A Technical Treatise on Gems: The Forgotten and Unused

A Technical Treatise on Gems : The Forgotten and Unused By Magus K. Firehart

This treatise covers the use of amethyst, aventurine, fire agates, fluorspar, greenstone, Kurathene jade, malachite, and phenalope in artifice. Most mages overlook these humble common stones in favor when beginning artifice but their use can yield surprising results.

Unlike other gems I will not be sorting these gems into various categories nor will I be detailing them by wand type. They are wasted on ivory or gold wands yielding an additional casting of the spell and that is it. Using them in steel and wooden wands is where their potential shines and interestingly enough they have the same effect in either wand.

As a reminder each wand also has a base ranking on the Flenken Power Scale and a certain number of castings that it can hold. If you are unfamiliar with this information I recommend you pick up a copy of A Technical Treatise on Wands; it covers this basic information. If you can not find a copy this treatise I usually have some for sale in my loft (along with other impressive works of artifice) and if I have none for sale I certainly have some available for in-loft examination. All gems can either modify this FPS ranking, provide additional charges, do both, or provide other properties that make them useful.

I will start with amethyst. An amethyst in a steel or wooden wand increases the FPS rank by 0.05 and provides an additional six castings of the spell. Using two amethysts in a steel or wooden wand seems to have a greater effect on the FPS rank and number of additional castings but at the time of publication it wasn't fully tested or confirmed so I will leave it to you dear reader to discover that.

Next is aventurine. An aventurine in a steel or wooden wand increases the FPS rank by 0.075 and provides an additional two castings of the spell. Like amethyst using two aventurines in a steel or wooden wand seems to have a greater effect on the FPS rank and number of additional castings.

Following aventurine is fire agates. Fire agates in a steel or wooden wand increases the FPS rank by 0.075 and provides an additional two castings of the spell. Like amethyst using two fire agates in a steel or wooden wand seems to have a greater effect on the FPS rank and number of additional castings.

After fire agates are fluorspar. Using fluorspar in a steel or wooden wand increases the FPS rank by 0.025 and provides an additional six castings of the spell. Like amethyst using two fluorspars in a steel or wooden wand seems to have a greater effect on the FPS rank and number of additional castings.

Next we come to the humble greenstone. A greenstone in a steel or wooden wand increases the FPS rank by 0.025 and provides an additional two castings of the spell. Like amethyst using two greenstones in a steel or wooden wand seems to have a greater effect on the FPS rank and number of additional castings.

Then comes Kurathene jade, a pretty stone. Kurathene jade used in a steel or wooden wand increases the FPS rank by 0.05 and provides an additional four castings of the spell. Like amethyst using two kurathene jades in a steel or wooden wand seems to have a greater effect on the FPS rank and number of additional castings.

Moving on to malachites, not to be confused with devotees to the god of slaughter. A single malachite in a steel or wooden wand increases the FPS rank by 0.1 and provides no additional castings of the spell. Like amethyst using two malachites in a steel or wooden wand seems to have a greater effect on the FPS rank. When used in a masterwork wand two malachites are incredibly effective and have very surprising results.

At the end we pause for phenalope. Phenalope placed in a steel or wooden wand provides an additional eight castings of the spell. Like amethyst using phenalopes in a steel or wooden wand seems to have an impressive multiplier in the number of castings of a spell.

As I mentioned with malachites using these lesser gems in masterwork steel or wooden wands seems to have an even greater benefit compared to ordinary steel or wooden wands, but due to the expense and acquiring enough wands it was never fully tested and so you'll have to verify any results on your own. And thus my brief treatise on the forgotten and unused gems is concluded.