Anatomy of a

Tavern

T
averns are a favorite
hangout for adventurers,
criminals, and helpless
commoners overburdened with
quests. Use the following tables writing Jeff Gomez
to generate an intriguing and editing Felipe Real
memorable tavern. color art Phil Stone
Layout Xanditz

EN World EN5ider | Anatomy of a Tavern

Name the PCs enter. They seem just like another group
of low-lives looking to dissolve themselves in
Every tavern needs a good name, usually
their drinks.
associated with its location or a story from the
owner’s past. Roll twice on the following table to 3. They serve far more than alcohol in this dismal
generate a fantastic name. This is “The…” place. The smoke in the air reeks of opium, and
other stronger stuff. Along the walls, comatose
1. Bloody 1. Banshee customers lay on filthy cushions. The room
2. Dancing 2. Dragon is silent and the atmosphere reeks of people
3. Destitute 3. Ghost resigned to an unhappy and inevitable fate.
4. Flaming 4. Giant 4. This is a large, well-lit tavern, with enough room
5. Green 5. Griffon for at least 50 patrons. However, only one table
6. Grinning 6. Jewel is occupied. The bartender’s face is a panicked
7. Happy 7. King mask, his suffering margins evident in his
8. Hearty 8. Merchant overeager greeting. He rushes to attend to the
9. Misplaced 9. Ooze PCs, desperate to get new customers.
10. Misty 10. Pony
5. This tavern is far nicer than it looks from the outside.
11. Red 11. Priest
Tables are of clean mahogany, and the glass
12. Wandering 12. Prince
cups add an element of wealth. A small silver
13. Wealthy 13. Queen
chandelier hangs from the ceiling, illuminating
14. Wounded 14. Redcap
the crimson tapestries on the walls.
15. Book and 15. Rogue
6. Warm laughter and the smell of fresh bread escapes from
16. Cup and 16. Sage
the tavern. This is a cozy place where friends come
17. Fish and 17. Thief
to drink and spend the evening in idle chatter.
18. Fox and 18. Troll
19. Sword and 19. Willow
20. Wraith
Signature Drink
20. Wolf and
Most taverns serve a signature drink, and those
that do not usually serve one on request. It is not
Atmosphere always cheap, but it gives a good sense of the
You can get a good sense of a tavern just by establishment’s character.
surveying the main room. From the moment the PCs 1. Aegin’s Wine. White wine from a faraway elven
walk in, they are able to ascertain a few crucial facts land, blessed with the gift of being always cold.
about the tavern’s character.
2. Black Lager. A stout and yeast mixture so thick it
1. The PCs clearly do not belong. The noise and has the consistency of mud. A pint of black lager
murmur of the tavern stop abruptly as the PCs is filling enough for a meal.
walk in, and every eye in the room goes to
3. Breügar’s Brew. A thick, milky porter brewed by
them. The patrons look like average citizens,
a famous dwarven brewery.
but a conspiratorial atmosphere pervades.
Conversation resumes after a few seconds, but 4. Demondrink. Heavily distilled bourbon, served
backs are turned and voices hush as the PCs with a burning flame on top.
walk by. 5. Fish Lips. A salty beer, delicious to connoisseurs
2. The tavern is large, smoky, and stinks of spilled beer. and disgusting to everybody else.
Patrons sit in drunken stupors, and waiters step 6. Fizz Ale. Extremely carbonated, but an otherwise
over the unconscious ones. Nobody cares when very pleasant ale.

EN World EN5ider | Anatomy of a Tavern

7. Forest’s Blessing. Various fermented berries and 1. Azamagus the Grand (Male Half-Orc). An
herbs. Batches vary in flavor, but every serving is unemployed sorcerer who believe that this sort
tongue-numbingly sweet. of work is far beneath his station. He dresses in
8. Kitchen Soup. A randomly chosen mixture of old bizarre purple robes, makes sloppy drinks, and
beer, sour wine, and hard alcohol. takes secret pleasure in impressing customers
9. Milk Wine. Warm red wine with a froth of fresh with minor feats of magic. With every poured
milk. beer, he lets out a large sigh and mumbles
about wasted arcane power and unanswered
10. Red Honey. Honeymead with day-old
evils waiting to be slain.
strawberries.
2. Burdonk Brubart (Male Halfling). An ancient
11. The Cleanser. A shot of grain alcohol.
halfling with a stoop. He clearly used to be
12. “We Got Grog”. They only serve grog here, a sour
some great warrior; battle scars mar his flesh,
combination of water and rum.
to say nothing of the runes of power etched
into his forehead. He brushes off questions
Signature Meal
about his past, but the name of the tavern
All taverns serve food in addition to alcohol. Use
holds some clue.
the following table to generate a signature meal.
3. Groda (Female Dwarf). Her accent is totally
1. Braised ribs with mushrooms and onions
indecipherable. Dressed in singed leather
2. Breaded chicken wings with a spicy dipping sauce. and armed with a tiny hammer, Groda seems
3. Crisped root vegetables with honey. a better fit for a blacksmith than a tavern. A
4. Foul smelling plate of fermented salmon and swollen jaw and massive white muttonchops
roast acorns. only hinder comprehension, but the usual

