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Which magic items do you think most merchants in a major city would refuse to purchase? Like even fences would sit there and say "nobody would buy that from me".
I've been thinking it would be funny to do a normal treasure list for the CR of the encounter, and then include in an extra item or two for each major NPC that falls into the category of "useful, but you can't sell this because nobody would buy it."
A rather simple idea would be to include a +3 Scimitar made from Black Iron, drips blood and audible demonic wailing happens when the blade is drawn. Oh, and the blade itself appears to be a series of deformed screaming faces that weep blood.
Looking forward to your contribution to this cursed pile of treasure!
A +1 bolstering breastplate. Innocent enough, right? But its enamelled bas-reliefs of intertwining figures consuming or otherwise eating each other are creepy as well as suggesting an allegiance to Urgathoa.
A permanently saliva-coated bulbous stick. It's a wand of adhesive spittle.
Stalker's Mask- "Preserved sections harvested from several different human faces cover this mask."
Our party ended up with a bunch of these, ended up getting a bounty from one of the big temples of Sarenrae, probably due to the GM being nice instead of shafting us on a bunch of magic items we would neither use nor likely be able to sell.
A singer weapon increase +10 stealth when you sing loud a song
Armor of sadness as long you tell your opponent about you deep suffering of your life and your misery that opponent gain +1 to attack and -4 to AC
Quick Draw McGraw guitar: a guitar that do 1d8/X3, in his first hit it get the broken Condition, in the second hit it's totally destroyed. Gain -4 to performance (sing and string)
Michael Jackson shoes: when a monk use this shoes it can dance like Michael Jackson gaining +2 to all kick attack
Afro wig: bag of holding
Wand of flowers: any spellcaster can use this wand, the target receive a bouquet of flowers he must make a will savings throw against a DC 20 or be affected by the spell unnatural lust for 1 hour to the owner of the wand; the owner of the wand gain androphobia or gynophobia based in the gender of the target.
I do this a lot with religious items, specifically aligned to religions not sanctioned or respected in the area the PCs are in.
Take any item with a Cleric/Oracle spell upon it, even just a Magic Weapon spell on a +1 weapon. Then add iconography from the offending religion. This doesn't always have to be evil.
In many areas of my homebrew, while Druids are common enough, the actual worship of the PF deity Gozreh is considered paganist and is unsanctioned in several large cultural centers. I gave the PCs a +1 "War Club" - a well-crafted, flanged Small great club that, 1/day will deal damage as a Large great club for 1 minute.
The device is crafted surprisingly from driftwood which has been preserved by an alchemical substance infused with saltwater. The handle of the weapon is wrapped in seaweed. Carved upon the surface of these "war clubs" are an image of a furious storm over the sea, as well as runes in the language of the grippli, my homebrew's default Gozreh worshippers.
The PCs were low level and this was their "big ticket" item, so we ended up spending 2 hours of a game session just having them RP going from place to place to try and sell it for full price. While my players enjoyed it there were a lot of complaints about the time "wasted" to essentially sell loot so I have handwaved others or just made them tough Diplomacy checks.
Anyway, that's one way to go. Obviously another is to include elements of offensive creature types. The crystalized slime of an Alchemical Ooze Swarm topping a wand of Calm Emotions that reeks of an acrid stench; leather armor made from the skin of sentient humanoids; mite-made daggers crafted from the mandibles of the same giant beetles that have been destroying local farms. All of these might face prejudice if the PCs then try to unload them with local merchants.
Finally... adult material.
Statuary, shield adornments, belt buckles and such with adult themes can be... off-putting in some societies. Tread lightly if you have players that would be triggered by this kind of material. For example my PC in a Reign of Winter campaign made it to 5th level with no magic items and as a halfling Warpriest 3/Hunter 2 I was really falling behind the other PCs. My GM didn't give me a magic item but rather a ruby cod piece of ridiculous size with some Jadwiga decorations that were extremely lascivious. Rather than selling it some random village I removed the ruby, used Profession: Tanner to craft it into a masterwork belt of my own craft and had the wizard of the party use his new Craft Wondrous Item feat to make it into a Dex Belt +2.
That's my 2CP.
The Staff of the Everscamp.
This cursed staff cannot willingly be put down or destroyed by its owner. The owner of the staff has all of their movement speeds reduced by 20' (to a minimum of 10').
