Nice work, pdzoch. I may add one or two of my own creations to this collection.
1,001 Taverns and Inns
pdzoch
Explorer
That would be great. I'd like to see them.
AnimeSniper
Explorer
Modern Campaign our group was awaiting our contact at the shady bar/strip club run by a retired mobster when the GM started a brawl between two NPC patrons of which the plainclothes bouncer smashed their heads together before tossing both towards the entrance... unfortunately our contact/slash new player failed the DC and was knocked unconscious.
On that not could it be modern/futuristic tavern, inn, or other?
Also, there is this two nicely done supplemental rules on the DandWiki site...
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/100_Tavern_Names_(DnD_Other)
http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Bar_Name_Chart_(DnD_Other)
And then http://pyromancers.com/ where you can create maps
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pdzoch
Explorer
I had not considered the modern/futuristic option when I started this thread, but I suppose all things are adaptable. While most my descriptions have been for the fantasy or medieval setting, simple adjustments can easily be made to suit other settings.
These are nice sites for a hasty name placeholder, but much more is needed to establish a locale, a place, a stage for which the players gather, meet, rest, and plan for their next adventure. As I am going through this process, I find myself re-discovering and old rule about stories (and photos), it is about the people in these places that make the description come alive. The NPCs and how they interact with their environment is what makes the tavern or inn have substance for the players, the characters, the story.
Pdzoch, let me know if this entry is too long, or needs to be cleaned up/edited in some way to better conform to what you're after for your thread.
Without further ado...
The Five Watchful Lanterns
(Tavern sign is a diamond shaped wooden board, with the image of a lantern burned into its face.)
Exterior Description:
The Five Watchful Lanterns ("the Lanterns" to inn staff and regular guests) stands about ten long strides from the edge of a plateau that commands an impressive view of an enormous forest range that runs to the horizon. The face of the plateau is crisscrossed by a worn path that leads from the woodland to the inn, and is just wide enough to allow riders skirting its edges to pass each other. The path is reduced to a pair of foot trails after it meanders around the inn. The trails run one each along the sides of a pair of mountains that flank the plateau. A deep ravine sits behind the inn; it marks the boundary where the two mountains meet.
Thick wooden beams run from the ground to the roof of the inn. Wood siding runs horizontally on all four sides of the structure. The inn's gabled roof is covered in long rectangular slate sheets capable of slicing a man in half, should one of them become unmoored and fall three stories to the ground below.
The sign of the Lanterns faces the plateau's edge, and is set into the wall over the entrance to the inn. It's twin rests in the opposite wall; it overlooks the path where it forks, and is witness to the frequent arrivals and departures of the inn staff, prospectors, mountain guides and adventurers who utilize the back entrance to the inn.
Interior Description:
The Lanterns is possessed of a ravenous appetite for candles. One can see from the front entrance all the way to the back entrance thanks to the six iron candelabras (each as big as a wagon wheel) that hang from the ceiling. These are hoisted up and down by means of long iron chains, and are kept alight at all hours of the day by the inn staff. Thick wooden beams supporting the next floor up run the length of the ceiling, which is covered in glossy black residue formed of years of candle smoke. Chairs and tables made of black wood as hard as steel are arranged in an irregular pattern as suits the needs of the guests of the inn, and in the wintertime are usually clustered near two great hearths spaced a few paces apart along the northern wall.
The southern wall features two hearths as well, but this space is given over to the cooks and staff. Food is prepared in the open, as are drinks. A trapdoor leads to a larder beneath the inn; this is left open from the early morning until late at night, when the cook retires for the evening.
A pair of quarter-turn staircases leading to the upper floors stand in opposing corners on the ground floor, and are immediately accessible to guests entering from either entrance. When a bard has taken a room at the inn, the intermediate landing of the back staircase is given over for performances.
