I have had players carry some of these little bits and pieces, just a random entry on their character sheet, for weeks and months (and on one occasion, a year) until one session they look up and say, “This little bag of fingernails.... Is it possible that it belonged to NPC X?” or “Is it possible to do Z with it?” and suddenly an entirely new window of the game opens up and you have a new adventure hook.
In one instance a player carried around a small bag filled with little bells. The character used these one night, spreading them across the floor of a cavern as an alarm so that they group could rest. The wandering monster entered the cavern, stepped on the bells which immediately jingled, the party awoke, and melee ensued.
Another option is to use them as Evil DM Fodder. In other words, they're completely useless items. However, if you plan correctly and present them in just the right way it's possible to convince your players that these little bits of detritus actually have value. Take advantage of the player mindset that says, "Everything the DM does, says, or gives us has a purpose." Take that mindset and run with it. You'll have the players thinking that the lump of dried cow dung they found has mystical properties when it was nothing more than part of an NPC's tinder box.
Hey, DMs are allowed to have fun too.
So, for your DMing pleasure and enjoyment, I present the following tables:
A small pewter box which contains:
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(Roll d4 to determine the total number of different items in the box. Roll d30 that number of times.)
1: | A handful of pecans |
2: | Two pieces of charcoal |
3: | A mummified bat |
4: | A small seashell |
5: | Two dried flowers |
6: | Shards of a bird's egg |
7: | A small pile of cedar shavings |
8: | A dead scorpion |
9: | A small, withered-up potato |
10: | A piece of hard candy |
11: | A dead toad |
12: | A multifaceted, crystal bottle of orange ink, sealed with wax from which a small holy symbol dangles |
13: | Four pomegranate seeds |
14: | Two morsels of unidentifiable dried meat |
15: | A single cloth clove |
16: | A mummified mouse |
17: | Eight pebbles |
18: | A tin comb |
19: | A small strap made out of hide |
20: | A wooden pipe |
21: | A small piece of pumice |
22: | An empty spool made of bone |
23: | A piece of deer antler |
24: | Three tiny lead figurines |
25: | A small skinning knife |
26: | A shard of petrified wood |
27: | A copper sewing needle |
28: | A small bag filled with metal shavings |
29: | A handful of walnuts |
30: | A bone spoon |
1 comment:
I love this list. If you've read a gamebook by Ian Livingstone, you can find loads of items like these, most of which have a crucial role in the adventure.
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