Revivify and the Value of Magic
The “Diamond Spells” (e.g. Clone, Mighty Fortress, Raise Dead, Resurrection, Glyph of Warding, Greater Restoration, Nondetection, Stoneskin, Symbol, Revivify, True Resurrection) are an interesting case study in the economics of Magic.
In an age of antiquity, Mages used to measure out their material components by weight. Of course, back then, the science of recording and teaching spells was still being worked out. Many spells needed multiple casting attempts, requiring a great deal of luck and finesse -- so it wasn’t unusual for “Diamond Spells” to fail inexplicably.
Naturally, many mages sought out to improve the replicability of magic. Clerics, Wizards, Warlocks, and other trades-persons would travel the world and record the different techniques different mages would use to create the same magical effect. Among these sages and pilgrims was the unnamed Monk of Ilmater -- a veritable “Johnny Appleseed” of healing magic.
This Monk helped perform healing rituals across the world: In impoverished towns where clear-cut diamonds were unheard of, or even in Dwarvish cathedrals were diamonds were a dime-a-dozen. The diamonds used to fuel magic were wildly different, but one thing remained constant: the price of magic.
No matter how scarce or common diamonds were in these communities, the “diamond spells” were just as costly. So as soon as the material components were measured in cost instead of weight, the replicability improved ten-fold. But more than that, it re-framed magic as a philosophy rather than a science.
“Why does magic have a price tag?” many sages have wondered. Some hypothesized answers are as follows:
>Perhaps the qualities that make diamonds, herbs, and other components valuable to us are coincidentally the qualities that make them magical. >Perhaps the value we put on things like diamonds is what makes them magical. >Perhaps this is apart of a cosmic scheme that will reveal itself when the material plane is depleted of diamonds. >Perhaps Mystra, the god of magic, is a filthy capitalist.
Many different ideologies have their own ideas on why magic works the way it does, but since the value of diamonds are so important to magic, many societies try to regulate it. The world’s (technically) richest temple is planted in the heart of Olympus Mons -- a tremendous treasury dedicated to storing the world’s surplus of diamonds. Because diamonds are (almost) worthless within the walls of this temple, spells like revivify are practically impossible to cast there.Â
The monks of this temple only work to hoard diamonds and slowly release them into the world at the same rate at which diamonds are consumed. Every-so-often, a “treasurer” monk is dispatched with a sack of jewels to spread them were they’re most needed. As much good as these monks spread in the world, many bandits treat traveling monks as pinatas because of them.
