@SageAdviceDnD @ChrisPerkinsDnD @JeremyECrawford
How are diamond values determined for spell component use, lore-wise, in the many realms of D&D?
— Chris Martin (@CMSLOPOrion) November 13, 2021
1)
I can only answer for my work in the Realms, much of which made it into Volo's Guide To All Things Magical. Gary Gygax based the values in the original gem tables on real-world prices/rarity/popularity (roughly). In my research, I talked to real-world gem miners,..#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 14, 2021
2)
…cutters, and sellers re. shifts in supply, demand, and popularity (e.g. mourning jewelry, synthetic diamonds and such things as Swarovski “crystals” [treated glass]), as well as how easily mined and durability in a medieval-tech setting, to expand the tables… 3)
…without modifying Gary's original value settings. And to incorporate my own inventions (such as king's tears) to put some magic into the mundane.
So real-world historical values play a large part. Rarity, demand, size of stone, hue, clarity and lack of flaws.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 14, 2021
4)
When it comes to spell component/spell ink formulae ingredient use, one always tries to tie a natural characteristic of the gem, or an existing real-world folklore belief about it, to the specific magic. Never “pick a random gem type for its cost.” Is there some sort of council who oversees these? Like, in the US we have a government entity who goes around and checks food to see if the weights match up with the listed value or that the scales are balanced correctly (in order to make sure customers are fairly charged).— Chris Martin (@CMSLOPOrion) November 14, 2021
In the Realms? No. Government bodies need a strong central government+societal agreement on standards/measures.
In Faerûn, this is usually done by guilds (backed by gov't edicts), but enforced by merchants (i.e. if X cheats often, merchants will stop dealing with X).#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) November 15, 2021