B16 The Packard’s Trough

The Packard’s Trough: A Notorious Tavern in Verbobonc

The Packard’s Trough squats in a crooked run of cobbled streets in the Business Quarter, a dark-stone tavern that looks tired of standing and tired of everyone who walks through its door. The place is notorious: mercenary brigands, smugglers, card-sharps, and guild cutpurses all treat it as neutral ground—a place where arguments simmer, deals are whispered, and violence is threatened more often than it is unleashed.

Packard bought the tavern after the Battle of Emridy Meadows, when his assassin crew in Dyvers imploded. He dove into the Velverdyva with a sack of gold and came up in Verbobonc, reinventing himself as a barkeep whose house “minds its own business”… for a price.

Exterior

The building is a dark stone and aged timber block, its face weathered and stained by decades of smoke and rain. The signboard—a trough brimming with weapons and mugs—hangs on a single complaining chain, creaking whenever the wind shifts.

• Windows are few, cracked, and grimy, the only light inside a dull smear on the night.
• The stout, iron-studded door and shutters say more about the clientele than any painted emblem.

From outside, you hear raucous laughter, clinking mugs, and occasional scuffles, all promising either adventure or regret.

Approaching the Trough

Approaching the Trough The lane narrows, the lamps thin, and the air grows sour with old ale and woodsmoke. Ahead, a squat stone tavern lurks between taller buildings, its signboard—a rough painting of a trough overflowing with blades and tankards—swaying on one chain and groaning with every gust. Cracked panes glow a jaundiced yellow. From within, you hear bursts of harsh laughter, the crash of mugs, and the heavy thud of something—or someone—meeting a wall. The door is thick oak studded with iron, scarred and dented as if it has been kicked more times than you care to count.

• Long, sturdy wooden tables and benches fill the space, scars and carvings adorning their surfaces, a testament to the memories created here.
• A large, well-worn bar stretches across one side, behind which Packard, the proprietor, serves up strong drinks and questionable advice with equal enthusiasm.

Inside the Tavern

House Culture & Use

The Packard’s Trough is:

• A meeting ground for the Thieves’ Guild, smugglers, and those who wish to hire them.
• A haunt for mercenary brigands looking for work or prey, often playing cards at the back tables.
• A place where eavesdroppers can snatch lore—scraps of maps, half-heard stories of mariners, rumors of ruins and caravans—if they are subtle enough.

It is not a comfortable tavern; it is a pressure-cooker of secrets, and Packard’s watchful gaze is the lid.

Food and drink are almost entirely poor quality: cheap ale, thin stews, bread that’s more crust than crumb, all priced at the low end of standard tavern fare.

Packard: The Man Behind the Bar

• Character: “A grizzled veteran of many undisclosed conflicts,” Packard is an Aerdi/Suel mix with a heavily muscled frame, dyed raven-black hair, and dark brown eyes that never stop moving. Under his tavern vest, his body is a map of scar tissue.

Packard’s Role:

• Acts as gatekeeper for shady jobs and guild contacts; he knows who is hiring swords, smugglers, or knives.
• Maintains a careful non-alignment: he is not a card-carrying guild member any longer, but his tavern is a place where their business can be done.

Sample Lines

“Something different about you… I can tell. I hope you’re not here to cause trouble.”
“The meals I serve aren’t exactly what I’d call a jarl’s feast, but they’ll fill your belly.”
“The hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stupid.”

Eavesdropping for Lore in a Busy Tavern

Whatever is happening with pipe and mug, or in conversation around the table, can wait. The voice is furtive and conspiratorial, mesmerizing, and no strain is too great for eavesdropping. Arcana in story, famous characters and places mixed with new knowledge from a past demanding pursuit. A scrap of cartography, a rubbing of language carved on a stone, some smokey old mariner or a delicious courtesan found out what now has to be proven credible or incredible.

Leona Trevil

Leona Trevil the bar wench and concubine madame

Leona is Baklunish/aerdi mix and the head waitress and madame for the girls of the inn. She collects all money from the girls. Keeps a watchful eye on them. The two bouncers are quick to run when she yells. She also sells information to anyone with enough coin. Hardly no conversations that happen in this tavern escapes her girls or herself.

"I grew up an orphan on the streets of Dyvers. I would of died there it it wasn't for the kindness of an old man named Lowgroth the Bent. Packard rescued and gave me coin to get out of the city. I followed the mighty Velverdyva west and came here. When I met Mindsey I knew this was where I belonged."

