Treasure parcels from the Holy Roman Empire

You think you've got this nifty sword, having +400 vs AC, 1d100+1000 on hit? You think you've got some really cool treasure, 2 statuettes of 40,000GP each? You think you've got prestige because the local lord awarded you a medal? Think again.

I've just returned from a short holiday to Vienna and Munich, and have taken the opportunity to visit some of the old royal treasuries. All pictures in this post come from the treasure chamber in the Residenz, München.

Having seen these treasures, I make a promise to all my current and future players. Never again will a simple medal be a simple medal. Just look at the medal you got in Bavaria when you became a knight:


Never again will a statuette worth 1000 GP be a nameless statuette. Instead, it will be made of gold and coral, and show an archetypical pose of a well-known deity:


Priceless cups wil be made of a single polished precious stone and decorated with small depictions of even more deities:


And last but not least: whenever I feel like awarding you a bunch of diamonds, I will make sure some artisan has taken the trouble of increasing their worth: