An Air of Destiny
Laurel refused to draw a yellow exclamation point over the wizard’s head.
Who doesn’t love a good, smelly tavern? Countless quests have started in the grog shops of Greyhawk, the bars of Baldur’s Gate, and the unsavory lounges of Lankhmar. Anybody at all could walk through the door, and a bar fight or a years-long campaign might follow.
That said, taverns are just a tad overused. The official name of the trope is you all meet in an inn, and it’s basically shorthand for “you’re about to start on a fantasy adventure.” To illustrate the point, take a look at the opening sequence of The Desolation of Smaug. Now does that remind you of anything? It’s adventure writing on easy mode, and directors and GMs alike appreciate some easy mode.
If you’d rather spice up your adventure with something new, there are plenty of cool resources out there just a Google away. For my part though, I particularly recommend a shared back story. The Dresden Files RPG is famous for doing this well. Check out the ‘What was your first adventure?’ section here to see what I’m on about. If you served in the Royal Artillary with the party wizard, ran with the rogue’s gang once upon a time, or are simply the barbarian’s blood brother, you’ve suddenly got hooks to tie yourself to the adventure. And if you’re going to hang out with a motley band of ragtag ruffians, it pays to have a better reason than some weird scruffy guy told me to.
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Whenever I start the campaign with “you all meet in an inn” my next sentence inevitably is, “the tavern is a mimic. Roll for initiative.”
I was always partial to the “the room is monsters” encounter. The chest is a mimic, but that goes without saying. The fun part is that the walls are stun jellies, the floor is a trapper, and the ceiling is a lurker.
This is why I’m always at the bar, really.
Please tell me you distribute quests at the local bar IRL. That would be amazing.
“You meet in a tavern. It’s on fire.”
“Roll initiative. Save vs. smoke inhalation.”
I actually had my players’ characters meet in-game for the first time and I deeply regret it. It’s way too much trouble, especially if people aren’t much into roleplay. Everyone’s special damn snowflakes are a pain to motivate to join together when they’re so edgy and what-not. Just give them a shared past, or put them in a situation where they HAVE to work together. Hopefully they’ll bond instead of grow to hate each other.
You ever read “The Ballad of Edgardo?”
http://i.imgur.com/4PHakP5.png
the irony of course that the bit on “the desolation of smaug” was actually mentioned in “The Hobbit” (the novel published in 1937), and which Tolkien later expanded on in the unpublished (at the time) short story “the quest of Erebor” in 1954 (originally meant to be an appendix to “the lord of the rings”) which due to space constraints ended up rewritten into a condensed for,
of course the trope creators for the “start in a tavern” was “The Lord of the Ring’, which has its first chapter occurring in the hobbit tavern “the Ivy Bush” as a group of hobbits have an expository conversation about regional events and the upcoming Baggins party, then of course has the famous set of scenes at The Prancing Pony as the hobbits meet Aragorn and take their first real steps on their journey into the wider world.
I think there’s a reason it was cut. From the TV Tropes page I linked:
Jackson’s version of this scene is self-consciously quoting his Strider/Underhill scene from Fellowship. I don’t see how he could have avoided using it given the context of the his first Hobbit film, but it still feels thin. Tolkien’s version had the benefit of Gandalf telling the tale as a framing device. It wasn’t used to start off the sequel proper. And I think that choice on Tolkien’s part is telling.
So this is the real reason I never leave the bar.
One day, I’m sure the right Gandalf will come your way.
Also of note: Did you make your way to these shores from the new Instagram? I remember posting this one recently….