Friday, August 10, 2018

1d20 Sword & Sorcery Treasures & Relics Left Behind By Adventurers On Their Copses Table For Your Old School Campaigns

"His eyes tried to focus on the bloody burnt  heap that had once been a man. The wounds stunk of sulfur, acid, & something not of Earth. It was hard to believe that this mess was once Bran's grandfather King Hul.
'Grandfather what did this to you ?!'
From under one sulfur & acid burnt eye lid an eye of brilliant blue semi focused on the young warrior before him. But fear crawled up the spine of the young warrior.
The voice was the the sound of burnt lungs & rotting  tissue that had no right to be alive right now but spoke anyway. The corpse's words were mere echoes of the king who had taken his retainers & grand sons into the dungeon  entrance to the Underworld. "The hounds of Hades are coming back, I've hidden the treasure in the old gnarled trees below.'
'Take my armor, my sword, & the maps before the pack comes back. Be sure to take he signet ring of your ancestors. Now leave me to die.'
'Go & claim your birthright from below!'
That's when Bran first heard the baying of the pack & he had to hurry! "



Many are the times when adventurers will find the corpses & remains of those who have journeyed into the dungeons before them. Many times these remains have valuables, relics, & treasure upon them left by monsters as mere lures for the foolish & unwary. Sword & Sorcery literature is rife with these sorts of incidents on the trails of fortune & glory. But beware the pathways of fame & fortune are often the road to the coldest of Hell & the Underworld itself. Here then are 1d20 Sword & Sorcery treasures & relics left behind by adventurers who came before you!



There is a 40 % chance that the body is merely bait for some group of deranged warriors waiting in the wings. There is also a 60% chance of encountering some wandering monster that has been attracted by the scent of human terror & suffering. These monsters will attack to defend their food at all costs. Meals in the dungeons & ruins are a precious thing.

1d20 Random Sword & Sorcery Treasures
& Relics Left Behind By Adventurers On Their Corpses Table

  1.  A half baked & burnt warrior's corpse has his mail shirt split up the center with the broken & gory remains of his chest hanging out. Nearby a +1 sword has been dropped & a scabbard sits off to one side as the leather belt that held it has been ripped to shreds. Three torches & flint plus iron rations are scattered about. A careful search reveals a shuttered lantern of superior quality. There is an emerald ring worth 100 gold & an earring with 20 gold pieces because of the clan emblem on it. 
  2. This woman warrior's corpse is a bloody mess of gore. The armor gone beyond repair but within a sachet at her side is a red gold cup worth 100 gold but her sword has been broken in three pieces. Near the side of the corpse a shattered shield of wood & bronze now so much kindling. 
  3. A wizard corpse has been torn in half, his face a blighted mess of gore. The fine robes he wore are shredded beyond all reason. His bag of 50 gold coins lay scattered among the magic powders & chemicals strewn across the floor. His staff has been broken in two but in his robes is a scroll of cure light wounds a serviceable dagger two foot long. Its sheath is on the grown. Weird lights come from a wand of magic missiles that has been dipped in a glowing fungus. 
  4.  Half the corpse of a thief whose twin ichor covered daggers lay near by. He has a fine cloak worth fifty gold & a bag containing 50 gold pieces worth of gold dust. Plus there is a very fine amulet of unknown magical quality.
  5. The bloody & bruised corpse of a cleric & her assistant that has three bags full of 100 silver pieces, plus several holy books worth 200 to the right order. There is also a good & serviceable mace slick with the brains of some monster. 
  6. A  single warrior whose bloody mess of a head is missing but he has a complete work up of light Dark Ages style  armor worth 80 gold pieces plus a +1 sword able to wound creatures of a supernatural. Nearby is the corpse of an orc whose head has been sliced clean through he had several gold & silver rings plus a torc worth 40 gold pieces. 
  7. The head of a thief with a nose ring worth 22 gold pieces, an earring in the left ear that acts as protect from evil spell, and a tongue ring of magic missiles. The rest of body has been dragged off down the hall evident by the bloody trail of gore & rotting mess.
  8.  The hand of a thief who was a well known cannabal evident by the elaborate tattoo on the hand. There are several rings including a copper ring of passage to a local house of ill repute, a ring of protection along with its slave bracelet. 
  9. The fully crushed & mashed corpse of an armored knight of the temple of Light. The corpse contains three jewels, the golden hand of a witch idol, and a bag containing 20 gold pieces. 
  10. The zombied & pulped corpse of a strange wizened green humanoid creature that has the robes of a priest, a knarled walking stick, 30 gold pieces, & a map to the lower level of this dungeon. Should anyone get too close the thing's head  will bite for 1d4 points of damage & spread zombie rot disease. 
  11.  The bloated & distended body of a warrior that will explode for 1d6 points of damage & 1d8 strange violet fungus will erupt from the thing's stomach. There in the center of the gore is a golden dagger of weird aspect worth 50 gold pieces to a collector of the artifacts of the spores, molds, & fungus goddess. 
  12. A wizard's corpse has been hung on a nearby hook, his magical paraphernalia is scattered around including his spell book, staff, short dagger, and two magic rings. The corpse will come to life but can't get down from the hook and simply dangle there menacingly. 
  13. Two warriors including one with a strange sword have stabbed each other with lots of minor weapons scattered around. There is a magical dagger of protection from evil as well as 1d6 minor weapons around the pierce corpses. Zombie rot is starting to settle in & each round there is a 10% chance of them coming to life. There are 10 gold pieces of broken jewelry scattered around the melee area. 
  14. Three broken & battered corpses belonging to some sword men & duelists have been neatly stacked a top one another. Their swords worth 60 gold pieces each have been placed near by. All loot has been taken from the bodies already. 
  15. The broken & torn body of a thief has been ripped apart. The guts lay scattered around & the face has been gnawed off. His tools have been broken and lay scattered around but there is a golden crown that has been secreted within the hidden folds of the corpse's cloak. 
  16. The single head of a cleric has been left on the floor, a careful search of the head reveals that there is something in the thing's mouth?! A flawless diamond worth a fortune has been secreted in the thing's mouth but it contains more. The angry ghost of the cleric is now attached to the jewel & each night it will torment the party. The jewel is worth 600 gold pieces but is cursed! Only the temple of light can remove the curse and put to rest the spirit. 
  17. The corpse of a broken female acrobat lays splayed out with bloody hand prints all over it. The thing has 1d10 striges nesting on its back & they will attack but our acrobat has hidden a bag of 30 silver pieces nearby. 
  18.  A  box lays on the side of the dungeon with the unliving head of a wizard inside. The thing will try to curse anyone foolish enough to open the box. But he has a strange jewel worth a hundred gold pieces on its head. The thing can also cast a chain lighting spell every three or so rounds. The box contains in a hidden compartment the  jewels to a minor royal family worth a 1000 gold pieces. 
  19. Several bags lay atop ten pools of blood, these bags contain the remains of a warrior who ran afoul of a necromancer. The necromancer killed the warrior but has not been back to claim his foul prize. There is a bag containing 200 gold pieces worth of loot belonging to the former warrior. There is also a nasty phantom laying in wait for the party fifty feet away.
  20. A giant monster's head lays in the center of the dungeon hallway. The thing is animated & hates adventurers with every fiber of its being. It will hover and move 20" feet per round. The thing will hurl insults as it tries to bite for 1d10 points of damage or hurl its tongue for 1d6 points of barbed damage. The thing is protecting a nearby tomb of a forgotten prince that contains two minor artifacts of power. The lich in the tomb turned the poor bastard adventurer into this thing. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.