So you turn to the Designing Encounters chapter. There's some guidance for what to give out for treasure, but it keeps giving general categories like "Jewelry, Minor" and "Mundane Gear." You find yourself looking for more inspiration. And a list that has all the different nonmagical items ranked by value.
Well, look no further! Below is a list of selected, inspiring items across a lot of different categories. None of it is magic, though spell components and alchemy items certainly show up.
How to Use This List
First, find the value of the treasure for your encounter. A series of encounters tends to concentrate the loot from all the encounters in the series in one or two places. For instance, a tribe of goblins might have a cave where they keep looted trade goods (half the treasure) and a tribal chieftain wearing valuable jewels and carrying a magic item (the other half). The other rooms and encounters might have very little if any treasure.Second, “spend” the amount set aside for non-magical treasure on the most expensive mundane items possible from this list. Never “buy” more than ten mundane items for a single set of treasure. The fewer the better, to keep the players intrigued. Try to give the items a little story as you go "shopping" down the list. Look for themes, and pick items across themes.
This list is designed for inspiration, not to be exhaustive. It's long enough as it is! Don't confine yourself to it.
After the list is an example of how to use it to liven up your adventure's treasure. The example shows how being thoughtful about mundane items can add a lot of depth and entire subplots to even the simplest adventure.
If you can think of inspiring items for me to add, tweet them at me @RunAGame or type them in comments below!
10-25gp
EQUIPMENT
10gp: Ten empty glass
vials, 20 days of trail rations, 5 days elven trail rations, 5 sunrods, 5
daggers, 2 common musical instruments, 2 sets of cleric’s vestments, a hooded
lantern and miner’s pick; portable ram; 50’ of silk rope; a tent; an explorer’s
outfit; a short sword; a lance; average loaded dice; map-maker’s kit; ten
javelins; 100 crossbow bolts
15gp: Blank wizard's spellbook; manacles; a longsword; a
small buckler; 3 bolas; cutlass; scimitar; trident
25gp: Silver holy
symbol; hourglass; Two bullseye lanterns with ten one-pints flasks of oil
COMMODITIES
10gp: Fancy cloth dye (enough for 20 yd); one pound of
chocolate; two pounds of salt; 20lb of copper, garlic, mint, mustard, oregano,
or tobacco; 10lb of allspice, basil, cinnamon, cloves, dill, honey, maple
syrup, nutmeg, or rosemary;
25gp: One large common animal pelt;
PRECIOUS
METALS
10gp: Two pounds of silver (small silver figurine; small
silver box; silver ewer), or 100sp in a small chest.
ART
OBJECTS AND BOOKS
10gp: A bottle of fine wine; 2 bottles of good quality
applejack; a book of 20 songs; a book of fairy tales; a silver serving tray; 5
gallon barrel of mead
15gp: A common music box; a false eye; a book of recipes;
25gp: A locking diary (blank or with plot in it); a book of legends; set of finely carved dominoes; tea ceremony set; a bottle of absinthe; keg of ale
ALCHEMY
AND POISON
10gp: Flask of acid; a tindertwig; buoyant balloon; 2 doses
of vermin repellant; 50 whistling arrows
25gp: Flask of holy water; alchemy crafting kit; can of 5 applications of alchemical grease; one dose of smelling salts; jar of good quality invisible ink; smoke pellet; a trip arrow
TRANSPORTATION
AND ANIMALS
10gp: 2 pack saddles, a small animal cage, a riding saddle; a
small cage with a rare songbird in it;
GEMS
10gp: Agates; azurite; blue quartz; hematite; lapis lazuli;
malachite; obsidian; rhodochrosite; tigereye; turquoise; freshwater (irregular)
pearl
SPELL
COMPONENTS
25gp: Gold dust worth
