Character Training (Forgery)

Training (Find Forgery) I: You spend countless hours studying documents, works of art, gems, and other items. If someone attempts to forge a document or seal you are trained to spot it.

Note: The GM adds an additional +20 to your identify score when you are looking at a forgery.

Effect: You gain +20 to discover (or create) a inimtation of a work of art, forged document, seal, gem, collectors item or etc.
Type: Physical
Range: Touch (0’)
Tools: Yes (Forgery Detection Kit)
Time: One attack

Effect: +20 to search for the purposes of finding a forgery.

Note: Forging a document or other item is almost always a serious crime. See local laws for more information.

Artificial Gems: The term artificial gem is used to describe either an imitation of a natural gemstone or a synthetic gem that is chemically identical to naturally occurring gems.

Imitation Gem: Such a gem may be made of flint glass, often silvered on the back to increase the brilliance. Artificial pearls were made by blowing hollow beads of glass and pouring into them a mixture of liquid ammonia and the white matter from the scales of fish. A much better type of artificial pearl, the indestructible bead, was introduced aout a hundred years ago. The bead is made of solid glass with only a narrow hole for the thread. Pearl essence, consisting of the crushed scales of certain herring, is applied to the outside of the glass and covered with a transparent, colorless lacquer.

The most successful imitation of a diamond is strontium titanate, made by a flame-fusion technique. Its index of refraction is almost identical to that of a diamond, and it has a higher dispersion. Thus, it has the brilliance and greater fire than the diamond. It scratches easily, however. A harder material simulating the diamond is rutile, or titanium oxide.

Synthetic Gems: This term refers to manufactured materials that duplicate a natural gemstone chemically, physically, and optically (+5) Synthetic gems can be distinguished under strenuous tests only because they are more perfect than natural gemstones and contain no irregularities.

Synthetic diamonds first appeared in Obsidian in the 9th great turn. The Stonewatch eventually broke the ring and ferreted out the secret to these perfect gems. In their process, coal is subjected to pressures of 56 metric tons per sq cm (360 metric tons per sq in) at temperatures of 5000° F. Sapphires are made in an apparatus resembling an oxyhydrogen torch. The flame is directed into a fireclay support inside an insulated chamber. The oxygen gas carries finely powdered pure aluminum oxide into the flame, and the powder fuses into droplets, forming a cylindrical boule, or matrix, on the support. The size of the resulting sapphire is controlled by varying the gas flow, temperature, and amount of powder. Boules weighing up to 200 carats (40 g or 1.41 oz) can be produced by this technique. Perfect rubies and sapphires up to 50 carats (10 g or 0.353 oz) have been cut from such a boule.

Rubies are made by the same process by adding 5 to 6 percent chromium oxide to the aluminum oxide. Colors other than red are produced by adding different metallic oxides. Stars can be added to synthetic rubies or sapphires by adding an excess of titanium oxide to the aluminum oxide powder and heating to temperatures greater than 1000° C (greater than 1832° F). In gems made with this technique, synthetic stars appear sharper than naturally occurring stars.

GM Note: Emeralds, some of which are of indestinguishable gem quality, are synthesized by still-secret methods. They can be distinguished from natural emeralds only by their red glow under a blueflame candle to determine the characteristic absorption spectra.)