The Local Tavern: Grow a tavern around its denizens 

 
Start with ten NPC names...  Make some characters special  Define their details 
Start by filling in a heritage, gender and name* for each  Roll a d4, d6, d8, and d10 to make some of the NPCs  Roll a d20 three times for each NPC for a Role and two 
NPC on the chart below under their Role. These are the  “special”. Each die corresponds to a section of the table  Traits. If you don’t like something, change it! For the 
NPCs with which the characters will most likely interact.  you’ve already populated, or a new table which follows.  staff the Role indicates what they ​used​ to be. Expand 
Don’t worry if you can’t name all ten now, and ​DON’T  You can fill in which type of entertainment the  when necessary: what type of crafter, official, etc.? This 
name the tavern yet - you’ll discover its name later.  Entertainer provides now or wait until later.  is a ​LOT​ of rolling - do it during prep, not at the table! 
     

Local Tavern Name:  d4 - Which staff owns the tavern?  NPC Details 
The d4 corresponds to the TOP tier of the table. Draw a  d20​ 3 
Role  Trait 1  Trait 2 
d4/d6  Role  Details  d10  star​ over the number indicated by the d4. When you 
know more about this owner, you’ll know what they’d  1  Adventurer  Arrogant  Brave 
[d4]  Barkeep: 
 
name their tavern and how they treat their staff.  2  Beggar  Charitable  Boastful 
 
1  1 
d6 - Which patron shows interest?  3  Bounty Hunter  Cheater  Confident 
The d6 corresponds to the BOTTOM tier of the table.  4  Commoner  Creative  Coward 
Cook:  Circle​ the number of the Patron indicated by the d6. 
5  Crafter  Cruel  Curious 
2  2  When you learn more about this patron you’ll discover 
why they show interest in the characters.  6  Drunk  Determined  Envious 
  7  Entertainer  Greedy  Enthusiastic 
Server:  d10 - Which NPC isn’t what they say? 
3  3  8  Farmer  Fair  Impatient 
The d10 refers to the entire table with numbers listed to 
the right. One of these NPCs is not what they seem!  9  Fisher  Irritable  Friendly 
Entertainer:  Draw a ​square​ around the number indicated by the d10,  10  Hunter  Frugal  Lazy 
4  4  then use the d8 to see who or what they ​really​ are. 
  11  Knight  Liar  Funny 
d8 - What or who are they?  12  Laborer  Generous  Lustful 
[d6]  Patron 1:  Write what that person ​really​ is, in an abbreviated form, 
 

in their Details column. Tweak these entries as much as  13  Merchant  Mad  Honest 
1  5 
you need to based on your setting and campaign. Maybe  14  Militia  Humble  Obsessive 
someone already established perfectly fits this role! 
15  Monster Hunter  Reckless  Kind 
Patron 2:   
2  6  d8  What or who are they ​really​?  16  Noble  Loyal  Rude 
1  A noble trying to escape their past...  17  Official  Selfish  Patient 
Patron 3:  2  A vampire biding their time...  18  Sailor  Pious  Stingy 
3  7  19  Scholar  Vain  Resourceful 
A dragon polymorphed against its will, living this 
3 
way because it must...  20  Soldier  Responsible  Wasteful 
Patron 4:  A dragon which polymorphed itself, experiencing   

4  8  4  ...and grow the tavern around them. 

the world in this tiny form... 
Now that you’ve populated the tavern with detailed 
A lycanthrope (choose) seeking someone known 
5  NPCs, you have a good idea how these staff and patrons 
Patron 5:  to frequent this place... 
will behave. From a dramatic viewpoint think about 
5  9  An exile from a foreign land just wanting to not  what each staff member brings to the tavern, and how 
6 
be recognized...   they and the patrons would react to the PCs in various 
7  A spy gathering intelligence on this region...  situations. This provides you with a dynamic tavern 
Patron 6:  setting with “real” characters that you don’t have to 
6  10  A doppleganger trying to fit in. What happened to  improvise on game day.  
8 
the r​ eal​ person they replaced? 
* Pages 6 & 7 of ​Freebooters on the Frontier​ has a great name generator if you’re stuck for names, and a handy Appearance Table on page 8. I pulled a selection of Traits from page 9 
Art by ​William McAusland​ - The Local Tavern by ​Brian Holland​ - 2020 
A Workbench - Set up your table to build something else 
 
