Roleplaying author Philip Reed has made something of a name for himself as a go-to man for treasure. 101 MUNDANE TREASURES is a d20 supplement in PDF format that shows exactly why this is: it?s 26 pages of detailed and interesting items ready to be dropped into anyone?s fantasy campaign with a minimum of fuss. Utility and ease of use go hand-in-hand in this release.
What Reed calls mundane doesn?t mean ordinary. From boots made with the skin of a demon to a bottle of thick, green poison called Goblin?s Pus, 101 MUNDANE TREASURES is filled with unusual items. Reed stays clear (mostly) of magical treasures, which is a refreshing change from the arms race mentality of gaming supplements, where each new product onto the market must conform to the ?bigger, faster, stronger? mentality. 101 MUNDANE TREASURES is very low-key, with many of its treasures of no tangible value beyond their story flavor.
The PDF is broken out into categories, so a prospective DM may quickly access the sort of treasure he or she would like to include in a game. Weapons go in one chapter, clothing in another, and so forth. Reed was kind enough to use internal bookmarks in order to make navigating the electronic document easier, and the full-color version of the PDF also comes with a black-and-white companion for lower-cost printing. Organization within the treasure listings themselves is excellent: every entry contains all the information either player or DM would want. For each item, Reed describes what the thing looks like, how much it?s worth and what it does, if anything. In a very nice touch, Reed also provides information on how difficult it might be to appraise the item in question, and what that appraisal might turn up.
While some might be drawn to the flashier items in 101 MUNDANE TREASURES, others (like me) will flip through the pages and discover items that prompt ideas for scenes, or even complete adventures. Yes, Reed provides crunchy bits like rules for making clothing and/or armor out of basilisk hide, but for the more story-oriented folks there?s stuff like my favorite: Playing Cards. Despite their plain name, these cards are masterfully handcrafted cards three centuries old, and are worth a small fortune to a lower-level character that might find them, though many players would probably toss them aside in the rush to discover gems or coins. What kind of story could arise from these ancient cards? They aren?t magical, but could a determined collector be after every deck that craftsman ever made? Could they contain a secret in their painted faces that only an observant character might notice? Possibilities jump right off the page.
In all, 101 MUNDANE TREASURES is a delightful resource because it takes the time to imply a world outside the bounds of generic +5 battle axes, piles of gold and other ?Monty Haul? treasures. A world that would produce something like Dwarven Stone Drums (a set of four 24? kettle drums meant to precede a dwarvish army into battle) is a world with many compelling stories to tell, stories that aren?t necessarily bound up in mazelike dungeons, or in the lairs of greedy dragons.
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