My players want to buy an Inn.

[White Wizard]

I wasn't sure whether here or the general discussion area would be better for this but here it goes.

My players in the current campaign I am running (Shackled City converted over to Golarion) want to take over the Lucky Monkey Inn. As the owner has been slayed and most of the workers I am sure this is going to take some work. My players have never been much in to the roleplaying side of RPGs mostly sticking to 90% Rollplaying so I welcome their recent enthusiasm to explore the other parts of DnD. The issue is I have never had a chance to DM something like this so I am here for advice.

I would love this to be some type of quick book keeping game within a game. I want this to be fun and also payoff for them to encourage them to continue exploring the other parts of DnD.

I was thinking there could be a system which involved die rolls to determine how business for the day/week/month went. Any suggestions?

I also welcome any other ideas that might be out there to encourage further roleplaying that I can take from this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[IronWolf]

I *think* the 3.5 DMGII has rules on running a business you could look at? Not near my books at the moment so I can't verify the rules are in there.

As you mentioned, I would definitely tend towards letting the players have fun with it. Just enough management details to add that additional dimension to the game without going down to a detailed level of book keeping that burdens the game with monotonous book keeping.

 

[Crothian]

I wish more of my players would do something like this. DMG 2 has very good rules for this.

 

[White Wizard]

Ok thanks for the suggestion. The dmg2 is not a book I own but I will look into it.

 

[Anton85]

The DMG II had rules for this. How they good they are is a matter of opinion. Just saying........

 

[IronWolf]

I took a brief look at them earlier today when I was near my books. They seemed pretty decent to me. Enough to give one the trials and tribulations of owning a business without weighing down the campaign with undo bookkeeping. Certainly a starting point I think.

 

[Gilladian]

The best part of it all is that owning the inn can lead to all kinds of adventures; what do you do with the guest who dies in bed one night? What do you do with a pregnant, unwed barmaid? Or the horrid things that are going bump in the basement?

 

[Sigurd]

The pdf you want is

The Taverner's Trusty Tome

It is exactly about running an alcohol making or selling establishment. It has simple rules for if you make a profit and what it costs for most things.

The Taverner's Trusty Tome - Dark Quest Games | EN World PDF Store

Its not expensive.

 

[White Wizard]

Great! I will check that out. I appreciate all the help guys. I'm sure I'll find something in one of those sources.

 

[Hand of Evil]

My players do this all the time as part of their "Adventuring Guild and Bank" and gives them a number of city plots to work with. It is a base for them, they still go off an adventure but use it as a their home office.

Here are some examples:

• Dealing with the local mob - is it a fair mob, payments weekly and use of the tavern or demand a take as they see fit.
• Dealing with corrupt tax men - you just can't kill him...well you could but...
• Finding a cook and a brew master - create a few NPCs with personality issues for the staff and let the players pick from them - its fun to see who gets hired.
• Helping an employee - you got a good employee and now they need help with something like old employer or something darker.
• Getting a seat on the City Council - once you start the tavern and adventures are good it is a way to be a mover and shaker.
• What to do with the body in your bathroom - is is going to happen, what will happen to the tavern if a body is found, does the city close you down for a couple of days, do you care, do you dump the body somewhere else?

As the The Taverner's Trusty Tome as already been link, nothing much to add but you may want to watch a couple of Gordon Ramsey show on BBC, as it can give you ideas for your players to deal with.