diff --git a/code/controllers/subsystem/non_firing/SSlate_mapping.dm b/code/controllers/subsystem/non_firing/SSlate_mapping.dm
index eec96be19f9..3c8c5f435f6 100644
--- a/code/controllers/subsystem/non_firing/SSlate_mapping.dm
+++ b/code/controllers/subsystem/non_firing/SSlate_mapping.dm
@@ -28,3 +28,5 @@ SUBSYSTEM_DEF(late_mapping)
 		QDEL_LIST_CONTENTS(maze_generators)
 		var/duration = stop_watch(watch)
 		log_startup_progress("Generated [mgcount] mazes in [duration]s")
+
+	GLOB.spawn_pool_manager.process_pools()
diff --git a/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/pool/pool_spawner.dm b/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/pool/pool_spawner.dm
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2cfcaaff9bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/pool/pool_spawner.dm
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+/// A random spawner managed by a [/datum/spawn_pool].
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool
+	icon = 'icons/effects/random_spawners.dmi'
+	icon_state = "loot"
+
+	/// How much this spawner will subtract from the available budget if it
+	/// spawns. A value of `INFINITY` (i.e., not setting the value on a subtype)
+	/// does not attempt to subtract from the budget. This is useful for
+	/// spawners which themselves spawn other spawners.
+	var/point_value = INFINITY
+	/// Whether non-spawner items should be removed from the shared loot pool
+	/// after spawning.
+	var/unique_picks = FALSE
+	/// Guaranteed spawners will always proc, and always proc first.
+	var/guaranteed = FALSE
+	/// The ID of the spawn pool. Must match the pool's [/datum/spawn_pool/var/id].
+	var/spawn_pool_id
+
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/Initialize(mapload)
+	// short-circuit atom init machinery since we won't be around long
+	if(initialized)
+		stack_trace("Warning: [src]([type]) initialized multiple times!")
+	initialized = TRUE
+
+	if(!spawn_pool_id)
+		stack_trace("No spawn pool ID provided to [src]([type])")
+
+	if(GLOB.spawn_pool_manager.finalized)
+		// We've already gotten through SSlate_mapping, so someone probably spawned this manually.
+		// Skip all the shit and just spawn it.
+		spawn_loot()
+		qdel(src)
+		return
+
+	var/datum/spawn_pool/pool = GLOB.spawn_pool_manager.get(spawn_pool_id)
+	if(!pool)
+		stack_trace("Could not find spawn pool with ID [spawn_pool_id]")
+
+	if(unique_picks && !(type in pool.unique_spawners))
+		pool.unique_spawners[type] = loot.Copy()
+
+	if(guaranteed)
+		pool.guaranteed_spawners |= src
+	else
+		pool.known_spawners |= src
+
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/generate_loot_list()
+	var/datum/spawn_pool/pool = GLOB.spawn_pool_manager.get(spawn_pool_id)
+	if(!pool)
+		stack_trace("Could not find spawn pool with ID [spawn_pool_id]")
+
+	if(unique_picks)
+		var/list/unique_loot = pool.unique_spawners[type]
+		return unique_loot.Copy()
+
+	return ..()
+
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/check_safe(type_path_to_make)
+	// TODO: Spawners with `spawn_all_loot` set will subtract the
+	// point value for each item spawned. This needs to change so
+	// that the budget is only checked once initially, and then
+	// all of the loot is spawned after.
