Session 0.5 - Building the Tavern
Before we know what set the characters on their path, we need to know about the place that inspired them to leave the road and adventuring behind.
Welcome! This is where we are going to collaborate on building our Tavern Sheet. This is an OOC discussion and an excuse to test out the discussion board mechanisms. Here are the condensed instructions from the book;
Location - Do you want to compete with other taverns in a bustling city, or do you want to be a little stop in the wilderness, the only place to stay in a small town? As a group, decide the size and scale of your town or city. Then, each player provides one detail about the city or surrounding area.
Look - What does your tavern look like? Be as general or as specific as you like. What interests you the most about a building? What draws your eye?
Name - Don’t spend too long on this one! Feel free to come back to it if you’re stuck, and remember you can always change it if you come up with a new name during play. You can also come up with a symbol or emblem to go with the name. A chipped-paint sign outside really completes the look.
Right now we are focusing on these broad strokes. Further interior details or improvements come with advancing the story. Discuss, collaborate, support. This is what you know about the Taverns before you first step in as partners in your new (ad)venture.
Out of character
(you do not need to use this section right now, everything in this thread is considered OOC)
To start the discussion: Rizzex only has two requirements for the Tavern.
1) Rizzex would *prefer* we don't end up in a big city, but he's more concerned about staying with the three of you than getting his ideal location. If everyone else would like to set up in a city, that's acceptable. He just doesn't want to lose his friends at this point.
2) Rizzex will insist on building a large portion of the tavern himself. Rizzex would like the tavern to be natural stone and wood, but that's less important if we figure out something he can build himself.
What about an outpost settlement situated on a river delta, island, or valley pass? The kind of place where there is civilization but its on the fringes and quite young as a town?
I like the idea of a town that was destroyed in 'the wars' but is being rebuilt, and the countryside around it reclaimed from the wilderness. A place where two rivers come together would be a good spot for that.
I like using a narrative tool like "The Wars", as long as we are now in a time of peace. Perfect time for heroes to seek a change of pace, new beginnings, etc.
As a reminder; each of us is supposed to submit one narrative detail about our location after we have agreed upon the size and scale of the town/city/settlement we are at. So while we are discussing some of the elements we might like to see, this is all to help each other find a nice agreed-upon 'Location scale'.
I like the idea of setting up basically anywhere. Big city is not preferred, but big city is fine if that's what we settle on. As far as construction, Gavril is willing to help, but he's not a master craftsman or architect, so he'd need help with that. With looks and stuff I'm not picky.
As far as names go, Gavril's tavern in his old universe was "The Wolf's Head Tavern." I like this name a lot, but that's with Gavril as the sole owner and proprietor, so if anyone has a better name than that, we can go with that.
I really like the idea of either a trade hub popping up at a critical point in the frontier or such a town rebuilding after "The Wars". Either way, it seems like people don't really want a big city setting.
I have a question about experiences and stuff: obviously, we're powerful adventurers that are trying to retire. Would using Druidic magic to help source materials to start be a use of that experience immediately, or would that just work for the flavor?
I would say that's a flavor thing to start. From what I am seeing there will be a blatant statement in a mini-game/prompt that an experience will be used to create a Townie event.
OK... Does everyone feel comfortable stating "Growing Trade Hub on the Frontier" as our setting? How we define such a frontier, the political state of rulership, etc can be hashed out as we play. My own take on this is a high fantasy version of a Western Expansion town built on the ruins of some long forgotten civilization on a river junction.
To offer a bit more background; this might be a new continent where no indiginous empire or culture has yet to be encountered, just ruins that have been undisturbed for some time?
I don't know how I feel about the ruins. I think I'm ok being a stop nearby for new adventurers, but I'd think I'd enjoy the setting being a budding frontier trade hub. Of course, there's nothing stopping it from being both.
That sounds good to me. Trade hub on the frontier. Probably about 500-1000 people and growing; that's big enough that we are likely not the only tavern in town. My narrative detail: Many people are setting up farmsteads etc. in the area near town, but the town is also operating as a way station for those heading further upriver.
We should name the town. Is Two Rivers too cliche or probably just right?
