D&D 5E "What Do You Mean, They Don't Have Any Loot?"

jayoungr · Jun 30, 2019

One set of players for whom I run games always, always, always loots the bodies. Ever since 5E started, one of their recurring complaints has been enemies who don't have anything on them, and I think it's fair to say that the published adventures generally don't have any sort of guideline as to how much cash random thugs, or whatever, would be carrying.

I thought as time went on, they'd become adjusted to the "new normal," but they still seem to miss the fun of writing down new loot on their character sheets after every fight. And if that's what they enjoy, well, fair enough.

Has anyone made or found a simple resource with suggested loot levels for various types of common enemies? Like, "Sewer scavenger, loot 2d4 silver" type entries?

ETA: To be clear, I'm looking for something that breaks it down in more detail than the DMG tables. A low-level merchant will probably be carrying more money than a low-level street urchin, for example.

ETA2: To be extra-clear, I'm looking for a guideline for cash, not mundane or magical items.

Fanaelialae · Jun 30, 2019

I don't have my DMG on me, but IIRC there are tables for each tier listing treasure for individual creatures, as well as hordes.

jayoungr · Jun 30, 2019

Those tables are a good start, but I was wondering if anyone knew of something a little more granular.

aco175 · Jun 30, 2019

I used to write in the adventures that you fine 20cp and 15sp on the bodies, but not I have that you find 1d6cp and 1d4sp on each dead body. It mostly works out the same, but the player get to roll more and are surprised if they roll very high or low.

I tend to have small creatures have just copper and silver with small gold on leaders and such. Goblins and bandits do not have much treasure. Some if because I give out more in a lair with a bigger monster to make up for it and some so that if I do give something big to a low-level threat, the players will think something is up.

I do not really follow the DMG treasure rules and give what I think is appropriate. Copper seems to go away after 5th level since it tends to be not tracked and the players say that goes to things like buying torches, washing clothes, sharpening weapons and such. I also tend to give out more magic than listed. Some since my games only go to level 10 or so and each of the PCs tend to get a weapon by level 3 or 4.

iserith · Jun 30, 2019

XGtE has a section on awarding magic items over the course of a campaign. There's a sidebar in that section that reveals the expected number of Treasure Hoards the PCs will uncover. You could perhaps base Individual Treasure rolls on those numbers, either following them exactly or by multiplying by some factor then seeding them among your NPCs and monsters.

There are a number of random treasure generators you can turn up in a Google search that will give you specific results quickly by CR, based on the DMG tables. As for the desired breakdown you have ("ETA" bit), I would suggest letting go of that. If you're using a random generator, part of the deal with that in my view is that sometimes you get weird results (a street urchin loaded down with gold you say?) and the challenge and fun there is figuring out why that makes sense. This may generate new areas for exploration and adventure hooks.

And because one of my posts wouldn't be complete without unsolicited advice: My players have been trained that looting after a fight is pretty much pointless - all the good stuff is found through exploration challenges, not combat challenges (with the odd exception). You get XP for combat and social in most of my campaigns and you get rich by exploration. My substitution for gold after a fight in XP, which I reward immediately, and they can level up straight away if they earn enough XP (since there are no rules about resting being required to level up). That seems to fill the desire for getting "something" to record on their sheets after a fight. Perhaps it might do the trick with your players as well if you're not already doing that.

Xaelvaen · Jun 30, 2019

jayoungr said:
Has anyone made or found a simple resource with suggested loot levels for various types of common enemies? Like, "Sewer scavenger, loot 2d4 silver" type entries?

ETA: To be clear, I'm looking for something that breaks it down in more detail than the DMG tables. A low-level merchant will probably be carrying more money than a low-level street urchin, for example.

I've not found a chart of any sort along these lines - instead, I ask the players to make search checks every time they loot a body (or group of bodies). Anything under 11 total gets them some coins and the obvious - what a person was wearing or carrying. Even a useless half-rusted goblin shortsword must be worth something to someone - of course, I inflict stricter carrying capacity rules if they try to take things that really aren't worth the time to gather.

If the roll is 11 or higher, I'll throw in one or two small items of value dependent on the situation. A silver ring that the merchant was wearing (worth maybe 10sp). Natural 20s of course give them sidetrek quest starters with far more reward to be had in the long run, if they remember to write it down and follow the clues. That's worked for the loot issues in my groups, thus far.

Teulisch · Jun 30, 2019

non-monetary loot is a wonderful thing... an NPC with a sack holding 5 pounds of carrots? hey, thats loot. they may have tools, or other random odds and ends.

in general, i would suggest just going with whatever feels like common sense for the enemies in question.

Quartz · Jun 30, 2019

jayoungr said:
Has anyone made or found a simple resource with suggested loot levels for various types of common enemies?

The loot is what I - the DM - want the PCs to have. If they have something special that I want the PCs to find and the PCs search then the PCs find it. And critters outside their lairs will have minimal cash loot. Remember the cardinal rule: you should only call for a roll when the result is in doubt. It also gives me the opportunity to fix earlier problems.

For example, the PCs come across a slaughtered caravan but fail to search, so they fail to find the letter of introduction secreted on one of the bodies. So later they encounter some of the bandits. The bandits have wealth way beyond the ordinary, having just raided the caravan, but most importantly, they have the letter. Of course, much of that loot may be spoiled in the battle - Fireball does a real number on silk, you know?

Tony Vargas · Jun 30, 2019

jayoungr said:
I thought as time went on, they'd become adjusted to the "new normal," but they still seem to miss the fun of writing down new loot on their character sheets after every fight. And if that's what they enjoy, well, fair enough.

Has anyone made or found a simple resource with suggested loot levels for various types of common enemies? Like, "Sewer scavenger, loot 2d4 silver" type entries?

ETA: To be clear, I'm looking for something that breaks it down in more detail than the DMG tables. A low-level merchant will probably be carrying more money than a low-level street urchin, for example.

As often seems to be the case, I feel like I already have this resource from back in the day. 1e had Treasure Types, they were pretty generic, so many lbs (coins were 10/lb!) of each type of metal, including electrum, so many gems, items, etc.

I wanted to spice it up so I went through equipment tables and categorized anything/everything into equivalent value:weight of those various metals. So if a creature had 2000 cp, I wouldn't just have them in penny rolls, or sacks, I'd pick items with that value:weight ratio that seemed appropriate for the creature to have or have lying around from past victims.

So it could be very detailed and verisimilitudinousnessossitish.

Retreater · Jun 30, 2019

I think there's a disconnect between player expectations (from video games and previous editions) and the tools 5e actually gives DMs. Every session I run, after every encounter, in every group I run, players always search for treasure. They look for coin, they look for potions, they look for magic armor and weapons. To date, no official published adventure I've used has addressed this. None have used the guidelines in the DMG or Xander's Guide to Whatever. My party of 5th level characters are still so impoverished, they haven't yet gotten a single permanent magic item. (They've received a handful of potions.) The writers at D&D should follow their rules when creating adventures.