Author Topic: Favorite treasure troves/items  (Read 1239 times)

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Offline Jengada

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Favorite treasure troves/items
« on: June 27, 2020, 06:23:11 PM »
I'm putting together a treasure trove for my campaign, when the party finishes their quest. It got me wondering, what have others done for unusual, interesting, or otherwise unconventional treasure in their campaigns? Or, what was your favorite treasure that your character/party found?
We ask the hard questions here, because they keep us too busy to worry about the hard questions in the real world, and we can go with the answers we like the best.

Offline RandalThor

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Re: Favorite treasure troves/items
« Reply #1 on: June 27, 2020, 09:30:31 PM »
I have never played an RM or MERP* campaign that lasted more than 6-10 sessions, so I can't mention anything from a game memory - but I sure have poured over the various magic item books and drooled. (The below are by no means exhaustive lists.)

RM (FRP/SS):

Loremaster's Amulet. A powerful item that scales a bit with the character. Has lots a lot cool spells and stuff, sort of like a mage's staff from D&D only less focused on blasting stuff.
Turang. One of the swords of the high elves, a magical longsword with big bonus's (that get 50% bigger vs demons and evil demi-gods - I guess they just couldn't bring themselves to even suggest to players that it might be possible to kill a full god...) and some cool power. Won't let no poser use it either.
The Spear of Light. Just an awesome good-aligned artifact that could easily be the major item of a sect of knights for a kingdom. The leader of which gets the honor of wielding the fabulous weapon.
Staff of Aristarchus. This one makes a great evil macguffin. The PCs have to try to keep it out of the [insert your big-bad here], and then have to figure out how to deal with - as they are likely unable to destroy it.
Plaguestone. Could be the cause of a deadly outbreak. (Though you may want to wait a while before starting that particular story line.  8)) But, the bad guys could be doing it to weaken a kingdom so that invading is easier - or a rival to the throne uses it to weaken support for the other contender(s).
Staff of Light’s Echoes. Just an awesome staff for channeler's and essence users (sorry mentalists, do not pass go... yeah, you get it). Big PP multiplier with some cool castable spells.

MERP (A note and a question, note first: I won't choose any that are said to be destroyed, just 'cuz, question: what is up with the weird bonuses in this book? I mean +88? What the heck? Couldn't be bothered to add 2?  ;):
Ainacrist. Big bonus, extra damage, no being stunned or fumbling. Heck, this one is worth it without the speed boosts it gives!
Ancaruin. Big (and weird) bonus and the added ability of being able to be summoned to your had from far away. (That distance is another weird number.)
Grond. Well, uuhh, err, lets just let Morgoth's hammer alone, hmmm? Yeah, just leave it in that deep, dark hole. Then pour the concrete. There you go. Now the 5 Olypic-sized swimming pools worth of Holy Water - you say that's just for vampires and demons?!? I don't care, pour it! I SAID POUR IT!!
Mace of Waterskipping. Just tons of imaginative fun to be had with this one! Skip it across water to hit someone and then it skips back? Yes, please.
Crown of Teleri. If you ever wanted to be Ororo (Storm, from the X-men), this will let you get close. Plus it makes you harder to hit.
Remmiraith. Well, if the 7 gems of this necklace, each one able to hold a spell that you can later cast instantaneously isn't enough to make you want it. Perhaps the fact that it is worth a literal king's ransom - and then some -  would help. (I think it is worth more than the Arkenstone, though that one doesn't have a monetary value attached to it and most of its value comes from cultural meaning.)

Late now, tired gotta go to bed. Good night.

*Hopefully the one I just started today on Roll20 will last. Fingers crossed.
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Scratch that. Power attracts the corruptible.

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Offline Spectre771

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Re: Favorite treasure troves/items
« Reply #2 on: June 28, 2020, 07:15:29 AM »
There are so many great items through the Companions it's hard to choose, so I'll limit it just to items that we used in our party.  Most of these all depend on the power level of your party.  There are some great items in RMC-I, but I believe all the ones I listed here are from C&T 1

ShieldBreaker - Battleaxe.  Treats all AT as AT1.  What an awesome little gift!  (This might be RMC-I)

Battle Totem - Negate effects of stun.  The biggest bang in a small package.

Gauntlets of Might - Doubles the concussion hits delivered for the first 5 rounds of combat.  (Add that to the Shieldbreaker and your foes drop in 2 hits, even without a good crit roll. :) )

Chaos Dice - What is it with players and the desire to roll a pair of dice made of obsidian, pips of ivory, and little skulls for the "1" pip, found in a lead box, buried in the swamp?  What could possibly go wrong?



There were some GM gifted items I made that were pretty cool.

Cursed Battle Totem - A traditional battle totem that was broken somehow.  Create any backstory that fits your campaign.  Negates the effects of stun for the first 5 rounds of battle, then receives double the effects of stun for the rest of the day.  Most battles ended within 5-6 rounds, so it was still a great item.  A few times though, the battles went longer and the double stun came into play.