25gp (component for Arcane Lock or Fire Trap); Onyx worth 25gp (Animate Dead
requires one such stone for every hit die of undead to be animated); fleece and
jade dust worth 25gp worth 25gp (component for Programmed Image);
50gp
EQUIPMENT
Masterwork manacles; a healer's kit; a disguise kit; a heavy
crossbow; a steel vanity mirror; superior loaded dice; studded leather armor;
parade armor; a heavy mace and a warhammer; 250 arrows
COMMODITIES
Five cows; 25lb of chilles, cardamom, cumin, fennel, ginger,
pepper, saffron or vanilla; flash powder; caviar
PRECIOUS
METALS
One pound of gold (pair of gold dice, golden holy symbol,
golden key, gold nugget) or 50gp in a sack
JEWELRY,
ART OBJECTS AND BOOKS
A fancy false eye; a grand book of songs; a brass face mask;
a mahogany bracelet inlaid with silver in geometric patterns; simple ebony hoop
earrings; an ivory bracelet carved with banyan trees studded with a peridot gems;
a fine copper ring that looks like knotted rope; a brass chain necklace
ALCHEMY
AND POISON
Vial of antitoxin; a tanglefoot bag; flask of anointing
oil; linen cloth containing five star candle fireworks; 100 incendiary bolts or
arrows
TRANSPORTATION
AND ANIMALS
Pony with saddle, saddlebags, bit and bridle; rowboat with
oars; trained falcon with hood and perch; tame parrot on a perch;
GEMS
Bloodstone; carnelian; chalcedony; chrysoprase; citrine;
jasper; moonstone; onyx; peridot; rock crystal (clear quartz); sard; sardonyx;
rose, smoky, or star rose quartz; zircon
SPELL
COMPONENTS
50gp of ruby dust (component for Continual Flame); 50gp of
diamond dust (component for Nondetection); 50gp of gold dust (component for
Wall of Iron); onyx gem worth at least 50gp (one per hit die of undead created
is needed for Create Undead);
100-400gp
EQUIPMENT
100gp: A magnifying glass; a masterwork instrument;
masterwork thieves' tools; a greatsword; antidote kit; two bladed sword; chain
shirt;
200-400gp: Darkwood buckler (203gp); Breastplate (200gp); splint mail (200gp); Masterwork dagger (302gp), masterwork greatsword (350gp), greataxe (320gp) or falchion (375gp); masterwork composite (+0) longbow (400gp); five adamantine arrows (300gp); masterwork hand crossbow (400gp); masterwork breastplate (350gp)
COMMIODITIES
100gp: A large exotic pelt or hide; ten square yards of silk;
ten pounds of darkwood planks
300gp: 50 square yards of sailcloth
PRECIOUS
METALS
100gp: Twenty pounds of silver (two silver bars, silver
dinner service for four, solid life-sized silver statue of a cat or eagle,
solid ornamental silver greatsword, solid silver coat of arms) or 1,000sp in a
large chest; or two pounds of gold (100gp in a small chest)
300gp: 1lb cylinder of adamantine
JEWELRY,
ART OBJECTS AND BOOKS
100gp: A deck of beautifully painted playing or divining
cards; empty puzzle box of moderate (DC 15) complexity; a case of fine wine
(worth 100gp altogether); four books on ancient religions (25gp each); folio of
rare lost poems; a never before heard musical score; heart-wrenching tragedy
play; small landscape painting; large portrait of the second emperor; 25lb
marble bust of a great composer; a silver armband studded with onyx; a silver
ring with a smooth jade stone and “joy” engraved in elvish; a necklace with a
large rose quartz; a silver brooch of a butterfly with amethyst stones; a gold
brooch shaped like a leaf; a silver brooch shaped like a skull with moonstone
eyes; a gold chain necklace; a copper necklace hung with four citrines; a
silver beer stein
ALCHEMY
AND POISON
100gp: An everburning torch; five flasks of alchemist's fire;
one dose of bloodroot poison; two doses of troll oil; jar of 5 applications of
alchemical glue; jar of 5 applications of alchemical solvent; 5 smokesticks;