+	if(!..())
+		return FALSE
+
+	var/is_safe = FALSE
+	var/deduct_points = TRUE
+	var/datum/spawn_pool/pool = GLOB.spawn_pool_manager.get(spawn_pool_id)
+	if(!pool)
+		stack_trace("Could not find spawn pool with ID [spawn_pool_id]")
+
+	if(ispath(type_path_to_make, /obj/effect/spawner/random/pool))
+		return TRUE
+
+	// If we're past SSlate_mapping, we're safe and don't have a pool
+	// to deduct points from
+	if(GLOB.spawn_pool_manager.finalized)
+		is_safe = TRUE
+		deduct_points = FALSE
+
+	// If we don't have a sane point value, don't deduct points
+	if(point_value == INFINITY)
+		deduct_points = FALSE
+
+	// If we deduct points, we need to check affordability
+	if(deduct_points)
+		if(pool.can_afford(point_value))
+			is_safe = TRUE
+	else
+		is_safe = TRUE
+
+	// Early breakout if we're not safe
+	if(!is_safe)
+		return FALSE
+
+	if(deduct_points)
+		pool.consume(point_value)
+
+	if(pool && unique_picks)
+		// We may have multiple instances of a given type so just remove the first instance we find
+		var/list/unique_spawners = pool.unique_spawners[type]
+		unique_spawners.Remove(type_path_to_make)
+
+	return TRUE
diff --git a/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/pool/spawn_pool.dm b/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/pool/spawn_pool.dm
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8588a1b1dcb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/pool/spawn_pool.dm
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+/// Keeps track of the available points for a given pool, as well as any
+/// spawners that need to keep track globally of the number of any specific item
+/// that they spawn.
+/datum/spawn_pool
+	/// The ID of the spawn pool. All spawners registered to this pool must use this ID.
+	var/id
+	/// The number of points left for the spawner to use. Starts at its initial value.
+	var/available_points = 0
+	/// A list of all spawners registered to this pool.
+	var/list/known_spawners = list()
+	/// A key-value list of spawners with TRUE `unique_picks` to a shared copy of their
+	/// loot pool. When items from one of these spawners are spawned, it is removed
+	/// from the shared loot pool so it never spawns again.
+	var/list/unique_spawners = list()
+	/// A list of spawners whose `guaranteed` is `TRUE`. These spawners will
+	/// always spawn, and always before anything else,
+	var/list/guaranteed_spawners = list()
+
+/datum/spawn_pool/proc/can_afford(points)
+	if(available_points >= points)
+		return TRUE
+
+	return FALSE
+
+/datum/spawn_pool/proc/consume(points)
+	available_points -= points
+
+/datum/spawn_pool/proc/process_guaranteed_spawners()
+	while(length(guaranteed_spawners))
+		var/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/spawner = guaranteed_spawners[length(guaranteed_spawners)]
+		guaranteed_spawners.len--
+		spawner.spawn_loot()
+		qdel(spawner)
+
+	QDEL_LIST_CONTENTS(guaranteed_spawners)
+
+/datum/spawn_pool/proc/process_spawners()
+	process_guaranteed_spawners()
+
+	shuffle_inplace(known_spawners)
+	while(length(known_spawners))
+		if(available_points <= 0)
+			break
+
+		var/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/spawner = known_spawners[length(known_spawners)]
+		known_spawners.len--
+		if(spawner.point_value != INFINITY && available_points < spawner.point_value)
+			qdel(spawner)
+			continue
+
+		spawner.spawn_loot()
+		if(length(guaranteed_spawners))
+			WARNING("non-guaranteed spawner [spawner.type] spawned a guaranteed spawner, this should be avoided")
+			process_guaranteed_spawners()
+
+		qdel(spawner)
+
+
+	QDEL_LIST_CONTENTS(known_spawners)
diff --git a/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/pool/spawn_pool_manager.dm b/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/pool/spawn_pool_manager.dm
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..855eea2187a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/pool/spawn_pool_manager.dm
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+GLOBAL_DATUM_INIT(spawn_pool_manager, /datum/spawn_pool_manager, new)
+
+/// The singleton which keeps track of all spawn pools.
+/// All known [/datum/spawn_pool] subtypes are registered
+/// to it and are processed in SSlate_mapping.
