Masterwork Gems

[Skysaber]

Hey there, I stumped my DM.

I've got a gnome. We find treasure, occasionally that treasure includes gems. Sometimes those gems are uncut. When we find uncut gems, I cut them. I've got the skill ranks to make that a breeze, and I like the extra income.

However, I just acquired a feat, Favor of Hephestus, that every time I succeed at a Craft check, the object I create is automatically masterwork at no extra cost, time or effort. This just came up as I went to cut the few uncut stones out of our latest treasure haul.

Right now all that is at stake are the two 50gp uncut gems in our current haul, which I'd normally make into a pair of 150gp completed stones.

But where does the masterwork come in?

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

[VoxRationis]

Perhaps a gem so masterfully cut that it has some sort of purpose, such as a lens?

[Milo v3]

+2 to being appraised?

[TuggyNE]

But where does the masterwork come in?

+2 to Diplomacy checks made to haggle for a better price or bribe someone, maybe?

[deuxhero]

+2 on move silently checks to cut glass (if its a diamond)?

100 GP extra to the value is pretty notable though. Use your gemcutting ability to make jewelery from the finished stones and you'll be able to triple the value twice.

[Skysaber]

+2 on move silently checks to cut glass (if its a diamond)?

100 GP extra to the value is pretty notable though. Use your gemcutting ability to make jewelery from the finished stones and you'll be able to triple the value twice.

We got a Wish once. It wasn't me, but my gem-cutting habits by then were already well known, so the person used it to Wish for an uncut gemstone worth 25,000gp.

I of course cut it successfully.

Now the idea on jewelry has merit. Tripling twice just screams all kinds of profit. But that does raise a question to add to the first. What effect would Masterwork be on jewelry?

[boxfox]

Masterwork items cost an additional 300gp, right? So there you go. The final market value of each MW gem you cut is increased by 300gp, though you'll probably only get 1/2 of that for selling it.

[VoxRationis]

Masterwork armor only costs an additional 150 gp.

[Phelix-Mu]

Masterwork items cost an additional 300gp, right? So there you go. The final market value of each MW gem you cut is increased by 300gp, though you'll probably only get 1/2 of that for selling it.

Except that I believe the PHB explicitly says that gems and maybe one other thing are accepted as trade goods at full gp value in most places. This was in the wealth section right before the weapon tables, off the top of my head.

[Tohsaka Rin]

I think if there were such a thing as Masterwork Gems, I'd know about it. :I

Though adding the normal masterwork fee to the total worth seems reasonable to me.

[Sith_Happens]

Obviously a masterwork gem is worth an additional 50 gp and has a +2 circumstance bonus to being shiny.:smallwink:

[ArendK]

Depends on your group, I have a few ideas.

If you have a item creator in the group, maybe the amazing quality on the jewelry made makes it easier to make either through time or cost and/or enhances the power by a caster level or so if it is an appropriate gem (Ruby for fire-based abilities, for example). Nothing game-breaking, but does make a certain synergy between team-mates. Unless, of course, you are the crafter of the future magic items.

For cost, the gems themselves are valuable; depending on how the party monitors themselves, you could rule that the gem is worth an extra X percent based on the cutting done, with X being equal to the skill check beyond a certain value? I'd suggest around skill check -10? So if a character rolls a 25 on the skill check, the items value goes up 15 percent?

It's a fine role-playing gem (:smallcool:) that can give a mechanical benefit, and make it feel like the character is contributing in ways outside of regular adventuring, but not becoming the sole-focus of the characters skills.

[boxfox]

Masterwork armor only costs an additional 150 gp.

Except that I believe the PHB explicitly says that gems and maybe one other thing are accepted as trade goods at full gp value in most places. This was in the wealth section right before the weapon tables, off the top of my head.
Awesome. So (300+150)/2=225, also known as an average. And you just sell them at full price...

[TuggyNE]

Awesome. So (300+150)/2=225, also known as an average. And you just sell them at full price...

300, 150, or 50 are all possibilities for MW items of different sorts. The closest match, however, is MW tools for +50 gp and +2 circumstance on relevant checks; averages are not really relevant.

[boxfox]

Any of this stuff is guesswork, so it's all relevant. When the rules don't specifically say "A=A" then everything after that is using your judgment and preexisting knowledge to make the most accurate guess that you can...or completely just making **** up, if that's how you and your DM want to play it.

Whether a gem is "closer" to a tool, weapon, piece of armor, or other items is completely up to interpretation and one's own perspective...

[TuggyNE]

Whether a gem is "closer" to a tool, weapon, piece of armor, or other items is completely up to interpretation and one's own perspective...

