How do you distribute treasure?

[Jack7]

I always emplace, and to me that is a better description from my point of view than distribute (for I usually think of what the players do as distributing their treasure once they find or take it), with this method:

A certain percentage will be specifically geared towards the characters as a plot device. That is the treasure fits the characters and assists in some way with either story/campaign/world development, or with character development. This small percentage is like finding the Ring of Sauron from LOTR, or searching for and finding the Golden Fleece. So I call this the Mythic or Quest Percentage. It is usually very small. The Mythic percentage must also fit the Guardian. That is to say there is a logical reason a particular guardian keeps or guards this type of treasure.

The Second percentage is the Utility Percentage. Stuff the characters may or may not find useful and would be a natural development of acquisition traits of the guardian. That is it would be stuff the guardian (if there is a guardian) would desire to have or would have naturally acquired, taken, conquered, or created.

The Third percentage is the Monetary Percentage. These are any and all things of monetary or economic value. It may have other value but it's chief value is as hard currency or as tradable or exchangeable goods.

The Fourth Percentage is the Accidental Percentage. These are things that may have been acquired purely by happenstance, or accident, or as supplementary to what the guardian had originally intended to acquire. Things acquired while seeking other things, or "found things." Such things may have curiosity value or they may hide, conceal, or misdirect a very important treasure. I sometimes determine the Monetary percentage and the Accidental Percentage randomly as I'm creating the dungeon.

The Fifth kind of treasure I sometimes emplace is the Component Percentage or the Collector percentage. This is usually treasure that goes unrecognized at first because it is often just one part or component of a larger item or piece, or is a collector's item, but is not a famous piece. It would have immense historical or personal value to some, perhaps, but a very few or small or select group of individuals or creatures would even recognize it or know it for what it really is. Often unrecognized by guardian possessor.

The Sixth kind of treasure is the Special Percentage. It is usually the guardian itself. Say you slay a dragon, then the blood of the beast usually has some special, mythic, spiritual, and/or pragmatic value. The scales are of value, the ichor (blood), the claws, the eyes, etc. If you don't kill the dragon it may divulge information, a clue, or place a beneficial enchantment on the party or on an individual. If the players kill a Troll then it's blood may have regenerating properties that can be used to create medicines or potions. If the players solve the riddle of a Sphinx then the Sphinx may give out valuable additional information, or may grant them a boon, or give them an unexpected treasure. It may accompany them as a guide for a certain distance or to a certain place. (This prevents monsters from just being biological obstacles and turns them into biological value-assets as well. so the impulse is not just to kill but to examine potentialities inherent within the "monster.") The horns of a miniature may be used to create an enchanted scrying device, or can be ground up into a powder that allows one to grow horns on their own head, to breathe underwater, or to gain "bull's strength." In cases like this the effect will often vary greatly with the particular creature, or with the circumstances.


This is usually how I emplace such treasures:

Mythic Percentage - 1-2% of a dungeon's overall Treasure, always carefully planned by me as DM. Usually in direct possession of the guardian.

Utility Percentage - roughly 20-25%

Monetary Percentage - roughly 40% of total treasure. Planned or random.

Accidental Percentage - roughly 20-35%

Component/Collector Percentage - 1-2% of overall treasure, always carefully planned by me.

Special or Guardian Percentage - Players have to experiment or figure it out. Effects vary but always carefully planned by DM.

You don't have to include any particular kind or type of treasure in any given treasure parcel or trove.


Edit: By the way, I wanted to mention this way of distributing treasure and of displaying "Monsters" as a type of treasure. I wrote this set of encounters into the campaign as a way of helping the characters and of revealing certain secret plot-devices through the agency of a "monster."

One time my players encountered the actions of a Golem in their game. The golem kept seeming to re-enact carefully orchestrated scenes of murder, often involving complex "displays" that seemed well beyond its capabilities to understand and that seemed to have nothing directly to do with the murder(s) themselves. They finally caught up with the golem and were about to slay it when it begged for mercy and said it was not responsible for its actions (had never killed anyone)

When questioned about the murders and its "displays" the golem claimed no knowledge of them at all, saying it had been created by a Cleric as guardian for the poor and oppressed, and that the Paladin and Cleric should recognize its goodness. Then one of the players realized that the "displays" almost exactly matched scenes and stories from a book of Legends and Fables that the party already had possession of, but the book was incomplete, it had several sections missing. The players believed if they could recover the missing sections then the book would provide clues for the treasure they were searching for and how to proceed with their campaign and Quest.

