Quick! I need a small treasure trove in two hours!!!

[Mercurius]

We're transition our game to an Underdark mega-adventure, but as they make their way back to the main city I wanted them to run into a couple big encounters to get them closer to Paragon tier, as well as drop a few plot coupons for later on. Tonight--in about two and a half hours--I'm going to run them through a slightly modified version of the "Feywild Lair" in Draconomicon: The Chromatic Dragons where they will have their first encounter with a dragon, a young green.

Anyhow, I haven't given them a nice cache of magic items for awhile; in fact, I've been a bit skimpy, mainly giving them monetary treasure which they've spent on magic items, thereby feeding the nasty magic item economy I'm trying to keep toned down. I'd like to give them a group of magic items (assuming they kill the beast) that are useful for everyone--not quite major quest-ending magic items, but stuff they'll be excited about. Ideally there will be something for everyone, or most everyone.

The party is all 7th-level, and all male except the rogue:
Human warlock
Human rogue
Human cleric
Half-elf wizard
Eladrin swordmage

I don't want the items so obviously matched as to seem contrived or tailor made, but something for everyone, even one or two party-oriented items (they already have a portable hole, so that's out).

Any ideas?

 

[Mark]

Perhaps a shipment of cloaks wound up in this cache, maybe six in the carton. They could have multiple functions to suit what is coming along with some sort of protection elements that you feel would benefit everyone. Some single use poison neutralization items might also be in order down there.

 

[STAT]

Well here's a quick list I just came up with:

magical +2 leather armor - lvl 6 - PHB - Your group seems leather armor centric and you cant go wrong with generic +2 magic armor.

+2 armor of resistance - lvl 7 - AV - Give them a resist that will at least occasionally come up and they'll probably be happy.

Deathcut Armor +2 - lvl 10 - PHB - Good resists and some damage for a daily.

Transference weapon +2 - lvl 7 - AV- Always nice to be able to pawn off an annoying condition back onto a bad guy.

Luckblade +2 - lvl 8 - AV - Everyone can use a reroll.

Terror Weapon +2 - lvl 9 - PHB - d8 crits and a solid debuff for a daily.

Symbol of Resilience +2 - lvl 7 - AV - Respectable role appropriate holy symbol.

Gauntlets of the Ram - Hand - lvl 8 - PHB - If anyone has any push effects at all these should be useful.

Helm of Battle - Head - lvl 9 - PHB - Everyone loves initiative.

Collar of Recovery +2 - Neck - lvl 9 - AV - Everyone also loves more healing.

Lucky Charm +2 - Neck - lvl 9 - AV - Add +1d6 to a failed roll and maybe turn it into a not failed roll.

Shielding Girld - Waist - lvl 10 - AV - Possibly turn an attack into a miss, most people will appreciate that.

Whistle of Warning - Wonderous Item - lvl 8 - AV2 - Giving everyone a free shift could be nice.

*Edit* Wow, if I had known no one else was going to give you any other suggestions I'd have put up more items, sorry dude.

 

[Mercurius]

Thanks, I'll sort through some of these ideas (and hope for more). As of now I no longer need two hours, but two weeks (until the next session).I just got home and while they found the treasure, they did so before defeating the dragon, so they didn't have time to look through it. We had to end because it was late, but I left them at the bottom of a pit with the dragon swooping overhead, attacking anyone who comes out...

They found three chests, one with jewels, one with coins, and one with "miscellaneous items." I've got two weeks to figure it out...

 

[Sialia]

Joy! This is such an opportunity for fun. You now have time to come up with stuff that no one else will ever put in their campaigns, and that will be memorable.

Make stuff up that's not in the books, like:

a figurine of a jellyfish that floats around and gives off colored light when activated, perhaps also with some long stinging filaments floating under it that have a mild paralytic effect when they hit.

six encahnted bananas that have ultra slippery peels=dweamor of slipperiness when placed on a flat surface, 10' radius

red velvet gloves that let you feel things you aren't touching from up to about 20 feet away

a sponge that absorbs bloodstains from any surface

a bottle with a carved illithid head as the stopper, and the word "Wisdom" written on it, and an unknown yellowish liquid inside. (think long and hard about what the liquid ought to be --there are many kinds of wisdom, and it really depends on the players--if it were me, I think the wisest thing to do would be to avoid drinking it at all costs . . .)

two wooden shoes with a picture of a windmill painted on each that enable the wearer to hydroplane

a lifesize portrait of a drow priestess, cuddling her favorite pet.

Seven bone buttons that turn any garment into a magic item when sewn on (you pick dweamor based on what the party needs)

You get my drift. Put in a few little oddball, possibly useful for strange situations, flexible utility things. My favorite dungeon master once gave me a dead rat --THAT was memorable. Especially when it turned out to animate & attack when thrown against a live target.

Also, somewhere in your home there is probably a drawer full of miscellaneous junk--open it up and think about the kind of stuff that piles up after a few centuries of hoarding stuff. Think about the personality of the hoarder and what you learn about them from the set. My 10 year old daughter's junk box is full of plastic jewlery and wind up toys, Barbies, old valentines, and Lego pirates. My husband has a cabinet full of batteries, pliers, screws, opera glasses, duct tape, etc. My kitchen drawer is full of vegetable peelers, cell phone chargers, twistie ties, birthday candles, dental floss, egg slicers, permanent markers and tea balls. You can really use the miscellaneous box to draw a portrait of someone in your world--who collected all this stuff, and why? Maybe looking through it will tell the party something they need to know about how to get out of their current situation, or one that will come up later.
It's full of clues is what it is--and in a well run campaign, knowledge is sometimes the most valuable treasure there is.
Enjoy!

 

[Mark]

As of now I no longer need two hours, but two weeks (until the next session).

That's no way to pull an Angelsboi. If you scream "Help!" you have to go off and do something on your own then come back and explain why none of us were helpful. (I miss that guy.)