Looting the looters (my group stay out!)

[Softwind]

I've been thinking lately about economics in the game. Specifically, what makes, or rather, keeps, something valuable? Intrinsic or otherwise? Why is gold valuable, if seemingly every treasure horde has hundreds if not thousands of the little round disks made of the metal? Just how many "pretty sparklies" can you dump into a local economy, until it gets to the point that kids are playing marbles with them in the street?

Taking this a step further - how much magic can be produced in "permanent" form, until the object thus crafted becomes just another bauble? Just how many Longsword +1s does the average town need? Does every street corner vendor soon have potions and scrolls for sale, much like a newspaper/coffee kiosk? (Starbucks, anyone?)

Granted, it may take a long time to get to this point, but as another poster mentioned, most D&D worlds have civilizations that span thousands of years, with citizens that possibly could have been there at the founding of the city/state/nation.

Anyway, having said that, I've got an idea for a treasure that would retain at least a portion of it's value, if only because the items provide comfort, service, or useful functionality to day-to-day life.

Utility items

Clothing - Protection from blank - raincoat that doesn't get wet, blacksmith gloves that won't scorch, hat that shades the user in the hottest sun, bunny slippers of foot massage, (my wife's favorite - green blankie of comfyness, it's warm, it's soft, it "makes you sleep better" )

Jewelry - ocular of minute vision (aka jewelers loupe), pendant that provides minor protection from disease/poison/hot/cold/etc (+1 to save, or something), tiara with continual flame (make it sparkle!), ear horn (+2 to Listen)

Cookware - warming pan, chill stone, spoon of perpetual stirring, everfull gruel pot (yum!), eversharp knives, self-turning spits


Well, anyway. The list could be huge - just think of things today that are used constantly that require or are inproved by modern materials or power. Toothbrush. Cell phone. Television. Oven/stove. Rotisserie. Fondue pot!

Now, take these ponderings and apply them to different cultures, as some previous posters have. Find a focus for each race, something that each member of the race would have in common, and build items from there.
Applying that to the world of D&D as it stands would seem to make every race be militant, because the majority of magic items in existance are weapons or defensive items. There are exceptions of course. I just think there should be more. (Haven't done much about it, since I've just recently started thinking about it.)

Sorry, I think I've gone off the topic that this thread was started for. Hmm, let's try yanking this back to topic, thus:

drow - dark, spider, evil, torture items
illithid - brains, dark, mind/psionics, evil, torture items
giants - BIG, evil, simple, food, torture devices

Hmm, there's a theme there. I'll stop now.

 

[BSF]

Weaponry
Spite - +3 Chaotic Adamtine Bastard Sword (I actually used this for an NPC in my game who was fond of using a True Strike/Sunder combo while Hasted. She liked to get rid of her opponents weapons.)

Justice - +1 Righteous Long Sword (Heh - If you read the MEG Pedro Mondragon contest, you might recognize this one. The Righteous property is, essentially, the light version of Holy. OGC from "Call of Duty".)

An Adamtine Bastard Sword with elaborate (though completely non-functional) runes carved along the blade. The handle is wrapped in platinum wire. The hilt is gold chased. Add gems to flavor in the pommel, hilt, etc. (Yet another I used in a game as an award for a weapon collector. The thing is pretty and all. But, you wouldn't really want to use it in combat.)

 

[carpedavid]

more books...

Here are a few more books that you could probably adapt quite easily for your own purposes...

[name]'s Fully Illustrated Guide to the Dissection and Preservation of Magical Beasts
by ????
Language: Common
Format: Hide-bound, saddle-stitched quartos; gilded parchment leaves; gold leaf, hand-tooled cover; 34 volumes; 8596 pp.
Cost/Value: 215,000 gp

[name]'s Fully Illustrated Guide to the Dissection and Preservation of Magical Beasts is, as the title suggests, a work with a strongly necromantic flavor. It contains a complete discussion of the habitat, ecology, behavior, physiology, and supernatural abilities of magical beasts in addition to very detailed and graphic anatomic diagrams and dissection instructions.

It is widely considered to be both the authoritative work on the subject of magical beasts and an example of what happens when powerful necromancers have too much time on their hands.

The work is published in 34 hide-bound volumes (a different creature's hide for each volume) with gilded pages, full color illustrations, and very tiny print.

Replace [name] in the title of the book with a name appropriate for the race that created it. Suggestions: Illixis for a mind flayer, Neleashun for a drow, or Roan for a ghoul.

Building a Better Golem
by Kurash Stonecutter
Language: Dwarven
Format: Hide-bound, ring-bound folio; pounded tin leaves; embossed cover; 346 pp.
Cost/Value: 5,600 gp

Building a Better Golem is a practical guide to the creation of unusual and exquisite constructs. Written by a dwarven cleric, it contains construct-enhancing spells, rituals for imbuing constructs with specific powers, and instructions for construct repair.

Perhaps the ghouls adapted the instructions in this book to build their skeletal siege engines?

Illustratum Diabolis
by Brom the Mad
Language: Infernal
Format: Flesh-bound, hand-stitched duodecimo; gilded velum leaves; platinum leaf-embossed cover; 516 pp
Cost/Value: 12,500 gp

Illustratum Diabolis is a treatise on the infernal hierarchies. It details the political hierarchy, taxonomy, and ecology of demons and devils. It contains a primer on infernal etiquette (including proper bribery techniques), a section on the intricacies of infernal law, and a very thick chapter on how to haggle with fiends without inadvertently losing your immortal soul.

