Cleric needs Diamonds for Revivify, but how easy, or hard to come by should they be? Obviously they have to be worth 300g but would they be available at every town jeweler or should they be a little rare so the party doesn't always have that safety net?
Also two dead PCS re rolled as two different clerics so now the party has 3 clerics, a life, war, and tempest. What is the reasonable approach to the Diamonds you all use?
I don't make it any harder to find than any other gemstone. If you've got the gold to spend, you can likely find someone to sell you some diamonds. Once they become truly needed for things like spell components, diamonds are basically a fungible resource that should be offered up in loot and be purchasable anyway.
EDIT: Though, that being said, you may want to make such high-priced gemstones only be made available in larger cities that can support that sort of commerce if you are not going to make them show up in dungeon loot.
I generally base the availability of spell components on how large the population is. You're in a hamlet, you could find 1 or 2 of those diamonds, you're in the city, you'll find them if you ask around, there's no reason not to. Now, if you want to be a little tricksy, you could have them pay for a diamond with favor rather than coin, this gives an alternative to "oh, you're dead and you've got no money...roll up a new character".
As others noted, it makes sense to have the availability be based on economic factors. The population and general prosperity in a community is one factor. The other factor would be how valuable and/or large a 300 gp diamond actually is in your setting. It's difficult to speculate, as D&D's economy is not the most clear, but 300 gp is a little more than a chariot and a little less than a warhorse. It's also a bit less than someone living a modest lifestyle spends in a single year (per the PHB). So perhaps it's not as large a diamond as it sounds.
I would say villages and hamlets wouldn't have them - who's going to spend a year's income on diamond there? Towns might have a few, and they'd be readily available in larger cities.
If we're talking a diamond that's only a couple carats, I imagine there would still be a few wealthier residents of a reasonably sized village who could own such a thing. But best of luck convincing a local noble to sell you their diamond ring.
If you have a big, generation old, merchant family running the General Store. Then a small village could still have a diamond or two somewhere. Even if its just a display piece since most people can't afford it in that area.
That said the question is more of how you, as DM, want reviving spells to work in your campaign. What kind of role do you want death to play in your world. My cleric just learned revivify at lvl3 and immediately wants to use it on a druid. Which the party met only 2 days ago. No one else in the party wants to aid this relative stranger, but the cleric does. However, even with party funds, he doesn't even get close to 300g. That said in my campaign I don't want players to revive others constantly just, because they got the funds and the spells. It makes death meaningless and that is just a big no-go for me until they're closer to lvl 15+. Then its more understandable that death is more of an obstacle to such god-like individuals.
Once you answered that question you can start looking at how readily available you want the resources to be. You can also just say that they can cast the spell and just reduce their funds by the same amount needed for ingredients. Then you simply don't worry about the details at all. As complete opposite you could also turn it into a side quest to get a small supply of diamonds that would have them set for a while. Instead of the regular quest rewards of magical items and such that is.
Just to clarify, but they need 300gp worth of diamonds, not necessarily a diamond worth 300gp. Diamonds are pretty common, so unless you have reason to rule otherwise, they'd likely be available in plentiful supply at any decent-sized city.
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What exactly are the Gods gathering these diamonds up for? Why are they not interested in rubies and emeralds and the world's biggest cubic zirconium (I know where to find that!) ?
There's something here that we are not being told.......
What exactly are the Gods gathering these diamonds up for? Why are they not interested in rubies and emeralds and the world biggest cubic zirconium (I know where to find that!) ?
There's something here that we are not being told.......
The most basic answer is "gold is magic" and that, by extension, gemstones like diamonds are even more magic that the gods can consume as servants offer up those treasures as sacrifices for divine services.
The Fighter decided to ask our Wizard why he needs gold to cast a spell on some boots.
What follows is paraphrased from the best answer I've ever heard by a party wizard to such a simple question.
"sigh…Because gold is magic. The first day I was an apprentice, I remember my Maestro asked me the simple question, 'Why can’t we create gold?' I thought it was an odd question, but as he left me alone to think about it, I realized I’d heard of wizards creating fire, summoning water, producing force, and all sorts other of objects and effects… but never of a Wizard just sitting in a tower summoning mounds of gold. You’d think if it was possible, someone would’ve done it by now right? Well…why haven’t they?
It’s because gold is magic. Well, a physical manifestation and metaphysical conduit at the same time, but for your purposes, it is magic. I mean, when you sit and look at the evidence laid out, how could you not have come to the conclusion sooner? Let’s take, oh…dragons, for example. When you imagine a big bad dragon, the next thing you imagine is it guarding its’ hoard. Hoard of what you say? Oh, that’s right, GOLD. Doesn’t it strike you as a little odd that an entity whose literal being is infused with magic just happens to have not only an insatiable, but uncanny magnetism towards large quantities of gold, along with the urge to acquire as much as possible? Possibly Like-Begets-Like, mayhaps?
What about Dwarves? This is a race whose history lies below ground, closest in proximity to the veins and shafts where gold accumulates and grows (Yes, I said grows). Also the only natural race with a strange resistance to magic. Interesting, wouldn’t you say? Almost as if there’s a subtle inoculation against it by such proximity for generations…
Lastly, to get back to what exactly I am doing with all this gold when I’m making your lovely magic item, or all my scrolls…You’re right that I’m not spending thousands of coins upon jewels and masterwork items to hold the magic in place. That’s ludicrous, but if eldritch manipulators are spending money on high end items to imbue, it’s probably a personal focusing preference. For myself though, as you can see, I am working with normal mundane items. As to the details, first I am transmogrifying via prestidigitation these elegant golden coins into their more metaphysically soluble powder form because essence diffusion is easier by an order of magnitude when working with particulates instead of a boatload of Big Ol’ Coins. Next, with a certain amount of forceful application of will and choice incantations, you will notice the gold powder I am sprinkling and kneading on top of the object appears to be being absorbed. Remember what I said about manifestation and conduit? So the gold is not only priming these boots to be receptive towards my spells, but it’s starting to establish a channel to arcane leylines it order to keep the magic going. And yes, it is indeed very time consuming rubbing gold powder into an item one pinch at a time while maintaining the proper mental focus. There’s a REASON it takes us about eight hours for every thousand gold a magic item requires. You think a consortium of magic users got together and decided on union hours for magic making? Hell no. Its plain, old, tedious, but important work if you want it to function correctly.