War Hammer of Hot and Cold - As I type this, I realize I could have come up with something more creative.*  Maybe War Hammer of Oppositions, War Hammer of Elemental Force... anyway.  One side of the war hammer delivers additional heat crits and the other side delivers additional cold crits same roll and severity of original crit.  The attacker has to declare which side he'd like to use before the attack roll.  Or the GM could roll to determine the flavor of the crit.



Some of the ones I would love to find:

Swords of Irgaak - +30 Unholy 2H Sword.  Once per day "Harvest of Fools" can be activated.  4' beam of power that "...cuts through anything..."  That's right folks... it's a light powered cheese slicer!

Hammer of Relin - In the hands of a Dwarf, +35 Holy war hammer, double concussion damage, can be thrown and it returns 77'.  Wielder resists spells as 77th level, ignores effects of all Deception Spells, detects evil and mithril, is intelligent and speaks Dwarfish and Elven tongues.
        Versus Super Large and "Great Foes of the Dwarfs":  +77, does 7x damage, throws and returns 777'
        Versus foes who have previously struck the wielder: throw range is 7 miles



* - Reminds me of Diablo III "I am the Lord of Goats!!!  Hm.  Maybe I could work on the name."
If discretion is the better valor and
cowardice the better part of judgment,
let's all be heroes and run away!

Offline Jengada

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Re: Favorite treasure troves/items
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2020, 11:48:58 AM »
What about unusual treasure, especially nonmagical? I'm pondering things like the egg of some rare creature, or barrels of fine wine.
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Offline Spectre771

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Re: Favorite treasure troves/items
« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2020, 05:56:51 AM »
I've thrown in a single Tarot Card before.  In the dwarf hearth there were plenty of extremely rare "XXXXXX" casks of ale.  The "X" signifying the potency of the brew.  Most taverns and inns server 1X or 2X.  The Dwarf taverns have 3X and the really fine establishments have the 4X.  Humans can tolerate 1X and the die hard drinkers can barely do 2X, but not for long.  For Dwarfs, 2X is the bare minimum they would drink and that's watered down, light ale, generic brand.

So for the group to find a stash of 6X was unheard of and thought to be lost to the annals of time.  They used the 2 kegs as bartering and it came in extremely handy for them when they needed to deal with the Under-king.
If discretion is the better valor and
cowardice the better part of judgment,
let's all be heroes and run away!

Offline RandalThor

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Re: Favorite treasure troves/items
« Reply #5 on: July 04, 2020, 08:37:49 PM »
Well, I guess it depends on where the characters are and who they have just dealt with in the campaign.

Like, if the baddies were a bunch of smugglers, then all manner of smuggled goods could be found: ale and other alcohols, bolts of expensive cloth, weapons (non-magical mostly, but maybe some others), etc... Anything that someone would either need to have smuggled in (i.e. contraband/illegal goods), or stuff that has high tariffs on them (like certain items or stuff from a specific region/nation) that it is profitable to get through less-than-legal means could be there. Toss in the odd specialty item for those specific rewards for the players - as well as plot hooks for upcoming adventures - and you got yourself a treasure haul.

If the big bad was more typical (archmage, high priest, dragon, demon, etc....) then the treasures can be anything from piles of coins to gems and jewelry, to ancient magic items. Basically, tailor the treasure to where it is being found and who had it - and where you might want to take the campaign next.

There are tons of books out there that have zillions of tables for rolling up treasure. One or more of those will give you tons of suggestions. Stuff for you to use directly, or to take inspiration from. Here's a list of Random Treasure Generators I Googled: https://www.google.com/search?q=random+treasure+generatot&oq=random+treasure+generatot&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l7.7593j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Scratch that. Power attracts the corruptible.

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Offline jdale

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Re: Favorite treasure troves/items
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2020, 10:07:47 PM »
From their last battle in one of my games, the party obtained a collection of amulets and brooches signifying membership in a wide variety of cults. I have no idea what they'll do with them, but it was something the foe would have (he's joined many cults over the years and was looking for the "best" cult to join) and they thought it was cool.

They also got a magical collar with Sound Mastery spells up to 50th level, but that's an item for their quest and it's currently attached to a goblin.
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Offline vilor

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Re: Favorite treasure troves/items
« Reply #7 on: July 06, 2020, 05:22:06 AM »
Ost-In-Edhil in Lorien: Yes, our party went there, long after the elves had departed. Lots of Demons and we had to kill a Balor. Then we entered Celebrimbor's house and got into all his vaults. Lots of mithril (1 million gp worth!), tomes, items etc. Library vault had tomes of every spell list in Spell Law. Our GM told us we had no chance of getting even a tenth of it out without attracting a lot of attention. This was supposed to be one of those quickly get in, get the info needed and get out quickly so you get out alive kind of things I think, but we were all on a roll that day, except the GM!

