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Adventuring Rewards

Experience and Other Rewards

The primary way that adventurers are rewarded is with experience points (gaining new class levels the more they accrue) and treasure like gold or magic items. These aren’t the only ways that they can advance in level however, nor the only way the Narrator can reward the party.

Experience Points

TABLE: CHARACTER ADVANCEMENT

As adventurers face deadly monsters, solve puzzles, explore new locations, overcome challenges, and navigate complex social situations they earn experience points that represent the knowledge and learning they’ve gained. All characters involved in an encounter divide the experience earned evenly and apply it to their experience point total. If the party was assisted by NPCs, count any NPCs as party members when dividing.
When an adventurer accumulates an amount of experience points determined by their character level, they advance a level in their current class or may select a level in a new class if multiclassing.
After winning a combat encounter, the party gains the total experience of all monsters and encounter elements in the encounter (treating encounter elements as monsters of a CR equal to their difficulty increase) divided up by the number
of adventurers and NPCs in the party.

Objectives

Instead of awarding experience points after each encounter, the Narrator can also award experience for completing objectives. Objectives are divided into major objectives or minor objectives. When planning an adventure, identify two or three major objectives and four to six minor objectives. For purposes of experience points, treat major objectives as hard encounters and minor objectives as easy encounters
As an option, the Narrator might ask the party to choose a major objective or a couple of minor objectives unrelated to the adventure at the beginning of each game session. This gives them some narrative control, rewards them for engaging with the story, and further ties them to the setting.

Major Objectives

Major objectives represent the major story beats, pivotal encounters, or significant side quests.

Minor Objectives

Minor objectives should represent smaller plot points, optional moments, or ancillary goals. When using a prepublished adventure, try to map them to goals rather than specific encounters. This creates flexibility in how the party accomplishes the objectives rather than dictating a specific set of encounters.

Leveling Without Experience

Some Narrators eschew standard experience points all together, either because they find tracking it to be tedious or because it better suits a campaign’s narrative structure.
By Session. With session based leveling, consider having the adventurers level after each 4 hour session in tier 1, after two sessions in tier 2, after 3 sessions in tier 3, and after 4 sessions in tier 4. This system is easy to track but does not always mesh well with story beats.
Over Time. The Narrator may decide that the adventurers level after time passes in-game. In tier 1, PCs might level at the end of each month. In tier 2, they might level at the end of each season. In tier 3, the party might level at the end of each year. In tier 4, the adventurers might level after 2 or five years. Be sure to tie the timeframe to the narrative beats of the campaign.
Simplified Experience. Encounter points can also be used as an alternative to standard experience points. Whenever a party fights a battle, each adventurer gains XP equal to the encounter point cost of a battle (for example no matter their level, an easy battle is worth half a point of XP, a medium battle is worth 1 XP, a hard battle is worth 2 XP, and so on.) For every 15 XP that an adventurer accumulates they gain a level.
Story-Based. With story-based leveling, the adventurers level after significant accomplishments during the campaign.

Other Rewards

The below list offers examples of rewards beyond experience points and treasure.
Prestige. While saving a village might not be the most lucrative of ventures, word of the party’s deeds might increase their Prestige ratings.
Property, Assets, and Businesses. Homes, castles, strongholds, ships, and businesses are all fine rewards that can expand adventurers’ scope of operations or add a new facet to the game.
Relationships. Over the course of their adventure the PCs form relationships with individuals and communities. Consider granting them the use of favors.
Room and Board. Adventurers touch the lives of common folk and business owners. While these grateful people might lack wealth, they can ensure that heroes never go hungry or without a roof over their heads. This could grant the party a moderate lifestyle at no cost within a particular town or region.
Secret Knowledge. Some individuals may offer knowledge as a reward. This could take the form of a key knowledge, the location of something of interest, or an important secret.
Services. Religious or magical organizations might offer adventurers free or reduced cost spellcasting, and trading companies might allow PCs to travel more safely or at no cost.
Status or Titles. Rulers may bestow status or titles on deserving adventurers. While this can result in privileges, respect, and holdings, many rulers use this as a way to establish a hold over useful individuals.
Supernatural Boons. Supernatural creatures might grant some of their power to deserving adventurers. This could replicate the benefit of a magic item that does not require attunement or provide the use of a spell.
Treasure. Treasure covers artwork, coins, gems, and jewelry, as well as magic items.