Gob – The Barbarian Wall

Usually just called “Gob”, this hulking barbarian is Packard’s chief bouncer. He doesn’t say much, but when he looks, men shut up.

• Stat Notes: 5th-level barbarian (BtH +4, 50 hp, AC 14; Str 17, Con 16).
• Signature Threat:

“You’re up against the wall, and I am the fucking wall.”

He steps in when hands wander where they shouldn’t, when knives come out, or when Leona raises her voice.

Mercanary Brigands in Tavern

Jodie West – Pickpocket in the Crowd

Jodie is a clever, slightly unsettling human woman in common clothes—ruddy skin, blue eyes, short dark hair. She drifts between tables with the natural ease of someone who treats the tavern as a hunting ground.

• Personality: Highly intelligent, fun-loving, devout to a trickster-undead god; Chaotic Evil.
• Adventure Hook: She “invites” the PCs to a little get-together where everyone’s pockets seem mysteriously lighter afterward.

The Marked Assassin

Sometimes, an average-looking man with sandy hair and horn-handled knives enters—an assassin signaling for work. The cross-hatched pommels of his blades mark him to those in the trade.

He swaggers as if he owns the place, orders from Packard, and pretends not to notice the PCs—even as they feel they have been noticed. This figure can be customized as a recurring contact, rival, or employer.

The Tonk Table – Dallin, Lancion & Kai

At a table near the hearth, three regulars often play Tonk, a gambling card game. They are:

• Dallin Lormer, human bandit – muscular, mismatched armor, short blond hair and thick beard; Neutral Evil, worshipper of a goddess of secrets and lies, desperate to achieve something meaningful.
• Lancion Carpenter, human bandit – slow, clumsy, blond handlebar mustache, likes big words, longs to be accepted by the others; Lawful Evil, devoted to a god of suffering and bones.
• Kai Burns, human smuggler – plain merchant garb, thinning black hair; book-smart and ambitious, obsessed with money and fame; Lawful Evil.

They invite newcomers to sit—seemingly friendly—but their hands never stray far from their blades.

"Im Dallin, do not be put off by my diligent friends Lancion and Kai. They are poor conversation and not a hint of humor between the two of them."“Every problem is a gift—without problems we would not grow.”“There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them.”"If you really want a look at the solid facts of a thing you must strain off the sentiment first."

Dallin Lormer

• Appearance: Dallin wears a few pieces of mismatched, ill-fighting armor. He has tan skin and hazel eyes. His blond hair is cropped short. He has a thick blond beard. His clothes show off his physique.
• Personality: He believes it is important to be successful and settled in all debts. He believes freedom can be sacrified for safety and security. He worships the goddess of secrets and lies, and his alignment is neutral evil (NE).

Using the Packard’s Trough in Play

The Trough is your go-to den of scum and opportunity in Verbobonc:

• A place to buy or sell stolen goods, hire muscle, or meet guild contacts.
• A node for rumors about Nulb, the Temple of Elemental Evil, or bandit activity flowing along the Velverdyva.
• A perfect backdrop for eavesdropping scenes, tense negotiations, or morally muddy jobs.

Adventure Hooks

1. Old Band, Old Debts
   Packard gets word that survivors of his old bandit crew are in Verbobonc, planning to blackmail him with knowledge of his past. He wants the PCs to find them first—whether to buy them off, scare them straight, or silence them permanently is up to the group.
2. Ears for Sale
   Leona has overheard something dangerous: a plot involving a noble house, the Thieves’ Guild, or Temple agents. She offers the information for a steep price—or in exchange for the party performing a risky favor.
3. Marked by the Assassin
   The sandy-haired assassin makes a point of “not noticing” a PC rogue. Later, a message appears in their gear inviting them to a side job—test of worth, recruitment for Dyvers’ “Family,” or a trap set by Temple-aligned killers.
4. Tonk & Treachery
   During a tonk game, Dallin lets slip rumors of a lucrative caravan job—one backed by forces the PCs may not want to cross (Temple smugglers, Nulb pirates, or rival merchant houses). Winning or losing the game influences how much he shares.
5. Brawl at the Trough
   A simple night’s drinking explodes when an NPC enemy picks a fight. Gob steps in, but chooses a side. The PCs must navigate a chaotic bar brawl where breaking tables might offend Packard more than spilling blood.

Use B16 The Packard’s Trough whenever you need Verbobonc to feel dangerous, lived-in, and morally grey—a place where the PCs can make the kinds of contacts they’ll need to walk the darker roads leading toward Nulb and the Temple.