200-400gp: Seven skyrocket fireworks (350gp); one dozen thunderstones (360) 3 doses of arsenic (360); 3 doses of black adder venom (360gp); jug (12 doses) of defoliant (360gp); one dose of shadow essence poison (250gp); one dose of giant wasp poison (210gp)
TRANSPORTATION
AND ANIMALS
100gp: Light horse with riding saddle, saddlebags, and 2
weeks of feed in a feedbag; one ox and a medium wagon; cage with four tiny
hunting spiders in it; studded leather barding for a horse; Chariot or
Carriage, or note/map showing where to find a hidden one for the taking; light
horse with saddle, saddlebags, bit and bridle; light horse, cart, and harness
200-400gp: Heavy horse with bit and bridle only; riding dog with exotic saddle, saddlebags, and feedbag with kibble for 2 weeks; heavy wagon with a team of four oxen; tame lion; ten sheep; Heavy warhorse with military saddle, leather barding, saddlebags, bit and bridle (400gp);
GEMS
100gp: Amber; amethyst; chrysoberyl; coral; red or brown-green
garnet; jade; jet; white, golden, pink, or silver pearl; red, red-brown, or
deep green spinel; tourmaline
SPELL
COMPONENTS
100gp: Diamond dust worth 100gp (component for Restoration); Granite
and diamond dust worth 250gp (component for Stoneskin); eye ointment worth
250gp (component for True Seeing); incense worth 250gp (component for Legend
Lore);
500gp
EQUIPMENT
Half-plate (600gp); four sets of chainmail (600gp); two
darkwood shields (514gp)
PRECIOUS
METALS
Ten pounds of gold (one gold bar, diminutive solid gold idol,
tiny hollow gold idol) or a ten pound rod of cold iron; One pound of platinum
(big platinum key, diminutive platinum box, four inch platinum tablet, platinum
chalice); one pound rod of Mithral; 500gp in a medium sized chest, or 50pp in a
small felt bag
JEWELRY,
ART OBJECTS, AND BOOKS
Gold earrings with large red garnets; historic antique map of
a well known city by a famous cartographer; large still life of a poisoner’s
bench; large tapestry of a famous battle; 100lb marble statue of a famous
Halfling; 100lb carved wood statue of an enraged mohrg; rare book of a
mariner’s travels; platinum brooch shaped like a cat; gold pin of a long-lost
family crest with a small topaz in it; necklace of freshwater pearls; hat pin
with a beautiful blue spinel; platinum coat buttons; gold belt buckle with an
alexandrite gem; fine elf-made gold boot buckles; delicate mithral jacket
buttons; gold earrings with and black pearls carved to look like skulls;
necklace with a smooth violet garnet with the ancient dwarvish word-rune for
“loyalty” carved into it; a shelf of ten rare books worth 50gp each
ALCHEMY
AND POISON
Five doses of greenblood oil poison; one dose of wolfsbane
poison; 100lb carboy (10 doses) of embalming fluid;
TRANSPORTATION
AND ANIMALS
Five light horses with saddles, saddlebags, bits and bridles,
and 2 weeks feed in a feedbag, each; heavy warhorse with heavy chariot and
harness
GEMS
Alexandrite; aquamarine; violet garnet; black pearl; deep
blue spinel; golden yellow topaz
SPELL
COMPONENTS
Black pearl worth 500gp (to be crushed as a component for
Circle of Death); Ruby dust worth 500gp (component for Forcecage);
1,000-2,00gp
EQUIPMENT
Spyglass (1000gp); water clock (1000gp); full plate armor
(1500gp); mithral buckler (1155gp); mithral tower shield (1180gp); masterwork
full plate armor (1650gp); 20 adamantine arrows (1200gp)
PRECIOUS
METALS
1,000gp: Two hundred pounds of silver (twenty silver bars,
life-sized hollow silver statue of a humanoid, silver dinner service for a
banquet of forty) or twenty pounds of gold (small idol, gold sphere); or
1,000gp in a medium-sized chest; or 100pp in a small chest
JEWELRY,
ART OBJECTS, AND BOOKS
1,000gp: Intricate (DC 20, three layers) puzzle box
containing a gold ring set with a deep blue spinel worth 500gp; a
floor-to-ceiling bookshelf with a small library of fifty books (thirty worth