The staff has Summon Monster V as a continuous effect. Four, non-hostile Imps appear near the staff and persist for 9min, whereupon they vanish... and four more are immediately summoned in their place.
The staff appraises for 360,000gp. The owner must find someone to willingly accept the staff, or it takes magic equivalent to miracle or wish to break the curse.
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Wand of Cure Light Wounds, from the clergy of Lamashtu: it is a simple stick carved through with demonic runes (I don't know; some gross saying or something) and topped with a shrunken, misshapen head bearing 3 eyes. A simple Prestidigitation effect makes these eyes constantly blink randomly, though they don't actually add any functionality to the device. Finally, for the device to function the "touch" aspect of the Cure Light Wounds spell happens when the wand is brought to within a few inches of the recipient at which point the sewn mouth of the head opens and a sickly, green tongue erupts from within to lick the recipient with a pasty ooze. Again, this is a simple Prestidigitation that quickly dissipates but it feels... off-putting.
Ring of Jumping, Fey: legend has it that a group of fey bestowed sentience to a family of bear cubs in a bygone age. These cubs never grew past their diminutive size, but they became vastly intelligent and bipedal. Living close to a mortal kingdom, the cubs began to emulate their mortal neighbors; they dressed in period clothing of the kingdom, adopted names and organized themselves as a mortal family would. Over time these bears bred true and a society of them supposedly existed in hiding on the fringes of a mortal kingdom for generations.
During this time, the bears developed fey-inspired talents by combining mortal alchemy with the arcane nature of the First World. The result was a unique pink liquid which, when consumed, allowed the imbiber to perform incredible feats of acrobatics and athleticism. The bears used this mutagen to keep a mortal duke at bay and remain hidden from the kingdom, so the legends say.
This ring appears to lend credence to these myths. The gem set in it is big, gaudy and fake, seeming to contain a sloshing mass of pink fluid. When first donned and as long as it is worn a miniscule needle on the inside of the band feeds this fluid directly into the finger of the wearer. This causes no permanent damage or discomfort. Somehow the fluid in the gem never runs out.
While worn the ring functions just as a normal Ring of Jumping. When making a leap assisted by the ring however, the wearer makes a unique and audible "boing" sound causing a -2 Circumstance penalty to Stealth checks.
The ring appears to be made of an alien substance made to look like metal (hard plastic) and has images of unique bears, dressed in anachronistic garb from the waist up, performing a number of tasks such as posing with a wooden sword, cooking in a cauldron or poking out of a tree stump.
Actually, I’ve been doing this for years, though with a different purpose.
The PCs get their loot that, you know, they sell for the cookie-cutter Headbands & Belts, Rings & Amulets, Weapons & Armor & Wands, Potions & Scrolls. In my game, additionally they’ll find an occasional Item that no player would ever spend gold for — since they so desperately have to save up to upgrade their Weapon and get that Ring of Freedom of Movement. And this odd Item is one that they can not ever find a buyer for. As such, someone is stuck with it on their sheet.
I do this because in the olden days, and I’m a Grognard with a capital ‘G,’ that’s all the magic we had, weird stuff we found — and when the adventure turns right instead of left, and the PCs are hopelessly bamboozled with the curveball, and two plus two HAS to equal a shrubbery — that’s when the players desperately search their character sheets for something, anything, to get them out of the mess in which they are sinking. And that ole useless Item is there, mixed with some actual CREATIVE THINKING that is Long gone from this game we so love. And the funnest, and funniest, memories are made from these moments.
W E Ray wrote: Actually, I’ve been doing this for years, though with a different purpose.
The PCs get their loot that, you know, they sell for the cookie-cutter Headbands & Belts, Rings & Amulets, Weapons & Armor & Wands, Potions & Scrolls. In my game, additionally they’ll find an occasional Item that no player would ever spend gold for — since they so desperately have to save up to upgrade their Weapon and get that Ring of Freedom of Movement. And this odd Item is one that they can not ever find a buyer for. As such, someone is stuck with it on their sheet.