I like the idea of there being some form of civilization of some sort, but it doesn't have to be particularly large or even well established. But it can certainly be new, that's totally fine, and I like the idea of being on a river junction in particular as that opens up some avenues, so to speak, for stuff to happen.
The idea of this perhaps being a newly-formed colony of sorts, formed not necessarily by a colonial power, but by disenfranchised individuals seeking a better life from various walks of life and cultures, and turning it into something unique unto itself would be interesting. There would obviously need to be some sort of government established at some point in time (if there isn't already) but it needn't necessarily answer to a higher power, it could be, for all intents and purposes, its own sovereign power, though of course a really small one.
Obviously I'm just spitballing here. I'm not trying to declare anything, yet. A new continent is certainly appealing, and a wild frontier has its appeal to both adventurers and people who are looking to settle down and leave their old lives behind, for certain. I like it.
Also 'ruins' doesn't have to mean 'adventuring site', it could just mean 'pile of squarish blocks of stone that we can pull apart to build our houses'. That's been pretty common in, for instance, European history.
Very true. Also, I misunderstood what Abe meant by existing civilization. I meant as in we'd be establishing a nascent civilization here, not that there would be a civilization on this new continent, necessarily.
As far as town names, Two Rivers is okay, but I'd like something a bit more... I dunno, something slightly better? I like the idea of 'Freehold,' if we're going with a newly-formed settlement from multiple backgrounds and civilizations. 'Two Rivers' is okay, but I also like 'Rivermeet.' Maybe we should have a poll or do some sort of ranked voting on the name of the town? Maybe some more ideas and we choose our top 3?
On the subject of 'ruins': Sam is on point for the idea in my head, and it can flavor stuff outside of the town. No need for it to be grand or epic.
Governance can be left nebulous until it is needed. Maybe it's a small local council, maybe it's a guild that has traveling sheriffs, maybe it's a highly charismatic hamster. Similarly, we don't need to declare if it's a new continent or not, it was just an idea I put out there to see if it grabbed attention.
I'm happy to declare my detail be about the rivers, I'll need a little bit to figure out phrasing.
Setting declared: "Growing Frontier Trade Hub" (tell me if you disagree)
Sam's Detail declared: "Farming and Supplies for traveling adventurers" (refine if you would like, or tell me if you change your mind)
Rivermeet is better than Two Rivers, for sure. Freehold is maybe too generic, like there would be more than one freehold in an area like we are describing. 'The Freehold of Rivermeet'?
I like it, and have no alternatives to offer.
"The Freehold of Rivermeet" or just "Rivermeet" work fine for me. The former could be the official name, the latter just what the people call it.
I'm 100% with Kaz on the name.
We're pretty powerful adventurers, right? I could see us managing to snag a prime piece of real estate on the riverside. I think it would be nice to start off our tavern with a nice patio overlooking the river. Perhaps we got carried away with that to the detriment of the building itself? Or we haven't built the patio yet because you guys kept reminding Rizzex that the building needed to come first. I like that second one better. I'll keep that idea in my back pocket for an improvement later.
I think the detail I'd like to add is our location on the river, near the main docks.
I imagine our equivalent level being somewhere around 10-15, if we're going by standard 20-level 'maximum.' Outliers for certain, but not necessarily the toughest around.
For a moment I want to address the "Powerful Adventurers" question with my own view of my character:
Killian is an experienced adventurer. He most certainly has skills and contacts and knowledge, but I will not be running him on a D&D style measurement of experience by having character levels or spell ranks in the back of my mind. Whatever he did before was his 'wanderlust' days, and he is now seeking what the next phase of life will mean.
But that doesn't mean others need to follow suit with what I think is interesting.
At the very least the assumption should be you were active for years, if not decades, dealing with adventures and crises galore. Likely there were losses, and maybe you only connected with the current group after losing folks you were just as close to (or more). But you survived to a point where you looked around and didn't want to keep seeking out life threatening situations.
If that has made you powerful, that is your choice. It might also have made you wise, a bit broken, traumatized, or with injuries that leave you no other choice. But you survived, and you are strong enough to keep living in a way you can be proud of.