Proprietor:
Tantram Harrowsar is the current owner of the Five Watchful Lanterns. He inherited the place unexpectedly, found it to be in deplorable condition, and has worked for the last two decades to upgrade it. His efforts have paid off; now the inn sees regular business, and has become a popular destination away from home for nobles, merchants, adventurers and others seeking interesting company and entertainment in the winter months, when the Lanterns becomes a rooming house.
Notable Guests:
Morligo Kravalondur believes he has made a deal with the presence that lurks all around the Five Watchful Lanterns, that sends forth ghostly apparitions to assist travelers seeking the inn.
In exchange for his hiring of adventurers to explore certain location around the inn (that the presence reveals through messages that appear overnight atop a desk adjacent to the bed Morligo sleeps on each night) the presence leads away agents of rival merchant families desiring Morligo’s capture, that he might reveal the whereabouts of treasures secreted away by the Kravalondur trading empire before its collapse. Morligo hires adventurers through factors that once did business for the Kravalondurs in this part of the world, and instructs them to pay upfront in gems (rubies and sapphires).
He has become attached to the stormy upland inn that serves as his temporary home, and remains untroubled by the recent deaths of a quintet of adventurers (members of a band called the Company of the Arrogant Quill) whose decomposing bodies are visible partway up one of the mountains behind the inn, their corpses swaying in the wind where they hang from an old tree. He’s lobbied his fellow guests to pool their resources to hire someone to attempt to recover the adventurer’s bodies, on the chance that he might get his gems back. Morligo is not the only Kravalondur to make a new home in the region, but he is the only member of his family to not invest his or her remaining wealth in the hiring of mercenaries and adventurers to bring the fight back to his native land.
The Ghost Lanterns, and Other Details:
Visitors find the Lanterns to be hospitable and roomy. The inn staff treat guests like nobility, never need be told anything twice, and are very good at anticipating their customer’s desires. However, the high slopes of the mountain range where the Lanterns is located are not nearly as welcoming, and the frequent storms and billowing fog that roll in without warning make the journey to the inn a dangerous one.
The inn would likely remain empty for months at a time, were it not for the five ghostly lanterns that flit about in the night seeking weary travelers to guide. These apparitions sometimes appear in the day when clouds blanket the region and the storms are at their worst. The lanterns seem to know the region around the inn in precise detail, and have successfully guided lost travelers through difficult terrain in the worst of weather. The apparitions are immune to the divine channeling of clerics, and to spells that control or otherwise compel undead. Their origin is the subject of endless conversation and debate among guests of the inn.
Adventure Hooks:
1. Guests of the inn have debated for days whether to try and remove the bodies of their fellow guests, all of them adventurers who appeared overnight hanging by their necks from ropes tied to a leafless old tree on the mountainside behind the inn. The ghostly lanterns that guide travelers around obstacles and pitfalls seemed unaware of whatever danger lurks near the tree, though now the lanterns refuse to ascend the slope that leads to strange tree and its grisly collection.
2. The stone walled, slate roofed hovels where the majority of the Lantern’s staff live are set partially into the face of one of the two mountains that flank the inn. Adventurer lore claims one or more of these homes contain back entrances that lead into a network of caverns and tunnels that run to an abandoned dwarf mine, or spiral down into passages leading to the Underdark. Guests who politely inquire with the inn staff are lead to a home that is not in fact a home, and sent on their way after being reminded that, once in the mountain, no ghostly lantern will appear to guide them to safety.
3. The unexpected death of the sage Erroakrel (a retired adventurer; specialties include locally known magic items, dragonkind, and unique gemstones found in the mountains where the Lanterns is located) has disrupted plans for a winter conclave of sages at the Five Watchful Lanterns. The sages and their retinues already arrived at the inn have fallen into dispute over the arrangements of Erroakrel’s remains, as well as his possessions, and some whisper his death was not natural. Still more sages are making the journey up the plateau, and the first winter snows have already begun to fall.
Without further ado...
The Five Watchful Lanterns
(Tavern sign is a diamond shaped wooden board, with the image of a lantern burned into its face.)
Exterior Description:
The Five Watchful Lanterns ("the Lanterns" to inn staff and regular guests) stands about ten long strides from the edge of a plateau that commands an impressive view of an enormous forest range that runs to the horizon. The face of the plateau is crisscrossed by a worn path that leads from the woodland to the inn, and is just wide enough to allow riders skirting its edges to pass each other. The path is reduced to a pair of foot trails after it meanders around the inn. The trails run one each along the sides of a pair of mountains that flank the plateau. A deep ravine sits behind the inn; it marks the boundary where the two mountains meet.
Thick wooden beams run from the ground to the roof of the inn. Wood siding runs horizontally on all four sides of the structure. The inn's gabled roof is covered in long rectangular slate sheets capable of slicing a man in half, should one of them become unmoored and fall three stories to the ground below.
The sign of the Lanterns faces the plateau's edge, and is set into the wall over the entrance to the inn. It's twin rests in the opposite wall; it overlooks the path where it forks, and is witness to the frequent arrivals and departures of the inn staff, prospectors, mountain guides and adventurers who utilize the back entrance to the inn.
Interior Description:
The Lanterns is possessed of a ravenous appetite for candles. One can see from the front entrance all the way to the back entrance thanks to the six iron candelabras (each as big as a wagon wheel) that hang from the ceiling. These are hoisted up and down by means of long iron chains, and are kept alight at all hours of the day by the inn staff. Thick wooden beams supporting the next floor up run the length of the ceiling, which is covered in glossy black residue formed of years of candle smoke. Chairs and tables made of black wood as hard as steel are arranged in an irregular pattern as suits the needs of the guests of the inn, and in the wintertime are usually clustered near two great hearths spaced a few paces apart along the northern wall.
The southern wall features two hearths as well, but this space is given over to the cooks and staff. Food is prepared in the open, as are drinks. A trapdoor leads to a larder beneath the inn; this is left open from the early morning until late at night, when the cook retires for the evening.
A pair of quarter-turn staircases leading to the upper floors stand in opposing corners on the ground floor, and are immediately accessible to guests entering from either entrance. When a bard has taken a room at the inn, the intermediate landing of the back staircase is given over for performances.
Proprietor:
Tantram Harrowsar is the current owner of the Five Watchful Lanterns. He inherited the place unexpectedly, found it to be in deplorable condition, and has worked for the last two decades to upgrade it. His efforts have paid off; now the inn sees regular business, and has become a popular destination away from home for nobles, merchants, adventurers and others seeking interesting company and entertainment in the winter months, when the Lanterns becomes a rooming house.
Notable Guests:
Morligo Kravalondur believes he has made a deal with the presence that lurks all around the Five Watchful Lanterns, that sends forth ghostly apparitions to assist travelers seeking the inn.
In exchange for his hiring of adventurers to explore certain location around the inn (that the presence reveals through messages that appear overnight atop a desk adjacent to the bed Morligo sleeps on each night) the presence leads away agents of rival merchant families desiring Morligo’s capture, that he might reveal the whereabouts of treasures secreted away by the Kravalondur trading empire before its collapse. Morligo hires adventurers through factors that once did business for the Kravalondurs in this part of the world, and instructs them to pay upfront in gems (rubies and sapphires).
He has become attached to the stormy upland inn that serves as his temporary home, and remains untroubled by the recent deaths of a quintet of adventurers (members of a band called the Company of the Arrogant Quill) whose decomposing bodies are visible partway up one of the mountains behind the inn, their corpses swaying in the wind where they hang from an old tree. He’s lobbied his fellow guests to pool their resources to hire someone to attempt to recover the adventurer’s bodies, on the chance that he might get his gems back. Morligo is not the only Kravalondur to make a new home in the region, but he is the only member of his family to not invest his or her remaining wealth in the hiring of mercenaries and adventurers to bring the fight back to his native land.