I do this because in the olden days, and I’m a Grognard with a capital ‘G,’ that’s all the magic we had, weird stuff we found — and when the adventure turns right instead of left, and the PCs are hopelessly bamboozled with the curveball, and two plus two HAS to equal a shrubbery — that’s when the players desperately search their character sheets for something, anything, to get them out of the mess in which they are sinking. And that ole useless Item is there, mixed with some actual CREATIVE THINKING that is Long gone from this game we so love. And the funnest, and funniest, memories are made from these moments.
When you're talking about weird stuff we found back in the day, are you talking about the Book of Marvelous Magic type stuff, like brooms of sweeping or something? Cuz I don't remember a lot of "weird" stuff from old games when I was a kid. There were items with a lot of specific niche uses, but the weird stuff was usually made up on the spot by the DM.
That being said I agree with you; having unique items with niche uses are a great way to provide some interesting ways out of tough spots. For that to work though 1. you have to remember what you gave the item to the PCs for in the first place, 2. the players have to feel compelled to the level of desperation to go hunting through their resources, and 3. they have to not be able to win using some OTHER resource besides the one you intended with the item you gave them.
I'm not a very talented GM in these aspects. When I hand out something "weird" the players usually ignore it and leave it somewhere if they can't sell it, deeming it useless. In life and death situations my players are such "mechanics," a term I use to mean they pride themselves on using the tactics and RAW of the game to their best advantage, that if they can't win a fight with their class abilities, weapons and general fight plans then they run.
Sorry for the tangent, I'm just really envious of you W E Ray that you've been pulling this technique off for years.
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I'll just leave this here and move on...
Acme Disintegration Pistol.
And Intelligent Carpet of flying, with a extreme case of Acrophobia. As in anything higher than ground level, 0" airborne. and a crawl speed of 10 foot.
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The 100th large size +1 ogre hook we bring them from Hook Mountain
Well - here's another story from an old grognard... from back in the days of custom magic items, when everything magical had a uniqueness to it...
Picture this:
DM says, "the magic item your PC just put on is cursed!... but it is a minor curse."
Player: "Arg! What's the bad news?"
DM, "It makes your eyes glow red in the dark, and dogs and small children of all races are afread of you."
Player, writing notes on his character sheet: "Ok, got that. But what's the curse? what's the bad part?"
DM repeats, "It makes your eyes glow red in the dark, and dogs and small children of all races are afread of you."
Player: "But, what's the curse?"
DM: "That's the curse"
Player: "Huh?"
In the example above the Player thought the curse was Cool. The DM thought it was ... well, a curse.
Sometimes curses, and magic items, are all in the eyes of the viewer...
@ Mark,
Well certainly out-of-box/ out-of-left-field, creative solutions depend on the group and the players — but I’ve found that when I try to think of wonky and dynamic encounters, those that can’t necessarily be resolved with sword or skill, and if they’re scary enough, the players will start thinking creatively. Obviously don’t railroad or turtle them — and you don’t want to fill your sessions with off the wall encounters — but occasionally it can be lots of fun. As with everything, YMMV.
As far as what items, honestly, just ones in the Core that no one ever, ever buys.
And as far as when or how — I firmly believe the DM should (perhaps) never try to script that. Let it be organic. Let the onus rely completely on the players. .... I believe that better DMing* is creating a problematic encounter but Not a solution. When you think of a solution to your encounter then when the players think of some different solution you will be likely to tell them their solution fails — since you have it in your head what the solution is already. Think of a challenging problem; let them think of a solution. ....Now, I do try to think of possible solutions in the course of trying to predict what this player will do or how that player will respond. I’ve found that when I, during design, guess what some possible actions these particular players will try, I’m much better prepared for when they go off the rails, so to speak (not that I railroad). I’m actually pretty good at guessing what Tom, Dick or Harry are likely to try in a given situation that I encounter. And it really helps my DMing the game stay flowing and exciting. (One of my DM weaknesses is improv; for me, that’s just a DM weakness.). YMMV.
*Note that with brand new players to the game, and with low level PCs with terribly few resources, it’s a slippery slope and the more railroading, or at least hints, the better.
@ Mark,
By chance did you ever see the (surprisingly Well Done) Gummy Bears D20 game that someone put online back in 3.0 or early 3.5? Your earlier post reminded me of it. It’s really a fun read, and a real playable game. I’m sure you can easily find the pdf via Google-Foo.
