House Rules - Jewelry and Luxury Items

Jewelry and Luxury Items

Jewelry	Cost	Weight
Belt, Linked Silver	5 shillings	1 lb.
Belt, Linked Gold	26 shillings	1 lb.
Belt, Linked Precious Stone	110 shillings	1 lb.
Belt Buckle, Silver	2 shillings	½ lbs.
Belt Buckle, Gold	10 shillings	½ lbs.
Belt Buckle, Precious Stone	40 shillings	½ lbs.
Bracelet, Silver	4 shillings	½ lbs.
Bracelet, Gold	24 shillings	½ lbs.
Bracelet, Precious Stone	100 shillings	½ lbs.
Brooch, Silver	2 shillings	- lbs.
Brooch, Gold	12 shillings	⅛ lbs.
Brooch, Precious Stone	50 shillings	- lbs.
Choker, Beads	2 pennies	¼ lbs.
Choker, Multistrand	x2	x2
Choker, Silver	1 shilling	¼ lbs.
Choker, Gold	10 shillings	⅓ lbs.
Choker, Precious Stone	40 shillings	¼ lbs.
Circlet, Silver	4 shillings	⅕ lbs.
Circlet, Gold	16 shillings	⅓ lbs.
Circlet, Precious Stone	90 shillings	¼ lbs.
Clasp, Silver	2 shillings	- lbs.
Clasp, Gold	10 shillings	- lbs.
Comb, Silver	2 shillings	- lbs.
Comb, Gold	12 shillings	- lbs.
Comb, Precious Stone	50 shillings	- lbs.
Earring, Silver	6 pennies	- lbs.
Earring, Gold	4 shillings	- lbs.
Earring, Precious Stone	15 shillings	- lbs.
Hair Clasp, Silver	1 shilling	- lbs.
Hair Clasp, Gold	6 shillings	- lbs.
Hair Clasp, Precious Stone	34 shillings	- lbs.
Necklace, Beads	2 pennies	¼ lbs.
Necklace, Silver	1 shilling	¼ lbs.
Necklace, Gold	10 shillings	⅓ lbs.
Necklace, Precious Stone	40 shillings	¼ lbs.
Pendant, Silver	8 pennies	- lbs.
Pendant, Gold	5 shillings	⅛ lbs.
Pin, Silver	1 shilling	- lbs.
Pin, Gold	6 shillings	- lbs.
Pin, Precious Stone	22 shillings	- lbs.
Ring, Silver	8 pennies	- lbs.
Ring, Gold	5 shillings	⅛ lbs.
Ring, Precious Stone	20 shillings	- lbs.
Tiara, Silver	5 shillings	¼ lbs.
Tiara, Gold	20 shillings	½ lbs.
Tiara, Precious Stone	100 shillings	⅓ lbs.
Signet Rings	Cost	Weight
Signet Ring, Basic	2 shillings	- lbs.
Signet Ring, Silver	5 shillings	- lbs.
Signet Ring, Gold	10 shillings	- lbs.
Engraving	+2 shillings	- lbs.
Engraving, Custom	+4 shillings	- lbs.
Engraving, Coat-of-Arms	+6 shillings	- lbs.
Carved	+1 shilling	- lbs.
Carved, Coat-of-Arms	+10 shillings	- lbs.
Gilded in Silver	+1 shilling	- lbs.
Gilded in Gold	+5 shillings	- lbs.
Inset, Semiprecious Stones	+10 shillings	- lbs.
Inset, Precious Stones	+20 shillings	- lbs.
Luxury Items	Cost	Weight
Chess Set	1 shilling	1 lb.
Chess Set, Masterwork	50 shillings	3 lbs.
Dice, 1 pair	1 penny	- lbs.
Playing Cards	2 pennies	- lbs.

This is a collection of pieces of common jewelry and other luxury items. This list does not include many items of interest to rogues, as those are found on the Black Market Items and Poisons page.

This list uses several abbreviations to show what sourcebook the entries were drawn from. For guidance as to what sourcebooks these abbreviations reference, see my key to Sourcebook Abbreviations.

