d100 - Where is that Treasure Hidden?

As another elaboration to assist with Dungeon Stocking duties, here is a Table I’ve put together of some potential locations to secrete the occasional “Hidden Treasure” that can show up during the process. Many of the entries here also include a bit of “Dungeon Dressing” as well that might help provide ideas for rendering the space in addition to any other contents placed.

Usually when I am stocking this sort of thing, I may include a few subtle Clues or other Tells, but sometimes it has been secreted so skillfully that it might take more thorough investigation of the environment to reveal it. For this reason, I usually don’t factor in these rewards for the purposes of determining whether or not a Dungeon has “enough” Treasure: Those hidden Troves are just a bit of a bonus to reward diligent exploration.

d100 – Sentient Swords

Random Rolls on the Treasure Tables often produce Magical Swords. This is especially common with the Flat Distribution in some of the earlier presentations. Sometimes they might even result in the temptation to place a Sword with a Special Purpose or Intelligence. These Swords often have a slew of additional abilities and some can even communicate via various Languages. I usually assign a Sentient Sword a number from 1-20 (more talkative ones receive a lower number) when this number is rolled on a die in Play, it can serve as a reminder to me to make a comment or quip if appropriate.

The same rules for making NPCs Memorable generally apply to these Treasures. Should a Sword be Sentient, I do like to dress them up a little further by applying a Personality and it is often hard for me to resist adding a few pertinent Powers. They do say that all Magic Swords deserve Names, but I feel that the ones that the Players can communicate with deserve this doubly so at least.

Here's a table of a hundred Swordbound Souls. While lately I’ve been cleaving a little closer to only applying this quality to Magic Swords exclusively, it is often nice to graft them onto other Weapons as well (a Snarky Dagger or Belligerent Battle Axe can be a nice change of pace!)

d100 - Magical Spears

Here are a hundred more ways to flavor some of those Magical Weapons that might end up in those Happy Hoards or the Hungry Hands of Plucky Players: Magic Spears!

d100 - Boastworthy Bounties & Intriguing Enticements

Bounty Hunting and Monster-Slaying For Hire are sometimes useful ways for Players to augment their coffers as a periodic change of pace from those unplundered Dungeons. Particularly during the Wilderness Tier, where Treasure can sometimes be a little trickier to track down, these avenues are sometimes more appealing than other lucrative options like turning to Banditry.

There is usually a Reward in the form of Treasure, sometimes pre-arranged, other times negotiated. For these, I often select a Treasure Type (usually based on the Average Values) that seems appropriate, but I do like to often include an occasional “pot-sweetener” that might make a particular job a bit more attractive.

This table includes a hundred Sample Bounties, issued by anachronistic “Wanted Poster,” Proclamation, or even as Rumors/Hooks. I have also included a hundred sometimes less tangible Treasures that might tempt in addition to the more Monetary Rewards. Whether a Bounty is paid when the target is returned “Dead” or “Alive” is up to you, but I think “Alive” does add an intriguing wrinkle sometimes 😊

d100 - Magical Rings

Who doesn’t love a good Magical Ring? Compact and convenient (for those with Fingers or other places to wear them), here are a hundred additional ideas to make this Treasures more than mere Trinkets. I am always eager to embellish them a little bit. If you enjoy this too, there might be some inspiring ideas for this in my Jewelry Generator or even on my table for Magic Item Tells.

d100 – Magical Marginalia

Often coming as a Surprise, by default in some earlier presentations (like B/X) transcribing Spells from captured Enemy Spellbooks isn’t part of the Rules. This omission might seem a little strange (because it would quickly become more codified and taken for granted later) and sometimes stand out as a bit of a Proud Nail in terms of Spell Acquisition. Although a lot of Referees endeavor to graft this onto their games anyway, I always try to make sure that these types of Treasures have other interesting content, above and beyond a lovely list of new Spells a Magic User can add to their Repertoire to make them still worth lugging back to safety for later, more thorough examinations.

Here’s a table that expands upon this a bit. By placing a little lagniappe in these ledgers, they sometimes become useful Treasures in their own right, or at the very least become more memorable to the Players. Building a Library is a fruitful Downtime Activity that some Magic Users choose to pursue after all, and often this can add some intrinsic Value to an otherwise non-descript Spellbook. Sometimes these might still require that requisite Read Magic to decipher their function of course, but I love the idea of Spellbooks that contain more than just Spells: Functioning as a Workbook/Journal/Commonplace Book for the owner as well, conveying a little personality or odd habits/interests that they might have possessed.