They stripped all of the belongings of the golem, including his clothes and sought to detect magic upon it. When they did they discovered that the entire body of the golem had been covered in invisible, arcane scripts, along with various other charms and enchantments. When they were finally able to decipher them it turned out to be a complete copy of the book of Legends and Fables which they possessed, and which indeed provided them with the clues they wanted. As they read the script off the golem's body the writings burned away and disappeared forever. After all the script was gone they were able to transcribe the stories to their copy of the book. And after all the writing had burned away the golem then remembered that his master, the Cleric, had been murdered by a Sorcerer, who had also written the scripts into his body and had cursed him to forever repeat the gruesome stories contained in the writings. So that "monster" ended up being the "Treasure" the party had been searching for for a very long time.

Anyways I mention it cause there is more than one way to skin a cat, distribute a treasure, and more than one way to place a treasure in front of your players than just the "coin in the box trick."

 

[Truename]

I use the DMG parcel system. I'm playing 4e Scales of War, so at the beginning of each adventure I plan out all of the treasure for the adventure. I start by deciding who will get what level items, trying to keep their relative power balanced. I keep a spreadsheet showing who has what and the total market value of their items.

Next, I look for each item. I look at my spreadsheet and see what slots the character has yet to fill (or where the character is performing poorly in actual play). I go on the Compendium and look at all items of the level that the character is getting, then pick an item that evokes the atmosphere I'm aiming for and that I think the player would like. I reference the players' wishlists but don't feel bound by them. (Most of my players don't provide wishlists anyway.)

Finally, I look at the locations suggested in the adventure and place the items where they make sense, particularly after major encounters. Gold and monetary treasure gets sprinkled around wherever it makes sense. If there adventure includes secret stashes, I'll be sure to place interesting treasure there, but not necessarily the essential treasure.

So for me, the approach is "item level for character -> evocative and useful item -> sensible location." It seems a little backwards (I used to start with "what makes sense for this monster and location") but in practice I like how it's working out.

 

[Jack7]

I use the DMG parcel system. I'm playing 4e Scales of War, so at the beginning of each adventure I plan out all of the treasure for the adventure. I start by deciding who will get what level items, trying to keep their relative power balanced. I keep a spreadsheet showing who has what and the total market value of their items.

Next, I look for each item. I look at my spreadsheet and see what slots the character has yet to fill (or where the character is performing poorly in actual play). I go on the Compendium and look at all items of the level that the character is getting, then pick an item that evokes the atmosphere I'm aiming for and that I think the player would like. I reference the players' wishlists but don't feel bound by them. (Most of my players don't provide wishlists anyway.)

Finally, I look at the locations suggested in the adventure and place the items where they make sense, particularly after major encounters. Gold and monetary treasure gets sprinkled around wherever it makes sense. If there adventure includes secret stashes, I'll be sure to place interesting treasure there, but not necessarily the essential treasure.

So for me, the approach is "item level for character -> evocative and useful item -> sensible location." It seems a little backwards (I used to start with "what makes sense for this monster and location") but in practice I like how it's working out.

I like that general approach TN. Generally I do reference the past, how a thing came into the possession of the monster and how it got to such and such a location, but I don't see any necessary conflict between that factor and your basic formula - "item level for character -> evocative and useful item -> sensible location."

After all in any given setting or milieu there are only so many viable treasure and monster locations. Treasure doesn't usually sit out in the open everywhere or it would already be dispersed or taken.

Then again with important and powerful items then such things might "have a mind of their own." They seek out locations maybe not where a particular character will find them, but where they know they are likely to be found by someone who can establish a "mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship."

The Grail isn't looking for Galahad, Galahad is looking for the Grail, but the Grail also knows that eventually somebody like Galahad will win through.

The powerful or important item has a purpose that must be fulfilled. As long as the one who helps it fulfill its purpose is worthy, then it is ready and willing to be found.

 

[Dragonblade]

I don't want to deal with treasure when I DM. I try to focus on story and treasure just gets in the way unless its something specific to the story I'm working on. Making sure characters have the items needed for their level is important, but its just fiddly details I don't want to bother with.

So whenever the PCs would find an item of X level, I won't even bother with wish lists. I'll just say to the players, "You find an item of X level. Decide which one of you gets it and go pick it out of the PHB, or Adventurer's Vault."

I also allow buying and selling at cost. 4e does such a good job of balancing items, that I no longer feel the need to micromanage items to the degree I did in prior editions.