1d50 Heart Wrenching Answers to , “I Loot the Body, What’s in their pockets?”
Whenever players ask to search the pockets of a defeated enemy, you can roll on this list. This is a list of things to pull on heartstrings or pull a joke on your players. They're all things that will make this random mook feel relatable and like they had a personality, a life, and were a good person.
Why should you use this table? Honestly, you probably shouldn't. Like, as a joke sometimes, maybe, but like, I cannot recommend using this as some sort of anti-murderhobo measure or to make it feel like there are consequences to decisions, or anything like that. If you have a problem and are looking at this table thinking, "yeah, this'll show my players," you are using this table wrong. Talk to them and work out what you all like and expect from your game and discuss ways for everybody to have fun.
Then roll on this table because it's fun for you to be cruel sometimes.
1d20
A picture of the family
A letter from a temple thanking them for their donation to the orphans
Some crumpled bits of paper, multiple drafts of a birthday card for their partner
A hand drawn picture signed by a child
A tattered love letter dated years ago
A love poem ripped out of a book with a handwritten "Found this for you" in a heart
A list saying, "Remember: eggs, flour, spatula, do it for them"
They have a tattoo of a dog that says RIP below and years of life suggesting it was their childhood pet
A photobooth style short reel of pictures with them and some buddies being silly
A letter from the humane society thanking them for their donation
Bagged lunch with a heart drawn on the bag
A child's toy and a note in childish writing "so u arnt lonly" with it
A keychain with two initials in a heart with a date (presumably wedding) 1d6 years back
A copper coin that's been through one of those presses that they have at tourist places, for a child theme-park
A recent child's grade report showing quite good grades
A note from their parents saying both are sick but don't worry they'll be fine, and some overtime pay slips
A schedule for a recreational sports league and a list of names, some crossed off, suggesting they were putting the team together
Pocket is full of dog treats and poo pickup bags, clearly forgotten there after a morning walk
A few drafts of a (still) poorly rhymed love poem to a partner
A volunteer ID for the local PTA
“Happy Early Retirement” card from their buddies with the date in two weeks.
A map showing the last known location of their long lost parent (and a bunch of other locations/clues crossed off a long list that started hundreds of miles away).
A ransom note from a kidnapper who has their family held hostage with a looming deadline and a crazy task to accomplish.
A tiny, hinged velvet box containing a silver ring with a single gem embedded in it.
A note from a wife congratulating on a promotion and reminder to pick up some nice wine on the way home to celebrate.
A letter with the following written inside "we only need 300 more gold until we can bring her back and live peacefully once again as a family"
A brand new copy of “Volo's Guide to What to Expect When You’re Expecting” with a couple of pages dog-eared in and “Congratulations!” written on the inside cover
A pair of carefully wrapped baby shoes, never worn
A note detailing back home talking about how they almost had enough money to buy their father's house back from the debt collector
A bill from a sorcerer listing an exorbitant amount of gold for a spell to cure a terminally ill child.
A tear stained map of the local cemetery with an “X” marking a specific grave.
A pouch of small medicinal vials labelled with different names, with a handwritten note detailing dosages and urgency in delivery.
An invitation to a charity ball rewarded for substantial devotion and contribution to community and individual wellbeing.
A small wooden trinket and a list clear written by a child with the heading “birhday ideaz”
3 tickets for passage on a ship to faraway lands and an ad about a new life in said faraway land
A small pet, like a salamander or a rat, crawls out of the pocket and tries to wake up its deceased owner.
A letter from family thanking them for the money they've been sending, it's made a huge difference.
A letter from family thanking them for the money they've been sending, but ma isn't getting better so they should come home to see her soon.
A letter from a sister with a time to meet her away from her violent partner.
An unsent letter to their child congratulating them for their job as chef, which finally reveals a secret family recipe to the kid.
Notes on how to alchemy up a cure to a disease, unfinished.
A wanted poster of not them, with personal notes on tracking them down for what they did to this minion's family.
A wedding ring with the gemstones removed.
A long letter from a old friend / family about all the silly drama from a quiet village.
A formal letter of a next of kin's passing that indicates the bearer is the last of the family.
A small bundle of letters, all from the same person, signed the same way, "See you soon love!"
A writ of freedom for years of indentured servitude paid off.
A full set of knitting needles, ball of yarn, and a couple baby-sized hats.
A calendar going back months with days crossed off, leading to blanks and a circle a few days from now.
A letter of acceptance to a wizard college.