D&D 5e Loot Tables Explained: How to Roll & Track Treasure
The Dungeon Master's Guide has treasure tables on pages 133–149, but they're easy to misuse. Some DMs roll on them every fight. Others forget they exist. Here's how to actually use them to make your campaign's economy feel right—and how to keep track of everything you hand out.
Two Types of Treasure Tables (and When to Use Each)
The DMG separates treasure into two categories. Understanding the difference is the key to not flooding your players with loot or leaving them broke.
Individual Treasure
What a single monster is carrying. Roll this for each creature the party kills or searches. These are small amounts—pocket change, not treasure hoards.
Use for: random encounters, patrol guards, bandits, individual monsters
Treasure Hoards
The big score. A dragon's lair, a dungeon vault, a pirate captain's chest. These tables include coins, gems, art objects, and magic items. One roll per hoard, not per monster.
Use for: boss lairs, dungeon treasuries, quest rewards, named caches
Individual Treasure Tables by Challenge Rating
Roll a d100 and check against the creature's CR range. Higher CR means more valuable currency. Here's the breakdown:
CR 0–4: Coppers and Silver
Expect 1–30 copper pieces or a handful of silver on most rolls. Rarely, you'll see a few gold pieces. A typical goblin has maybe 3d6 copper pieces. Not exciting, but realistic—these creatures aren't sitting on fortunes.
CR 5–10: Silver and Gold
Now you're seeing 2d6×10 silver or 4d6 gold on good rolls. Electrum starts appearing (though most tables house-rule it away). A single bandit captain might carry 30–40 gold worth of mixed coins.
CR 11–16: Gold and Platinum
4d6×10 gold or 1d6×10 platinum per creature. At this tier, individual treasure starts to be meaningful. A squad of four CR 12 enemies might drop 500+ gold collectively.
CR 17+: Platinum and Gems
2d6×100 gold or 2d6×10 platinum, plus the possibility of gems worth hundreds of gold each. At this tier, gold is almost irrelevant—the real treasure is in the hoards.
Treasure Hoard Tables: The Big Score
Hoard tables are organized by the CR of the encounter guarding the treasure. Each includes a base amount of coins, then you roll for gems, art objects, and magic items. Here's what you can expect:
Hoard Value Ranges
CR 0–4 Hoard
Base: 6d6×100 CP, 3d6×100 SP, 2d6×10 GP
That's roughly 200–700 gold total value including gems and art objects. Plus a 50% chance at 1–2 magic items from Table A or B (mostly consumables and common items).
CR 5–10 Hoard
Base: 2d6×100 CP, 2d6×1000 SP, 6d6×100 GP, 3d6×10 PP
Total value: 2,000–8,000 gold. This is where uncommon and rare magic items start appearing. Think +1 weapons, Bags of Holding, Cloaks of Elvenkind.
CR 11–16 Hoard
Base: 4d6×1000 GP, 5d6×100 PP
Total value: 15,000–50,000 gold. Rare and very rare magic items. This is dragon hoard territory—enough treasure to change the campaign's economy.
CR 17+ Hoard
Base: 12d6×1000 GP, 8d6×1000 PP
Total value: 50,000–200,000+ gold. Very rare and legendary magic items. Players at this tier can buy kingdoms—the treasure is almost irrelevant next to the magic items.
The Real Problem: Tracking What You Rolled
Rolling on loot tables is the easy part. The hard part is keeping track of it all afterwards. You rolled 2d6×100 silver, 4d6×10 gold, three 50gp gems, an art object worth 250gp, and a +1 longsword. Now what?
If you're writing it on paper, that treasure is getting lost within two sessions. If you're using a spreadsheet, good luck keeping it updated mid-game when everyone's excited about the dragon hoard. And when the party decides to sell two of the gems and split the gold four ways, you'd better hope someone's doing the math.
