The Book of Taverns

[Messageboard Golem]

The Book of Taverns, a 100+ page supplement is a fantastic tool for DM's everywhere. Published by Necromancer games, its outlines 10 taverns which can be planted into any adventure, or merely to provide an opportunity for roleplaying.

Each tavern has it's own history, preceding the maps as well as a collection of NPC's to enhace the experience. While this piece of work is mapped out well, including menus and prices (eliminating the 2 Gp meal and 1 Sp drink many players contend with) there are the odd spelling mistake. I sometimes mispell my name, so I forgive this fault in any product I pick up.

The taverns have their own flavour, many painting a picture that parties can easily contend with even going so far as to describe the background of the inn.

Notable NPC's are provided with statistics, making recurring watering holes a possibility as well as developing a home base of sorts.

Personal favorites are: The Witches Teat - Home of the Pit Fight. Always the opportunity for those players who have almost levelled, but do not want to contend with another adventure right away.
The Dagger and the Rose - The propritor can provide employment for warriors and others who have certain skills. A perfect place for new parties to begin their campaigning adventures.

Many of the other Inns cater more to the flamboyant DM or players who crave role playing than the hack and slash routine some campaigns take on. Overall I would rate this gaming tool as 4.5 swords out of 5.

 

[King of the Centaurs]

Have you ever needed a tavern in a new town but didn't have the time to prepare one? Tired of trying to come up with new ideas for a tavern only to find out that all your efforts appear to be something that you have DMed for your players before? Are your players feeling ho-hum and take the local tavern for granted as a place of sanctity and refuge? Do you players have a stereotypical out-look towards all tavern/inns and their patrons?

Well fret no more. The Book of Taverns is an answer to a DM's prayers. I have had busy weeks where I barely found time to prepare the module never mind the local tavern. I'm sure we all have. Well let me tell you, that when I purchased The Book of Taverns, I was pleasantly surprised. The 10 taverns/inns published in this book cover your every need. I have play-tested only one tavern so far, but it was a huge success and is now a staple in our campaigning world. The Witches Teat was very easy to implement into our previous existing 5+ year campaign and was able to answer all of my questions above.

I was beginning to run out of ideas for taverns & inns. For ease, they began to slowly all take the same shape. Now that doesn't neccessarily mean the same shape of building, but the same type of menu, the same class of society were it's patrons, the same amount of legal & illegal activities were available. I was burnt out in this concern. The Book of Taverns provides interesting NPCs and background. Interesting enough that you can run whole campaigns from one tavern or just use it as a common local to which the players can find information and adventure hooks. I particularily like the way that there is a tavern to suit each different character's needs. You have a paladin that wants to be with higher society, a rogue that dabbles in information & mischief, or a wizard that enjoys a little hand-to-hand when he's had too much to drink, the role-playing (and roll-playing) options are endless.

Not every place in this book is the safest for the players and not every one is a death trap full of villians wanting to slaughter and steal from the PCs. The nicest thing is, that those options are available to you as the DM, to decide in each local. It's up to you, yet you don't have to do all the work.

I found the art to be well done and I particulary like the menu/services offered at the end of each locatoin. I think the softcover is a good idea, as it makes it easy to photocopy maps and menus for easy reference in the midst of gameplay. I also feel that the price for the value was hard to beat. (I won't give the price as I am in Canada and it won't be consistent with all readers.

I commend Necromancer Games for this inovative product and look forward to future DM Tools from them.

Thank you.

Patrick Goulah
King of the Centaurs

(I have no affiliation to any RPG company, and am just a customer like you.)

 

[Messageboard Golem]

The Book of Taverns
Necromancer Games

So I'm a lazy DM, got a job, getting married, living life. I buy game material mostly to fill in "holes" in my existing array of tools, so I don't always have to be on top of my creative game, and can use the well thought material of others. I was thinking to myself about how all my taverns are quite boring. Smoky, dirty, cloaked figures everywhere, and I could see I was in a rut. I look around, read some reviews on EnWorld, and see this Book of Taverns is well regarded. I make a mental note, and off I go.

While shopping my FLGS, I spy the Book of Taverns, and decide to pick it up. Now, when I buy a product, my normal habit is to skim through it, looking for chapters or bits that interest me and I focus on just those. With the Book of Taverns, I read this beauty COVER to COVER. Every tavern desciption was like reading a great story, and my creativity was sparked to new heights as I started to devise places to throw these taverns into.

Everything was fully statted, and well described, and had maps to go along. Don't like the story? Great, throw all that out and you still have a tavern, with a map, and fully fleshed out staff. A wide selection of styles for taverns were chosen, from Greco-Roman inspired fantasy to underground "better bring a knife along" sin dens.

I have to say my favorite is the tavern where a gate occasionally sends something unpleasant through into the tavern, and it has turned into a local attraction. I'd love to have my players drinking ale when a Balor gets through, and send them running to figure out how to kill it without destroying the tavern and everyone in it. Nothing but fun.

In closing, the Book of Taverns was very useful for me, very well done, and a book I would recommend to all GM's to help throw a little variety into the old "You walk into a dark, smoky tavern."

Shawn (Kaji)