Treasure Map Tables !

! by Todd Nilson! ! !

Why would anyone place a treasure map in a hoard? There are so many details to make up on the fly and there never seemed to be a reasonably easy way to come up with the details of a map when a random role of treasure called for it. If you are using the B/X Moldvay rules and a treasure map is indicated when rolling on the scrolls table (a result of 7 or 8), use the tables below to create something special for your players.! The tables below are designed to be a creative aid. While I have tried to eliminate redundant or contradictory results, this is still very much a draft and will likely remain one. A game referee who is satisfied by rolling on just one or to tables and is then so struck by inspiration that he or she needs to roll no further will warm my heart.!

! How complete is the treasure map?! ! !

1. Map is complete and intact! 2. Map has been torn or sundered into multiple parts! 3. Map is partially destroyed! 4. Map is one of a series of related maps or clues to treasure(s)! How many versions are there?! 1. Map is the original and only version.! 2. Map is a copy of the original but is completely faithful! 3. Map is a copy that deviates from the original in some respects! 4. Map is a copy that deviates from the original in major respects (either due to extreme haste, negligence or malign intent)!

Is it a real treasure map?! 1. The map is real and leads to what it says it does! 2. The map is real but the treasure is long gone! 3. The map is real but the treasure is different that what's said to be there.! 4. The map is bogus (a prank or hoax)! 5. The map leads to real treasure but is inaccurate or misleading! 6. The map is a lure to a trap set by an individual or individuals who are looking to attract and rob foolhardy and greedy treasure hunters!

Map medium?! 1. Parchment paper or vellum! 2. Etched on metal (sheet, a weapon, a shield, etc.)! 3. Carved in wood! 4. Magical energy (like a hologram that works with a keyword or a sorcerous fire that burns a tattoo into the person who discovers it)! 5. Magical talking head/bird/toad/insect/rock, portable and/or ambulatory!

6. Dreams that may vary in strength from mild to powerfully insistent (geas/quest)! 7. Talking statue (non-mobile), may or may not be cooperative! 8. Talking statuette (portable, though perhaps unwieldy)! 9. Mundane item with magic mouth! 10. Wall mural / bas-relief! 11. Living guardian (ancient knight, enchanted monster, etc.), perhaps a spell that is enacted upon death, a tattoo that appears on the guardian's skin, etc.)! 12. Dead guardian (wraith or spectre who remains cursed to undeath but if tricked into revealing the map has a chance of virtuous release)! 13. Monstrous guardian, one which is essentially ageless like a sphinx or naga, a dragon or even an elf! 14. Water (may be the basin or whatever it is poured in that contains the magic to show the map, or it may be the water itself; may be that the map can be moved or not)! 15. Smoke reveals the map (may be from a particular item such as a brazier or a candle; map may appear in the smoke itself or may show up as smudges on a wall)! 16. Fire reveals the map (may be from a particular item such as a brazier or a candle which must be stared into; flame may burn an image of the map into skin or paper; map may appear in the flickering shadows cast by the fire)!

! ! How is the information represented?! !

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

! What is the treasure?! !

Spoken narrative! Written narrative! Drawing! Drawing! Icons or pictograms! Interactive (as in a dream or visitation with a ghost)!

Roll to see if the map discloses nothing about the nature or type of treasure (01-25), provides cryptic clues requiring some sleuthing (26-75) or specifies exactly what the treasure is (76-00).!

! The treasure consists of:! !

1. Wealth! 2. Powerful Artifact! 3. Knowledge! 4. Place of Power! 5. Nothing (if it's a false map)! 6. A Deadly Guardian or Trap!

! Wealth Subtable:! !

1. A vast fortune in ancient coins! 2. A vast fortune in jewels (or a single jewel of incredible value)! 3. A vast fortune in gems (or a single gem of incredible value)! 4. Work(s) of Art or Antiques! 5. Raw/ongoing/finite wealth (such as the lost Mithril Mine of the Dwarves) which will require hard work to realize the benefit thereof. It might be the body of some legendary creatures whose parts are worth significant money but whose processing or transport thereof requires hard work.! 6. Unique/ongoing/infinite (such as the Goose who lays golden eggs or a pouch that produces gems on command)! 7. A mixed hoard of treasures, consisting of any of the above (roll 1-4 more time ignoring similar results)! 8. A fortune in common goods (wool, furs, limestone, textiles, etc.)! 9. A fortune in rare goods (perfumes, ungents, oils, herbs, spices, silks)! 10. A scientific Marvel that is priceless. Note that such an item is of theoretical value such as a telescope or an engine or a book (or library even), not a weapon or something of military significance.!

