TEXT: SYSTEM 
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  reserved. Reproduction without the written 
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  forbidden. Necromancer Games and the 
  Necromancer Games logo is a trademark 
  of Necromancer Games. All characters, 
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  are copyrighted by Necromancer Games, 
  Inc. The mention of or reference to any 
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  a challenge to the trademark or copyright 
  concerned.
  Author:
  Author: 
  Chris Jones 
   
  Project MAnAger:
  Project MAnAger: 
  Ken Spencer
   
  editor:
  editor: 
  Jeff Harkness 
   
  Art director:
  Art director: 
  Casey Christofferson 
   
  LAyout:
  LAyout: 
  Suzy Moseby 
   
  cover design:
  cover design: 
  Suzy Moseby  
   
  Front cover Art:
  Front cover Art: 
  Michael Syrigos 
   
  interior Art:
  interior Art: 
  Brian LeBlanc
   
  cArtogrAPhy:
  cArtogrAPhy: 
  Robert Altbauer
  NECROMANCER
     Games
  TM
  ISBN: 978-1-62283-951-3 
   Softcover Print
  Volume Two
  Volume Two
  T
  h
  e
   
  B
  o
  o
  k
   
  o
  f
  
  2|Book of Taverns: volume one
  2|Book of Taverns: volume one
  IntroductIon
  IntroductIon ........................................................................................................
   ........................................................................................................3
  usIng thIs Book
  usIng thIs Book ...............................................................................................
   ...............................................................................................3
  the WItch’s teat
  the WItch’s teat.................................................................................................
  ................................................................................................. 4
  Background
  Background ....................................................................................................
   .................................................................................................... 4
   dramatIs Personae
   dramatIs Personae .....................................................................................
   ..................................................................................... 5
  dogface
  dogface ................................................................................................
   ................................................................................................ 5
  QaddIQ al Yusef
  QaddIQ al Yusef .....................................................................................
   ..................................................................................... 6
  thana JotsdottIr
  thana JotsdottIr ...................................................................................
   ................................................................................... 6
  danal and danIlle gren
  danal and danIlle gren ..........................................................................
   .......................................................................... 7
  the estaBlIshment
  the estaBlIshment ......................................................................................
   ...................................................................................... 8
  1. common room
  1. common room .....................................................................................
   ..................................................................................... 8
  2. the PIt
  2. the PIt .............................................................................................
   ............................................................................................. 8
  3. ale altar
  3. ale altar ..........................................................................................
   .......................................................................................... 8
  4. uPPer commons
  4. uPPer commons ..................................................................................
   .................................................................................. 9
  5. kItchen
  5. kItchen .............................................................................................
   ............................................................................................. 9
  6. PrIvate room
  6. PrIvate room .....................................................................................
   ..................................................................................... 9
  7. dogface’s Quarters
  7. dogface’s Quarters .............................................................................
   ............................................................................. 9
  8. storage room
  8. storage room ....................................................................................
   .................................................................................... 9
  the WItch’s teat menu
  the WItch’s teat menu ..........................................................................
   ..........................................................................1010
  goods & servIces
  goods & servIces .......................................................................................
   .......................................................................................1010
  adventure seeds
  adventure seeds ........................................................................................
   ........................................................................................1010
  the QuIntaIn’s toWer
  the QuIntaIn’s toWer ..........................................................................................
   ..........................................................................................1111
  Background
  Background ..............................................................................................
   ..............................................................................................1212
  dramatIs Personae
  dramatIs Personae .....................................................................................
   .....................................................................................1212
  Brazzer mandragora
  Brazzer mandragora .............................................................................
   .............................................................................1212
  hammer fall trIBe
  hammer fall trIBe ................................................................................
   ................................................................................1313
  steel rIng trIBe
  steel rIng trIBe ...................................................................................
   ...................................................................................1313
  Black Iron trIBe
  Black Iron trIBe ...................................................................................
   ...................................................................................1414
  the Wood Wards of st. soPhIa
  the Wood Wards of st. soPhIa ................................................................
   ................................................................1414
  Jon oakBorn, Wood Ward sherIff
  Jon oakBorn, Wood Ward sherIff ...........................................................
   ...........................................................1414
  sara of Westmarche
  sara of Westmarche ..............................................................................
   ..............................................................................1414
  rIders of Westmarche
  rIders of Westmarche ............................................................................
   ............................................................................1515
  freesIfoot’s Pootoon
  freesIfoot’s Pootoon ..............................................................................
   ..............................................................................1515
  Patrons & PossIBIlItIes
  Patrons & PossIBIlItIes ..............................................................................
   ..............................................................................1515
  caer dIre
  caer dIre .................................................................................................
   .................................................................................................1616
  1. demesne
  1. demesne ...........................................................................................
   ...........................................................................................1616
  2. Walls
  2. Walls ..............................................................................................
   ..............................................................................................1616
  3. gatehouse ruIns
  3. gatehouse ruIns ................................................................................
   ................................................................................1616
  4. north guard toWer
  4. north guard toWer ...........................................................................
   ...........................................................................1616
  5. south guard toWer
  5. south guard toWer ...........................................................................
   ...........................................................................1717
  6. WatchtoWer ruIns
  6. WatchtoWer ruIns .............................................................................
   .............................................................................1717
  7. PrIson
  7. PrIson ..............................................................................................
   ..............................................................................................1717
  8. east BaIleY
  8. east BaIleY ......................................................................................
   ......................................................................................1717
  9. West BaIleY
  9. West BaIleY .....................................................................................
   .....................................................................................1717
  10. great hall ruIns
  10. great hall ruIns .............................................................................
   .............................................................................1717
  11. lesser hall ruIns
  11. lesser hall ruIns .............................................................................
   .............................................................................1717
  12. Barracks ruIns
  12. Barracks ruIns ................................................................................
   ................................................................................1717
  13. lIverY ruIns
  13. lIverY ruIns ....................................................................................
   ....................................................................................1717
  14. saPPer’s tunnel
  14. saPPer’s tunnel...............................................................................
  ...............................................................................1717
  the QuIntaIn’s toWer
  the QuIntaIn’s toWer .................................................................................
   .................................................................................1818
  1. common room
  1. common room ....................................................................................
   ....................................................................................1818
  2. goBlIn vIlla
  2. goBlIn vIlla .....................................................................................
   .....................................................................................1818
  3. Brazzer’s stIll
  3. Brazzer’s stIll ..................................................................................
   ..................................................................................1818
  4. the red croWn
  4. the red croWn..................................................................................
  ..................................................................................1919
  5. the solar
  5. the solar .........................................................................................
   .........................................................................................1919
  goods & servIces
  goods & servIces .......................................................................................
   .......................................................................................1919
  the QuIntaIn’s toWer menu
  the QuIntaIn’s toWer menu ....................................................................
   ....................................................................1919
  adventure seeds
  adventure seeds .......................................................................................
   ....................................................................................... 2020
  aPPendIx a: rumors
  aPPendIx a: rumors ...........................................................................................
   ........................................................................................... 2020
  taBle of contents
  taBle of contents
  
  The Book of Taverns volume one 
  The Book of Taverns volume one |3
  |3
  BY chrIs Jones
  BY chrIs Jones
  a fantasY adventure suPPlement detaIlIng 2 dIstInct taverns of adventure for characters of all levels!
  a fantasY adventure suPPlement detaIlIng 2 dIstInct taverns of adventure for characters of all levels!
  Book of Taverns Volume Two presents two taverns, Witch’s Teat and Quintain’s Tower. Each tavern is given a full description of its layout, 
  important NPCs, and history. Witch’s Teat is a rough bar where patrons can watch blood fights between local champions and the strange beings 
  that come out of the cursed portal in the bar’s common room. Equally rough is Quintain’s Tower, the sole remaining tower of a fallen castle that 
  is home to a tavern serving ogres, orcs, and goblinoids, but welcoming to all who can navigate the wilderness and keep the peace.
   
  introduction
  introduction
  The tavern is a staple of fantasy literature and even more so of fantasy 
  gaming. How many local taverns do characters visit for information 
  or to seek the seeds of adventure? GMs often rely on the tavern to 
  kickstart stories, using them as convenient starting points to bring 
  itinerant characters together for the first time or even to introduce new 
  characters to an established party. Despite its crucial role in moving 
  a story forward, the tavern is often relegated to nothing more than 
  background scenery.
  This supplement is designed to change all that.
  The Book of Taverns provides an assortment of highly detailed 
  taverns rich in history and character. They can be used on the fly, pulled 
  at random and inserted into a gaming session without forethought and 
  preparation, or employed as foundations for something decidedly 
  more permanent. Each tavern is appropriate for a range of levels.
  These taverns need not be used as written. Feel free to mix and match 
  NPCs, creatures, encounters, and maps. Some of the establishments 
  are designed with a specific environment in mind, such as a city setting 
  or a rustic countryside, but don’t feel limited to these environments. 
  With a few tweaks, any tavern here can be adapted to other locales. 
  usIng thIs Book
  usIng thIs Book
  Each tavern presented is divided into six sections:
  Introduction: A brief overview describing the general atmosphere 
  and theme.
  Background: A detailed description of the tavern’s origin and 
  history, along with the major players associated with it. Each tavern’s 
  background contains numerous plot hooks for creating adventures.
  Patrons & Possibilities: A quick glimpse at some other colorful 
  patrons to be found inside the tavern and events surrounding them, 
  for instances where the GM needs a shadowy figure in the corner who 
  might have much-needed information to pass on. 
  Dramatis Personae: Detailed descriptions of the non-player 
  characters (NPCs) who inhabit or own the tavern.
  Assorted Patrons: 
  The Establishment: This is the largest section, describing the 
  individual rooms in the tavern and their contents. 
  Goods & Services: A list of available food, drink, lodging, and any 
  other services, as well as prices.
  Adventure Seeds: This section offers ideas to create adventures in 
  and around the tavern. Not all are necessarily related to the tavern’s 
  backstory. 
  the Book oF tAverns: voLuMe two
  the Book oF tAverns: voLuMe two
  a PuBlIcan’s lIfe
  a PuBlIcan’s lIfe
  “Last call!” the publican roared out. Ron didn’t really 
  need to shout tonight, but it was tradition. The lone patron 
  sat hunched in his corner booth nursing a pint of Brass 
  Black. In response to the bellow they held up five fingers.
  “Now see here, you can’t have one, er, four for the road 
  friend…”
  The door creaked opened and four figures clad in cloaks, 
  their hoods pulled up high to shadow their faces crept in. 
  They scanned the room and began making their way across 
  the empty room for the person in the corner booth.
  “We’re closing up.” The person in the corner booth 
  held up five fingers again. “Fine, but I’m putting out 
  the lantern and you all have to leave when you’re done 
  drinking, and no taking your time.”
  After sitting out five tankards of Brass Black, Ron 
  stepped outside to put out the lantern that hung over his 
  tavern’s sign. When he came back in the five had already 
  spread a ragged map across their table, pinning one corner 
  down with a dagger. Something important was being 
  debated in hushed tones, plans were being made, tactics 
  considered.
  Adventurers, thought Ron, gods damned adventurers.
  
  4|Book of Taverns: volume one
  4|Book of Taverns: volume one
  The Witch’s Teat’s reputation precedes it. It is a place of violence, 
  a refuge for the damned, and a gathering place for worldweary 
  adventurers to swap stories and trade information. It is most famous, 
  though, for the gladiatorial fights that occur on a nightly basis. The 
  blood of those who died in the tavern’s fighting pit stains it walls. 
  Not only do patrons fight each other when the urge or the incentive 
  overcomes them, but they also fight the hellish creatures summoned 
  to the pit by a faulty magic portal spawned by the tavern’s long dead, 
  titular witch.
  Background
  Background
  For nearly 50 years, the building that The Witch’s Teat now 
  occupies functioned as a temple for an obscure conclave of northern 
  barbarian cultists. They hewed its logs with bare hands and axes they 
  brought south with them. Their leader, a rail-thin man named Gunter 
  Griefbow, claimed their god came to him in the form of a black moose 
  one night while he hunted wolves and commanded he take the faithful 
  into heathen lands to spread the sacred word. A week later, he and 
  200 of his most-devout followers began a long trek that culminated 
  after many years in the loss of more than half their number and the 
  construction of this building. 
  The residents of the land they chose to settle did not mind as 
  long as the barbarians kept their primitive religion to themselves. 
  Unfortunately, that sentiment ran contrary to Griefbow’s purpose, and 
  ultimately the barbarians came into grievous conflict with the locals. 
  After half a century, the locals finally sent their militia — under the 
  leadership of Red Henrickson — after the cultists, killing every last 
  one of them. The temple was left standing, however, because the locals 
  did not want to push their luck. Killing the cultists was one thing but 
  destroying a god’s sacred altar was altogether another. Years passed, 
  the town grew, and the temple remained vacant except for dust and 
  rats.
  Eleven years ago, Kaliban of Ustran Pazeel claimed the lot for his 
  own, paying a modest fee to the town burgher for his blessing despite 
  many people thinking it best to leave the temple alone. They saw 
  no sense in taking chances. But Kaliban did not care. If the temple 
  meant that much to the god to whom it was consecrated, he argued, 
  this god would have sent his devout followers back to reclaim it. 
  After spending months refurbishing the temple, Kaliban opened “The 
  White Wolf,” a tavern named for the stained-glass window on the 
  building’s second floor, a remnant of the former inhabitants’ religion 
  that depicted Griefbow slaying the White Wolf, the legendary rival of 
  their god and the northern symbol of universal good. Otherwise, he 
  left the building more or less intact, removing just the altar and other 
  religious accoutrements.
  The tavern prospered. In the early days, the townsfolk frequented it 
  until it gained a reputation for attracting criminals, mercenaries, and 
  seedy adventurers. Before long, the townsfolk wished Kaliban and 
  his public house would go the way of the cultists. Red Henrickson 
  decided to take matters into his own hands and “persuade” Kaliban 
  to take his business, money, and clientele elsewhere. He led 30 of 
  the town’s best soldiers and warriors to The White Wolf, armed to 
  the teeth and thirsty for blood. He called Kaliban out and set forth 
  the town’s demands: Leave or else. Kaliban spit contemptuously and 
  witch
  witch’s teAt
  s teAt
  the
  the
  
