60

Tavern
E NCOU N T E RS Situations
- Encounters -
60 Tavern
Situations
 Cellar
1 A client who was looking for commodities has found the wine
barrels and is proceeding to a thorough inspection.
2 A secret passage behind a shelf leads to the local bandits’ nest,
which is connected to a tunnel on the other side.
3 If a breach was pierced in one of the walls, the vault of the bank
next door would become easily accessible.
4 There is a secret cellar inside of the cellar to hide the most rare
and priced ingredients, as well as precious recipes.
5 Employees having an affair often come down in the cellar to
“get more wine”. Their initials are engraved in a beam with a
heart around them.
6 A small hole leading to a network of tunnels allows rats and
other creatures to access the food stocks.
7 The owner has installed a system of hidden periscopes that
allow them to spy in each room from the cellar.
8 A bard who was singing terribly out of tune was tied up and
thrown into the cellar. The owners have closed the tavern for a
few days and may have forgotten about the bard.
9 Kids can be heard playing in the cellar of the house next door.
It is impossible to tell if they are having fun or are arguing with
each other, though.
10 A wizard has spilled a dangerous mixture in their room and it
is slowly dripping into the water tank.

3/10
 Dining hall
1 A bunch of drunks have started singing and clients are
hurrying up to empty their plates so that they can leave.
2 Caped individuals sit every week at the table in the darkest
corner of the room to meet each other and exchange coins,
scrolls and suspicious goods.
3 The biggest eater competition is held here every year, and the
final has been going on for a whole day. Neither of the
contestants seems even close to declaring defeat.
4 Even though pets are not allowed in this tavern, the dog of a
client has barged in the dining hall and is going from table to
table to steal steaks.
5 It is the anniversary of the tavern’s opening and dancers are
performing in the dining hall to celebrate the occasion.
6 A shady wizard hangs out at the bar all day, waiting for a
desperate soul they could convince to participate in dangerous
experiments in exchange for a drink.
7 An improvised arm wrestling competition was started by two
merchants. The atmosphere is very friendly and every client in
the tavern has fun taking a chance.
8 A courier who was looking for the recipient of an important
message is sitting at the bar and is exposing the contents of the
message to the whole clientele of the tavern.
9 According to rumors, the owner hides all their treasures under
a floorboard in the dining hall. However, checking under all of
them would take the entire night.
10 Ill-fated lovers sit at opposite corners of the room each day for
lunch, just to briefly take a glimpse of each other.

4/10
 Kitchen
1 The owners are arguing so loudly about which of them ruined
the soup that everyone in the tavern can hear them. Regulars
know their punchlines by heart.
2 The cooks have a very original way of doing their job and
accomplish each shift with acrobatics, dances and songs.
3 Since the kitchen help has quit their job to go treasure hunting,
dirty dishes have been piling up and the amount has become so
unmanageable that the only solution is to throw them away.
4 The chef, who was the leader of a band of thieves, kicks out
anyone who dares to criticize their food.
5 The kitchen is closed for visitors, even for those who want to
congratulate the chef, because of hygiene problems that need to
remain secret.
6 The mushrooms used in the different dishes are collected
everyday under the counters and behind the shelves, which are
infested with them.
7 A vengeful sorcerer has infiltrated the kitchen and is slowly
killing their enemy by adding poison in each of their meals.
8 Every time a sanitary inspector comes to the tavern, they are
invited to the kitchen to ascertain its perfect condition, then
leave through the back door. At least, that is what the owners
tell curious customers.
9 Although the tavern serves delicious and original meals, there
is nobody working in the kitchen, which is actually empty of all
equipment.
10 The chef used to be a hero saving innocent people, but they
retired as they now aspire to live a simple and peaceful life.
They still might be recognized thanks to a large scar on their
arm.
5/10
6/10
 Lobby
1 Barbarians are arguing about the price of their room and their
weapons and shields are obstructing the passage.
2 Guards check the identity of the clients and search them for
weapons and poisons as the member of a royal family is staying
at the tavern.
3 The tavern is on fire and people are desperately trying to
escape but, as the doors are locked, they are only piling up in
the lobby, their faces pressed against the windows.
4 When a client comes in and calls after the owners, they wake
up from behind the counter and look surprised as if they had
not seen a client in a decade.
5 Employees are politely trying to tell a family that the tavern is
full and that they can’t have a table if they have no reservation.
6 The lobby is getting renovated and everyone who goes through
it leaves bright white footprints everywhere in the tavern.
7 An adventurer is talking very loudly to cover the grunts of the
baby dragon hidden in their pouch, as the tavern does not
allow pets.
8 A noble is making a scene because they had reserved the suite
but it is now occupied by some adventurer who offered double
for it.
9 A pile of luggage is filling the hallway but their owner has not
given their name and is already dead drunk so nobody knows
in which room they should be put.
10 A client who seems very nervous frequently comes to the lobby
to ask if a letter or a package was dropped for them.

7/10
 Outside
1 Homeless people are waiting at the back door, hoping that the
cooks will throw away some food.
2 A couple had a fight and one is threatening the other to let
them walk home alone even though it is past midnight.
3 The tavern is closed today but a drunkard is pounding on the
door and shouting that they want to be served.
4 A cleric is waiting in the freezing cold for their carriage, which
seems to be late, because they don’t want to go inside a place of
debauchery.
5 A creature feeding on meat waste is becoming so big that the
kitchen help might be its next meal.
6 A teenager is looking for their friend who said they were going
to get some fresh air. They might have been too far towards
the woods.
7 A squire insists on leaving as a tournament begins the next day
but their friends are trying to get them back inside for a last
drink.
8 People are trying to figure out how to go back to their
respective houses as their carriage has an issue.
9 A noble is wearing a large hood covering their face as they are
waiting to catch their partner cheating on them.
10 A merchant is waiting for their business partner before going
inside the tavern. Their partner said they had to check that the
horses carrying their goods were being taken care of.

8/10
 Rooms
1 A client refuses to have their room cleaned as they don’t want
the owners to discover that they have installed an alchemy lab
which could make the whole tavern explode.
2 An adventurer thought they were going to have a good time
with an orc in their room, until they found out that the orc was
actually three goblins under a big coat.
3 A newlywed couple has taken a room four days ago and has not
been seen since. Other clients don’t know if it should make
them smile or worry about it.
4 The reason why a lone client has taken a room at the tavern is
to slowly prepare the assassination of its owners.
5 A client is hiding in their bed dry sausage and cheese that they
stole in the cellar, and now rats and flies are infesting each
floor.
6 Walls are so thin that everyone can hear the other clients
talking and gossiping about what they are hearing.
7 Whenever a specific client comes to the tavern, the owners
give them the worst room so that they can do the least possible
damage.
8 A room always remains empty, even when the rest of the
rooms are full, as people who slept in it all faced a mysterious
and violent death.
9 An old adventurer has not paid for their room for months but
the owners let them be as they once saved their life.
10 The children of the owners have stolen a master key which
allows them to go into all of the rooms and make morbid jokes
that terrify their tenants.

9/10
Credits
Cover image
Ink Splats designed by kjpargeter / Freepik.
Scratch vector textures designed by Graphics Fuel.

Fonts
Edition (all caps version) designed by Mike Diehl & Paul Volk / Dafont.
Highway Gothic Wide designed by Tom Oetken / Dafont.

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