Gemsmithing

Gemsmithing is the art of working with gems to unlock and focus their magical potential. A Gemsmith can cleanse cloudy gems to simplify their colours, cut clear gems to unlock their magical potential, and etch seals into cut gems to attune them to specific magical effects.

The Gemsmith Skill

Gemsmith is a Creator archetype skill with Jeweller as a prerequisite. It costs 8 experience points.

On acquiring this skill, the character chooses one of the following starting packages:

• First Restorative Cut and Lesser Healing seal
• First Enhancing Cut and Mending seal
• First Knowledge Cut and Spirit Reading seal

Additional cuts and seals can be learned through research. See Creator: Jeweller Path for details on the Gemsmithing sub-path.

Hues and Colour

Gems are defined by their colour, which is made up of up to five different hues: Red, Blue, Green, White and Black, with each hue representing a pole of magic.

Each hue, if present, is found at one of three different intensities: Rich, Vibrant, or Muted.

The strongest hue(s) within a gem define the gem's current colour. For example, if a gem has vibrant blue and red, muted green and white, and no black, the gem's colour would be described as Purple (i.e. blue and red).

The magical potential of a gem is unlocked when all the hues that are present in a gem are at an equal level, and the greater the intensity of those hues, the greater its potential. These types of gems are called clear. Gems that contain additional hues at lesser intensities are called cloudy.

Gem Names

Cloudy gem names are prefixed by their colour, and their name reflects the number, and hues, of the strongest hues present within them:

• Single primary pole gems are agates
• Dual primary pole gems are topazes
• Gems with a single primary pole, and black, are quartz

Other combinations exist but these are the most common.

Clear gems have specific names, such as:

• Sapphires only contain a blue hue
• Rubies only contain a red hue
• Emeralds only contain a green hue

Gem Descriptions

The description of a gem will start with its intensity and primary colour, such as Rich Blue or Muted Green.

Following this, for cloudy gems, the description will include any lesser hues, and their intensity levels:

• Muted hues are described as specks
• Vibrant hues as bands

Example

An agate could be described as "rich blue with bands of green and specks of red."

Processes

Work unit costs for the processes below are listed in this section. Some seals and advanced cuts must be unlocked via research.

All gemsmithing processes require a jeweller's bench.

Gem Cleansing

Cloudy gems can be turned into clear gems by cleansing away the specks and bands of the lesser hues.

The process allows you to remove a single level of intensity, from a single hue, at a time (e.g. from rich to vibrant, or muted to none).

It is not possible to remove all traces of every hue from a gem.

Cost: 25 work units per cleanse, regardless of the intensity being removed.

Note: Additional effort is required to cleanse a gem if it has already been cut.

Gem Cutting

Clear gems have a magical potential that is based on the intensity of the hues.

This potential can be realised, and enhanced, by the cutting of a clear gem into specific patterns.

Purpose-Based Cuts

Cuts are aligned to a purpose or effect category, rather than to specific gem types. The available purposes are:

• Protection – defensive effects such as shields and wards
• Knowledge – divination and information-gathering effects
• Restorative – healing and cleansing effects
• Enhancing – buffs and improvements to abilities
• Offensive (Ranged) – damage and harmful effects at range
• Offensive (Touch) – damage and harmful effects requiring touch or channelling
• Manipulative – effects that influence behaviour or perception
• Surgical – effects that aid surgical procedures

Each purpose has three tiers of cut, which must be researched sequentially (First, Second, Third). These purpose-based cuts can be applied to any clean gem.

Cost:

• First Cut: 20 work units
• Second Cut: 40 work units
• Third Cut: 60 work units

Cuts are made sequentially, i.e. first, then second, then third. Second and third cuts on a gem must be in the same purpose as the first cut made on that gem.

Each additional cut increases the gem's potential.

Note: Cloudy gems cannot be cut. They can, however, be turned into powdered gemstone.

Gem Etching

Once a clear gem has been cut, at least once, it becomes possible to finalise the gem and attune it to its purpose by etching a Seal into its surface.

Finalising means that the gem can no longer be cut or cleansed.

There are a wide variety of seals that can be researched, each providing a different effect. These effects often come in the form of charges, which are refreshed daily, however this is not always the case.

Cost:

• Lesser Seal: 20 work units
• Moderate Seal: 40 work units
• Greater Seal: 60 work units

Seal Efficiency and Gem Colour

Seals are designed to work optimally with gems of specific colours. For example, a Lesser Healing seal works best when applied to an Emerald (pure green).

However, seals will also work on any clean gem that contains the appropriate colour, just with reduced efficiency. The amount of power available to a seal is lowered by one for each additional colour present beyond the seal's needs.

Example

Lesser Healing seal has the best efficiency when applied to an Emerald (pure green).

However, it will also work applied to any clean gem that has Green in it, just less efficiently.

A Citrine (Red/Green) can have a Lesser Healing seal, but power would be lowered by one (due to the presence of red).

Note: The majority of seals are designed to enable the gem's power to become accessible when it has been crafted into an appropriate item.

Gem Setting

Blacksmiths, Artisans and Jewellers have the ability to set a single gem into an item during its crafting.

Care should be taken to ensure that "form and function" is considered when choosing what item to set a gem into. For example, a gem with an effect of Aura of Defence is far better suited to an amulet than a sword. A gem of Mend would be better placed into a ring than a shield.

Note: It is not possible to set a gem into an item after the crafting has been completed. However, it is possible to remove a gem from a crafted item, at a jeweller's bench, without damage to the item or the gem.

Maintenance

Crafted items that have had a gem set into them require maintenance as per any normal item, with the caveat that the gem does not become part of the materials required for this process.

The crafted item that a gem has been set into will continue to exist as a normal crafted item if that gem expires. A gem's magic will not be accessible if the crafted item expires.

Note: Etched gems cannot be maintained or renewed. Once etched, a gem will expire after 3 years and its magic will permanently fade. Plan accordingly.

Gems as Resources

Clear gems are not available to select specifically using the Resources skill.

Instead, players have options to select gems that need some form of cleansing.

Options will be:

• Agate (the player receives a random Red, Blue or Green Agate each event)
• Topaz (the player receives a random Yellow, Turquoise or Purple Topaz each event)
• Quartz (the player receives a random Crimson, Sage or Navy Quartz each event)

These are all uncommon gems and the colour received will be random.

On rare occasions clear versions of these gems may be acquired.

There are other ways to acquire gems in game, such as traders and NPCs.

Expiry

Raw Gems

Raw gems have an expiry date of 2 years from being gathered. Cleansing does not affect this date.

This date cannot be extended or reset.

Cut Gems (without a Seal)

Cut gems have an expiry date of 3 years from the first cut.

This cannot be extended or reset.

Note: Second and third cuts do not affect a gem's expiry date. Remember that there is a 3-year timer from the first cut, within which the gem should be etched.

Etched Gems

Etched gems have an expiry date of 3 years from the time of etching.

This cannot be extended, reset or maintained. Once an etched gem expires, its magic permanently fades.

Note: Items that a gem is set into can be maintained normally. The gem itself cannot.

Summary of Costs

Process	Work Units
Gem Cleansing (per cleanse)	25 WU
First Cut	20 WU
Second Cut	40 WU
Third Cut	60 WU
Lesser Seal	20 WU
Moderate Seal	40 WU
Greater Seal	60 WU

Example

Assuming a player can acquire a clean Rich-Hued gem, it would take 6 days (180 WU) for them to cut it three times and etch a Greater seal, producing 1x Exalted charge per day. This would be after spending time to research the seal and three tiers of a cut.