Don't you ever get tired of finding coins, gemstones, generic art items, and magical items? OK, maybe not magical items...
As a long time DM, I certainly got tired of handing that stuff out. That's why I decided to make a conscious effort to embrace setting-appropriate realism when placing loot and creating random tables in my current campaign.
For example, the party journeyed through an ancient elven city that had once existed within massive, living trees that were now blighted and petrified. Each tree/building was well over 1000 feet tall and were more likely to be inhabited by monsters at higher levels While exploring the city, they passed through a variety of districts that were themed and named. Loot was then determined using tables based on district type and altitude.
The first tree they went through went like this:
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Lower levels - residential district - loot found: sweet smelling soaps with dried leaves and spices preserved inside, a badly water-damaged book of fairy tales, some coins and basic gear found on the corpse of a dead adventurer
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Middle levels - temple district - loot found: scented oils, decorative holy symbols, material components for cleric spells, ancient vestments, incense and a lavish burner
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Upper levels - market district - loot found: a rare magical item, ancient promissory notes from a bank, a very complex lock with 2 keys, ancient cookware and pottery
The journey both to and through the ancient city was... harrowing. I'm running an eldritch horror campaign and this was point in the story when the horror started really ramping up.
That's why, after exiting the forest, our barbarian, Arthur, felt the need to blow off some steam by pranking our fighter, Clive. While keeping watch, Arthur dug out an ancient clay pot and filled it with warm water. Then Arthur totally biffed a stealth roll and woke Clive up while putting his hand in it.
When asked what he was doing, Arthur stammered for a moment before saying, "You found those soaps and scented oils in [the city], I thought I'd surprise you with a nice manicure."
This started a runner between those two that lasted for months and got the ball rolling on some character growth for Clive who was learning that he REALLY likes the finer things in life.
How has creative non-magical loot influenced your campaigns/characters?
tl;dr: The barbarian gives the fighter a manicure.
Isn't manipulating and preying on the gullible the main way that religion causes harm?
Gulliblity isn't binary. I'd argue that those buying into organized religion are more gullible than people who identify as "spiritual." If I asked you to rank people from least to most gullible based only on their religion, would you not rank a person that considers themselves spiritual but not drawn to a particular church higher than a member of a pentecostal church that regularly attends faith healing events?
Finally, this part is anecdotal but, the majority of people I know that consider themselves spiritual but not religious are people that attended one or more churches for a while but questioned or took issues with parts of those churches teachings. They may believe that there is some form sky daddy watching over us but, by they have displayed a degree of critical thinking. I can't present concrete proof that sky daddy isn't real so, as long as they aren't using that belief to cause harm, I see no reason to immediately distrust someone simply for considering themselves spiritual.