Signs in the Wilderness is about the bright future that lies ahead, opportunity for those bold enough to take it. Treasure is one of the great opportunities that drives an entire campaign. (Previously we looked at a gold rush and a great migration.)
For a treasure hunt, first you need to know what you're hunting:
| Treasure (d8) | ||
| 1-3 | lots of valuables | (d6) 1: gold doubloons, 2: silver dollars, 3: rings, necklaces, and other jewelry, 4: diamonds/rubies/emeralds/sapphires, 5: paper money or certificates, 6: set of identical statuettes/carvings |
| 4-6 | single piece of artwork | (d6) 1: statue/figurine/mask of stone, jade, ivory, or gold, 2: painting/tapestry, 3: crown/scepter, 4: large gemstone, 5: intricate necklace, 6: chalice/bowl/cauldron |
| 7-8 | miscellaneous | (d6) 1: taxidermied body of an unknown creature, 2: book of secret knowledge, 3: ancient sword, 4: ship, 5: bones of a saint/ancestor, probably wrapped or in a decorated container, 6: great new invention |
A good treasure needs a name. It's going to be talked about a lot, from gossip to newspapers to ancient clues, so be sensational. Some names to get you started:
The Scepter of Ranava, the Lost Treasure of Bear Canyon, the Chalice of the Flying Serpent, the Beacon of the Dawn, the Tapestry of the Green Temple, the Accursed Emerald, Captain Hill's Treasure, the True Relic, the Silver of the Seven Shrines, the loot from the Ten Century Heist, the Great Wonder of the North, the Ivory Standard, the Empress of the Isles, the Thirty-Seven Certificates...
What you'll have to do to find this treasure depends on how it got lost in the first place. Roll to see how it was lost, which might suggest the type of clues left behind as to its whereabouts:
| Lost (d8) | clues | ||
| 1 | lost by accident | shipwreck, wagon went off a cliff, fell overboard during a storm, left behind when its keepers were driven off | there might have been survivors, someone recorded/remembers them passing by, the owner of the vessel/treasure knows where it should have gone |
| 2 | deliberately hidden | buried/hidden/disguised to keep it away from the law, tax collectors, pirates/bandits, enemies in war | they might still be alive, left clues/map for their allies/heirs to recover it |
| 3 | keepers are gone | kept in its usual spot, but everyone who knew about it died, could be recently lost or from an ancient civilization | rumors that they had a treasure, historical clues about who they were and where they lived, accounts from those who saw it on display |
| 4 | stolen | discovered and taken to a private collection, stolen while in transit | witnesses and survivors, signs of a break-in, someone tried to sell it |
| 5-8 | complicated | It was lost one way, then lost even further another way. Roll (d4) for each. | |
If this treasure isn't sounding fantastic enough yet, roll up an exciting fact or two about it. The treasure needs to be so important that adventurers might risk their lives for it.
| Significance (d12) | |
| 1 | many treasure hunters have lost everything seeking it, both fortune and blood |
| 2 | many people have died defending it or keeping it hidden |
| 3 | reputed to have magical or healing powers |
| 4 | religious/ceremonial: from a shrine, long used in political ceremonies, too sacred to gaze upon, etc. |
| 5 | from the founding ancestor of a tribe/lineage/city |
| 6 | from a major historical event: famous explorer, major battle, day of peacemaking |
| 7 | a war or great battle was fought over it |
| 8 | many believe that it was not made by people, but instead fell from the sky, grew from a seed, was made by the spirits, etc. |
| 9 | said to be cursed, or is part of a widely-believed prophecy |
| 10 | very large, or a set of similar objects |
| 11 | contains something very valuable within it (possibly another random treasure) |
| 12 | a small piece of it is already famous, on display, used in ceremonies, a symbol of an entire tribe or city, etc. |
Where do you first learn the information that gets you started on the treasure hunt?
| News (d6) | |
| 1 | article in the newspaper or news from the town crier |
| 2 | dying words of a stranger or something they're carrying |
| 3 | someone you know asks for help or wants to hire you |
| 4 | finding a clue hidden somewhere, maybe in an old book |
| 5 | overhearing/reading a private conversation |
| 6 | public discussion, everyone is talking about it |
Other people will make this treasure hunt more complicated. Roll twice:
| Trouble (d8) | |
| 1 | A rival treasure hunter/expedition is already on its trail. |
| 2 | Whoever's responsible for it being lost wants to keep it that way. |
| 3 | The people who live near it will fight to keep outsiders away. |
| 4 | The rightful owners want it back, or there's a dispute about ownership. |
| 5 | Whoever has it now (or controls the area where it's hidden) will do anything to keep it. |
| 6 | Everyone knows you're searching for it and they all want a cut. |
| 7 | The authorities demand their share, possibly the whole thing. |
| 8 | Someone has information you'll need, but they're in jail, exiled, or in hiding. |
How is it situated now? Roll twice, then put the results together in some way: they both apply at once, or one happened first and then the other.
| Situated (d12) | |
| 1 | underwater |
| 2 | sunken into mud, possibly in a swamp or marsh |
| 3 | in a gully, gorge, or canyon |
| 4 | underground |
| 5 | in or under vegetation that has grown around it |
| 6 | deliberately sealed in a crypt or locked away in a safe or vault |
| 7 | on display in public, but disguised in some way |
| 8 | in a private collection, maybe in a temple/shrine |
| 9 | surrounded with traps and hidden spikes, maybe in a giant's trapped treasure hoard |
| 10 | very far away from where the party is or where they might expect it to be |
| 11 | in the territory of a very hostile group |
| 12 | in difficult terrain: rugged mountains, harsh desert, thick swamp |
Roll up your own lost treasure:
| random lost treasure | |
| treasure | |
| lost | |
| significance | |
| how you hear the news | |
| trouble | |
| situated | |
