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varied. Creating a hoard that engages the playercharacters can be a challenge. This section providestools to help you build a hoard worthy of gracing adragon’s lair.1. Select Parcels: Select at least one magic itemand a number of monetary treasure parcels (see“Treasure Parcels,” Dungeon Master’s Guide, pages126—129). A dragon hoard should consist of at leastthree parcels of treasure. It can include up to five parcels,depending on the dragon, its environment, andany other challenges related to the fight against it. Ifyou have a group of more than six players, consideradding an extra magic item or monetary parcel to thehoard for every two characters above five. Conversely,subtract a monetary parcel from the hoard if thegroup numbers three or fewer.Magic Item Parcels: Your dragon hoard shouldhave at least one magic item parcel. You can includeas many as three, but it’s a good idea to use at leastone magic item parcel in some other encounter orencounters at the current level to give the PCs morefirepower when they finally square off against thedragon.Monetary Parcels: Your dragon hoard should have atleast one monetary treasure parcel, and two is a goodbaseline.Potions: Since a fight with a dragon is tough, it’sbest if the adventurers have potions prior to the battlewith the dragon. The dragon hoard might have onepotion, but it’s perfectly fine for it to not have any atall. If you want to put potions into a hoard, deductthe value of the potions you add from the coins in thehoard.2. Determine Combined Monetary Value:Instead of using the monetary treasure parcelsexactly as described in the Dungeon Master’s Guide,combine the value of the monetary parcels you haveselected into one monetary treasure value.3. Assign Monetary Treasure Types: Using themonetary treasure value budget you have created,assign parts of that total value to coins, gemstones, artobjects, luxury items, oddities, and trade goods (andpotions, if you wish). You can do this in whatever wayworks best for your campaign. Luxury items, oddities,and trade goods are discussed later in this section.Alternatively, you can use the Monetary TreasureTypes by Level table below to assign amounts to thedifferent types of monetary treasure in the hoard.MONETARY TREASURE TYPES BY LEVELType 1–5 6–10 11–15 16–20 21–25 26–30Coin 50% 45% 35% 35% 35% 30%Gemstone 10% 20% 30% 30% 30% 30%Art object 5% 15% 15% 20% 25% 30%Luxury 10% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5%Oddities 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5%Trade goods 20% 10% 10% 5% — —Example: Derek is making a dragon hoard for hisgroup of five 18th-level characters. He wants thishoard to contain a high-level magic item and a lot ofmoney, since the battle with the dragon is the end ofa spectacular series of encounters. He picks parcels 1,5, and 9:✦ Magic item, level 22✦ 48,000 gp✦ 15,000 gpThe total combined monetary parcel value is 63,000gp. Derek decides to use the Monetary TreasureTypes by Level table rather than selecting treasure ala carte.So, the dragon hoard is going to have these magicitems and this monetary treasure, by type. Each ofthe following sections discusses each type of monetarytreasure in detail.✦ Magic item, level 22✦ 22,050 gp of coins✦ 18,900 gp of gemstones✦ 12,600 gp of art objects✦ 3,150 gp of luxury and adventuring goods✦ 3,150 gp of oddities✦ 3,150 gp of trade goods4. Define Items: Pick a magic item or items fromthe Player’s Handbook (or other sources of magic iteminformation) based on the parcels you have selected.Remember to tailor these magic items to your characters.You might want to review any wish lists you havecollected from your players concerning items they’dlike to have for their characters (see “Awarding Treasure,”Dungeon Master’s Guide, page 125).Define the items in the kinds of monetary treasureyou’ve assigned. The sections on Coins, Gems, ArtObjects, Luxury and Adventuring Items, Oddities,and Trade Goods provide ways to flesh out the generalmonetary treasure kinds with details that infusethe hoard with history, consistency, appropriateness,and character.In defining the monetary treasure, you might findthat the treasure guidelines leave you with smallremainders. For instance, each of the gems in aparagon tier hoard should be worth at least 500 gp.However, with 18,900 gp to allocate in gemstones,you end up with 400 gp left over that’s not enough toaccommodate another 500 gp gem. Throw leftover gpamounts back into coins.Example: Derek picks a +5 vicious longsword as thelevel 22 magic item in the magic item parcel, sincethe player of the fighter in his campaign mentionedthat item in his wish list.5. Assess the Hoard for Space and TacticalPlacement: Treasure takes up space. A storehouseDRAGON HOARDSCHAPTER 2 | DM’s Guide to Dragons63