Searching for the Perfect Treasure Generator
written by Donat P. Fevre
February 20th, 2007 · 4 Comments
I’ve been scouring around the net lately for a treasure generator that can give me listings that I would prefer to see. Unfortunately, I can’t quite find one that really makes me jump for joy. For starters, here’s what I’ve been able to find so far:
That’s about as far as I had gotten, before finally settling for a mix of the first two, and some hand picking. I’ve always liked Jamis Buck’s Treasure Generator, but there’s not only a bunch of sources I’m not familiar with, but there’s no sources that are more recent. I’ve also found on occasional typo come up, such as the Necklace of Adaptation being worth 19,000gp rather than 9,000gp. The Treasure Generator at DM Tools is better, especially with keeping up with the latest content, but I’ve found it a bit lacking, such as no prices on equipment, insufficient description on some items (primarily the dragon shards for Eberron, there’s just a gp value given for it), and the fact that the settings don’t differentiate between the 3.0 and 3.5 core books (it just appears as the same book being listed twice). Lute, unfortunately, I was unable to use, because I use OpenOffice.org (I refuse to buy Microsoft Office).
I do know that there are other treasure generators out there, but the ones that I’m aware of I know are old, and most likely out of date (i.e. using 3.0 stuff rather than 3.5).
Now, here’s a small list of some things I would like to see in a treasure generator:
- Configurable sources, so that items can be drawn from only certain sources
- Able to import new sources via XML
- Output formatted in a spreadsheet format, which includes:
- Item Name/Short Description
- Item Value
- Source
- Output can be exported into various formats, including Tab or Comma Delimited Text and XML.
- Output items separated by type (weapons, armor, potions, scrolls, wands, etc.)
- Generate treasure based on an absolute GP value, or minimum and maximum GP values.
This little dilemma came about when I was trying to generate treasure for an adventure I had just run (I didn’t have a chance to do it before hand, yay for procrastination). Since I’ve been running it in the Eberron campaign setting, I wanted my generated treasure to include items unique to it, such as dragon shard items. Unfortunately, Jamis Buck’s generator doesn’t have an Eberron source (though I suppose I could make one, or look for one that someone else made). So, I did a relatively quick search for something that could satiate me.
Now, given that I actually have experience in programming (in fact, it’s my day job), I am tempted to create something myself. However, this would require digging through a lot of data sources to create something that would be worthwhile. I did find the SRD 3.5 Database on Andargor’s HQ, but that primarily covers core rules. I would still want data sources for things such as the Eberron and Forgotten Realms campaign settings.
For the sake of sharing information amongst all DMs out there who are reading this (yes, I’m fishing for comments
):
- What other treasure generators do you use?
- How do you like the treasure generator(s) that you use?
- If you could change something in your favorite treasure generator, or make one yourself, what would you want?
Topics: D&D Software


I used to use the old AD&D software from SSI. I can’t remember the names but the first version was character generation and the second volume had a ton of DM tools.
In fact, those old tools are what inspired me to create HMTK or as the HackMaster players know it: Steve’s ‘No Frills’ HackMaster Toolkit.
I’ve always wondered what the HMTK in your name meant (I admit, I never bothered clicking on it over at JohnChow.com). This makes it all clear to me now. ^_^
Some folks thought it meant “His Majesty The King”
I’m curious, have you progressed in your search for a better treasure generator?