The Ghost Lanterns, and Other Details:
Visitors find the Lanterns to be hospitable and roomy. The inn staff treat guests like nobility, never need be told anything twice, and are very good at anticipating their customer’s desires. However, the high slopes of the mountain range where the Lanterns is located are not nearly as welcoming, and the frequent storms and billowing fog that roll in without warning make the journey to the inn a dangerous one.
The inn would likely remain empty for months at a time, were it not for the five ghostly lanterns that flit about in the night seeking weary travelers to guide. These apparitions sometimes appear in the day when clouds blanket the region and the storms are at their worst. The lanterns seem to know the region around the inn in precise detail, and have successfully guided lost travelers through difficult terrain in the worst of weather. The apparitions are immune to the divine channeling of clerics, and to spells that control or otherwise compel undead. Their origin is the subject of endless conversation and debate among guests of the inn.
Adventure Hooks:
1. Guests of the inn have debated for days whether to try and remove the bodies of their fellow guests, all of them adventurers who appeared overnight hanging by their necks from ropes tied to a leafless old tree on the mountainside behind the inn. The ghostly lanterns that guide travelers around obstacles and pitfalls seemed unaware of whatever danger lurks near the tree, though now the lanterns refuse to ascend the slope that leads to strange tree and its grisly collection.
2. The stone walled, slate roofed hovels where the majority of the Lantern’s staff live are set partially into the face of one of the two mountains that flank the inn. Adventurer lore claims one or more of these homes contain back entrances that lead into a network of caverns and tunnels that run to an abandoned dwarf mine, or spiral down into passages leading to the Underdark. Guests who politely inquire with the inn staff are lead to a home that is not in fact a home, and sent on their way after being reminded that, once in the mountain, no ghostly lantern will appear to guide them to safety.
3. The unexpected death of the sage Erroakrel (a retired adventurer; specialties include locally known magic items, dragonkind, and unique gemstones found in the mountains where the Lanterns is located) has disrupted plans for a winter conclave of sages at the Five Watchful Lanterns. The sages and their retinues already arrived at the inn have fallen into dispute over the arrangements of Erroakrel’s remains, as well as his possessions, and some whisper his death was not natural. Still more sages are making the journey up the plateau, and the first winter snows have already begun to fall.
pdzoch
Explorer
I like the use of the spirit lanterns in the tavern and how it ties to the tavern and its patrons. It is a different take on the theme I employed at Will o' Wisps, where the tavern owner fabricated the "spirit lights" for patron amusement. There is something about lights guiding that works well with the concept of home, safety, or a place to rest. Perhaps it is related to the lighthouses (which is a future tavern I have planned). Perhaps it is more primal (lights of the fire in the cave of our primitive ancestors). And perhaps that relationship between lights and home that make the monster Will o' Wisps such a dangerous and treacherous creature.
pdzoch
Explorer
Medusa’s Mirror
Name: Medusa’s Mirror (Tavern sign depicts the head of a medusa with glowing yellow eyes beside a similar portrait on a silver circle (a mirror))
Description Exterior: The stonework of this building is exquisite with seamless walls of smooth stones. A white stone statue is carved into each of the corners – a minotaur, a scantily clad woman raising an amphora, an unknown noble or person of importance with flowing robes or vestments, and gladiator slaying a lion. A grapevine full of fruit that stretches over the door is carved into the stone around the doorway.
Description Interior: Many more statues adorn the interior, standing like guards between the private booths along the walls and flanking the bar. The statues, all carved in white rock, depict various ladies, nobles, warrior, monsters and beasts. The tavern offers nine private booths against the walls, and five large round tables accompanied with high backed chairs are in the center. Shuttered lanterns light the booths while candles illuminate the tables. Sometime the flickering light of the candles cast an eerie shadow on the statues. The patrons take no note of the statues and enjoy their simple meals and their mugs of mead. A large mirror is mounted on the wall behind the bar, while a variety of clay mugs sit on the shelfs and hang on hooks about the bar area. A large archway lead to the kitchen where two large stone ovens are visible from the dining area. Another door stands just off to the side of the bar.