5. Fried cheese dumplings with a filling of nuts and patrons have no trouble understanding every
honey. slobbered word out of her mouth.

6. Goose liver pate, stale bread, and a surprisingly 4. Janhawk Ironhammer (Male Dwarf). He has a
sophisticated range of cheeses. craggy face which never stops smiling. His foul
breath seeps from between brown teeth, and it’s
7. Hearty meal of roast goose and strips of fried pork.
hard to ignore the beard hairs in the drinks he
8. Honey glazed mushrooms and parsnips.
serves. However, he is an amiable fellow and
9. Roast rack of lamb with mint and plum sauce. more than willing to sit with customers and tell
10. Roasted spareribs, remarkably bland for their them stories of his youth—even if it means the
excellent smell. bar goes unattended for hours.
11. Runny vegetable soup overburdened with pepper. 5. Meena Burge (Female Human). She is definitely
12. Thin platter of mutton, carrots, and tomato. too young for this sort of thing; no more
than 8. Under her short brown hair and
Bartender perpetual scowl, Meena berates customers
The bartender is perhaps the most important for any perceived transgression. She refuses
feature of a tavern. He takes orders, serves drinks, to answer any questions about her age or
and gossips with the customers. Patrons return profession, responds to jokes with glares,
to a tavern, not for the drinks or food, but for the and is universally adored by her patrons. She
company. If the bartender is lacking, he’ll quickly has never tasted alcohol, but still prepares
find himself out of business. excellent mixed drinks.

EN World EN5ider| Anatomy of a Tavern

6. Shielain (Female Elf). She is almost supernaturally another. The game is dead serious, and they
attractive, a beaming, giggling woman with soft appear to be working through some sibling
eye, golden hair, and perfect teeth. Something rivalries.
about her seems entirely off, almost feral, but the 6. A red-skinned goblin makes racist jokes to a table of
patrons do not seem to mind. bemused patrons.
7. A sputtering elf pouts in a group of otherwise giddy
Patrons
customers. He is drenched in an absurd amount
A tavern is nothing without its patrons. Each of wine, as if he took a swim in a barrel of the
tavern attracts a certain kind of guests, but some stuff.
stick out from the crowd.
8. A suspicious looking dwarf roams the tables,
1. A butcher, bloody from a day’s work, sits quietly and monitoring intoxication and keeping an eye on
sips a glass of hard alcohol. Alone and quite drunk, purses.
he wears a distant smile and gazes indistinctly at
9. A thin, extremely pale man drinks no alcohol, but
the bartender.
watches the other patrons with an unreadable stare.
2. A dark skinned human with yellow eyes closely reads
10. An elderly couple sip wine, hold hands, and sit in
from an untitled book. He is intensely focused, but
comfortable silence. They are thin and appear
casts furtive glances at any who comes his way.
friendly, but their veins and teeth bear the signs
Smoke curls from the long ivory pipe clutched
of drug abuse.
between his lips.
11. An entire adventuring party sits anxiously in the
3. A gigantic orc, at least 8 feet tall and covered in hair,
corner. They sit in awkward silence, and do not
sleeps soundly on the floor. Far from intimidating
appear too comfortable with one another. By the
the other customers, some of the smaller patrons
looks of things they are eavesdropping on other
even use him as a footrest.
people’s conversations.
4. A handsome human with grey eyes and a large chin
12. Two half-orcs play cards in the back. The larger has
chats up with a trio of interested women, none of his
apparently won the knives, gold, and shirt of the
own race. The dwarf, halfling, and elf, apparently
smaller, but the game goes on. Both appear cool
friends on the town, are all smitten.
and collected, but intensely focused. The stakes
5. A pair of half-elf twins, ruddy and muddy from of the current game are unclear.
too much time outdoors, attempt to out drink one

EN World EN5ider | Anatomy of a Tavern