So I am at the beginning of Sequence 5. Where the heck do I get the stuff for the more advanced shop quests like shrunken heads for the armor. Or this thing for the fast poison etc.? I know I can get stuff like that from contracts*, chests and messengers/robbers. But I bet there is a specific chest to open? (Like in those Romulus caves.) Am I right? Because I already got tons of everything else. Only the goods for the current tailor quest drop occasionally.
 
*  (all my recruits are level 10 already though, so going back there is annoying)

Those red boxes you loot often have stuff like that in them.  If you buy the treasure maps you can clear those out pretty quick.

There's no specific place to find stuff. Keep opening chests and chasing down the robbers (or whatever they're called... the random guys who run away from you). I found a shrunken head last night in a chest. Grab a map from one of the art dealers, do some chest looting, and I'm sure you'll eventually find what you're looking for.

Some items are also associated with Assassin Contracts as well, particularly four-star and higher difficulty missions. I've gotten at least one Terracotta Pot that way, among other things. But everything else looks to be random drops.

I thought Ryan said in the Quick Look that you can also get these items from looting the bodies of guards. I haven't had a chance to play the game yet to confirm.

Enemies in story missions usually have some good stuff on them. Like that mission where you have to get the money back from the guys on the boat, each one had some stuff on them.

Yeah. As I said: I know how to get them. I have tons! Just these things seem not to drop, so my guess was that there is a specific/fixed location to get them. 
 
Guards only have "combat consumables". Looted thousands of them.

" Yeah. As I said: I know how to get them. I have tons! Just these things seem not to drop, so my guess was that there is a specific/fixed location to get them.  Guards only have "combat consumables". Looted thousands of them. "

God, this stuff is annoying. I want the last two pieces of the non-Romulus armor but after looting literally every single chest except those in the Vatican and the two in the Castello, I only picked up one Shrunken Head (got another at the beginning of the game). I've killed some 839 people up to this point, and still no shrunken heads. Guess I'll go look for people trying to mug me or something and hope they drop it.

Also, has anyone gotten something called Aconite? And if so, where? I haven't seen one drop the entire game. Currently on Sequence 8 and I have...24 hours played according to the stats page...whoa. Though a lot of that time was letting the game run while guys were running missions or I was letting money stack up in the bank, but still.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Shrunken Head Locations
 
For those of you looking, there are only 2 shrunken heads in the game as far as I can tell.  This will let you complete the Exotica Armor quest and get the final 2 pieces of armor. 
 
1 is in the Followers of Romulus Lair that has you knock down the giant cross (the Sixth Day I believe).  It is on the ground floor of the giant cross room on the right hand side of the stairs.  The other is in a treasure chest on a cliff side overlooking the ship where you brought the ransom money for the courtesan quest (High-Stakes Negotiation).  It is SW of Ezio's hideout.  You have to drop down to it from above.  
 
All of the other quest materials are much more common and shouldn't be a problem for you to find.

See, I am not crazy. Ok, I haven't gotten to the lair jet I guess. When is it accessible. I am in Sequence 7 (or maybe 6). Also no Aconite yet.
 
BTW how do you get into the lair in the therme? I already bought the aqueduct.

" Wuddel : You have to rebuild all eight of the broken aqueducts. Then the water will rise so you can swim in. Personally I'm in need of some vlad the impaler coins...  "

" Wuddel : You have to rebuild all eight of the broken aqueducts. Then the water will rise so you can swim in. Personally I'm in need of some vlad the impaler coins...  "

" @fetchfox said:

" Wuddel : You have to rebuild all eight of the broken aqueducts. Then the water will rise so you can swim in. Personally I'm in need of some vlad the impaler coins...  "

You can get a few coins from the Assassin Contracts, though the ones you get items from are those large, spiked circles (so like, level 8+ Assassins, and lots of them per mission to complete successfully). "

The bandits always have random quest items on them, the people from the courtesan mission and the gangs of dudes that randomly try to mug you. These are the peeps that will drop you some quest items. The guards generally just drop consumables but Vatican guards and Borgia Captains also drop quest items, maybe Brutes too.

There are some random guard outposts outside of the main city walls...about a dozen guards keeping watch over a single treasure chest.  I found some Vlad the Impaler coins there.

" @fetchfox: Maybe it's randomized? One mission, I think it was in Moscow but I'm not sure, said the rewards were Vlad the Impaler Coins, which got me...I think two, maybe just one. "

" @Capum15 said:

" @fetchfox: Maybe it's randomized? One mission, I think it was in Moscow but I'm not sure, said the rewards were Vlad the Impaler Coins, which got me...I think two, maybe just one. "

Found seven of them (looted some thiefs), so I finally got that sword. Thanks for the tips. "

So, I hade a lot of stuff that I had collected in the beginning of the game that I just sold before I knew I needed it for the quests.  
 
I haven't completed any quests yet and I'm not sure if I just need to find this shit or if I have to trade it in to the shop. 
Feeling pretty bad about selling a ton of stuff in case I'm required to trade it in to the shop. 
 
Anyone that can enlighten me?

" So, I hade a lot of stuff that I had collected in the beginning of the game that I just sold before I knew I needed it for the quests.   I haven't completed any quests yet and I'm not sure if I just need to find this shit or if I have to trade it in to the shop. Feeling pretty bad about selling a ton of stuff in case I'm required to trade it in to the shop.  Anyone that can enlighten me? "