In Defense of the Tavern in Dungeons & Dragons
This unfairly-maligned starting place can get your game off to a great start.
Published in
5 min readDec 31, 2021
Almost every day, I run into a discussion on Facebook or Twitter that goes something like, “Where is a good place to begin an adventure — and taverns don’t count!”
There’s a lot of hatred out there for taverns in the fantasy roleplaying game world. They were once considered a staple in gaming, but they’ve since fallen out of favor.
Well, screw that noise.
A tavern (or an inn or a pub) is a wonderful place to begin an adventure.
Let’s discuss.
The “Problem” With Taverns
The complaints about DMs (dungeon masters) using taverns often fall into the following categories:
They’re cliched and unimaginative.
They’re often depicted inaccurately.
There. That’s it. Those are the problems most people have with starting an adventure in a tavern.