Note: A perception check will reveal that all the mugs look hand-made and no two are alike.
Proprietor: Bogomil Manolev inherited this building years ago when the original owner died. Unfortunately, it originally was not a tavern. Instead, it was a sculptor’s studio where statues were crafted for the noble and wealthy to decorate their homes and lawns. Bogomil was a hapless apprentice to the master sculpture, but the only apprentice still working when the owner died and left the shop to Bogomil. Bogomil personally made all the mugs in the tavern but was such a poor craftsman that he knew he could not succeed as a stonemason or sculptor. So, he converted the shop into something he was good at: making mead. Bogomil makes a wonderful mead he calls Medusa’s Mead, but he worries if he made the right decision, especially when he makes one of his often-made, though minor, mistakes. Bogomil always wonders if his former master would approve.
Other details: All the statues were made by Bogomil’s former master, Martin Vanko. Though not a famous sculptor, Vanko had many customers who appreciate his work and were disappointed when he died and the business folded. Bogomil has hired a cook to help prepare simple meals, but they are not using the ovens their full cooking potential. The ovens were originally design for firing clay sculptures. Bogomil does not maintain rooms for rent, though the old apprentices room (down the hall from the one door in the tavern) has several simple beds in a common room that Bogomil will rent cheaply. Bogomil used to live in that room with the rest of the young apprentices years ago.
Story Hook: 1) A nobleman’s daughter disappeared after she posed for an artist’s portrait (or sculpture) of her. The artist claims innocence, but the nobleman is calling for justice. 2) Snakes has unexpectedly been seen in the village/town/city and they seem to be protected by some members of the community leading to rumors of a cult. The local lord wants to know if there really a cult and who is part of it? 3) The cave in the nearby mountain is rumored to be inhabited by a dragon. Some claim to have seen it flying around the mountain peak recently, and the countryside is starting to panic. The local lord wants a band of courageous and capable adventurers to investigate the cave and slay the dragon if possible.
Name: Medusa’s Mirror (Tavern sign depicts the head of a medusa with glowing yellow eyes beside a similar portrait on a silver circle (a mirror))
Description Exterior: The stonework of this building is exquisite with seamless walls of smooth stones. A white stone statue is carved into each of the corners – a minotaur, a scantily clad woman raising an amphora, an unknown noble or person of importance with flowing robes or vestments, and gladiator slaying a lion. A grapevine full of fruit that stretches over the door is carved into the stone around the doorway.
Description Interior: Many more statues adorn the interior, standing like guards between the private booths along the walls and flanking the bar. The statues, all carved in white rock, depict various ladies, nobles, warrior, monsters and beasts. The tavern offers nine private booths against the walls, and five large round tables accompanied with high backed chairs are in the center. Shuttered lanterns light the booths while candles illuminate the tables. Sometime the flickering light of the candles cast an eerie shadow on the statues. The patrons take no note of the statues and enjoy their simple meals and their mugs of mead. A large mirror is mounted on the wall behind the bar, while a variety of clay mugs sit on the shelfs and hang on hooks about the bar area. A large archway lead to the kitchen where two large stone ovens are visible from the dining area. Another door stands just off to the side of the bar.
Note: A perception check will reveal that all the mugs look hand-made and no two are alike.
Proprietor: Bogomil Manolev inherited this building years ago when the original owner died. Unfortunately, it originally was not a tavern. Instead, it was a sculptor’s studio where statues were crafted for the noble and wealthy to decorate their homes and lawns. Bogomil was a hapless apprentice to the master sculpture, but the only apprentice still working when the owner died and left the shop to Bogomil. Bogomil personally made all the mugs in the tavern but was such a poor craftsman that he knew he could not succeed as a stonemason or sculptor. So, he converted the shop into something he was good at: making mead. Bogomil makes a wonderful mead he calls Medusa’s Mead, but he worries if he made the right decision, especially when he makes one of his often-made, though minor, mistakes. Bogomil always wonders if his former master would approve.
