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Local Tavern Job Board

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So I want to do a job board in the inn or tavern where the players can look at what's available and choose a mission based off those (small missions not major plot line mission)

What mission ideas with reward does everyone have?

Has any one tried this what was outcome?
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Have a couple ideas like:
Bring me ... From ... By fairways or foul...

I need... Go into forest kill/find/bring me ...

We need more space go clear out church...houses... That is over run with...

Any more thoughts would help
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I've done this in the past. It works out although it feel very canned.
some ideas...
-Escaped prisoner: Bounty hunters needed.
-Caravan Guard needed.
-Missing adventuring party... Families hiring trackers.
-Body guards needed for visiting dignitary
-Contestants needed for tourney of champions
-Shipmates needed for wreckage salvage mission
-Prisoner escorts
-Kobold removal service wanted.

I've never liked the tavern job board for campaign filler. It feels too "side-quest to level up before the next boss" metagamey. Which is not to say that it can't be done successfully, but the job board of a tavern out in the wilderness is going to have much different jobs than that from within a large city. A large city's tavern job board would probably have summons to local wizard's guilds or the like, and the quests would be seeds or hooks for grand adventures, not simple fetch-and-carry quests. Out in the wilderness there are all manner of things that could happen. Rewards for information about..., help me clear the rocks out of the ground in my new field, clear the woods by my house of trolls, bring my annual offering to Taxthyl so she doesn't eat my goats.

Wouldn't this "board" simply be the tavern staff, passing the community's information around? Paper and ink are expensive.
A town crier seems likely too, for the bigger tasks.

But on-topic: requests for materials or merchandise not usually locally available would be realistic - let the PCs figure out where to get them. Or a request for the services of a priest of a specific religion, who'd then need to be fetched and escorted back.

Wanted:
Eye of Vecna
Sword of Kas
Axe of the Dwarvish Lords
Shield of St. Cuthbert
Seedling from Silvanous
Ruby Rod of Asmodeous

Hows that for a wanted poster in a tavern?

Okay, assuming that it is understood the tavern board is for adventurers and not just a job posting for run-of-the-mill work-a-day problems. Also, since the level of the party will vary, can't really determine a fair monetary reward that would please them for their time, so that's kind of arbitrary.

Local miners broke into a cavern. It was infested with goblins/rust monsters/darkmantles/etc. The mine is closed until they can get someone to exterminate the threat.:

This can be straight-forward, talk to the foreman in town, find out what's in the mine, prepare, go in and clear out a few caverns. Or could lead into a dungeon you designed.

Reward: Some amount of cash or twice that amount in metal/ore/ingots whatever the mine produces. The mine products could be used for crafting or perhaps sold at a good price several town over. Also they can claim any treasure they find in the new cavern other than mineral veins and obvious mine property like pickaxes and tools dropped by fleeing miners.

The local garrison leader hasn't heard from a border fort in several days. He wants to send a group to investigate and assist if necessary.:

The garrison leader got a messenger bird several days ago that there were many sightings of orcs/goblins/ogres/trolls etc. in the area. He hasn't received the last two scheduled reports and wants to send someone competent to investigate. Since most of his wilderness-capable men are the ones sent out to the fort to watch for such incursions, he would have to send a large squad to ensure their safety and he can't risk thinning his forces elsewhere without being sure what's wrong. He gives them 3 or more messenger birds to take with them.

So the PCs get a 3-4 day trip through the wilderness (whatever kind you want) in whatever the weather is (snow, autumn, rain) to find this border watchtower. Maybe the tower is under siege when they get there and they must break through to link up (assume the enemy can't just be driven off immediately). Or maybe they get there just before it comes under siege and can't leave and must help the defenders. Or maybe everyone's dead when they show up, or maybe it just seems everyone's dead and some are missing (prisoners in need of rescue).

Have a reason there was no communication; the scouts were ambushed on the way to civilization, the messenger birds fall prey to goblin falconers, a flaming arrow managed to fly into the bird nesting area and start a fire suffocating the birds before it was put out, etc.

Reward: Offer 1 gold per day per PC just a very generous messenger fee for wilderness travel since the garrison leader isn't sure there's anything wrong. If there is, assure them of a suitable bonus for assisting. So depending on the threat and how they perform (make it back alive, save a prisoner from enemy camp, defend the tower, gather intel on a planned raid, save everyone, heal wounded defenders in the tower infirmary, etc.) you can add on bonuses in addition to any salvage from slain foes.

