Reasonable loot for 2nd level party

[Zejety]

Hi,

I am currently running a Pathfinder campaign that I want to convert to 5e soon. I am planning to run one last session before switching if all players agree.

My problem is that the players are about to stumble upon their first treasure hort and I my DMG has yet to arrive. This makes is tough to make a reasonable assessment of what I should include.

The treasure belongs to 4th-5th level transmutation wizard and was important enough for him to lock away. Apart from his spellbook, I was originally thinking about mostly including some scrolls and wands but from what I gathered online, wands a potentially limitless and therefore likely to be way more valuable than in PF, is that correct?
I suppose scrolls remain a good option?

I was also considering throwing a +1 armor in there but I think these are something extraordinary as well in 5e?

Do you have any suggestions?
Bonus points if the usable stuff works similar in both systems in case they want to use during the last PF session (so it doesn't completely change functionality until next session).

[Kryx]

For gold you can use Deconstructing 5e: Typical wealth by level (http://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/2r8kci/deconstructing_5e_typical_wealth_by_level/)

For examples of treasure please see my Rise of the Runelords DC and Treasure converted to 5e (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RlmRiG4AfvMwJW7Cwvt7kFw-PmNgePzUNq2UT-avna0/edit#gid=1876377745).

For scrolls you can simply just use the 5e version - that's what I've done.
For wands I've kept them as consumable and gave them half the charges they had in PF to reflect the overall less spellcasting in 5e.

+1 armor and weapons, cloak of resistances, amulets of NA, etc are all "math fix" items for PF and should not be included in 5e. If you want to throw in some flavorful low level magic amror/weapons I suggest homebewing or finding homebrew magic items that are more than just +s.

[Sjappo]

You could shy away from a monetary loot and go for a more thematic one. 5e doesn't care about loot much. You can function without magic items just fine. And, since you cannot buy magic items, money becomes pointless after a certain point. Have the vault contain some of the transmuters more weird experiments. For instance:


Monster of AAAaaaargh: A rabbit with fangs in mouth, nose, eyes and ears. This is a curious side effect of one op the Magic Fang potion prototypes. The rabbit is totally harmless and oddly cute. It is neigh impossible to pet it without getting bitten however.
Maybe the majors dog is here. Horribly mutilated and dead. But well-preserved and stuffed. You know, just in case it may come in handy.
A silver coin that has a lingering Heat Metal effect on it, keeping its temperature at 44 degrees Celsius.



Just look at the Transmutation spell list and think about what could go wrong while researching a spell like that.

[Kryx]

money becomes pointless after a certain point.

This is untrue. Gold still has value and can do many things - there are hundreds of posts on this topic. Hiring Armies, buying a castle, buying a boat, buying a flying mount, gambling it all away, lifestyle costs, etc, etc.

The Reddit thread I posted calculates the "expected gold" from math using the random treasure tables. PCs in 5e still have gold. By my calculations up to ~lvl 11 in PF it's nearly exactly the same level of pure gold/treasure (minus gold gained from selling the plentiful magic items).

[Felvion]

It may seem a bit early but i think it's a nice opportunity for you to toss them some uncommon magic items.
According to the dmg items of such rarity can be obtained even by level one. Although you should make the calls on when to give items (the dmg will help you on this) you shouldn't let them have more than 2 (maximum 3) uncommon items before lvl 5.
Since you don't have the dmg i'll give you a brief list of some uncommon items.
+1 weapons, obvious use, the important part is that they let you bypass some monsters' resistance to non-magical weapons.
Other magical weapons that still count as uncommon are those dealing 2d6 extra elemental damage. (these don't have the +1 property but their extra damage is rolled twice on criticals iirc)
A cloac of protection adds +1 to ac and saving throws
In case you have a warlock the best item for him is a rod of the pact keeper +1 that adds +1 to his spell dc and spell attack rolls while, the best part of it, lets him recall a spellslot cast as an action. It's up to you to figure whether such an item could be part of this loot though.
+1 armors are rated rare and should be avoided contrary to +1 shields that are uncommon.
When it come's to scrolls you'd better give them up to level 2 spells but since they are consumable it doesn't matter much. Giving access to too many spells to your wizard should concern you though, as they already get his spellbook, so be cautious with the scrolls.
Wands are really nice in 5th. Most of them have charges that get recharched every dawn. For example you can have a wand that holds 7 charges. It can allow you to cast a specific spell (up to level 2 for uncommon ones) with the cost of a charge. At dawn it gains back 1d6+1 charges. This example was based on a wand of web which seems to be one of the most powerfull uncommon items.
On the other hand, the wand of magic detection holds 3 daily charges of detect magic and it's considered of the same rarity! IMO these two wands set the limits of the power an uncommon wand should have. Feel free to create one for yourself that suits the dead transmuter's theme.
Universally usefull items are the stone of good luck that adds +1 to both ability checks and saving throws and the goggles of night that grant darkvision.
There are also items that provide +5 to specific checks (eg Sleight of hand checks and pick lock attempts).
Finally there are armors made either of mithryl or adamantine. Mithral ones help you overcome strength requirements and stealth disadvantage while those made of adamantine turn the critical hits into normal ones.

Note that some of the items i've listed above require attunement but you shouldn't be worried about reaching the limit of 3 before level 5. I hope you get your dmg before that point...

[kaoskonfety]

at lower levels -

Gold and mundane loot mostly (weapon and armor from the monsters, an armory perhaps, food stores, casks of wine or beer, fine cheeses), art objects (I like either small personal tokens, jewellery and fine clothes or rather large items - furnishings, tapestries, a piano etc. - items that make another puzzle/adventure out of getting them back home/to market).

