You All Meet at an Inn...

jason taylor · 07-21-2021, 06:30 PM

What is the Inn like and what do you do?

My Inn is an idealized colonial inn by the sea. There is a stage road running past and a rugged headland with water churning and a lighthouse outside.

There is a roaring fire and a musket over the fireplace. There is a bookcase containing a gigantic library and an affectionate cat and a golden lab who are both fond of the guests. Tableware hangs from the ceiling. There is a giant harpsichord and a grandfather clock both apparently imported from the Old Country. Something about the clock does not appear right.

The dinner meal includes oysters (served anyway you want). Chowders (ditto), and fish of any kinds as well as game, meat, and fruit. Desert includes apple pie and Boston Cream. And as much ice cream as you want. There is a copious amount of punch and flip. Breakfast includes bacon, sausage, and hashbrowns, and of course pancakes and waffles with maple syrup. For drink there is cider and coffee. The tables are covered in red and white table checkered cloth. The food and drink somehow is always fresh and never runs out and prepared with the greatest of skill. Mysteriously all crumbs and stains disappear from the tablecloths. Equally mysteriously though the food is certainly not diet food no one gains weight except apparently the host. Despite the punch and the flip no one gets more than pleasantly tipsy.

Something about the guests seems familiar. Yet not. As if you had seen some of them in ancient portraits or statues. Some are unrecognizable and some do not even seem human.

For this Inn is a resting place between parallel universes or time streams or however someone-or-other calls it. You do not know where it is, you only come by invitation. Some come because the Manager just wants to chat. Others come because the Manager has a quest for them. What he wants with you you don't know...
__________________________________________________ __
Make your own idea. It can be a Bogy-and-Bacall noir tavern, a rich mansion where there is a murder. An adventurers club. A spy safehouse. Whatever.

sgtcallistan · 07-22-2021, 05:52 AM

The Inn in our Specularum ADnD game was owned by two of the adventurers, husband and wife, probably derived from the Dragonlance novels.

The adventurers 'the Hole in the Head Gang' were a sprawling group with rooms there, and all the staff were friends, relatives and released captives with nowhere to go, so they are employed and have residence there until they wish to move on.

It actually functioned as an intelligence-gathering locale for the noble of the town, where we found out about and did something about problems with some aid and funding, as well as being an adventure generator in it's own right.

It eventually expanded to have stables, a yard large enough for a caravan to park safely, and regular deliveries from merchants and farmers as an importer for the town.

sgtcallistan · 07-22-2021, 06:00 AM

Not really an Inn, but the King's Hostel on the Isle of Cliffs is a place where ship's crews can live on hospitality for a while until they enter another ship's crew, gain employment building boats and ships, or settle down to farm or manage the woodlands.

It acts as it's own adventure generator, as all the myths, tales and news pass through here from places far abroad.

Nearby is a warrior's hall where the same is true for fianna or young warriors looking to sign onto a crew or expedition.

Next to that is a 'speckled hall' where storage and trading in armour, weapons, valuables, everything except foodstuffs and money is done.

The King's Hall is particularly for the King's guests, embassies or entertainers recommended up from the other halls.

As it's own flavour in Celtic Myth / Viking, it's been amzingly colourful and constantly surprising, with even foreigners writing books about us, and trying to find out how strong we are.

The Colonel · 07-22-2021, 06:24 AM

Now you're making me think of miscegenating the Keep on The Borderlands and New Pavis, to create a sort of private enterprise adventurer depot dedicated to the looting of a precursor site.

Apollonian · 07-22-2021, 09:18 AM

The inn for my most recent campaign was the anchor of a tiny village in a post-apocalyptic fantasy wasteland (the campaign pitch was "D&D + Fallout), and is unbeknownst to the PCs an outpost of a secret cabal that hopes to reverse the apocalypse. Thus, it's more of a compound than a single building, and since the campaign is more-or-less Dungeon Fantasy, serves as Town.

Varyon · 07-22-2021, 10:58 AM

I'm usually more inclined to have all the characters already know each other (and any character who joins later - as a replacement, due to a new player joining, etc - have some previously-undeclared relationship to an existing character), but for a "You All Meet at an Inn" type of campaign, I'd probably go with one of two options. The first would be to have the "Inn" essentially be the guild hall for some flavor of Adventurer's Guild, offering quests (and rewards) in addition to more typical services. There'd be a hall (possibly a branch of a larger guild, possibly an independent one) in most major towns, and possibly a small bureau or similar in villages (and pop-up shantytowns) near a dungeon.