  The WiTch's TeaT 
  The WiTch's TeaT |5
  |5
  went back inside. Red’s temper snapped, and he gave the order to kill 
  everyone inside the tavern and hang their heads from both entrances as 
  a warning and a lesson. The townsfolk charged. Unfortunately, in their 
  zealousness they never considered that Kaliban’s patrons were better 
  armed and better trained than the cultists from so many years before. 
  Three townsfolk survived the battle. Their dead were piled outside 
  the burgher’s house and a message written in blood was pinned to 
  one of their corpses’ with a dagger. It read: Yew owe me five and ten 
  gold fore sixe broke chaires and two broke tables — signed, Kaliban 
  of Ustran Pazeel. From that point on, the townsfolk begrudgingly 
  tolerated the tavern, though they never forgave Kaliban or his friends 
  for the slaughter. Yet they can blame only themselves, for they took 
  the fight to him, as the burgher is so fond of reminding them anytime 
  complaints resurface.
  Four years ago, four burly warriors and one haggard, cataract-
  blinded witch — the northern cultists — returned. Word had reached 
  them that their brethren had been viciously murdered and their temple 
  desecrated. They did not know who to blame for the tragedy, the 
  townsfolk or Kaliban. As they sat in the tavern discussing their options, 
  their rage blossomed as they looked around at a once-beautiful temple 
  dedicated to their lord now named for his adversary. The warriors 
  finally lost control and unsheathed their weapons and attacked the 
  patrons. 
  The witch cast her blind gaze directly at Kaliban and cursed him. 
  He would not die; no, that would be too kind a fate for him. Rather, for 
  the next nine generations his kith and kin would suffer. Where crimes 
  were committed, they would be blamed and punished regardless 
  of their innocence. Where they settled, cattle and sheep would be 
  rendered barren and their milk sour. Where they did business, their 
  coin would be forever worthless and their crafts eternally flawed. 
  As the warriors fell under the patrons’ steel, Kaliban unsheathed 
  his weapon — a glorious magical artifact acquired in his youth — 
  and charged the witch. She opened a wicked gash in the floor from 
  which foul demons and beasts climbed out to defend her. Kaliban and 
  his cohorts hacked them to pieces as they fought to close in on her. 
  Fireballs, burning streamers of acid, and razor-sharp spears of ice flew 
  from her fingertips. Finally, Kaliban’s sword pierced her breast with 
  a flash of light. Blood and spittle flew from her lips as she released 
  a bone-chilling cry of anguish. The foundations of The White Wolf 
  rocked as she died at Kaliban’s feet, reminding him of the curse as she 
  coughed out her last breath.
  Kaliban knew the curse was real. It was also extremely potent; he felt 
  it clinging like oil to his soul. The following day, he sold the tavern for 
  a pittance to a good friend and regular, an ugly ex-mercenary everyone 
  called “Dogface,” and quit the town for parts unknown. Dogface shut 
  down the tavern for a week while he fixed the hole in its floor, filling 
  it in and covering it over. 
  Unfortunately, the witch’s legacy remained, and the magic she called 
  upon to summon her monstrous guardians would not dissipate. The 
  portal hissed open for a second time, collapsing the repairs into a new 
  hole and releasing a fresh wave of creatures upon the patrons. This 
  situation continued for weeks. Each time Dogface sealed the hole, the 
  magic reopened it randomly. A local priest told him the witch’s magic 
  had been corrupt and that, short of a miracle, he would never be rid 
  of it. Resigned, Dogface turned the portal hole into a fighting pit and 
  put out word that he would reward any patrons who slew the beasts 
  emerging from it. Of course, no one knew for certain when the beasts 
  would come through, so many of his patrons made a regular ritual out 
  of coming to the tavern “to watch the hole.” Not long after, patrons 
  used the pit for more generic gladiatorial matches while they waited 
  for the portal to spit out the next creature.
  To spite the memory of the witch who left the tavern with this 
  accursed pit, Dogface renamed the place after her most unflattering 
  piece of anatomy: the withered, dried-up breast Kaliban severed when 
  he killed her.
   dramatIs Personae
   dramatIs Personae
  Dogface owns and operates The Witch’s Teat. He is a gristly human 
  whose temper matches his nasty appearance. An old adventuring friend 
  of his named Qaddiq al Yusef, an exotic half-elf from remote lands, 
  works upstairs in the kitchen. Thana Jotsdottir, an emigrant from the 
  north, works the second-floor common and private rooms. A strong, 
  broad-shouldered woman, she is more than capable of fending off the 
  stray hands of the drunkards who spend their coin on the courtesans 
  upstairs. When business is light, she goes downstairs to join Danal and 
  Danille Gren, the young twins who work on the first floor.
  dogface
  dogface
  One cannot say much about Dogface other than he is ugly as sin 
  and owns a disposition to match. He barely clears 5 feet in height and 
  epitomizes stocky with a chest and shoulders like an ale barrel, arms 
  and thighs like tree trunks, and a neck that would make a bull proud. 
  He keeps his salt-and-pepper black hair cut so short that it makes him 
  look nearly bald. Lately, he is growing a beard, but it makes him look 
  so much like a dwarf that he may shave it off. Though he absolutely 
  loathes dwarves, he won’t deny them service; their money is as good 
  anyone else’s.
  He spent 23 years serving in the military as a professional soldier in 
  the king’s army and as a mercenary serving under Captain Madrock 
  Fist with the not-so-renowned Company of Severed Steel. While in the 
  Company, he met Kaliban when the warrior emerged from the lair of 
  the great blue wyrm Haesepthenessokkon. Kaliban’s entire company 
  died trying to bring the wyrm down. How he alone made it out alive 
  is anyone’s guess. The wyrm was never slain, but it would not be 
  able to leave its lair for many years after the raid. Madrock offered 
  Kaliban command of an entire platoon and the other man accepted. 
  Dogface served under Kaliban for many years before their friendship 
  blossomed in the aftermath of a failed assault on a city of human-
  sacrificing mages. With barely 20 men left in the platoon, Kaliban 
  promoted Dogface to second lieutenant. Dogface soon became his 
  most trusted aide and advisor.
  When they retired from the Company, Kaliban and Dogface went 
  their separate ways. Kaliban eventually bought an old barbarian 
  temple, while Dogface traveled to another continent (Libynos in the 
  Lost Lands setting). In a remote kingdom within the Maighib Desert, 
  he helped depose an undead pharaoh and started a war with a race 
  of sand dwarves who held him prisoner for five years. The dwarves 
  forced him to work in the water mines buried deep beneath the surface 
  of a desert oasis. He eventually escaped with the assistance of the half-
  elf slave Qaddiq. 
  They became fast friends and together made their way to the 
  Seething Jungle. They wasted years there searching for a mythical 
  city of gold, a place so wondrous that the streets were supposedly 
  paved with diamonds. When they emerged from the jungle, both were 
  severely battle-fatigued. Dogface hired the next available ship he 
  could find to carry him home to Akados, where he hoped to retire from 
  the adventuring life for a while. Surprisingly, Qaddiq elected to go 
  with him. When they arrived, word of Kaliban’s whereabouts reached 
  Dogface and he was overjoyed at the prospect of seeing his old friend 
  again. He and Qaddiq spent six months getting to the tavern where a 
  warm friendly welcome awaited them.
  Dogface was weary from his long, adventurous life, and was ready 
  to slow down, and Kaliban offered the perfect excuse. Eager to rid 
  himself of the witch’s evil, Kaliban offered Dogface partial ownership 
  of the tavern while he sought out an elf queen to remove the curse. 
  Dogface paid 7,000 gold coins for an equal share of the tavern’s 
  profits and ownership and was happy to do so. He is now retired and 
  thoroughly enjoys the patrons’ company and the “quiet” life.
  
  6|Book of Taverns: volume one
  6|Book of Taverns: volume one
  dwarves of their encroachment. The dwarves sent the emissaries 
  back without their heads and animated by necromantic magic. This 
  response set off a war that would last almost 20 years and involve 
  every nomad tribe in the kingdoms. Both of Qaddiq’s parents died in 
  the war, and he fought for 17 years before the dwarves captured him in 
  a raid. They enslaved him in their water mines where he met a gnarled, 
  heavily scarred human named Dogface who had already toiled there 
  for years. Qaddiq enjoyed Dogface’s irreverent sense of humor, his 
  implacable will, and the wonderful tales he told of his homeland half 
  a world away. By the time they escaped, Qaddiq and Dogface had 
  become very good friends. Life in the tribes now seemed so small and 
  inconsequential to Qaddiq. He had never realized before the war, and 
  especially before meeting Dogface, just how much there was to see 
  and do outside the desert. He decided to travel with his odd foreign 
  friend to see with his own eyes the world the human had described.
  He has traveled with Dogface ever since. Like his friend, Qaddiq has 
  finally grown tired of the constant travel — of never knowing where 
  he might find his next meal, where they would bed down for the night, 
  or whether he would even live to see the next day. When Dogface told 
  him of Kaliban’s offer, Qaddiq quickly agreed. Dogface would run the 
  day-to-day operations and manage the common rooms, while Qaddiq 
  would work in the kitchen. Qaddiq is not the most versatile cook, but 
  he gets by. Besides, patrons do not come to The Witch’s Teat for the 
  cuisine. So far, the job has not been so bad. The patrons are his type 
  of people, the weekly fights are entertaining, and the women in these 
  lands are beautiful beyond his wildest dreams. He is especially fond 
  of Thana, though she absolutely detests him for some as-yet-unknown 
  reason. 
  thana JotsdottIr
  thana JotsdottIr
  Thana is a typical Northlander woman: tall (over 6 feet), stocky 
  (“built like a brick icehouse” is a more apt description), and so blond 
  her hair borders on white. With icy blue eyes, ruddy lips and cheeks, 
  and a laugh deeper than most of the tavern’s male patrons, she is quite 
  a sight to behold. Many people encountering her for the first time 
  often find themselves staring until she politely informs them to look 
  elsewhere lest they end up in the pit with whatever snarling, drooling 
  creature from Hell pops in for company this week.
  She hails from a remote village in the Northlands called Ayce Loch 
  where the favored trades are ice fishing and whale hunting. Is it any 
  wonder she came south looking for a more interesting life? At least, 
  that’s the story she tells anyone who asks. Tavern regulars speculate 
  she is another cultist witch spying on the town while her cohorts ready 
  an all-out assault. Dogface thinks she might be related to one of the 
  cultists who died all those years ago, but that she is not necessarily a 
  witch herself. Qaddiq thinks she is just plain gorgeous. 
  The truth, however, is hardly as glamorous as the rumors. She 
  actually comes from Glesgin Loch, a small village located near Ayce 
  Loch. After 12 young men and women were murdered over four years, 
  suspicion finally settled on her. No one could prove she had anything 
  to do with the murders, however, so the elders simply exiled her. 
  They did not want to risk spilling innocent blood, but they also didn’t 
  want her roaming free if she was the guilty party. Their unanimous 
  sentiment? Let someone else deal with her.
  Word of her possible deeds preceded her wherever she went in the 
  Northlands. Armed villagers met her at each village, ready to drive her 
  away with force if necessary. Finally, she had no choice: She had to 
  head farther south where no one would know her. She arrived at The 
  Witch’s Teat a year ago looking for work. Dogface hired her on the 
  spot, desperate for reliable help. Her wages are adequate, and Dogface 
  allows her to sleep in the private room upstairs for free. She spurns 
  Qaddiq’s affections simply because he’s not her type. 
  For a while, he thought that the witch’s curse would be the end of the 
  tavern, but instead business increased considerably. Adventurers and 
  thrill-seekers alike visit to fight in the pit, inspired by greatly inflated 
  stories of strange summoned monsters and the incredible money to be 
  gained dispatching them. Dogface lets the gladiators keep whatever 
  valuables the pit-spawned creatures bring with them and pays them a 
  flat fee ranging from 100 gp to 15,000 gp depending on the nature of 
  the beast. For most fights, whether between people and beasts or just 
  between two people, he charges a small commission on bets brokered 
  through the house and then pays out the prize purse from that money. 
  While private bets are not entirely disallowed, they are discouraged. 
  Most private bets do not pay as well as the house and so really are not 
  a problem. 
  Only twice in the tavern’s history have creatures escaped the pit. In 
  both instances, they almost destroyed the tavern and the town outside. 
  Needless to say, the townsfolk were not too happy with Dogface and 
  asked him to make a hefty “donation” in restitution to three local 
  temples and the burgher. Moreover, the money he spent on repairing 
  the tavern almost put him out of business for good. Dogface truly fears 
  the day when something no one can handle emerges from the pit. He 
  has been lucky in that regard so far, but who knows how long his luck 
  will last?
  QaddIQ al Yusef
  QaddIQ al Yusef
  Qaddiq’s father was an elf noble named Jaesof who, along with 
  his entourage, became lost in the Maighib Desert. Wira, a human 
  woman and the leader of a tribe of desert nomads called the Sahoduin, 
  subsequently rescued Jaesof. She and six of her best warriors were on 
  their way to an inter-tribal conclave when they happened upon Jaesof 
  at an oasis watering hole. The last survivor of his group and on the 
  brink of death, Jaesof lay mere feet from the lifesaving water. Rivals 
  of the Sahoduin attacked as Wira and her warriors nursed him back 
  to health. The watering hole was located in the other tribe’s territory, 
  and Wira, her men, and Jaesof were trespassing by being there. They 
  were also thieves for drinking the precious water without first asking 
  permission. The battle was short, however, with Wira and her men 
  making quick work of the enemy warriors. They took Jaesof back to 
  the Sahoduin, where he lived for the remainder of his days. He and 
  Wira eventually fell in love and married. Qaddiq was born three years 
  after their marriage and given his father’s name as a surname, as is 
  customary among the desert cultures: al Yusef, or “of Jaesof,” a rough 
  approximation of the elf’s name in Wira’s language.
  Qaddiq inherited the best features of both his parents. From his 
  father, he received his emerald green eyes and golden hair, and from his 
  mother his dusky skin and wiry, muscular body. While one might think 
  his physical grace signals his elven heritage, Qaddiq actually inherited 
  this trait from his mother’s people. The Sahoduin are renowned in the 
  desert kingdoms for their whirling dervishes — warrior-priests who 
  spin and dance in combat to achieve an ecstatic high in order to acquire 
  amazing powers. A patient people, the Sahoduin are slow to anger and 
  take offense, especially at the social inadequacies of outsiders. Other 
  tribes claim this makes them soft, but anyone who faces them in battle 
  knows otherwise. If one aspect stands out about Qaddiq, it is that he is 
  truly a product of the Sahoduin — his patience is legendary, as is his 
  martial prowess.
  When he was 22, his people discovered sand dwarves undermining 
  three of their territorial oases. Wira sent emissaries to inform the 
  
