Creating Interesting and Fun Taverns!!

[SHARK]

The Necromantic Tavern. The place is run by a retired necromancer, and all the servitors are undead. Always open.

Surprisingly, no one ever visits...

Greetings!

*LAUGHING*

That's cool!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[Ace]

Mary's Place is the generic adventure tavern IMC. Its run by a retired adventurer named Mary who has been there for many many many years seemingly unchanged.

I also have along list of Tavern names if I want them.

Taverns do not serve the same central role they did in real life mainly because water is safe to drink and carries well.

Also 2/3 of the central cultures either are abstemious , Nomadic or prefer Tea or other intoxicants (K'desh or Q'et or Coffee) . Also a very LAWFUL culture that harshly punishes public drunkenness is spreading .While they have taverns there they are tightly regulated by religious authorities.

Distillation does exist however -- Ushe, Whiskey basically, is popular and is big enough among Dwarves that some call it Dwarven Spirits.

Other types of certainly exist although Celana, Elf wine is a myth.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Also, I would go to the Necromantic Tavern. Might get more business if you played down the Nec part and played up the Romantic. Just, disguise your wait staff well.

I've got a bar called The Gray Spider in my game world. It's frequented by necromancers and those who work with them - graverobbers, ethically challenged fighters, etc. Its situated on a bridge that gives excellent access to the sea (for quick escapes) and is run by an elderly lady who keeps it in tip-top shape. She is the widow of a necromancer who was executed for the usual sort of crimes, and was given the money to open the place by the necromancers that he took the fall for. All the waitresses are goth chicks.

 

[tzor]

The PCs walk in and see a stereotypical tavern except for one thing: The ceiling is 15 feet high and all sorts of weapons are embedded in the ceiling.

Memorytown tavern in Mount Pocono, PA; only it wasn't weapons on the ceiling, but nasty looking farm implements. "The tavern’s name is reflected in the décor: tons of antiques plastered to the rustic, wood-paneled walls. Everything from a cast-iron stove, a boat, a birdcage and fire tools hang from the ceiling." The beer menu was several pages and literally spanned the globe.

If you want to know how to make a lasting impression on a fantasy tavern you need to know what makes a lasting impression on the taverns you might have encountered. (Of course if you are too young to have encountered a tavern ... that could be a problem.)

Taverns tend to come in two types, the fancy taverns with the ornate bars made of the finest woods and the cheap taverns where they throw peanut shells or sawdust on the floor to absorb the spilled drinks (and blood). On the former one tends to appreciate the New York City style which has most of the space occupied by the extremely expensive bar with the fancy mirror behind it making the space all the more larger.

The beer is so so, the glasses are small, (don't worry they serve you two at a time) and the food to accompany the beer is crackers and cheese, but you can't beat McSorley's for a good example of an old tavern in Manhatten.

As for the latter, there are a plethora of good examples in Key West Florida, from the Hog's Breath Saloon to Sloppy Joes. Each one has their own unique draw, espeically when they are so close together as in the case of Key West.

 

[Phlebas]

Guess i'm spoilt in that i'm used to drinking in pubs like 'The trip to jerusalem', (founded 1189, in the cliff under nottingham castle)

Actually, so have all my players so when it comes to flavour, saying its wooden / medieval is ok but to make it 'fantastical' takes a bit of work

 

[GlassJaw]

I always thought that in the 2E Volo's Guides they did a great job of detailing a lot of stand-out inns and taverns (as well as shops, homes and other things).

HUGE +1

The Volo books were great.

I would also check out books like Freeport, the City Quarter books, or some of the Iron Kingdoms books, especially Five Fingers. Some of the most memorable inns are the ones that a unique quality, NPC, adventure hook, etc.

My new DM'ing mantra is "create a secret for everything" from the Dungeoncraft series. Apply that to your inns and taverns as well.

 

[Ry]

Want to make a good tavern? Make a couple of TRAPs in it. No, not traps; Threats, Rewards, Assets, and Problems.

Threat: A foreign alchemist has been treated badly by the locals, and after being swindled is filled with rage. He carries a bottle of enchanted oil which can conjure a fire elemental in the fireplace of the inn.

Reward: The innkeeper's private stash includes two 100gp bottles of Earthlove, potent (DC 20 Will save 1d3 int (min 3) 1d8 wis (min 1)) ales from a dwarven brewery that was destroyed by unknown forces over two hundred years ago. These could be given or shared with the party but only if the PCs win the normally dour man's trust and he wishes to celebrate.

Asset: There is one room at the inn where you can clearly hear people talking in the darkest corner of the common room.

Problem: Two men whisper to each other, clearly engaged in some kind of heated argument in the darkest corner of the common room. In truth, they plan to kill a certain foreign alchemist, fearing (incorrectly) that he will turn them over to the local authorities.