Coinucopia

The treasure generation system of Powers & Perils is both a blessing and a bane. You can generate a seemingly endless variety of swag at the end of any encounter, though this can take a while for large finds. However, going strictly by the books you can end up with hobos being looted for items worth hundreds of gold, while the Storm Giant you just whacked ends up with a handful of copper, some kegs and a few worthless battle flags.

This system is an attempt to both speed up treasure generation as well as provide some common-sense limiters.

The Basics

When treasure generation is done, follow section 2.1121 as stated, with the actual rolls in section 2.2 handled in the new manner.

Any rolls of "Other Treasure" or "Military Treasure" are checked with an extra roll of 2d6 - any roll of "12" indicates something special, otherwise just add up a count of "goods".

Any rolls of "Coins" are counted as "Coins".

Any rolls of "Gems, Jewels, Jewelry" are checked with a 2d6 roll - any roll "12" indicates a gem of magic quality (large and flawless), otherwise just add another count to "Coins".

Any rolls of "Magic Treasure" are counted on their own.

In all cases magic treasures are handled normally though the item rolled in section 2.26 should reflect in some way with the nature of the looted owner.

For magic quality jewels (large and flawless, roll 1d6+4 for clarity) roll 1d2* for type (1=Jewel, 2=Jewelry) and then roll the actual stone type and value as given in sections 2.223 and 2.224.

For all "Goods" and "Coins", the new Coinucopia rolling system is now used.

Value Totals

The new rolling system is based on the station coin types for starting characters as a basic guideline. Each roll is made once on the SCALE table and once on the COUNT table, with the value being determined by multiplying the two numbers. Add up the values for each set of rolls to determine a final total. For goods, cut the final total in HALF.

NOTE - For humans, the coin count is determined by the station of the person, not rolled randomly.

EXAMPLE - A Station 2 human (CDF 2) yields 2 coin rolls. The scale is locked at x1 due to the Station. The first roll for count is 21+2 (1x20), the second is 66+2 (1x50). His total is 70.

The final count is, at its essence, a value in copper coins. How it renders out into actual loot depends on the category (coins or goods) that you are working on.

Coins

When dealing with coins, you have to remember that the world operates on a silver standard, with the copper coin being the primary means of exchange (a mainly copper coin with a small portion of silver). Most coined treasures will therefore be primarily in copper coins.

Due to their portability and value gemstones will usually make up about 1-10% of the coin value (roll 1d10). For lairs, use 2d10%. If the resulting value is less than 10, there are no jewels or semi-precious stones.

EXAMPLE - A looted lair yields 10,000 in coin value. Rolling a 6 and a 9 we find that jewels make up 15% of the haul. This is 1500 in jewel value, leaving 8500 for actual coins.

If the gemstone value is measured in the thousands, it is made up of precious jewels (Emeralds, Diamonds, Sapphires, Rubies, etc). The gemstone value divided by 100 is the gold value of the jewels. The actual number of jewels is found by dividing the gold value by 2d6, rounding up. How the values are distributed are at the GM's whim.

NOTE - Jewels will range in vale from 1d6GC each, depending on stone type and size. Jewelry can be any value 1GC and up.

EXAMPLE - The 1500 in gemstone value is found to be made up of 4 jewels. The GM determines this to be jewels with values of 2GC, 6GC, 3GC and 4GC.

If the gemstone value is measured in the hundreds, it is made up of semi-precious stones (Amethysts, Opals, Pearls, Garnets, etc). The gemstone value divided by 10 is the silver value of the stones. The actual number of stones is found by dividing the silver value by 2d6, rounding up.

NOTE - It is possible that gemstone values in the thousands CAN be in semi-precious stones, but it is unlikely unless your dragon has a fetish for opals.

EXAMPLE - A looted merchant is found to have 120 worth of stones on him, or 12 silver worth. The divider is found to be 7, so there are 2 on him (deemed to be a 5SC pearl and a 7SC opal).

In general, you get 100 jewels or stones to the pound.

After jewels (if any) are determined, the remainder is coinage. For lair treasures, use the following ratios: value x 0.5 = CC; value x 0.04 = SC; value x 0.001 = GC. Any fractional coins are multiplied by 10 and added to the next lower coin.