+/datum/spawn_pool_manager
+	var/list/spawn_pools = list()
+	var/finalized = FALSE
+
+/datum/spawn_pool_manager/New()
+	for(var/spawn_pool_type in subtypesof(/datum/spawn_pool))
+		var/datum/spawn_pool/pool = new spawn_pool_type
+		spawn_pools[pool.id] = pool
+
+/datum/spawn_pool_manager/proc/get(id)
+	return spawn_pools[id]
+
+/datum/spawn_pool_manager/proc/process_pools()
+	for(var/pool_id in spawn_pools)
+		var/datum/spawn_pool/pool = spawn_pools[pool_id]
+		pool.process_spawners()
+
+	finalized = TRUE
+
+/datum/spawn_pool_manager/Destroy()
+	QDEL_LIST_CONTENTS(spawn_pools)
+	return ..()
diff --git a/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/random_spawner.dm b/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/random_spawner.dm
index 1120de174df..4d7487f65e6 100644
--- a/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/random_spawner.dm
+++ b/code/game/objects/effects/spawners/random/random_spawner.dm
@@ -51,6 +51,18 @@
 	spawn_loot()
 	return INITIALIZE_HINT_QDEL
 
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/proc/generate_loot_list()
+	if(loot_type_path)
+		loot += typesof(loot_type_path)
+
+	if(loot_subtype_path)
+		loot += subtypesof(loot_subtype_path)
+
+	return loot
+
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/proc/check_safe(type_path_to_make)
+	return TRUE
+
 ///If the spawner has any loot defined, randomly picks some and spawns it. Does not cleanup the spawner.
 /obj/effect/spawner/random/proc/spawn_loot(lootcount_override)
 	if(!prob(spawn_loot_chance))
@@ -66,21 +78,22 @@
 		spawn_loot_count = INFINITY
 		spawn_loot_double = FALSE
 
-	if(loot_type_path)
-		loot += typesof(loot_type_path)
+	var/list/loot_list = generate_loot_list()
+	var/safe_failure_count = 0
 
-	if(loot_subtype_path)
-		loot += subtypesof(loot_subtype_path)
-
-	if(length(loot))
+	if(length(loot_list))
 		var/loot_spawned = 0
 		var/pixel_divider = FLOOR(spawn_random_offset_max_pixels / spawn_loot_split_pixel_offsets, 1)
-		while((spawn_loot_count-loot_spawned) && length(loot))
+		while((spawn_loot_count-loot_spawned) && length(loot_list) && safe_failure_count <= 10)
 			loot_spawned++
+			var/lootspawn = pick_weight_recursive(loot_list)
+
+			if(!check_safe(lootspawn))
+				safe_failure_count++
+				continue
 
-			var/lootspawn = pick_weight_recursive(loot)
 			if(!spawn_loot_double)
-				loot.Remove(lootspawn)
+				loot_list.Remove(lootspawn)
 			if(lootspawn)
 				var/turf/spawn_loc = loc
 				if(spawn_scatter_radius > 0 && length(spawn_locations))
@@ -91,6 +104,13 @@
 					continue
 
 				var/atom/movable/spawned_loot = make_item(spawn_loc, lootspawn)
+
+				// If we make something that then makes something else and gets itself
+				// qdel'd, we'll have a null result here. This doesn't necessarily mean
+				// that nothing's been spawned, so it's not necessarily a failure.
+				if(!spawned_loot)
+					continue
+
 				spawned_loot.setDir(dir)
 
 				if(!spawn_loot_split && !spawn_random_offset)
diff --git a/docs/mapping/spawn_pools.md b/docs/mapping/spawn_pools.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b17c1bea4f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/mapping/spawn_pools.md
@@ -0,0 +1,195 @@
+# Spawn Pools
+
+Mappers have many useful random spawners to provide variety to their maps.
+However, if these spawners provide high-value loot, or rare loot, it can become
+difficult to ensure that these spawners are generally balanced.
+
+In some cases this doesn't matter so much. Maintenance loot spawners have free
+reign to spawn loot of varying value and the only balancing done is to adjust
+the weights of these loots, and scale the amount of spawners to reasonably work
+for a given map's size and expected population.
+
+In other situations, like explorer loot in space, a surplus of valuable loot
+spawners can quickly give players enormous advantages. This is compounded by the
+fact that ruins are generally reviewed for balance in a vacuum, because it would
+be too difficult to try and reason through what could spawn on any given round
+across all ruins.
+
+Spawn pools were written as an attempt to solve this problem. Pool spawners are
+assigned a point value, and registered to a global pool. Spawn pools track these
+spawners, and deduct points from a central budget every time one of them spawns
+loot. Once the budget runs out, no more spawners from that pool are activated.