10gp, ten worth 20gp, and ten worth 50gp); mithral cincture with dwarven runes;
heavy gold chain with an emerald pendant; solid gold face mask of a wolf or skull;
platinum armbands studded with red spinel gems; small ruby pendant on gold
chain; necklace of jade; platinum belt; gold moon medallion set with a blue
sapphire;
ALCHEMY
AND POISON
1,000gp: 10 doses of
belladonna poison; 5 doses of large scorpion venom;
1,500gp: dragon bile poison; deathblade poison (1800gp); 20 doses of drow poison (75gp each); 10 doses of medium scorpion venom; glass bottle of insanity mist (1 dose)
TRANSPORTATION
AND ANIMALS
1,000gp: banded
barding for a horse; tame elephant;
1,500gp: Two heavy warhorses with chain shirt barding, military saddles, lances, saddlebags, bit, bridle, and feedbags with 2 weeks of food each
GEMS
1,000gp: Emerald; white, black, or fire opal; blue sapphire;
fiery yellow or rich purple corundum; blue or black star sapphire
SPELL
COMPONENTS
1,000gp: Diamond dust worth 1000gp (component of
Restoration); sapphire worth 1000gp (component for Instant Summons); 1000 gp
jacinth (component for Astral Projection);
1,500gp: Diamond worth 1500gp (component for Limited Wish);
3,000-6,000gp
EQUIPMENT
Mithral masterwork breastplate (4350gp); Adamantine chain
shirt (5250gp); adamantine warhammer (3,312gp), adamantine greatsword (3350gp),
adamantine dagger (3302gp),
PRECIOUS
METALS
5,000gp: One hundred pounds of gold (ten gold bars, solid
gold statue of a cat or eagle, solid gold coat of arms, solid gold staff, small
solid gold chest); or one hundred pounds of cold iron plates; or 500pp in a
medium-sized chest
JEWELRY,
ART OBJECTS, AND BOOKS
5,000gp: A full library of 6 shelves with 240 books (150
worth 10gp; 50 worth 20gp; 35 worth 50gp; and 5 worth 150gp); a dead king’s
missing last will and testament; a heavy gold scepter with a fist-sized violet
garnet gem; a platinum crown studded with sapphires; an adamantine armband
etched against all probability with celestial poetry honoring a long lost god;
a gold crown set with diamonds; a darkwood scepter that seems to have been
grown holding a ruby eye; a platinum tablet of holy prayers; a solid gold
lance; darkwood throne set with glittering yellow topaz; ebony throne carved
with skulls with eyes of shifting fire opal; astral diamond pendant; periapt of
a mouse-sized black star sapphire; masterwork longsword in a platinum scabbard
set decked with two hundred eyes (cat’s eye chrysoberyls)
ALCHEMY
AND POISONS
Seven doses of purple worm poison (700gp each; 4900gp total)
TRANSPORTATION
AND ANIMALS
Giant owl (6,000gp); full plate barding for a horse
(6,000gp); heavy young stallion warhorse of a rare champion breed with full
plate barding, military saddle, masterwork lance, saddlebag, bit, bridle, and
feedbags with 2 weeks of food (7.000gp); Combat trained riding hippogriff with
exotic saddle and tack (5,000gp)
GEMS
5000gp: clearest bright green emerald; diamond; jacinth;
ruby; huge versions of lower-tier gems (e.g. “largest sapphire you’ve ever
seen”); unique fantasy-world gems (e.g. astral diamond, haunted jade, balor’s
eye)
SPELL
COMPONENTS
Diamond worth 5000gp (component for Raise Dead); 5000gp of
diamond dust (component of Greater Restoration);
10,000gp
EQUIPMENT
Mithral full plate (10,650gp); adamantine breastplate
(10,350gp); Adamantine full plate (16,650gp)
PRECIOUS
METALS
One ton of silver (a king's treasury with ten large chests of
10,000sp each, a life-sized solid silver statue of a man on horseback; an
elaborate solid silver throne; a solid silver idol of a dragon or god); or
200lb of gold (twenty ten-pound ingots, a chest full of gold nuggets); or
10,000gp in a large treasure chest; or 1,000pp in a medium-sized treasure chest
GEMS
Small chest of 100 medium-quality gemstones
ALCHEMY
AND POISONS