The second would be a neutral pocket dimension that could be reached from nearly anywhere (probably not from dimensions other than the one the PC's are in, however) and that would largely serve as a readily accessible "Town" for the characters. Getting there wouldn't be something doable in an emergency, primarily as a game-balance factor (no, you can't run away from battle by popping into the inn), but likely justified by a combination of it taking a while to open the gateway and gateways only being possible to open in relatively safe environments (due to the presence of some sort of miasma/hostile interference in dangerous areas, being sufficiently obvious you're virtually guaranteed to be attacked before the portal opens, or simply because the proprietor doesn't want you bringing a bunch of unruly hostile creatures behind you, thank-you-very-much). Leaving would generally put you right back where you started, although there would probably be methods to "attune" someone to another person so they return to the same place (to allow for new party members to come with you once hired, instead of needing to meet up out in the normal world). The proprietor would most likely be of a "Normally Evil" clade (probably some flavor of demon/devil) who determined he/she could get filthy rich off of not acting like a moustache-twirling villain*; the location would have some sort of method of enforcing neutrality, probably something akin to a magical compulsion against hostile action reinforced with wards against more subtle schemes, but possibly just a staff (and regulars) who you really don't want to get on the bad side of.

*Bonus option: the inn started as part of some Evil plan that was abandoned in favor of keeping the inn going. The proprietor may or may not be consciously aware of the fact he/she has abandoned the plan.

Apollonian · 07-22-2021, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Varyon

The proprietor would most likely be of a "Normally Evil" clade (probably some flavor of demon/devil) who determined he/she could get filthy rich off of not acting like a moustache-twirling villain*; the location would have some sort of method of enforcing neutrality, probably something akin to a magical compulsion against hostile action reinforced with wards against more subtle schemes, but possibly just a staff (and regulars) who you really don't want to get on the bad side of.

Devil/angel odd couple, as if Crawley and Aziriphale teamed up to run a quaint bed & breakfast, perhaps?

Varyon · 07-22-2021, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apollonian

Devil/angel odd couple, as if Crawley and Aziriphale teamed up to run a quaint bed & breakfast, perhaps?

I would generally have zero issues with this. I typically prefer to interpret angels/celestials/etc as taking a more "hands-off" approach to mortals, while demons/infernals/etc are bigger on interfering, which is why I'd be inclined to have the latter as the proprietor, but given the proprietor is an atypical example (going for neutrality), having a partner (business and possibly romantic) who is similarly atypical (not having an issue with this sort of interference) is well within reason.

L.J.Steele · 07-22-2021, 03:58 PM

A little place on Route 25A in Suffolk County, Long Island, NY. It is marked by a single sign and is set back from the road far enough to be easily missed. Bar, piano, stay for Punday Nights and Tall Tale Tuesdays.

sgtcallistan · 07-23-2021, 05:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.J.Steele

A little place on Route 25A in Suffolk County, Long Island, NY. It is marked by a single sign and is set back from the road far enough to be easily missed. Bar, piano, stay for Punday Nights and Tall Tale Tuesdays.

Like this a lot!

Would work well in the UK, at almost any time, as well.

You can always tell the personalities of the patrons of a pub by how they run Quiz Night...

07-21-2021, 06:30 PM	#1
jason taylor Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Portland, Oregon	You All Meet at an Inn... What is the Inn like and what do you do? My Inn is an idealized colonial inn by the sea. There is a stage road running past and a rugged headland with water churning and a lighthouse outside. There is a roaring fire and a musket over the fireplace. There is a bookcase containing a gigantic library and an affectionate cat and a golden lab who are both fond of the guests. Tableware hangs from the ceiling. There is a giant harpsichord and a grandfather clock both apparently imported from the Old Country. Something about the clock does not appear right. The dinner meal includes oysters (served anyway you want). Chowders (ditto), and fish of any kinds as well as game, meat, and fruit. Desert includes apple pie and Boston Cream. And as much ice cream as you want. There is a copious amount of punch and flip. Breakfast includes bacon, sausage, and hashbrowns, and of course pancakes and waffles with maple syrup. For drink there is cider and coffee. The tables are covered in red and white table checkered cloth. The food and drink somehow is always fresh and never runs out and prepared with the greatest of skill. Mysteriously all crumbs and stains disappear from the tablecloths. Equally mysteriously though the food is certainly not diet food no one gains weight except apparently the host. Despite the punch and the flip no one gets more than pleasantly tipsy. Something about the guests seems familiar. Yet not. As if you had seen some of them in ancient portraits or statues. Some are unrecognizable and some do not even seem human. For this Inn is a resting place between parallel universes or time streams or however someone-or-other calls it. You do not know where it is, you only come by invitation. Some come because the Manager just wants to chat. Others come because the Manager has a quest for them. What he wants with you you don't know... __________________________________________________ __ Make your own idea. It can be a Bogy-and-Bacall noir tavern, a rich mansion where there is a murder. An adventurers club. A spy safehouse. Whatever. __________________ "The navy could probably win a war without coffee but would prefer not to try"-Samuel Eliot Morrison Last edited by jason taylor; 07-26-2021 at 09:30 AM.

