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Last Updated: 29 Mar 2018
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So I'm running a fantasy roleplaying game, and it's time to announce what wonderful golden goodies the heroes have liberated from the horde of the wicked monsters. I recite the various items, trusting that someone is going to write this all down, but due to noise, poor handwriting, poor listening, or general chaos, the details get lost, or transmuted, or even miraculously multiplied across multiple character sheets in the course of sorting out who gets what. I addressed this issue first in my games of "Advanced HeroQuest" by creating small cards from pieces of thin cardboard with a scribbled picture of the item, the treasure item's value in "gold crowns", and any known relevant information for the item's properties. For "unidentified" items, magic items disguised as mundane, or the dreaded CURSED item, I could have a variant version of the card on hand for when the item's true nature was revealed. In addition to the convenience of having it all to hand for purposes of splitting up the loot and copying down important details, I think the players enjoyed a more "tangible" measure of their treasure hauls. Later on, I've tried variations on this theme for loot for other games. Here, for various d20-based games, I scanned in pencilled sketches of items and printed them along with stats on custom cards -- scaled to be like the D&D Miniatures monster cards, and to fit into a typical "card collector's binder page" (3x3 pockets on a clear sheet that fits into a 3-ring binder) for convenience.
 On each of my "cards", I would have a quick name or description of the item at the top, with the item's weight in brackets, and, if applicable, a relevant page number in the Player's Handbook for item statistics, or perhaps the spell effect (for scrolls). In the main area of the card, I would include an image of the item, a description in bold face, and game-relevant statistics in italics. In the case of magic items, I would typically have a card for the "unidentified item", and then either have a secret card held behind for the identified item's full properties, or else just plan on writing them on the card, once discovered. This system, of course, has its drawbacks: you'll want to make sure that your players have sufficient envelopes and/or paperclips to keep all their "treasure cards" organized. And if you, the DM, aren't organized, it can detract from game time as you go shuffling around to find the right card. (I know this very well from experience!) It's also something of a "tell" when events force you to make up details for an impromptu random encounter and you have to hand-write loot cards for a change. Nonetheless, I've found it to be useful. Here, therefore, are several of the sketches that I've doodled on scraps of paper and notepads, scanned in, and used to adorn various "treasure cards" encountered during my "Dante's Inferno" campaign. You are free to make use of these images for personal, non-profit purposes - that is, for your own games of D&D or whatever other RPG you may be running. I apologize in advance for the greatly varying quality (or lack thereof) of the images; please keep in mind that they were meant to be printed at a very small size, and many of them were done in great haste. I request that you don't publish these items elsewhere without permission.
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