'Choice' Pieces of Treasure

[Cassandra]

Tsathogga’s Choice – from Table IV: 500 Gold Pieces

The Demon Lord Tsathogga (Bill Webb of Necromancer Games) selected this piece as his Choice. It is #34 from Table IV.

The three-legged bronze cooking pot [31 gp] is decorated with images of geometric dancing beasts which might be horses, or could be something much more fanciful. Time has turned the pot the soft, mossy green of aged metal, and years of use and wear have obscured the once-impressive carvings. Lifting the pot’s lid, you are assailed by the scent of old rot and ancient spices. Inside, treasure is piled haphazardly. A blunt-tipped ceremonial short sword [192 gp] cast from solid silver and inscribed by entwined serpents rests atop a pile of musty and moth eaten green cloth. Beside the sword is a small leather bag [1 sp], tied with purple thread; opening the bag, you discover [and possibly prick your finger on] a set of a dozen golden fishhooks [4 gp each]. Beneath the leather bag, you find a trio of bronze brooches [30 gp each], each studded with a ring of tiny cowrie shell studs nestled together. A ceremonial ivory mask [136 gp] depicting a laughing young woman with diamonds painted on her cheeks in green lies at the bottom of the pot, wrapped in yellowed linen [1 gp]. Though cracked, the mask is still clearly valuable, and would be worth something to a collector. [Total 498.1 gp]

Editor's Note:
I understand one reason Bill picked this treasure is because it manages to have a lot of things of value, without needing to use any coins.

 

[Cassandra]

Orcus’ Choice – from Table VI: 5,000 Gold Pieces

The Demon Lord Orcus (Clark Peterson of Necromancer Games) selected this piece as one of his favorites. It is #31 from Table VI.

You find a locked trunk bound in brass [Average lock; 46 gp], and a sturdy chest, also locked [Average lock; 42 gp]. The trunk is lined with cedar and in the top is a length of pale wool [3 gp]. Unfolding the fabric reveals a dress of black silk, trimmed with black lace and tiny beads of jet [royal outfit; 200 gp]. The dress would fit an athletic woman of average height. It is tight fitting past the hips, and then slit in front from above the knee to allow the wearer to walk, with a slight train in back. Lying below the dress is a full-length fur cloak with a deep hood, of darkest sable with a lining of black silk [760 gp]. A flat box in the bottom of the trunk is made of polished black wood [6 gp]. Inside, on silk padding, lies a piece of onyx two inches in diameter which has been carved into an exquisite black flower. It hangs on a slender black leather cord, accented by a few oval beads of jet and two round carnelians [3,468 gp]. Next to this lies a bracelet of carnelian beads, round and smooth, in colors ranging from fiery red to nearly cranberry dark [345 gp].

The chest holds a set of lacquered leather armor, in blood red studded with brass studs [28 gp]. The armor was obviously made for a female of average height, and would not fit a man well. Below the armor lie some weapons: a hand crossbow [100 gp], and a pair of daggers in red leather sheaths on a matching belt. The daggers are wickedly sharp, and each also has its hilt wrapped with red leather [4 gp each]. A red leather belt pouch [2 gp] holds an assortment of coins [32 gp, 87 sp, 92 cp] and an unmarked vial [antitoxin; 50 gp]. [Total 5,099.62 gp]

Editor's Note:
The perfect accent for your evil female antagonist! I’m tempted to write a female villain into an adventure just to be able to have her use some of this stuff.

 

[Cassandra]

Editor’s Choice - from Table IX: 50,000 Gold Pieces

The final 'choice' treasure is #8 from Table IX: 50,000 Gold Pieces, which is subtitled "I had not realized how heavy truly fabulous treasure could be!” This piece is the Editor’s Choice – the editor’s favorite treasure of the hundreds that crossed her desk.

Atop a heap of smashed chests and mixed coins [6,500 gp, 24,540 sp, 180,000 cp] stands a lifesized lion which appears to be made of solid gold [28,000 gp]. Maneuvering the lion down from the top of the pile [no mean feat, as it weighs 500 pounds], you set it down on the floor in front of you. The beast is masterfully carved, every detail breathing life into the figure: its mane is swept back as if the lion were in mid-stride, its eyes glint menacingly, and you can make out the countless individual strands of hair in its coat.

Turning back to the heap, you can see the smashed remnants of at least six large chests, which look as though they were chopped apart with axes. Buried among the thousands of coins you find six steel locks [Amazing locks, still locked and with no keys present; 150 gp each], a bejeweled longsword [masterwork, 2,600 gp], seven gnomish hooked hammers with wire-wrapped handles [20 gp each], a dozen silver candlesticks shaped like slender castle towers [50 gp each], two marble goblets with translucent quartz stems [350 gp each], three silver combs [40 gp each], a wooden statue of a graceful fawn, with one of its legs broken off [70 gp], a large bronze bowl, the rim of which is studded with bits of lapis lazuli [300 gp], a hunting horn carved from a single large piece of bone [200 gp], a matched pair of masterwork morningstars [308 gp each] and a marble sphere the size of a small barrel of ale [5,000 gp].

The longsword is finely made, with a tapered point and a long groove down the center of the blade. Its handle is made of horn covered in tiny brass studs, while its crosspiece is a thick wedge of steel; the pommel stone is an irregular chunk of red-veined marble. Just at the point where the hilt joins the crosspiece, it is set with two blazing fire opals.

Equally interesting is the large marble sphere, which is covered with carvings of demonic heads leering from flaming doorways, devils dragging pegasi from the sky with long, barbed chains and fiends with forked tongues impaling elves on wooden stakes. From its weight [close to 800 pounds], you guess the sphere is solid marble. [Though not magical, the sphere has been used in rituals of demonic summoning; it is up to the GM whether or not it provides any benefit in such rituals. ] [Total 50,000 gp]

Editor's Note:
One day when I was really sick of reading treasures, and ready to chuck the entire project, more new material arrived. I figured I’d rather look at something new than what I was already reading, so I opened the file. This piece has wonderful stuff: piles of money, golden statues, amazing weapons and lots of other things. The most important thing, though, was that it had one effect none of the other treasures had – when I read this, it just made me want to drop what I was doing and go play D&D!