Dungeons & Dragons has always had a bit of a treasure problem. Monsters shouldn’t care about treasure and shouldn’t amass enough of it to be worth fighting them.

They can’t really use it–even most intelligent monsters–because people are afraid of them (on account of all the eating of people and whatnot). And they certainly can’t trade it among themselves, since their economy consists almost entirely of capturing people to eat.

But there are ways to reframe the treasure assigned to monsters that makes it worth fighting them.

It’s the Opponent’s Personal Possession

Not all of the heroes’ opponents are man-eating monsters. Some are fellow people, just bad. An NPC and a few intelligent monsters (especially ones that can appear human) can keep both gold and magic items because they use gold for trade and they use the magic item for its usual purpose. Fighting a bandit king and claiming the +1 sword he wounded you with is the obvious example.

But it might also be something the bad guy is carrying for his master. Either the bad guys are bringing it to the master or they are using it on the master’s behalf. Maybe the whole point of the adventure is to take the treasure away from the bad guys.

It’s the Remains of an Adventurer

The monster killed an adventurer, and the gold or magic item is part of his or her remains, and the monster couldn’t care less.

It’s Your Reward for the Job

The heroes took a job that wouldn’t have any treasure to be recovered, but they were promised a payment. That payment could be gold or a magic item they want.

This is similar to the bounty on the monster, but in this case the monster may be unknown, and the job is escorting a shipment, clearing a cavern with various monsters, etc.

It’s the Monster

The treasure is the monster itself. There is a bounty on such creatures, and the heroes can claim it by bringing in the monster’s head. Or some parts of the monster are worth money to alchemists and others. Or the heroes can have a monster part turned into a potion for themselves.

It Was Hidden Here; the Monster is Incidental

Someone lost or deliberately hid the gold or magic item in this place, and the monster isn’t guarding it but is just in the way. It took up residence later and couldn’t care less about such things. Maybe the loot was hidden by bandits, pirates, mercenaries, or a trader in distress.

Or the gold or magic item is a part of the grave goods of a deceased person and was entombed with him or her. Maybe the point of the adventure is to recover a magic item known to be interred this way or to reclaim any gold buried with the ancient king. Any monsters nearby don’t know or care anything about it.

It Was Secured Here; the Monster Guards It

Someone deliberately hid the gold or magic item and brought in a monster to guard it. The creature could be a construct, such as a golem, or a mummy or some similar creature capable of being tasked with guarding the treasure.

It could have been a high priest hiding a religious treasure, a wizard hiding a treasure to retrieve later, or a druid setting a creature to protect something the druid values, such as a particular plant that can be brewed into a powerful potion.

The Monster Likes It Because It’s Shiny

Certain monsters may not use gold for trade or magic items to defend themselves, but they may nevertheless like treasure just because it looks nice (gold never tarnishes) or is useful in some way. Perhaps the monster merely uses the treasure as a counterweight for its precariously perched nest.

It’s Not Here; It’s Somewhere Else

If there’s no reason for a monster to have treasure, maybe it doesn’t. Instead, just put the treasure that was supposed to be for that monster in with another treasure in the possession of an evil NPC the heroes will fight or some other treasure. The players will be more thrilled about finding one big treasure than they would have been at finding two smaller treasures.

It’s a Trap

The treasure was put here specifically to lure adventurers or even the heroes specifically so that they could be trapped or killed by the villain. Just planting a couple of rumors in a city is likely enough get adventurers on the scent of it, and then they become the villain’s sacrifices to their evil gods.