! Powerful Artifact! ! !

Roll first to see if the artifact pointed to by the map is just one part of the artifact that will need to be assembled and/or powered (01-25) or a complete one that has merely been lost (26-00).! 1. A minor artifact of considerable power but little or no campaign importance. Miscellaneous magic items or powerful rings or magic weapons would fall into this category.! 2. A minor artifact of legendary renown (history of importance if a sage is consulted and perhaps a special destiny). Powerful or unique miscellaneous magic items fall into this category, as would named weapons with powers, intelligence and purpose.! 3. A mysterious artifact from another dimension, world or realm and unknown to this world's history. Magical research, talk with beings from other or higher planes may reveal information about its importance.! 4. An artifact of legendary and epic significance to the campaign and that comes with a special destiny for its bearer.!

! Knowledge! ! Hidden or lost knowledge can be of various significance:! !

1. Secrets about a lost people that would be of interest only to sages or historians but may be worth a considerable sum, nevertheless! 2. Knowledge about a lost/secret part of the world (Hidden Jungle Civilization, Lost Island of Dinosaurs, Plain of Leng, Brigadoon) that could provide an edge to survival of a terrible invasion, access to ancient magic!

3. Political knowledge that could prove beneficial/dangerous (the One True Heir to the throne, the true history of a kingdom's monarchs)! 4. Magical knowledge of ancient spells providing players to unique magic that could make their new skills coveted. Magicians who desire their spells could hunt them down or try to bargain with them for this knowledge.! 5. Holy knowledge in the form of treatises, revelations or prophecies previously unknown or only hinted at. Such knowledge would be of amazing use to clerics of a particular faith, lead to the founding of a new faith, or cause of holy wars.! 6. Technical knowledge such as lost techniques for dwarven mining or forging of mighty weapons, or even a manual of fabulous methods used by a Legendary Thief (or a current one now retired) that provide a special edge or may be of interested to specific parties.!

! ! Place of Power! ! !

Such locations may only appear at random or when specific conditions are met. The locations themselves may be mutable (a tower that teleports across the world)! 1. The place augments clerical / wizardly spells! 2. The place dampens clerical / wizardly spells! 3. The place deadens all magic spells/items (except artifacts)! 4. The place may be used to make/unmake/entomb artifacts! 5. A powerful being is entrapped here! 6. A mighty Oracle is here! 7. An ancient sage dwells here, able to answer any question (for a price)! 8. Laws of physics operate differently here! 9. No one can die here! 10. Time is strange here (for each day spent here a year passes, for each year spent here only a year passes, etc.) with no/full effect once you leave here (you age or you don't age, etc.)!

------! Where does the map depict? Where does it show and how does it go about representing the location of the treasure?!

! The map describes:! !

1. Well known locations, making a path to the treasure easy to decipher! 2. Legendary locations, no longer common knowledge but easy to decipher if a tome, sage or other expert with knowledge is consulted! 3. Legendary locations requiring oracular or magical knowledge to decipher because this knowledge is no longer known by anyone living and is not recorded anywhere! 4. Cryptic and/or contradictory references to locations that will require some guesswork! 5. Abstract clues such as a riddle, requiring significant research, questing or consultations to make sense of where to go.!

6. The map is in code and will require decryption in order to figure out where to go.!

! The map depicts:! !

1. A large map pointing only to a region indicating treasure ("X" marks the spot)! 2. A secret citadel of a powerful, reclusive warlord, cleric or wizard! 3. An underground or wilderness hideout! 4. A paranoid hideaway of a wealthy noble! 5. A royal's hidden fortress / underground bunker! 6. An underground maze / wilderness maze formerly used to banish prisoners! 7. An ancient, abandoned palace! 8. A secret vault holding an ancient kingdom's treasures! 9. A lost temple! 10. An abandoned tower or keep! 11. A lost mine! 12. A pirate's treasure cave! 13. A hidden grotto with buried treasure! 14. A deep cavern where treasure has been hidden! 15. A hidden shrine! 16. A ruined city beneath which a treasure is hidden! 17. A sewer system of a major city! 18. A royal dungeon beneath a major city or town! 19. A city palace's treasury! 20. Standing stones! 21. An ancient altar to a forgotten god! 22. A fairy ring! 23. A cloud castle! 24. A deep pit in the wilderness! 25. A pond! 26. An underwater shipwreck! 27. A haunted forest! 28. A demon-infested desert! 29. A mountaintop shrine to forgotten gods! 30. A dragon's cave!

