Planned and Random
Encounter Treasures
It is important for the DM to distinguish between placed
treasures and those found with random encounters. The
scale of the two is vastly different.
Monster descriptions in the Monstrous Manual differentiate
between treasures found in a creature’s lair, den, or base and
those carried by individuals. Treasure gained through a random
encounter will be smaller than treasure gained through a
planned encounter. If a random treasure is larger or more sig-
nificant than a placed one, the players are going to remember
and value the random encounter more than the plot.
TREASURE & MAGICAL ITEMS
Treasures should be used to build the adventure, develop
a plot, and reward intelligent and daring play. If they just
appear randomly, not only is the DM throwing away a useful
adventure-building device, he is threatening his overall cam-
paign. In general, a large treasure should be a planned part of
an adventure, a way to motivate players, or a goal to be
achieved by the characters.
And remember, as important as treasure is, it need not be
the sole motivator for a story. Indeed, there are times when it
will be unimportant to the adventure. In these cases, the plot
doesn’t need the outside motivation of cash to interest the
players. Still, small rewards should still be made available to
the players. A treasure reward, no matter how small, gives the
players the feeling that their characters are succeeding and
moving ahead.
TREASURE TABLES
To simplify the assignment of treasures
to lairs and monsters, the AD&D game
uses a set of alphabetic codes to catego-
rize different sizes and types of treasure.
Each monster listing in the Monstrous Manual has a “Trea-
sure Type” listing followed by a series of letters. These letters
refer to Table 83 in Appendix 1 of the DMG.
MAINTAINING BALANCE
For all his good intentions, sooner or
later the DM is likely to err in the
awarding of treasure. Either he will
award too little or hand out too much
The first is just tight-fistedness; the second leads to high
powered, low-role-playing campaigns (sometimes called
“Monty Haul’’ dungeons).
Now, if both DM and players enjoy a particular type of
campaign and are having a good time, there is no problem to
fix. However, more often than not, these two extreme adven
turing styles lead to game problems.
TOO LITTLE TREASURE
In the case of a tight-fisted DM, the most obvious signs
that the players are not having fun are frustration, cynicism,
and low expectations. If the characters are not finding trea-
sures commensurate to the risks they took, the players are
going to wonder if all the effort of playing is really worth it.
They become frustrated when, upon solving a devious trap,
they discover a pittance, or nothing at all.
Their cynicism shows as they start to make snide remarks
about the level of rewards they have received or are likely to
get for future efforts. Finally, they just begin to expect less and
less from the DM’s campaign, until it reaches the point where
they expect nothing and they go home! In such a campaign,
the DM may have a fine time, creating detailed settings and
elaborate adventures. But if he does not have the enthusiasm
of his players, there isn’t much point in playing.
Such a campaign can succeed if there are other rewards
that involve the players in the game. Perhaps there are ample
opportunities for character advancement or personality devel-
opment. The characters may have the opportunity to play a
decisive role in world affairs. These things are possible, but
only a DM of extraordinary skill can overcome the drawbacks
he has created.
Fortunately, the problems of too little treasure are easily
fixed—simply introduce more treasure into the campaign. No
adjustments need to be made to the characters. The trea-
sures available in the game world can be increased without
the players even aware that the change has been effected.
MONTY HAUL CAMPAIGNS
At the other extreme, the problems of too much treasure
are not so easily solved. Here players may enjoy the game—
and why not? Their characters are doing quite well. They
have sufficient money and magic to best any situation the
DM can devise.
However, the DM seldom has the same enjoyment. He is
faced with the task of topping the last lucrative adventure. He
must make each adventure a greater challenge than the last.
While this is true for all DMs, it is grossly exaggerated for the
DM who has given out too much: How do you top the adven-
ture where the fighter got the Hammer of Thor or some
equally valuable item?
Invariably, the players reach a point where they, too,
become frustrated. Everything is the same—”Oh, we did this
before,” or “Ho-hum. Another Sword of Instant Monster
Destruction.” Soon there are no challenges left, because the
characters have earned everything in the book!
Fixing such a situation is far from easy. The first thing to do
is to stop giving out so much treasure in future adventures.
Even this isn’t as simple as it sounds, since players have
already had their expectations built up. Imagine playing for
months or years in a world where you routinely find 5 magical
items and tens of thousands of gold pieces each adventure
and then, one day, finding only two or three magical items
and a thousand gold pieces! Still, painful as it may be for play-
ers, cutting back on future treasure hauls is a must.
The second part of the fix is far more difficult—remove
from the campaign some of what has already been given.
Most players won’t voluntarily surrender their goods and
equipment just because the DM made a mistake. The DM
must be inventive, resorting to new and bizarre taxes, acci-
dents, theft, and anything else he can think of. Use a given
method only once and be sure to allow the characters a fair
chance. Nothing will upset and anger players more than hav-
ing their characters jerked about like a dog on a chain.
Sometimes the situation has just gotten so far out of hand
that there is no way to bring it back under control. For exam-
ple, because the DM has given out excessive magic, the play-
ers have near-godlike powers. They have used wishes to
exceed ability score limits and enhance their classes with
permanent abilities. They have fashioned other-planar strong-
hold impervious to anything. They have reached the point
where they are dictating the structure of the game to the DM.
There is only one cure—starting over.
Require all the characters to retire, and begin anew with
1st-level characters, being careful not to make the same mis-
takes again. The players may grumble and complain, but if
the DM is fair, the complaints should eventually be overcome.
To this end, the DM may even want to set the new characters
in a different part of his campaign world, one that has not
been explored before.