Treasure

With great risk comes great reward. Hoards of coins, glittering precious jewels, enchanted weapons, and magical trinkets await those who smite monsters or delve in forgotten labyrinths.
Adventurers earn treasure by accomplishing something notable. Dangerous adversaries, such as legendary monsters and long-standing enemies, guard treasure hoards. Allies might give rewards to the PCs in exchange for performing great deeds.
Treasure comes in two main forms: wealth (coins, gems, and salable valuables like jewelry, equipment, and art) and magic items (such as magic weapons, rings of invisibility, and so on). Treasures are physical objects. Information, allies, fame, and fulfillment of the party’s goals and ambitions are desirable, and can often be earned along with treasure, but are not treasure.

How Much Treasure to Give?

TABLE: TREASURE BY LEVEL

The Narrator decides how much treasure to give out as rewards, but there is no requirement that adventurers must earn a certain amount of wealth—it depends on the style of game and scale of the campaign. The High and Low Treasure Campaigns section below has more information on departing from default treasure levels.
The Treasure by Level table shows the rate of treasure adventurers acquire if their rewards are generated randomly or use the sample treasures given in a monster’s description. The Narrator can vary widely from these numbers without seriously affecting game balance.
The Gold Acquired This Level column indicates how much wealth, in gold pieces, a single adventurer is likely to find or earn during the course of that character level. This accounts for their share of the coins found as well as the value of nonmagical treasure.
The Magic Items Acquired This Level column indicates the probability that an adventurer finds one or more magic items each level (roll 1d100 to determine which), and lists the treasure tables that offer appropriate magic rewards for that level. Over the course of their career, an adventurer should find about 24 magic items: 18 consumable magic items or enchanted trinkets as well as 6 permanent magic items.

Creating Treasure Rewards

The Narrator can give out treasure in one of three ways: crafting unique treasure rewards, rolling on the tables in this chapter to create random treasure, or granting the listed treasure for a particular encounter in a monster’s entry.

Crafting Unique Treasure Rewards

To determine the gold piece value of all the treasures a party finds at a given level, multiply the number of adventurers by the appropriate amount of wealth from the Gold Acquired This Level column of the treasure table above. Narrators don’t have to stick to this number rigorously by any means—there’s enough latitude to give anywhere between twice this amount and none based on the demands of the story.
With a total gold piece value worked out, the Narrator divides it into one, two, three, or more individual treasure hoards, each a reward for overcoming a different obstacle. Instead of granting each treasure hoard in gold pieces, these can be customized by using different coin denominations, gems, and valuables of all kinds. See the Treasure Descriptions section below for inspiration.
To determine the average number of magic items found over the course of a level, multiply the number of adventurers by the percentages in the Magic Items Acquired This Level column of the Treasure by Level table. Narrators may halve or double these numbers—granting anywhere between 1 and 4 expendable magic items, and 0 and 2 permanent magic items—without straying too far from the default rate of treasure acquisition.

Rolling for Random Treasure

Instead of doling out parcels of treasure, many Narrators like to randomly generate wealth or adopt a hybrid random-custom method: randomly generating a hoard and then altering it by swapping out pieces of wealth and magic items appropriate to the story.
To create a random treasure hoard, use the Random Treasure Tables section on pages 178–180. On average, a typical party finds roughly 1 to 3 random treasure hoards per character level. The Narrator decides the location of each treasure. An important adversary, such as a legendary or elite monster, might guard a massive cache which consists of two random treasure hoards.

Using Premade Treasure

Many monter descriptions include an Encounters section listing one or more treasures, broken down by encounter difficulty. Narrators can use one of these treasures as it stands or modify it to better fit a campaign. When using premade treasure, it’s important to remember that not every encounter gives out treasure! As with random treasure, the average party finds 1 to 3 treasures per level, and additional encounters might yield no treasure or only incidental treasure (see below).

Varying Treasure

Whenever considering treasure, the Narrator should customize rewards to the needs of the game, the logic of the ongoing story, and the party’s desires.

Customizing Magic Items

Randomly assigned treasure doesn’t take into account the party’s classes or favorite weapon types. Some Narrators like to swap randomly assigned magic items for those that are more useful to their adventurers.