+
+## Example
+
+Let's take our explorer loot scenario as before. If we want to register all
+explorer loot to a pool, we first need to create the pool as a distinct
+`/datum/spawn_pool` subtype:
+
+```dm
+/datum/spawn_pool/space_loot
+	id = "space_loot_pool"
+	available_points = 200
+```
+
+And then we create the spawners we want, all subtypes of
+`/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool`:
+
+```dm
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/space_loot
+	spawn_pool_id = "space_loot_pool"
+
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/space_loot/tier1
+	point_value = 5
+	loot = list(
+		/obj/item/soap/syndie,
+		/obj/item/stamp/chameleon,
+	)
+
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/space_loot/tier2
+	point_value = 60
+	loot = list(
+		/obj/item/ammo_box/magazine/smgm45,
+		/obj/item/ammo_box/magazine/apsm10mm/hp,
+	)
+
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/space_loot/tier3
+	point_value = 100
+	loot = list(
+		/obj/item/gun/projectile/automatic/pistol/APS = 2,
+		/obj/item/gun/projectile/automatic/l6_saw = 1,
+	)
+```
+
+Here we have three different tiers of loot. The lowest tier has low-value items
+and a low point value of 5. The middle tier has ammo and a point value of 50.
+The highest tier has guns and a point value of 100. Note that you can continue
+to use weights in these spawners, as well as all the other features of
+`/obj/effect/spawner/random`.
+
+Armed with these three spawners, we can now use them on any ruin we want, in any
+quantity. We may put the tier 3 spawner in a difficult, popular ruin, and the
+tier 1 spawner in a less popular ruin. Importantly, we can place many of these
+spawners, with a guarantee that only a handful will actually receive loot.
+
+Let's examine through some sample runs. Let's say we have:
+
+- two tier 1 spawners
+- two tier 2 spawners
+- two tier 3 spawners
+
+### Example Scenarios
+
+Spawners are selected at random, so one run might look like this:
+
+1. Pool budget is 200.
+2. Tier 3 spawner chosen, gun spawns, budget is now 100.
+3. Tier 2 spawner chosen, ammo spawns, budget is now 40.
+4. Tier 1 spawner chosen, soap spawns, budget is now 35.
+
+At this point, neither tier 2 or tier 3 spawners can be afforded. If they are
+chosen in the random selection, they are discarded, and do not spawn anything.
+When the pool reaches the remainin tier 1 spawner, it will proc:
+
+4. Tier 2 spawner chosen, cost too high, does not spawn.
+5. Tier 3 spawner chosen, cost too high, does not spawn.
+6. Tier 1 spawner chosen, chameleon stamp spawns, budget is now 30.
+
+The pool has now exhausted all its spawners and stops.
+
+Another run may look like this:
+
+1. Pool budget is 200.
+2. Tier 3 spawner chosen, gun spawns, budget is now 100.
+3. Tier 3 spawner chosen, gun spawns, budget is now 0.
+
+The budget has been exhausted and no more spawners are chosen. Obviously this
+second scenario is not ideal, as now only high-value loot has spawned. One of
+the ways to fix this is to set the tier 3 cost to 110, rather than 100. That
+way, the pool can only afford to ever spawn one of them.
+
+## Nested Spawners
+
+This is not a great usage of the spawn pool. It still means that high value
+ruins will have high value loot, and less often explored ruins are still not
+worth visiting. What we want to do is expand the amount of variety and
+randomness across all ruins.
+
+To do this, we can nest our spawners. Create a new subtype:
+
+```dm
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/space_loot/mixed
+	loot = list(
+		/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/space_loot/tier1 = 5,
+		/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/space_loot/tier2 = 2,
+		/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/space_loot/tier3 = 1,
+	)
+```
+
+This works much better for our purposes. Not only are we decreasing the weight
+of tier 3 spawns, but we can place one spawner type everywhere, meaning any of
+the spawners has a chance of spawning great or passable loot.
+
+By nesting spawners, we gain the fine-grained control we want over drop
+likelihood: the budget system, much like ruin placement, is concerned only about
+how much loot it should attempt to spawn. The nested spawner's weights dictate
+what it is we want to spawn more or less often.
