So you're all sitting in a tavern and ...

[Turanil]

... you notice there is a bug in your drink.
... the bartender tells you he doesn't accept elves in this place.
... a drunkard spills his ale on your clothes.
... a drunkard misses the barmaid's ass and slaps yours instead.
... you notice the wine is thinned with water.
... you notice there is an eye in your soup.


Well, well, well. Could you help me all? I would like to make a short document titled "Tavern's 101" with 101 entrie like that. So, please I am waiting for your contributions. Thanks.

 

[ElvishBard]

Originally Posted by Olgar Shiverstone
What do you think is the source of the "you're all sitting in a tavern" plot hook?

My guess would either be DragonLance Novels or more possibly Canterbury Tales.

 

[maddman75]

...and everyone there is a mysterious looking man sitting in a corner or against the wall with his cloak pulled down low.

...and a stranger approached and tells the PCs of a nearby dungeon full of riches. He'll give them the map if they promise to bring back a certain item. (Truthfully the dungeon is a deathtrap, and he's trying to get all the adventurers out of town so his mercenaries can take over)

...a horde of goblins rush into the village attacking everything in sight.

I've used all of these to great effect. The first one really sticks in the craw of 'love wolf' type players.

 

[AelyaShade]

So you're all sitting in a tavern and ...


...when all of a sudden, a hazy, grey mist envelops the table your party is sitting at, along with the two adjacent tables with their customers as well.
...the lights from the makeshift stage catch your attention, as the tavern wenches begin a saucy song and dance routine.
...a portly man with a handlebar moustache approaches your party's table and asks what business a bunch of seedy looking strangers has in his tavern.


I must admit, before the current campaign I am involved in, I made sure to state quite clearly that I would like to have a more "interesting" start to the campaign rather than the proverbial tavern meet. To accommodate, the DM opened the campaign with "You all wake up in a cold and damp jail cell with a bunch of strangers (the other party members)".

 

[Wraith Form]

Originally Posted by Olgar Shiverstone
What do you think is the source of the "you're all sitting in a tavern" plot hook?

My guess would either be DragonLance Novels

Nah. R E Howard's Conan tales came out far, far before DL....Conie-boy was constantly in bars and taverns. There's likely a precedent far before this.......Canterbury Tales, maybe....or Shakespeare?

From a metagame standpoint, the "tavern hook" is a convenient place to meet due to it's public nature. A marketplace or watering hole or tournement or town meeting (for examples) would also be appropriate, but face it--the dangerous types usually go to bars/taverns, and that's where the action is! .....I always thought the idea of a city with local baths is a great meeting place.....

 

[Remathilis]

I thought the approached at a tavern was a nod to old D&D modules, get the pcs the hook and send them to the dungeon.

... The bartender poisons your drinks. Make a Fort save.

 

[Rabelais]

... you realize that the cute girl you've been flirting with all evening, is neither cute, nor a girl...

 

[Phazeal]

Check out your own local sometime. Middle of the day you might have 15 people in there. There's 3 tables of 2 or 3 blokes, all locals, one old fella sitting in the corner by himself sipping his beer and looking out the window wondering where his life went, and one table of blow-ins talking crap very loudly and they probably don't have ID. The locals are the townsfolk and the blow-ins are the adventurers who have popped in for a beer.

Pubs have been like this for a long time.

Where else would adventurers go? Ever? The library? The swimming pool? It's where everyone goes who doesnt have a job, too. And adventurers who aren't out adventuring are effectively unemployed

P

 

[Narfellus]

. . . your food, which was fine when you began your meal, now tastes like ashes. The wine in your goblet has turned a deep red in color. . .

Good idea. the DM tells all players to make Will Saves the moment they walk in the door, and subsequent saves every few rounds, and/or interactions. Failed saves mean they have succumbed to vampiric illusions to weaken their defenses, strength...

 

[Narfellus]

The tavern setting, which i have used many a time, is a great central area to place strangers, comfort, intrigue, and alcohol all in one room. Additionally, when we were very young, a tavern full of bosomful wenches, cheap beer and hard booze was a foreign concept to little boys, and MORE than a little attractive. I'm much older now, and less moved by such cliched concepts, but i still see where the attraction lies. A bar/tavern/saloon has been used in Westerns in America for a long time; it's a place by default of contrasting personalities, violence, and immenent danger. i.e., perfect for adventures, or at least a springboard...