Innkeeper (vendor)

Innkeepers must enjoy people, even the difficult ones, as the job demands gregariousness and patience. Inns are family-run businesses, with relatives filling roles to save wages and provide better service. Guests arrive at all hours, requiring either brevity or endurance, especially when they demand what they won’t pay for. The presence of weapons and wealth calls for firm control. Guests were locked in their rooms at night, and beds were sometimes shared without consent. Legally, an innkeeper has to house all who arrived if space allowed.

For adventurers, inns and taverns are places where stories unfold, alliances form, and the pulse of the world beats strongest. The variety ensures no two stays are alike, making each encounter an opportunity for the unexpected.

Types

The variety of inns and lodgings available to travellers is vast, affecting accommodations and services. Way stations resemble campgrounds, providing a field, fire pit, and access to water. Guests set up tents or park wagons, sharing news and entertainment. Caravanserais along trade routes offer massive enclosed spaces for caravans, with water from cisterns but little else. Some are unattended, allowing free lodging. Hostels, often run by religious communities, provide communal sleeping spaces or open-air clay-walled cells. A morning meal is given in exchange for labour, and charitable nurses may assist the sick.

Rookeries, or thieves’ dens, exist in city slums, offering wooden pallets in filthy, vermin-infested conditions. Residents value anonymity, making it a place where one might gain criminal contacts over time. Roadhouses, small and rural, cater to wealthy and well-travelled guests, offering quiet, affordable rooms with basic comforts. Inns, found in towns and cities, range from three-room lodgings above taverns to large establishments with courtyards, stables, and auxiliary services. Guests are assigned rooms based on availability, locked in at night for security.

Sovereign inns, located in the wealthiest districts, cater only to the well-dressed and influential. Guests are chosen by social standing, and rooms are opulently furnished with balconies, private baths and personalized service. Valets, concierges and guards provide specialised attention, while stables include a resident farrier. Such establishments are hubs of power, where high society meets in comfort.

Taverns

Main Article: Taverns

Essential to inns and communities, these range from small taprooms serving ale to grand public houses offering elaborate meals and extensive drink selections. Taprooms are simple, serving only a few varieties of beer and ale, often run by a single barkeep. Taphouses are larger, dedicated drinking establishments, sometimes offering coffee or tea instead of alcohol. Public houses serve food, featuring spit-roasted meats, stews, fried delicacies and an assortment of side dishes. Desserts like apple pie and custards are rare but available in the evenings.

Food and drink options vary widely. On tap, patrons find ales, ciders, stouts and meads. Cellar selections include absinthe, whiskey, and Madeira wine. Kitchens prepare soups, roasted meats, fried fish and exotic dishes like turtle soup and pheasant. Kitchen staff, including cooks, servers, and helpers, work long hours, often as part of a family operation. Patrons receive quick service and tipping customs vary by establishment.