The best loot I ever received in a game of Dungeons & Dragons wasn’t a magical weapon or suit of armor that would make my character more effective. It was a derelict haunted tavern deeded to my party by a feckless noble in the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist campaign.
Trollskull Manor was a money sink, but it was our money sink. Owning it created a lot of problems like a new rivalry with the tavern keeper across the street and a nasty rodent infestation caused by wererats. But it also allowed us to flesh out our characters with goals that had nothing to do with the campaign’s quests. Our Druid used the cellar to grow mushrooms and make cheese, the Rogue started up a chamber of commerce with other local businesses, and my drow Warlock gathered information from some of the city’s shadier residents over drinks and games of Sava. The tavern got everyone invested in the setting, even those with no previous attachments to the Forgotten Realms and its place amongst the best tabletop RPGs.
