D&D 5E Monster bits

[MG.0]

I have a party that is obsessed with cutting off bits of everything they defeat in combat "just in case". I get bombarded with questions about the value of an owlbear's beak, or dragon teeth, or a Nothic's eye, as well as possible uses. It strains my creativity at times. So, what uses and or recommended prices does anyone have for various monster bits?

 

[Crothian]

Potions and spell components. There has been in other editions parts of books and articles that would say these monster parts allows these things to happen with magic. Have fun with it. Especially if they carry around meaty parts in hot climates. That can get nasty fast.

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

The DMG has tables for individual treasure for monsters based on CR (p 136).

For an owlbear (CR3) the treasure ranges from 5d6 copper to 1d6 platinum. Now obviously an owlbear is not going to have a puch of coins, so that monetary value has to come from the bits you can cut off and sell.

Rather than worry about claws and eyeballs and gall bladders and the like, roll and tell the players "you got 3 GP worth of components."

 

[MG.0]

Potions and spell components. There has been in other editions parts of books and articles that would say these monster parts allows these things to happen with magic. Have fun with it. Especially if they carry around meaty parts in hot climates. That can get nasty fast.

Yeah I know there's been stuff in the past and I might dig into some of my old books to see if I can find something specific. I've planned for special bits to be components for potions or spell research before. I've just never had a party that was so insistent on doing this to everything they fight...giant spiders, bugbears, goblins, wolves, etc. What can you get off of a goblin that's useful?

 

[MG.0]

The DMG has tables for individual treasure for monsters based on CR (p 136).

For an owlbear (CR3) the treasure ranges from 5d6 copper to 1d6 platinum. Now obviously an owlbear is not going to have a puch of coins, so that monetary value has to come from the bits you can cut off and sell.

Rather than worry about claws and eyeballs and gall bladders and the like, roll and tell the players "you got 3 GP worth of components."

The individual treasure tables might be a good way to set the value. I hadn't thought of using it that way. I had considered it for more along the lines of "incidental" treasure from previous victims and the like.

I think I want something a bit more descriptive than just a gp value though.

 

[Wik]

If you're ever stumped, roll on the random trinket table for intelligent monster "bits". If the Players haven't memorized the table, and you act like it's a real valid magic item, your players will love the gear. And there are a bunch of "what's in my pocket?" tables on the internet kicking around.

As for monster bits, make sure you enforce time on this. If you have random encounters in your game, and there's a 20% chance every ten minutes, and the PCs take 10 minutes each fight to strip a monster of any interesting "parts", they're making an interesting game decision! And that's always a plus.

You can always go with the magical component route, but I'd also tie it to bragging rights. Have items that can be made into clothing. Or mounted on a wall of the PCs' house. Doing stuff like this means that the PCs aren't just trying to get more treasure ("greyhawking the dungeon"), but actually get something less tangible out of it. In my experience, that's what this behaviour is aiming for - not a mechanical gain, but something more ephemeral that feels more "creative" and reflects a character's past exploits more than mere experience points.

 

[MG.0]

You can always go with the magical component route, but I'd also tie it to bragging rights. Have items that can be made into clothing. Or mounted on a wall of the PCs' house. Doing stuff like this means that the PCs aren't just trying to get more treasure ("greyhawking the dungeon"), but actually get something less tangible out of it. In my experience, that's what this behaviour is aiming for - not a mechanical gain, but something more ephemeral that feels more "creative" and reflects a character's past exploits more than mere experience points.

There is a fair bit of that. One of the party members always wants to collect the head of any new type of creature they kill. He regularly visits a taxidermist in town, but I am constantly being asked things like "How much does a bugbear's head weigh?" Now that's a table I've never seen. I've had to extrapolate several using humans as a base: http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2006/DmitriyGekhman.shtml

 

[Wik]

There is a fair bit of that. One of the party members always wants to collect the head of any new type of creature they kill. He regularly visits a taxidermist in town, but I am constantly being asked things like "How much does a begbear's head weigh?" Now that's a table I've never seen. I've had to extrapolate several using humans as a base: http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2006/DmitriyGekhman.shtml

I love players like that! Always a lot of fun.

While it's a bit off topic, when questions like that happen, I tend to just say "You know what? I don't know? What do YOU think?" Usually you'll get a bit of feedback, and you can work out an answer on the question. Though having to find an answer using math and reading is also great - you get to learn new things, which is one of the major selling points of D&D for me.

An idea just occurred to me. If this player keeps the heads stuffed in one place, why not have someone (a sage, perhaps, or a naturalist) visit the PC and ask to see his collection? It'd be a fun encounter. Also, apparently (based on a single conversation I had a few years ago that was really weird) taxidermists like to "trade" their finds. It'd be a lot of fun to have someone go "I'll trade my peryton for your owlbear".

 

[Rabbitbait]

There was a very old D&D supplement that listed monster parts that could be used in making of magic items and as components and had the market value of each one. I wish I could remember the name of it. I kept the book for years just because of that list.

I found this: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/magic/metamagicComponents.htm

But it's no more than OK.

I'm going to wrack my brain to remember that supplement because it might be purchasable on pdf.


Edit: Found it, and you can buy it: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/16864/Players-Option--Spells--Magic-2e?it=1

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Let them sell the body pieces and in the background there is a bad guy who is buying them up off the various merchants etc - and building them into an army of Frankenstein constructs.
Then watch the players faces as the owlbear beak they sold for 3gp comes back and - literally - bites them in the ass...