As a Referee I have found the most interesting aspects of monitoring the game are watching Players avoid my traps, overcome my adversaries, and gather my treasure. Now I must admit, I have been labeled as a cheap Referee. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term, it means "a Game Master who does not believe Characters should find treasure in large amounts, even though the dangers may warrant it." My Players have been ridiculing me about this for many, many, many, long years.

Is being cheap the worst thing a Referee can do? Some would say yes and others would disagree (well, I would). As a treasure deficient Game Master I find that handing out gold and silver coins as reward for heroism has become very tiresome and unrealistic. Just because you kill a monster does not mean that it automatically has piles of gold coins lying about its feet. I would argue that monsters which are isolated from civilizations might not have ANY treasure, regardless of their size or ferocity. Realistically, a large, monstrous Cavasha (a fearsome beast in the Forge Universe) that lives in a cavern deep underground would probably not have access to large amounts of wealth. This argument has caused many heated debates in our group.

Is this to say that all encounters with monsters should not warrant treasure? Not at all. I just believe that treasure can be dispersed in a different fashion. For example, you kill an Ogre and find the body of a dead adventurer. Searching his pockets for loose change you find nothing; so, you glance at your fellow role players and whisper "Cheap Referee" (thinking the Game Master doesn't hear you. Think again). While the Players may not have found gold or silver coins, they could be missing the whole picture. The weapon the adventurer was carrying can be sold for profit. The armor it wore may be used by the Characters at a later point. Perhaps the corpse is carrying Healing Roots, Binding Kits, or other valuable supplies. Maybe there is a piece of pottery or an exquisite book that can be sold to a collector. Hundreds of items can be considered valuable; this is the avenue I often use to dispense treasure.

To keep things interesting, a Referee should always vary the types of treasures he or she disperses. Keep the Characters guessing as to what is valuable and what is worthless. Let them gather trinkets, baubles, and other knickknacks, cart them back to town, and then determine their worth. Perhaps the old, leather bound book the Players thought was worthless is actually a priceless collector's piece, the fur pelts the Ogre was sleeping on may actually be quite valuable to a passing merchant, or the body of a monster can be sold to Sages, Scholars, or other researchers. Who knows, possibly even the tale itself can be worth some gold or silver coins for its telling back at the local tavern.

In closing, I would suggest that a Referee carefully consider the types of treasure he or she is dispensing. It will be so much more interesting, entertaining, and realistic to replace ordinary gold and silver coins with a sampling of valuable items. In addition, Players must haggle and barter if they want to sell their items for treasure or even learn the value of their relics. This opens the door to far more interaction with NPCs and heightens the enjoyment level of the campaign. At least, this approach has worked for me, or perhaps my Players just can't find another Referee. Hmmm?!

Written by Mark Kibbe of Basement Games, Co-Creator of the Forge: Out of Chaos RPG and World of Juravia, http://www.basementgames.com