Gem Castes & Types - Gem's role within their society

[Morion]

The Gem Homeworld maintains a strict caste system based on gemstone, with each Gem belonging to a larger "type".
So far we know as canon:

Diamonds – The Diamonds are the highest ranking Gems and the matriarchs of the entire species who form Homeworld's "Diamond authority". The Diamonds are believed to be flawless, with no weaknesses by Homeworld society. Diamonds are also much larger than the average Gem, dwarfing all other known Gem types, with only some fusions exceeding them in height.

Sapphires – Rare Gems with foresight that hold aristocratic status. They are trusted advisors to the Diamonds, and it is not unusual for them to have their own Pearls as personal servants.
- Padparadscha sapphire (so far we know, Padparadscha have Retrocognition: Rather than having visions of the future, Padparadscha's visions are of events in the recent past, making her predictions very late. )

Quartzes – Huge, loyal, and intimidating soldiers. They vary in coloration and appearance, but most are broad shouldered, around 6-7 feet tall and have back-length hair. They appear to be high in Homeworld's hierarchy. Unlike the other Gems, quartzes come in varying shapes, names and categories (Rose Quartz, Jasper, Amethyst, Carnelian, and possibly others.).
- Rose Quartzes (All members of this Gem-type are seen as outcasts, thanks to Rose's actions and the Rebellion)
- Amethysts
- Jaspers
- Carnelians
- Agates (A kind of Quartz Gems who are dedicated to "terrify" as described by Yellow Diamond. They also seem to be placed in managerial positions and occupy a social step above the other Quartz Gems - Officers, so to speak)

Rubies –  "common soldiers". They usually come in groups, and most commonly fuse with one another in combat, possibly to compensate for their height, and rarely summon weapons for combat with few exceptions. ( it was revealed that Rubies are typically unintelligent and easily fooled. As Rubies are the Gem equivalent to foot soldiers and common enough to be effectively expendable, high intelligence isn't a necessity. )

Peridots – Peridots are an engineer and technician caste, operating starships, and Kindergarten facilities. Peridots are low-ranking enough that they rarely if ever have their own Pearl servant

Bismuths – Bismuths were made for the purpose of building structures for elite Gems on Gem colonies, such as spires for intellectual Gems and arenas for fighting Gems. They are considered a lower caste, working away to serve the higher ones.

Lapis Lazulis – The purpose of Lapis Lazulis is to terraform as stated by Yellow Diamond. (Peridot states that Lapis Lazulis are typically partial to water and flying.) It is unclear how high they rank in the caste system, though they seem at least roughly equal to Peridots

Pearls –  Peridot stated that Pearls are accessories and made-to-order servants who are just there for standing around, looking nice, taking orders, and holding other Gems' stuff. Peridot also indicates that it is a status symbol to have your own Pearl, and typically only the higher castes can own one. It is also implied by Ruby that Pearls are awarded to Gems who have done honorable deeds. Pearls come in various colors, including blue and yellow, and it is implied that there are varying qualities and that Pearl of the Crystal Gems is an especially fancy one.

Nephrites – Not much is known about what their abilities or role in Gem society is. Nephrite is one of two distinct mineral forms classified as "jade" (the other is jadeite). Pearl once took a Nephrite out of the cockpit of a drop ship during the Rebellion.

Topazes - High-ranking elite, heavy warrirors (When asked why she paired Topaz and Aquamarine together, Rebecca Sugar said it was to show both sides of the very high ranking types of blue and yellow Gems on Homeworld - This indicates that Topaz has a high ranking on Homeworld, but not as high as Aquamarine's.)

Aquamarines - High-ranking aristocrarts

Zircons - Lawyers... (They have a very sharp mind, in the show both Zircon shown using facts and common sense to point the flaws in the historical record of Rose Quartz shattering Pink Diamond

Rutiles - It is possible, they are not so brave Gems (When the Rutile Twins emerged, they weren't supposed to live. However, they did since the other Rutiles ran away from them. ) with the power of Photokinesis (In "Off Colors", the Rutile Twins are shown using their gemstone to project a red light, like a flashlight. They share this ability with Garnet, Pearl, Peridot, "Eyeball", and "Doc". )

Morganites - Commanders (The Fusion Rhodonite - a Pearl and a Ruby Fusion -  mentions an unknown commander Morganite. This Morganite at some point replaced and outcasted Rhodonite's components after discovering they liked to fuse.)

