Maybe let's do something a lot nicer now, the last few days have been a bit depressing. How about a game I have played, but not nearly enough - Tiny Taverns? It uses the Tiny D6 system that was introduced in previous posts (Day 2 and Day 3), but this one is rather different. Tiny Taverns is not really an adventure game, but about telling slice-of-life stories of people living and working together in a service establishment in a fantasy world. This can be a titular tavern, but also a school, or a massage parlor, or a dragon tuning shop, or... Anything with employees, premises and the potential for regular customers can work. The basic creation process will still look very familiar, but I will go one further, and create the setting with it as well. Tiny Taverns has you covered there, you see? And to have a bit of a more interesting situation, I will make the tavern, and two characters to go with it. Spread out over two days. Today: Tavern. Usually, this would be done by the whole group, but here I am by myself.
Now, pretty much all steps have some kind of random generation table for inspiration, and I will use it. First up is to decide on the type of business, which is one of the examples where the rolls only make general suggestions. So, 2d6, one table per die, and I get a 4 and a 1, so a "boutique" "spa/resort/ranch", with "boutique" as an adjective. Mmhh... I like the idea of a remote spa catering to the rich and powerful. It'll need some weird twist or two, but that can happen later. Next is location, with another two tables of D6 each. A 3 and a 6 suggest "crossroads" and that "something blessed by an ancient deity or spirit" is close by. Ok, I think I will go with an area where several airship transport routes meet, on top of a high mountain that is blessed by an ancient air spirit; the air here has remedial, stress-relieving powers. It isn't completely remote, there is a settlement here. I will think about more interesting things for the village later. For now, I name the mountain Terrane's Churchshall, after the Earth elemental that lives in it, and the air spirit Cerulea; the place is holy to both since they married here. Yes, I like that. And since I fired up the name generators, I will call the town Gottshain.
Now our spa needs a unique feature, and I can roll two d6 vs. a d66 table. A 12 indicates a famous ingredient or dish, which sounds nearly too good to be true. The villagers make a really insanely rare cheese, made from the milk of animals called Cerulean Mallachi, blueish flying lizards that burrow in the looser soil here where air and earth mingle. They are connected to the two spirits/minor deities, though no one knows how. They have only ever been found on top of this mountain, and can't be reared elsewhere. If treated well they will share "milk" that runs out of their eyes. This is used to make a really rare cheese that only becomes edible after a few years of fermentation. The cheese is called 'Blarer Alpkees'. Yop, that should ensure a stream of special clients who come here.
Which raised the question for the typical guest, which also just happens to come next in the book. I will say very rich or powerful people looking for a special, rare kind of relaxation. And many have a soft spot for Blarer Alpkees, a rare, special, and expensive item that makes for a great conversation item once home. We do also offer far more affordable meals and rooms in a separate little tavern for the airship sailors and of course the locals. Which reminds me - I still do not know who the locals are. Well, I kind of have an idea... one of the provided heritages here are the Pooka, small, bookish people that are a bit clumsy but are also really good at fitting into small crevices and spaces. I like the idea of them living here, and also being most of our regulars. This also makes the town a warren, fitting the theme. But let's assume there is some above-ground space. It also makes sense for them to be the ones able to collect 'milk' from the Cerulean Mallachi, they can reach the small crevices the animals rest in.
Great timing, now I have to come up with regular clients. Or staff, if I prefer. The staff and owners will usually be PCs, but there is the acknowledgment that most places will need more than 3, 4 people running them, so coming up with some more workers is always an option. But let's start with Regulars. There is a table, well, three. A 5, a 6, a 4 - a pookah Bard/Storyteller/Performer, who is spying on some PC to be chosen later for some reason. Fits like a glove! So, I name her Minka, she is the local storyteller and gossip, daughter of the eldest in the village. I will come up with the reason for her spying when I come up with the two PCs. Let's add another. A 5, 2, and 1. Another pooka, the dice like the idea. This one is a trader, and family of one of the PCs. Let's make him a cheesemonger called Grett, who will be related to a PC later. He is not local but actually stops by often to buy more cheese to sell in the big city. When he is in town, eh, village, he stays at the spa. Two are in theory enough, but I want a third one, and then maybe one staff member. This time I get a 1, a 6, and a 5. A Furbolg (think frost giant) or a mandrake (half-dragons, a dying people). I like the idea of a mandrake, who, by the way, are also several times as tall as pookas. She is also another bard/storyteller/performer and is rich and eccentric. Let's call her Regell, she is old, wealthy, on permanent retreat in our spa, loves the mountains and the cheese, is a hopelessly romantic poet, and hits on anyone not evading her quickly enough, but generally not following through. She will fit right in but will need a friendly rivalry with a PC later. Finally, I want an employee. Nothing to roll here. For the sake of diversity let's make him a human, a cook and former (failed) alchemist called Gerald Ramstop. The one thing he hates about his job is that he has to cook with Alpkees; he prefers lighter dishes. And what a ghastly color!
So, time to name the place. Cerulean Wellspring? Na, boring. Earth, Wind, and Cheese? Yeah...no. Cerulean Terrane Spa? That'll do.
So, now the PC creation would happen, and the party would come back afterward to create a map or blueprint of the place, leaving some space for later modifications in-game. During that step we would also come up with services and special rooms, but I will skip the map, and do the services now.
We have a sauna, two hot springs, a breathing room (for fresh mountain air), a contemplation area (encased room open to a spectacular view - and drop - on one side), a restaurant, a tea room/common area, a small tavern for the locals, an airship landing platform and anchorage, a Cerulean Mallachi petting garden, and we provide rental sleds. Beyond that we have spacious suits for up to eight guests - we are very exclusive, after all. Oh, and living spaces for the six people who work here. Including the owner. The tavern and all employees' living rooms except one are close to the airship platform. One employee is the night guard/server, who lives in the main spa building.
And with that, our Tiny Tavern is ready.
On an unrelated note, get Tiny Taverns. It is amazing.
No comments:
Post a Comment