So, I flipped through the Lofty Bridge tome - do you have any idea how much weight a 50th level Teleport can move? I think our GM had apoplexy, especially when I open-ended on the Spell Mastery role (it may have even been a straight 100), modified the spell to take the party, the whole library comtents and most of the mithril straight back to the vaults beneath our castle (that's another story!). I think my mage was like 11th level (rest of the party 15th), had to make a read runes check, spell mastery etc, but the gods of the dice were definitely with us that day. Apart from the tomes I came away with the below that day:

Staff of Earthmastery: it allows the holder to cast up to 60 PP's per day of Earth Law spells as high as 30th level.

Remmiraith (S. " The Netted Stars") Seven large faceted gems: a diamond, ruby, emerald, jacinth, Violet garnet, amethyst, and a yellow sapphire, set in a delicate beryllium spiderweb in a cluster as a brooch. Each gem may hold a spell up to tenth level, to be cast instantly by the wearer when desired (only one spell/round as per the rules of Spell Law). The term Remmiraith also refers 10 the constellation of the Pleiades. or Seven Sisters. Value: approx 60,000 GP.  - and yes, RandalThor, it is frickin' awesome!

But as awesome as these are the real treasure is the Tomes - we have the rule that spell tomes reduce spell acquisition costs, so I've been able to get 2-3 list picks per level since then (I'm now 16th)!

Offline mtpnj

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Re: Favorite treasure troves/items
« Reply #8 on: July 08, 2020, 10:51:04 AM »
I like things that do not have an impact on battle.  Some players design characters that are useless outside of combat.  Useful items like a tent that folds down to a handkerchief.  tents are heavy.   A wagon that shrinks down to the size of a model train that moves on its own.  i would hook up a horse so people don;t try to steal it but players can be idiots.  A bathtub that also shrinks down.  These items are in the books but i forget names.   I try to not give combat items.  I had an alchemist make my character daily items one of which does a spotlight spell when he feels like singing or playing his mandolin.   A daily that does a clean spell once a day on your person.  groom brushes for horses.   mugs that do a daily heat or cold on your drink.

Offline JakeM.

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Re: Favorite treasure troves/items
« Reply #9 on: July 08, 2020, 02:48:11 PM »
Well obviously one of the divine items encountered in
Knights of the Dinner table:

The Hackmaster +12 !!!
Dibs on that broadsword!

Offline Gideon

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Re: Favorite treasure troves/items
« Reply #10 on: July 30, 2020, 11:56:18 AM »
The big payout needs to plant the seed (or shove the party into) the next great adventure.

It can be a tome with a History of an old faded empire, and a map showing a palace not on any modern map.
It can be a painting of an old castle, that changes every morning like a daily photo.
It can be a magical anchor, to inspire a nautical trip.
A dagger (enchanted) inside a rosewood box locked with a silver hasp, and lined with velvet
A War banner with the icon of a fallen kingdom.
A magic carpet (enchanted to protect it from stains, obviously) with runes proclaiming the glory of a land thought fiction or lost.
A scabbard that cleans and repairs mior nicks and stains on any bladed sheathed within (or reapplies poison)
A Compass that points to a hidden tower (which moves every week)
Boots, really comfortable and nice boots
Enchanted wagon pillow. Eliminates discomfort from riding on a rough road on a wagon, or in a coach. Improves rest and sleep.

Offline Eladan

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Re: Favorite treasure troves/items
« Reply #11 on: August 02, 2020, 05:53:19 PM »
My players once found a 20-sided gem that when you touched a facet and said the keyword, would teleport you to an attuned location (or your party if they were in a bag of holding or something like that). The catch is, it drained 1d10 temporary Constitution every time you used it... They never had the guts to try out all the facets but were able to attune some of the facets to their stronghold and other key locations. It made for some fun and got them hunted by some major baddies.
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Offline Dunadan

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Re: Favorite treasure troves/items
« Reply #12 on: August 22, 2020, 08:06:41 PM »
I tend to craft a lot of the items that my players find in the campaign. Just to provide a bit more uniqueness...

From the mundane items
Brooch of Swimming - Silver brooch worked into the shape of an eel, provides a +10 bonus to Swimming
Klifra Rope - Looks like normal ¼” hemp rope, but is sticky to the touch. 3 times/day can cast “Enchanted Rope” (Earth Law – L1)

To the weapons/armour
Drake Scale Shield - This shield is made of overlapping scales recovered from a minor drake. It is a full shield +10 and it reduces any critical severity by one level. +35 vs. melee/missile

This one was especially interesting. Found in the tomb of a dwarven king... the axe is intelligent... and hates elves... will barely tolerate any non-dwarf to touch it... made for an almost TPK when the human rogue insisted on grabbing the "nice shiny axe" and failed the will contest! Especially for the half-elf in the party.

VIGALFUR (the Elf Bane)
This low steel axe was crafted by Dwarves during the Elf Wars. It is a two handed axe and was carried by the Dwarven King.
•   detect Elves within 500’
•   +10 / +20 vs Elves
•   x2 concussion damage, x2 bleed vs elves
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