Free tables Pockets & trinkets
What's in a Bandit's Pockets? d20 Loot Table for 5e
A free d20 table of bandit loot for 5e: stolen coin, kit for life on the road, and the clue that leads to the camp or the inside man.
The best loot on a bandit is rarely the coin. It's the scrap of paper that says who told them which caravan to wait for, the key to where the gang sleeps, or the locket they took from the last traveller, whose family wants it back.
Roll d20 for each bandit searched, or once for the whole group if you're in a hurry. Results 1–9 are mostly coin and kit; the rest lean toward hooks. The real money is back at the camp.
The table
20 results. Roll d20.
| d20 | Result | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Three Piles | 14 sp and some copper, split into three exact piles in three different pockets. |
| 2 | Someone's Purse | A good leather purse embroidered with somebody else's initials, holding 3 gp. |
| 3 | Whetstone and Twine | A whetstone, a ball of twine and a rusty fish hook. |
| 4 | Poached Jerky | Strips of venison jerky. The deer came from the lord's forest. |
| 5 | Gold Tooth | A gold tooth wrapped in a leaf, worth about 2 gp. It isn't theirs. |
| 6 | Own Poster | A wanted poster with their own face on it, folded proudly. The reward is 10 gp; they think it should be more. |
| 7 | Road Sketch | A crude map of the road with three bends marked and a note: "carts slow here". |
| 8 | Signal Mirror | A polished tin mirror for flashing signals between lookouts. |
| 9 | Leaky Caltrops | A pouch of caltrops. One has worked through the leather and into the bandit's leg. |
| 10 | Caravan List | A list of caravans leaving the city this month, copied in a clerk's neat hand. Someone inside is selling it. |
| 11 | Taken Locket | A silver locket with a tiny portrait of a child. It was taken from a traveller last week. |
| 12 | Pricked Aces | A greasy deck of cards with the aces marked by pinpricks. |
| 13 | Rope and Hood | A coil of thin rope and a sack hood, for travellers who look worth a ransom. |
| 14 | Unsigned Pardon | A letter of pardon, unsigned, promised by someone with a seal. They're still waiting on the signature. |
| 15 | Cow Horn | A cow's horn with a chipped mouthpiece. One long note calls the rest of the gang. |
| 16 | Stolen Cat's Collar | A cat's collar bearing a noble crest. They insist they only stole the cat. |
| 17 | Toll House Key | An iron key tagged "Old Toll House — cellar". |
| 18 | Used Salve | A clay pot of foul-smelling salve and a bloody bandage. Someone in the gang is badly hurt. |
| 19 | Traveller's Prayer | A worn prayer card to a god of safe roads, with the bandit's own name written on it as a devotee. |
| 20 | Boot Heel | Hidden in a hollow boot heel: 2 gp and a gemstone worth 10 gp. |
Questions
What loot does a bandit have in 5e?
A little coin, most of it stolen, plus whatever it takes to live outdoors: a knife, twine, food, a weapon. The better loot is information about the gang: who tipped them off, where they sleep, and who's waiting for them to come back.
How much gold should a bandit carry?
A few silver pieces to a couple of gold pieces each, with the real takings hidden at the camp. If one bandit is carrying a fortune, ask why: they might be the one who was meant to deliver it.