Magic unglued tipe
Staff of tap: as long the player not the PC dance tap this staff act like a staff of magi
Zepheri wrote:
Staff of tap: as long the player not the PC dance tap this staff act like a staff of magi
Why would a NPC avoid buying that staff? Item on this list should be things the players maybe do or don't want, but no sane merchant would believe there is a market for it. Or that it would be too annoying to have it sit on your shelves for months while you wait for a perspective buyer.
Classic example: the Hand of Veneca. This is a major artifact that bestows incredible power on anyone willing to cut off their own right arm and applying this undead forearm to their body.
But it is obviously a cursed item that will eventually overwhelm its owner! Worse, if you advertise it who shows up to PAY for such a thing? Nobody! Anyone that actually wants it will attempt to take it from you. Worse, once it is gone the other qualified interested parties will still come to you and some of them will want 'revenge' because they didn't get what they want.
Meirril wrote: Zepheri wrote:
Staff of tap: as long the player not the PC dance tap this staff act like a staff of magi
Why would a NPC avoid buying that staff? Item on this list should be things the players maybe do or don't want, but no sane merchant would believe there is a market for it. Or that it would be too annoying to have it sit on your shelves for months while you wait for a perspective buyer.
Classic example: the Hand of Veneca. This is a major artifact that bestows incredible power on anyone willing to cut off their own right arm and applying this undead forearm to their body.
But it is obviously a cursed item that will eventually overwhelm its owner! Worse, if you advertise it who shows up to PAY for such a thing? Nobody! Anyone that actually wants it will attempt to take it from you. Worse, once it is gone the other qualified interested parties will still come to you and some of them will want 'revenge' because they didn't get what they want. Ok put a price for the staff of magi that is a minor artifact. How much you will sell it and in which metropolis have the money to buy it.
Zepheri wrote: Meirril wrote: Zepheri wrote:
Staff of tap: as long the player not the PC dance tap this staff act like a staff of magi
Why would a NPC avoid buying that staff? Item on this list should be things the players maybe do or don't want, but no sane merchant would believe there is a market for it. Or that it would be too annoying to have it sit on your shelves for months while you wait for a perspective buyer.
Classic example: the Hand of Veneca. This is a major artifact that bestows incredible power on anyone willing to cut off their own right arm and applying this undead forearm to their body.
But it is obviously a cursed item that will eventually overwhelm its owner! Worse, if you advertise it who shows up to PAY for such a thing? Nobody! Anyone that actually wants it will attempt to take it from you. Worse, once it is gone the other qualified interested parties will still come to you and some of them will want 'revenge' because they didn't get what they want. Ok put a price for the staff of magi that is a minor artifact. How much you will sell it and in which metropolis have the money to buy it. No fair; onld school Artifcats were SUPPOSED to be cursed and have drawbacks. You don't BUY an Artifact; it chooses you to wield it/become it's next vessel.
Also, if we're talking Artifacts, players shouldn't even recognize them as treasure anyway. Take that Hand of Vecna you mentioned. Say the PCs are looting a crypt and the players honestly don't actually know the HoV item/lore. As the party gets to the final room and murder the undead guardian they find a hidden chamber which is nothing more than a bunch of treasure, left untouched, and a mummified hand laying in the middle of the floor surrounded by corpses all reaching for it.
The limb reveals no magic and doesn't appear remarkable in any way other than a bunch of folks dying to try and grab it. PCs might shrug and ignore it, guessing it's cursed; others might snag it just out of curiosity. Regardless they've seen the thing...
If they don't take it they start having visions of it. The hand keeps them up at night. Maybe they find a convenient Hand of the Mage in the next hoard that is ACTUALLY the HoV transmogrified. Whatever, somehow the PCs are bound to coming back to this thing.
See, the Artifact PICKED one of them to have it. It doesn't seem remarkable until someone tries to use it. Once they do they realize the device is filled with a LOT more power than it's general appearance lets on. The HoV WANTS to be used, wielded, all the while convincing the PC it's manipulating that the device is invaluable.
Then of course it suddenly stops working. Somehow you have to get it across to the player that the only way to get it's power back, and unlock its final, ultimate powers, is to lop off a hand of their own. If the PC tries to get rid of the thing at this point it just keeps turning up like a bad copper piece. Now they have no choice; now they're on the hook.