Other details: All the statues were made by Bogomil’s former master, Martin Vanko. Though not a famous sculptor, Vanko had many customers who appreciate his work and were disappointed when he died and the business folded. Bogomil has hired a cook to help prepare simple meals, but they are not using the ovens their full cooking potential. The ovens were originally design for firing clay sculptures. Bogomil does not maintain rooms for rent, though the old apprentices room (down the hall from the one door in the tavern) has several simple beds in a common room that Bogomil will rent cheaply. Bogomil used to live in that room with the rest of the young apprentices years ago.
Story Hook: 1) A nobleman’s daughter disappeared after she posed for an artist’s portrait (or sculpture) of her. The artist claims innocence, but the nobleman is calling for justice. 2) Snakes has unexpectedly been seen in the village/town/city and they seem to be protected by some members of the community leading to rumors of a cult. The local lord wants to know if there really a cult and who is part of it? 3) The cave in the nearby mountain is rumored to be inhabited by a dragon. Some claim to have seen it flying around the mountain peak recently, and the countryside is starting to panic. The local lord wants a band of courageous and capable adventurers to investigate the cave and slay the dragon if possible.
pdzoch
Explorer
I like the addition of the notable patron. At first I did not make it a requirement as I felt that the DM should be able to add their own notable patron to fit their campaign. However, tying the notable patron to a story hook or the tavern itself makes sense and helps make the tavern/inn a fuller description (and helps the DM from defaulting to generic tavern patron descriptions on the fly). So I have added the Notable Patron to the guidelines.
If anyone else can think of a necessary description requirement for the inns/taverns, let me know.
I have decided against the meal, drinks, menu details already as the random menu generator on this site already does that pretty well. And they seldom serve a story purpose; if they do, then add it as a special detail.
pdzoch
Explorer
The Lucky Leaf
Name: The Lucky Leaf (Tavern sign depicts a four-leaf clover)
Description Exterior: This three story half-timbered house is old but has been well maintained. The dab and wattle walls have been repaired and freshly painted white, giving the building a very clean and kept appearance. The wooden support beams, though also freshly painted (green instead of the traditional brown), show the signs of a settling house and age, as several of the beams are crooked and bowed. Two gabled dormers face the street, and all the windows have their shutters (also painted green) opened. A single red brick chimney sits atop the red slated tile roof. A decorated green wooden trim runs along the eaves of the roof. A single door (also green) leads into the inn.
Description Interior: As you open the door, a little bell tinkles to notify the proprietor of guests. A narrow table stands against the wall on the left, set with a two pitchers, several mugs, a stack of wooden plates, and a plate of cheese and several loafs of bread. On the right, two tables with benches make up the only seating in this room. Candles sit atop the tables, though the open windows let in plenty of light from the outside. The nearly empty room echoes as you step across the wooden floor. Green accents surround the room in the form of an elaborate green decorative pattern of vines, leaves, and clovers painted on the white walls. A man enters the room from the only doorway opposite the entrance and says, “Welcome to the Lucky Leaf! Would you be liking a room tonight?”
Proprietor: Bricín Ó Canann is a brawny curly haired red head. He runs this inn with his wife, Doireann, and daughter, Muirinn. Bricín is a mild mannered but extremely likable man. He speaks calmly, with a hint of wisdom and more than a hint of romanticism. His wife is a bit of a jealous woman; she knows what a catch Bricín is, but she is also a very attractive woman so she really shouldn’t worry. Bricín is wholeheartedly devoted to her and his daughter. Bricín counts himself lucky, and hence the name for the inn, as he did have any business experience before establishing the inn but has had remarkably good fortune running it. During the day, Bricín delivers messages from inn patrons and other persons within the town. Bricín pretty much knows everyone in town and tries to stay aware of any new visitors. Delivering messages only cost 1 cp.
