So, this came up recently in another thread in a minor way but it is something i have brought up in roundabout ways several times.
Focus is on 5e GMs and the following question:
Why or Why Not do you include Wandering Treasure in your campaign - but specifically in your "inside" encounters?
What do i mean by "Wandering Treasure"?
Pretty much the same thing that is often meant by "Wandering Monsters" - known things inside the scene/scenery/site of the adventure ("dungeon" if you prefer but could be manor house, tavern, ruins etc) that you do not set into a given specific known spot but which might be anywhere.
Example: These ruins used to be an old temple, so there are XYZ GP of valuable parephenalia and temple goods scattered around in the place plus a bit of lesser stuff that is destroyed."
The idea is this and it stems from a bit of a disconnect between "outdoor and indoors" approaches in 5e.
Obvious in both indoor and outdoor cases there will be "set known things" where an precise location and precise inventory or roster is determined and fized. "There is a gold ring and a key in the drawer in room 12" vs "There is an old fountain busted at the base of the northern face and there are three orcs camped there."
Obvious in outdoor cases there is stuff of value or utility around that is not given specific places etc. Example "foraging". The Gm does not place every rabbit and berry bush, but instead puts a DC on an attempt to go "and find food and water" (foraging) based on scarcity and other factors and then the result of a check determines whether or not something was found and if so how much.
The successful results of the check determines the "was there stuff there or not and did i get it or not" as opposed to the "results determining "I got there and there were no animals or berries." Thats because it is expected that the Gm did not pin down all the possible and specific stuff.
Most commonly in indoor cases, that changes. A result of "i search the room" or "i search the rubble" is treated as "how good a looksee did you get, did you miss anything, did you find what was there if any?" The result does not however say anything about "was there something there" because in frankly a lot of cases it *is* expected for there to be a precise list of stuff that is in specific places and "a pile of rubble" that i did not write down "has stuff in it" has to be empty - even devoid of clues.
So, in practice, beating a search DC means "if there was something there, you found it" and beating a survival DC means "you found something" and thats a significant difference in gameplay and expectations.
Now, additionally, its not at all uncommon even in indoors to have the creatures moving around - wandering from room to room... so they may have some specific "starting points" but many can be encountered anywhere... but not for goods.
So, what I do in my games is this:
1 - I always have some "gimmicks" on hand for each PC - items that can be dropped that tie in with the character in some way - backstory, background, class and race are the basic four and i try to have four gimmicks for each character on hand. Whenever it seems good to toss something in - including on a strong roll - i toss in one for *a* character - often the one with the roll.
2 - I tend, especially in any sort of "ruined" or "travelled" - well basically anything really because if its lived in its being shifted day by day and if its abandoned its crumbling etc - so almost anytime - have a general idea of "stuff thats likely to be here." truthfully, its as often or not just some notes as opposed to some list - and when a room is searched i can reward a good check (or a long stay perhaps) with some of that wandering treasure - even if its more trinket than commodity and even/especially if its value is more clue than coin.
So "i search thru the rubble and get a 23" is treated more like a foraging check outdoors would be in that the RESULT is successful and something turns up as opposed to being more like trying to find "a Coupe DeVille hiding at the bottom of a CrackerJack box."
So, GMs do you use "Wandering Treasure" or whatever you want to name "theres stuff scattered around they can find on searches that i did not detail to the room and container" for your indoor scenes, sometimes, never, always, mostly, rarely?
Do you treat "foraging" (DC for scarcity and Success = get stuff - plus possibly pre-determined set pieces) and search resolutions the same or differently?
If you do use it in 5e (or have in other systems) - Wandering treasure in some form, what are some of your good or bad accounts of it?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I know i have seen modules and adventures at times which went to the detail of saying something like this -a chart of general finds in searches - often utility value.
Thanks for your time and participation.
Focus is on 5e GMs and the following question:
Why or Why Not do you include Wandering Treasure in your campaign - but specifically in your "inside" encounters?
What do i mean by "Wandering Treasure"?
Pretty much the same thing that is often meant by "Wandering Monsters" - known things inside the scene/scenery/site of the adventure ("dungeon" if you prefer but could be manor house, tavern, ruins etc) that you do not set into a given specific known spot but which might be anywhere.
Example: These ruins used to be an old temple, so there are XYZ GP of valuable parephenalia and temple goods scattered around in the place plus a bit of lesser stuff that is destroyed."
The idea is this and it stems from a bit of a disconnect between "outdoor and indoors" approaches in 5e.
Obvious in both indoor and outdoor cases there will be "set known things" where an precise location and precise inventory or roster is determined and fized. "There is a gold ring and a key in the drawer in room 12" vs "There is an old fountain busted at the base of the northern face and there are three orcs camped there."
Obvious in outdoor cases there is stuff of value or utility around that is not given specific places etc. Example "foraging". The Gm does not place every rabbit and berry bush, but instead puts a DC on an attempt to go "and find food and water" (foraging) based on scarcity and other factors and then the result of a check determines whether or not something was found and if so how much.
The successful results of the check determines the "was there stuff there or not and did i get it or not" as opposed to the "results determining "I got there and there were no animals or berries." Thats because it is expected that the Gm did not pin down all the possible and specific stuff.
Most commonly in indoor cases, that changes. A result of "i search the room" or "i search the rubble" is treated as "how good a looksee did you get, did you miss anything, did you find what was there if any?" The result does not however say anything about "was there something there" because in frankly a lot of cases it *is* expected for there to be a precise list of stuff that is in specific places and "a pile of rubble" that i did not write down "has stuff in it" has to be empty - even devoid of clues.
So, in practice, beating a search DC means "if there was something there, you found it" and beating a survival DC means "you found something" and thats a significant difference in gameplay and expectations.
Now, additionally, its not at all uncommon even in indoors to have the creatures moving around - wandering from room to room... so they may have some specific "starting points" but many can be encountered anywhere... but not for goods.
So, what I do in my games is this:
1 - I always have some "gimmicks" on hand for each PC - items that can be dropped that tie in with the character in some way - backstory, background, class and race are the basic four and i try to have four gimmicks for each character on hand. Whenever it seems good to toss something in - including on a strong roll - i toss in one for *a* character - often the one with the roll.
2 - I tend, especially in any sort of "ruined" or "travelled" - well basically anything really because if its lived in its being shifted day by day and if its abandoned its crumbling etc - so almost anytime - have a general idea of "stuff thats likely to be here." truthfully, its as often or not just some notes as opposed to some list - and when a room is searched i can reward a good check (or a long stay perhaps) with some of that wandering treasure - even if its more trinket than commodity and even/especially if its value is more clue than coin.
So "i search thru the rubble and get a 23" is treated more like a foraging check outdoors would be in that the RESULT is successful and something turns up as opposed to being more like trying to find "a Coupe DeVille hiding at the bottom of a CrackerJack box."
So, GMs do you use "Wandering Treasure" or whatever you want to name "theres stuff scattered around they can find on searches that i did not detail to the room and container" for your indoor scenes, sometimes, never, always, mostly, rarely?
Do you treat "foraging" (DC for scarcity and Success = get stuff - plus possibly pre-determined set pieces) and search resolutions the same or differently?
If you do use it in 5e (or have in other systems) - Wandering treasure in some form, what are some of your good or bad accounts of it?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I know i have seen modules and adventures at times which went to the detail of saying something like this -a chart of general finds in searches - often utility value.
Thanks for your time and participation.
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