Well, mostly. But in any case, using averages is just silly. Only one of those should be chosen as the model, not some bizarre composite.

[icefractal]

Masterwork Tool (+50 gp) seems the most appropriate. For a gem, if it was cut into a tool (like a lens, or glass cutter) the +2 would be to that. Otherwise, I'd give the +2 to any further Craft checks made on the gem (turning it into jewelry, for example).

For jewelry, I could see Diplomacy, Intimidate, or Perform as appropriate skills to boost.


The repeated tripling trick is fun, but not as awesome as it sounds. You still produce at the same rate/day, so the only difference is you (effectively) aren't paying for raw materials for X days. So, +1/3rd more profit, most of the time.

And incidentally, the longest chain I can think of for that is:
1) Uncut gems -> Cut gems
2) Cut gems -> Jewelry
3) Jewelry -> Costumes
4) Costumes -> Artwork (some kind of sculpture, with figures wearing the costumes, for example)

[Rubik]

I wouldn't mind having "masterwork onna gem" double the modifier on your Craft (Gemcutting) skill. So you gain 1d20 + (skill mod x 2).

[KillianHawkeye]

There is simply no such thing as a masterwork gem.

Masterwork items come in three categories: weapons, armors/shields, and tools; outside of those categories the word is meaningless. Asking about a masterwork gem is like asking about a masterwork torch or a masterwork horse or a masterwork boat. It's nonsensical. You might as well strap on your masterwork pants and delve into a masterwork dungeon so you can go fight some masterwork goblins and rescue a masterwork princess. :smallsigh::smallsigh::smallsigh:

[Rubik]

There is simply no such thing as a masterwork gem.

Masterwork items come in three categories: weapons, armors/shields, and tools; outside of those categories the word is meaningless. Asking about a masterwork gem is like asking about a masterwork torch or a masterwork horse or a masterwork boat. It's nonsensical. You might as well strap on your masterwork pants and delve into a masterwork dungeon so you can go fight some masterwork goblins and rescue a masterwork princess. :smallsigh::smallsigh::smallsigh:Turns out, she was stuck in another castle all along. The other princesses were plain. Ordinary. Practically toadstools.

[Deophaun]

You might as well strap on your masterwork pants and delve into a masterwork dungeon so you can go fight some masterwork goblins and rescue a masterwork princess.
Now I want a dashing rogue with maxed ranks in Craft (Princess) sneaking into castles at night and creating his masterworks while the king is out inspecting the lines.

[Gemini476]

Hey there, I stumped my DM.

I've got a gnome. We find treasure, occasionally that treasure includes gems. Sometimes those gems are uncut. When we find uncut gems, I cut them. I've got the skill ranks to make that a breeze, and I like the extra income.

However, I just acquired a feat, Favor of Hephestus, that every time I succeed at a Craft check, the object I create is automatically masterwork at no extra cost, time or effort. This just came up as I went to cut the few uncut stones out of our latest treasure haul.

Right now all that is at stake are the two 50gp uncut gems in our current haul, which I'd normally make into a pair of 150gp completed stones.

But where does the masterwork come in?

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

Is it this the feat you mean?

Favor of Hephaestus [Olympian]

Prerequisites: Craft (armorsmithing, blacksmithing, and weaponsmithing) 5 ranks each, Skill Focus (Craft[armorsmithing, blacksmithing, or weaponsmithing]).

Benefit: Like your patron god, you are a master craftsman, and every work you create is a masterpiece. All items you personally craft are considered masterwork items at no extra cost or added difficulty. In addition, when you repair an item, the cost is only one-eighth of the item's price.
(It's third party material, for those who wonder; I found it via Google.)

It looks like it's meant to be for armor and weapons, to be honest. For gems I'm going to say that you might be able to finagle a +50gp as a masterwork item, but eh.
Masterwork as a rules term only really applies to 1)weapons, 2)armor, and 3)tools.

[KillianHawkeye]

Now I want a dashing rogue with maxed ranks in Craft (Princess) sneaking into castles at night and creating his masterworks while the king is out inspecting the lines.

Are you trying to turn me on?

[Chronos]

Gems are valuable because they're pretty. Cutting a gem increases its value because it makes it prettier. Cutting a masterwork gem means you did a really, really good job of cutting it, and so you made it really, really pretty. The benefit of a gem being masterwork is therefore simply that it's worth more than it otherwise would be. How much more, you'll have to settle with your DM.

[ericgrau]

For the gem itself I'd add a very small gp bump worth about what masterwork is worth: masterwork = 20 x (check result) sp. On top of whatever you normally get. This would be the same almost regardless of the gem, because you can make jewelry out of worthless materials and it's still worth something. But being able to do 20 other things with the skill sounds cool too.