary value can be determined by anyone with Jeweler's Tools proficiency.

Splitting gems

A larger gem is exponentially more valuable than a smaller one, which makes splitting a gem almost always a loss of value. As a rule of thumb, if a gem is split in two, each half is worth one third of the original gem's value, but a skilled lapidarist can minimize the value loss.

To split a gem, you make a Jeweler's Tools check, and add 20 to the result. Each half of the gem is worth that many percent of the initial gem's value.

Grinding gems

Gems worth less than 100gp can be ground down for their equivalent value in dust. Gem dust is an component for many high-level spells.