Naturally, I wasn't planning on using the 10-15 range as a hard qualifier or even quantifier of the party's assumed strength or experiences. I was just using it as a quick shorthand. I'm similarly thinking that Gavril is highly experienced, both from his upbringing among the Eisenwulf as well as the traits inherent in being a werewolf, but also just from the constant stressors of the adventuring life.
I do think it would be good if perhaps these four were a 'core group,' and others came and went, or perhaps died in the line of action and duty, and that perhaps one day after a particular loss, it just seemed best to hang things up and settle down while we were still ahead. Perhaps a close call, or something of that sort. While Gavril will be in his 'prime' longer than most humans, 40 is still getting up there in a medieval fantasy world, and his thoughts have largely turned to settling down and potentially starting a family. I definitely think that it would work best if we all had traveled with each other for a long time. Perhaps we don't know each other the best as we could, after all, things are busy when you're adventuring, and you don't have a lot of time to sit and chat about your past or your desires or goals or every nuance of your personality.
Alternatively, we may have only known each other for a small segment of our adventuring lives (that is to say, the tail end of it) and that something clicked with us that made us want to stick together after everything was said and done. I do like the idea of perhaps one or two party members who didn't survive to retirement being the impetus for us to make this bid for retirement. It gives us something to bond over (memories of the fallen) and would make us more than just former adventurers--we'd be survivors, on top of that, of a party that was fundamentally broken by the end of things.
The Tavern is located in the "Freehold of Rivermeet" (with other informal names possible) Ooze's detail is set as "Riverside location, close to the main docks"
I also didn't have a specific power level in mind. I just wanted to establish that, yes, we've been doing this for a while, and we are capable of doing more than the standard person can by a not insignificant amount. Not that we particularly want or need to, anymore.
I like the idea that something happened that was the catalyst for both a tight friendship and also wanting to settle down. A friend or party member's death could be a big one. Why we wouldn't just resurrect them is something for the setting notes (either resurrection magic being extraordinarily rare or nonexistent or a religious or moral agreement in the party that the dead should stay that way), but I think we need something big to make this decision. I've written Rizzex in a way so far that he's fiercely loyal to you guys, and possibly a mite overprotective, and the "death of a friend" is a very good way to play into that.
Either way, I have it in my head that we've been together for a while. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me that we'd be willing to settle into a future together if we hadn't spent a bunch of time together.
Keep in mind that an established fact in games like Pathfinder and D&D requires a number of things for a resurrection to occur. Usually a highly valuable item (generally diamonds in d20 systems) is required to be sacrificed. There is generally a time frame in which a body can be brought back to life, and the body must be in a certain condition as well. Additionally, the soul must be WILLING to return (and sometimes souls go to an afterlife so good that they don't WANT to come back) and the deity of death itself must officially 'allow' the resurrection to even happen in the first place. A death deity has every right, at least in Pathfinder, to say "no, they don't get to come back." There's a number of circumstances in which a party member may die and stay dead, both for their own reasons, other reasons, environmental reasons, and economic reasons. All of these things must be considered, and it's entirely possible someone literally spoke with the dead party member via magic and they said "no, I'm good here. I'll miss you guys, but use the money and maybe do something for yourselves." Or something along those lines.
Or maybe resurrection is a spell for fairy tales, mad alchemists, or the Gods alone.
I like the idea of a high fantasy world where death is a one-way door. Only the gods can bring people back to life, and they very rarely do.
We need Abe's detail and Kaz's detail, and then we can start on describing the tavern's appearance.
I think my detail is that we have trophy items hanging on the walls. Not many, I don't think, maybe just three or four pieces, from our various adventures that we never sold or parted ways with, or preserved because of fond memories, triumphs we shared, stuff like that. I don't know about specifics and I don't know if I need to be specific, but I like the idea of us saying "Yeah, we used to be adventurers" with our interior decorating. I like the idea of each piece having a meaning associated with all or some of the group. Maybe each of us, eventually, can decide what trophy item we kept in particular to put on display in the tavern.
Death being a one-way door is totally fine with me. It makes things seem less gamey.
I think my detail for the town is "Built near ruins". Lots of materials are salvaged from the old ruins, it brings in explorers that need lodgings, and there is that nice reminder that maybe... maybe... adventure might happen again, one last time.
Kaz - The trophies are a good touch, but that would be more for the look of the tavern than the location. Do you want to add something for the exterior area, or just stick with trophies?
