Inspired by Prismatic Wasteland’s Overloading the Encounter Die
Also inspired by tables from Maze Rats
Also initially inspired by the loot table in &&&&&&&&& Treasure by Luke Gearing, though all work from that has disappeared from this version.
I hate rolling up treasure hoards. I’ve never found a good way to do it, either quickly or efficiently. It is the bane of my prep, the bane of my games. Once there is just a general description of some treasure, I can expand on that improvisationally–but coming up with that initial spark is very difficult for me. So, I did the work, and came up with a way to roll this shit up very quickly. You need 3d6 and the monster’s number of hit die, and these tables. (You can also make your own tables. Have fun!)
This is best used during prep of a dungeon, focused around a hoard belonging to a specific creature or faction, or at-the-table for random lairs (such as finding a “% in lair” monster). It is not particularly useful for on-hand individual monster treasure (as it’s too involved and not fast enough at the table).
The Method
Roll 3d6. If necessary, write down the results of each individual die and the total. If desired, roll 3d6 again for each Hit Die of the head monster.
Coins
Take the lowest d6 result. Multiply by monster HD and multiply by 10. This is how much GP is in the hoard in coins.
Art Objects
Take the middle d6 result. This is how many art objects are in the hoard. To generate art objects, take the following combinations of 2d6 and treat them as d66 results on the following table. Use these in whichever order you prefer.
Lowest d6 | Middle d6
Lowest d6 | Highest d6
Middle d6 | Highest d6
Middle d6 | Lowest d6
Highest d6 | Middle d6
Highest d6 | Lowest d6
For detailing the items, you can use the remaining die, or any other combination of the three dice that make sense with the description, material and cultural tables below.
For the total worth of the art objects, take the total of the initial 3d6 roll and multiply by 100, dividing by the number of art objects. (Salt and pepper to taste.) My campaigns don’t tend to focus on trade goods or mundane items. If yours do, feel free to adjust the tables to your tastes.
Gemstones
Take the highest d6 result. You can use the same pairs from the Art Objects grouping to generate the type and worth of gemstones using this table.
Magic Items
There are multiple methods you can use based on the frequency of magic items in your world or campaign. For example:
- Replace any art object or gemstone result with a 6 with a magic item
- The highest d6 must be under the monster’s HD to be present
- Other methods (such as roll 1d20 under monster HD, etc.)
If you need to quickly determine magic items, you can use my d100 Magic Item Table.
I hope this has been useful. I’ve created a small worksheet you can use to keep track of your hoard, check it out here.