Pop goes their right hand, pain and horror ensues, but true to its word the HoV delivers some real campaign-churning powers! Only one problem: there seems to be a rash of undead flesh now creeping slowly up the PC's arm. The curse crawls through every limb, remaking the PC into the very creature that once belonged to the foul digits they now possess.
In the end the rest of the party has to contend with going toe-to-toe against their friend. The only way to win is to slay someone they've come to respect and possibly even love. The game ends in tragedy and epic pathos (hopefully).
I thought what we were talking about in this thread was just like, y'know, gross or useless stuff that people can't sell as loot, like a wand of Create Food and Water that constantly drips a beige, flavorless paste that delivers all the nutrients needed for daily survival or a +1 Icy Burst Longsword that turns your skin blue and causes your breath to mist.
Come to think of it... most of the stuff I keep adding to items is just an effect of Prestidigitation. What if, to make items unique/special/unsellable you just figure all items have a Prestidigitation effect permanently embedded? Alternately, if you want the thing to deliver something extra, consider adding another cantrip effect.
Like, what if you had a Cloak of Resistance +1 crafted from a Courtier's Outfit with a permanent Enhanced Diplomacy effect so it grants either a flat +2 Competence to Diplomacy/Intimidate or a bonus equal to the Resistance bonus to those skills? Sure, it'd cost a bit more and thus it'd sell for a bit more, but this little bit of drama turns an ordinary item into something unique.
Finally, back to the point of the thread, what if you combine items? Like, you give the PCs a Masterwork Longsword with an ice motif. PCs can sell it right now for normal gold. If, however, they hold onto it, they then find an amulet that does nothing more than give a +1 to saves made in Cold environs that turns the skin blue, however wearing this also enhances the sword to +1 Longsword.
Going further you find a suit of armor that 3/day turns into the effect of the spell Ice Armor for an hour at a time, but wearing the armor also turns your hair white. Possessing the armor alone makes the longsword +1; wearing both it and the amulet makes it a +1 Frost Longsword.
Finally if the PC puts on a special belt that grants a Swim speed, the belt makes their breath mist over and perhaps anything they touch rimes over for a few seconds, but wearing all three together makes the sword a +1 Icy Burst Longsword.
Wearing the Frostmantle (the combination of the armor, amulet and belt) doesn't make the PC very OP, in turn making them look like some kind of ice elemental or something (possible Circumstance penalties in social situations or whatever) but doing so means the PC is now in possession of a decent longsword. Sold as a full set, these would all fetch a pretty penny; selling any one item is little to no value.
*Reads the title*
*Thinks about the merchant in Link's Awakening*
*Thinks about getting a thief out of the store*
*thinks about giving the merchant a Lightning Gun* XD
Mark Hoover 330 wrote: I thought what we were talking about in this thread was just like, y'know, gross or useless stuff that people can't sell as loot, like a wand of Create Food and Water that constantly drips a beige, flavorless paste that delivers all the nutrients needed for daily survival or a +1 Icy Burst Longsword that turns your skin blue and causes your breath to mist. That really is the kind of things I was aiming for. Or a tour de force of items like the Skinsaw Mask (which honestly is missing the flavor text where it is described as being made from several human faces stitched together).
Another great item for this list would be something we ran into a long time ago, and it wasn't a magic item.
Background is that we were a 12th level party following the trail of some sort of demon. We traced them to the underdark, in an area populated by Troglodites and Umber Hulks. The trogs were absolutely no threat to us, the actual encounters were with the Umber Hulks. At one point we took out an Umber Hulk chieftain and among his treasure was "A 1 month supply of Troglodite Jerky."
My response was "A lifetime supply of Troglodite Jerky." because nobody there was going to eat the stuff. And who would buy this?!? It smells vaguely like troglodite!
"As you sort out the trolls' treasure, you find several objects of subjective value, including a silver scepter with feathered wings carved into the haft, and a head crafted to resemble an eagle's head with amethyst eyes. There's a bronze-framed painting of a dark-skinned, suitably pimped-out noblewoman, a signet ring with an icon of a crescent moon with an Imperial silver coin, and a teak strongbox with several abjuration pings on your Detect Magic. Near the nice-looking lock is an engraving of the same symbol as on the signet ring.
"As for the gear, you find a magical longsword with its pommel designed to resemble a sunburst; a masterwork greatsword with... you know how Zweihänder tend to have that weird spot a bit up the blade to facilitate half-handing? Yeah, that part is wrapped in hydra hide. Also, a masterwork chain mail and splint mail, slightly used.