On one occasion the party found a random table '50,000 gp art object' - I opted for massive mastercracft cathedral pipe organ. Finding someone with the skills to dismantle it to transport it back to civilization while they kept the place guarded from looters who would strip it for the 50 gp in brass and copper made for some amusing times, they wound up donating it to the church cause they couldn't find a buyer (later the church allowed them to build their keep on church lands so... ya.)

Take a look at expensive spell components for spells the defeated wizard in question knows/may have been researching, have a medium sized pile of it lying about.

For magical loot (if you insist) aim for useful rather than powerful, expendable rather than permanent, Quall (SP?) Feather tokens were always a favourite, a couple swan tokens for boats that last 8 hours, 4 acorns that grow into oaks in an instant and last a week, a horseshoe that when tossed to the ground creates a tireless horse that lasts a day. Depending on the wizards temperament/personality everything can even be clearly labelled with a small book of notes outlining the uses of each item and a nice black velvet lined carrying case.

If you feel you must hand out a +1, the +1 should be the LEAST interesting thing to the characters (the players can be jazzed about the +1 tho).

- its in a scabbard or has a leather undercoat bearing the creators name and and mark (matched to the a mark on the weapons hilt) the history of the 3 owners since, all have died, badly - its not cursed, warriors often die badly.
- its a cultural prize of the dwarven lords who seek it even now, any dwarf with history skill has a reasonable chance of realizing this, attempts to sell the item to them cause great offence but given as a gift you find powerful friends - and once they know you have it they are quite insistent you will not be keeping it (they won't TAKE it from you, but you may be detained or harassed until you see reason).
- set deep in the item is a jewel that glows with dreadful necromantic power (this can be anything from a long passed liches phylactery to a jewel that does nothing - the aura is fake) - any one who notes the aura of power will assume the wielder is magical, dangerous and/or evil, for a kicker it also counts as a spell focus (for necromantic magic?).
- anything else that makes it memorable and interesting for your game and not a +1 on a piece of paper.

[Sjappo]

This is untrue. Gold still has value and can do many things - there are hundreds of posts on this topic. Hiring Armies, buying a castle, buying a boat, buying a flying mount, gambling it all away, lifestyle costs, etc, etc.

The Reddit thread I posted calculates the "expected gold" from math using the random treasure tables. PCs in 5e still have gold. By my calculations up to ~lvl 11 in PF it's nearly exactly the same level of pure gold/treasure (minus gold gained from selling the plentiful magic items).
Up to a point. While true it is al highly campaign dependent. Castles and armies are in any case. So if you are into that kind of thing, yeah it has its uses.

I'll amend my statement a bit. Monetary loot is way less important in 5e than in 3.5 since there is no obligation to have money to buy the magic items you need to compete at your character level. All kinds of fun things can be done with money. This is as true in DnD as it is in in real life.

My point, make the loot memorable. If you want to give magic items, give them character. A +1 sword is dull. Kingbreaker, the sword used by Lord Thalor to kill all three Orkish kings in single combat, is not.

FWIW, my players found the undead mummified albino rat in a bottle they found in the lab of a necromancer much more memorable than the more useful and magical loot they found there.

Just take a look around you, now, while sitting behind your desk. What would you value and take with you in a fire. Chances are the now deceased Transmuter had stuff like that in his vault. Not necessarily valuable but, to him, memorable. Build your treasure around that and sprinkle, liberally or otherwise, with gold and magic items.

[Kryx]

My point, make the loot memorable. If you want to give magic items, give them character. A +1 sword is dull. Kingbreaker, the sword used by Lord Thalor to kill all three Orkish kings in single combat, is not.

I agree with this 100%

[RedMage125]

Agreed. Even if the loot is "random" for you, the DM, a tiny little bit of work can make it more memorable for your players.

I was rolling random treasure for my upcoming game this weekend (because I haven't in a long time, lol). I got a +1 weapon. I decided to look at the tables for filling in more detail for some ideas.

I ended up with a dwarven-made greataxe (a lot of sharp angles instead of curves, bearded faces on the sides), with seemingly-excessive ornamentation, which bears the inscription "Guardian of Ironfast" in Dwarven (this is one of 3 clues that the party needs to head there), and makes the wielder feel more confident whenever she holds it.

[korvanos]

I've read some funny stories about DM's handing out magic items that are just kinda cutesy. Like in OoTS where Roy finds a bag of small animals.

So maybe your PCs might find a tinderbox that never runs out of tinder. Or a whisky flask that makes magic whiskey once a week. Or a divining rod that actually *works* and finds water. But not necessarily things that will give them combat or skill boosts.

[RedMage125]

I've read some funny stories about DM's handing out magic items that are just kinda cutesy. Like in OoTS where Roy finds a bag of small animals.

So maybe your PCs might find a tinderbox that never runs out of tinder. Or a whisky flask that makes magic whiskey once a week. Or a divining rod that actually *works* and finds water. But not necessarily things that will give them combat or skill boosts.

The Bag of Tricks has been in D&D for a long time, and is in 5th edition.

And the whiskey thing reminds me of a story a buddy of mine had. He had a drunken master monk who had an iron flask (an improvised weapon) that was enchanted to refill itself with dwarven spirits. The flask was also magically enchanted as a weapon and had the frost and returning properties, so the booze was always cold. He'd unstopper it, and hurl it at enemies, which would not only do damage, but pour the liquor on them. He'd do that a few times, and then light them on fire.

[Zejety]

Thanks for everybody's input.
Seeing how I need a variety of loot (the puzzle forces me to distribute the treasure to 3-4 chests), I'm going to go with a mix of your suggestions.
One will hold some feather tokens, one some scrolls, and one a magical gadget. Not quite sure yet if I am going to include a wand.