Careful study of this volume gives the reader a +2 bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks when dealing with members of the infernal hierarchy.

Adventurous souls may make use of the Greater Planar Binding spell contained within.

I'm not sure why the ghouls would have this, though they certainly may have intended to make use of it at some point.

 

[Burne]

If you are using the mind flayers = asexual brain tadpoles method of reproduction, then the party could find a mind flayer family photo. Of course this photo is a large block of clear glass/crystal containing a human family (dead) with plagues for "mother" "father" etc. I will leave the choice of wheather the family is a happy family or not up to the reader.

 

[The Lone Badger]

An Adamtine Bastard Sword with elaborate (though completely non-functional) runes carved along the blade. The handle is wrapped in platinum wire. The hilt is gold chased. Add gems to flavor in the pommel, hilt, etc. (Yet another I used in a game as an award for a weapon collector. The thing is pretty and all. But, you wouldn't really want to use it in combat.)

Looks ready made for enchantment to me. Like a gift-voucher for weaponry.

 

[Softwind]

In counterpoint to my previous post, I've been toying with a magical elixer that is rather fun, for all it's randomness. I've called it Oil of Increase, a rare and valuable substance that is composed primarily of the Weave itself. When applied to an item of masterwork quality or better (adamantine, mithril, darkwood, etc), it's properties are activated. Here is where the fun comes in:

For months, real time, my players have been walking around with this stuff, not entirely sure of how to properly use it (4 doses, 6 players). Even after much research and testing, they have no way of knowing or controling the results.
So, one of them got impatient, and used it on her already magic bow. Now, she has a Commanding, Shocking Mighty (+3) Longbow +1. With, perhaps, a drawback... Seeing no obvious, immediate bad effects, the monk applies some to his adamantine Red Tiger claws - Now they are Heartseeker claws +1. Again, no immediately obvious bad thing (tm).

Two doses left, and still 4 people eyeing it. Ah, you should see the negotiations and inner struggles to determine who will use it next. I think they want to wait until something bad does happen. And if nothing bad happens, well then, the dickering and auctioning will begin.

The reason I brought this up is that the DoD can be given something that on the surface doesn't appear that great (why else would it still be laying around in a treasure pile?) but if taken advantage of, may potentially create a very nice item. And since this stuff is resistant to any depth of testing and discovery, it can be a wonderful way to introduce something new into the mix. That axe you imbued? Became intelligent. That armor it was rubbed into? Animated. Your newly magic sheild? Smells like mating pheramones of a elder wurm. Imagine the torment of having an arrow reflecting, shocking bullrush tower shield that is irrestitable to a black dragon. Let the fun begin!

 

[Dakkareth]

Illustratum Diabolis
by Brom the Mad
Language: Infernal
Format: Flesh-bound, hand-stitched duodecimo; gilded velum leaves; platinum leaf-embossed cover; 516 pp
Cost/Value: 12,500 gp

Illustratum Diabolis is a treatise on the infernal hierarchies. It details the political hierarchy, taxonomy, and ecology of demons and devils. It contains a primer on infernal etiquette (including proper bribery techniques), a section on the intricacies of infernal law, and a very thick chapter on how to haggle with fiends without inadvertently losing your immortal soul.

Just the thing Agar needs, right

 

[Eccles]

OK. It's a little bit slapdash, and is based on a US religious wedding contract. We don't have 'em in the UK, so I've had to guess quite a lot. Oh, and I've kept it very informal, as it as supposed to be a halfling contract after all.

The way I've written it, the demon / devil is better off being good and waiting for Agar to mess up. As long as either party is at the marital home for a time every six months, they are both free to travel the world. Oh, and given that Agar is a planeswalker, his loving fiancee has asked me as the family lawyer to allow him to take other partners on other planes. You know. Just as her gift to him. OK, so she gets the same rights, but what stay at home halfling maiden would want another husband?

In the event of separation, Agar has to pay for the family home, and her expenses. And he can only separate with the agreement of community elders. (The original contract doesn't say which community, so I suppose if she lives in the Abyss for 5 months out of every 6, that would have to count as her community, and she would therefore have some sort of multi-limbed monstrosity as her chosen elder...) If the elders agree to let them divorce, he has to give her the house, or items to the marketable value of the same. I'm not too sure what the market value of a soul is, but I'm pretty sure it's very very low.

Oh, and the section headed "Mutual Sexual Congress" may cause Agar's player a bit of a panic, but there's no real obligation contained in there. Yet.

I'm trying to mash it into an old-style UK contract format, under which there is no punctuation and hardly any layout at all. It makes it a lot harder to read.

It's taking some time, and this is something of a work in progress. But I'm busy doing less entertaining work, too...

 

[BSF]

Looks ready made for enchantment to me. Like a gift-voucher for weaponry.

Hmm, you are probably right. I originally handed that out in a 1st Ed AD&D game. Nowadays, there is no real reason why you couldn't enchant it. I may need to re-introduce this to my next campaign for grins.

 

[Eccles]

There we go. Finished.

This is the mark 2 "far more confusing" version. No real substantive changes, it's just much much harder to read.

For real authenticity, write it by hand on A3 waxed paper and stick a few massive seals on it. (Thank goodness we don't do that anymore!)