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a dragon can have acquired treasures that were oldalready when a dragon came into possession of them,and so a dragon’s hoard offers a glimpse into the historyof the region, highlighting the major movementsof civilization in the hoard’s precious objects, oldcoins, and magic items present.ConsistencyA dragon values its hoard and is unlikely to leave itunguarded for long. So when a dragon goes searchingfor food and wealth to add to its hoard, it doesn’tstray too far from its lair. As a result, the treasure onemight find is likely to originate from lands only as faraway as the dragon can fly in a single day.That said, dragons might receive offerings fromtheir neighbors, local humanoids who seek to appeasethe monster, disturbed cultists giving up their treasuresas sacrifices, or possible allies bestowing gifts tocement an alliance. Since these gifts must be valuableto garner the dragon’s goodwill, a few items can originatefrom far-off lands.AppropriatenessA black dragon’s hoard in a cave sunken in a hillockin a stinking bog is not likely to include valuablebolts of cloth, books, paintings, scrolls, or anythingelse that’s not likely to last in such a sodden place. It’smore like to hold gemstones, fine statuary, pillars,and other goods that can withstand a little dampness.It might seem obvious, but thinking about what’slikely to survive in a dragon’s lair goes a long waytoward maintaining suspension of disbelief.On the other hand, an item found in a dragon’shoard that has no business being there stands out asbeing important. A beautiful tapestry hanging on thewall of a volcanic lair isn’t going to last long, and so itspresence suggests that the dragon recently acquiredthe item, which might mean that the item has morevalue to its original owner than merely as an artobject likely to be sold outright. Distinctive items andunusually placed items are great ways to seed futurequests, drop hints about an ongoing mystery, or foreshadowa future adventure.CharacterMore than anything else, you should consider thedragon’s personality, its ambitions, fears, and quirkswhen designing its hoard. An especially pious dragonmight collect religious paraphernalia, while a sinisterdragon known to consort with demons could havedebased interests and collect rare pieces of tortureequipment, bronzed halflings, and a large assortmentof unicorn horns. When you’re determining themonetary valuables in a hoard, come up with at leastthree things to reflect the unique nature of a dragon’spersonality and interests and seed them into thegoods and items included in the hoard.DiversityFundamentally, a hoard is a quantity of coins andmagic items. When you get right down to it, thehoard represents an expected value of gold piecesand the appropriate number of magic items to keepthe PCs properly outfitted as they make their waythrough their next adventure. This approach, whilefine in theory, is rather soulless. The treasure shouldstand out as much as the dragon does.Diversity means spreading out the monetary valueof the treasure among coins, art objects, gemstones,trade goods, the amusing or puzzling oddity, andeven the rare valuable prisoner. First off, sameness isboring. A pile of coins and nothing else is dull, dull,dull. Variety in and of itself begins to make a hoardmemorable. It also gives characters the opportunityto select concrete and distinctive souvenirs amid thehoard to help them remember their triumph—or topick out knockout jewelry to adorn themselves at afuture formal ball.Injecting diversity into a hoard gives your playersa chance to connect with the campaign setting andground themselves in the game world. Certainly,the PCs can liquidate the items into coins. That iswell and good, and you should not make exchangingthe hoard into money an onerous task, or make theplayers feel “cheated” by trapping all the value of thehoard in material goods that they cannot change intocash. However, finding a buyer for a disturbing paintingor returning a captured prince to a distraughtmother offers opportunities to plant adventure seedsthat can grow into minor and major quests. Perhapsthe ceramic urn with the intricate flower patternrecovered from a purple dragon’s grotto is in fact thecritical component to putting an angry ghost to rest.Or the bejeweled longsword discovered in a darkenedcorner might be the key to bringing peace betweentwo warring city-states. A dragon’s hoard is a perfectresource for setting the stage for future scenarios.CreatingDragon HoardsDragons are mighty opponents, foes of significantpower and might. A dragon can tackle an entire partyby itself and stands a good chance of surviving theencounter. As if the dragons’ own powers weren’tenough, their lairs are anything but friendly. Dragonsseek out the nastiest, most inhospitable places to live.Numerous thralls and parasites lurk about their caves,and tricky traps, dangerous terrain, and other hazardscan make a descent into a dragon’s lair as nastyas fighting the dragon. For these reasons, defeating adragon and claiming its hoard is a considerable featand one that merits a commensurate reward.A dragon’s hoard is different from most othertreasure in that the items are more interesting and62CHAPTER 2 | DM’s Guide to Dragons