This is where most DMs either stop using the tables entirely (just eyeballing "you find some gold") or let players handle tracking (which means nobody tracks it). Neither is great.
A Better Workflow: Roll Before, Track Automatically
Here's what experienced DMs actually do: roll your loot tables during prep, not at the table. Then use a tool that tracks everything automatically so you're not doing accounting mid-game.
The Prep Workflow
- Before the session: Roll on the appropriate hoard table for each treasure location in your dungeon.
- Record the results: Put coins, gems, art objects, and magic items into a hoard in D20 Loot Tracker. Items auto-populate from the D&D 5e API—search "Longsword +1" and it fills in price, rarity, and attunement.
- During the session: When the party finds the treasure, click "Move to Incoming" and the entire hoard transfers to the party in real-time.
- After the session: Players can split gold, sell items, and claim loot from the Incoming tab at their own pace.
No mental math. No lost loot. No "wait, didn't we find a ring in that dungeon three sessions ago?" The full history is tracked automatically.
When to Skip the Tables Entirely
Loot tables are a tool, not a requirement. Here's when you should just decide what treasure to give:
Story-driven loot
If the party is raiding the BBEG's vault, you probably want specific items that tie into the plot—not random rolls. The Holy Avenger should be placed intentionally, not left to a d100.
Balancing the party
If your fighter has three magic weapons and your wizard has none, "randomly" placing a Staff of the Magi in the next dungeon is totally valid. The tables don't care about party composition—you should.
Quest rewards
When an NPC is paying for a job, you decide the price. The baron offers 500 gold to clear the mine? That's a story decision, not a table roll.
Quick Reference: Magic Item Tables
The DMG has magic item tables A through I, ranging from common consumables to legendary artifacts. When a hoard table says "roll 1d4 times on Magic Item Table F," here's what you're getting:
| Table | Rarity | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| A | Common consumables | Potion of Healing, Spell Scroll (1st) |
| B | Common permanent | Bag of Holding, Driftglobe |
| C | Uncommon consumables | Potion of Greater Healing, Spell Scroll (3rd) |
| D–E | Uncommon–Rare permanent | +1 Weapons, Cloak of Elvenkind, Flame Tongue |
| F–G | Rare permanent | +2 Weapons, Ring of Protection, Amulet of Health |
| H | Very Rare | +3 Weapons, Staff of Power, Robe of Stars |
| I | Legendary | Holy Avenger, Vorpal Sword, Staff of the Magi |
Gems and Art Objects: Don't Forget Them
Gems and art objects are the unsung heroes of loot tables. They serve three purposes that raw gold doesn't:
- Weight reduction: 500gp in gold weighs 10 pounds. A 500gp ruby weighs nothing. Parties that worry about encumbrance love gems.
- Roleplay hooks: "A painting depicting a battle at Castle Ravenloft" is more interesting than "250gp." It's also a plot hook.
- Selling opportunities: Finding a buyer for a 1,000gp jade statuette can become its own mini-adventure. Not every town has a buyer for expensive art.
Common Mistakes with Loot Tables
Rolling individual treasure for every monster in a group
20 goblins does not mean 20 individual treasure rolls. That's 20 piles of 3d6 copper pieces, which takes forever and yields maybe 30 gold total. Just roll once for the whole group or use a hoard table for the room.
Using hoard tables for every encounter
Hoard tables are for significant treasure caches, not every fight. A group of bandits on the road doesn't have a treasure hoard. Reserve these for dungeon treasuries, boss lairs, and quest rewards—maybe 1–3 per dungeon.
Rolling at the table and losing the results
"We found a magic ring in session 4... what was it again?" If you roll at the table and only write it on a sticky note, it's gone forever. Roll during prep and track digitally.
Roll Your Tables, Track Everything
Use D20 Loot Tracker to record what you roll on treasure tables, distribute hoards to your party in one click, and keep a permanent record of every item and coin. No more lost loot.
Try D20 Loot Tracker Free →