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VINCENT DUTRAITcan lead the adventurers to discover thefinal resting place of that fabled hero.Residuum: Residuum, the universalcomponent used to power rituals, isanother useful way to fill out a dragon’shoard. (Although a dragon likely wouldn’tcreate residuum on its own, the substancecould easily have been in the possessionof someone the dragon vanquished.)Residuum is usually contained in ornateboxes, intricate vials, and other valuablecontainers. The value of such vesselsshould be accounted for in the hoard.Residuum is worthwhile for characterswho have the Ritual Caster feat, oranyone who possesses a ritual scroll, andit commands full market value if the PCsopt to sell the substance.Ritual Scrolls: Dragons often keepritual scrolls in their hoards, whetherthey can use the scrolls or not. Recognizingits power, a dragon is sure to keepsuch a scroll among his or her othervaluable possessions, either on shelves orracks along with other documents or protectedby a special scroll tube.It’s up to you to determine whetherthe total value of ritual scrolls in a hoardis represented by one scroll or a numberof them. You can divide the amountrepresented by scrolls into a number oflower-level scrolls as long as the combinedvalue is close to the target figure.As with any treasures, make up the pricedifferences by adjusting the number ofcoins to make sure the hoard’s overallvalue remains appropriate for the party’slevel.Example: Derek’s hoard has 3,150 gpworth of luxury and adventuring goods.This is a paragon tier hoard, so Derekimmediately decides that he doesn’t wantto include any normal adventuring gear.He also elects not to include any luxurynonmagical items, primarily so that hecan load up this portion of the hoard withscrolls that the PCs can use during theirupcoming challenges in the next adventure.To round out this part of the hoard,he throws in enough residuum to pay thecomponent cost of the Consult MysticSages ritual. He makes sure the scrollshave cases that are resistant to dampness,and accounts for the value of the residuumcontainer.✦ One Consult Mystic Sages scroll(1,000 gp)✦ One Raise Dead scroll (680 gp)✦ One Remove Affliction scroll (680 gp)✦ One Disenchant Magic Item scroll(360 gp)✦ Each scroll is enclosed in a sturdy,wax-topped, lacquered bone scrollcase (value 5 gp each)✦ A small gold box (value 10 gp) holdingresiduum worth 400 gpOdditiesThe oddities in a dragon’s hoard consistof anything that doesn’t qualify for theother categories. If you can attach a valueto it (even an arbitrary one), you can putit in a hoard.Space doesn’t permit a detailed discussionof the possibilities, but two types ofoddities—valuable papers and prisoners—merit some elaboration.Valuable Papers: These items includepromissory notes and deeds. Promissorynotes are an easy way to transportlarge quantities of wealth, provided thecharacters can find people to honor thepromise described in the document.In most cases, these documents arenotes that guarantee the payment of anagreed-upon amount. Some require thepossessor to seek out the person whowrote the note, while others can requirefinding the creditor or bank that holdsthe currency. A dragon is not likely togo searching for such payment, nor is adragon going to find a promise on paperworth much of anything, so such findsare incidental treasures, perhaps foundin the bottom of a chest or rolled up in aninnocuous scroll tube.A dragon’s hoard can include otherforms of documents, including the deedto a holding of land, the title to a ship,and treasure maps. Many hoards containplenty of junk, items that initiallycaptured the dragon’s interest but aregenerally worthless. However, findingthe deed to a castle in a distant landgrants the PCs a tangible reward and apotential base of operations, while alsoleading them to another adventure site.What a document represents, as inthe quality of the land, condition ofthe ship or structures, depends on theitem’s relative value. Assign a price toland based on what you feel the land isworth. An area of a dozen acres could beCHAPTER 2 | DM’s Guide to DragonsDRAGON HOARDS69