"It took a while to piece together the last armour, but you've found that you have a complete suit of magical full plate! Piped with a woven pattern of gold, copper, and mithral, its great helm resembles an eagle's beak. One amethyst is set into the back of each gauntlet. The only visible damage to this full plate is to the straps, with only scuffs and scratches to the armour itself, likely just due to being part of the hoard for some amount of time. {respond to thought of giving the full plate to the halfling paladin} All of the weapons are for medium users, so Jobell won't have much use for it."
Sometimes, of course, the "get that out of my store" isn't because of being a cursed item, but because the item itself has a story.
The armour and scepter are the regalia of Sir Albion of Birkenmark, a famous knight from a duchy that has historically been a rival to the one the party is operating in. Notable for his skills as an emissary as much as a warrior, he had been one of the architects of the Bluesteel Compact, the treaty that ended the most recent war between the duchies.
However, the barony of Sardia, which was established by the Bluesteel Compact as a buffer-state, has recently been usurped - and its usurper has begun resource-exploitation projects forbidden by the treaty, thus causing the prospect of renewed warfare to loom anew. Sir Albion had been dispatched to negotiate for a joint operation to restore proper rule in Sardia, but was ambushed and slain by a poisoned snipe shot through the eye-slit of his helm. The murderous bandits had a hideout in a cave that resembled a troll cave, so few dared approach; unfortunately for them, a mated pair of fierce trolls decided to actually make a troll cave out of it, and easily slaughtered the unprepared rogues.
It won't do to simply try to sell Sir Albion's equipment in some random shop. Full plate's already pretty custom, and this particular suit is as well-known as its former owner. "We found it in a troll hoard" might be true, but would do precious little to mitigate the cloud of suspicion over the possessors; and the political implications of choosing the right disposal method are, needless to say, highly significant to the future of the Western Reaches.
Dreamstones, Soul Gems, and Soul Jars.
A Lich's phylactery...
We just killed him last night, want his necklace?
How about treasure that is only treasure to somebody else, kind of like the trog jerky? For example take a creature that regenerates, has a crude sense of humor, and can withstand a lot of pain... let's say trolls. Then add in the candy from that old Monty Python skit called "Spring Surprise." It's a milk chocolate candy that, when you bite down, releases dozens of metal springs to explode through the gums and mouth.
Other, less murder-y non-treasure treasures could include:
Bottlecap collections
Tiny and Diminutive fey pinned under glass
Blood samples of a variety of Outsiders
Several chess sets created from a variety of material and in increasingly suggestive designs
Abstract art
A book full of pressed leaves, all of common varieties
Thousands of dice sculpted in various sizes and colors, ranging from 4 sided to 100 sided, neatly organized into dozens of tackle boxes
Periodical reviews of alchemical staff from an Arcane university dating from dozens to hundreds of years past
Cheeses of the Darklands
and last but not least...
Furniture
No seriously, give the characters big, bulky furniture for their treasure. That might not fit this thread but imagine if the PCs slay a powerful vampire and as treasure they get tonnage worth of armoires, sideboards, tea services, grand pianos and such. They're all of exquisite make and material, maybe even one or two magic items, but not only have they been custom made for a dark noble of the undead but they are far too unwieldy for the PCs to manage without magic and extra-dimensional storage spaces.
Watch a party that has a couple handy haversacks and no Shrink Item spells try to figure out how to transport a marble and leather dining set from a giant's lair, that's worth the price of admission right there!
Lord Vordakai's tomb has huge stone slabs with the history of the Cyclops race dating back before Skyfall worth bunches and bunches if you can figure out how to get them out of there. Lol. Had to send in over a hundred of Kesten's men just to get them out of the tomb. A Lyre of Building sure would have been handy for such a thing, now that I think about it.
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I just had another thought - an article I read a while ago suggested that part of the reason why dragons have tons of treasure is the need to hoard, like a compulsion. What if a monster that they PCs defeated really had such a compulsion? Like, take a black dragon for example:
They live in swamps, consider themselves top of the food chain, and have a hoarding instinct. What would they obsessively collect/maintain that wasn't JUST treasure? Like, piles of gnawed bones is obvious, but what else?
