Free tables Pockets & trinkets
What's in a Guard's Pockets? d20 Table for 5e
A free d20 table of what a town guard or watchman carries in 5e: pay, keys, paperwork, confiscated goods and a lead or two.
A guard stands where things happen and writes some of it down, so a guard's pockets are a good place to find out what's going on in town. Keys, rosters, a notebook of faces at the gate, a bag of things taken off travellers: most of it leads somewhere.
Roll d20 once per guard searched. Some results are just pay and kit; others are a door, a name or a bribe. If the party is searching a guard who's merely asleep, remember that the guard will wake up and check their pockets.
The table
20 results. Roll d20.
| d20 | Result | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pay Day | 2 sp and 6 cp, freshly paid, in a purse with the guardhouse tag still on it. |
| 2 | Dice and Debts | Three dice, one of them loaded, and a scrap tallying what they owe the sergeant. |
| 3 | Whistle | A tin whistle on a lanyard. One blast brings the watch within minutes. |
| 4 | Three Keys | A ring with keys to the barracks store and the north gate postern, and a third filed down to fit something else. |
| 5 | Swapped Roster | The week's duty roster. Two names on the night shift have been swapped, in different ink. |
| 6 | Too Much Gold | 5 gp wrapped in cloth: more than a guard earns in a fortnight. |
| 7 | Rations | Hard biscuit and a strip of dried beef, both a bit fluffy. |
| 8 | Circled Face | A folded wanted notice. The face is circled, with "seen at the Tipsy Anchor" written beside it. |
| 9 | Manacle Key | A spare key for the standard manacles the watch carries. |
| 10 | Flat Flask | A flat flask of cheap brandy, half empty, carried strictly against orders. |
| 11 | Letter from Mother | A letter asking why they haven't written, and whether they're eating properly. |
| 12 | Password Token | A wooden token marked with tonight's password, which is "Turnip". |
| 13 | Gate Notebook | A notebook describing everyone who came through the gate this week. The party is on the last page. |
| 14 | Red Bolt | A crossbow bolt with its head painted red, kept for luck, never fired. |
| 15 | Confiscations | A bag of things taken at the gate: a silver earring, a deck of marked cards, and a dagger with someone's initials. |
| 16 | Fine Book | A book of blank fine tickets. Three are filled in, with 6 sp tucked between them that never reached the magistrate. |
| 17 | The Sergeant | A small carved wooden owl labelled "Sergeant". They talk to it on night watch. |
| 18 | Vague Orders | Sealed orders to arrest "the tall foreigner at the inn" tonight. Nothing else to go on. |
| 19 | Prisoner's Note | A note slipped to them by a prisoner, still folded: "Ask about the second cellar." |
| 20 | Holed Coin | A gold piece with a hole punched through the middle, hidden in a boot. It's a token, not money. |
Questions
What does a town guard carry?
Their pay, something to eat, and the tools of the job: a whistle, keys, manacles, perhaps a notebook. Then whatever they've confiscated, bought on the side, or been paid to overlook. That last part is usually the interesting bit.
What happens if the party searches a guard?
Usually trouble. Robbing or searching a guard is a crime almost everywhere, and a guard who goes missing gets looked for. That doesn't mean don't let them: a stolen key or a roster can be worth the risk, and the players should get to make that call.