Hi Xerber;
Let me see if I can sort this out in something like sensible terms.
First, no slight to anyone but I want to make it clear, what the Tavern was elsewhere and when has no bearing on what it is now. That being said, I appreciate the confusion some folk feel, especially long time patrons, some of whom haven't been around for a while. Changes happen and they can cause difficulty.
To your comment specifically. I won't try to create a list of acceptable characters...I don't really want to have to do that and keep updating as time goes on. I'd rather consider creative characters on a case by case basis.
How I do that is fairly straightforward...I consider the World of Greyhawk setting. Mostly I go by the Living Greyhawk Campaign setting, but I do make modifications and allowances of various sorts...the acceptance of Faerunian Drow in the Tavern is one example.
The best way to consider it from character creation is to see it not as a collection of rooms...Tavern, Garden, Clearing....but as the setting itself...The Town of Ford Keep in the Domain of Greyhawk in the Flanaess on the continent of Oerik on the world of Oerth. We are mostly concerned with the Domain of Greyhawk since that's where the town in which the Tavern is located.
Elsewhere on the boards mention has been made of the massive and outrageously destructive and hateful Greyhawk Wars that have only recently ended. People of the Domain are somewhat xenophobic as a result. Ugly humans and half orcs have been lynched for fear of them being spies by panicky humans in frontier towns. Most people fear the war isn't really over...just dormant while the various factions regain some strength.
I consider characters based to a large degree on those considerations since the setting in which the Tavern is located is the single most restrictive setting in ISRP in terms of setting. That being said, there is a character named Grey Rock that comes in now and again. A Half Orc paladin. I have no qualms with it...and the player takes snide comments about his character in stride as he must given the setting. Thinking on it, I don't have a problem with a halfling-goblin character at this point...so long as it looked more halfling than goblin and you were capable of handling IC distrust and hatred (yes, I know some people are OOC that way, but that's another situation).
There are examples of traits that a character cannot *show* in the tavern, and some examples of character types not allowed. But I am not inclined to make a list of allowable characters at this juncture.
If you've a question on a character, ask me since the Tavern is mine to handle just as the Rotunda is Nashira's and the Bazaar is Trelian's, and I can give you the best answer on it.
You can email me at either
ISRPMagi@gmail.com or
stormwind@oakstone-keep.com
Hope this has helped.
Siani