A list of tropes that deal with different aspects of treasure.
See also: Bejeweled Tropes, The Gilded Index, Luxury Tropes, and Rich People.
Tropes
Categories:
- All-Natural Gem Polish: Freshly mined gems that look like they came straight from a master jeweler's workshop.
- All That Glitters: Something seems or is said to be treasure, but isn't.
- Broken Treasure: A treasured possession is broken or lost.
- Cheap Gold Coins: People spend solid gold coins like they were pennies.
- City of Gold: A fabled city made of and filled with gold and treasure, where even the paupers are stinking rich.
- Crystal Landscape: Gems, jewels and crystals dominate the landscape.
- Crystal Spires and Togas: A setting where everything is made out of crystals, and where its people have opulent lifestyles reminiscent of certain ancient civilisations.
- Death by Materialism: Your obsession with the treasure leads to your Karmic Death.
- Dragon Hoard: A treasure guarded by a dragon.
- Edible Treasure: The treasure is actually food.
- Enough to Go Around: Treasures that are one-of-a-kind in-universe but can be obtained multiple times and/or by multiple players.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: When you can only save the treasure or your companion and you must choose one.
- Funny Terrain Cross Section: Treasure chests and crowns and the like are common among the missed finds.
- Gold Fever: The allure of gold drives everyone crazy.
- Gold Makes Everything Shiny: Gold and golden colors used freely to make things look better.
- Gold–Silver–Copper Standard: A setting where gold, silver and copper coins are the main units of money.
- Inexplicable Treasure Chests: Chests full of treasure pop up in the oddest places.
- Loot Drama: An item or treasure so precious and rare that it will cause any party that finds it to devolve in infighting.
- Nazi Gold: Large amounts of gold stolen and hidden by the Nazis, still awaiting discovery.
- Ownerless Treasure Morality: A treasure has no owner but for some reason people can't, or don't want to, take it.
- Pirate Booty: Troves of gold and jewels plundered by pirates and buried in faraway places to await discovery.
- Sentimental Shabbiness: It may not look like treasure, but the reason it's so beat-up is because it was loved!
- Tasty Gold: Testing the purity of gold coins by biting them.
- Treasure Chest Cavity: Hiding treasure inside someone's body.
- Treasure Hunt Episode: An episode of a series focused on the characters hunting for treasure, either real or fictional.
- Treasure Is Bigger in Fiction: In fiction, gems are a lot bigger and gold a lot less heavy than in real life.
- Treasure Map: A map leading to hidden treasure.
- Treasure Room: A room full of heaps and heaps of treasure.
- Trophy Room: A room full of trophies and prizes.
- Worthless Treasure Twist: The treasure turns out to be worthless or just plain not there.
- Worthless Yellow Rocks: What we think is very valuable, other people find worthless.
- "X" Marks the Spot: Marker on a map or location indicating the presence of something valuable.