  The WiTch's TeaT 
  The WiTch's TeaT |7
  |7
  Patrons & PossIBIlItIes
  Patrons & PossIBIlItIes
  The following table includes some interesting patrons and events to be found in The Witch’s Teat. Roll randomly or select one of the unique 
  individuals to fill out the tavern’s nightly clientele. Rumors can be sprinkled into conversations as needed.
  1d6
  Patron or Event
  1
  A burly warrior deep into his cups finally has had enough with the “mouthy bard” playing his lute on the stage. He stands up, 
  toppling his table and chair, and loudly shouts his name “Otato!” before rushing the stage. Any patrons in his way are cast aside by 
  the drunken barbarian, possibly thrown into the pit just as a random creature scrambles through the portal. 
  2
  The extremely unlucky magic-user Barnabix Huld (who was once cursed to sit in a tree for weeks collecting tolls for a hag) has 
  again run into trouble. His newest curse is minor compared to the last one: Whenever he is in a building, all the doors and windows 
  open of their own accord. But the minor annoyance is a major problem when Barnabix visits The Witch’s Teat. His presence opens 
  the portal — which remains open. Assorted creatures suddenly begin pouring into the bar. And the doors and windows keep clattering 
  open and closed during the ensuing fight … 
  3
  A nearly catatonic adventurer sits in a corner booth, his hands shaking so badly that the drink he holds sloshes and spills across the 
  table. He sometimes shrieks “The Root Run Tunnel!” and “It’s hunting me!” He eventually flees, but anyone following him sees a 
  monstrous tentacle swoop out of the air to wrap around the man’s body. Its squeezes, crushing the man in its grip before it fades out 
  of existence.
  4
  A hide-covered, bent-over shaman with straggly hair and rotten teeth pulls up a chair and asks, “Do you have more broken flesh of 
  the chaotic one?” If Gorbane the Rock Collector is asked about the heavy sacks he carries, he pulls out a dark stone that might once 
  have been part of an ebon statue. He eagerly shows how other stones he has collected fit together like a puzzle.
  5
  Late one night, three zombies stagger into the tavern. Each one wears battered armor from a battle most thought a mere legend. The 
  zombies wield glowing longswords but keep them down at their sides. They sidle up to the bar as if to order. The patrons in the bar 
  push back away from the new arrivals, unsure what might happen. The zombies wait patiently for a drink (any drink will do) but 
  become agitated if nothing is offered. If attacked, they defend themselves. If a kindhearted soul buys their drinks, each zombie opens 
  its mouth to reveal a small diamond sitting on its rotted tongue. The jewels are worth 200 gp if anyone is brave enough to take them. 
  6
  A black-cloaked wizardess named Selmago Alix asks rather angrily for a table for six, but sits alone for most of the night, which 
  rather upsets the staff. Near midnight, she reaches into a bag and pulls out five perfectly sculpted stone icons of a grizzly bear, two 
  giant hyenas, an ogre, and a wild boar. She sits them at their places around the table, and then sits back to wait a little longer.
  danal and danIlle gren
  danal and danIlle gren
  Danal and Danille are 17-year-old twins. They have lived on their 
  own ever since they were orphaned eight years ago. When they can 
  manage it, they secure passage with cargo caravans traveling between 
  towns and cities, always moving from one place to the next. Both are 
  pudgy with long, jet-black hair they wear tied back in ponytails. They 
  have black eyes.
  They love to eat, especially sweetmeats when they can afford 
  them, hence their relative bulk. They swipe leftovers from the plates 
  of patrons or from Qaddiq’s kitchen any chance they get. Dogface 
  tolerates their gluttony only because they are the best servers he has 
  hired in a long time. They are always polite, friendly, and timely. 
  However, the pair are small-time burglars who frequently steal items 
  from drunk or unconscious patrons. Many patrons have grumbled 
  about losing items and a few blame the twins. However, Danal always 
  politely allows accusers to search their belongings, but all they find are 
  a few changes of clothes and a handful of coppers. The twins actually 
  stash their loot in a secret spot in the woods outside town.
  Dogface is letting the twins sleep in the second-floor storage room 
  until they find a place of their own (which is unlikely to happen, as 
  they plan to rob him blind then quickly move on, as is their habit). 
  Some patrons have begun to complain to Dogface, and some even 
  whisper he might be behind the thefts. Danal and Danille ensure he 
  trusts them by working hard in the tavern. So far, the ruse is working 
  like a charm. Not even Qaddiq suspects them, and he is as wily as they 
  come; however, he does reprimand them frequently for pinching food 
  from the stove pots.
  
  8|Book of Taverns: volume one
  8|Book of Taverns: volume one
  the estaBlIshment
  the estaBlIshment
  The Witch’s Teat is a rectangular, two-story wooden structure that 
  once functioned as a temple. It looks like a big log cabin, with walls, 
  doors, roof, and shingles all cut from the massive pine and oak trees 
  for which the region is famous. Two stone hearths run up the south 
  wall through the second floor and out the roof. The tavern has two 
  ground-floor entrances. Set in the second-floor wall above the wester 
  entrance is a beautiful stained-glass window showing a scene of the 
  barbarian cultist Gunter Griefbow killing a snarling, white-furred 
  wolf. Other windows are shuttered, with neither oiled parchment nor 
  glass, and closed in the winter to keep out the chill.
  The tavern’s inside is just as rustic and charming as the outside, 
  with the pelts and heads of many animals such as bears, wolves, and 
  moose adorning the walls and floors. A few unnatural creatures such as 
  demons, ettins, ogres, and bugbears are also present. A young adult red 
  dragon’s head even hangs prominently on the south wall between the 
  fireplaces in the first-floor common room. Thick wood columns carved 
  with the visages of totem spirits support the first-floor ceiling 30 feet 
  overhead. The wooden floors of The Witch’s Teat are heavily stained 
  and scuffed, as is the furniture. The common room fills the entirety of 
  the first floor, and surrounds the Pit, a 15-foot-deep hole lined with 
  hellishly black stone in the center the room. 
  1. common room
  1. common room
  This was once the chapel of the barbarian cultists. The entire first 
  floor is open, with numerous long tables and benches occupying most 
  of it (with a few smaller tables and chairs). Thick wood columns 
  supporting the second floor and roof are spaced regularly down the 
  center of the common room. The tavern’s notorious fighting pit is in 
  the exact center. A pair of stairs and a pair of stone hearths are along 
  the south wall. Some say that the cultists’ altar once sat between the 
  hearths in the spot that a red dragon’s head now claims as its own.
  As with all the other rooms in the tavern, the walls bear a bevy of 
  trophies taken over the years from creatures that have crawled out of 
  the pit. These include the heads of all manner of strange beasts, multi-
  colored pelts, racks of antlers, and anything else Dogface can think to 
  put up there. Of course, the most prized trophy is the aforementioned 
  dragon’s head, even though it did not come through the portal. Instead, 
  Niobe of Star River — a professional dragon slayer and a tavern 
  regular — donated the head. Unfortunately, an ancient black wyrm got 
  the better of Niobe a month after she made the donation.
  The common room, and by proxy the rest of the tavern, never shuts 
  down. If people stay late enough, they are allowed to sleep on the 
  tables and floors downstairs, though Dogface and Qaddiq do shut 
  down the second floor when it looks as if business is waning. Part of 
  the reason for Dogface’s generosity is that he does not really want to 
  leave the pit unattended. At the very least, he has one duel master who 
  remains behind if no patrons appear willing to take the night watch.
  2. the PIt
  2. the PIt
  The pit is 15 feet deep and almost as wide, with stone walls that 
  are black from the portal magic and the blood of the slain. Heavy, 
  rune-encrusted stones line the rim. Centered perfectly in the open 
  space of the pit is a purplish-blue, crackling eye of eldritch energy: 
  the portal itself, the remnant of the witch’s magic from years earlier. 
  No one knows what fuels it or how long it will last. All they know 
  is that at least once a week the portal awakens, the eldritch energy 
  expanding outward moments before something comes through. The 
  duel master (hired by Dogface to run the gladiatorial matches) chooses 
  the gladiators who will fight that night, either against one another 
  or against whatever foul beast the portal spits up. He marks them 
  with colored spots painted on their tunics. If a gladiator forfeits the 
  match — because the opponent or the arriving creature might be too 
  powerful — that warrior cannot fight for a month. Fortunately, the duel 
  masters are rather adept at picking matches and so few forfeits occur. 
  Duel masters also take house bets and handle payouts to the winners, 
  receiving 2% of the house’s take for their work.
  After a powerful demon nearly destroyed the tavern, Dogface hired 
  a traveling wizard to enchant the stones rimming the top of the pit 
  in case of an emergency. Twelve of the stones form a teleportation 
  circle that Dogface, Qaddiq, or the duel masters can activate with a 
  command. Once activated, the stones teleport anything in the pit to 
  a location hundreds of miles away. Removing a single stone breaks 
  the enchantment until the stone is returned. Fortunately, Dogface had 
  the stones embedded permanently in the floor to prevent people from 
  wandering off with them. Few people know about the stones, as they 
  have seen them used only twice since their installation. The stones can 
  be pried loose with great effort. 
  A powerful wizard created the teleportation stones — for which 
  Dogface paid handsomely — in exchange for a magical iron flask 
  taken from the corpse of a summoned efreet. Each teleportation stone 
  has 48 charges left and activating the teleportation circle expends one 
  charge from each stone.
  the Portal Wakes
  the Portal Wakes
  To determine if the portal wakes, roll 1d20 once per day. On a result 
  of 1, something comes through. Roll 1d8 and consult the table below 
  to determine the type of creature. The portal is a one-way journey into 
  the tavern. Arriving creatures are stunned for a few seconds, providing 
  the duel masters ample opportunity to call out the “colors” of those 
  who expected to fight them.
  Usually only one creature appears, though you can roll 1d6 if you 
  wish to increase the number. 
  1d8
  Creature 
  1
  Abberation
  2
  Beast
  3
  Elemental
  4
  Fiend
  5
  Giant
  6
  Monstrosity
  7
  Ooze
  8
  Undead
  3. ale altar
  3. ale altar
  Along the common room’s north wall is the tavern’s official “altar” 
  as Dogface jokingly refers to the collection of huge ale barrels and 
  shelves laden with flagons. Three of the barrels contain tavern favorites: 
  Pazeel Wanderer, a hearty golden ale possessed of a distinct musty 
  odor, and Silver Cloud, a sour-tasting brew patrons swear becomes 
  urine if left out overnight. Smaller barrels contain either Darkdale 
  Bogwheat, a dense black ale with a rich earthy flavor, or Bellowforge 
  Bock, a wickedly potent drink made by a family of local brewers in the 
  business for more than 300 years. What the barrels contain depends on 
  availability and if Dogface had any particular brand brought in with 
  the biweekly shipment from the ale merchants. When the common 
  room is crowded, regulars are encouraged to serve themselves so long 
  as they pay; those caught cheating are either banned or thrown into 
  the pit depending on the night and whether or not the portal is awake. 
  Most people would not think of cheating Dogface, though, as they 
  respect him and the tavern too much. The few who do cheat are most 
  often outsiders ignorant of local customs.
  
