Populating a Jabberwock Treasure Hoard

[Zhorn]

As the title suggests; I'm setting up for a Jabberwock encounter for my party this week and I'd like some suggestions for what to put in the hoard.

Normally I'd roll randomly, but for this one I'd like to paint a bit of a picture for the players as they make their way into the Jabberwock's den. Describing the scenes of death of the previous parties that were lured in with the idea of a treasure hoard, only to be adding to it with their deaths, as the Jabberwock's insatiable hunger and ferocity made short work of the unprepared adventurers.

Story-wise, this is happening on the prime material plane. A coven of green hags have managed to leash this thing to their forest. It's the muscle that allows them to to their hag business with little worry of adventurers striking at their lair. The Jabberwock draws all the attention.

While not a proper dragon hoard, the wealth that has accumulated over the years would be a reasonable tier 2 sum (CR 5-10 hoard).
There will be a handful of low tier consumable magic items scattered throughout the lair, with evidence of multiple others having been carelessly destroyed during prior confrontations or feeding frenzies. Smashed potion vials, shredded books and scrolls, broken arrows, etc.
The shiny and durable stuff the Jabberwock has dragged to the back of the lair to make into an alluring pile. It's not hoarding out of a desire for treasure, not does it really consider the value of what it has. This is just a rudimentary understanding of treasure piles attract creatures that like treasure, meaning it needs to hunt less as food willingly wanders into the Jabberwock's territory is search of wealth.

Treasure suggestions I'm looking for:
Things that are not so strong as to undermine the Jabberwock being the reigning champion of its prior confrontation.
Things that lean into the idea of unprepared adventurers who mistakenly prepared for a green dragon.
Maybe a bias for sylvan themes as the early encounters before the Jabberwock truly took over would have been the prior residence of the woods.

Before anyone asks; no I don't plant items in these for specific players perfectly matched for their builds. Those are done through player driven quests. This is for the stuff neither I nor they were thinking about, hence usually rolling, or in this case asking the forums.

[J-H]

That sounds like fun! Is the Jabberwock something you homebrewed?

A list of stuff that's useful but doesn't break every encounter all day long
Staff of the Adder or Python (sylvan/druid ish)
Silver Arrow of Dragonslaying (Silver so it's shiny and doesn't get ignored)
Staff of Flowering
Illusionist's Bracers (I assume they are gaudy)
Enduring Spellbook with some random spells in it
Adamantine Armor (your choice on type)
Trident of Fish Command (it works on anything with a swim speed, so it's almost not bad)
Circlet of Blasting
Gem of Brightness
Armor of Poison Resistance (your choice on type; I'd probably go with studded leather and make it out of wyvern hide & chitin)
Ring of the Ram
Sword of Life Stealing (It's not +anything, it's just a on-natural-20 bonus damage and +temp HP boost)
Dimensional Shackles (hags might have this; note: could cause shenanigans. I like shenanigans)
Horn of Blasting (explosion chance is so high that this item is not very good; I'd be tempted to make a "Horn of Silence" instead. Note that the Silence spell is not movable in 5e)

[Zhorn]

Cheers for the response

No, the Jabberwock isn't my homebrew. It's been in a few editions of d&d as the counterpart to the Vorpal Sword, and has had it's most recent printing in Wild Beyond the Witchlight.

Poison Resistance armor would be a good pick, seems standard fair for if someone were to go green dragon hunting, then be in for a rude shock when the green monster doesn't use a poison breath but instead blasts you with fire beams from its eyes.

Similarly, a weapon that deals bonus poison damage would be potent much of the time, but would be very lacklustre versus the Jabberwock's poison immunity.

Both the armor and weapon would just need to be sylvan themed and they'll cover two picks.

Staff of flowering I might even throw in as a stocking filler. Junky common items are fun.

A collar that acts as a dimension shackle... that could be an interesting story point. Nice suggestion.

Dragon slaying arrows, fire resist, things that provide silence, or high slashing damage I'm gonna steer sharply away from. Narratively this hoard is constructed of treasures that were accumulated from adventurers that lost their encounter with this thing, so items that would be effective against the Jabberwock wouldn't have narratively been in play.

[J-H]

Cool. I guess it must be a dragon with fire breath or something then. I was thinking some sort of big non-poison monstrosity.

[da newt]

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.



Nothing really useful to add other than the above does not reference a lair or treasure, but certainly leaves plenty of room for interpretation and whimsy.

[KorvinStarmast]

In the Jabberwock's treasure must be a Snicker Snack.
It is a consumable item. It can be worn like a scarf.

It prevents critical hits twice; on the second critical hit that it prevents, it cracker jacks (and everyone hears a fairy voice sing joyfully "Knick Knack Paddywhack") and then leaves behind a small prize (a trinket, roll a d100 on the table in the PHB) on the ground. :smallsmile:

If the PC is a Ranger, Beast Master, it also leaves behind a bone for his animal companion.

[Zhorn]

In the Jabberwock's treasure must be a Snicker Snack.
It is a consumable item. It can be worn like a scarf.
Fun idea, and I'll keep it in mind for if I run some feywild adventures, but for my prime material plane it's just that little bit too fanciful.
Might need a namechange too. Snicker-Snack is a specific Vorpal Sword (sentient weapon in WBtW), named for the line in the original poem as to the sound it makes; the whistle of the blade through the air (“snicker”) and then the blade connecting with its target (“snack!”)