Unknown round green gem – Currently, it is unknown what type of Gem the Centipeetle is. These Gems fly in Gem Spaceships, and started building structures on Gem colonies. - tho' it is possible they are the Emeralds (nothing supports this, but a theory)

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On the site, we have several other Gems, mainly Quartzes, but there are some non-quartz gem-types too!
So, to avoid confusion, lets gather these Gems, and their caste/purpose (aka "Job) and place in the Gem Empire, so everybody would know, and we could avoid confusions!
Experimental Gems are fair play too if they are knwon experiments, not secret ones :3

Please take the time and help us gather these Gems!


UPDATE! - Site exclusive Gems:

Nesosilicates (so far it seems, they are Gems with versatile support services)
- Euclase (outdated Medical Gems, their production stopped -  see below for more details about them)
- Zircon (Technicians, Miscellaneous - see below for more details about them)
- Fibrolite/Sillimanite (Light soldiers - see below for more details about them)
- Pyrope (guards and rank-and-file soldiers - see below for more details about them)
- Olivine

Sorosilicates (yet to be seen, but so far it seems, they are Gems made to survive alone)
- Zoisite (Scouts "lone wolves")
- Vesuvianite/Idocrase (very courageous Soldiers made on Earth - see for Gaspeite for details)

Phyllosilicates (So far they are the Gem showbusines... sort of)
- Chyrsocolla (Bards and Entertainers, see Chyrsocolla/Melody for details)

Halide minerals
- Sylvine/Sylvite (versatile common foot soldiers - see below for details)

Quartzes
- Smoky Quartz
---> Morion variety (Infiltrators and Assassins)
---> Cairngorm variety (yet to be seen)

- Jasper ("Heavy soldiers")
--> Spider Web Jasper (Assassins, Gem Hunters, working/hunting in packs - See Spider for details)
--> Green Jasper ("Heavy soldiers")
---> Heliotrope variety (aka Bloodstone - See Bloodstone (Octi) and Heliotrope for details)
--> Bumble Bee Jasper (These Gems function less as proper soldiers and more like Gladiators and performers - See Bumble Bee for details)

- Prasiolite (There Role is to act as Demolition gems,clearing out foliage or debris for Gem structures,or after combat engagements - see below for details)



Opals (Special soldiers)
- Fire Opal (Defenders, like the Rose Quartzes, Knights with healing powers... essentially Paladins)
- Cherry Opal (Specialized Soldiers, Drop Shock Troopers - see below for details)
- Opalite (synthetic Opal made for specially for White Diamond's Inquisition - theory, yet to be confirmed)

Spinels (yet to be seen)
- White Spinel
- Red Spinel
- Dark Spinel

Beryls (Scientist Gems)
- Golden/Yellow Beryl (Scientist)
- Morganite/Pink Beryl (Scientist, Kindergarten caretaker)
- Red Beryl
- Aquamarine
- Emerald

Sapphires
- Padparascha (Artisan aristocrats without oracular abilites - see below for details)

Sulfurs (Extinct breed of strange Gems)

Ices (Specialized Engineers - see below for details)

Fusions
- Alexandrite
- Gaspeite (Peridot + Vesuvianite)

[njrk97]

((Maybe change the title of this thread to 'Gem Castes:What Gems roles are or something'


Considering I basically looked through every gem on the site while grading them,ill likely inject and keep a eye on this thread aswell. Figure out castes when two people have different roles for a gem, plus potential sub types of Gems aswell. If this threads get expanded enough i may also starting referencing it in character templates and the rules.

Okay so ill inject with my own.

As far as we know (Due to a lack of others making gems like this) Alexandrite seem to be 3/4 way exclusive fusions, often with a quartz being present in the fusion. So its caste is 'Fusion'.

Euclase (beryllium aluminium hydroxide silicate): Are somewhat outdated Medical Gems who were created under Pink Diamond Early in her reign for Earth.These gems acted in some ways as prerequisites for the major production of Rose Quartz as initially Euclases were marginally easier to produce (But still fairly rare and uncommon).