All of the material contained on this page and other pages of this blog is presented in accordance with the terms of the Open Game License.

Jewelry

Both men and women wear jewelry, primarily to show how wealthy they are, and to conveniently carry that wealth - a necklace worth 50 shillings weighs far less than those same coins in a pouch, and is also easier to hand to someone as payment.

Women tend to wear more jewelry than men. A noblewoman might wear a pair of earrings, a necklace, a bracelet on each wrist, and two or three rings on each hand. Brooches can be pinned to her gown, clasps used for her shawl or cloak, pins or combs fastened to her hair, or belts worn around her waist. Necklaces come in three varieties: Necklaces, pendants, and chokers. Pendants are a simple chain or ribbon with a piece of jewelry hung upon it - the jewelry might be a simple stone setting, a carved design, or a small emblem, but it is usually no larger than a coin. Necklaces have stones or metal or some other material running all along their length, though often with a larger stone more intricately patterend piece of material at the center, so that it hangs at the lowest point directly in front.Necklaces onften consist of strings of beads, and these can be coral, pearl, gems, metal, or even carved stone or wood. Chokers are similar to necklaces but are much shorter and worn around the throat rather than down across the chest.

Jeweled belts usually consist of links, each piece decorated and connected on either side with small metal hooks. Most jewlry is made of silver or gold, though some are also carved directly from gemstones or even from rare materials like coral, mother-of-pearl, or ivory. It is not uncommon for noblewomen to wear at least one piece of jewelry carved with their family crest.

Men's jewelry is usually larger and heavier than women's, less delicate, and often with less fine detail. Necklaces may be nothing more than linked series of precious gems or of engraved gold squares, and usually hang low and loose. Brooches - most often of carved stone or cast in gold or silver and inset with small gems - and often resemble animals or plants or are engraved with a noble's coat of arms. Cloak clasps usually have simple designs, but may have gems set in them as well. Men may wear linked belts, though theirs are usually larger and heavier than a woman's, but they also wear leather belts with buckles. Men rarely have pins and combs in their hair, but long hair is not uncommon for both genders and a nobleman might pull his hair back and use a silver or gold clasp to hold it. Earrings are also common for both genders, but women's earrings are usually more elaborate, while men customarily wear a songle stone in a simple gold or silver setting.

Another piece of jewelry commonly worn by both genders is the crown. Crowns themselves are usually reserved for royalty, but powerful nobles have found ways to achieve a similar effect. Noblewomen often wear tiaras, which are like slender crowns that only wrap around three-quarters of the dead. This makes the tiara easy to pull off, and it is usually woven into the hair for fancy parties and other formal occassions. Most tiaras are made of gold and have gems set along the front edge but not along the sides. Men usually wear circlets, simple gold or silver bands, twisted or engraved with patterns or encrusted with gems. Sometimes a circlet takes on more elaborate shapes, like a wreath of leaves and a few even rise up in points like a crown would. Kings and queens are usually possessive of their rights, and may frown on anyone who dares to wear a headpiece to similar to their own. Most circlets and tiaras are low enough and simple enough so as to not cause offense while still demonstrating the nobility and status of the owner.

Signet Rings

One of the most common pieces of jewelry for either a man or woman is the signet ring. Even merchants have these items, carved across the front with their personal seal and used to verify purchases, sales, and letters. Nobles have more elaborate signet rings bearing their coat of arms. A simple signet ring might be made from bronze or iron, a more expensive one of silver, while nobles usually have their cast in gold. The front face of a lesser ring is the same material as the body, but nobles like to set gems into the face and then have those carved with their seal. These gems can be semiprecious garnet, amethyst, or topaz, or precious stones like ruby, emerald, or sapphire. The stone's color usually matches the family's dominant color and the coat of arms may be gilded in silver, gold, or both, to make it easier to distinguish details. Signet rings usually have oversized fronts, to better accomodate the seal and make it easier to read once stamped.

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