Re: [RPM] Gem Lore, Lapidaries and Precious Stones as Traditional Trappings
 

We might have misinterpreted this to mean that human belief in a stone's value is what imbues it with power, when you meant that a real gem's intangible qualities is what gives it both magical power and high human regard?

Re: [RPM] Gem Lore, Lapidaries and Precious Stones as Traditional Trappings
 

Yes?

Honestly, from the perspective of thaumatological theorists in the setting, how would one know the difference?

Magical effects are persistently not replicable in a scientific context. Any kind of instruments meant to collect data on magical processes or objects tend to interfere with whether magic does anything all.

There are occultists who deny entirely the hypothesis that human belief has anything to do with preternatural phenomena. Any correlation between human belief and the shapes of supernatural beings, rules of magic, etc., they chalk up to magic in previous eras having shaped human expectations and legends.

Basically, when magic seems to actively resist scientific measurement and analysis, it's really hard to separate the personal prejudices and peccadilloes of occultists from their theories about how magic works.

Re: [RPM] Gem Lore, Lapidaries and Precious Stones as Traditional Trappings
 

What effect would making the artificial diamond out of human ashes be, if any? I know that it's a real thing, mostly offered as a way to carry a loved one with you, but in a setting with magic it opens up possibilities.

Re: [RPM] Gem Lore, Lapidaries and Precious Stones as Traditional Trappings
 

Well, I'd certainly be inclined to make such an item have any qualities associated with objects made from human remains, i.e. skull goblets, grimoires written on human skin, etc.

Then it's also quite compact, which is neat.

Re: [RPM] Gem Lore, Lapidaries and Precious Stones as Traditional Trappings
 

Both the Hope and the Koh-I-Noor supposedly have a curse. The Hope was by one legend stolen though it could be it was more likely given (Grand Moguls don't SELL things to common merchants of course but they might give) and this offended the god whose eye it once was. The Tamil have erotic imagery around jewels which is kind of-gooey-but interesting. The Koh-I-Noor (mountain of light) was grabbed by the warlord Nadir Shah from the Mogul Muhammad "the pleasure-loving" which cognomen gives an idea of his unbellicose tastes and why he lost. When Nadir Shah died his bodyguard who was surprisingly loyal during life fled with his retinue to Afghanistan and set up on his own with some of the treasures in Nadir Shah's palace. Then it ended up in the hands of the Sikhs who had walloped the Afghans and the Brits who had walloped the Sikhs, and are you sensing a pattern?

The Koh-I-Noor has a good biography by William Dalyrmple

There is more then enough bloodshed surrounding the Koh-I-Noor to give it a whole army of ghosts.

Re: [RPM] Gem Lore, Lapidaries and Precious Stones as Traditional Trappings
 

Speaking of human remains in diamond form, how I did it in my game was the stones were predisposed to being enchanted. Especially into power stones. They would start equal to the FP + power reserve of the individual, and could be enchanted to hold more with less chance of failure.

Turned into a bit of setting, where powerful mages would have there remains enchanted to help there descendants.

I also allowed them to be enchanted as grimores, aspected around the deceased favorite spells.

They were also quite useful for necromancy spells.

Re: [RPM] Gem Lore, Lapidaries and Precious Stones as Traditional Trappings
 

It sounds kind of like my idea of using the iron in a person's blood to make a necromantic sword. Of course, the average adult human male only has about 3 g of iron in their body ( a bit less for females), so you would need to exanguinate on the order of 100 people to get your blade. So you end up with a blood iron blade of mass murder - just perfect for your evil undead sorcerer.

Luke

Re: [RPM] Gem Lore, Lapidaries and Precious Stones as Traditional Trappings
 

When my PCs arrived in the metaphysical antechamber that would take them to the Dreamlands, equipment suitable for fantasy heroes awaited them. Mostly, these were items that either the lead caster or the other PCs had imagined as suitable and, aside from items brought along as metaphysically bound to the essence of the characters (i.e. Signature Gear), none of it was made from iron, silver or any other substance that might affect supernatural creatures in any dramatic fashion.

With the exception of one weapon that no one had imagined or incorporated into the ritual. A gently curving blade of reddish steel, glowing with a purple glow, melting the ice it was embedded in.

From the design and the similarities of certain sigils on it to ancient African petroglyphs, one PC tentatively identified it as the product of a great pre-Atlantean civilisation in Africa.*

From some sense he got about the blade, he also linked it to an apocryphal story he heard about the origin of ironworking in that great orichalcum-using culture, as a ritual of sacrifice where the blood of victims was alchemically rendered into iron to construct a blade of terrible fury, hunger and portent.


*He has odd notions, but his auto-didactic archeology, anthropology and linguistics skills are surprisingly good.

Diamonds as RPM Power Sources
 

Standard GURPS Magic or DFRPG fatigue points (FP) aren't exactly equal to RPM energy, with most authorities recommending multiplying FP costs by x2 or x3 to get ballpark RPM energy.

On the other hand, GURPS Magic and DFRPG assume a more or less TL3 economy, whereas I'm using RPM in a TL8 one.

With that in mind, if diamonds can store gathered energy like DF Power Objects or Powerstones can store FP, what would be a good system to connect capacity with cost?

I'm using diamonds of obscene cost as more or less plot devices, assuming that the least of them have at least enough energy to power typical rituals of 30-50 energy and that the diamonds worth literally millions of dollars are storing at the very least hundreds of energy, but it might be a good idea to nail down the exact capacities, now that the PCs are well and truly on board with using the stones.

Gemstones Useful for Evil Cultists
 

Does anyone have any ideas as to which minerals or precious stones might be useful for rituals cast by the Keepers of the Last Hearth, an apocalyptic cult using a specialized loss-based version of the Path of Nonexistance and worshiping the Lords of the Last Waste (or the Cold Ones), vast, cool and unsympathetic intelligences existing Outside of this universe, associated with the end of everything, cold, dark, death and loss?

I've had them using diamonds, which are pretty much universal RPM 'manastones' in my campaign, but what other gemstones might they favor?

And, as for those cultists who were previously magicians in different traditions, such as Chinese Gu or Gong Tau or various Indigenous South American traditions, what are good minerals or gemstones to associate with different kinds of dark magic?

Onyx and obsidian seem obvious. What else?