Shattered Crown Session 1 from GM (and loot)

 This is what I meant to read to you when you defeated the bandits.  But... I forgot. I will also send out in the next couple of days a small refresher on the world.

As you sift through the fallen bandits' belongings, it’s clear these weren’t just common thugs. Their weapons are crude but functional—scimitars dulled by wear and crossbows with only a handful of bolts remaining. Their coin purses are light, holding little more than a few copper and silver pieces. One among them, likely their leader, wears a small bone talisman around his neck. The bone is blackened and wrapped in old, tattered leather. Strange, unfamiliar runes are carved into its surface, their meaning lost to time. Something about it feels… wrong.

Among their scattered supplies, you find a crude map on a torn scrap of parchment. A rough drawing of the surrounding landscape marks an ‘X’ deep within a forested area, with no other explanation. It’s unclear whether this was a destination, a hiding place, or something more sinister.

The wolves, though merely beasts, also leave behind something peculiar. One of their gnawed bones bears etched carvings, eerily similar to those on the bandit leader’s talisman. A coincidence, perhaps… or a sign that something unnatural has touched these creatures.

Near the leader’s belt, you find a silver locket, tarnished but valuable, its surface engraved with initials. It clicks open to reveal a faded portrait of a woman. Whoever she was, she meant something to someone… and it’s doubtful these bandits came by it honestly.

As you clean up the bodies you notice that on one of the bandits there are 2 daggers impaled in his back.  The daggers are of good quality and have feathers on the hilts.

These findings raise more questions than answers. Were these men simple cutthroats? Or were they serving something greater, something older? And what lies at the mark on the map, waiting to be discovered?

·       Coin & Valuables

o   42 SP

o   7 gp

·       Small pouch of semi-precious stones (worth 10 gp total)

·       Weapons & Gear

o   4 scimitars (rusty but functional, worth 12 gp total)

o   4 light crossbows (only 16 bolts remaining, worth 20 gp total)

o   4 sets of leather armor (damaged, requires repair to be valuable)

o   1 dagger (crudely made, but serviceable)

·       Miscellaneous

o   One crude map with markings of possible hideouts or waypoints

o   A bone talisman (worn by the bandit leader, possibly superstitious or important)

o   A stolen silver locket (engraved with initials, worth 15 gp if sold to the right buyer)

o   A half-empty bottle of cheap whiskey

·       From the Wolves

o   2 wolf pelts (if skinned properly, worth 5 gp each)

o   A gnawed bone with strange carvings (could be mundane or hold hidden significance)