Incidental Treasure

Sometimes the party stumbles into a small amount of wealth that doesn’t constitute a treasure hoard. They might pickpocket a noble, defeat a beast in its lair, or ransack a merchant’s storeroom, but Narrators don’t need to count or keep track of incidental treasure. Grant an incidental treasure whenever it feels appropriate. When in doubt about whether incidental treasure is present (such as after defeating a minor adversary or after searching a room), roll a 1d6. On a roll of 4–6, incidental treasure is found.
To randomly determine incidental treasure, generate a treasure with a Challenge Rating of the party’s average level – 1d6 (minimum 0). A low-level party defeating a bandit sentry is likely to find a handful of silver or gold coins while tier 4 adventurers might win a few hundred platinum in a dice game—in either case, what’s gained is a fairly insignificant amount of money to the party.

High and Low Treasure Campaigns

When using the standard treasure rules, an adventurer finds an average of 6 or so permanent magic items over 20 character levels, along with enough money to buy a seventh, legendary item. Narrators might prefer more frequent treasure rewards and more fabulously wealthy adventurers, or to run a campaign with a lower level of magic or even no magic items at all.
Narrators that consistently grant more than double the amount of treasures per level (say, one treasure hoard per character per level) should raise the difficulty of combat encounters and exploration challenges. A well-equipped party of mid-level or higher can easily handle a steady diet of hard encounters, and probably has enough tricks to consistently succeed on medium and hard ability checks. Raise the level of challenge by including more deadly combats and more difficult obstacles to overcome, as well as encounter elements (pages 48–52).
When running a low-treasure campaign with few magic items, Narrators can expect a combat that’s rated medium to provide a stiff challenge. A combat that’s rated as a hard challenge may offer significant peril. Magic-poor adventurers don’t have as many ways to escape the consequences of failure (extra healing, teleportation, and so on), and the Narrator should design challenges with the awareness that failure is a real possibility.

Treasure for Large and Small Groups

The above random and pre-computed treasure guidelines assume a party consisting of 4 or 5 adventurers. Smaller parties won’t find enough treasure using these guidelines, and large parties will find too many high-level magic items. Use the following modifications to give small parties fewer but richer treasure hoards and large parties more but poorer treasure hoards.
Crafting Unique Treasure Rewards. No changes are necessary to the way treasure is given or crafted, making it a great choice for unusually large or small groups. Just grant the desired amount of treasure per party member.
Rolling for Random Treasure. For small parties of 2 or 3 adventurers, the PCs only find an average of 1 random treasure hoard per level. To generate each hoard, after determining the Challenge Rating of a combat encounter or quest, use the treasure table one band higher. For example, if a treasure’s Challenge Rating is 6 (the Treasure for Challenge Ratings 5–10 table), instead use the Treasure for Challenge Ratings 11–6 table.
For large parties (6 or more adventurers), roll on a random treasure table 3 or 4 times per level (perhaps combining two or three treasure rolls into a single monster’s hoard or quest reward). For each roll on the treasure table, after determining the Challenge Rating of a combat encounter or quest, use the treasure table one band lower. For example, if a treasure’s Challenge Rating is 6 (Treasure for Challenge Ratings 5–10 table), Treasure for Challenge Ratings 3–4 table.
Using Premade Treasure. Narrators can apply the same rules as for generating random treasure when using premade treasure suggestions. Small groups find around 1 hoard per level, using the treasure for the next hardest encounter, while large groups find 3 or more hoards, each of which uses treasure from the next easiest encounter. If there is no harder or easier encounter, or when using a published adventure module, instead double (for small groups) or halve (for large groups) the number of coins, gems, and valuables they find.

Random Treasure Tables

The following tables allow Narrators to generate an appropriate treasure for a combat or noncombat challenge. There are nine tables, each with a reward for encounters of different challenge ratings.
Some treasure hoards are won by defeating monsters in battle. To randomly determine the treasure belonging to enemy combatants, total the Challenge Ratings of all the combatants to get the treasure’s Challenge Rating.
Other treasures are discovered through exploration, given as a reward, or otherwise earned through noncombat encounters. Quests like these can be assigned a Challenge Rating just as combat encounters can. A simple task or a small treasure has a Challenge Rating equal to the party’s average character level. A difficult or rewarding quest can have a Challenge Rating up to twice the party’s average character level.
Once a treasure’s Challenge Rating has been determined, find the matching Random Treasure Table and roll a d20 three times: once for coins, once for other wealth, and once for magic items. Each price category of gem and valuable (such as ‘10 gp gem’ or ‘25 gp valuable’) has its own subtable, as does each of the random magic item tables, numbered from 1 to 10.