+
+## Unique and Guaranteed Spawners
+
+Pool spawners also expose two other important features: guaranteed and unique
+spawns.
+
+If we have ruins that have specialized, valuable loot, we always want the pool
+to spawn loot there, no matter what. It would be bad to run a difficult, unique
+ruin only to be left with nothing or generic loot from the table.
+
+_Guaranteed spawns_ are a way to fix that. For example, let's say we have a mech
+themed ruin and we want the loot to be exosuit parts, but we don't want those
+parts spawning anywhere else. We create a distinct subtype:
+
+```dm
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/space_loot/mech_ruin
+	point_value = 100
+	guaranteed = TRUE
+	loot = list(
+		/obj/item/mecha_parts/mecha_equipment/drill/diamonddrill,
+		/obj/item/mecha_parts/mecha_equipment/extinguisher,
+		/obj/item/mecha_parts/mecha_equipment/medical/sleeper,
+	)
+```
+
+By placing this spawner in our ruin, we can guarantee that loot is spawned there
+before any other spawners are checked. But we can also include a point value
+with it, so that it still counts as part of the overall budget.
+
+Let's say we have an item that we want to be part of the generic pool, but we
+only want it to spawn once. This is what _unique spawns_ are for. For example,
+say we want to spawn a Syndicate Elite MODsuit, but we only want one spawning
+anywhere in space. We create a unique subtype:
+
+```dm
+/obj/effect/spawner/random/pool/space_loot/elite_modsuit
+	point_value = 100
+	unique_picks = TRUE
+	loot = list(/obj/item/mod/control/pre_equipped/traitor_elite)
+```
+
+If this spawner is chosen, it will spawn the MODsuit, and then the MODsuit will
+be removed from the list. Spawners with empty lists are no-ops, so any other
+spawners of this type will simply be dropped. By providing rare unique spawns
+like this, you can give players motivation to search high and low for elusive
+loot, while continuing to ensure the global budget of the spawn pool is
+respected.
+
+## Conclusion
+
+Spawn pools are useful and flexible, but they are not magic. Balancing their
+spawner values against their budget requires careful consideration and testing,
+and you will not get them right on the first try. There are various subtle
+things you will have to watch out for. For example, if you make high-value loot
+too high in cost but low-value loot too low, then if the budget is too high
+you'll end up with a tiny amount of high-value loot (good) but a
+disproportionately enormous amount of low-value loot (bad). If you have more
+budget than spawners to accomodate it, then you'll end up with unused budget
+which will skew balance. Be sure to tweak and experiment.
diff --git a/mkdocs.yml b/mkdocs.yml
index 73aa8d48235..4f166851582 100644
--- a/mkdocs.yml
+++ b/mkdocs.yml
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ nav:
       - 'Mapping Requirements': './mapping/requirements.md'
       - 'Design Guidelines': './mapping/design.md'
       - 'Guide to Submaps': './mapping/submaps.md'
+      - 'Spawn Pools': './mapping/spawn_pools.md'
 
   - 'References':
       - 'Glossary': './references/glossary.md'
diff --git a/paradise.dme b/paradise.dme
index c8ea14df65b..f1130d83300 100644
--- a/paradise.dme
+++ b/paradise.dme
@@ -1043,6 +1043,9 @@
 #include "code\game\objects\effects\spawners\random\random_spawner.dm"
 #include "code\game\objects\effects\spawners\random\trash_spawners.dm"
 #include "code\game\objects\effects\spawners\random\wall_decal_spawners.dm"
+#include "code\game\objects\effects\spawners\random\pool\pool_spawner.dm"
+#include "code\game\objects\effects\spawners\random\pool\spawn_pool.dm"
+#include "code\game\objects\effects\spawners\random\pool\spawn_pool_manager.dm"
 #include "code\game\objects\effects\temporary_visuals\clockcult.dm"
 #include "code\game\objects\effects\temporary_visuals\cult_visuals.dm"
 #include "code\game\objects\effects\temporary_visuals\explosion_temp_visuals.dm"