07-22-2021, 05:52 AM	#2
sgtcallistan Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Chatham, Kent, England	Re: You All Meet at an Inn... The Inn in our Specularum ADnD game was owned by two of the adventurers, husband and wife, probably derived from the Dragonlance novels. The adventurers 'the Hole in the Head Gang' were a sprawling group with rooms there, and all the staff were friends, relatives and released captives with nowhere to go, so they are employed and have residence there until they wish to move on. It actually functioned as an intelligence-gathering locale for the noble of the town, where we found out about and did something about problems with some aid and funding, as well as being an adventure generator in it's own right. It eventually expanded to have stables, a yard large enough for a caravan to park safely, and regular deliveries from merchants and farmers as an importer for the town.

07-22-2021, 06:00 AM	#3
sgtcallistan Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Chatham, Kent, England	Re: You All Meet at an Inn... Not really an Inn, but the King's Hostel on the Isle of Cliffs is a place where ship's crews can live on hospitality for a while until they enter another ship's crew, gain employment building boats and ships, or settle down to farm or manage the woodlands. It acts as it's own adventure generator, as all the myths, tales and news pass through here from places far abroad. Nearby is a warrior's hall where the same is true for fianna or young warriors looking to sign onto a crew or expedition. Next to that is a 'speckled hall' where storage and trading in armour, weapons, valuables, everything except foodstuffs and money is done. The King's Hall is particularly for the King's guests, embassies or entertainers recommended up from the other halls. As it's own flavour in Celtic Myth / Viking, it's been amzingly colourful and constantly surprising, with even foreigners writing books about us, and trying to find out how strong we are.

07-22-2021, 06:24 AM	#4
The Colonel Join Date: Jul 2006	Re: You All Meet at an Inn... Now you're making me think of miscegenating the Keep on The Borderlands and New Pavis, to create a sort of private enterprise adventurer depot dedicated to the looting of a precursor site.

07-22-2021, 09:18 AM	#5
Apollonian Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Shoreline, WA (north of Seattle)	Re: You All Meet at an Inn... The inn for my most recent campaign was the anchor of a tiny village in a post-apocalyptic fantasy wasteland (the campaign pitch was "D&D + Fallout), and is unbeknownst to the PCs an outpost of a secret cabal that hopes to reverse the apocalypse. Thus, it's more of a compound than a single building, and since the campaign is more-or-less Dungeon Fantasy, serves as Town.

07-22-2021, 10:58 AM	#6
Varyon Join Date: Jun 2013	Re: You All Meet at an Inn... I'm usually more inclined to have all the characters already know each other (and any character who joins later - as a replacement, due to a new player joining, etc - have some previously-undeclared relationship to an existing character), but for a "You All Meet at an Inn" type of campaign, I'd probably go with one of two options. The first would be to have the "Inn" essentially be the guild hall for some flavor of Adventurer's Guild, offering quests (and rewards) in addition to more typical services. There'd be a hall (possibly a branch of a larger guild, possibly an independent one) in most major towns, and possibly a small bureau or similar in villages (and pop-up shantytowns) near a dungeon. The second would be a neutral pocket dimension that could be reached from nearly anywhere (probably not from dimensions other than the one the PC's are in, however) and that would largely serve as a readily accessible "Town" for the characters. Getting there wouldn't be something doable in an emergency, primarily as a game-balance factor (no, you can't run away from battle by popping into the inn), but likely justified by a combination of it taking a while to open the gateway and gateways only being possible to open in relatively safe environments (due to the presence of some sort of miasma/hostile interference in dangerous areas, being sufficiently obvious you're virtually guaranteed to be attacked before the portal opens, or simply because the proprietor doesn't want you bringing a bunch of unruly hostile creatures behind you, thank-you-very-much). Leaving would generally put you right back where you started, although there would probably be methods to "attune" someone to another person so they return to the same place (to allow for new party members to come with you once hired, instead of needing to meet up out in the normal world). The proprietor would most likely be of a "Normally Evil" clade (probably some flavor of demon/devil) who determined he/she could get filthy rich off of not acting like a moustache-twirling villain; the location would have some sort of method of enforcing neutrality, probably something akin to a magical compulsion against hostile action reinforced with wards against more subtle schemes, but possibly just a staff (and regulars) who you really* don't want to get on the bad side of. Bonus option: the inn started* as part of some Evil plan that was abandoned in favor of keeping the inn going. The proprietor may or may not be consciously aware of the fact he/she has abandoned the plan. __________________ GURPS Overhaul

07-22-2021, 03:58 PM	#9
L.J.Steele Join Date: Apr 2005	Re: You All Meet at an Inn... A little place on Route 25A in Suffolk County, Long Island, NY. It is marked by a single sign and is set back from the road far enough to be easily missed. Bar, piano, stay for Punday Nights and Tall Tale Tuesdays.