The first article in Issue 49 of d12 Monthly (Beyond All That Glitters) is all about what sorts of treasure various monster types (giants, beasts, aberrations, etc) would realistically have.
In this web enhancement for Issue 49, I want to showcase how you can flesh this out with an example using an Ogre’s hoard and how that can be extrapolated from the article.
More specifically, I want to look at an Ogre who has been harassing traffic along the Trade Way near the Barren Hills for a couple of months now, and has amassed a rather large hoard from his work. Let’s call him Oktus.
For help building out the hoard, I will also be using the first article in Issue 47 of d12 Monthly (Treasure & Loot) where I list tables upon tables of various treasures.
Treasure Value
But before we dive into the type of treasure the ogre has, we need to determine the treasure’s total value. You can do this arbitrarily, or use the rulebooks of whatever version you are running (assuming they have tables for this).
For example, Ogres in Old School Essentials have a treasure type of C + 1,000 GP. Treasure type C is, on average, valued at 1,000 GP, including a 10% chance of a magic item. Leaving the magic item aside for the moment (you can roll for this separately), we see a total of 2,000 GP for an ogre lair.
Normally, this lair would hold many ogres, but let’s say we are designing an encounter for a low-level party who needs to deal this ogre to help the local town out (it’s been losing traffic, and therefore, business due to the Ogre’s attacks).
Given the low level of the party, and the threat that Oktus poses to them, I am happy to leave the treasure at 2,000 GP value. You can change the total value as needed.
You can already see how just these two items add so much to your world – and to Oktus – just by being there. Much more exciting than a coffer full of coins.
The Treasure Hoard
Of course, this 2,000 GP isn’t all made up of coins – after all, what does an ogre need with so many coins?
Let’s say 10% are in various coin denominations. That leaves 1,800 GP worth of other treasure, either in Oktus’ lair, or on him.
According to most monster manuals, an Ogre is a large giant, so we will look at Giants in the Issue 49 article to see what sorts of treasure they tend to accumulate.
We can see a Giant’s treasure reflects their culture, strength, and practical needs (meaning food, shelter, etc).
Need more treasure inspiration? Check out Issue 48 of d12 Monthly (Magical Treasure) – an issue that is dedicated to creating some memorable magic items.
Likely Treasure
There are some examples under each of these: culture relics, spoils of war, and utility objects. Let’s look at the cultural relics first.
Given Ogres are basically brutes, their belief systems are going to be limited. But still, items of cultural or religious significance may be present – most will just not be the Ogre’s.
The examples given for cultural relics are:
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- Oversized jewellery
- Decorated hides
- Massive carvings
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These all sound Ogre-related (everything is large), and we could add in a few of these (worn by Oktus), but we can expand this to other relics as well – those he stole from the people he ambushed along the road.
If we look at the article And You See… from Issue 47, we can see two entries that cover this type of treasure:
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- Cultural relics
- Religious items
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Let’s roll on both of these tables once for the Ogre. We get:
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- Coins from an ancient, forgotten civilization
- An incense burner shaped like a mythical creature
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Given these are the Ogre’s items and are culturally significant to him, let’s add some flair to these.
Oktus wears a wire necklace around his thick, muscled neck: the wire holds two dozen coins with holes in the middle (you can decide if the coins were made with the hole or they were punched out). This was a gift to Oktus from his Grandfather, and it had been in his clan for generations. Value: 300 GP to a coin collector.
On his fur belt, Oktus wears a battered incense burner, stuffed full of smouldering incense and various grasses, which envelops the ogre in a light cloud of scented smoke. The smoke keeps away insects, and Oktus believes it gives him god-like powers to better crush his enemies (without this, Oktus receives a -2 penalty for morale rolls). Value: 10 GP to a collector (as it is somewhat damaged).
You can already see how just these two items add so much to your world – and to Oktus – just by being there. Much more exciting than a coffer full of coins.
Now, let’s add in some captured items of religious and cultural significance that form part of Oktus’ treasure in his lair.
We roll on the two tables once again.
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- Clay tablets inscribed with ancient scripts
- Robes embroidered with divine symbols
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I can imagine Oktus using the clay tablets as a bed base as he would not understand their age or significance. Value: 500 GP to a collector or to the church of Banoth (deity of knowledge and wisdom).
The robes may be used as blankets or to wipe food from his mouth after a meal. Again, not understanding their significance, the ogre brute treats them poorly. Value: 20 GP if repaired and cleaned. Or, a much larger reward for their return to the church they belong to.
Let’s now move on to the next category of treasure Oktus may have: spoils of war.
Spoils of War
In this case, spoils of battles with merchant guards and the like.
His personal favourite weapon is a great club, so we will look at this from the perspective of items Oktus has kept as souvenirs over the last few months (if you rolled a magic item and it came up as a weapon or armour, then one of these items may be magical).
In the treasure table (in Issue 47) we can see a list for detailed weapons & armour. We roll on that, and get: suits of armour decorated with intricate engravings.
Perhaps Oktus attacked a noble’s carriage and killed a few of the noble’s guards who wore expensive and decorative plate armour. He liked the engravings so much, he kept the armour.
Or, for a more gruesome spin: the armour is scattered about his lair after he gutted the guards and cooked and ate them, “shelling them” beforehand.
There are three full sets if the characters take time to gather them up. Value: 300 GP if cleaned and repaired, maybe more to the noble in question (if they still live).
And now to the final category: utility objects.
Monster Essentials:
Utility Objects
This category deals with items such as “mead, tools, and crafted weapons”. This screams trade goods to me, and makes sense in this encounter as the ogre has been waylaying caravans along a major trading route.
Let’s roll on the Trade goods table (in Issue 47).
We get: Bolts of fine silk, wool, or brocade.
I think it would be rather odd for characters to find bolts of fine silk in an ogre’s lair, so I am totally going with that!
And besides, Oktus likes the way it feels on his skin.
He has used one bolt for bedding (I can just imagine his bed: straw- and grass-covered ancient tablets, topped off with expensive silk sheets!), but several more remain, which would fetch 700 GP on the open market.
This brings us to 1,830 GP, plus the loose coins (200 GP) for a total of 2,030 GP value.
Of course, the PCs will need to work for their money: selling the items after they find buyers for them.
Added Complication
As an added complication, you could introduce the merchant who lost all that silk to the ogre as it wouldn’t be that difficult for them to find out the PCs recovered it and then sold it. And they just may want their money!
See the Treasure Lost article in Issue 47 of d12 Monthly for information on how to do this.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to go through this process for every treasure hoard, but if you put in a bit more effort with some of them, your players will feel a little more invested in your world, and it will seem a lot more lived in, and may even spur on additional adventures.
Let Me Know in the Comments Below…
Do you like this system? Can you see yourself doing this for your campaign?
While You’re Here…
Since 2021 I have been publishing d12 Monthly, a monthly zine, which has a ton of articles for any edition of Dungeons and Dragons.
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