Tavern Thursday: The Figurehead Tavern (Patreon)

I'm trying a new feature, for paying members only: Tavern Thursday!

Each Thursday I'll do a quick sketch of a new fantasy tavern, with an illustration and just enough details for a GM to drop it in their game wherever they need a place for adventures to gather and quest to start.

 (Art by IG Digital)

The Figurehead Tavern

Appearance: A sprawling wattle-and-daub building with wooden shutters, attic dormers, a small 2nd story, several chimneys, a small dock, and a stretch of cleared riverfront with a few small boats pulled up to it.

Origin: The Figurehead began life as a fisherman's camp on the edge of town. Over the years, as merchants came and bought fish directly from the fishers, accommodations were built for them. In the off season, when merchants did not come by, the building was used to sell gear to the fishers on credit, to be paid back after the spawning season. In time it grew to a full tavern, though it still has strong roots in the fishing and fish-mongering communities.

Owner: Officially, the Figurehead is owned by Jacotte Tancred, granddaughter of Alsace Tankred who build the current building. In truth, it's owned by the Netweaver's Guild, of which Jacotte is the head. While the guild does weave fishing nets, it's also the most powerful Thieves' Guild in town, who focus on smuggling and protecting the fishing trade.

Food: The Figurehead has a full kitchen, but only has cooks from the hour before and after dawn, and the hour before and after dusk, when fishing boats go out and come back in for the day. The rest of the time, the kitchen has Sinkers (a round crusty sourdough, in loafs or slices), Floaters (small dried fish cakes hung in strings at the bar, with both mild white Floaters and spicy red Floaters), and 'The Tur'en,' a hearty fish stew that has been maintained nonstop for the past century (predating the current kitchen).

Drink: Ale, mead, beer, and winter wine (where wine is left to freeze in the winter, and the ice thrown away, creating a stronger drink) are all available at reasonable rates.

However, the house specialty is "Gold Guts," made by catching small local goldfish in frozen ponds, and crushing them, squeezing them through a cheesecloth, and aging the liquid that remains. All goldfish can produce ethanol, but the local variety produces much higher quantities. The drink is roughly 140 proof, and has a briny, fishy flavor. It's expensive, and sold in 'thumbs' (roughly a shotglass).

Lodging: "Merchants rooms" are available for more than a typical inn night's stay. These are attic rooms with 1 or 2 beds, footlockers, and locking doors (the door and locker keys being the same key). These must be paid for in advance. Anyone wishing cheaper accommodations can sleep in a hammock in the Boat Hall, which is also where fisher's boats are stored for the off-season. There's always a Fire Watch staff member in the Boat Hall, so while it's open accommodations, it's rare for anyone to start trouble.

Anyone who doesn't make trouble is also free to sleep on the cleared section of riverbank, and it's not unusual for there to be a boat or two hauled up on shore and flipped-over to act as a simple wooden tent.

Stabling: As a tavern catering to merchants, the Figurehead has a large stable and stablehand staff and keeps both hay and grain feed ready for sale. They aren't set up for any other kind of animal, but someone who is diplomatic and seems able to prove some other creature will behave itself can likely rent a stall for some other horse-sized creature at a premium cost.

This becomes easier and cheaper if a local or someone who is clearly a fisher vouches for the non-horse.

Clientelle: The Figurehead is well known for catering to both fishers and merchants, making it a place where people of different economic and social statuses can mingle without raising eyebrows. The fact it's owned by the head of the local smuggling and thieves operations reinforces that blend of clients, though it also means steal is strictly forbidden on Figurehead grounds.

While adventures are less common, the fact the Figurehead is a center for travelers, traders, thieves, and merchants to gather means there's always a lively swirl of gossip, local news, distant rumors, and odd characters. The staff certainly know what adventurers are, and are more likely to see treating them well (as long as they behave themselves) as good for long-term business than being difficult about unusual requests, foreign dress, or strange appearances.

Rumor: Rats are swarming into the basements and storage rooms of many business in town... but NOT at the Figurehead. Conventional wisdom says the Figurehead is simply cleaner and has staff better at rat-catching, but some folks now think the exception is intentional. If the rats are avoiding the Figurehead on purpose, does it mean they are the servants of some angry druid, or spies for a were-rat? After all, no one starts trouble with the Figurehead if they can avoid it...

Adventure Seed: A merchant is hiring as many fishers and their boats as possible to try to catch a rare Sapphire Salmon, supposedly a creature which swims through this section of river once a decade, traveling only at night. While this is true, what the merchant is not saying is that the salmon is a shapechanging water fey of great power and wisdom, which the merchant plans to cook and eat to gain it's store of knowledge.