TABLE: AVERAGE TREASURE VALUES

TABLE: TREASURE FOR CHALLENGE RATING 0

TABLE: TREASURE FOR CHALLENGE RATINGS 1–2

TABLE: TREASURE FOR CHALLENGE RATINGS 3–4

TABLE: TREASURE FOR CHALLENGE RATINGS 5–10

TABLE: TREASURE FOR CHALLENGE RATINGS 11–16

TABLE: TREASURE FOR CHALLENGE RATINGS 17–22

TABLE: TREASURE FOR CHALLENGE RATINGS 23–30

TABLE: TREASURE FOR CHALLENGE RATINGS 31–40

TABLE: TREASURE FOR CHALLENGE RATINGS 41+

Coins

Caches of coins are found in denominations of pp (platinum), gp (gold), ep (electrum), sp (silver), and cp (copper). Fifty of any denomination of coins weigh 1 pound. A stack of 2,000 coins weighs 40 pounds and is considered to be one bulky item for the purposes of carrying capacity.
Each ‘coins’ result on the treasure table lists the average number of coins found, and then in parentheses lists the dice expression used to generate a random number of coins. For instance, a result of ‘700 (2d6 × 100) sp’ indicates that 700 silver pieces, or 2d6 × 100 silver pieces, are found.

Other Wealth

Treasures can contain non-monetary wealth: gems and valuables. ‘Valuables’ is a catch-all term for jewelry, works of art and craft, and other costly but nonmagical objects.

Gems

Use the following tables to determine the specific types of gemstones found in a treasure. Most often, caches of gemstones contain only one or two types of gems. Large, flawless, or unusually colored gems might be worth as much as ten times the usual price for their type.

Rare Spells as Treasure

Whenever adventurers find a spell scroll, there’s a 50% chance they discover a rare version of a spell. During the course of adventuring from 1st to 20th level, the average party should find around 1 rare spell scroll per spellcaster.

TABLE: 10 GOLD GEMSTONES

TABLE: 50 GOLD GEMSTONES

TABLE: 100 GOLD GEMSTONES

TABLE: 500 GOLD GEMSTONES

TABLE: 1,000 GOLD GEMSTONES

TABLE: 5,000 GOLD GEMSTONES

Valuables

Valuables include jewelry, equipment, art, and other objects, and can come in nearly limitless varieties. Each of the following tables contains some examples. Of all forms of treasure, valuables are the most useful for showing the characteristics and history of a treasure hoard or its owner. These may include items that point the way to further adventures, like letters and treasure maps.

TABLE: 25 GOLD VALUABLES

TABLE: 75 GOLD VALUABLES

TABLE: 250 GOLD VALUABLES

TABLE: 750 GOLD VALUABLES

TABLE: 2,500 GOLD VALUABLES

TABLE: 7,500 GOLD VALUABLES

TABLE: 25,000 GOLD VALUABLES

Magic Item Tables

When generating treasure hoards, use the following tables to randomly choose a magic item. The items in these tables are described in Chapter 8: Enchanted Gear. The Narrator can customize magical treasure by choosing items instead of rolling randomly or by using items from other sources. An adventure—whether published or invented by the Narrator—may also feature unique magic items like a +1 weapon with a power related to the events of the adventure, or mysterious magical objects with which the adventurers can interact.
Expendable Magic Items. The first three magic item tables consist of expendable items like potions and scrolls, with Table: Magic Items #1 most suitable for beginning adventurers, Table: Magic Items #2 for mid-level parties, and Table: Magic Items #3 for high-level PCs.
Enchanted Trinkets. Table: Magic Items #4 consists of magical trinkets, which are minor items which can be given freely to characters without upsetting game balance.
Permanent Magic Items. Table: Magic Items #5–#10 are composed of successively more powerful permanent items. Items on Table: Magic Items #5 are appropriate for 1st level adventurers, while items on Table: Magic Items #10 are most often earned only with great difficulty by the highest-level characters.
When a roll on a treasure table calls for 3 or more expendable items, the items are often of the same type. For example, a result of 3 items on Table: Magic Items #1 might be 3 potions of healing or 3 spell scrolls which each contain a different spell.
Note that magic items marked with a C are cursed.

