Out Now on the DMs Guild
Wintry Blast |
Anne Gregersen is my hero. Let me explain. Anne has cooked up a series of amazing supplements on the DMs Guild dealing with monster loot. We aren't talking about loot in the traditional sense (gems, coins, and trinkets). No, we are talking about harvested loot from creatures the adventurers fell in battle. We are talking about venom sacks, talons, scales, and the like.
If your D&D groups are anything like mine, there is always at least one person who wants to collect snake fangs or fashion a luxurious cloak out of a dire wolf pelt. I always struggled with how to handle these player requests. A Nature check? Medicine? Survival? I usually just ended up hand-waving it so we could move the story along without getting bogged down in the nitty-gritties of field dressing and taxidermy. The problems didn't stop there. Several sessions later, I'd have characters asking what they can do with the parts they harvest. Again, I was often at a loss. This is where Anne saves the day. She has created a rules system that is simple enough to implement, complex enough to be interesting, and rewarding for everyone involved. Her system includes a new item, harvester's tools, and mechanics for breaking down different types of creatures. For example, Nature checks are used when harvesting from Beasts, Dragons, Plants and other creature types. Religion is used when harvesting from the Undead, Celestial, and Fiends. Survival and Arcana checks also come in to play for various creature types. Anne has also accounted for creature size. Harvesting from a giant boar and a green dragon are two totally different endeavors. Your typical medium creature takes an hour to harvest, while that huge hydra takes 4 hours. Regardless of the time commitment, only one check is required. On a successful check, the characters get all the prescribed loot available. On a failed check, they get half. On a severely failed check, a mishap may occur (like piercing an acid gland or slicing open their own thumb). The amazing thing is that Anne has taken the time to assign loot to every creature found in the Monster Manual, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, and Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes. There is a supplement available for each source book on the DMs Guild, or you can purchase them as a bundle. Mundane creatures like wolves and bears don't have very exciting loot, but once you get to gricks, basilisks, black puddings, and so on, the loot gets fun. For example, that back pudding yields vials of "ooze goop" that can be thrown to deal acid damage. Other creatures, like the young remorahaz, yield hide that can be crafted into gear. In the case of the remorhaz, characters can fashion a cloak that grants fire and cold resistance when worn. Of course, there are costs associated with this crafting (time and money), so you party can't start using the items without spending some downtime first. And that leads me to the icing on the cake. Many players love acquiring magic items. It's so much more rewarding to have them craft items out of collected materials then simply trying to purchase them in every town they visit. What's more, many of the items included in Anne's supplements are consumable or appropriately powered. The characters won't be able to fashion a +3 Vorpal Sword from collecting just the right parts. We also know that 5e has a money problem. Characters acquire vast wealth and have nothing really to spend it on. Anne's system helps solve that problem. That remorhaz cloak I mentioned? It takes 3,000 gp to fashion. That's the type of item that is perfect for filling in the narrative between campaigns. I can't recommend these supplements enough. Druids and Rangers will love harvesting from nature and leaving nothing to waste. Wizards will love collecting samples to help them in their research. Rogues always love finding a good source of poison. Even a Barbarian can find joy in finally putting some clothes on while showing off a trophied-fur from their epic kill. There's no better time to get this bundle since the DMs Guild has their #PlayItForward event going on. Between May 4 and May 17, 2020, 100% of the royalties go directly to content creators like Anne. If you have stuff sitting in your cart or languishing on a wishlist, go get it now! Monster Loot Products
PS. She even has smaller supplements specifically for adventures like Lost Mine of Phandelver and Descent into Avernus.
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AuthorD&D 5e enthusiast. Creator on DMsguild. Supporter of creators, content and good times. Follow me on Twitter @rjquestgiver Archives
July 2021
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