It’s just random people with context  Descriptor, Tiers and Roles  Redefine what the dice mean 
Think of T ​ he Local Tavern​ as a workbench. Right now  To make a ​Fancy​ Inn I simply changed some of the  Everything can be reconfigured and customized to your 
it’s set up to make taverns, but you can use it to make  roles, and changed the tier “Patron” to “Guest”. For a  liking, including the “special” NPC dice. Always lean 
other things as well. Making this tavern is really about  Booming​ Town I made the tiers “Leader” and “Citizen”  into the context of your Setting and Campaign as well as 
making ​people​ with the shared context “Local Tavern”.  and added some specific roles for citizens. Consider how  the context of what you’re making. Think about ​conflict 
So let’s change the context...  different descriptors might modify tiers and roles.  when defining the dice, and in what way you want that 
    character to be a “special” NPC. 
Fancy​ I​ nn Name:  Booming Town Name:   

d4/d6  Role  Details  d10  d4/d6  Role  Details  d10 

[d4]  Innkeeper: 
 
[d4]  Mayor: 
 

1  1  1  1 

Cook:  Captain of the Watch:   

2  2  2  2   
The d4 
Housekeeper:  Merchant Guildmaster:  The d4 doesn’t need to be about ownership. It could be 
“Which staff grew up in the same orphanage as [the PC 
3  3  3  3  that grew up in an orphanage]?”. Leverage the story 
your campaign is telling! The d4 for the Town might be 
Fixer:  Local Noble:  “Which leader holds the ​real​ power here?”  
4  4  4  4   
The d6 
The d6 doesn’t need to relate to the PCs, but at least one 
[d6]  Guest 1: 
 
[d6]  Town Drunk: 
 
of the dice should to ensure some interaction. Consider 
1  5  1  5  something like “Which NPC is following the PCs?” or 
similar. Maybe “Which NPC accuses a character of 
fill-in-the-blank​?” to create a spicy encounter. 
Guest 2:  Local Hero:   
2  6  2  6  The d10 
You can have a lot of fun with the d10 depending on the 
Guest 3:  General Store Owner:  mood you’re trying to establish. “Which NPC was just 
3  7  3  7  found dead?”, or “Which NPC approaches the PCs with a 
job offer?” are all fun options. Think of some others that 
might jumpstart a scene or scenario, and consider the 
Guest 4:  Citizen 4:  implications if the d10 is the same NPC as the d4 or d6. 
4  8  4  8   
The d8 
Any of the “special” NPCs can be attached to the d8 by 
Guest 5:  Citizen 5:  “pointing” to it: “Use the d8 to…”. The table can also 
5  9  5  9  have multiple columns, like the d20 table. If you do this, 
spell it out when defining the d8: “Roll the d8 again to…”  
 
Guest 6:  Citizen 6: 
Modify the NPC Details table 
6  10  6  10 
Add Roles and Traits to this table that you feel best fit 
your context and remove those which don’t.  

Art by ​William McAusland​ - The Local Tavern by ​Brian Holland​ - 2020 

A Workbench - Set up your table to build something else 
 
Set up the workbench...  Define the special character dice  Define the NPC Details 
Start by deciding what context you want to explore on  In what way do you want certain NPCs to be “special”?  Add some specific roles and traits that fit your context. 
your workbench. What collection of people do you want  The d4 points to the top tier, and the d6 to the bottom.  Common roles and traits can show up multiple times. 
to use the table to build? A cult? A circus? A guild? Create  Write these as “Which [tier name] ​fill-in-the-blank​?”.  When you run out of ideas just fill in the rest of the table 
two tiers that fit the context and then make ten roles;  The d10 refers to the entire table. It is written as “Which  with those listed in the original table on page 1.  
four for the top tier and six for the bottom.   NPC ​fill-in-the-blank​?” One of these dice should “point”   

  to the d8 for further customization.  NPC Details 

 
  d20​3  Role  Trait 1  Trait 2 
Define the d4 
d4/d6  Role  Details  d10    1       
  2       
[d4]     
 
3       
1  1  Define the d6 
  4       
  5       
   
2  2  6       
Define the d10 
  7       
    8       
3  3   
9       
Define the d8 
  10       
    11       
4  4   
  12       
  13       
[d6]     
14       
 

1  5   
d8 
  15       
    16       
1 
2  6    17       
  18       
2 
 
  19       
3  7   
3  20       
 
 
 
  4 
 
...and use it to build something. 
4  8  Now that you’ve set up the workbench with a new 
  context you can go through the process of populating it 
5 
  with detailed NPCs. Randomization is a great tool, but it 
  often falls flat without context. Context makes assigning 
 
5  9  6  meaning to random elements much easier! 
 
