Junk Piles!

Junk Piles! Not Always What They Seem -- A Set of Random Tables.

    

     The party enters a former dining room. Light pours in from a large, partially absent window on the west wall. Rays of swirling dust fall heavily upon a grand dining table complete with an ornamental dining set arranged for use. A few tattered tapestries still hang limply from the walls. Junk is scattered all around the North East corner of the room. Exits lead to the north and south. 

     Initially, players may ignore piles of junk in OSR adventures. If the DM begins to notice this, he may want to add details to the pile in the opening description of a room.

Table 1: The Initial Impression (d6)

1. The surface is littered with toy figurines.

2. Used and shattered clay dishes lay in fragments cluttering up the area.

3. Battered and bruised, multiple sets of artists tools stand awaiting their former master.

4. A rusted pile of machined metal restricts the path leading to the rear of the room.

5. An assortment of finely painted glass baubles are arranged in a neat looking pile.

6. Formerly elegant, now rotting with age, exquisitely carved religious implements lean against a nearby wall.

     
    With a detailed enough level of description players should eventually become interested in junk piles. This will lead to Table 2. Junk piles are also a great place to hide and reveal plot props such as magic items and keys. Items in parentheses are intended for the DM only.

Table 2: What Lies Beneath (2d10)

Partially obscured by the competing rubble the PC finds:

2. a small model of a nearby village. The craftsmanship is impressive. Etched gold leaf has been used to illuminate the very detailed features of the larger, more impressive buildings. Weight: 1.5#. Value: 2d6 GP

3. plans for an immense airship. Unfurling a 2'x4' vellum scroll reveals the designs for a draftsman's dream conveyance. The language and flourished script suggest the scroll may be of great age. (Gnomish tinkerers and magicians with a fetish for ancient apparatuses may well pay serious coin for such an unusual and interesting item.) Weight: 0.2#. Value: DM's discretion

4. a goblinoid finger. The once-dextrous appendage has been cleanly sheared from it's former owner's hand.

5. a small leather-bound book with hammered iron hinges. A rusted-through iron lock hangs ineffectually from the leading edge of the book. Written in a variant, possibly coded form of common, this surprisingly heavy book is a detailed listing of the regional sub-groups of an esoteric brotherhood. (Members of the brotherhood may be enraged to learn the party has come into possession of the book.) Librarians and other book collectors may be excited to learn of the existence of an equally odd and useful reference item. Weight: 4#. Value: 1d4 SP

6. a 2', crooked, oaken stick bearing a 6" multi-colored feather for decoration. (The stick itself has little or no value except for fuel. The feather, however, is imbued with a certain magic. If boiled and ingested as a tea, PCs will gain a bonus to defense (1d4-1) for 1 day owing to the high dexterity of the magical avian species the feather is derived from. Brewing the feather yields one dose.) Weight of feather: 0#. Value: 3d12 GP

7. 16 copper bars. Weight: 1# ea. Value: 40 GP ea.

8. a 1'x1' charcoal portrait of a very cherubic and joyous child.

9.  a set of unmatched copper keys.

10. a child's doll in the shape of a horse. A 6", brown, doll formed of cloth-stuffed leather projects from the surrounding refuse. Inside, hidden in an expertly sewn secret pocket, are 1d4 silver nuggets. Weight of silver nuggets: 0.1# ea. Value 1d4-1 SP ea.

11. 1d6 common lizards. The back of the lizard is adorned with a peculiar red and green diamond pattern. Diamond-backed lizards are prized as pets in more populated areas. Weight: 0.1# ea. Value live: 3d4 CP ea.

12. a curious finger-sized hole in the stone floor. (Trap! Anything placed inside and pushed to the bottom of the hole will become trapped. No physical force can remove the object once it's trapped. Wood will splinter and break. Fingers will stretch and ultimately tear off. At the DM's discretion, certain spells, such as Transmute Stone to Mud, may render the trap harmless.)

13. an ornate chess set depicting local heroes of legend and mythical creatures. Each expertly crafted statuette consists of hand-etched silver and gold. (Set is 1d100% complete.)  Weight: 0.2-50#.
Value: 4-400GP.

14. a crystal vial of noxious gas! Upon breakage a thick blue-green fog fills the area. (80% chance of breakage. Halved if players are specifically being cautious. If a PC fails a CON check, he or she will fall to the floor retching for 2d4 rounds and suffer 1d4 hp damage. Save vs. Poison for half damage.)

15. Random Encounter! Roll on Table 3.

16. a simple brown wooden box measuring 1'L x 1'D x 1'W. (See Boat, Folding in the DM's Guide. A pictogram of tidal pools plainly etched on the inside bottom of the box will reveal, upon a successful intelligence check, the command word -- POOLS. The second and more powerful command word, revealed on an INT check -4, is an anagram of the first -- SLOOP) Weight: 1#. Value 5,000GP if one command word is known. 10,000 GP if both command words are known.

17. a jewel-encrusted Scarab Broach. (The pinning mechanism on the rear of the broach is damaged so that it no longer properly holds weight for long periods of time. 10% chance per day of loss if pinned on a PC. 20% chance PC will notice broach has fallen.) Weight: 0.1#. Value: 1d6 x 10GP.

18. a 3' brass horn. The horn has been crushed by foot traffic through this area. It no longer plays due to a 2" hole in the tuning chamber. (A journeyman metalsmith can repair the damage for 2d6 SP returning it to its former glory.) Weight: 15#. Value: 30SP upon repair.

19. 3d20 common roaches skittering away.

20. a 4' x4' metal trapdoor. Locked. The trapdoor, if opened, reveals a 24' deep hole bored into cold stone.  (5% chance the vault contains a Dirk +1 Weight: 1#. Value: 500gp)



     Occasionally, creatures will be disturbed when PCs go sorting through piles of junk. For a random assortment of tiny, diminutive, and small creatures roll on Table 3. For a more detailed description of creatures see Monstrous Manuals.

Table 3: Denizens of the Junk Pile (2d6)

2. Badger, Dire (+1 ATT, -2 AC, Solitary)

3. Ants, Giant

4. Lamprey, Land

5. Obliviax (Memory Moss)

6. Killmoulis

7. Osquip

8. Mouse

9. Rot Grubs

10. Opposum

11. Cat, Wild

12. DM's choice of the above.


     Once the PCs are wary of the junk pile, change it up! Try boxes, chests, buckets, pools of standing water, or anything that could possibly conceal items, treasure, or creatures.







C. Aaron Aldridge 2013