While Rose Quartzs tended to have a priority on healing,Euclases lacked the means to consistently have that power and acted more as 'first aid' gems,patching injuries to the form and temporarily patching cracked gems to stop the crack from spreading or getting worse, until a proper healing power can be used on it. Ironic since the Euclase Models themselves had a uncommonly fragile gemstone.

The Expansion on the Alpha/Primary Kindergarten unearthed resources that made Rose Quartz's productions far easier though, Fundamentally killing the production of Euclase Gems from that point forward.

[Light]

Prototypes of Pearls/ Experimental Pearls - Pearls that were made before a final product. Most of them were created in labs, not in kindergardens. They are ususally weaker, less clever and more childish than normal Pearls. They have problems with powers that all gems have. It is posible to learn how to use them, though. There are still loyal, can learn a lot and try to work as good as posible. For some strange reason they adore life. Scientist still aren't sure why.

Prototypes are suppose to serve till better version will be created. That is why they are ususally shattered later. However some people prefer to use them as power source or something like that. It is rare to see high classed gem with not finished Pearl.

Important thing about the look: Gemstone looks unfinished, it usually has got one or more pits.Their clothes are more simple than the final product's. Prototypes are also shorter than they should look like.

(Example: me ^^)

[Sylvine #2]

Sylvines – (common foot soldiers) They are very similar to Rubies, almost always fighting in an organised squad of four. The roles of each Sylvine in a squad is decided based on their abilities, a Sylvine can be classified as a diamond, a heart, a club, or a spade. A diamond Sylvine is one with great leadership skills, who acts as the captain of a squad. The heart Sylvine is one with great support skills, who acts as a support soldier of a squad. The club Sylvine is one with exceptional close combat capabilities, who acts as the close range soldier of a squad. Lastly, the spade Sylvine is one who excels in fighting from a range, who acts as the ranged soldier of the squad. Typically they are slightly weaker than Rubies with slightly greater intelligence, and tend to get trained with Rubies due to being very similar. This often leads to a hatred towards Rubies, as Sylvines lose against the Rubies constantly in training, simply because they were slightly less strong.

[Zircon]

Zircons - Technicians, Miscellaneous

Zircons are Era 2 gems, which have never had an Era 1 form. They're a young caste that was formed due to their ease of production and declining resources. They're roughly equivalent to Peridots. Zircons tend to stay in their technician role however it's been seen that the occasional Zircon has strayed from that caste and were created for a different reason (See: Zircon Blue). Usually these Zircons that break the caste are physically, mentally, and emotionally different to other Zircons. They also don't have the standard limb enhancers that other Zircons do due to their physical differences. Zircons tend to stand at around 4’7” without their standard issue limb enhancers. With these limb enhancers they're roughly 5’7”. Zircons also come in multiple colors and can serve any of the diamonds.

The most common form is of Zircon is “Jacinth” which is the yellow, red, orange, or brown variety of Zircon. These variations tend to serve under Yellow Diamond as combat or ship technicians. The next variation is “Jargon”, which is a pale, colorless, white, pale yellow, or grey variety of Zircon. These variations tend to serve under Yellow Diamond or White Diamond. The final variation is “Starlite”, which is the blue variety of Zircon. They tend to serve under Blue Diamond. Despite this, it's been seen in Jacinth Kindergartens that certain errors will result in Starlite Zircons (See: Zircon), and other various mistakes in other Kindergartens may lead to other variations of Zircon. Though it has been seen that standard Era 2 Zircons have abilities and can summon weapons, these abilities seem to be lost when their limb enhancers are lost. (See: Zircon.. Again.) The use of Zircons has increased recently as they're used alongside Peridots and can be important if they're designated as combat technicians.

[Fibrolite]

Fibrolite - (Light Soldier) Soldiers who had a signature ability to produce special hands that would control them to act properly. Due to these hands, the gems showed promise of becoming perfect at following orders and allowing for intricate tactics to be learned immediately, however the entire lot of them were recalled and shoved into artefacts after they were discovered to possess defects. They didn't always follow orders the intended way, making them very unreliable, and on top of this every one of them had a defective weapon.