2 doses of black lotus extract (9,000gp); 3 doses of wyvern
poison (9,000gp);
TRANSPORTATION
AND ANIMALS
Sailing Ship, Longship, Galley, or map to a hidden ship or
galley nearby
SPELL
COMPONENTS
Diamond worth 10,000gp (component for Resurrection); 10,000gp
in rare incense and offerings (component for calling a creature with Gate, in
addition to other offerings needed to secure its services);
25,000gp
PRECIOUS
METALS
Fifty pounds of platinum (five platinum bars, small solid
platinum idol, small solid platinum altar); quarter ton of gold (man-sized
hollow gold statue, golden anvil); or 2,500pp in a medium-sized treasure chest;
or five medium treasure chests each containing 5,000 gold pieces
TRANSPORTATION
AND ANIMALS
Five combat-trained hippogriffs with exotic saddles and tack;
Warship or map to a hidden ship nearby
SPELL
COMPONENTS
Diamond worth 25000gp (component for True Resurrection,
Miracle, or Wish);
50,000gp
PRECIOUS METALS
A half-ton of gold (a man-sized statue of gold, solid gold
altar, hollow gold idol of a Balor or dragon; solid gold sarcophagus); 5,000pp
in a large treasure chest; or five large treasure chests containing 10,000 gold
pieces each; a 10x10 space covered with 50,000 gold piece coins; or a huge
(15x15) pile of half a million silver piece coins.
TRANSPORTATION
AND ANIMALS
Example
Your adventure hook for tonight's game is that a small town offered to pay the PCs 50gp to wipe out the goblins that have been killing and robbing merchants on the road. They can keep any loot they find, too. You draw a small dungeon for the goblin hideout. Your rough encounter design is this:
- Three goblin sentries at the cave entrance (CR 1)
- Three more goblins guarding stolen trade goods in a big side room (CR 1)
- An empty room with a trash heap with no threats or treasure
- The goblin chieftain (max HP goblin) and his five best skirmishers planning the next raid (CR 2) in his secure chamber.
Two CR 1 and one CR 2 encounter have 260+260+550=1,070gp of loot. You decide that there are four Potions of Cure Light Wounds – 50gp each, 200gp total – with the Chieftain. That leaves 870gp of treasure. You want to apportion 325gp for a cave full of looted trade goods and 475gp to give out for a goblin chieftain’s non-magical treasure. The PCs will get 50gp from the townsfolk. That leaves 20gp, which you use for your sentries.
You go "shopping" on this list and pick out stuff for your treasure piles. Then you go back and forth, making changes as the items you select as they inspire you to give them stories:
- 50gp for the Reward: The town will give the PCs 50gp for clearing out the goblins.
- 20gp for the Goblin Sentry Encounter (3 goblins): You select a set of average loaded dice (10gp). You start thinking about the goblins gambling, and so you fill the rest out in low-value coins that they're gambling with: 85sp, 150cp,
- 325gp of Looted Trade Goods (3 goblin warriors, 12 goblin civilians): You pick the ox and cart, since that makes sense for goblins robbing a trade route. So you have one ox. What happened to the other oxen? Maybe the goblins ate them. Now you have one grief-stricken ox, three inexpertly butchered ox carcasses (that the goblins have been eating), and a medium wagon containing four bear skins (25gp each, 100gp total), a silver holy symbol (25gp), and a bolt of 10 square yards of silk (100gp). So maybe the goblins killed a clothier and a cleric. That's something to consider. Now, if this is where the goblins slaughter and eat their meat, there might be goblin civilians here. You consider that they're not worth XP, and slaughtering them would be a Chaotic and Evil act. So the trade off is maybe the PCs, if they act evil, can cut the right ears off the goblins and act like bigger heroes in town for saying they killed 24 goblins instead of 12.
