Suspension of Disbelief Through Item Back Story

The PCs locate a well-worn pair of leather boots lying near a small opening in the west wall of the cavern. Arlen, the party's 3rd level thief, finds the boots to be quite comfortable and, strangely, relaxing. He chucks his old pair in roughly the same spot. The party finishes searching the area and moves to the next room.

Even something as relatively mundane as the basic treasure horde can add to the verisimilitude of  an adventure or a campaign setting. How did the boots get there? Who was the previous owner? Was he wealthy or poor? Does he have any family? Was he a victim of the Will o' the Wisps the PCs recently encountered? Do the boots have any properties unknown to the party? If so, how were they imbued with these properties?

Below is a table listing a number of reasons an item came to rest where the party found it. Of course, the DM will be required to make these listings item-specific to their campaign. Items in parentheses are intended for the DM only.

How did that get there? 

1. The item is branded with the initials WJS. The elegant monogram is set off with six stars of various sizes.. (The PCs may be aware that the pattern of six stars is used as an identifying insignia by the Society of Known Adventurers, a loosely organized delving guild based out of Lux, a small mining town. SKA also serves as an erstwhile courier group and mercenary pool --  taking on jobs as necessary to fill the guild's coffers when delving yields grim returns. The guild's clientele are of a darker sort, typically lesser nobles and the like, looking to cover up some "indiscretion" from their past.  

Some members of SKA have become quite famous in the area. Others continue to languish in the lower echelons of the guild. If the party pursues the origin of the monogram, they will find that WJS are the initials of "Wicked" Joaquim Summers, a lesser-to-middling member of the guild. Joaquim has made a minor name for himself as one who "makes information irrelevant." As such, any mention of his name in Lux will more than likely be greeted with vitriolic, but harmless, scowls and jeers.

 A strong and heavy-handed investigation will reveal several details about Joaquim's most recent endeavor.  Joaquim has taken on a contract to create a series of damning rumors about a local noble who was attempting to blackmail a well-liked tavern-keep in Lux. The noble, Tick Candelabrum, recently stumbled into a private party held by Cortheart Wire at the The Bald Opposum, one of several taverns Cortheart owns in the area. Cortheart was hosting a particularly disreputable clan of gnomish miners, The Clan of The Four Winds Under Mountain. The festivities had grown ribald after hours of drunken feasting. Accordingly, Tick was able to slip out unnoticed. 

Very few of the human inhabitants of Lux care for the gnomish clans that inhabit the deepest reaches of the mines in Lux. If it was made known that Cortheart had allowed the Four Winds clan to occupy one of his taverns, Cortheart's business would surely suffer. Consequently, Cortheart decided to hire Joaquim to spread malicious lies about Tick and destroy Tick's reputation.

No one seems to know how Joaquim lost his item. Furthermore, no one seems to know Joaquim's current location. The town guard suggests he may have used the north road. Generally, only miners and others with business at the mine use the south road.)

Tick Candelabrum
3rd Level Human Court Thief

STR: 9, DEX: 9, INT: 13, WIS: 11, CHA: 13
THAC0: 19, HP: 8 AC: 5 (Leather+Shield), Rapier (1d6dmg)

Cortheart Wire
4th Level Human Fighter
STR: 15, DEX: 14, INT: 9, WIS: 8, CHA: 13
THAC0: 16, HP: 24, AC: 9 (Keep's Leather Apron), Great Club (1d8+1dmg), Speed: Slow (2 attacks/ 3 rounds)

"Wicked" Joaquim Summers
6th Level Human Thief
STR: 15, DEX: 15, INT: 13, WIS: 14, CHA: 14
THAC0: 18, HP: 16, AC: 5 (Leather+Shield), Short Sword (1d6dmg)



I've decided to cut this table up into several posts. When I complete the table, I'll modify this post to reflect the number of items in the table.

C. Aaron Aldridge 2013