[Cherry Opal]

Cherry Opals - Specialized Soldiers, Drop Shock Troopers

Cherry Opals are older gems, though not too old. The caste is a bit older as well, though they weren't always Soldiers. The first Cherry Opals were actually construction gems that would help lift heavy materials where machines couldn't fit. Eventually Homeworld saw that their strength and durability could be incredibly useful. They began producing them as soldiers, and the first drop shock troopers were produced. Cherry Opals are loyal gems and almost always stay in their caste. They're physically quite large, usually standing somewhere around 6’. They're a bit bulkier due to their purpose but not nearly as bulky as a Quarts. They're also quite smart, which was another reason they were chosen as drop shock troopers. Their ability to form tactics and intelligence mid-combat came in useful. Cherry Opals only come in one variation as of right now. Cherry Opals typically serve under Yellow Diamond though the elite among them are drafted into White Diamond’s ranks.

The intelligence of Cherry Opals also means they can form intricate squads with roles designated by the squad leader. Squads usually consist of 3-7 Cherry Opals and 5-6 squads make up one division. Homeworld usually sends 3 divisions in their first attack wave. Cherry Opals are deployed from ships, each individual Cherry Opal being given a “pod” that will land on the planet, moon, or other various space object below them. They then form up into their divisions, and split off into squads. Cherry Opals may also double up as escorts or bodyguards if no other specialized gem is available though it's not part of their official caste. Cherry Opals are fairly easy to produce, efficient, durable, and powerful. They typically have heavier weapons for their summonable weapons and combat oriented abilities. One common ability among Cherry Opals are “Cherry Bombs” which are small flash or smoke bombs used to disorientate, stun, or cause panic among enemies. The use of Cherry Opals is quite common, and they're almost always in Homeworld’s first wave of attack.

[Agate]

(Posting for the sake of my alts all together)

Pyropes are effectively the same as rubies and sylvines, although they generally lack the same utility. Unlike a ruby or a sylvine that might be taught specific skills like piloting or leading squads, pyropes are generally used only for guarding and acting as rank-and-file soldiers. The advtange they hold is that they tend to be a bit stronger and more resilient, as well they don't generally need constant leadership. You can generally deploy a group of pyropes to a job and trust they will see it done with little to no oversight, unlike rubies or sylvines who seem to be usually deployed in specific squads for maximum effect.

Padparaschas are a type of corundum, the same type of gem sapphires are. They hold a similar aristocratic position in society, and as such are almost as rare as sapphires. They are skilled artisans, specializing in artful design rather than major projects like bismuths. They generally work with hardlight manipulation to create things, often decorating the private rooms of other high-ranked gems and often even the occasional job for the diamonds. As well they are highly skilled in analyzing and recreating designs they have seen, some skilled enough to even recreate items that are simply described to them.

[njrk97]

Mar 27, 2017 15:41:47 GMT Zircon said:

Zircons - Technicians, Miscellaneous

Zircons are Era 2 gems, which have never had an Era 1 form. They're a young caste that was formed due to their ease of production and declining resources. They're roughly equivalent to Peridots. Zircons tend to stay in their technician role however it's been seen that the occasional Zircon has strayed from that caste and were created for a different reason (See: Zircon Blue). Usually these Zircons that break the caste are physically, mentally, and emotionally different to other Zircons. They also don't have the standard limb enhancers that other Zircons do due to their physical differences. Zircons tend to stand at around 4’7” without their standard issue limb enhancers. With these limb enhancers they're roughly 5’7”. Zircons also come in multiple colors and can serve any of the diamonds.

The most common form is of Zircon is “Jacinth” which is the yellow, red, orange, or brown variety of Zircon. These variations tend to serve under Yellow Diamond as combat or ship technicians. The next variation is “Jargon”, which is a pale, colorless, white, pale yellow, or grey variety of Zircon. These variations tend to serve under Yellow Diamond or White Diamond. The final variation is “Starlite”, which is the blue variety of Zircon. They tend to serve under Blue Diamond. Despite this, it's been seen in Jacinth Kindergartens that certain errors will result in Starlite Zircons (See: Zircon), and other various mistakes in other Kindergartens may lead to other variations of Zircon. Though it has been seen that standard Era 2 Zircons have abilities and can summon weapons, these abilities seem to be lost when their limb enhancers are lost. (See: Zircon.. Again.) The use of Zircons has increased recently as they're used alongside Peridots and can be important if they're designated as combat technicians.

