Looting the looters (my group stay out!)

A brief pause so that my players can adequately flee....




la, la, la...



That should do it.

It's payoff time for my group after a long and grueling adventure. I may have the unenviable task of having to tell my players something when they eventually say, "Whoo hoo! We loot the palace, the laboratories, the museums, the workshops, the temple, and the entire city!" Thus, I thought I'd turn to the best creative source I know for fun ideas, as I'd like to be prepared if/when that day happens.

If you were an army of intelligent ghouls who had conquered cities of drow, svirfneblin, illithids, giants, and other underdark races (including trade with the kuo-toa), what trophies and treasures would be found in your city?

In particular, I'm looking for interesting, stylish or memorable examples of:

- art (including statuary)
- jewelry
- monuments
- unique weaponry
- books and information
- history
- magic

I know they can't carry all of it; that's the point. I'd love to give them a plethora of riches, and let them pick and choose. Any ideas, fun or serious, would be great!

Ooh - almost forgot. Any lawyers here who want to help me create a fiendishly inspired "contract to marry" affecting one of my PCs, which would then require my players sort through the actual small print?

From the Drow City, a +1 Whip of Dancing, so that the Cleric of the Spider Queen can inflict pain without having to exert herself.

A Giant sized set of magical instruments, especially drums. Full kit. With cymbals. Bonus points if you can persuade Nolin to take some of them.

No one would notice the svirfneblin treasure, except for Priggle, who'd end up with some really nice items that everyone else ignores. Actually, that's a really good way of making sure that Priggle gets a boost.

Also, make sure you include some items that radiate evil, so the party can feel all good about destroying them. Something like a +2 Unholy Chaotic Bastard Sword of Wounding with an evil alignment, that orders the PC's to take it to it's rightful owner (preferably someone the PC can identify as having killed beforehand, so they can taunt it before destroying it).

A whole bunch of low power stuff to reward the brave dwarves that have been following them around for so long, stuff like Amulets of Natural Armour +2, or Rings of Protection/Elemental Resistance.

A Periapt of Wisdom+6 for Valendo!

Tallarn said:

From the Drow City, a +1 Whip of Dancing, so that the Cleric of the Spider Queen can inflict pain without having to exert herself.

Click to expand...

Or herself if she lacks a victim...

Though technically it should be a scourge as the base weapon. (PC the stats in the FRCS, I can get them for you if need be.)

PC is this an underground city or above ground? Though for the record I expect it to be underground... I'll add some legit items when I wake up this afternoon or on my day off.

Hmmm, in a city of ghouls I'd expect a lot of items crafted from bone (which they have in abundance) but very little leather/sinew (why waste good food to make stuff, anyway?).

So:
- jewelry: any number of wearable goods could be carved of bone
- monuments: a complete set of anatomical statues?
- weaponry: Lee Press-on claws?
- books: methods to season uncooked flesh? anatomy texts (with flavor guides)? All sorts of crackpot cultic texts, too (it's not a hunger, it's a religion!)
- history: I don't really know enough about your world's history to come up with anything. However, I'd be very suspicious of any ghoul histories; they'd probably contain all sorts of plausible (but false) whitewashes of historical events.
- magic: Detect Living, naturally! Also, how about a spell/ritual to directly convert someone into a Ghoul? especially against their will (like the 13 Dreadlords/13 Myraddhals from Jordan's tome-doorstops?). Also, a Dinner Table of Regeneration

Anyway, I hope that helps!

Giantish Art

Immense alabaster statue (crudely executed) of a Giant wielding a Bastard Sword. No inscriptions. Knowledge (Religion) DC:25 or Bardic Knowledge will reveal it to be a statue of Crom, Giantish godlet of war and swordsgiantship. Value: About 100,000 GP to the proper collector. Weight: About one ton.

Piratecat said:

If you were an army of intelligent ghouls who had conquered cities of drow, svirfneblin, illithids, giants, and other underdark races (including trade with the kuo-toa), what trophies and treasures would be found in your city?