 
 
  7 
 
Drill down into the NPC’s stories 
6  10  The ​Worksheet and Sample Tavern​ explains how to drill 
  down into each NPC and learn their story, which is 
8 
  incredibly useful for a place the PCs will visit often! 

Art by ​William McAusland​ - The Local Tavern by ​Brian Holland​ - 2020 

A Workbench - Set up your table to build something else 
 
A large-scale example  The special NPC dice  The NPC Details 
Here’s a workbench I created to make an empire in  I defined the dice to better fit the context of a crumbling  I really dug into Knights, Monarchs, Nobles and Soldiers 
decline, so I made it a c​ rumbling​ empire to add more  empire. I have the d6 pointing to the d8 and I added a  for this context, but left room for some less likely people 
context. It’s a much larger scale than the Local Tavern,  second d8 roll to expand the level of customization for  to fill the tiered rolls as well. I chose more negative traits 
but the same principles apply. Place names, heritages  this empire. I added PC interaction with the d10. The  for this table than positive ones to help sell that the 
and genders first, then make some of them special.  arrest order adds dynamic action which takes place in  people here are not pleasant. 
  the background. The players won’t know about the   

Crumbling Empire Name:  order until they learn about it in-game. Rumors? Or  NPC Details 
perhaps soldiers show up to take them into custody…  d20​ 3 
Role  Trait 1  Trait 2 
 
d4/d6  Role  Details  d10 
The d4 (Top Tier)  1  Commoner  Aggressive  Reckless 
[d4]  Ruler 1: 
 
Which ruler is the emperor?  2  Hero  Arrogant  Resentful 
1  1   
3  High Priest  Boastful  Rude 
The d6 (Bottom Tier) 
Which imperial general plans to assassinate a ruler? Use  4  Knight  Covetous  Ruthless 
Ruler 2:  the d8 to determine which ruler.  5  Knight  Cruel  Selfish 
2  2   
6  Knight  Decadent  Stubborn 
The d10 (Entire Table) 
Ruler 3:  Which NPC has ordered the arrest of the PCs?  7  Knight  Deceitful  Stingy 
3  3    8  Merchant  Egotistical  Vain 
The d8 (Referenced by the d6)  9  Monarch  Envious  Vengeful 
The d8 defines which ruler is being targeted. Roll the d8 
Ruler 4:  again to determine why that general plans to assassinate  10  Monarch  Greedy  Wasteful 
4  4  that ruler.  11  Monarch  Hasty  Ambitious 
 

Which  12  Noble  Hedonist  Bold 

[d6]  Imperial General 1:  d8  Because.... 
  ruler?  13  Noble  Impatient  Creative 
1  5 
the ruler is a doppleganger who  14  Noble  Indecisive  Focused 
1  Ruler 1 
replaced the true ruler months ago. 
15  Scholar  Lustful  Hopeful 
Imperial General 2:  the general is an enemy spy who has 
2  6  2  Ruler 1  16  Soldier  Mad  Idealistic 
been in deep cover for years. 
that ruler had the general’s entire  17  Soldier  Malicious  Loyal 
3  Ruler 2 
Imperial General 3:  family murdered years ago.  18  Soldier  Moody  Pious 
3  7  the general is the ruler’s legitimate  19  Soldier  Obsessive  Resourceful 
4  Ruler 2 
heir and can prove it.  20  Wizard  Petulant  Steadfast 
Imperial General 4:  the ruler hates the empire and wishes   
5  Ruler 3 
4  8  to return it to independent nations.  Randomization with context 
the general is restless and the  With this workbench I have a lot of context from which I 
6  Ruler 3  can draw inspiration when I connect random elements! 
assassination will spark a new war. 
Imperial General 5:   
5  9  the ruler has learned the general’s 
7  Ruler 4  terrible secret and must die to  Drill down into the NPC’s stories 
prevent that secret from getting out.   An empire is definitely something you want to drill 
Imperial General 6:  down into and learn the stories of the NPCs. Always look 
the general and ruler are planning it 
6  10  for conflict and deeper motivations. Keep your context 
8  Ruler 4  together as a ruse to capture those 
in mind. This is a c​ rumbling empire​, but your setting 
who would ally against that ruler. 
and campaign story also add context!  

Art by ​William McAusland​ - The Local Tavern by ​Brian Holland​ - 2020