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ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Messageboard Golem" data-source="post: 2010652" data-attributes="member: 18387">When I first heard about The Taverner's Trusty Tome, I was a bit bemused.  I mean, who would want an entire sourcebook about getting drunk in-game?It wasn't long, though, before I saw the fun side of it.  This is not a 'necessary' book, but then is a new book of monsters or a bunch of new spells necessary?  This book is one of those unusual books which actually manage to be a bit different from all the others. The way this book manages to be different, of course, is in its subject matter.  It is a book all about alcohol in the d20 game.  This is a subject which comes up often in my games, and usually I have to wing it, saying something like "Err...yeah, make a CON check... yeah, you're drunk." OK, so maybe we don't need any more detail than that.  But it is cool having clear rules for intoxication, the different levels of intoxication and rules for hangovers and sobering up. I tried the rules out the first day I got this book, and we all had a great deal of fun.  The rules seem to work and are pretty easy to understand.Of course, a 60 page book can't all be about rules for getting drunk.  This book contains quite a bit more than that.  It has a large selection of drinks, including their strength, descriptions, origins, side-effects, price, DC to brew and so on.  The drinks include normal beers, wines, and so on, as well as some fantasy-based drinks with unusual or magical side-effects (I guess, in a way, they're minor potions - just not entirely beneficial!)  It is very useful having such a selection with which to populate your bar or tavern, and can certainly add to the atmosphere when describing a location.  Some of the 'normal' examples include ale, mead, cider, brandy etc., and some of the 'fantasy' examples include Fat Cat Tonic and Ghoulbane Wine.You also get rules and guidelines on running a tavern in the game.  I'm not so sure I would find a use for that, although I did have a character in one game who owned a small shop, so I can imagine these rules being used on occasion.  What this section does do, though, is categorize inns and taverns on two scales - size and quality.  The size scale goes from Small to Grand, and the quality scale from Poor to Good.  This creates numerous combinations, with entries for each combination, so you can get details of a small good tavern or a large poor inn. One of my favorite parts of the book is the section on bar personalities.  Basically, you get a whole bunch of archetypical drunken types, with descriptions and statistics.  I really did have fun using that section of the book! Here are some examples: Bragger, Drunken Daredevil, Happy Drunk, Lecherous Lush.  There are a whole bunch of these and they all look like fun additions to your average tavern scene.Another great section is the chapter on bar staff, which includes a whole slew of NPC types to poulate an estabishment, from bartenders, bouncers and cooks to entertainers, scullery maids and tavern boors.  The PDF is very attractive to look out.  The layout is clear and elegant, and the art is fairly good, making for a pleasant read.  There is extensive use of hyperlinking, as I found out by accident when clicking on an item on the contents page and instantly being transported to the relevant place in the book - I always appreciate it when PDF designers make use of the hyperlinking feature.  Also, when you buy the book you get two PDFS - one is the colorful, pretty screen version, and the other is the toned down version designed to save printing costs. All in all, this book is very much worth dropping a few bucks on.  You might not use it immediately or often, but there will come a time when you find yorself glad to have it!  Plus, it is fun to read!</blockquote>

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