The local Plumbers and Cellarers Guild is hiring additional protection for its workers due to sightings and reports of unusual sounds in the sewers.:

The local guild is hiring muscle to guard its workers because there have been reports of strange shadows and sounds. Such things happen on occasion. An animal slips through a grate and feeds on rats, gets too big to get out. A wizard's pet or experiment slips down a drainpipe, etc. There have been some remains found of slain creatures, maybe even a body, this isn't unusual it could have been a vagrant or a murder just tossed down there.

This one is just your basic dungeon crawl, you can have either an infestation of similar beasties or encounters with all sorts of things down below including thieves and smugglers lurking in the tunnels, wererats, and slimes. Maybe it's a cult that summoned an otherworldly horror.

Reward: 1 gold piece a day just for guarding a group of guild workers (they aren't interested in exploring, they just do their 4-6 hour shifts and maintenance, moving through an area). Any combats will occur in that area or with creatures attacking them. Bonuses will be paid depending on what they defeated (or fought off).

Otherwise, the PCs can prowl about the sewers on their own (Maps are not for sale as the guild protects these to prevent enemy kingdoms and smugglers from using them to infiltrate the city), guides are available but only to walk along mainline sewer tunnels not smaller offshoots. The can get rewards for bringing back proof of slain creatures (not thieves or smugglers but those might have their own goods).

This diversion can work can continue on until the spring thaw when the sewers typically flood and overflow which kills off most threats until the next season.

This is based off an adventure from the Dungeon magazine 'And A Dozen Eggs' where adventurers came back and sold some dinosaur eggs to a merchant in Waterdeep. During the night they hatch and the little creatures crawled into the sewer, feeding on rats they got big enough to be a problem, prompting the merchant to offer a bounty on bringing them back alive or their skull as proof of them being slain.

Don't forget to mention a few things like warnings about bandit attacks or some wanted posters (with or without pictures), maybe one or two descriptions of wanted criminals one of which is very similar to a PC, not exactly just enough to be close, maybe with an eyepatch or something.
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Ditto on it feeling very canned.

I've had to reskin my "tavern quest board" into "favours / jobs from NPCs after making a favorable impression"

- bounty on uncovering and capturing the werewolf that has been feeling on 'seamstresses' in the poor part of town (aim for a Jack the Ripper vibe) (actually just a Worg that escaped from enslavement, good way to tone down the game after to many APL+4 fights.)

-The mayor / governor was expecting some precious cargo but it got jacked by bandits, he will stop at nothing to get it back.
Liberty's Edge

"Have you seen this child?" pictures on the tankards.
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!: I need 5 boar Tusks. Not every boar has one. > *15 dead boars later* > ?: Thanks for the 5 boar tusk! Here have 13 copper and 40 xp.
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The PCs could go to the Job board and see wanted signs.
Their names and portraits wanted "Dead or Alive" could be there with a sizable bounty with them to be turned into Big Bad.
Then, they are attacked by the Bounty Hunters who are standing there after they get over their surprise.

"The FATE of the Kingdom Depends On You, Brave Adventurers!"

Spoiler:
"Go and bring me twelve rat tails."

Lol some good ideas was thinking local alchemist is looking for that dragon toenail or troll bogies or such or a big game hunter heard there was a something in town help him bring it down
Drejk wrote:

"The FATE of the Kingdom Depends On You, Brave Adventurers!"

** spoiler omitted **

Classic lol I would probably do this :D

Would be amusing especially if you could figure out a way that later on they found out just how important they were or how they actually saved the Kingdom.

A horse. A horse. My kingdom for a horse.
Pizza Lord wrote:
Would be amusing especially if you could figure out a way that later on they found out just how important they were or how they actually saved the Kingdom.

They amassed a number of them from adventurers to cast the ancient ritual to summon rat king Ignorath to fight the kingdom of Xartith! You may see the ruins of the battle today.

New job listing: Custodians! There are a lot of undead and abominations in the ruins of the battle of Xartith. Your free to pick up anything that isn't nailed down. Lunches will be provided by the local questgiver. We are not responsible for loss of limbs, life, or devoured brains during your adventures in the ruins of Xartith.