If the dragon had a lot of time to kill and the wherewithal they might have blocks of different types of swamp mud, pools of stagnant water where they're "pickling" a variety of animals/hapless victims, clippings of hundreds of different interesting or unique swamp fungi, books or velum scrolls showing changes to the area over the years or detailing lineages of victims eaten.
Like, what if you got super granular with it?
Another thing to think about is monster lifespan and what they do with their time. Obviously this won't apply to like, 90% of your monsters but consider: you've got an elite fey and (if your homebrew is like mine) this fey stopped aging after a point. Finally, they have Craft as a Class skill.
Now think: this fey has inhabited a sparsely wooded meadow for like, 2 centuries. during that time she's been a caretaker for a handful of tree types, hundreds of species of bird and small mammal, and every prairie plant you can cram into the region. She's not good or evil, just a bit on the selfish side, and has been venerated as a divine power by local Adepts modeling their behavior after Druidic traditions.
This fey then may have all manner of clothing items crafted from fallen animals, bows and arrows crafted more for decoration than use, marsh grasses and ground nut vines woven into baskets, mats, decorative lattice, etc. She may have perfected hundreds of unique teas from the various wildflowers. She has natural cordage fibers, twine, and rope for miles and uses some of these to produce weirdly useful cellos and fiddles.
I mean, just think of where a monster lives and what they'd be capable of making or finding there, and extrapolate out piles of mildly interesting but otherwise worthless goods and material. What merchant in their right mind is going to buy Moss Troll sleeping nests, despite the fact that they're Masterwork quality with carved bone and Darkwood flourishes?
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Mark Hoover 330 wrote: I just had another thought - an article I read a while ago suggested that part of the reason why dragons have tons of treasure is the need to hoard, like a compulsion. What if a monster that they PCs defeated really had such a compulsion? Like, take a black dragon for example:
They live in swamps, consider themselves top of the food chain, and have a hoarding instinct. What would they obsessively collect/maintain that wasn't JUST treasure? Like, piles of gnawed bones is obvious, but what else?
If the dragon had a lot of time to kill and the wherewithal they might have blocks of different types of swamp mud, pools of stagnant water where they're "pickling" a variety of animals/hapless victims, clippings of hundreds of different interesting or unique swamp fungi, books or velum scrolls showing changes to the area over the years or detailing lineages of victims eaten.
Ooh, that's cool. Also reminds me of this thread.
Quote: Now think: this fey has inhabited a sparsely wooded meadow for like, 2 centuries. during that time she's been a caretaker for a handful of tree types, hundreds of species of bird and small mammal, and every prairie plant you can cram into the region. She's not good or evil, just a bit on the selfish side, and has been venerated as a divine power by local Adepts modeling their behavior after Druidic traditions.
This fey then may have all manner of clothing items crafted from fallen animals, bows and arrows crafted more for decoration than use, marsh grasses and ground nut vines woven into baskets, mats, decorative lattice, etc. She may have perfected hundreds of unique teas from the various wildflowers.
I like this one, particularly. The Dryad/Nymph/whatever has been in this area for centuries, and has some old preserved teabags made from herbs *that no longer grow in the area* or might even be *totally extinct!* (Plot hook, you need this plant for something, and the only place to get it is from this dryad's collection of century old tea packets!)
But she's a bit dotty, and goes absolutely *mental* if you don't join her for tea. And, over the years, her tastes have gotten a bit eclectic, and the sorts of teas that humans find tasty are too bland for her rarified palette. No, today's tea is made with ghost peppers and belladonna! Drink up, dearie!
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Set wrote: I like this one, particularly. The Dryad/Nymph/whatever has been in this area for centuries, and has some old preserved teabags made from herbs *that no longer grow in the area* or might even be *totally extinct!* (Plot hook, you need this plant for something, and the only place to get it is from this dryad's collection of century old tea packets!)
But she's a bit dotty, and goes absolutely *mental* if you don't join her for tea. And, over the years, her tastes have gotten a bit eclectic, and the sorts of teas that humans find tasty are too bland for her rarified palette. No, today's tea is made with ghost peppers and belladonna! Drink up, dearie!
There is an entire adventure path dedicated to a dotty Nymph going absolutely mental... tries to bring an entire chunk of the River Kingdoms into the First World to join her for tea.
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