Other details: Through the doorway is a hallway on either side. To the left is the Ó Canann private living area. To the right the hallway continues to the kitchen and larder. A stairway along the hallway leads to the rooms upstairs. The second floor has five comfortable semi-private rooms (two beds each, a wardrobe, table and stool). The third floor has five very comfortable (would be luxurious if the decorations were not so lacking) private rooms (each with a large bed, wardrobe, chest, desk, and high back chair). Each room has its own key, as well as a picture of water and pan for washing. The Lucky Leaf does not offer any full meals. The serving table is generally set with breads, cheese, and raw fruits and vegetables for convenient eating. The pitchers on the serving table will contain water and milk.
Notable Patron: Burchard Noakesburrow is a Halfling and long-time resident of the Lucky Leaf. Burchard intended to be in town only long enough to survey for a business location but has stayed longer than he intended. Because Burchard has stayed so long at the inn, Bricín has given Burchard free access to the kitchen. Burchard occasionally will set dried meat out on the serving table which will earn a scolding from Ó Canann family. Bricín and Burchard have a strange relationship: Bricín called Burchard his lucky charm because he has stayed at the inn for so long but jokes about it being because “his people” are lucky, to which Burchard “angrily” reminds him that he is not a leprechaun. However, Burchard does like the attention and special permission that the Ó Canann family gives him. Burchard business is in common trade goods. In reality, Burchard is an enforcer in the local thieves’ guild, and a man feared in the underground (sometimes called Burchard the Butcher). Burchard has ensured the Lucky Leaf is under the thieves’ guild protection, though Bricín is unaware of the arrangement. Burchard often talks to Bricín after his daily deliveries catching up on various families in town. Bricín unknowingly delivers the occasional thieves’ guild messages from Burchard. Burchard is a masterful in social engagements, genuinely interested in anything anyone is willing to share and will engage in conversation if engaged first (he does not want to appear nosey, but Burchard is always listening).
Story Hook: 1) A local spice dealer has been having trouble maintaining his stocks. If the bandits did not attack his delivery wagons, then thieves have broken into his warehouse. He is looking for a team of adventurers to escort the spice delivery safely to his store. It would even be nicer if they could uproot the thieves responsible for stealing his stock. 2) The local church/temple recently was desecrated. Not only were valuable items stolen, but the church/temple was vandalized. The cleric of the church would very much like the stolen items returned. He also worries if a cult of an opposing god is emerging in the community. 3) Spirit animals are said to be roaming the nearby countryside. Are they the wandering summonings of an evil or crazed druid or wizard? Are they the undead spirits of woodland beasts? Or are they some other spectral beast invading this plane? Whatever they are, they are terrifying the locals. The local lord wants the spirit animals purged from the land.
Name: The Lucky Leaf (Tavern sign depicts a four-leaf clover)
Description Exterior: This three story half-timbered house is old but has been well maintained. The dab and wattle walls have been repaired and freshly painted white, giving the building a very clean and kept appearance. The wooden support beams, though also freshly painted (green instead of the traditional brown), show the signs of a settling house and age, as several of the beams are crooked and bowed. Two gabled dormers face the street, and all the windows have their shutters (also painted green) opened. A single red brick chimney sits atop the red slated tile roof. A decorated green wooden trim runs along the eaves of the roof. A single door (also green) leads into the inn.
Description Interior: As you open the door, a little bell tinkles to notify the proprietor of guests. A narrow table stands against the wall on the left, set with a two pitchers, several mugs, a stack of wooden plates, and a plate of cheese and several loafs of bread. On the right, two tables with benches make up the only seating in this room. Candles sit atop the tables, though the open windows let in plenty of light from the outside. The nearly empty room echoes as you step across the wooden floor. Green accents surround the room in the form of an elaborate green decorative pattern of vines, leaves, and clovers painted on the white walls. A man enters the room from the only doorway opposite the entrance and says, “Welcome to the Lucky Leaf! Would you be liking a room tonight?”