  The WiTch's TeaT 
  The WiTch's TeaT |9
  |9
  4. uPPer commons
  4. uPPer commons
  This common room is one-third the size of the first floor and 
  darker, with fewer torches and candles. It also contains fewer tables 
  and chairs; instead, plush animal skins and filthy pillows cover the 
  floor. Courtesans from town ply their trade here, handing over 60% 
  of their earnings to the house each night. Thana Jotsdottir waits on 
  second-floor patrons, but when the night is slow, she is often found 
  either downstairs working with the twins or in the kitchen chatting 
  with Qaddiq. Like the rest of the tavern, the upper commons sport a 
  plethora of trophies on the walls. The most prominent trophy hangs 
  next to the hearth: the head a storm giant who believed he was actually 
  a halfling trapped in a body 10 sizes too tall.
  5. kItchen
  5. kItchen
  This cramped room was once a hallway, but Kaliban converted 
  it into a kitchen when he rebuilt the temple interior. Qaddiq spends 
  much of his time here preparing dishes for patrons. The twin hearths 
  are used to cook the majority of the food, though there is also a small 
  clay oven and braziers for grilling meats. Cupboards, shelves, tables, 
  crates, and barrels make the kitchen even narrower. Food is taken to 
  the common room using the stairs, though Qaddiq has been trying to 
  talk Dogface into installing a dumbwaiter.
  6. PrIvate room
  6. PrIvate room
  This large room is reserved for patrons willing to pay the steep 
  prices required to rent it. Like the upper commons, more pillows fill 
  this room than anything else. Two double-sized beds occupy the north 
  wall, and a towering hookah currently claims the center of the room. 
  A bathing tub, large enough to hold at least three people, is in one of 
  the southern corners. Tavern employees can use the room only on the 
  condition that they keep it clean.
  7. dogface’s Quarters
  7. dogface’s Quarters
  Dogface resides in this private room. This very well-appointed room 
  contains expensive furniture, an imported writing desk brought to this 
  continent by a proud cleric who lost it on a bad bet, a wardrobe, and, 
  of all things, a garderobe. While no trophies adorn the walls, Dogface 
  has spread a couple of nice bear- and wolfskins across the floor.
  A heavy, extremely well-locked travel chest contains the following 
  items: 3,886 gp, a small silk sack with 4,500 gp in loose gems, and a 
  platinum diadem worth 1,340 gp.
  8. storage room
  8. storage room
  One week’s worth of ale, mead, and other beverages are kept in this 
  room. A large trapdoor in the center of the storage room’s floor opens 
  into the common room below. A pulley and ropes allow items to be 
  raised or lowered. The room is used to store dry goods and food used 
  by the kitchen.
  
  10|Book of Taverns: volume one
  10|Book of Taverns: volume one
  Menu
  Menu
  The Witch’s Teat
  goods & servIces
  goods & servIces
  The Witch’s Teat offers a good selection of alcoholic beverages — 
  unlike many other places in town — with at least three always on tap. 
  It even offers an adequate non-alcoholic beverage selection. Food is 
  run-of-the-mill pub grub prepared by Qaddiq. It is not really that good, 
  but the drunkards in the common rooms have not complained so far 
  … or become ill.
  adventure seeds
  adventure seeds
  The following ideas can be used as seeds for adventures set in or 
  around The Witch’s Teat:
  Stolen Stones: Jora, the daughter of Red Henrickson, late one 
  night replaces the spell stones around the pit with counterfeits. She 
  spiked the ale barrels with a potent soporific to ensure that late-staying 
  revelers and the on-duty duel master would fall into a deep, dreamless 
  sleep. This allowed her the opportunity to freely switch the stones. 
  Dogface offers a reward of 15,000 gp for their return.
  The Rogue’s Offer: One afternoon, a severely wounded planetar 
  staggers through the portal. Moments later, a half-elf dressed in 
  midnight black leathers wielding a silver sword follows. The half-elf 
  slays the planetar without hesitation. Before gladiators can jump into 
  the pit to challenge him, he explains that he is Senjick Wael and that he 
  knows the source of the portal’s power and is willing to shut it down 
  … for a fee. Dogface cannot decide if he wants the portal closed — 
  after all, it has brought him more wealth, in one form or another, than 
  he ever dreamed possible. Unfortunately, he recognizes the danger 
  inherent in letting the portal continue to function. Meanwhile, word of 
  the rogue’s offer reaches the burgher and the town elders. They want 
  the portal closed and will stop at nothing to raise the money Senjick 
  requires.
  Bounty Hunters Arrive: Five bounty hunters come to the tavern 
  seeking Thana Jotsdottir’s head, but Dogface, Qaddiq, and the tavern 
  regulars refuse to let them have her. She is considered a part of their 
  family now, despite the accusations the bounty hunters present, and 
  they refuse to give her up without a fight. The bounty hunters retire 
  to the forest outside of town to formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Danal 
  and Danille Gren plan to double-cross Thana and Dogface and turn 
  her over to the hunters in exchange for a portion of the reward money.
  Private Reserve: A vampire lord exits the portal to feed late at night 
  while everyone sleeps, making the tavern his own personal watering 
  hole. When he finishes, he steps back through the portal, something 
  considered impossible to do. At first, only a few deaths occur each 
  week, but then corpses start piling up. After a few weeks, regular 
  patrons transform into vampire spawn and rampage through the 
  tavern. When the vampire lord arrives each night, sleeping patrons 
  experience surreal dreams, milk and cheese curdle, ale goes horribly 
  sour, and vermin and supernatural creatures (bats, rats, a gargoyle on 
  the roof, wolves, and so on) infest the tavern.
  The large room is incredibly crowded with crates, barrels, sacks, 
  and anything else Dogface and Qaddiq can fit in here (including spare 
  furniture). One corner, however, has been cleared to allow Danal and 
  Danille a temporary place to live. They are extremely protective of 
  their “room” and set up numerous traps to discourage interlopers (even 
  though they don’t keep their stolen treasures here). All three traps 
  are rigged with tripwires and easy to disarm. The first trap is across 
  the threshold to the twins’ hidey-hole behind the crates. If triggered, 
  it drops a chair. Should this nefarious trap be penetrated, the next 
  tripwire sets off an alarm bell that rings loudly once. The third trap 
  is a bit more sinister, as the tripwire is attached to a loaded crossbow 
  tipped with a poisoned bolt, though beyond this deadly barrier the 
  twins purposefully keep nothing worth taking. All that can be found 
  are some dirty blankets and some half-eaten bread and hardtack. The 
  thieves hide their stolen loot in the woods outside town.
  Ale & Mead
  Cost
  Bellowforge Bock
  1 cp
  Darkdale Bogwheat
  2 cp
  Pazeel Wanderer
  3 cp
  Silver Cloud
  1 cp
  Other Beverages
  Acorn coffee
  1 cp
  Darkdale burgundy
  3 sp
  Rum cider
  1 sp
  Willow bark tea
  2 cp
  Food
  Cabbage soup
  1 cp
  Lizard kabobs
  2 cp
  Fried eggs and hardtack
  3 cp
  Barley cakes
  2 cp
  Meat of the day
  6 cp
  Unleavened bread, day old
  1 cp
  Unleavened bread, fresh
  4 cp
  Other Services
  Courtesan, low-ranking
  8 sp
  Courtesan, high-ranking
  6 gp
  Private room, per person, per night
  6 gp
  
  The WiTch's TeaT 
  The WiTch's TeaT |11
  |11
  Established in the ruins of a once-mighty castle, Quintain’s Tower 
  caters to the ogre and goblin tribes inhabiting the region and houses 
  a conclave of rangers devoted to the memory of the manor’s lady. 
  Hundreds of years ago, the castle was known as Caer Dunaven, named 
  for the duke and duchess who resided there with a contingent of ever-
  loyal knights. Today, people call the castle Caer Dire, the nobles’ 
  memory having crumbled into so much dust along with the stones 
  that once made up its walls. The great tower stands at the heart of the 
  ruins. Its hollowed-out ground floor, the tavern itself, is known as The 
  Quintain’s Tower after a peculiar tale of love and madness set in the 
  castle’s remote past. Its upper floor functions as the rangers’ roost, a 
  strange, mysterious world unto itself where a tree can be sainted.
  Ogres annually hold a trade-meet on the castle grounds, with all 
  manner of humanoid caravans buying and selling wares of the licit and 
  illicit variety. Brazzer Mandragora, the tavern’s owner, ensures that 
  Caer Dire remains neutral ground through an impressive combination 
  of cunning and might. Those who violate the laws or break the tenuous 
  peace soon regret their actions.
  the QuintAin’s 
  the QuintAin’s 
  tower
  tower
  
  12|Book of Taverns: volume one
  12|Book of Taverns: volume one
  Background
  Background
  Caer Dunaven fell 500 years ago, meaning it’s been half a 
  millennium since its walls felt the laughter and merriment of Lord 
  and Lady Dunaven. Lord Utrec Dunaven was a prominent duke in his 
  king’s council, while Sophia Dunaven (neé Westmarche) came from a 
  highborn family deep in the king’s debt thanks to considerable loans 
  for war efforts against a neighboring kingdom. Unlike the majority of 
  arranged marriages between noble families, Utrec and Sophia were 
  very much in love. They traveled frequently between the kingdom’s 
  capital where they kept their winter home and the countryside where 
  they held court in the summer. Caer Dunaven was their summer home, 
  a rustic manor and frontier fort combined.
  Many years passed, and Lord Dunaven fell out of the king’s favor 
  due to the rival Dragul family’s machinations. At the queen’s behest, 
  Utrec forfeited his manor near the capital and permanently moved his 
  household to Caer Dunaven. Many more years fell by the wayside and 
  Lord Dunaven’s holdings shrank; each year he lost a small portion 
  to the king’s treasury only to see it awarded a month later to Lord 
  Dragul. Finally, after 10 years in exile, the king issued an edict that 
  Caer Dunaven’s demesne would become a vassal county of the Dragul, 
  to whom Lord Dunaven and his wife would swear oaths of fealty. 
  Angered and dishonored, Lord Dunaven refused. He was promptly 
  labeled a traitorous outlaw, and his lands were officially ceded to Lord 
  Dragul. With the war officially engaged, Lord Dragul’s armies began 
  their long siege of Caer Dunaven.
  During the months that followed, hardship became a way of life for 
  those in the castle. Supplies ran low, the remaining loyal knights grew 
  weary, and the castle walls gradually weakened under constant assault 
  from Lord Dragul’s siege weapons. Sophia sent many messages by 
  carrier pigeon and homing falcon to the Westmarche family, pleading 
  for help of any kind. Dragul’s archers shot down most of the carriers, 
  but one finally managed to get through. Sophia’s mother, wed to Lord 
  Harring since Lord Westmarche’s unfortunate hunting accident 10 
  years earlier, convinced her latest husband to talk to the king on Lord 
  Dunaven’s behalf. 
  The plea was in vain, however, as the king refused to change his 
  mind. Help still came thanks to a large mercenary army Lord Harring 
  hired, but it came too late. When the troops arrived, the castle had 
  fallen to Lord Dragul’s men and had been sacked. All that remained 
  were the shell of the walls, a few stone buildings jutting up like rotten 
  teeth from the blackened remains of wooden structures, and the keep’s 
  main tower. Even the conquering army had left, the soldiers unnerved 
  by happened in the closing hours of the siege and needed elsewhere to 
  further Lord Dragul’s ambitions.
  Few survived the siege, but they passed their tale on to others, and 
  the mercenary army spread it far and wide as they traveled across the 
  land on their bloody business. As the walls came down and Dragul’s 
  troops flooded in, Lord Utrec led his remaining knights in a desperate 
  countercharge and fighting retreat to the main keep. At first there were 
  a hundred, then a few dozen, and finally Lord Dunaven and seven 
  knights. Up the steps of the tower they fought, never able to hold their 
  ground but just barely managing to keep the foe at bay long enough to 
  take one more step back.
  Lady Sophia stayed nearby, just out of sight of the fighting but near 
  enough to encourage her husband. But stories must end — the same 
  with lives — and this tale reached its conclusion on the tower’s broken 
  battlements. As Lord Utrec stood panting, blood streaming from the 
  joints of his armor, Lord Dragul stepped forward to confront the lord, 
  his wife, and the last loyal knights. Dragul was fresh and unharmed, 
  having spent most of the battle in his tent enjoying fine wines and 
  listening to minstrels ply their strings. 
  As one final triumph, he offered the seven remaining knights a 
  choice: Die with their liege lord or surrender and be rewarded with 
  gold, silver, and gems, enough money to start a new life. At first they 
  refused, but one by one all seven broke their oaths and took Dragul’s 
  offer, abandoning their lord and lady and the tower itself. They fled 
  from the expected tragedy. Finally, to end the tale, Lord Dragul 
  stepped back behind his soldiers and ordered waiting crossbowmen to 
  kill the Dunavens.
  Lord Utrect died in a bellowing charge, cut down before he could 
  break through Dragul’s bodyguards and exact any vengeance. Sophia, 
  mortally wounded, grasped the quintain and teetered over the edge of 
  the battlements. From her dangerous perch, she saw the seven disloyal 
  knights fleeing and cursed them and their progeny for seven times 
  seven generations as cowards and worse. She called out loudly that 
  the quintain had more honor than any of the knights, for at least it had 
  stood by them until the end. She then threw herself from the tower. 
  After this, none wanted to live in Caer Dunaven. The castle was left 
  a shattered ruin, the lands around burned during the long siege, and the 
  people largely dead or fled. Lord Dragul abandoned it to the elements. 
  Slowly over time, the name Caer Dire replaced Caer Dunaven, 
  for it was now an accursed place no one would inhabit — or so it 
  seemed, until a tribe of goblins unaware of the castle’s history moved 
  in. Later, human rangers also took up residence, claiming descent from 
  the knights who had betrayed their lord. Finally, an oni by the name 
  of Brazzer Mandragora showed up and turned the great tower into a 
  tavern.
  dramatIs Personae
  dramatIs Personae
  Of the numerous residents of Caer Dire and the surrounding lands, 
  none is more colorful than the tavern’s owner, Brazzer Mandragora, 
  an oni of no small repute. Three ogre tribes living in the area — 
  Warhammer, Steel Ring, and Black Iron — allow Brazzer to serve 
  as the final arbiter of local laws and customs, mostly out of fear of 
  his magical might. The Wood Wards of St. Sophia and Sheriff Jon 
  Oakborn are the highest human authority in the land, wielding their 
  power sparingly yet brutally. His rival, Sara of Westmarche, was once 
  a Wood Ward, but she quit the group when Oakborn ordered her death. 
  She now leads a breakaway group of rangers who call themselves the 
  Riders of Westmarche. Finally, a tribe of goblins living under the 
  tavern stairs call themselves Freesifoot’s Pootoon. They often help 
  Brazzer with his publican duties, especially when business booms.
  Brazzer mandragora
  Brazzer mandragora
  Brazzer Mandragora is surrounded by stories: He was the seventh 
  son of a seventh son; his mother was a witch, and she was burned 
  alive; his father was an infamous warlock who challenged the gods 
  themselves with his power. These are just a few of the tales swirling 
  around him. None are true, not even remotely. In reality, his parents 
  were unexceptional, his tribe was typically mundane, and all he could 
  really look forward to was a future at the top of a very small food 
  chain. Onis are rare in ogre society, so he received a little more respect 
  than his siblings, most of whom died in brawls before they reached 
  puberty. As he grew older, Brazzer became increasingly dissatisfied 
  with his life — raiding villages, killing innocents, and selling prisoners 
  into slavery just was not his mug of ale. In fact, he preferred life away 
  from his brethren as much as possible, spending time in the deep 
  woods exploring ancient ruins or sneaking into the human villages 
  late at night to steal books, scrolls, and anything else he could find to 
  read (having taught himself years earlier while his moronic playmates 
  contented themselves with pulling the legs off bobcats).
  On one such excursion, Brazzer discovered a half-submerged 
  temple in the heart of a swamp so large it took two weeks to reach the 
  ruins. The temple was older than time; he could feel it in his bones. 
  Arcane glyphs covered every square inch of its walls, bristling with 
  raw magical power and shedding a cold, argent light into brackish 
  water. It looked as if the moon herself had drowned there.
  The temple called out to him.
  
  The QuinTain's ToWer 
  The QuinTain's ToWer |13
  |13
  Brazzer spent the next 50 years there, using every waking moment 
  to decipher the mysterious language on the walls when he was not 
  traveling back to civilization to purchase rare historical tomes. One 
  day, it finally happened. The years he spent studying paid off when he 
  at last recognized a single word. He remembered seeing a similar word 
  many years ago in a book he had purchased from a wandering party 
  of dungeon-delving adventurers. That one word eventually unlocked 
  the wall’s mysteries. The temple was not a temple at all, but a prison 
  built in an age long forgotten. The words on the walls detailed an 
  imprisoning enchantment designed to hold the most powerful wizards 
  of the time. Learning the enchantment opened wide the doorways in 
  Brazzer’s soul to the arcane mysteries of the world, and he suddenly 
  found himself on the sorcerer’s road.
  Eventually, he learned all he could from the sunken prison’s walls 
  and moved on. He traveled for another half century, seeing the world 
  and uncovering ancient secrets of sorcery wherever he went. In some 
  places,
  civilized peoples reviled him as a hideous, blue-skinned freak; in 
  others, they accepted him at face value for who and what he was. 
  Unfortunately, as his magical powers continued to grow, the years 
  began to weigh heavily upon him. One hundred and twenty-some odd 
  years were a long time for ogres to live — supernaturally long actually. 
  He decided finally to retire from the adventuring life. A decade earlier, 
  he had heard the story of Caer Dire, and so he went to find it, thinking 
  it would make a nice place to spend the rest of his days. He found the 
  castle in utter disarray, except for the great tower at its center, which 
  had, of all things, a tree growing through its roof. Goblins lived in 
  the north wall, while humans lived inside the great tower. This made 
  for a strange arrangement, to be sure, but not one without its charm. 
  The goblins were “tame” by the humans’ standards, while the humans 
  could care less about whom they shared the castle just so long as the 
  tower’s solar was left alone. Brazzer moved into the tower’s ground 
  floor, happy to have such … unique … company. He rebuilt the tower’s 
  stairs — out of courtesy to the humans upstairs more than anything 
  else — and they brought him food and drink when they could manage 
  it. The goblins feared him at first, but gradually grew accustomed to 
  him. He built an alcohol still for himself; while he was happy for the 
  rangers’ contributions, they did not come quite frequently enough for 
  his tastes. One thing led to another, and within a couple of years of 
  Brazzer’s arrival, an impromptu tavern had evolved.
  That was nearly 50 years ago. The goblins moved into the stair 
  infrastructure not long after Brazzer rebuilt it. The humans have seen 
  another generation and have not changed one iota in their outlook 
  on life, which suits him just fine. They leave him well enough alone, 
  though they are certainly not above drinking his ales when the mood 
  overcomes them, and he is more than happy to leave them to their 
  trees upstairs. The ogre tribes roaming the land have never learned to 
  trust him fully, yet they do accept him and The Quintain’s Tower as 
  a permanent part of the landscape now (or, at the very least, until his 
  death). As barbaric as ogres everywhere tend to be, Brazzer has needed 
  repeatedly to encourage the local tribes to behave properly while on 
  the castle grounds. The rangers take this request one step further and 
  similarly encourage “proper conduct” within 50 miles of the castle. At 
  first, the ogres resented Brazzer’s intimations of authority over them, 
  but a well-timed display of his considerable magical powers quickly 
  swayed them.
  For reasons nobody knows, Brazzer fears cattle, and he often goes out 
  of his way to kill the poor beasts. Normally, he throws their carcasses 
  into the sapper’s tunnel (where a few of them return from the grave as 
  undead zombie cows for reasons no one can decipher). Strangely, he 
  is not above using their meat to cook up pub grub if other supplies run 
  low. Some of the rangers think he carries a curse that he does not know 
  about. They don’t tell him about their suspicions, however, finding it 
  more amusing to watch him go crazy whenever ranchers drive their 
  cattle past the castle as they migrate to new feeding grounds or when 
  wild cattle wander into the region (wild forest buffalo are particularly 
  maddening for the oni). Others suspect the phobia runs deeper than a 
  simple curse, perhaps something he has held since childhood.
  hammer fall trIBe
  hammer fall trIBe
  This tribe of ogres owes its fame to its ruthlessness in making war 
  against the orc and hobgoblin tribes to the north and west. Its members 
  stop at nothing to kill their enemies, willing to take the hunt all the 
  way to the heart of the orc cities if need be (though they first must find 
  an orc city). The tribe is the second largest of the three inhabiting the 
  region surrounding Caer Dire. Its warriors wield massive warhammers 
  from which the tribe gets name. Hammer Fall ogres are physically 
  impressive, being significantly stronger than the average ogre from 
  other tribes. Their choice in weaponry might have something to do 
  with this difference.
  The tribe’s leader is Fenner Packweasel, a towering specimen 
  who rarely speaks; when he does, he uses calm, measured tones and 
  carefully chosen words. While not the shiniest coin in the box, Fenner 
  is nevertheless extremely patient and cunning. He and his warriors 
  fight in small groups, preferring hit-and-run guerilla tactics over direct 
  confrontation.
  Of the three tribes, the Hammer Falls spend the least amount of time 
  in The Quintain’s Tower since they are usually out on the warpath. 
  The times they return to the Tower, they often bear the spoils of war 
  and more cured orc meat than Brazzer knows what to do with. The 
  Hammer Falls bristle the most under the Wood Wards’ totalitarian 
  governing of the forest and seek one day to bring them down for good. 
  Fenner particularly hates Jon Oakborn.
  steel rIng trIBe
  steel rIng trIBe
  This is the largest ogre tribe in the region, though not the most 
  powerful. Poor organization and leaders addicted to natural drugs keep 
  the Steel Rings from achieving dominance. Their name comes from 
  the peculiar weapon they like to wield: a large, broad-headed scimitar 
  with a thick steel ring looped through its point. Tribal in-breeding has 
  caused most of its members to bear some sort of genetic flaw, resulting 
  in diverse effects ranging from severe intellectual disabilities to 
  missing limbs and stunted growth to an infant mortality rate exceeding 
  70%. How the Steel Rings maintain their high population is a mystery 
  to everyone.
  One genetic anomaly that virtually all Steel Rings share is a high 
  susceptibility to addiction. In the case of the tribe’s current crop of 
  leaders, the addiction responds primarily to somaberries, a wickedly 
  potent narcotic that can be found growing in the nearby forest. 
  When eaten, the berries induce a near-catatonic state of bliss and 
  hallucination that lasts for more than six hours per dose. Zurggadin 
  Treeslayer, the Steel Ring’s chieftain, is reportedly so addicted to 
  somaberries that he spends all his waking hours in a drug-induced 
  stupor, leaving management of the tribe to Odekkor Blueblood, his 
  second-in-command, who is curiously immune to the drug’s effect.
  somaBerrIes
  somaBerrIes
  Somaberries are glossy red poisonous berries that grow 
  in clusters of 10 or 12 on thin parasitic vines that wind 
  around oak and willow trees. A creature eating any of the 
  berries is unaffected until he consumes 1d4 berries, at 
  which point they become immune to fear, but somewhat 
  clumsy and slow in their actions. Those who eat too many 
  somaberries are known to hallucinate and become easily 
  agitated.
  
  14|Book of Taverns: volume one
  14|Book of Taverns: volume one
  Black Iron trIBe
  Black Iron trIBe
  The smallest of the area’s resident ogre tribes, the Black Irons are 
  also, all told, the most intelligent of the entire lot put together. Perhaps 
  this is because they are not entirely ogres. Instead, they are orogs, a 
  mix between orc and ogre. Their name, Black Iron, comes from the 
  distinctive black iron armor they favor, forging it themselves with ore 
  pulled from an “abandoned” dwarf mine in the south. Physically, their 
  broad flat noses, their relatively tiny ears, and their high foreheads 
  set them apart from the other tribes. Also, unlike the other two tribes, 
  Black Iron ogres are fastidious and clean.
  Their leader is a proud female named Wolfbone Deathrattle a 
  shaman famous for the innumerable bone piercings she sports. She 
  and Brazzer once engaged in a brief love affair, but he cut that off for 
  reasons neither of them talk about. She currently has her eye on the 
  sub-chieftain of the Hammer Fall tribe.
  Rumors tell that the Black Irons are the least likely to enter direct 
  combat with the ogres’ orc and hobgoblin enemies. Some attribute this 
  reluctance to cowardice, others to treachery. Some even believe the 
  Black Irons look strange because they have orc blood in them.
  the Wood Wards of st. soPhIa
  the Wood Wards of st. soPhIa
  The Wood Wards claim descent from the original knights who 
  betrayed Lord and Lady Dunaven (whom they call St. Sophia). The 
  families’ shame was great, and they never let their children, or their 
  children’s children, forget the betrayal. Over the years, the families 
  broke up and moved on, but some of the children remembered and 
  in turn taught their descendants. Many generations later, few of the 
  knights’ descendants learn the tale of their awful family history. Those 
  who do and hear St. Sophia’s “calling” eventually find their way to 
  Caer Dire where the Wood Wards adopt them.
  The Wood Wards are primarily guardians of the tree growing from 
  the top of the great tower. Tales claim that the tree grew from the 
  quintain immediately upon Sophia’s death, supposedly a reincarnation 
  of the woman who died so horribly. How or why she became a tree 
  remains a mystery, though each Wood Ward has a theory. The tree 
  is about 500 years old, and it does grow within Sophia’s original 
  chambers, so already the evidence weighs in the Wood Wards’ favor. 
  They believe one day she will return, perhaps emerging from the tree 
  trunk like a dryad or maybe transforming the tree altogether. When 
  the day comes, the Wood Wards hope to be prepared. The land will 
  be cleared of Sophia’s enemies, and she will rebuild the kingdom in 
  her name and with her ideals. Already, the Wood Wards control about 
  50 miles of the land around Caer Dire. Because their liege lady is a 
  tree, they have learned nature’s ways over the course of many decades, 
  respecting the land as they respect her (and her saplings).
  Unlike the average rangers of other lands, the Wood Wards do not 
  bear any malice toward goblinoids. In fact, they tend to get along pretty 
  well with them — although they and the ogre tribes are not necessarily 
  best friends. Rather, they have reached a mutual understanding. The 
  Wood Wards actively go after orcs and hobgoblins, sharing the ogres’ 
  enmity toward those races. The Wood Wards also hunt down members 
  of the so-called “good races” if they violate in the least the laws the 
  rangers and Brazzer Mandragora have issued. Brazzer’s an odd one, in 
  their estimation, but certainly not intolerable. They have become quite 
  fond of the tavern in recent years, actually visiting it when their duties 
  do not keep them otherwise preoccupied.
  Some Wood Wards are prone to “visions” that allegedly come 
  directly from St. Sophia. Such Wood Wards are called “greensouls” 
  and are the most respected members of Wood Ward society. Most 
  greensouls become druids, though such a choice certainly is not 
  mandatory. Whether the visions are genuine remains a matter for 
  debate (namely outside Wood Ward society; among the Wood Wards, 
  no one questions their validity or authenticity).
  Jon oakBorn, Wood Ward sherIff
  Jon oakBorn, Wood Ward sherIff
  Jon Oakborn, the current leader of the Wood Wards, is a tough, 
  sometimes ruthlessly vicious man with no patience for meandering. 
  He was born into the Wood Wards (unlike many who find their way 
  into its ranks), the child of a prominent greensoul who died during 
  childbirth and the group’s former sheriff who died three years ago in 
  an orc ambush. Jon is tall and fit, with raven black hair, crisp blue eyes, 
  and ghostly white skin. He favors black armor and silver weaponry to 
  accent his natural pale coloring. All told, he presents quite a dramatic, 
  almost theatrical image.
  In the years since assuming the mantle of authority over his 
  brethren, Oakborn has brought to them a stronger sense of purpose 
  and focus. Utterly convinced of the Wood Wards’ “divine right” to the 
  land, Jon believes deeply that they will be absolved of the crimes their 
  forefathers committed when St. Sophia returns. They plan to help her 
  reclaim the lands and titles that are rightfully hers. Oakborn imagines 
  himself at her side, siring the Westmarche heirs and leading her army 
  against the kingdom (what remains of it) that so horribly used her for 
  its political machinations. Jon hopes to restore the pride, name, and 
  honor of the knights’ descendants. Slowly but surely, he is turning the 
  Wood Wards into an organized fighting force.
  While he enjoys Brazzer Mandragora’s company, Jon knows that 
  one of these days he must kill the oni. According to the greensouls, 
  the Reckoning is almost at hand. On the day when St. Sophia emerges 
  from the tree, the Wood Wards will kill Brazzer and the ogre tribes; the 
  castle must be purified and restored to glory, and the ogres are not part 
  of the equation. If Oakborn detests anyone, it is Sara of Westmarche, a 
  former Wood Ward turned rebel and highway robber. Her blasphemous 
  claim that she is St. Sophia’s direct descendant sets his nerves on edge 
  and makes him want to kill something, anything — especially her.
  sara of Westmarche
  sara of Westmarche
  Born to a family of merchants 27 years ago, Sara of Westmarche 
  discovered the Wood Wards when her father brought her to the trade-
  meet at the age of nine. The following year, she ran away to join 
  them. At first, their leader balked because she did not descend from 
  one of the founding bloodlines. Yet the fire in her eyes and her sheer 
  determination, already evident despite her age, convinced him to let 
  her join. He adopted Sara into the Oakborn family and raised her as 
  Jon’s stepsister, which the boy clearly resented.
  The visions started in her 17th year. No one understood how she 
  could have them since she wasn’t a true Wood Ward, yet they could not 
  deny their validity. The group’s greensouls admitted the girl must share 
  a link with St. Sophia. Initially, the role of clan oracle did not fit her 
  well, but she soon grew accustomed to it. Unlike the other greensouls, 
  though, she did not cease her training as a ranger to become a druid. 
  On her 20th birthday, the last vision she was ever to experience came 
  to her: St. Sophia, beautiful and young, stood before her in a white 
  gown and haloed in a holy green light. The woman spoke without 
  words directly to Sara’s heart. She awoke, the ghostly words echoing 
  in her mind that she was Sophia’s heir apparent.
  She went to the Wood Wards’ sheriff and clan elders straight away, 
  conveying the gist of what she had seen. To prove the vision’s reality, 
  she revealed which of the seven founding knights first betrayed their 
  lord and lady, and she singled out that knight’s descendants — Jon 
  Oakborn and his father. The elders had always known this information, 
  and the Oakborn family’s shame was especially great. Jon’s father left 
  the meeting. The boy just stared at her, wishing her dead, hand on his 
  longsword and ready to kill her himself. Fortunately, the elders stayed 
  Jon’s hand. The greensouls in attendance affirmed the vision’s reality 
  but suggested that Sara’s claim must have another meaning. It was 
  impossible that Sara was a descendent of Lady Sophia Dunaven as she 
  was not pregnant when she died. Nonetheless, Sara remained firm in 
  her conviction. She had heard the calling even though she was not a 
  descendent of the first families. She had experienced visions like the 
  greensouls. She knew, in her heart, that Lady Sophia was her mother.
  
  The QuinTain's ToWer 
  The QuinTain's ToWer |15
  |15
  The next day, orcs ambushed Jon Oakborn’s father. The sheriff was 
  so careless and distraught that the orcs had little trouble catching him 
  unaware. Jon’s first act as the new sheriff was to order Sara killed and 
  hung from the Red Crown inside the great tower for her blasphemy. 
  She escaped, however, along with a few loyalists whom she previously 
  converted to her cause. Today, she leads a separate group of rangers 
  called the Riders of Westmarche. Because they are less numerous 
  and less skilled than the Wood Wards, they confine themselves to 
  the fringes of Wood Ward territory, attacking the Wood Wards and 
  passers-by with hit-and-run tactics, always fading into the forest before 
  retaliation finds them. Sara plans one day to destroy the Wood Wards, 
  holding all of them accountable for the crimes of their ancestors. She 
  hopes to convince the ogres to aid her.
  rIders of Westmarche
  rIders of Westmarche
  While they all claim descent from the seven men who betrayed 
  St. Sophia, the Riders of Westmarche sympathize with Sara’s cause 
  and gave their fealty to her. Conveniently, she overlooks their blood 
  relation to the Wood Wards and gladly rides as their captain. Most of 
  the Riders were already on the fringe of Wood Ward society when 
  they followed her flight: Some were criminals whose slight blood 
  connection kept them barely alive; others resented the Oakborn family 
  and the elders loyal to them, and so eagerly jumped at the chance to 
  side with Sara.
  Lately, Sara and her top lieutenants started recruiting warriors from 
  abroad, promising them great wealth should they help the Riders bring 
  down the Wood Wards. So far, 10 have signed up. The mercenaries are 
  especially useful because they are unknown in and around Caer Dire. 
  Sara uses them primarily as spies, sending them to The Quintain’s 
  Tower as wandering soldiers and adventurers to gather information 
  from Wood Wards not on watch or out on patrol. Soldiers first and 
  foremost, Sara’s current mercenaries are not too good at spying. She 
  has put out word in less reputable circles that she wants rogues, bards, 
  and wizards to join the cause.
  The Riders of Westmarche live in a network of abandoned ogre 
  caves about two days ride from Caer Dire. The ogre tribes tolerate 
  them as much as they do the Wood Wards, essentially viewing them 
  as two sides of the same coin. Certainly, relations are not hurt by the 
  Riders’ aid to the ogres in their war against the orcs and hobgoblins.
  freesIfoot’s Pootoon
  freesIfoot’s Pootoon
  The goblins have lived in Caer Dire for as long as anyone can 
  remember, some say even before the Wood Wards. King Freesifoot 
  claims he is the 300th ruler in an unbroken chain of goblin nobility. 
  His followers, the pootoon (a goblin word literally meaning “helluva 
  bloody lot,” but also variously meaning “tribe” and “big military 
  unit”), live inside the tavern among the timber crossbeams supporting 
  the giant stairway. They did not always live there, though — the stairs 
  were rebuilt only 50 years ago after Brazzer Mandragora showed 
  up. Before then, they lived in the castle wall and tower ruins. Since 
  Brazzer’s arrival, their lives have improved considerably.
  Their incredibly red eyes and the white bands marking their skin 
  make Freesifoot’s goblins stand out. These natural stripes give them a 
  tiger-like appearance, but having never seen a tiger, none of the goblins 
  would know this. They prefer to call the stripes “beauty marks.” The 
  more stripes on a goblin, the more highly the others regard him or her.
  They do not much like the humans living in the solar above them, 
  finding them too stuffy and serious for their own good. The ogres can 
  be good fun, especially after they get a couple of buckets of ale in 
  them. Unfortunately, the members of Black Iron Tribe seem to think 
  throwing goblins across the common room for sport is utterly hilarious. 
  The goblins admit the flight itself is quite fun, but the landing hurts 
  like hell. As such, they tend to avoid the Black Iron ogres whenever 
  possible. Of all the ogres, though, they like Brazzer the best. He even 
  pays some of them to help manage the brewing still and to serve 
  patrons when the tavern gets crowded.
  Patrons & PossIBIlItIes
  Patrons & PossIBIlItIes
  The following table includes some interesting patrons and events to 
  be found in The Quintain’s Tower. Roll randomly or select one of the 
  unique individuals to fill out the tavern’s nightly clientele. Rumors can 
  be sprinkled into conversations as needed.
  1d6
  Patron or Event
  1
  A group of 12 gnolls from the Jagged Finger Tribe bring 
  their wares into the trade-meet under the pretense that 
  they are legitimate merchants. Instead, they plan to set off 
  a wagon of fireworks to sow confusion as they break into 
  the tavern to steal a gold crown of controlling humans they 
  think is hidden inside the walls.
  2
  The magic-hunting bounty hunter Koll Mange slumps at 
  a table, propping his ash-handle axe against a chair. The 
  wooden handle is scratched and marred, each notch carved 
  after Mange killed a magic-user. He scratches his red beard 
  and furrows his brow when he sees anyone who might be 
  a spellcaster. He gets a bounty for each “robe” he brings 
  to justice. Marl and Stump, his 2 warhounds, wait on the 
  porch but rush to their master’s side if needed.
  3
  Food and drink spoil suddenly in a 10-foot radius around 
  a nondescript little halfling named Gustave Fildewick 
  who seems to get more jovial with each bite of food he 
  consumes. After a few more bites, food and drink (and 
  even potions) within 20 feet of him go bad. Maggots 
  crawl through meat, and drink takes like rancid milk. 
  Only the halfling is still enjoying the evening, which has 
  degenerated into vomiting and disgust. 
  4
  A thief hired by enemies of the Wood Wards was paid well 
  to bring a box of what he believes is dung pellets to scatter 
  about the bar. Unfortunately, each pellet is a giant termite 
  that grows quickly to monstrous size once it is tossed on 
  the floor. The termites begin chomping on the wood, and 
  even climb upward to get at St. Sophia on the tower.
  5
  Chalaz the Pummeler is a malformed bugbear of the 
  Cyst Fist Tribe who has come down from the mountain to 
  find a cure for a virulent disease running rampant through 
  his people. Chalaz has an oversized right arm and fist that 
  serve him well if a fight begins. He takes offense quite 
  quickly.
  6
  Four young villagers from the raft-city of Twain are 
  celebrating their first foray into civilization, a rite of 
  passage among those of their small community before 
  they return to trap the giant turtles on which the floating 
  city prospers. The men and women are naïve to the ways 
  of the world, and ripe for the picking for the thieves and 
  cutthroats of the region. They direly need someone to 
  protect them from the evils of the world.  
  
  16|Book of Taverns: volume one
  16|Book of Taverns: volume one
  caer dIre
  caer dIre
  The castle and the lands surrounding it are in a remote wilderness 
  area relatively free of civilization. Ogre and goblin tribes rule the area 
  immediately around it, along with the small population of human 
  rangers with whom they more or less co-exist peacefully. The forests 
  of Caer Dire are generally regrowth, so the trees are not as old or as tall 
  as those in other similarly isolated areas. The Wood Wards keep the 
  animal populations in balance, allowing the three ogre tribes to hunt 
  within a 50-mile radius of Caer Dire as long they do not exceed certain 
  quotas. The ogres comply for the most part, as the rangers otherwise 
  leave them to their own devices, which is quite unusual. Beyond the 
  50-mile border of the Wood Wards’ territory, one encounters dense 
  clusters of orc and hobgoblin tribes, the descendants of military units 
  from a war all but forgotten these days.
  1. demesne
  1. demesne
  While the land about Caer Dire is heavily forested and lightly 
  inhabited by humanoid races, the hill the castle sits upon — called the 
  motte by the Wood Wards — is mostly devoid of trees, though more 
  appear at its base. From atop the hill, the denizens of the ruins have 
  an excellent view of the forest in all directions, especially from the 
  top of The Quintain’s Tower, the crown of which rises higher than the 
  tallest tree. Despite the presence of so many ogres and goblins, deer 
  run freely through the wood, as do numerous other mundane animals. 
  The Wood Wards allow limited hunting by the humanoid tribes, in part 
  to keep the animal populations stabilized but primarily because they 
  recognize the need for the others to eat. When they can manage it, the 
  Wood Wards hunt animals in more remote territories and bring their 
  dressed carcasses back to the castle to supplement the tribal hunting. 
  They also donate fruits and vegetables grown in the solar of The 
  Quintain’s Tower to Brazzer’s gigantic stew pots.
  2. Walls
  2. Walls
  The castle walls, of course, no longer stand as high as they once did. 
  Nevertheless, the portion that remains offers quite a formidable barrier 
  to overcome. Standing 20 feet tall at its highest and a mere 5 feet at its 
  lowest, the walls are built out of roughhewn stone and earthen mortar. 
  In places where they have not collapsed, the walls are hollow with 
  tight walkways. A few sections have flared arrow loops set into the 
  wall 15 feet up, the wooden planks that once allowed archers to fire 
  through them rotted away. The top of the wall is broad, almost 25 feet 
  across and large enough to allow for carts, catapults, and ballistae. It 
  is serrated along the outer face with toothy battlements.
  3. gatehouse ruIns
  3. gatehouse ruIns
  This gap between the two guard towers once contained the 
  guardhouse and barbican. Now, just a pile of rubble remains. On 
  warm, sunny days, King Freesifoot likes to picnic here with his two 
  handmaidens and watch the goings-on in the forest below, such as 
  they are.
  4. north guard toWer
  4. north guard toWer
  This tower once housed Lord Dunaven’s gatehouse guards. It 
  used to have three floors joined by a narrow timber staircase, and it 
  accommodated 15 men. Now, just a hollow shell remains. The tower 
  roof is gone, exposing the interior to the sky above, and bird and 
  squirrel nests fill the arrow-loops. A single, recently cut wooden beam 
  crosses the roof gap. Thick hemp rope dangles from the beam. Goblins 
  use it for a lookout post when they remember to post lookouts.
  
  The QuinTain's ToWer 
  The QuinTain's ToWer |17
  |17
  5. south guard toWer
  5. south guard toWer
  Much like the north guard tower, this one housed some of the 
  gatehouse guards, namely the officers. It, too, once had three floors, 
  though now only the ground floor and the uppermost floor remain. The 
  stairs disintegrated into dust centuries ago. A wooden ladder ascends 
  to the top floor. 
  6. WatchtoWer ruIns
  6. WatchtoWer ruIns
  Lord Dunaven’s men used these two watchtowers to keep an eye out 
  for enemies. Each tower stands 45 feet tall. The north tower is half-
  collapsed and completely uninhabitable, its stones constantly shifting 
  and its walls on the cusp of falling over completely. The Wood Wards 
  use the south tower. Inside, a string of ladders ascending through 
  trapdoors links together four sturdy wooden floors. If threatened, the 
  Wood Wards can pull the ladders up and seal the trapdoors with stone 
  weights. At any given time, two Wood Wards have watch duty, taking 
  station on the roof or the fourth floor when the weather turns foul. 
  The first three floors are uninhabited, used instead for storing weapons 
  found in the forest on the bodies of those unfortunates waylaid by 
  Sara’s bandits or by woodland beasts.
  7. PrIson
  7. PrIson
  Brazzer imprisons those who break the castle peace here, as well as 
  orc prisoners taken by the three ogre tribes. The tower has two stone 
  floors above the ground floor and stairs strong enough to allow the 
  massive ogres to ascend. The second and third floors have six stone 
  cells each. The cell doors are made from three black iron plates and 
  locked with heavy chains and padlocks. Inside each cell are a brass 
  chamber pot, a stone sleeping tablet, and hay. Prisoners must empty 
  their own chamber pots and rid their cell of food waste and other 
  detritus, usually by tossing it through the narrow square windows of 
  their cell. The ground floor contains fresh hay, crates of iron rations, 
  and barrels of semi-stagnant water. An ogre guard from one of the 
  three tribes stands watch only when prisoners are held upstairs. 
  8. east BaIleY
  8. east BaIleY
  In the castle’s glory days, this was a pleasant grassy courtyard. The 
  grass is long gone, however, replaced by dirt and mud. In the spring, 
  the trade-meet sets up camp here, sometimes spilling over into the 
  West Bailey (only as a last resort owing to the stench) or into the motte 
  if more caravans than usual show up during a given year.
  the trade-meet
  the trade-meet
  Originally, the trade-meet took place every spring when ogre 
  tribes returned to the castle to gather and exchange the spoils of their 
  war against the orcs and hobgoblins. Over the years, it has changed 
  considerably, becoming the largest mercantile rendezvous in the region. 
  Caravans from all over show up for the four-week event, carrying 
  people of all races — elves, halflings, humans, goblins, lizardfolk, and 
  so on. Everyone is welcome, even very limited numbers of orcs and 
  hobgoblins despite their tensions with the ogres. (The trade-meet is the 
  only truce the ogres ever honor with their enemies.) Most merchants 
  use the trade-meet for the opportunity to move their goods to other 
  countries without going to those places themselves, working out 
  complex but highly profitable trade agreements with trusted merchants 
  who come from such countries, and vice versa. The trade-meet has 
  become a midway distribution center for exotic goods.
  During this time, the Wood Wards and the ogre tribes are especially 
  quick to enforce the laws set down by Brazzer and Oakborn. Violators 
  receive no mercy whatsoever. As a lesson to any who would copy 
  their crimes, their bodies are strung from the Red Crown inside the 
  great tower. The most common crime, naturally, is highway robbery. 
  Fortunately, those keeping the peace are exceptionally good at what 
  they do, and so the castle and its surrounding lands are probably safer 
  during the trade-meet than at any other time of year. Yet because 
  tensions run high (they are bound to when so many races from so 
  many conflicting alignments get together), the Black Iron ogres hold 
  Brazzer-sanctioned “death matches” down the hill, near the sapper’s 
  tunnel entrance. Grievances are worked out in fights or duels to the 
  death.
  9. West BaIleY
  9. West BaIleY
  This area appears the same as the East Bailey, except that it was not 
  so much a courtyard as a training ground for Lord Dunaven’s knights. 
  Its most notable feature is the massive hole at the center of the yard, 
  the exit of the sapper’s tunnel winding through the interior of the castle 
  hill. Considerable foot traffic passes between the tunnel mouth and 
  other parts of Caer Dire because everyone dumps their garbage here. 
  The smell coming from the tunnel is nauseating at best.
  Freesifoot’s goblins often sit along the rim of the hole and “fish” 
  for rats. Rat fishing involves one goblin rubbing a length of hemp 
  rope with especially rancid bits of cattle fat, dipping it in the hole, and 
  carefully drawing it back up when a giant rat climbs aboard for a sniff 
  and a lick. A second goblin then clubs the rat to death as soon as it 
  clears the hole. The goblins typically go rat fishing late at night when 
  the filthy vermin are most active.
  10. great hall ruIns
  10. great hall ruIns
  This is the shattered remnants of the castle’s Great Hall where Lord 
  and Lady Dunaven took their meals, received guests, heard reports 
  from the village reeves, sat in judgment over the affairs of their vassals, 
  and generally conducted their business. All that stands now are rotten 
  timbers, crumbling masonry, and shards of the wall that once buffered 
  it from the outside world.
  11. lesser hall ruIns
  11. lesser hall ruIns
  Like the Great Hall, the Lesser Hall lies in ruin. It once contained 
  Utrec Dunaven’s private quarters, dining rooms, parlors, and a private 
  chapel. The Wood Wards assigned to duty in the south watchtower use 
  the Lesser Hall for their horses now, tying them to timbers and letting 
  them graze on the grass growing between the rubble.
  12. Barracks ruIns
  12. Barracks ruIns
  Rubble from the old castle barracks that housed Lord Dunaven’s 
  knights, squires, and men-at-arms litters the ground here. While the 
  ruins have long been picked clean of valuables, rusty weapons and 
  armor may still be found here. A 30-foot-tall spruce-wood pole bearing 
  Brazzer’s standard — a rook and a broken lance — rises from the 
  center of the barracks.
  13. lIverY ruIns
  13. lIverY ruIns
  Even less remains of this part of the castle than the barracks. The 
  most notable feature is a skeleton that appears to be crawling from 
  the debris. Otherwise, nothing is left except for aging wall stones and 
  petrified timbers.
  Jutting from the siege weapon’s heart is a 30-foot-tall spruce-wood 
  pole bearing the Wood Wards’ standard: a tree mounted atop a rook.
  14. saPPer’s tunnel
  14. saPPer’s tunnel
  A remnant of the last real battle at the castle, this tunnel begins 
  at the base of the motte and terminates inside the west bailey. It 
  was originally tall and wide enough for two or three ogres to stand 
  comfortably upright within, shoulder-to-shoulder. Much of it has 
  collapsed, while rock debris and all manner of humanoid garbage 
  fill the portions still intact. An unusual number of cattle carcasses 
  fill the tunnel’s southern end, deposited there by Brazzer. Hordes of 
  vermin and other scavengers infest the tunnel, ranging from Tiny to 
  Large. Bears often rustle around in the tunnel’s south exit, feeding on 
  putrefying cow flesh.
  
  18|Book of Taverns: volume one
  18|Book of Taverns: volume one
  The stench of rot is so awful that any non-goblin or non-ogre 
  standing within 20 feet of either opening must make a save against the 
  poisoned condition until they reach clear air.
  Late at night, an unearthly, spine-chilling lowing can be heard 
  drifting out of the tunnel’s darkest depths. This is the castle’s great 
  tower, which once rose nearly 100 feet tall. Currently, it stands 
  approximately 70 feet high, 100 feet wide, and no longer has a roof. 
  Instead, a 60-foot-tall tree grows from its upper floor. 
  saPPer’s tunnel WanderIng monsters
  saPPer’s tunnel WanderIng monsters
  1d20
  Result
  1
  4d8 dire rats
  2
  1d4 black bears
  3
  1d4+1 fire beetles
  4
  1d4+1 large monstrous spiders
  5–20
  No encounter
  the QuIntaIn’s toWer
  the QuIntaIn’s toWer
  In its heyday, the great tower constituted the heart of the castle’s 
  defenses, with hundreds of arrow loops piercing the walls and great 
  ballistae occupying its upper floors. Later, it became Lady Dunaven’s 
  private abode, with all but the upper four floors cleared out. Today, 
  just the solar remains — now home to the Wood Wards — as well as 
  the tree they call St. Sophia and her saplings. The tower’s walls are 5 
  feet thick, and the sole entrance is located on the north side facing the 
  west bailey. The doors are solidly built from a pair of thick oak-wood 
  slates. When the sky is clear, hundreds of beams of golden sunlight 
  stream through the tower’s hollow windows and arrow loops, casting 
  an almost holy light into the interior.
  1. common room
  1. common room
  Coming in through the tower’s arched doors, the first sight one 
  notices is the gargantuan staircase winding its way around the inside 
  wall. An extraordinary network of timber crossbeams — which are 
  inhabited by King Freesifoot’s goblins — supports the stairs in their 
  ascent to the solar some 50 feet above. Debris litters the room’s stone 
  floor, and enough haphazardly constructed tables and chairs are placed 
  about the tavern to seat 200 patrons comfortably while still leaving 
  plenty of room for moving about. Five fairly-sizable cooking fires 
  burn in various places, becoming tiny islands of orange light as the sun 
  sets outside. Quite disconcerting to newcomers are the ochre-stained 
  buckets placed around the room to catch blood falling from the ceiling 
  (see Area 4: The Red Crown below). Brazzer Mandragora, the 
  tavern’s current owner maintains a massive ale and mead still in the 
  southeast corner. Supplies packed into crates, barrels of fresh ale and 
  mead, empty barrels waiting to be filled, and sacks of hops and barley 
  are stacked high on either side of the impromptu brewery. Woodchips 
  of oak, hickory, and spruce are piled behind the still.
  A huge wooden chandelier hangs from the ceiling by a rope as thick 
  as a human’s arm. Yellow-gray wax drips from it like so many pasty 
  stalagmites. The chandelier has not been used for generations, though 
  the goblin children find it fun to play on.
  In times when business is booming (such as when a neutral army 
  passes through the area or during a trade-meet), Freesifoot’s goblins 
  (male and female alike) assume the roles of “saucy serving wenches” 
  and wait on patrons, much to the patrons’ chagrin.
  2. goBlIn vIlla
  2. goBlIn vIlla
  The stairs leading to the solar above begin on the east wall and 
  wind their way around until they terminate at the floor above on the 
  west wall. The staircase and the crossbeams holding it are collectively 
  called the “Goblin Villa” for the tribe of goblins inhabiting them. King 
  Freesifoot, the tribe’s leader, pays rent in the sum of 20 gp a month to 
  Brazzer. In addition, the goblins provide Brazzer with other services 
  such as a steady supply of Goblin Mead, keeping watch when the 
  ogre tribes are out of the territory making war against the orcs and 
  hobgoblins, and attempting — at the very least — to keep the common 
  room clean (by goblin standards).
  Built into the crossbeams are dozens of nests, platforms, and huts. 
  Whole goblin families live here, some of them having never once 
  set foot on the ground below. At night, when the cookfires cast their 
  feeble light into the tower’s darkness, the Goblin Villa looks like a dim 
  field of stars for all the candles burning up there. Larger fires are not 
  permitted to keep the stairs from accidentally igniting.
  The constant chatter of goblin voices permeates the villa, regardless 
  of the hour. People climbing the stairs are often subjected to an 
  unending stream of abuse as their footsteps thunder in the ears of the 
  goblins living directly beneath their feet. King Freesifoot’s throne is 
  located below the stairs’ terminus on the west wall. The platform on 
  which it rests is large enough to support 10 goblins or 5 humans or 1 
  ogre (roughly half a ton). It juts 15 feet out from the staircase, with 
  bracers and additional beams attached to the wall or rising from the 
  floor to help support its weight. The goblins’ diminutive mead still 
  is built into the base of the stairs on the east wall, behind a stack of 
  crates belonging to Brazzer. When he is absent, goblin youths love to 
  monkey down the hemp rope from which the chandelier dangles and 
  set it to swinging.
  3. Brazzer’s stIll
  3. Brazzer’s stIll
  Brazzer used this rough collection of vats, tubes, ovens, and other 
  miscellaneous clockwork devices to brew his “distinctive” alcoholic 
  beverages. He built it himself — in four days if one believes the 
  stories he tells about it — and it shows. Only he can make sense of the 
  machine, apparently. The smell of fermenting hops and barley that fills 
  the common room is not entirely unpleasant, just rather strong. Truth 
  be told, after a couple of hours and many rounds of the pub favorite, 
  few even notice the smell.
  The most common drink available is Cracked Claw, an extremely 
  bitter barley ale so thick it is practically chewable. Goblin Mead 
  brewed by Freesifoot’s brewmasters is a rich amber color and light 
  on the tongue. Once a month, Brazzer brews two special drinks: 
  Knuckle Bones, which gets its distinctive musty flavor from the bones 
  of slain orc warriors used in lieu of wood chips in the fermenting 
  vats; and Spruce Ale, a lighter version of Cracked Claw that uses, as 
  per the name, spruce wood chips to give it flavor. The Wood Wards 
  also contribute something to the tavern: Lord Fern’s Bitter, a mossy 
  green ale that they acquire from a highly secretive conclave of druidic 
  mendicants in return for hunting services rendered. The bitter has 
  a heady, earthy flavor and an aftertaste reminiscent of hay. Finally, 
  if a group of patrons would rather buy ale by volume instead of by 
  the flagon, there is the Bøtte Av Harsk, a literal bucket filled to the 
  rim with a rancid, low-quality ale brewed from flavor-depleted wood 
  chips, rotten barley, and bad hops. This drink is always available since 
  any given shipment of fresh supplies is bound to contain material that 
  does not make the grade, as it were.
  
  The QuinTain's ToWer 
  The QuinTain's ToWer |19
  |19
  Every fourth day at approximately dusk, a brass whistle atop the 
  still blasts a piercingly shrill toot that can be heard all over the castle 
  compound. The sound signifies that the most recent batch of brew is 
  ready. When the whistle blows, 15–20 goblins descend from the villa 
  and spend the next two hours “barreling the booze.” While much of it 
  gets shipped out, most gets consumed on the spot over the following 
  two or three days. Goblins also help with “chipping” — shoveling wood 
  chips from the piles behind the still into empty vats after removing the 
  used chips. They dump the used chips in the sapper’s tunnel. Most 
  patrons have the good sense to leave the still alone. If anyone other 
  than the duly authorized goblin assistants touch it, Brazzer pummels 
  him then throws him in the sapper’s tunnel. No exceptions.
  4. the red croWn
  4. the red croWn
  The roots of St. Sophia pierce the floor of the solar to dangle above the 
  common room like a druid hierophant’s crown. They are collectively 
  called the “Red Crown” because the corpses of those who violate the 
  Wood Wards’ laws are impaled upon them, their blood staining the 
  roots red. Blood dripping from the crown puts a considerable crimp 
  in Brazzer’s business. In fact, some tables and spots on the floor are 
  permanently stained as a result. He has repeatedly asked the Wood 
  Wards to consider hanging criminals from the tower’s exterior walls, 
  but they refuse, claiming the blood soaking the tree’s roots helps to 
  keep it alive.
  5. the solar
  5. the solar
  The stairs of Goblin Villa end at a hole in the second story of the 
  great tower that opens into this room. Once it was the Lady Dunaven’s 
  solar. It still retains the name but now serves as the Wood Wards’ 
  home. Growing out of four feet of the blackest imported dirt available 
  is a 60-foot-tall tree the rangers call St. Sophia and her four saplings. 
  There is no roof, so the trees and the room are exposed to the elements. 
  When the Wood Wards are not out wandering, hunting, or taking watch 
  duties, they can be found here worshipping at the tree’s base during 
  their waking hours. They keep no huts or houses: just the ground, the 
  tree, and the open sky.
  At any given time, 2d6 Wood Wards are in the room. Outsiders, 
  including the resident ogres and goblins, are explicitly not welcome 
  unless invited. A trapdoor can be closed over the stairs. The floor itself 
  is a good 4 feet thick and has been enchanted to support the weight and 
  life of the trees growing atop it. Despite the enchantment, the trees’ 
  roots have somehow managed to grow through the floor seams.
  st. soPhIa
  st. soPhIa
  This oak tree constitutes the center of the Wood Wards’ world. They 
  firmly believe she (not “it”) is the reincarnation of the Lady Sophia 
  Dunaven, otherwise known as St. Sophia. For all intents and purposes, 
  the tree is as ordinary as ordinary can be, other than the fact that she 
  grows on top of a tower. The dirt in the solar nourishes her, as does 
  rain from the sky and blood from the criminals soaking her roots. The 
  Wood Wards constantly recycle the dirt, carting in fresh shipments 
  every two or three months. Acorns harvested from the tree are given 
  to Brazzer for the tavern, which the oni uses to make acorn coffee (a 
  Wood Ward favorite).
  Four times a day, the Wood Wards present in the solar hold prayer 
  ceremonies at St. Sophia’s base. They leave offerings and ask for 
  blessings at a small, primitive-looking altar erected there.
  Ale & Mead
  Cost
  Bøtte Av Harsk
  1 cp
  Cracked Claw
  2 cp
  Goblin Mead
  1 cp
  Knuckle Bones
  4 cp
  Lord Fern’s Bitter
  4 cp
  Spruce Ale
  1 cp
  Food
  Bailey rat stew
  2 cp
  Beef stew
  3 cp
  Black bear steaks
  1 sp
  Black bear stew
  6 cp
  Fire beetle crunch
  1 cp
  Grilled orc
  2 sp
  Steamed giant spider legs
  3 cp
  Zombie cow steaks
  1 cp
  Other Services
  Goblin nest, per night
  2 cp
  Goblin courtesan, per night
  1 sp
  Wood Ward guide, per day
  5 gp
  Wood Ward hunter, per day
  12 gp
  goods & servIces
  goods & servIces
  The Quintain’s Tower offers more to drink than anything else. Food 
  is served on the basis of availability, with the most common dishes 
  being beef-based or those made by the villa goblins using whatever 
  they get from the sapper’s tunnel. The tavern has no rooms, though 
  patrons are welcome to sleep on the floors and tables if they wish. 
  Rafter nests may be rented from King Freesifoot’s brewmasters, which 
  are slightly more comfortable than the alternative.
  Menu
  Menu
  the QuIntaIn’s toWer
  the QuIntaIn’s toWer
  
  20|Book of Taverns: volume one
  20|Book of Taverns: volume one
  adventure seeds
  adventure seeds
  The following ideas can be used as seeds for adventures set in or 
  around The Quintain’s Tower:
  Into the Unknown: A section of the sapper’s tunnel collapses one 
  day, revealing a hole that leads to an underground network of rooms 
  and corridors beneath the castle ruins. The musty odor of death wafts 
  from it, as does an almost palpable sense of dread. Brazzer offers a 
  reward for anyone who descends into the dungeon and returns alive 
  to tell about it. Why he does not go himself is unknown. Perhaps an 
  ancient, powerful evil awaits the curious, one that even Brazzer fears 
  despite his formidable magic. Or, maybe he does not care what lies 
  down there and just wants to see if anyone takes him up on the offer.
  Doomed to Repeat It: Lord Dragul’s descendants return to the 
  castle to claim it as their own. Surprised to find it inhabited by barbaric 
  beasts such as ogres, goblins, and wild humans, they give the order that 
  everyone — and everything — must vacate the castle before sundown 
  the next day. When the deadline arrives, the Dragul soldiers find the 
  ogres, humans, and goblins united in their stand against them. Thus, 
  a replay of events from 500 years earlier begins anew. Can the castle 
  denizens hold out inside a ruined fortress against a professional army?
  The Treants’ Song: During the trade-meet, a small army of treants 
  emerges from the surrounding wood to gather at the base of The 
  Quintain’s Tower. For three days they do nothing except stand silently 
  in vigil. The Wood Wards take their presence and behavior for an omen 
  and similarly gather to kneel, pray, and attempt to pry information and 
  blessings from the silent tree people. The ogres, always suspicious of 
  the humans, keep careful watch on them for signs of treachery. As the 
  trade-meet winds down, the treants starts singing a deep, throaty hymn 
  that reverberates through stone, steel, wood, and bone alike. This song 
  lasts for three days, and then something wonderful happens.
  Dark Clouds on the Horizon: Every autumn, a flock of rocs 
  migrates south from their roost 300 miles away, always stopping for 
  a couple of days at the castle to rest and feed in its demesne. This 
  year, they arrive earlier and in fewer numbers. Something is clearly 
  wrong. After a week, they still have not left, and their alpha male is 
  gravely ill. A dark cloud gathers on the northern horizon. The rocs are 
  obviously afraid of it, and each day it comes closer to the castle. When 
  it arrives, can the patrons, the Wood Wards, or the ogre tribes stop it? 
  More importantly, are they willing?
  APPendix A: ruMors
  APPendix A: ruMors
  Need a few extra rumors to sprinkle into tavern conversations? The following rumors are good for any tavern the characters visit. Use them 
  to spark new adventures, tailor them to fit your ongoing adventure, or simply offer them up as red herrings.
  1d20
  Rumor
  1
  “Someone keeps lookin’ in the windows round town. You can just see the eyes. Like burning gold, they are, and wide. They just 
  stare and stare until you blink and then they’re gone.”
  2
  “There’s a secret altar in the church’s basement. That greedy holy man don’t want you to know about it, but I seen it with my own 
  eyes. It’s black rock and bleeds when it gets dark.”
  3
  “You see the symbols carved into the trees? That cult we got rid of years ago is back, I tell you.”
  4
  “Cold is coming, I can feel it in my bones. Gonna be a bad one. Cold so bad your spit’ll freeze on your lips.”
  5
  “I just came for the music, my friends. I just can’t get enough of it. Makes me want to dance!”
  6
  “If you pay for the round, I’ll tell you what you need to know. And a few things you won’t want to hear.”
  7
   “I seen the little people dancing down in the mushrooms the other day. But I swear, I thought they had that missing girl with them. 
  And then I woke up. Don’t remember fallin’ asleep in the woods, though.”
  8
  “Me and Beryllic saw the Gray Man walking up the hill through the ruined mausoleums. He was going slow, so me and Beryllic 
  took off running. Only … Beryllic never made it home.”
  9
  “Someone’s putting up those posters for that circus, but no one ever sees them.”
  10
  “The rats got into the grain bin outside town, but those weren’t normal rats. Unless rats can walk through walls.”
  11
  “The dogs and cats all go to hide when the medicine man’s wagon rolls through town. Mothers don’t let their babies get out of 
  their sight, too. Somethin’ about that man, I tell you.”
  12
  “Don’t sleep in the inn unless you want to wake up poorer. Thieves run through those walls.”
  13
  “I saw the dragon swoop low over the field, two sheep clutched in his claws. And the shepherd boy is missing, too. I sure how he 
  didn’t get eaten.”
  14
  “Ett and Chunk are spoilin’ for a fight. Watch yourselves.”
  15
  “We all saw the blood. It was spilled all over the floor, on the chairs, even on the kegs. But no bodies! It just appeared right in front 
  of us!”
  16
  “These dwarves from the Ashenchisel clan showed up with this rock. It had this glowing blade stuck right through it! Said they 
  were looking for the king, but I didn’t have the 4 silvers they wanted to try to pull it out.”
  17
  “You with the mourners? Saw them go through town this morning, right up to the graveyard. Must still be up there.”
  18
  “The guards are watching everyone coming into town. Don’t be surprised if they shake you down.”
  19
  “I saw Old Man Scobee’s daughter sneakin’ out late last night. Must have been headed to the dance. But you should have heard the 
  shoutin’ this mornin’! Guess she didn’t come a’home last night.”
  20
  “Watch your change. That thievin’ barman knows how to turn copper into gold … until you get home with it.”
  
  NECROMANCER
     Games
  TM
  Your heroes are going to be stopping at a tavern sometime; 
  make it an interesting experience. With Book of Taverns Two 
  you have a choice of two exciting places to stay the night and 
  find adventure. Both offer NPCs to interact with, history and 
  descriptions to add verisimilitude to your world, as well as 
  hooks for adventure. 
   
  Witch’s Teat by Chris Jones is a tavern cursed with a portal to 
  hell. Strange creatures come out of the pit in the center of the 
  tavern’s floor, and the regulars place bets on what comes out 
  and who can defeat it. When the portal is quiet more mundane 
  gladiatorial fights, and the subsequent betting and drinking, 
  go on all night. Pull a chair up, try out the mead, order a plate 
  of barley cakes, and watch the show! 
   
  Quintain’s Tower by Chris Jones presents a tavern off the 
  beaten path and with a bizarre clientele: ogres and goblinoids! 
  The ruins of this once mighty human fortress have become a 
  drinking spot, meet-up, and trade bazaar for the many dan-
  gerous humanoids that dwell in the area. The old castle holds 
  many secrets, not the least of which is the Wood Wards cult 
  who tend a tree that grows from the top of the tower. If you 
  can stomach eating and drinking alongside bugbears, goblins, 
  ogres, and others, stop in and try the steamed giant spider 
  legs!
  A fantasy adventure supplement detailing 2 distinct taverns of 
  adventure for characters of all levels!
  Volume Two
  Volume Two
  T
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  B
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  k
   
  o
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/5th Edition (5e)/3rd Party/Necromancer Games/Book of Tavern's Vol. 1.pdf