Loot and chests
Campaign containers: fill them from the catalog, decide whether players take it or you hand it out, let them store things, open them by touching a chest on the map and make something happen when they do.
A container is a shop without prices: a chest, a camp's loot, the inn locker where the party leaves what they don't want to carry. It holds real items (the same ones the shop sells), and when they come out they land on the sheet of whoever receives them.
You decide how it is shared:
- They take it: they open the chest and each player takes what they want.
- I hand it out: players see what's inside, but you give each item.
If you want, they can leave things inside too, so the chest works both ways.
Create a container
In the campaign, Economy → Loot & chests and press New container. It asks for a name ("Ground floor chest", "Prancing Pony room"…).
With the container selected you set:
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name and image | What the table sees when it opens. |
| Description (players see it when opening) | A line or two of mood: "it smells of damp and wax". |
| They take it / I hand it out | Who takes the items out. |
| They can leave things | Players put items from their inventory in. |
| Limit | How many items fit at most (only stops players, not you). |
| Folder | To keep them sorted, like the rest of the catalog. |
Filling it
In Add from the catalog: one item or a whole folder… you pick:
- Catalog items: a specific one, with its Quantity.
- Catalog folders (everything inside): a whole folder of your item catalog, subfolders included. Prepare a "Castle / Cellar chest" folder beforehand and fill it in one go.
Press Add. Items arrive built just like in the shop: with their description, properties and icon.
To take out something that shouldn't be there: Remove from the container. To delete it entirely, Delete container (it goes with everything inside).
Revealing it
A container starts Hidden: players don't know it exists. When they find it, switch it to Revealed and it shows up in their Loot & chests tab.
You can also put it in front of the table: at the table, Show to the table → Loot, pick the container and it opens on everyone's screen, like when you present the shop.
What the player sees
In Loot & chests the player sees the revealed containers. Opening one:
- With They take it, each item has Take. Items are taken one at a time and go straight to their sheet.
- With I hand it out, they see "The GM hands out what is here." and wait.
- With They can leave things, at the bottom they have Leave something from your inventory… and Leave.
If two players press the last potion at the same time, they don't both get it: the server gives it to one and tells the other it's gone.
Handing it out yourself
With I hand it out (or whenever you like, in any mode), each item has Give to…: pick the sheet and the item moves to its inventory.
Everything goes into the Economy history: who took what, who left what and who you gave it to.
On the map: chests you open by touching them
A container can live on the map, attached to one of three things:
| Where | How to link it |
|---|---|
| A token | In the token settings, Container (loot). A chest token, a corpse, a wagon. |
| A prop (map image) | With the prop selected, the container dropdown in its panel. The chest drawn on the map becomes the chest. |
| A zone | In the zone panel, Zone container (loot). A whole room can be "the camp's loot". |
Once linked, the Opens from the map checkbox appears. Tick it and players will see a small chest over that element. On a zone you can also change the reach (squares).
The rules for opening it
A player touches the chest and it opens if:
- They have a token of their own on the map. Otherwise: "You need one of your tokens on the map to open it".
- One of their tokens reaches it: by default, a square and a half from the token's edge, that is, right next to it, diagonals included. For a zone, being inside is enough.
- They can see it: no wall and no closed door in between. A chest behind a door won't open until someone opens the door.
If they can't reach or see it: "None of your tokens can reach it (or see it): get closer".
Your screen, the GM's, checks all of this against the real map: a player can't open a chest by skipping the rule. If it passes, the container reveals itself and opens for the whole table.
As GM you can open it whenever you like from Economy or Show to the table. From the map the same rules apply to you as to them.
"On open": make something happen when they open it
Zones and macros can react to a chest being opened, just like stepping on a square or opening a door.
With a zone
In the zone, When: someone opens a container from the map. Below, choose which container (or Any container). Then the usual then: sound, damage, change the scene, a trap.
When someone opens "Cellar chest" · if it's the first time · then a click sounds and whoever opened it loses 2d6.
The zone doesn't have to be where the chest is: it can be in another room (the alarm rings in the guardhouse).
With a macro
Macros have the same trigger in their when list. Useful when you want your own logic: count how many chests were opened, chain several effects, send a message.
Revealing from another zone
The other way round works too: a zone's then can reveal a container (loot) to the table. Stepping on the altar reveals the hidden treasure.
Recipes
- The trapped chest. A chest prop with the container linked and Opens from the map. A zone in the same room: when someone opens that container, only the first time, poison damage to whoever opened it.
- The inn locker. A revealed container with They can leave things and Limit 20. The party leaves what they don't want to carry and picks it up next session.
- The boss's loot. The boss token with the container linked, I hand it out. When it falls, tick Opens from the map; whoever gets close opens it for everyone and you hand it out.
- The altar treasure. A hidden container. A zone over the altar: when a player enters, only the first time, reveal a container (loot) to the table.
Known limits
- Items are taken and left one at a time. Ten arrows are ten taps (or one Give to… of yours for each).
- No weight or encumbrance on the container: only the item Limit.
- No loose money. Money is given from Economy's give/gift tab.
Common problems
- The player doesn't see the container in their list. It's still Hidden: reveal it, or have them open it from the map.
- They touch the chest and nothing happens. Check the notice: no token, too far, or a wall or closed door in between. And your GM screen has to be at the table: it's the one that approves.
- The small chest doesn't show on the map. Opens from the map isn't ticked on that token, prop or zone.
- A player can't leave anything. The container doesn't have They can leave things, or it has reached its Limit.