Haha, I should steal this one day to create a massive plot of loosely related subquest leading to more quest...
Liberty's Edge
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"Some Muckledarmed cultists stole me wee men! Help me find them!"
Scarab Sages
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krevon wrote:
Wanted: Head of Vecna

Fixed that for you ;D

Wizard seeks new set of dinner plates, needs Flail Snail shells

Nobleman seeks the most beautiful flower in all the land for his upcoming proposal

Smith seeks Dragon Scales for masterpiece

Smith seeks Adamantine for masterpiece

Village livestock being ravaged, terrible monster needs slain (Quasit or Dretch responsible)

Caravan heading to [TOWN] needs additional guards

Local Bard needs inspiration, seeks a day of adventure

Coven of Hags abducting children, warriors needed

Slaves escaped, wanted alive

Local druid suspects foul play in the woods, seeking investigators

*after a linguistics check to reveal hidden message* local companion seeks release from her pimp, kidnappers needed

Diamond mine raided by rouge wizards, recovery team needed

Goblin King true king! Destroy not true goblin king! Much gold!

Local burial mound found looted, return the dead to their resting place (necromancer responsible)

Psychopath escaped from jail and into surrounding landscape, wanted dead or alive

Local alchemist suspected of producing illegal drugs, investigators needed

Fighter: "Lets check the quest board for a job"
Black Mage: "From the smell, I'd say their primary industry is 'crapping in the street'"
Fighter: "Yeah, that's already taken."
MrSin wrote:
Pizza Lord wrote:
Would be amusing especially if you could figure out a way that later on they found out just how important they were or how they actually saved the Kingdom.

They amassed a number of them from adventurers to cast the ancient ritual to summon rat king Ignorath to fight the kingdom of Xartith! You may see the ruins of the battle today.

New job listing: Custodians! There are a lot of undead and abominations in the ruins of the battle of Xartith. Your free to pick up anything that isn't nailed down. Lunches will be provided by the local questgiver. We are not responsible for loss of limbs, life, or devoured brains during your adventures in the ruins of Xartith.

Haha, I should steal this one day to create a massive plot of loosely related subquest leading to more quest...

I probably steal this too

Find what's been eating / stealing / exsanguinating my livestock

'Wanted! Investigators needed to track down the culprit responsible for posting fraudulent Job listings. Inquire at <next town over> Job board. Reward: 2,000,000 gold pieces.'

Next town over's Job board '...Inquire at <the first town's> Job board...'

Prof reeder for job bord watned!
Dark Archive

"Help wanted chasing off the annoying group who keeps hogging all the job offers on here."

or

Scrawled onto the back of the job sign out front could be job listings for those interested in criminal undertakings. The reason that petty criminals post jobs there is that nobody ever thought to look behind the sign.
Umbral Reaver wrote:
Prof reeder for job bord watned!

Eye well due it. Thank ewe.

Wanted: cook. Must be relatively clean. No goblins need apply.
blahpers wrote:
Wanted: cook. Must be relatively clean. No goblins need apply.

Goblin stew

"Mining guild looks for competent mercenaries to get rid of coven of mad warlocks disrupting mining operation in the hills."

"Druid circle is looking for valiant defenders of nature to protect local sacred hill from being despoiled by drunken rabble."
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"His lordship pays a 2,000 gold pieces of reward for bringing him nymph, mermaid or a dryad, alive and unharmed."

"Her ladyship pays 20,000 gp for clearing the realm of nymphs, mermaids and dryads."

"Fulko the Merchant pays 500 gp for bringing him head or <redacted> of Marten Fairsong".

"Marten Fairsong, renowned bard and master poet is offering his superb musical, magical and scholarly skills to a highly competent and heroic adventuring party leaving the city within the next two days."
Count Coltello wrote:
blahpers wrote:
Wanted: cook. Must be relatively clean. No goblins need apply.
Goblin stew

Wanted: Goblins to help in the kitchen.

'Guides wanted! Meals provided. Departing when we've gathered enough rations.
-Caravan Master Donner'

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

A jobs board in a tavern is a good idea of how to list your prepared material to the party. Player characters are notoriously unpredictable, so I like to have 6-8 possible routes prepared when I DM.

There are rumors of something strange happening in the basement of the mage tower.
A lady in all blue has been sighted around town asking strange questions.
Local woodcutters have gone missing from the lumberyard in recent days.
A local election is coming up soon.
There has been trouble at a local farmsted with missing crops and animals.
Daughter of an influential family has gone missing.
Merchants have complained about increased monster activity on the roads leading into town.
blahpers wrote:
Wanted: cook. Must be relatively clean. No goblins need apply.

lol nice

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