1001 Instant Inns
No more virtually indistinguishable inns and tavern; with 1001 Instant Inns to choose from¸ you'll be ready with a new and different inn any time the adventurers zig when you expected them to zag and decided to stay in a town that you only have half a page of notes for.
1001 Instant Inns
The adventurers have spent a long and harrowing week on the road. They had left the kingdom of Modgnik in considerable haste after what Jarmak claimed was a simple misunderstanding¸ but which seemed to have somehow involved a spell that still made Kalthras itch every time it rained¸ three hunting hounds that seemed to be mostly noses and teeth¸ and a squad of the Modgnik Royal Guard. The adventurers were as exhausted as their horses as they rode into a small town just over the border of Emoh¸ barely making it before the town gates were closed for the night.
The party leader addressed the town guardsman who had just swung the gates shut.
Party Leader: Where would we find a good inn?
Guardsman: Ye'll be wanting th' Leaping Fox. Can't miss it¸ on yer right just before ye get to th' town square.
The party leader gave him their thanks and a silver farthing¸ and they set out for the Leaping Fox inn¸ their minds filled with visions of peace¸ comfort¸ and especially rest.
FM: The Leaping Fox is mostly well-lit¸ with space for several dozen people¸ now about half-full. Raucous laughter coming through a door indicates a private back room¸ and open stairs lead up to lodging on the second floor. The crowd seems a bit on the shabby side. The prices chalked on the menu slate are definitely on the high side. On the end of the room opposite the bar¸ a harpist was tuning up. The bartender is a swarthy¸ grim man who seems to be looking over his shoulder all the time.
Bartender: So what'll ye have?
GM: You get the feeling that you're being watched....
Welcome to the "1001 Things" collections
Inns¸ taverns¸ roadhouses¸ and similar establishments are an almost universal trope of fantasy RPGs. But all too often¸ they're barely more interesting -- or varied -- than McDonald's. Here are 1001 solutions to that problem. The descriptions touch on the appearance¸ the type of clientele¸ the events taking place¸ and even the innkeeper's personal problems. The GM can use these for a simple quick description of where the group stops for the night¸ pick some element as a springboard for an adventure¸ or anything in between.
Naturally¸ things like whatever is bothering the innkeeper¸ from troubles with an overdue tax bill to a hunted criminal hiding in the cellar¸ are natural adventure seeds. So are the strangers lurking in corners¸ the people trying to sell treasure maps or birds in cages¸ and that guy who ran out the back when the town guard came in the front. That person griping about one their business partner is an adventure hook¸ and so is the one muttering about the nobility.
Explanations for seemingly incompatible elements can lead to intriguing situations. For example¸ a tavern with an apparently lower-class clientele but high prices: How can they afford to pay? Are they really paying those prices¸ or are they posted just to keep outsiders away? Who are those patrons¸ anyway? The local thieves' guild? Subversives plotting against the King? Just ordinary townsfolk who want to keep the adventurers and riff-raff out?
Even the general details are possible links to adventures if the GM desires. What clues are there in the ballads being sung by that singer¸ or in the terrible poetry that poet seems to be so proud of? Where did the monster heads hanging on the walls come from? Perhaps the place gives free drinks for a year to anyone who brings in a stuffed monster