Ideas for Hoards

[modsr]

I'd really like my players to find some magical items (but I don't want to just flat-out give them to the characters, I'd rather have them roll). I'll be running Kinstrife & Dark Tidings next and I'd like to squeeze a Hoard in there somewhere. I don't see many possibilities for Hoards in the adventure as written, but what I'm looking for is some ideas for Hoards that could fit any adventure. Any ideas for a Tolkienesque way of coming across a hoard with a magical item (in the Vales of Anduin)? Something with a challenge, preferably a fight would be great. My Tolkien-lore is weak-sauce and I bet someone here could come up with something that would actually fit Tolkien's world. Thanks!

[zedturtle]

I'd really like my players to find some magical items (but I don't want to just flat-out give them to the characters, I'd rather have them roll). I'll be running Kinstrife & Dark Tidings next and I'd like to squeeze a Hoard in there somewhere. I don't see many possibilities for Hoards in the adventure as written, but what I'm looking for is some ideas for Hoards that could fit any adventure. Any ideas for a Tolkienesque way of coming across a hoard with a magical item (in the Vales of Anduin)? Something with a challenge, preferably a fight would be great. My Tolkien-lore is weak-sauce and I bet someone here could come up with something that would actually fit Tolkien's world. Thanks!

In his fan-adventure, A Cup of Golden Love, James R. Brown suggested a set of ruins in the Wolfswood, attended by spirits. Perhaps Valter and the others camp near those ruins or maybe those ruins are where Oderic and Faron are going when the heroes try to capture the boy.

I would actually encourage you to wait a bit, however. Those That Tarry No Longer and A Darkness in the Marshes have better opportunities for Hoards.

[minnowchurch]

I think in order to effectively suggest a solution we might need to know your reasons for wanting to introduce a Hoard. I, too don't want my players to just be given them, but I also don't want the players to feel like I am just having a Hoard simply because the mechanic exists and I think it's neat. That sentiment in mind, I think there are a few avenues you might consider:

1). If based on a "random encounter", it could be that these particular adversaries have been preying on this area for awhile, perhaps collecting Treasure from their victims. Think of Bilbo acquiring Sting, Gandalf Glamdring and so on. Perhaps a "Hoard" could be a group of orcs or spiders they are looting, perhaps a recent battlefield.

2). Have their Patron or quest-giver either know of a Hoard or give them access to their own treasury as a potential reward for remarkable level of success for the Company objective. For example, King Dain Ironfoot says "you guys totally sorted that Orc chief out, you may take as many riches from my treasury as each of you can personally carry out. Cool huh?" This is more in-line perhaps with Baron Munchausen depending on whether your players are lawyers, but there are plenty of other examples in Fairy Tales too upon which it is arguable LOTR is based.

3). Probably in my opinion the worst method, but probably more in-line with Tolkien is to as you say you wish to avoid, simply give them the loot. Aragorn is given his sword in the film by Elrond for reaching a key character turning point, Merry and Pippin are given daggers of Westernesse by Tom Bombadil (or seemingly from Aragorn's pockets in the films), Biblo gives Frodo the mithril shirt when he departs home, Galadriel gives every single member of the party a magic weapon, armour of wondrous object, and so on.

The tricky bit with this last one is really narratively when you choose to give them to players. Depending on how powerful you design them, you run the risk of giving emotional high ground to one player at the expense of others. While its fluffy enough to Tolkien's canon, I think if you had 3 players in your game, each playing Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas running around, and then the guy playing Aragorn got a magic sword from Elrond while the other two never got anything until later if ever, Gimli and Legolas might say "what, is Dave playing the main character or something?"

[Corvo]

I'd really like my players to find some magical items (but I don't want to just flat-out give them to the characters, I'd rather have them roll). I'll be running Kinstrife & Dark Tidings next and I'd like to squeeze a Hoard in there somewhere. I don't see many possibilities for Hoards in the adventure as written, but what I'm looking for is some ideas for Hoards that could fit any adventure. Any ideas for a Tolkienesque way of coming across a hoard with a magical item (in the Vales of Anduin)? Something with a challenge, preferably a fight would be great. My Tolkien-lore is weak-sauce and I bet someone here could come up with something that would actually fit Tolkien's world. Thanks!

Not easy to squeeze an hoard in Kinstrife, but, if the Heroes defeat Valter, maybe they can find something among his belonging.
That was a man that wanted to be king, and there was effectively some blue blood in his veins... (spoiler from tDoM)