- 475gp of Treasure and 200gp of Expendable Restorative Items found on the Goblin Chieftain (6 goblin warriors): You decide to give the chieftain a set of small breastplate (200gp) which is a popular armor choice that level 1 PCs usually want to find in a dungeon; plus it beefs up the chief without adding any hard work on your part. You select some jewelry and clothes for him: A silver armband studded with onyx (100gp), ebony hoop earrings (50gp), two sets of cleric’s vestments worn to look important (we had a cleric theme going); a purse containing a dose of bloodroot poison (100gp), 2gp, 27sp, and 30cp; and a belt pouch containing the four Potions of Cure Light Wounds you had decided to give him. Now you've got a story for your potions, too: Signs point to the goblins having killed a cleric.
As you can see, deciding what the mundane treasure is helps you refine your encounters. Watch what happens when we re-write the encounters, taking into account all the details we added while "shopping" for treasure!
We got the idea that the goblins have hijacked a clothier’s supply wagon (and eaten three of the oxen) and murdered a cleric (who had some healing potions). Maybe the leather armor the other goblins are wearing is just crude stuff hacked together from the clothier’s furs and pelts (there were certainly more than four on that wagon to begin with!).
So now we can go back and write a murdered cleric and a waylaid clothier into the story. Maybe the clothier’s client is the one who hired the PCs instead of some generic villager. The clothier’s client might own a silk orchard, which defines the town with its primary export.
Now the cleric... Maybe the town has a church now missing a cleric, or a shrine that pilgrims of the cleric’s religion visit. What religion was that cleric? Could it have been a good cleric, leading the PCs to visit the shrine to bring news of his death? In that case, you can put more story hooks at the church or shrine.
Could it have been an evil cleric on some business related to another plot in your adventure or campaign? That sounds good. You have a plot involving Asmodeus trying to corrupt the king of this land. You add a journal with clues to advance the other plot, and put her corpse and the clue in the trash-heap room.
- The hook is a wealthy silk grower in the village has asked the PCs to head down the road to find the goblins who have been waylaying the merchants visiting town. He'll give the PCs 50gp if they kill the goblins.
- The first encounter has three goblin sentries playing dice (CR 1). Two of the goblins are getting angry because the third keeps winning (because he’s brought loaded dice!). The PCs can sneak past while they argue or ambush them while they’re distracted (+5 to Stealth checks to ambush or sneak past them). If the PCs get the drop on the sentries, they can capture them instead of fighting them.
- A goblin cook making ox-flesh stew seasoned with tanned hides, 12 goblin civilians (elderly goblins and children), and 3 goblin warriors guarding some stolen trade goods (CR 1). The civilians will flee if the PCs let them. Slaughtering them is a chaotic and evil act, but it would let the PCs brag about killing two dozen goblins. Back in town, when they claim their reward, the silk grower will ask them if they killed "all the goblins." If the PCs explain that they killed half and let the other half run off, he won't be nearly as impressed as if they say they slaughtered them all. But he'll still pay. If they prove that they slaughtered 24 goblins single-handedly, such as by showing severed ears or something, he might give them an extra 10gp, but they will have committed a chaotic and evil act.
- The goblin chieftain and his five best skirmishers planning the next raid (CR 2) in his secure chamber. The chieftain is wearing that breastplate, so his AC is increased to 20, but his speed is reduced to 20’. He also has 11hp (the max roll for his hit die) instead of the usual 6. Finally, he carries four Potions of Cure Light Wounds, which he will use each time he is wounded, until his skirmishers are killed, at which point he will surrender. The PCs will want to put a stop to this, of course, so they can keep those potions for themselves!
- The trash heap room now has a clue to another plot. The goblins killed a cleric of Asmodeus on her way to town on some shady business. The PCs have her journal, and if they can figure out who the unnamed contact in town she was visiting was, they can find out exactly how corrupt this town has become.
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