Treasure Chest Contents Worth Less Than the Chest Itself

An adventuring party has filed a formal complaint with the Dungeon Loot Standards Commission after discovering that a heavily guarded treasure chest contained items valued at approximately 0.04 gold pieces, while the chest itself was appraised at 12 gold. The Brightblade Company spent six hours navigating the Fungal Depths, defeating three regenerating trolls and a five-headed hydra, only to find the final treasure chest contained four copper pieces, a half-burned candle, and a note reading Better luck next time. "The chest was reinforced mahogany with brass fittings and a master-grade lock," said the party's rogue. "We could have just sold the chest and come out ahead. Actually, we should have sold the chest. Why didn't we sell the chest?" The Commission has received 3,400 similar complaints this quarter, leading to calls for mandatory minimum treasure values proportional to encounter difficulty.