! ! Who! ! The person(s) who drew the map:! !

1. Are alive! 2. Are dead!

! And is or was a:! !

1. Ghost!

2. Monster! 3. Are no longer of this world / never were! 4. Is a god / demon! 5. Pirate! 6. Madman/woman! 7. Retired adventurer! 8. Sage / historian / academic! 9. Wizard! 10. Thief! 11. Cleric! 12. Warrior! 13. Fairy! 14. Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Halfling! 15. Nobody (bystander, servant, etc.)!

Do we know who the author was?! 1. Signed it! 2. Did not sign it! 3. Has a style that can be figured out by a sage/specialist! 4. Cannot be deciphered with the map alone (requires magic/a cryptographic key separate from the map)!

What do we know about the author's authority?! 1. Is the same person who left the treasure behind! 2. Was with the person who left the treasure behind (as either (01-33) a nemesis or (34-66) ally or (67-00) neither)! 3. Was not present but has it on good authority that the treasure was there! 4. Created the map based on a second or third-hand account (my grandfather's daddy told me...)! 5. Pieced the map together based on rumors/ multiple sources / research!

! !

Why?! Why was the map created in the first place? For whom or for what purpose beyond the obvious? What were the motivations of the author?! 1. Him/her/itself as a mnemonic aid! 2. Commissioned for someone (a noble, an adventurer, etc.) as a payment or for monetary compensation! 3. An ally as a gift (friend, lover, family member, savior)! 4. An enemy under duress. In this case, the map will likely contain erroneous information, red herrings and will omit critical information. It may be highly cryptic depending upon how much danger the author was in when it was written.! 5. As a religious devotion! 6. As a means of luring and destroying one's enemies by leading them to certain peril and death! 7. For posterity or fame (or one's own ego, perhaps)!

8. To demonstrate his or her own map-making prowess! 9. To mislead / for mischief! 10. As a test for True Heroes! 11. To save/destroy/rule the world! 12. To save/destroy/rule a nation ! 13. To save/destroy/rule a state! 14. To save/destroy/rule a town or village! 15 To enact/end a curse (the finding of the treasure is in fact the fulfillment of a set of conditions that will activate or remove the curse)! 16. To enact a powerful magic (free a god/demon, return the author from the dead, return a legendary figure from the dead, raise up a lich or other powerful monster, to repower or de-power a magical artifact, to open a portal to another dimension or plane)! 17. To enact a political machination (the taking of a given treasure somehow sends word to someone of political/temporal power that it is time to start/stop some action that will have far-reaching effects. This is, in effect, a way of sending a secret message. It is possible that the person sending such a message lived in ancient times and that the message it was meant for is long dead--or perhaps not!)!

! !

How is the map encoded (if it is encoded)?! 1. Moon Runes (choose a moon phase)! 2. Can only be seen during a particular season / when the stars are right! 3. Can only be seen in a certain location! 4. Can only be seen every d1000 years (recommend a place in the world that can simulate any year magically)! 5. Letter substitution code! 6. Code dependent upon a separate key code! 7. Requires a Read Magic spell! 8. Written in an obscure language (Read Languages)! 9. Written in an ancient tongue (living or dead)! 10. Written in a modern language (Read Languages)! 11. Written in made-up language (Read Languages)! 12. Written in a racial/monster language! 13. Steganography (Read Languages)! 14. Can only be read during a storm / during a particular kind of weather! 15. Written in a Fae language! 16. Map is partially complete and can only be filled in gradually via dreams where the author visits the current owner. This may prove horrific.! 17. Map begins as a blank sheet and appears gradually as the PC loses hit points each day! 18. Map confuses or curses its owner lowering Intelligence to a 3 (a friend can read and use the map). Requires a Remove Curse to lift negative effects.! 19. Map is cursed to fall out of packs, blow away, etc. 2 in 6 chance each day! 20. Map is possessed by spirit of author/someone else and can rearrange its ink at will to communicate (or not)! 21. Map draws itself as one completes each step in the treasure quest!

22. Map curses its owner to bad luck (-2 on all "to hit" rolls, for example)! 23. Map can only be read by a particular race / class / nationality / sex / religion! 24. Map is protected by glyphs which must be lifted before it can be properly read (may destroy itself and/or harm others nearby)! 25. Map randomly teleports if it is improperly used (set conditions for reading it, handling it, etc.)