May inject here, i was never sure about the concept of fully fledged era two gems yet, it was basically confirmed in the show that Era 2 only sorta happened because of rebellion.

Main thing i was gonna mention was that my Alexandrite fusion is made up of a Zircon who seems to break some of these rules. Mainly she is a Blue Zircon around Pearls height. She is a technician as has been established  but was promoted to under White Diamond at one stage, and while i don't have it set up as much she has probably been around for a while. So maybe she could fall under a Era 1 version or something, as she was a technician but was likely in more of a management position,higher then peridots.

(Potentially Era 1 Versions were harder to produce as such less were made, maybe even have it be that Era 1 had a bias towards creating Blue ones over red ones.)


While im here ill add some other Quartz entires

Prasiolite: While they fall under the Quartz Caste they function somewhat less as soldiers. There Role is to act as Demolition gems,clearing out foliage or debris for Gem structures,or after combat engagements. Like most others they tend to have the Quartz like broad bulky figure.

Bumble Bee Jasper: These Gems function less as proper soldiers and more like Gladiators and performers. Basically they are a sales pitch,or a showroom 'model' of Jaspers.Meant to show off and remind the gem populace why they keep Jaspers and other Quartzs around and what is going to come after them if try to do anything against the Diamonds.If Jaspers are a Sports car, Bumble bee Jaspers are the showroom sports car with the fancy body kit on it. One that is fully functional and can drive and race,but is mostly used just to show off the model.

Spider Web Jasper: Metaphorical 'Bogey men' of Gem kind.Every Diamond has a few as a force, similar to Assassins they are meant to discreetly and quickly get rid of unsavoury individuals. (Noticed you had this is one form already)

Petalite: While these Gems are not technically Quartzs,they are still relevant for Quartz production. They act as Beta Quartzs, when gems first land on a planet they place a singular injector down to get a gauge of the minerals on the planet. A Petalite forming is a indication that the planet has resources to create Quartzs, the injector is simply not in the right region of the planet.



Unrelated,addressed to Morion: Do i have permission to edit the Original post as i see fit, just in case there is any changes i noticed that may need addressing. The main thing that spurred this on is that Euclase production stopped far before the rebellion started. As i mention it basically halted as soon as the Kindergarten was expanded, which likely happened thousand or more years ago (Its hard to pin down timeline stuff because we don't know when gems arrived). So it likely that the production was stopped long before the rebellion. The exact time is irrelevant, it was a few thousand years ago give or take.

[Zircon]

Mar 28, 2017 9:52:29 GMT njrk97 said:

Mar 27, 2017 15:41:47 GMT Zircon said:

Zircons - Technicians, Miscellaneous

Zircons are Era 2 gems, which have never had an Era 1 form. They're a young caste that was formed due to their ease of production and declining resources. They're roughly equivalent to Peridots. Zircons tend to stay in their technician role however it's been seen that the occasional Zircon has strayed from that caste and were created for a different reason (See: Zircon Blue). Usually these Zircons that break the caste are physically, mentally, and emotionally different to other Zircons. They also don't have the standard limb enhancers that other Zircons do due to their physical differences. Zircons tend to stand at around 4’7” without their standard issue limb enhancers. With these limb enhancers they're roughly 5’7”. Zircons also come in multiple colors and can serve any of the diamonds.

The most common form is of Zircon is “Jacinth” which is the yellow, red, orange, or brown variety of Zircon. These variations tend to serve under Yellow Diamond as combat or ship technicians. The next variation is “Jargon”, which is a pale, colorless, white, pale yellow, or grey variety of Zircon. These variations tend to serve under Yellow Diamond or White Diamond. The final variation is “Starlite”, which is the blue variety of Zircon. They tend to serve under Blue Diamond. Despite this, it's been seen in Jacinth Kindergartens that certain errors will result in Starlite Zircons (See: Zircon), and other various mistakes in other Kindergartens may lead to other variations of Zircon. Though it has been seen that standard Era 2 Zircons have abilities and can summon weapons, these abilities seem to be lost when their limb enhancers are lost. (See: Zircon.. Again.) The use of Zircons has increased recently as they're used alongside Peridots and can be important if they're designated as combat technicians.

