Cauldron's Inns

[Oceanstrider]

This Sunday my PCs will arrive in Cauldron from the Lucky Monkey Inn (this is ours 2° game session). They need a place where sleep.
I'm missing something or in Cauldron there are only 3 written inns? The Cusp of the Sunrise, the Drunken Morkoth Inn and Minuta's Board.
Ciao
Mario

[nib]

I think you're right. Several more are mentioned, but left for you to design. What makes matters worse is that some of the taverns have another purpose (e.g. headquarters of the Alleybashers). If you have little time left, I would opt to guide them towards Minuta's board.

This has at least some description, plus it helps later on in the story since Minuta's board will be taken over by the city guard to put half-orc soldiers and the party is going to find themselves on the street, which helps to get that useful animosity going, when the taxes increase and are enforced by the town guard.

Cheers,
Nib

[delvesdeep]

It's funny, I never used the Inns and Taverns in Cauldron for much other than meeting places or because of the campaign storyline. My players used their allies such as the Jenya from almost the start to rest so the cities lodging became less relevant.

Is there any particular reason for your Tavern/Inn curiousity?

Delvesdeep

[Oceanstrider]

I don't have any particular reason, only to be sure, and also the fact that some inns have a different purpose so I don't want the PCs inside. I just added two more "brand new" inns to the choice Sunday, and my PCs already want to rent/buy/find a vacant old ruined house.
I will use the enhancement from Dragon 334 made for AoW about PCs refurbishing an old vacant house.
Ciao
Mario

[siege]

I believe the inns listed in the HC are:

* The Cusp of Sunrise (more of a private club than an inn)
* The Coy Nixie
* The Slippery Eel
* The Tipped Tankard
* The Drunken Morkoth
* Minutia's Board

I've got them listed in order from swankiest to sleaziest (at least, how they are in my campaign). Most of them don't play much of a role in the plot on their own, but during the Flood Festival my group played out the drinking competition and I had great fun detailing some of the bars. They can be useful for foreshadowing if nothing else... for example, the Drunken Morkoth can be used to flesh out the myth of the Lake Monster.

[Fantomas]

siege wrote:

I believe the inns listed in the HC are:

* The Cusp of Sunrise (more of a private club than an inn)
* The Coy Nixie
* The Slippery Eel
* The Tipped Tankard
* The Drunken Morkoth
* Minutia's Board

I've got them listed in order from swankiest to sleaziest (at least, how they are in my campaign). Most of them don't play much of a role in the plot on their own, but during the Flood Festival my group played out the drinking competition and I had great fun detailing some of the bars. They can be useful for foreshadowing if nothing else... for example, the Drunken Morkoth can be used to flesh out the myth of the Lake Monster.

There's also The Brass Trumpet, which is closed... I think it is used as a bad guy hideout in later chapters.

My players for whatever reason chose The Slippery Eel as their watering hole of choice, but got banned for life after a bar fight with some sleazy dwarves. They've spent time in all but The Tankard and Minuta's...

[airwalkrr]

The Coy Nixie, Slippery Eel, and Tipped Tankard are all taverns. There is nothing in any of their respective descriptions that indicates they also accept boarders. The Cusp of Sunrise, Drunken Morkoth Inn, and Minuta's Board are essentially meant to serve as paradigms of luxury, standard, and poor living conditions. PCs can choose their lodgings accordingly. These three locales should serve fine unless the PCs have some sort of lasting disagreement with the owners. In the times I have run this campaign, the PCs have typically stayed at the Drunken Morkoth Inn until they become famous, at which point they begin staying at the Cusp of Sunrise. Either that or they stay at their Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion. I think you'll find those three lodgings serve quite suitably.

[The Black Bard]

I never saw the Drunken Morkoth as a "poor" quality inn, simply because of its owner, Ophelia Knowlern. Her personality description in the hardback makes it seem as if, despite the clientelle, the Drunken Morkoth would actually be one of the best inns to stay at, for both price and quality.

Of course, her usual distance (living in another town) could allow for deteriorated conditions. But I found her genuinely charitable and good nature to be just the sort of thing that would turn a seedy dive into a boisterous, well-loved hangout.

I guess in my game, the Drunken Morkoth was always viewed as the "nightclub" of all the inns. Loud, fun, sometimes hard to sleep at, but always worth staying at, especially because of the adventurers. (Moreso in my game, since the PCs fell in love with it and hardly ever leave.)

[Daidai]

My group stayed at the Slippery Eel at first, then switched more and more (as characters did come and go) to the Drunken Morkoth to be near the Striders.
Eventually a new character owned a house in Cauldron, so they often stayed there as well.

The Tipped Tankard is the only tavern in the SCAP with a map (except the Brass Trumpet, which is closed), so this place could be used as well. It lacks rooms to rent though, but that shouldn´t be a problem.

[Arnwyn]

Here's what I'm using for inns, based on my reading of the AP and then modified for my Forgotten Realms campaign (the format is based on the standard FR format originally found in the old Forgotten Realms Adventures hardcover):

Adventurer’s Quarters: There are not a large number of inns or boarding houses in (Cauldron), but there are enough to keep both citizens and travelers happy. The major ones include:

· Cusp of Sunrise “Dinner Club”: This ivy-covered cross-shaped building with a circular tower is actually a private club, with a very exclusive membership (generally, it’s nobles only). Getting an invite here is considered a very lucrative opportunity. [See Dungeon #102 p. 36-38 for details.]

· Drunken Morkoth Inn: A typical city inn that is very popular with travelers, and owned by the Knowlern noble family. (Good/Moderate = 3 gp/person/ night)

· Coy Nixie (inn): This is a very high-class inn, with accommodations rivaling those of larger cities of The South, but with somewhat more reasonable prices. It is owned by the Aslaxin noble family. (Excellent/Moderate = 10 gp/person/night)

· The Brass Trumpet (inn): This is fairly nice inn, but has a reputation for snobbishness. (Good/Moderate = 5 gp/ person/night) Map: Dungeon #111 [note that this is before the later events of the AP]

· Laughing Horse Inn: This is a simple inn, but well kept and well run. There is no common room, but meals are included and served in-room. (Good/Moderate = 2 gp/ person/night)

· Minuta’s Board (inn/rooming house): This is a run-down rooming house near the lake. The only space available is a large common room – it is advisable to sleep with one eye open. No food or stabling is available. (Poor/Cheap = 7 gp/person/tenday)