Comments on: Seven More ways to Spice up Your Treasure

By: grieve

grieve — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:02:42 +0000

I was running a high level campaign in D&D 3.5 and one of the problems was that the generation tables created a quantity of items that was ridiculous. I handled the problem in game. They were bound by their church to turn in all treasure they found. The treasure would then be accounted for (by psychometry I guess), and returned to its rightful owners. Any treasure deemed "evil" was destroyed by the priests. The team was then given whatever was left over. The players would get to see what was given back to the rightful owners, what was destroyed, and of course what they got to keep. The church then strongly hinted that donations would be accepted. I would often cull out 70% of the treasure. I was surprised by how well the players went along with it. The paladin even donated most of his treasure back to the church.

By: nolandda

nolandda — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:47:22 +0000

Some of the more treasured items in my campaigns have been convenience/appearance related minor magical items that have almost zero effect on game balance. Things like: A ring that repels mosquitoes Boots that keep your feet dry in the rain Jewelry with stones that always perfectly match/complement the wearer's eyes. A book that has a new story each time you finish the previous one so it never gets boring. The key is to keep alert and remember the items are there to allow the character to benefit from it in terms of a little more spotlight time: i.e. "While traveling through the swamp everyone but those near Joe the Rogue are being constantly harassed by insects." or "The Lord Mayor comments on how nicely Sally the Cleric's Jewels complement her eyes." Joe's player will enjoy the opportunity to lord his character's insect free hike over the other players and they will squabble over who gets to walk near him.

By: pseudodragon

pseudodragon — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:48:44 +0000

I've used the spontaneous magic option before, but I didn't have the effect immediately known to the player or the character. Instead, the weapon functioned normally against most foes, but suddenly began to glow when near the quest monster. The PC found that his blows dealt more damage and caused great pain to the target of his quest. This part-time magical effect was similar to the sword "Sting" in "The Hobbit" rather than the traditional D&D approach to "all magic, all the time." The effect ended once the quest was fulfilled. Of course, more permanent, conditional magic items are a good way to limit magic escalation in the campaign and keep items unique, but that is a subject for another discussion.

By: Scott Martin

Scott Martin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:17:59 +0000

My wife is trying out treasure cards (she's using the pretty ones from Piazo), but it's been inconsistent-- we have cards for some items but not others. The particular utility of treasure cards seems to be for portable items that get traded around-- like potions and scrolls-- with the added bonus that you can collect potions as they're drunk, so you don't have to worry about people not keeping count-- or keeping it on their character sheet after they passed it off to someone else. Spontaneous magic, like your dragon warmed shield, has a good chance of making the players feel special. Because enchantment is normally it's a long process, it really underlines their heroism. I like magic materials-- in 3.5 I had some enchanted stones that offset the a set XP cost for item crafting. I didn't make them feel special-- but I should have. Names and histories are great-- you're right, the Rolf's Wyvernslayer is a lot catchier and more memorable than most stacks of enchantment.