May inject here, i was never sure about the concept of fully fledged era two gems yet, it was basically confirmed in the show that Era 2 only sorta happened because of rebellion.

Main thing i was gonna mention was that my Alexandrite fusion is made up of a Zircon who seems to break some of these rules. Mainly she is a Blue Zircon around Pearls height. She is a technician as has been established  but was promoted to under White Diamond at one stage, and while i don't have it set up as much she has probably been around for a while. So maybe she could fall under a Era 1 version or something, as she was a technician but was likely in more of a management position,higher then peridots.

(Potentially Era 1 Versions were harder to produce as such less were made, maybe even have it be that Era 1 had a bias towards creating Blue ones over red ones.)


While im here ill add some other Quartz entires

Prasiolite: While they fall under the Quartz Caste they function somewhat less as soldiers. There Role is to act as Demolition gems,clearing out foliage or debris for Gem structures,or after combat engagements. Like most others they tend to have the Quartz like broad bulky figure.

Bumble Bee Jasper: These Gems function less as proper soldiers and more like Gladiators and performers. Basically they are a sales pitch,or a showroom 'model' of Jaspers.Meant to show off and remind the gem populace why they keep Jaspers and other Quartzs around and what is going to come after them if try to do anything against the Diamonds.If Jaspers are a Sports car, Bumble bee Jaspers are the showroom sports car with the fancy body kit on it. One that is fully functional and can drive and race,but is mostly used just to show off the model.

Spider Web Jasper: Metaphorical 'Bogey men' of Gem kind.Every Diamond has a few as a force, similar to Assassins they are meant to discreetly and quickly get rid of unsavoury individuals. (Noticed you had this is one form already)

Petalite: While these Gems are not technically Quartzs,they are still relevant for Quartz production. They act as Beta Quartzs, when gems first land on a planet they place a singular injector down to get a gauge of the minerals on the planet. A Petalite forming is a indication that the planet has resources to create Quartzs, the injector is simply not in the right region of the planet.



Unrelated,addressed to Morion: Do i have permission to edit the Original post as i see fit, just in case there is any changes i noticed that may need addressing. The main thing that spurred this on is that Euclase production stopped far before the rebellion started. As i mention it basically halted as soon as the Kindergarten was expanded, which likely happened thousand or more years ago (Its hard to pin down timeline stuff because we don't know when gems arrived). So it likely that the production was stopped long before the rebellion. The exact time is irrelevant, it was a few thousand years ago give or take.

Yeah, this could definitely work- if you want to talk about it a bit more feel free to pm me 

[Ice]

Ices – (Specialized Engineers) Engineers capable of resisting intense temperature conditions, typically tasked with finding ways of using less habitable areas on planets. They have basic knowledge of ships, but are never seen flying them, only ever repairing them. As well as a decent understanding of various other gem buildings and technology.

[Grand Inquisitor, Mr. O]

Opalite- While only few true Opalites are ever made, being as how they need to be created is rather complex, it isn't too rare to find one. While most who can't control the warp realm abilities to well, will work as Body Guards, pulling important gems out of the material world to the safety of the rift realm.

Any who sh-.......

-Reconnecting............

-Reconnecting.......

-Files have been deleted...

[Fire Agate]

You guys totally left out Agates, who despite being Quartzes themselves are supposed to act as overseers and commander to Homeworld's armies as displayed by Holly Blue Agate and the infamous lyrics "an Agate terrifies!" in What's the Use of Feeling Blue.

[Blue Quartz]

Blue Quartz- Not only a Soldier however a spiritual capable of using fond healing abilities that are used to help in combat, some say that it even could be the solution to corruption if amplified a bit more to the zenith of its ability.

Perma Fusion- Pink Kunzite

[The Scientist, Obsidian]

I knew Morion was racist against Obsidians lol
JK

I'll post mine here later.