Thursday, March 26, 2015

1d10 Random High Level Lovecraftian Treasures Table For Your Old School Campaigns




Immediately upon beholding this amulet we knew that we must possess it; that this treasure alone was our logical pelf from the centuried grave. Even had its outlines been unfamiliar we would have desired it, but as we looked more closely we saw that it was not wholly unfamiliar. Alien it indeed was to all art and literature which sane and balanced readers know, but we recognised it as the thing hinted of in the forbidden Necronomicon of the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred; the ghastly soul-symbol of the corpse-eating cult of inaccesible Leng, in Central Asia. All too well did we trace the sinister lineaments described by the old Arab daemonologist; lineaments, he wrote, drawn from some obscure supernatural manifestation of the souls of those who vexed and gnawed at the dead. (“The Hound,” 174) H.P. Lovecraft 
The jade amulet now reposed in a niche in our museum, and sometimes we burned strangely scented candles before it. We read much in Alhazred’s Necronomicon about its properties, and about the relation of ghouls’ souls to the objects it symolised; and were disturbed by what we read. (“The Hound,” 175)

There are some items of treasure that shouldn't be found, items that were left behind on the battlefields of existence that can prove to be far more dangerous to adventurers then they first realize. Here are a few of those items that might prove to far more dangerous then valuable.

1d10 Random High Level Lovecraftian Treasures Table

  1. Necklace of weird greenish gold made with weirdly inscribed runes on the piece. They are actually a summoning rite for a 'hunting horror'. As soon as this thing is put on the rite is enacted.The wearer is the sacrifice. The piece is worth 1000 gold pieces but also cursed but certain cults will pay 10000 or more gold pieces for it. 
  2. A strange wrought iron chest inscribed with thousands of pieces of mystic writing across its surface. The thing is actually the holding chamber for a 'colour of space' which is ready to burst forth and wreck havoc on anyone caught by it. 
  3. A golden plate writ with alien writings and strange glyph symbols  that summons an ancient tentacled horror from beyond time and space. The thing is an aspect of Nyarlathotep and loathes humans and near humans,it lives only to spread mayhem and chaos.
  4.  This chest of seeming gold contains an alien fungus colony and wishes only to spread cause chaos as well as summon its immortal,unknowning masters from beyond the stars. Anyone caught by it is infected in 1d6 rounds unless a save vs.death is made. The chest is worth 10,000 gold pieces by itself with incredible silver workings. 
  5. A strange ankh cross of weird design wrought with ancient symbols of despair and high magick this thing summons 1d8 dimensional shamblers who will come to carry the user away and tear him apart as sacrifices to their unknowing masters at the four corners of ultra dimensional unreality. 
  6. A strange iron wrought box that contains what seems like a haul of 1d100 jewels of beautiful but alien aspect. These things are actually the eggs of a very dangerous nature and 1d100 weird Lovecraftian things will come down from the stars to claim the owner and spread madness. They are seemingly worth a small king's ransom. 
  7. A priceless jewel is actually the weird essence of ancient god thing and is looking for a new housing for its immortal essence. The thing will try to possesses any wizard or priest who picks up this beautiful bauble. The target must save vs death or be the housing for this priest who will try to call down his masters to claim this reality as their prize. 
  8. This beautiful jade statue's hand is a perfect seeming representation of a person's delicate hand. The thing is actually the sorcerously  held hand of some ancient demon thing from beyond space and time. It will come to claim its ancient hand anyone else present taking them back to its cold damned hell beyond the pale of man themselves. Worth about 8000 gold pieces to the right collector. 
  9. A golden statue's bust of some dignified and wise man lost to the ages. In gold alone it is worth a cool 40,000 gold pieces at the base of the neck is group of closely cropped hieroglyphics. These ancient Atlantian spells will summon one of the dangerous elemental demonic spirits of old which will proceed to turn the caster and everyone present to beautiful golden statues themselves. But the 'gold' is actually an elemental plague that will spread with the merest touch of anyone. 
  10. This beautiful Jade demonic statue is seemingly worth a cool 4000 gold pieces. Upon its base is a group of closely cropped and nicely done spell symbols of ancient Atlantis. These spells once said aloud will break reality and allow things from far outside in. And even if the dimensional doorways are closed there will still be a nice pinprick in reality allowing some unintentional visits from 'Outside'. 

2 comments:

  1. one of these is going to be the hook for my next sword and sorcery adventure. good stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hope they find lots of mayhem and fun at your table David, I'm glad you liked them.

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