That Great Treasure

[Darrin Drader]

OK, so it isn't that unusual for me to create an adventure around a piece of treasure, but usually the PCs are questing after a specific item that is signifficant to specific people for a specific reason. So what I'm doing is making a 12th level adventure where the PCs are looking for a legendary treasure.

Of course there's also the issue of game balance. I don't want to toss anything in that will unbalance my game after they've retrieved the treasure.

The question is what would 12th level characters consider a legendary treasure? PCs can manufacture or purchase magic items, so it seems rather pointless to have a single magic weapon, piece of armor, staff, wand, or other wondrous item be the focus. Does it even need a major piece of equipment in there? Maybe it should just be piles and piles of gold.... but how much? By that level, most PCs have already accumulated a pretty sizable horde. I considered a weapon of legacy, but I'd like to keep this to the core rules.

What would you put in that legendary treasure you're sending your 12th level PCs after?

 

[Crothian]

I'd actually do something artifact level. A single really good piece that is unique and will be hunted by others. Sure, it will be too powerful for them but as DM I can balance it out using role playing and plot complications. Also, the artifact can have a cost, I've found players hate things with a cost so they tend to use it less. I had a really powerful staff of magi type weapon but instead of using charges it cost permanant hit points.

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

What I would do is invent stories, fables about the treasure in question. Hint at what it might be, but never truly say it. In the end, I'd probably make the treasure in question something really big and immovable, that has to be used at the place that the characters will find it.

The treasure in question might infuse the characters with a spell-like ability, or give them an innate bonus to an ability. Or, the treasure might not be very useful to a high level party, but might be useful to the multitude, ie like a healing fountain that cures light wounds (1 drink per person per day). The characters could then work to establish some sort of sanctuary for the treasure, make it known, and people would flock to it.

Something along those lines.

AR

 

[Darrin Drader]

I had considered it, and I should have mentioned it already, but I specifically want to avoid artifacts in this treasure.

 

[Crothian]

I had considered it, and I should have mentioned it already, but I specifically want to avoid artifacts in this treasure.

Okay, second option: steal something from AR above. Take a magical weapon that has great stories and legends about it but it turns out to be just a average magical weapon uniquely made and with a ton of history. You can have all sorts of legends about the sheer power of the weapon and then have the player wonder when they actually identify the thing and find out it is not as advertised.

 

[Quickleaf]

I remember in the Golden Voyages module for Al-Qadim, David "Zeb" Cook presented a Great Treasure that everyone was after. What the true treasure was depended on the types of players a GM had. So....what interests your players the most?

Definitely allow research to be done beforehand, let them gather secrets and rumors about the treasure, many false. Especially show what the treasure means to other NPCs. Is it the only way to create peace in the nation? Is it the secret of immortality? Is it an ancient family heirloom that prophecy says will herald the return to fortune of a disbanded noble house? The NPCs will have a reason to acquire the treasure beyond "it's gold, get it!" And so should the players.

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

Okay, second option: steal something from AR above. Take a magical weapon that has great stories and legends about it but it turns out to be just a average magical weapon uniquely made and with a ton of history. You can have all sorts of legends about the sheer power of the weapon and then have the player wonder when they actually identify the thing and find out it is not as advertised.

and make it so the user has to perpetuate the myth of the weapon, although it's rather mundane. The symbol is more important that the actual item. Have people awe about the character, have scoundrels try to take it away.

The king comes to the characters and asks for their help (once they retrieve the treasure) because the menace that is plaguing his kingdom can only be defeated by the illustrious weapon (although it's just a legend).

AR

 

[XCorvis]

Suprise your players: Make it non-magical.

The mumified hand of the saint John Doe, said to grant miraculous healing to those who touch it, is really just a dead guy's hand. But, it's a sacred relic for the Church of Whatever, who also happens to be in charge of Theocracyland - and they're willing to go to war over getting it back. The nation next door, Unlucklyland, is rumored to have it, but the government really has no clue where it is. Rather, they have a small clue and need some adventurers to do the legwork.

The plot surrounding the item is far more important than the item itself.

 

[Crothian]

There was a great mpa/adventure in the second edition treasure map book that had the greatest treasure be grain since it was in a desert and a plce people really needed food.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Consider making it a giant blue diamond shaped like a rose. Basically a non-magical artifact. It'd be priceless (though of course you can always find a buyer if you try hard enough,) so the PCs would have the option of trading it in for gold. But it could also serve as a potential plot hook.