TABLE: MAGIC ITEMS #1

TABLE: MAGIC ITEMS #2

TABLE: MAGIC ITEMS #3

TABLE: MAGIC ITEMS #4

TABLE: MAGIC ITEMS #5

TABLE: MAGIC ITEMS #6

TABLE: MAGIC ITEMS #7

TABLE: MAGIC ITEMS #8

TABLE: MAGIC ITEMS #9

TABLE: MAGIC ITEMS #10

Boons and Discoveries

When the adventurers overcome a great obstacle or are triumphant in the face of a difficult struggle they deserve to be rewarded. Boons and discoveries are a different way for Narrators to reward the party, and although they sometimes result in coin or an enchanted trinket, their greater purpose is to make journeys all the more memorable.
When the party gains a boon or discovery, the Narrator can invent one or roll 1d10 on the following table. Note that not all boons and discoveries are appropriate for all tiers of play, and the Narrator should reroll when a reward is too powerful (for a lower tier party) or insignificant (for higher tier adventurers).

TABLE: BOONS AND DISCOVERIES

Animal

Animals which accompany the adventurers typically do so for as long as they remain in this region. The animal assists in combat, uses its senses and other abilities to aid the adventurers, and if large enough will allow the adventurers to use it as a mount. When bloodied, a boon animal flees.
The Challenge Rating of the animal is based on the region’s tier. Select one animal appropriate to the environment, or one animal per adventurer from a lower tier.
A boon animal does not generally possess intelligence greater than those of a regular animal of its type, but there is a 50% chance that an animal understands basic commands and engages in crude attempts at communication.
Flying animals such as birds are especially good at warning adventurers of impending danger, and additionally grant advantage on ability checks made to avoid being surprised.
The Narrator is encouraged to invent colorful or thematic ways for the animal to be introduced. Some examples follow.

• A bear cub or other young animal follows the party.
• A hunting hawk tangled in a branch because of the jesses on its legs. If freed, the party gains its loyalty.
• A flock of birds takes off and flies in an ominous pattern, accompanying the adventurers and warning of danger.
• A large feline stretches, yawns, and moves its tail aside to reveal kittens.
• Cow wearing a bell engraved with the name ‘Osiress, Death to all She Sees’.
• A very plump rodent is stuck in its burrow. If freed it loyally follows the party.
• The party finds well-trained mounts or labor animals (one per adventurer) appropriate to their environment such as axe beaks in grasslands, camels in a desert, elephants in the jungle, or giant spiders in Underland, but no sign of the beasts’ previous tenders. The creatures return home when released or left unmonitored.
• A court of fey have been watching the adventurers from afar and are amused by their success, rewarding each of them with giant elks that are loyal mounts until the party leaves the region.

TABLE: BOON ANIMALS

Blessing

The gods are pleased with the party’s actions. These boons are sometimes the result of divine favor, or sometimes reflect approval of local communities.

TABLE: BLESSING BOONS

Follower

To randomly flesh out the follower’s heritage, name, and other details, see Social Encounters on page 103. The expertise of the follower is based on the region’s tier (tier 0–1: inexperienced, tier 2–3: seasoned, tier 4: expert). A boon follower typically remains with the party until they leave the current region.

TABLE: BOON FOLLOWERS

Herbs and Medicinals

The party discovers a small patch of vegetation that can be harvested and used as an herbal remedy or potion.

TABLE: HERBS AND MEDICINAL DISCOVERIES

Route

The adventurers discover a shortcut, reducing their journey time by 1 day (to a minimum of 1 day).

TABLE: ROUTE DISCOVERIES

Secret

Something mysterious is revealed to the party.

TABLE: SECRET DISCOVERIES

Shelter

These discovered shelters can all be used as havens.

TABLE: DISCOVERED SHELTERS

Supply

The adventurers find Supply equal to 1d4 + 1 Supply per adventurer. Roll 1d10 to determine the nature of the Supply.

TABLE: DISCOVERED SUPPLY

Treasure

Roll on the treasure table for a Challenge Rating equal to the CR of the encounter or challenge, or of the average character level (see Treasure on page 176). The table below can be used to describe how the treasure is revealed to the adventurers.

TABLE: DISCOVERED TREASURE

Other

The value of an unusual item is based on the region’s tier (tier 0: 50 gold, tier 1: 150 gold, tier 2: 600 gold, tier 3: 1,500 gold, tier 4: 4,000 gold).

TABLE: UNUSUAL ITEMS