D&D General What do you do with mundane treasure details?

[J.Quondam]

It's always fun when a PC (or even just the player) takes a shine to some little thing, or finds an unexpected use for it as a tool, a bribe, or accessory.

From the DM's side, a couple times I've also used things like this as ad hoc clues or keys, when the party got stuck or missed the "real" one. For example, changing a magic door's lock on the fly to match an weird symbol brooch taken off a local cultist, when the "real" key was in the gullet of an otyugh they beat a couple levels back. It's not ideal to do too often, but it can keep things moving if needed.


Though I've sometimes wondered if a drawback of making too many random treasures be significant is that a DM might inadvertently create a bunch of Chekhov's Guns? Then players might start assuming that everything with a description is significant. There's a similar risk with dungeon dressing description, as well, I suppose.

 

[Cadence]

Wrong thread!

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

I do this kind of thing because I have fun doing it. I do it when I can but I don't like doing it when it's not fun.

If things only have a detailed description when they are going to be useful in the future, then we will come to expect something special when things have special descriptions. However, if many things have detailed descriptions and only few of them turn out to be specially useful, then we as players won't come to expect special things from specially described things.

This is the concept of "laying pipe". If we constantly pepper our games with little details, then at some time in the future we can choose one of those little details and build something off of it such as a new plot point, a clue to a puzzle in our current adventure, or a lead to a new adventure altogether. It creatures the illusion that we had it planned the who time, when in reality we were just laying pipe.

 

[Shiroiken]

As a DM and a player I love these details! However, I've found that almost everyone else treats it as filler. In one campaign, I saw a player who literally just kept his treasure as platinum, using decimals for gp/sp/cp. For him, it was nothing more than a number representing a resource, no different than HP.

 

[MarkB]

I like to keep these descriptions in, and players will sometimes pick up on them. They may take a shine to an item, and choose to keep it for decorative or sentimental value rather than selling it.

The other thing that happens is eagle-eyed spellcaster players taking note of specific descriptions for the purpose of farming expensive material components. Mention a term like "diamond-encrusted" and you'll see their eyes light up.

 

[beancounter]

- Do you actively use descriptive mundane treasure text elsewhere in the game? Or is it just needless filler to you? Used as filler

• As a GM, do you automatically provide published descriptions on to players, or just say "200 gp in jewels, enough to fill a small sack"? I always specify what the items are.
• Do you ever change descriptions? Why? No. Why bother? they are just mundane items.
• Have you ever used mundane treasure descriptions to drop clues? Yes
• impact PC/NPC relations? No
• exploit or gauge player reactions? Not intentionally, but on rare occasion, players will "read" more into a mundane item than they need to.

- As a PLAYER, do you pay attention to mundane treasure descriptions? Not really.
- Do you ever refer to them later? Almost never, unless they are actually useful (e.g. a hand mirror)

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Where more detailed description of mundane treasure is found, I will present it. It is not needless filler - it serves a purpose. It reinforces the perception that it ISN'T all just cash value that should be loaded onto an Amazon gift card. However, bulk treasure is still BULK treasure. I will change or add description when such description is lacking, or has been lacking. Players - myself included - will pay attention to such descriptions (though obviously not always) and when they hear descriptions or simply LISTINGS of objects that for whatever reasons are of personal interest to them as a player or to a PC then that treasure is specifically requested to be made a part of their share of the valuables.

Examples of the latter can be - gems of a particular color or size that could be used to adorn a characters other possessions - like gems that are blue might be desired by a character who specializes in cold-oriented spells. Furs that can be not just valuable but fashionable AND practical. Why be a barbarian dressed in yak hides when you can wear winter wolf furs with ermine trimmings? A valuable tapestry depicting an ancient battle will look really nice in the entrance hall of a PC's personal castle. The original Temple of Elemental Evil was great for obtaining neat sets of very valuable matching dinnerware. Take a big, fat, stupidly valuable gem for your own, have it mounted in the pommel of your sword and say, "This shall henceforth be an heirloom to my sons and daughters," because that's how you play D&D.