Mining
The following rules can be used for quick Mining operations.
Survey
Not all regions yield something of value. Make a Profession (miner) check (DC 20) to determine if a region is suitable. This takes one week of a survey of a 5 square mile area aboveground and half that area underground. If the search is conducted above and there's bad weather (snow, storm, etc.), the DC is 25. Raise the checks DC by +10 when searching in non-mountainous, non-hilly areas. Raise the DC by+5 when in hilly areas or cliffs. If failed, the GM tells you there is nothing valuable here. You may research the same region, each time with a -2 circumstance penalty per failed check, or search another area. If successful, the search is completed and you roll on the following table to determine what you have found:
Mining Products
| % Roll | Product |
|---|---|
| 1 - 30 | Copper |
| 31 - 40 | Tin |
| 41 -65 | Lead |
| 66 - 82 | Iron |
| 83 - 90 | Silver |
| 91 - 93 | Gold |
| 94 - 95 | Platinum |
| 96 - 98 | Other/Mixed |
| 99 | Mithril * |
| 100 | Gemstones * |
* Indicates only that Mithril or Gemstones may be present. Check the Mithril and Gemstones Tables which determine the actual product of the mine.
Mithril
| 1d10 | Product |
|---|---|
| 1-5 | Silver (highest quality) |
| 6-8 | Gold (highest quality) |
| 9 | Platinum (highest quality) |
| 10 | Mithril |
Gemstones
| % Roll | Product |
|---|---|
| 1-25 | Ornamental Stones |
| 26-50 | Semi-precious Stones |
| 51-70 | Fancy |
| 71-90 | Precious |
| 91-94 | Gems |
| 95-96 | Jewels |
| 97-99 | Roll twice |
| 100 | Roll three times |
Quality
Next is to determine the quality of the product(s) discovered. Metals
The quality of the metal is equal to the number of coins that can be produced from it by a single miner in one week.
Metal Quality
| 1d10 | Copper | Iron | Silver | Gold | Platinum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 | 200 | 25 | 10 | 5 |
| 2 | 200 | 300 | 50 | 25 | 10 |
| 3 | 250 | 500 | 100 | 50 | 20 |
| 4 | 300 | 700 | 200 | 100 | 40 |
| 5 | 350 | 900 | 300 | 200 | 75 |
| 6 | 400 | 1,200 | 400 | 300 | 100 |
| 7 | 500 | 1,600 | 500 | 400 | 250 |
| 8 | 750 | 2,000 | 750 | 500 | 400 |
| 9 | 1,000 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 750 | 800 |
| 10* | 2,000 | 4,000 | 2,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 |
* Roll 1d10 again, If another 10 results, the mine is a pure vein of the highest quality and requires no smelting. If 1-9 is rolled, the metal must be smelted as normal.
If you sell the ore without smelting, the selling price can be no more than 25% of the value of the pure metal.
Gemstones
The quality of gemstones is equal to the number and type of stones that can be produced by a single miner in one week. In addition to the listed values below, there is a 1% chance per week of operation per miner, that he finds an exceptional stone whose value is equal to the "Average Uncut Value per Stone" multiplied by 1d100.
Gemstone Quality
| Class | Number of Gems | Average Uncut Value per Gem |
|---|---|---|
| Ornamental | 3d10 | 1 gp |
| Semi-precious | 3d6 | 5 gp |
| Fancy | 1d12-1 | 10 gp |
| Precious | 1d10-1 | 50 gp |
| Gems | 1d6-1 | 100 gp |
| Jewels | 1d4-1 | 500 gp |
You can also determine the exact types of stone you can produce by rolling on one of the following tables:
| % Roll | Stone |
|---|---|
| 1-8 | Azurite |
| 9-16 | Banded Agate |
| 17-24 | Blue Calcite |
| 25-32 | Eye Agate |
| 33-40 | Hematite |
| 41-48 | Lapis Lazuli |
| 49-56 | Malachite |
| 57-64 | Moss Agate |
| 65-73 | Obsidian |
| 74-82 | Rhodocrosite |
| 83-91 | Tiger Eye Agate |
| 92-00 | Turquoise |
| % Roll | Stone |
|---|---|
| 1-7 | Bloodstone |
| 8-15 | Carnelian |
| 16-23 | Chalcedony |
| 24-31 | Chrysoprase |
| 32-39 | Citrine Quartz |
| 40-47 | Jasper |
| 48-55 | Moonstone |
| 56-59 | Onyx |
| 60-67 | Quartz Crystal |
| 68-75 | Rose Crystal |
| 76-83 | Sardonyx |
| 84-91 | Smoky Quartz |
| 92-00 | Zircon |
| % Roll | Stone |
|---|---|
| 1-12 | Alexandrite |
| 13-25 | Amber |
| 26-38 | Amethyst |
| 39-51 | Crysoberyl |
| 52-64 | Flourite |
| 65-77 | Jade |
| 78-90 | Jet |
| 91-00 | Tourmaline |
| % Roll | Stone |
|---|---|
| 1-25 | Aquamarine |
| 26-50 | Blue Spinel |
| 51-75 | Peridot |
| 76-00 | Topaz |
| % Roll | Stone |
|---|---|
| 1-25 | Garnet |
| 26-50 | Jacinth |
| 51-75 | Opal |
| 75-00 | Red Spinel |
| % Roll | Stone |
|---|---|
| 1-25 | Diamond |
| 26-50 | Emerald |
| 51-75 | Ruby |
| 76-00 | Sapphire |
Maintenance
Maintaining a mining operation (1d4-1 x 100 gp) per week of material cost (shovels, picks, beams, etc.). Other things (including guards and miners) are not included in these numbers.
Lifetime
The Lifetime of a mine is secretly determined by the GM and gives you the length of time the mine will produce before depletion. Roll 1d100 at the start of the mining operation, the result being the number of weeks the mine can be worked. If the result doubles, add another 1d100 weeks, etc.
Overseeing Operation
If a character oversees a mining operation, he must do a Profession (miner) check (DC 20). If failed or if the mining operations are not supervised, the mine will only produce half the normal value. The Operator must be a player character with Mining skills, Expert levels, or NPC expert. Miners can be commoners or Experts. If you want to guard your Mine, you will likely employ Warriors.