The Founder's Rings

Here's one of the beautiful and unexpected delights that came about organically in my best D&D game ever; one of my players invested a large sum of his own gold to create in-game mementos for the founders of the adventuring guild.

It's important to note that my game runs in real-time on a calendar, and it took real-life months between the time the player told me he was creating the rings, and when the players actually received them. One small tragedy is that one of the founding players had almost entirely stopped playing by the time his ring arrived.

This is a good example of the organic creative relationship between myself and my players; they would ask if they could do something, I would say yes and describe any challenges they would need to overcome, and then we'd figure out how to make it happen.
 
Founder’s Rings : The text the player wrote
Created by Malger Zoilus as gifts for the founders of the Order of the Green Dragon, when he returns in July.
(Original text was player-created, and slightly modified by me for presentation.)


The design of each ring is a dragon made of platinum with a golden head, wrapping around into a circle to make the ring. The scales are the finest emeralds (it’s a green dragon) and inside the mouth of the dragon is a large gemstone. There is a small maker’s mark on the inside of the band: Two dwarven runes, the signature of a great craftsdwarf. The ring is finely crafted, a work of art unto itself, and worthy of any king’s finger.
 
Its value is 2,500gp.
Nizan gets topaz
Bollo gets ruby
Vulscreek gets amethyst
Shandar gets sapphire
Swain gets opal



Here is the in-world explanation I wrote for my own benefit, to keep the lore straight. The players never saw this.

Founder’s Rings : The text I wrote for myself
There is an old craftsdwarf that most know only as the Forge King. His true name is Radrugar Strongarm who is said to be the best jewelry maker in all of Telluria. Since the fall of the dwarf-holds in 1718, his place in the Old District of Adamas is ever-warmed by his forge-furnaces. Radrugar has taught many apprentices in his lifetime, and each has gone on to be a legend in their own right. Emperors and kings alike seek Radrugar's services. They offer him vast hoards of wealth; flocks of animals, vaults of gold and gems, harems of women; but old Radrugar only takes commissions that interest him. Owning an item forged by his hand is a true honor and privilege.
Radrugar’s only son, despite being impeccably crafted, was stillborn*. This is the great tragedy of Radrugar Strongarm.
 
*In my world, dwarves don't reproduce sexually, but by crafting their offspring out of stone and precious gems. Sometimes the process fails, leaving a "stillborn" dwarf. It's considered unthinkably taboo in Dwarven culture to make more than a single son.
 
Here is the text message I sent to my players when the rings were completed, with a letter written by the player.

A letter awaits you when you return to the guild house in Adamas. It’s sealed with an ornate “M.Z.” The letter is light, but slightly bulky. Inside you find a folded handkerchief and a hand-written letter. It says:
 
Dear friends,
I have recently come back from my trading trip, where for once in my life I was able to obtain wealth that wasn’t from risking my frail life. Don’t be concerned however- I am still as malnourished as when I first left. Despite all the time I spent away, I did not forget where I came from, and it is undoubtedly true that I would still be sleeping in that alleyway in Muntburg were it not for you all. As much as I love that dirty disgusting alley, I also enjoy experiencing the pleasures of a warm soft bed and a full stomach (although my body is still all twigs and sticks). As such, upon my return, I had the finest rings in the land made as a token of my appreciation to the founders of our guild. Should we drop dead tomorrow, go into the next life with the solace that you helped pull a man out of the bottom of society. Wear the rings with pride, but most importantly, never forget where you came from.
 
Yours truly,
Malger Zoilus
 

Founder’s Rings : The text I wrote for the other players
Unfolding the handkerchief, you find a ring. Its design is a dragon made of platinum with a golden head, wrapping around itself and thus making the ring shape.  The ring is extremely detailed; every individual scale is a single minuscule emerald. Inside the mouth of the dragon is a large gemstone. There is a small maker’s mark on the inside of the band: Two dwarven runes, the signature of the legendary craftsdwarf Radrugar Strongarm. The ring is finely crafted, a work of art unto itself, and worthy of any king’s finger.