Abe's detail is "Built near ruins"
An article about the Metaphysical Law "Resurrection" has been created
I wanted to suggest that our tavern is large: ground floor with stone walls, second floor of wood, with our personal rooms and rooms for rent... but I think since we're still at 1/1/1 for our tavern, maybe it's still under construction. The ground floor - and the grand fireplace whose chimney goes up through the center - is finished but the second floor is still in progress.
"Trophies from Travel" has been added as an interior detail of the tavern
One of the things I was considering in my mind was "Hot springs baths", allowing for elements of a Japanese style layout that grows rather than a strictly European style. Would that work with some of the other ideas in folks minds?
Yes, actually, although I wonder where we'd get the hot spring water from.
Obviously the natural pools nearby that acts as a leyline intersection for the Macguffin Magic. Sure there are Plot Device spirits and critters that show up because of it, but that's why former heroes are the first to make use of it, and we have to start small with only a single bath.
Are you telling me that our druid is incapable of spontaneously creating hot springs?
I'm telling you that I'm weirded out by the Experience system as far as the very first mini-game is going to go. Yes, our Druid could absolutely make/find them. I don't think Rizzex would think of it himself, though. You put the idea in his head and he'd *love* it.
Per discussion on Discord: "The town has a trained militia" is Kaz's detail about the Freehold of Rivermeet
If Sam likes the idea of having this as an element of the Tavern then the hot springs could have Been Here The Whole Time.
Geologically it would be very strange I think for hot springs to well up at a place where two major rivers come together; hot springs are more common at higher elevations. But if a druid did it that doesn't matter, so all good.
Cool, that will be my opening feature, "Access to hot springs".
We still need to name the tavern. 'The Long Rest' is too silly but I can't think of anything else.
I was thinking of something relating to either the river of the frontier.
"Caliban's Haven" named for fallen teammate
"The Hog and Arrow Inn"
"The Broken Boot"
"Oakheart Tavern"
So, if you ask Rizzex what he wants to call the Taven, he'll respond with "Golx", which is what I've decided is Lizardtongue for "Home". And if you push back on it, he'll just shrug and mutter something about "Call it what you want. It's Golx to me."
Edit: But if you ask *me*, I really like the "Caliban's Haven" idea.
I'm a bit more partial to something like "Caliban's Rest," but Caliban's Haven is also fine. Don't let me name the Tavern, I already named the town as it is. I just think Caliban's Rest sounds better than Caliban's Haven.
To me, "Caliban's Rest" sounds like a memorial plaque or tomb. I settled on "Caliban's Haven" because I wanted the people to feel welcome and safe. I'm not dedicated to my exact words, but wanted folks to at least know my reasoning.
That's totally fair and I'm totally willing to roll with that.
What's the next step we're looking at? Looks?
This post actually took me a while. There's a lot I'm thinking about with the furniture I want to see in it, but I realized that no matter what the interior looks like, it needs to be brightly lit. Always. Sunlight or firelight, doesn't matter, but there's no dark corners to brood in. There are plenty of lights. Always.
Just waiting on Sam's detail for the tavern interior and thoughts on name and I can post up the prompt for Session 1 :)
(no rush, just compiling details)
"The Tavern is always well lit" is Ooze's detail for the interior. "There is a bath fed by local hot springs" is GM Janus's detail for the interior.
I thought my detail was 'Second floor still being built.'
As for the name, I'm willing for it to be Caliban's Haven especially if a caliban is also a dinosaur-like carnivore so the sign can have a big toothy lizard on it; but honestly I love 'The Hog and Arrow Inn' because it has rhythm.
OK, so "Caliban's Haven" and "The Hog and Arrow Inn" have likes. Personally... I favor "The Hog and Arrow" because I can totally see the heraldry-like sign design. I'll give folks some time to make any final opinions here and on Discord (as is convenient). The name can also change later if folks don't want to decide now.
I will update with a new thread for Session 1: First Steps.
"The second floor is still being built" is Sam's detail
I favor the former, find the second acceptable. I'd be fine either way. Rizzex is still going to call it home.
With the naming item now resolved on Discord this thread is closed. The Tavern is named "Caliban's Haven"