Now, master-of-arms and all things armly, would you kindly let me focus on the task at hand so that when I’m done, we don’t have to worry about our Holy Dictator suffering from extreme vomiting and nausea whenever he puts his shoes on because I had to split my attention trying to condense decades of intense arcane study into an elementary discourse?"
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
That is a pretty novel concept, segues well into silver being magical as well since they are a closely related metal, probably platinum falls into the same category. Why is platinum worth more than gold, well because it contains that much more magical essence squeezed into it.
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"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."
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Cleric needs Diamonds for Revivify, but how easy, or hard to come by should they be? Obviously they have to be worth 300g but would they be available at every town jeweler or should they be a little rare so the party doesn't always have that safety net?
Also two dead PCS re rolled as two different clerics so now the party has 3 clerics, a life, war, and tempest. What is the reasonable approach to the Diamonds you all use?
I don't make it any harder to find than any other gemstone. If you've got the gold to spend, you can likely find someone to sell you some diamonds. Once they become truly needed for things like spell components, diamonds are basically a fungible resource that should be offered up in loot and be purchasable anyway.
EDIT: Though, that being said, you may want to make such high-priced gemstones only be made available in larger cities that can support that sort of commerce if you are not going to make them show up in dungeon loot.
I generally base the availability of spell components on how large the population is. You're in a hamlet, you could find 1 or 2 of those diamonds, you're in the city, you'll find them if you ask around, there's no reason not to. Now, if you want to be a little tricksy, you could have them pay for a diamond with favor rather than coin, this gives an alternative to "oh, you're dead and you've got no money...roll up a new character".
As others noted, it makes sense to have the availability be based on economic factors. The population and general prosperity in a community is one factor. The other factor would be how valuable and/or large a 300 gp diamond actually is in your setting. It's difficult to speculate, as D&D's economy is not the most clear, but 300 gp is a little more than a chariot and a little less than a warhorse. It's also a bit less than someone living a modest lifestyle spends in a single year (per the PHB). So perhaps it's not as large a diamond as it sounds.
I would say villages and hamlets wouldn't have them - who's going to spend a year's income on diamond there? Towns might have a few, and they'd be readily available in larger cities.
If we're talking a diamond that's only a couple carats, I imagine there would still be a few wealthier residents of a reasonably sized village who could own such a thing. But best of luck convincing a local noble to sell you their diamond ring.
If you have a big, generation old, merchant family running the General Store. Then a small village could still have a diamond or two somewhere. Even if its just a display piece since most people can't afford it in that area.
That said the question is more of how you, as DM, want reviving spells to work in your campaign. What kind of role do you want death to play in your world. My cleric just learned revivify at lvl3 and immediately wants to use it on a druid. Which the party met only 2 days ago. No one else in the party wants to aid this relative stranger, but the cleric does. However, even with party funds, he doesn't even get close to 300g. That said in my campaign I don't want players to revive others constantly just, because they got the funds and the spells. It makes death meaningless and that is just a big no-go for me until they're closer to lvl 15+. Then its more understandable that death is more of an obstacle to such god-like individuals.
Once you answered that question you can start looking at how readily available you want the resources to be. You can also just say that they can cast the spell and just reduce their funds by the same amount needed for ingredients. Then you simply don't worry about the details at all. As complete opposite you could also turn it into a side quest to get a small supply of diamonds that would have them set for a while. Instead of the regular quest rewards of magical items and such that is.
I make diamonds no more, or no less, rare or plentiful that they are in the real world.
You are not going to find a diamond merchant in a farming village.
In a major port trading city you absolutely will find a merchant or merchant company which deals in gemstones.
As others have noted it also depends on the economics of your world.
Doing some "back of the envelope" calculations, a 300gp diamond in my world would be between 3 and 4 carats. See here for example: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/19/ce/cb/19cecb5be2ac34b8419b27cc301fe414.jpg
My players are not going to find something like that outside a major trade city.
Edit: Good point Xiphias_DM! That does make it easier.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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What exactly are the Gods gathering these diamonds up for?
Why are they not interested in rubies and emeralds and the world's biggest cubic zirconium (I know where to find that!) ?
There's something here that we are not being told.......
Roleplaying since Runequest.
How the heck do you think we get rainbows...they're just building prisms for our pot 'o gold hunts.
The most basic answer is "gold is magic" and that, by extension, gemstones like diamonds are even more magic that the gods can consume as servants offer up those treasures as sacrifices for divine services.
That is the kind of response that I would give a kidney for from my players....gorgeous.
That is a pretty novel concept, segues well into silver being magical as well since they are a closely related metal, probably platinum falls into the same category. Why is platinum worth more than gold, well because it contains that much more magical essence squeezed into it.
"Where words fail, swords prevail. Where blood is spilled, my cup is filled" -Cartaphilus
"I have found the answer to the meaning of life. You ask me what the answer is? You already know what the answer to life is. You fear it more than the strike of a viper, the ravages of disease, the ire of a lover. The answer is always death. But death is a gentle mistress with a sweet embrace, and you owe her a debt of restitution. Life is not a gift, it is a loan."