The Matchless Menagerie Curiosity Shoppe

The Matchless Menagerie Curiosity Shoppe 

The menagerie is a small shop with a giant sign in common across the top of the space. Along the side of the Shoppe is the name in a dozen different languages, the languages of which will vary depending on where the shop appears in your game world. The building itself is a nexus for the planes of a sort, but unless you have the proper spell key, you’ll exit on the same plane that you entered. However, because it is a nexus, spell keys are that much more powerful and you don’t need as strong of one as you would normally need. As you enter the shop, you notice that it’s much, much bigger on the outside, which must be part of the magic of the building. Upon entering, you see a wide assortment of things stacked on one another. In one corner you see a suit of plate mail. In another, you see a mummified body (non-animate). There are books and bottles, doohickeys and doodads, armor and arms, and just about anything else you might want… and much more. While wandering the shop, you become convinced that if you can’t find what you are looking for here, the owner should be able to find it for you. Taking up a considerable space along one wall is a cozy seating area around a fireplace with some overstuffed chairs.  

When picking up a book roll on the following chart:

1.      Arcane

2.      Martial arts

3.      Anatomy/ Physiology

4.      Art

5.      Aberrations

6.      Undead

7.      Medicine

8.      Dungeoneering

9.      Architecture/   engineering

10.  Geography

11.  Geology

12.  History

13.  Armoring/ Weaponsmithing

14.  Bardic Songs

15.  Bardic Lore

16.  Nature Roll a 1d4) 1) Plants 2) Animals 3) weather 4) DM’s Choice

17.  Nobility

18.  The Planes (roll a 1d4) 1) Planar Entities 2) Planar Locations 3) Planar Dangers 4) Planar Lore

19.  Psionics

20.  DM’s Choice

When picking up a bottle/ vial/ container roll on the following chart:

1-2 Potion of X

3-4Curative Salve

5-6 Holy/ unholy water (flip a coin)

7-8 Alchemistical substance

9-10 Spell in a bottle (similar to a scroll, throw, and the spell goes off, with the same level the spell would have had

11-12 DM’s Choice

When picking something up you don’t know what it is

1-2 Astrolabe

3-4 Gnomish invention

5-6 Exotic Weapon/ equipment

7-8 spectacles of X

9-10 Cloak of X

11-12 individual piece of armor (gauntlet, shoulder protection, greave, etc)

13-14 wand of X

15-16 Solid alchemistical substance

17-18 Mineral

19-20 Household item

If you can’t find it, roll on the following chart how long it takes (d100)

01% - 25% He can’t get it right now (due to price, availability, rarity, etc.) but may be able to get it later on (according to the DM’s discretion)

26% - 40% He finds it in 2d4 months

41% - 55% He finds it in 2d4 weeks

56% - 70% He finds it in 2d4 days buried under something in his shop

71% - 85%  He finds it in 2d4 hours buried under something in his shop    

86% - 99% He finds it in 2d4 rounds buried under something in his shop

100% DM’s Discretion                    

Pricing roll 1d12

1.      225% above suggested retail

2.      200% above suggested retail

3.      175% above suggested retail

4.      150% above suggested retail

5.      125% above suggested retail

6.      Retail cost

7.      90% of suggested retail

8.      80% of suggested retail

9.      70% of suggested retail

10.  60% of suggested retail

11.  65% of suggested retail

12.  DM’s Choice

Note: DMs should adjust the rolls based on the item’s availability, character level, balance, etc.