[DF] Lich PCs in DF - Oswald the Violet

[Inky]

Originally Posted by Prince Charon

The high cost of an unenchanted crystal ball in-setting might be due to the fact that glass was harder to make, and thus more expensive, in medieval Europe.

Originally Posted by Tymathee

Well made crystal glass vials go for just a mere $5 according to the DF's Adventurers book. A quality glass bottle at that cheap of price seems to suggest that DF's "implied vaguely defined kitchen-sink fantasy setting" is capable of producing such glass items very, very cheaply. The aforementioned hand mirror seems absurdly cheap for a faux-medieval setting, and by RAW it allows Crystal-Gazing at no penalty to skill without need of enchantment. So I interpreted what appears to be in need of errata as an oversight of the authors. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"Crystal ball" didn't mean crystal glass (at least, not always), it meant literal clear quartz crystal (also known as rock crystal). That may be the type DF was thinking of. (The large ones used by stage fortune-tellers or sold to tourists usually are glass, but they're said to be "not as good".) Small pieces of rock crystal are cheap as chips, but I get the impression that the price goes up steeply for larger pieces if you need them to still be free from significant flaws - the largest truly flawless crystal ball in the world is only 32cm across.

Prices appear to have less to do with any predictable "market value" and more to do with what's available and how much cheek the seller has, which would probably be true in DF's world too. A quick search turned up 4cm rock crystal spheres for £35 each (fairly clear, though not flawless), a badly flawed 6cm sphere (more like fairly clear ice than glass) for £155, 3cm faceted spheres (slightly less flawed) for £8, 3cm faceted eggs (very clear) for £68 for a pack of 32 as a "one-time clearance offer", a 3cm sphere described as "B grade. Good value but not 'clear'" for £10, and a 15cm crystal skull for £496!
So GURPS$2000 makes sense if it actually means a big crystal ball of the kind fortune-tellers are usually shown with, and (unlike most fortune-tellers') made of real crystal. Such a thing would be very rare - historically, big ones like that were often among the treasures of royalty. Interesting subject.

Little crystal balls do seem to have been used quite a lot historically. There are a lot in Scotland (often heirlooms of some aristocratic family or other), and John Dee had one about 5cm across which it's recorded that he did use for scrying among other things.
That would certainly be a lot more affordable and easier to find than the six-inch ones of cartoons and seaside sideshows, and also more convenient for an adventurer to carry about - but, on the other hand, nothing like as good for posing sinisterly with.