In particular, I'm looking for interesting, stylish or memorable examples of:

- art (including statuary)
- jewelry
- monuments
- unique weaponry
- books and information
- history
- magic

Click to expand...

Art/Monuments:
Ghouls might skip pre-made art and, um... make their own with those
who proved quite... troublesome. I can see the party being able to
consult a framed 'living collage' or a ghoulish version of a
victory monument made from the still moving 'melded and molded'
captives.

Jewelry:
Illithid: Might enhance or even grant psionic powers...
should be a little nasty to implement though.
Plain jewelry might/should showcase how really alien they are.

Svirfneblin: Should not be recognized as valuable... Why
should every mining/digging race feel the need to shape gems or
metals (barring say, magic use or tool making)? Lots and lots of
ore and uncut gems.

Everyone else:
More has been done on the drow...

Giants: Make it big... real big.

Kobolds: lots of stuff appropriated from bigger folk mixed with
religious relics. Some of the thieved items may be important
cultural heirlooms of other races.

Unique Weaponry:
A pick a 'cracking', great for collapsing tunnels. It could ignore
hardness and 1x a day cast a localized earthquake, say ten
foot radius, otherwise as per the spell.

Viral Claws: A little ghoulish invention. Infects one with
negative energy. If the target dies with in a set period of time
%chance of raising as a ghoul. If the target uses unarmed attacks
they can pass said infection to others.

Kua-Toa Oil/Slime: Apply during full body massage. Make a
grapple. Stick to opponent. Have lunch.

Books and Info:
How many loose threads are hanging in your campaign? I say, just
for fun, tease them with a modron tidbit or two.

Some nasty prophecies about falling gods of death or what not.

What if the Ghouls had a prophecy about the party (unless I forgot
something and they already do. In which case some false info to
scare them, say ghouls coming back 'more powerful then they could
imagine!?!')?

History:
What really happened to Sir Aleax? Confusion and Doubt! Confusion
and Doubt!
A crystal brain describing the illithids first foray into your
world.
What if the kobolds once were the masters of the dark? How far have
they fallen... how high could they rise?

Magic:
Something old.
Something alien.
Something that requires bugs...
lots and lots of bugs!


Hagy
Vermont

Drow Jewelry

"Webs" - Adamantium & tarnished Black Silver "webs" worn around the neck, with several pins (at the shoulders and upper breast) to hold it on. Often with a spider medallion in the center, and with depending skulls of bone or tarnished silver, and/or jewels (usually blood-red) hanging from the bottom web strands. The overall impression, of course, is of a spider's web.

Obviously of Drow make, the more valuable ones have the maker's marks of famous (or infamous) Drow crafters stamped upon the reverse. A few may be enchanted as Periapts, Medallions, etc.

Ghoulish Art

A picture of a proud Ghoulish ruler, signed by the artist: Pictman. He has also done many other, very realistic works, throughout the Palace... One shows a mother and child posing, behind them a ghoul reaches out for them. Another shows a baby sleeping in its cradle at night, a ghoul leaping through an open window. A third shows a horde of ghouls in a cemetary, around a landmark, reading a monument which says "[Insert famous hero] buried here." The ghouls are laughing... perhaps holding his gear, or perhaps he is among them! Etc., etc., ad nauseum.

Ghoulish Monument

In a small room just off the Throneroom, which at first appears to be a charnel pit, sits the Mound of Skulls. Obviously, it has sat here for some time. The grisly trophies are piled high, with crushed skulls at the bottom, and newer ones at the top...

In reality, this "Monument" to defeated enemies is a source of information for the ghoulish rulers... As enemy leaders are slain, their heads are added to the pile, so that Imbindarlian Clerics may cast Speak With Dead upon them, to gain information. As the skulls age and the Clerics are no longer able to speak with them, the Ivory King crushes them with a Mace-like scepter, adding the final insult to injury.