Proprietor: Bricín Ó Canann is a brawny curly haired red head. He runs this inn with his wife, Doireann, and daughter, Muirinn. Bricín is a mild mannered but extremely likable man. He speaks calmly, with a hint of wisdom and more than a hint of romanticism. His wife is a bit of a jealous woman; she knows what a catch Bricín is, but she is also a very attractive woman so she really shouldn’t worry. Bricín is wholeheartedly devoted to her and his daughter. Bricín counts himself lucky, and hence the name for the inn, as he did have any business experience before establishing the inn but has had remarkably good fortune running it. During the day, Bricín delivers messages from inn patrons and other persons within the town. Bricín pretty much knows everyone in town and tries to stay aware of any new visitors. Delivering messages only cost 1 cp.
Other details: Through the doorway is a hallway on either side. To the left is the Ó Canann private living area. To the right the hallway continues to the kitchen and larder. A stairway along the hallway leads to the rooms upstairs. The second floor has five comfortable semi-private rooms (two beds each, a wardrobe, table and stool). The third floor has five very comfortable (would be luxurious if the decorations were not so lacking) private rooms (each with a large bed, wardrobe, chest, desk, and high back chair). Each room has its own key, as well as a picture of water and pan for washing. The Lucky Leaf does not offer any full meals. The serving table is generally set with breads, cheese, and raw fruits and vegetables for convenient eating. The pitchers on the serving table will contain water and milk.
Notable Patron: Burchard Noakesburrow is a Halfling and long-time resident of the Lucky Leaf. Burchard intended to be in town only long enough to survey for a business location but has stayed longer than he intended. Because Burchard has stayed so long at the inn, Bricín has given Burchard free access to the kitchen. Burchard occasionally will set dried meat out on the serving table which will earn a scolding from Ó Canann family. Bricín and Burchard have a strange relationship: Bricín called Burchard his lucky charm because he has stayed at the inn for so long but jokes about it being because “his people” are lucky, to which Burchard “angrily” reminds him that he is not a leprechaun. However, Burchard does like the attention and special permission that the Ó Canann family gives him. Burchard business is in common trade goods. In reality, Burchard is an enforcer in the local thieves’ guild, and a man feared in the underground (sometimes called Burchard the Butcher). Burchard has ensured the Lucky Leaf is under the thieves’ guild protection, though Bricín is unaware of the arrangement. Burchard often talks to Bricín after his daily deliveries catching up on various families in town. Bricín unknowingly delivers the occasional thieves’ guild messages from Burchard. Burchard is a masterful in social engagements, genuinely interested in anything anyone is willing to share and will engage in conversation if engaged first (he does not want to appear nosey, but Burchard is always listening).
Story Hook: 1) A local spice dealer has been having trouble maintaining his stocks. If the bandits did not attack his delivery wagons, then thieves have broken into his warehouse. He is looking for a team of adventurers to escort the spice delivery safely to his store. It would even be nicer if they could uproot the thieves responsible for stealing his stock. 2) The local church/temple recently was desecrated. Not only were valuable items stolen, but the church/temple was vandalized. The cleric of the church would very much like the stolen items returned. He also worries if a cult of an opposing god is emerging in the community. 3) Spirit animals are said to be roaming the nearby countryside. Are they the wandering summonings of an evil or crazed druid or wizard? Are they the undead spirits of woodland beasts? Or are they some other spectral beast invading this plane? Whatever they are, they are terrifying the locals. The local lord wants the spirit animals purged from the land.
Ha!
A wee smiling killer. I like that.
It'd be quite the surprise to spring on players after a few stays at the Lucky Leaf, especially if they were witness to the leprechaun exchange one or two times between adventures.
Nicely done.
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