You know that moment when your players spend ten minutes searching a room, roll a 5, and you sigh before saying, “You find… nothing”? Yeah, we’re done with that. In this episode, the RPGBOT crew grabs the Dungeon Master’s Guide by the binding and asks the real questions: Why are searches so boring, and why do your players keep looting every chair leg like it’s the Ark of the Covenant? It’s time to make treasure exciting again — and maybe throw in a cursed spoon or two for good measure.
Show Notes
In this episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, the hosts dive into using random treasure and how to make it fun. Not ready for the burden of homebrewing every magical baubel the players find? Still want treasure to feel cool and exciting instead of handing out 2d4 silver pieces? Grab a random treasure table and listen in.
They cover:
- How to curate random treasures so rewards feel tailored, not tacked on.
- Procedural generation and OSR-style loot tables for DMs who want surprise without chaos.
- The psychology of reward design—why a potion of healing can feel more exciting than a +1 sword.
- How Pathfinder 2e’s treasure parcel system solves common D&D loot issues.
- Turning random loot into story hooks that feed back into your worldbuilding.
Whether you’re running a gritty hexcrawl, a dungeon delve, or a modern urban fantasy, you’ll walk away with tools to hoard of treasure hoards and make every treasure feel earned.
Support RPGBOT by Visiting our Affiliate Partners
- Amazon – All of your regular online shopping, plus support RPGBOT.
- Cantrip Candles – The original TTRPG candle.
- DMsGuild and DriveThruRPG – The leading source of PDF source books
- dScryb – Proprietors of finely-crafted “boxed text.” Use coupon code “RPGBOT” at checkout for 10% off your first subscription payment or “RPGBOT5” for $5 off your first subscription payment.
- Easy Roller Dice – Dice, dice trays, dice jails, and other tabletop gaming accessories. Use coupon code “RPGBOT” at checkout for 15% off your purchase
- Ezoic – RPGBOT’s long-time banner ad provider. If you have a cool website, Ezoic is really great.
- Heroforge – The premiere provider of custom miniatures.
- Humble Bundle – Buy bundles of games and game products at a massive discount and support both RPGBOT and charity.
Support the Pod
If you enjoy the show, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. It’s a quick, free way to support the podcast, and helps us reach new listeners.
If you love the show, consider joining us on Patreon, where backers at the $5 and above tiers get ad free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT.Podcast, direct access to the RPGBOT.Team on the RPGBOT.Discord, and can join us every week for live-streamed recordings.
Support us on Amazon.com when you purchase products recommended in the show at the following link: https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ
How to Find Us:
In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net
Tyler Kamstra
Ash Ely
- Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games
- Join Ash’s West Marches-style PF2 Game
- Bluesky: GravenAshes
- YouTube: @ashravenmedia
Randall James
- AmateurJack.com
- Bluesky: @JackAmateur
- Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale
