D&D: The Five Best Things To Do In A Tavern
Taverns and D&D are as intertwined as fish and chips. Which you can order in one. Here are five more amazing things to do in a Tavern in D&D.
Dungeons and Dragons is a game of fantasy adventure. Which typically means it takes place in a vaguely historic period we can colloquially call “ye olden tymes” which is about as historically accurate as any American “Renaissance” faire. With about as many people saying they’re elves, too.
Which is perhaps why the Tavern is an iconic part of fantasy. This goes back to the stories that inspired D&D. After all, who can forget the Inn of the Prancing Pony in Fellowship of the Rings?
Or George R.R. Martin realizing he’s found an excuse for his characters to have a banquet? All of which to say, odds are good if you play D&D, you’ll end up in a tavern. Here’s what you can do while you’re there.
Drink like there’s no tomorrow
There’s something about getting your fictional character just absolutely trashed that is extremely good fun. You might be a straight-edge teetotaller, or recovering from last night’s bender, but the appeal of having a good pint or six, in an RPG, is almost universally appealing.
And in D&D, there are rules to see what happens next! Check out the Carouse tables inXanathar’s Guide to Everything. You might make a friend, you might make an enemy, you might wind up in charge of the local theatre festival and married to a surprisingly understanding dwarf. The possibilities are endless!
Brood in a corner
Why should extremely sexy rangers have all the fun?
Anyone can brood in a tavern corner. This is a great way to dabble in the waters of playing an “edgy” character without actually making the rest of the party hate you.
Tell your DM that you want to find a corner. The darker and danker the better. For maximum fun, ask your DM in between descriptions of how frothy the ale is if you can make a stealth check so you’ll already be hidden when things invariably go down. In the meantime, start coming up with a name for most folks around here to know you as, since they won’t necessarily know you by your right name.
Gamble
Your luck might be ever changing, like the moon, waxing one day and waning another. But you may as well push it while you have the chance.
Besides, it can be fun to roll some dice for a reason other than combat. Especially if you’re winning! But even if you end up losing your gold, some of the best adventures have happened because characters were absolutely broke and had no choice but to undertake a suspiciously lucrative quest at their own peril.
Do a crime
Picking the pockets of hapless NPCs is a time-honored tradition in D&D that goes back to the days of 1st Edition, when every NPC written up in an adventure had a list of treasure that they carried in their pockets because it was assumed that the party Thief would want to practice their pickpocketing skills on them.
Just remember that actions have consequences. And if you fail a check, you might well get noticed, and unlike say, Skyrim, you can’t just reload the game once you’ve been spotted.
Hire some adventurers
Look, going on the adventure that the mysterious hooded figure wanted you to go on sounds like it’s going to be a lot of work. And that won’t necessarily fuel your lifestyle devoted to creature comforts and capes.
But you know, you could probably just get a hood yourself, and then hire some adventurers (for less money than you’re getting paid) to get out there and clear the dungeon for you. Why should your character get their hands dirty when there are other people willing to do it for you?
And that’s just five things to do when your game stalls out in a tavern. What are your favorite bits of tavern life in a roleplaying game? Let us know in the comments!
