What is a staple of the fantasy genre that you can find in pretty much every city and town? Why of course it’s the inn! The fantasy inn offers food and shelter for weary travelers who just want to relax after a long day on the road. The innkeeper doesn’t do it out of the goodness of his heart, he does so to make a living by charging them a fee.
Inns come in all shapes and sizes, from a small one that has maybe ten rooms or less to one that spans multiple floors. Some are warm and have a rustic-like appearance whereas others are more cosmopolitan, having more of a luxurious look. The appearance of a fantasy inn is dictated by the type of customer it’s seeking to appeal to.
Regardless of what clientele the inn has, being in the right location can make the difference between a profitable one and one teetering on the brink of collapse. Therefore, it’s essential that it be in an area where its customers are most likely to go in order to enhance its visibility.
Being in the right location isn’t the only thing that matters to the success of a fantasy inn. Those who spend the night expect a certain level of service and a comfortable bed to sleep in. Having atrocious service or a mattress that’s so uncomfortable that nobody wants to spend time in is a sure-fire way to lose business as they’ll tell people they know not to go there.
Besides being a place to end the day, the inn is also a fantastic meeting-place which is perhaps one of its major advantages. All kinds of people meet each other for a myriad of reasons whether it’s to pass a message onto someone else or to find some company. The ambience of the place makes it easy for clandestine meetings to occur since people are used to seeing strangers.
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When it comes to worldbuilding, there are several considerations a fantasy writer has to account for when mulling over where to place an inn. Inns need to be in places that make the most sense to them, both for their customers and for their readers. That means when deciding where to put one, always have the makeup of the city/town in mind.
Much like its real-life counterpart, a fantasy inn is commonly found on the outskirts of a city or town. The principal reason for this is it’ll be the first thing a traveler or merchant will see after being on the road all day. The exhausted traveler doesn’t want to have to keep searching for an inn; he just wants to get a quick bite to eat and go to bed.
Don’t forget to account for the size of a city or town when it comes to placing an inn. Small towns typically feature just one whereas large cities have multiple inns. The larger a city is, the more traffic there is which leads to more people looking for a place to stay, even if it’s just for one night. Unless it’s exceptionally large, one inn simply cannot handle all that traffic which is why there’s usually more than one in these places.
Another consideration to think about is which parts of the city or town receive the most traffic. Examples of major traffic areas would be the marketplace or a key building like a castle or fortress. Innkeepers deliberately have inns right alongside these heavy traffic corridors, knowing perfectly well they’re likely to capture a good chunk of that traffic.
While the majority of inns are found in cities and towns, there’s a fairly decent number that operate in the countryside. They’re typically found near key crossing roads, otherwise known as roads that have a good amount of traffic. They serve as a quick pitstop for travelers as they go along the roads to their destinations.
In rare cases, a fantasy inn can be found way out in the countryside where there’s a sudden change in terrain like going from the plains to the mountains. These inns give travelers a chance to to catch their breath before they enter a more harrowing stage of their journey. Having a good night’s sleep and a fully belly will make venturing through the next stage easier.
Just like any business, whether it be fantasy or in the real-world, a fantasy inn must keep its customers happy in order to last for a long time. Regardless of where it is, whether it be in the middle of a city or in front of a vast forest, the inn has a few things it must do to have return customers and increase the number of first-timers.
First and foremost, travelers expect a certain level of rest and comfort. After all, it’s precisely the reason why they decided to stop by. They want a warm, inviting bed that’s easy to fall asleep on, especially after being on the road all day. As such, having soft mattresses and pillows made of feathers goes a long way in making them happy and more likely they’ll come back or recommend it to people they know.
Customers also want good food, no matter what their position in society is. It’s also important to match the type of food to the clientele a fantasy inn is targeting. Wealthy people expect luxurious food whereas lower classes want good food that is affordable.
A cozy-like ambience is a must for a fantasy inn to be successful. Those who spend the night want a place that evokes feelings of warmth and also is a place of relative safety in an otherwise chaotic world. Many inns use warm colors and feature decorations that make their guests feel right at home.
You only have one chance to make a great impression and the same holds true for an inn. The outside appearance needs to be inviting and that means it needs to look clean and presentable. Don’t overlook the importance of having a well-displayed sign. It needs to be in a place that’s easily visible for passersby and clearly communicates what type of business it is.
Finally, a fantasy inn ought to be a good place for some solitude. Sometimes some people just want to go straight to bed or sit alone in their room to gather their thoughts. Putting a little distance between the lobby and the rooms is a superb way to accomplish this since it gives the guests some privacy away from the hustle-and-bustle of the inn.
Due to its location in the city and town, the inn is a haven for people to meet up. Many innkeepers recognize that their customers expect a premium of privacy and work to oblige them, choosing to keep their nose out of trouble. In some cases, some will willingly take some ‘extra money’ to look the other way.
Many inns come with a tavern where its patrons, both local and out-of-town, meet to eat and drink. It is in this part of the inn where all kinds of people meet. The interesting thing is that there’s different people every day which leads to different kinds of meetings that occur.
The type of people that appear in a fantasy inn range from wizards to ne’er-do-wells looking for trouble. Each person that shows up has a reason for being there and some prefer to hold their meetings in the open whereas others have them in secluded areas away from prying eyes.
Due to the inn being a prime meeting place, it invariably becomes the source of gossip and rumors. People exchange stories about what’s going on in faraway lands or right in the town or city. Some people have a penchant for embellishing the truth to make the stories sound more fantastical than they really are. Popular topics include war, scandal, and romance.
It’s also a place for intrigue as spies gather news about what their enemies are doing or plotting to do. During times of turmoil and war, both sides send agents to local inns to obtain information that they otherwise couldn’t get since a decent number of their accompanying taverns’ patrons are too focused on having a good ol’ time that they let slip some things they shouldn’t let.
There’s a reason why the fantasy inn is considered a staple in the genre, appearing pretty much everywhere. It provides food and and a warm bed for people who’ve been on the road all day and just want to eat something that will fill up their bellies and sleep on something comfortable so they can recharge and get ready for the next day.
As a fantasy writer, it’s up to you to put inns in places that make the most sense from the viewpoint of worldbuilding. They ought to be in places that are easy to get to such as the outskirts or nearby major traffic areas like the marketplace. From a business perspective, being in these locations makes it easier for them to last a long time.
Whenever a weary traveler spots a fantasy inn, he has some expectations. It ought to be a place that oozes warmth and hospitality, both on the outside and the inside. The food it serves should be at least delicious, otherwise he’ll tell everyone he knows to avoid it like the plague which will wind up hurting it in the long run.
The inn is a great place to meet some people. You never know who you’ll see on a given night. Sometimes you might encounter a wizard, other times a scoundrel or scammer trying to swindle people out of their money by selling them worthless items. However, it’s also an information-trafficking place as all kinds of news and tidbits are exchanged on a daily basis to many parties interested in the info.
The fantasy inn is an excellent asset for anyone interested in building their own world so if you haven’t brought it in yours yet, there’s no better time to start than today!
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