EXAMPLE - In the lair example above the 8500 value works out to 4250CC, 345SC and 8GC.

For portable treasures, the ratios are: value x 0.2 = CC, value x 0.05 = SC; value x 0.003 = GC.

EXAMPLE - For our merchant above, assume his coin value was 2280 (if we figure his jewels were 5% of the total). This works out to 460CC, 122SC and 6GC. Man, was he loaded.

In general, coins weigh 100 to the pound. For the lair example above, the swag weighs in at a tad over 46 pounds. Coins are usually stored in small chests (2500 coin capacity, add 5# for the chest), medium chests (5000 coin capacity, add 10# for the chest) and large chests (10000 coin capacity, add 20# for the chest). Keep in mind that people won't usually be walking around with 10# bags of coins at their hips...the GM should feel free to cut portable treasures down to the 1-4# range (putting the remainder "in lair").

Goods

Goods are everything of value that is not coins, such as artwork, fine metal items or other valuable materials.

Fine metal items are handled similar to jewels for coins except that the value divisor depends on the materials used. Portable treasure is usually 2d6*5% of the total, with about 3d10% for lairs.

Divide by 100 for objects of gold (15SC per factor), by 40 for objects of gold and silver (4SC per factor), by 10 for objects of silver (1SC per factor), by 4 for objects of silver and copper (4CC per factor), and by 1 for objects of copper (1CC per factor). This indicates the number of "factors" of fine metal items. Refer to the size ranges that can be generated on table 2.231 in order to allocate the factors into actual objects. In general, gold objects weigh in from 10-100 factors per pound, gold and silver objects weigh from 7-70 factors per pound and all others weigh in at 5-50 factors per.

EXAMPLE - A lair is looted with a value of 8000 of goods, ending up with 10% (800) being fine metal. The GM decides it is a gold-silver mix, so we are talking 20 factors (in various rings and bracelets). The metal weight is determined to be about 35/# so total weight will be less than a pound.

For other goods, the GM should roll 2d6 for each goods roll that was made. Any "12" indicates a valuable book or scroll whose value in copper coins should be deducted from the goods value. Any remainder should simply be abstracted as general goods (artwork, fine utensils, cloth, etc) with the given value in copper coins.

The weight and bulk of goods can vary greatly. The following are some guidelines:

One can consider "generic" goods to weigh in around 1# per 50CC of value. Round all weights up to the nearest "easy" value. These numbers are VERY rough guidelines. Most goods are not really easy to carry. Consider the weight to be x5 if you are using porters, x3 for mule trains, and x1 for wagons (for portage considerations).

EXAMPLE - The lair above has 7200CC in "goods, which is roughly 150# (which will have the effect of 750# if players try to carry it out themselves)

While coins and gems may always be presented for their value, the value of goods depends on their condition. All values above assume good condition. Rough environments or creatures that can't adequately care for them may reduce the condition to fair (HALF value). Those that stupidly line their nests with them will have the goods in poor condition (QUARTER value).

Unlike coins, all goods require a merchant skill to get the best value. It is an average difficulty Merchant roll to get 50% of the sale value. Failure (or no skill) leaves you with 25% of the sale value. One may attempt greater difficulty merchant rolls in order to get a tighter margin. For each level of higher difficulty, the final offer will be 10% greater. Any failure has the same failure price. You may make one roll per month in any town or village (once per week in road or coastal towns). In cities, one roll may be made per day (up to 3 rolls). There is no day limit for road/coastal cities.

Mass Quantities

What happens if you get a large group? Take, for example, a pack of 10 wood trolls. Their lair treasure is defined as 8 rolls...should you be rolling 80 times? That way lies madness!

For large groups of similar creatures the easiest way to determine the lair treasure value is to find the SQUARE ROOT of the creature count, rounded up to the nearest TENTH. This value is multiplied by the coin and goods values prior to determining actual contents. If any magic items were rolled, the value MINUS 1 (rounded up) extra rolls may be made to see if more magic items are found (rolls that do not result in magical items are not added to the goods and coin totals).

EXAMPLE - For the pack of 10 wood trolls above, they get 8 basic treasure rolls. For coin and goods values multiply the total by 3.2. Also, 3 more rolls (2.2, rounded up) may be made to see if magical items are found.

Burton Choinski