Adventurers spend a lot of time at the inn. In my new game, I plan on the village they are in being a regular base of operations. I want the inn to be memorable, someplace they *want* to go. So I put in some interesting characters that they'll actually *want* to go and talk to. But I want more! What kind of characters do you populate your taverns with? Cliches are fine, as long as they are interesting cliches.
The Old Timers I pretty much ripped this off the Four Yorkshiremen skit from monty python. Three or four old regulars who talk about how much better everything was and how much harder they had it back in their day. They may know a thing or two about the local area, but are likely to fill it with lies and exaggerations. Some examples -
"Back in my day adventurers didn't go around in that fancy banded mail! We were tough! Best we could manage was a set of studded leather."
"Oh we never had studs. Just a couple of pieces of cow leather stitched together was the best we could manage."
"An old cloak wrapped around was all we needed in my day. And we were glad to have it!"
When they asked about the leader of the orc tribe, they got this
Old Timer: "Oh he's ten feet tall! Mean as the day is long! He can rip a man in half with his bare hands. And that's not the worst of it!"
PC: "Not the worst! What's worse than being ripped in half!"
Old Timer: "Oh you don't even want to know!"
The players got a real kick out of it. One of them let his friends do all the preparation for their expedition, because he wanted to hear all the old mens' stories.
The Pessimistic Bartender: I'm not exactly sure where this guy came from, but he was fun as well. He was smiling and agreeable, but at the same time said the most pessimistic, depressing things. Its like he tries to put on a front of cheerfulness but it all comes across negative. When they said they were going to go after the orcs, he cheerfully replied "Well! Isn't that just perfect! You can charge your way right into their dark cave of death, and after they eat you alive they'll burn our village down for resisting them! So remember, all our lives are in your hands. No pressure though! A drink! Sure! No reason not to be liqoured up when you're going off to face certain death!"
What else do you got, ENWorld?
The Old Timers I pretty much ripped this off the Four Yorkshiremen skit from monty python. Three or four old regulars who talk about how much better everything was and how much harder they had it back in their day. They may know a thing or two about the local area, but are likely to fill it with lies and exaggerations. Some examples -
"Back in my day adventurers didn't go around in that fancy banded mail! We were tough! Best we could manage was a set of studded leather."
"Oh we never had studs. Just a couple of pieces of cow leather stitched together was the best we could manage."
"An old cloak wrapped around was all we needed in my day. And we were glad to have it!"
When they asked about the leader of the orc tribe, they got this
Old Timer: "Oh he's ten feet tall! Mean as the day is long! He can rip a man in half with his bare hands. And that's not the worst of it!"
PC: "Not the worst! What's worse than being ripped in half!"
Old Timer: "Oh you don't even want to know!"
The players got a real kick out of it. One of them let his friends do all the preparation for their expedition, because he wanted to hear all the old mens' stories.
The Pessimistic Bartender: I'm not exactly sure where this guy came from, but he was fun as well. He was smiling and agreeable, but at the same time said the most pessimistic, depressing things. Its like he tries to put on a front of cheerfulness but it all comes across negative. When they said they were going to go after the orcs, he cheerfully replied "Well! Isn't that just perfect! You can charge your way right into their dark cave of death, and after they eat you alive they'll burn our village down for resisting them! So remember, all our lives are in your hands. No pressure though! A drink! Sure! No reason not to be liqoured up when you're going off to face certain death!"
What else do you got, ENWorld?
