A Lapidary of Wond'rous Stones - An OSR Resource (PDF)

TREASURE SHOULD BE MORE THAN A PRICE IN GOLD

People of earlier ages believed that gemstones and minerals possessed powers of their own.

A stone did not need to be enchanted by a wizard. Its virtues were part of its nature, waiting to be understood and put to use.

These beliefs were gathered in works known as lapidaries, which described the medicinal, magical and supernatural properties attributed to different stones.

A Lapidary of Wond’rous Stones collects these traditional ideas and adapts them for use in old-school fantasy roleplaying games.

Rather than treating gems as treasure to be immediately converted into coin, the book gives them additional meaning and practical value within the game world.

USE THE STONES AS

• Treasures with properties beyond their monetary worth.

• Magical or protective objects.

• Components in spells, rituals and other workings.

• Sources of information, rumour and folklore.

• Objects sought by healers, magicians, rulers and collectors.

• Inspiration for adventures, discoveries and unusual rewards.

The material can be used to make treasure hoards more interesting, give individual stones a place in the mythology of the setting and encourage players to learn what they have found before selling it.

The book is written for OSR and D&D-style games, but its ideas can be adapted easily to other traditional fantasy systems.

PDF EDITION

• 37-page digital PDF.

• OSR and D&D-compatible game resource.

• Based on traditional beliefs about gemstones and minerals.

• Written by Neil Coates.

• Edited by James “Grim” Desborough.

• Published by Postmortem Studios.

• Originally released in March 2021.

This is a supplementary resource rather than a standalone roleplaying game. A compatible fantasy rules system is required for play.