The Great Heartiness of the Fantasy Tavern

Taverns are another popular building in fantasy cities. Named the Horse Dancer, this fantasy tavern has dark brown walls and blue windows. The support beams are grey and the door is brown. It has a red roof. In the background are several hills and white clouds in the blue sky.
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Sunfire

CONTENTS

The Premise

After being on the road or working all day, sometimes people just want a quick bite to eat  or meet up with their friends to discuss the events of the day. The one place they will get together is the fantasy tavern, which is one of the city’s top spots. They can have hours of merriment at the tavern before they head home or go to bed.

Much like inns, taverns are all over the world and come in all sizes. While there are quite a few standalone taverns, there are many that are tied in with inns. In fact, their owners run both businesses simultaneously as people need a place to eat and drink. These establishments help bring in money both for their owners and for the cities and towns they’re located in.

A fantasy tavern caters to all sorts of people but the one thing all taverns have in common is that they’re found in areas where they have the highest visibility. Generally speaking, the more visible they are, the more likely they’ll have more customers which in turn helps them keep their doors open.

One reason why a tavern is so popular is simply because it’s a prime meeting place. It’s where locals and travelers unwind after a long day and exchange stories over ale and food. The convivial atmosphere makes it easy for people to interact with each other before they go to bed.

When it comes to the story, a fantasy tavern can play a meaningful role. It can help the characters build stronger friendships or learn disquieting news about trouble in a distant land that spurs them to head towards that direction. The possibilities a tavern might play in the plot are endless!

This is article number four in the types of fantasy buildings series. Want to check out our other articles? They’re located on our blog page so feel free to check it out! 

Where’s a Fantasy Tavern Located?

As you work on worldbuilding, don’t neglect the importance of where to place a fantasy tavern. It needs to be in places that are prime traffic spots, not those far off the beaten path —unless you’re going with one that caters to a exclusive crowd. Though it might just be a fantasy business, it still needs to look and operate like a real one.

Like the inn, the tavern is often found on the outside fringe of the town or city. While it caters to the locals, it also draws in travelers who are tired and just want to get something to eat before they head off to bed. It is for this reason that many taverns are bundled in with inns since their owners know they’re more likely to get more customers if they offer both food and a place to sleep.

Fantasy cities are important in the genre. This image depicts a city with a castle on a hilltop above it. The city has both rectangular- and square-shaped buildings with a wavy roof on each one. The buildings come in four colors: light yellow, brown, light blue, and white. The roofs come in the following colors: dark blue, red, light black, and dark brown. Many of these buildings have windows and some have a visible door. The road itself runs down the middle of the image, swaying to the right and then the left, ending at the doorstep of the castle. The road also meets two others, one that runs to the left, and the other to the right. Behind the city is a grassy field with blades of grass scattered throughout. A river cuts through the field, meandering from the left edge to the right edge of the image. The castle itself is white with gray shadows. It has four red turrets and diamond-shaped windows. The sky above is a bright blue with two white clouds. Some birds are flying on the left side, above the castle, and the right side.

Most small towns typically feature just one fantasy tavern. However, when it comes to major cities like the capital that have large populations, there will be several. All of them will be found in areas that have the highest traffic like the marketplace or close to the castle. The more traffic there is, the better!

While the majority of taverns primarily operate in the cities and towns of the kingdom, there’s quite a few that are found in the countryside. Towns and cities are far and few in-between and the roads connecting them are long and full of dangers, making them ideal for taverns to cater to travelers on those thoroughfares, offering them some respite from their journey.

In some cases, placing a fantasy tavern near a kingdom’s borders works well. It enables those leaving and entering to get a sample of the kingdom’s cuisine as well as learn more about the country they just entered or is about to leave. They also speak with the locals to get a sense of how things are faring in the kingdom or what’s going on across the border at that moment.

The Convivial Atmosphere of the Fantasy Tavern

A fantasy tavern is a place for socialization, both for the locals and people stopping by for the night. They exchange stories and gossip about the latest happenings both in town and abroad. It can get rowdy and boisterous at times and occasionally a brawl between drunken patrons may break out.

In order to create such a convivial atmosphere, several elements are required. First and foremost, have a variety of delicious ale and other beverages. If a tavern is selling drinks that taste atrocious, it will go out of business before you know it! Feel free to come up with creative names for the drinks and jot down a list of their ingredients.

A brown-haired man wearing a green shirt, gray pants, and brown shoes. He's looking up in horror with his hands covering his mouth as a ball bears down on him. The jester is the kind of fantasy character who's sole goal is to act as the comic relief.

It wouldn’t be a tavern without food. Feature a diversity of food like chicken and soup and tie them in with the drinks to create an unmissable combo! A rule of thumb, have the food feel like they make sense in the context of your world. If it’s medieval-based, don’t include things like ice cream or salsa. The last thing you want is for your readers to be confused why you would include foods that don’t fit in your world which can lower their enjoyment of the story.

The decor matters a great deal when creating a friendly ambience. You want it to feel warm, inviting, and comfortable. Using warm colors in tandem with decorations goes a long way in making a place that makes people feel right at home. The goal here is to create a place that encourages customers to stay for hours. The longer they stay, the more money they’ll spend which in turn increases the tavern’s profitability.

Friendly staff is a must when constructing a fantasy tavern. Most of the taverns scattered across the world have waitresses that are not only attractive but are also beguiling. They use their looks to flirt with their customers to get tips while being courteous and fun to be around. They like to banter with regulars and newcomers and are key players in the exchange of stories and gossip.

How a Fantasy Tavern Plays a Role in the Story

While a story may have many settings, one such being a fantasy tavern, if you play your cards correctly, the tavern can influence the plot long after the characters’ departure. While its purpose is to provide food and drinks to paying customers, it can also play several kinds of roles that enable it to have potentially an outsized impact on what happens next.

At its heart, a fantasy tavern is a place for chance meetings to occur. Take Lord of the Rings for as an example. Frodo and the others enter “The Prancing Pony” to get rooms for the night and to eat something. Later on, they meet “Strider” who they mistake as an ordinary ranger but ultimately winds up becoming one of the most important characters in the story and it all occurred as a chance meeting, at first glance anyway.

This brown room is where a fantasy royal council meets. The wall is a light brown and the floor a darker brown. A large white table with gray striations is in the center, going all the way down to the bottom. On each side are gray chairs. Above the chair at the end is a blue window with light shining through. Gray columns support the ceiling.

The tavern is a hive for stories and rumors. People exchange news about events happening in distant lands, some the characters are aware of. This gives your readers a glimpse into a world larger than what they’ve seen thus far as well as laying the groundwork for storylines down the road.

It being a magnet for stories invariably means a fantasy tavern is a great spot for spies, both good and evil, to find out what’s going on and to report to their superiors what they’re hearing on the ground. Your characters are likely to encounter one or more in such a place which can lead to some trouble down the road.

Due to the boisterous atmosphere, a tavern can serve as a key plot point as the site of a confrontation of some kind. Sometimes some people have a bit too much to drink and are itching for a fight or the villain’s servants are searching for someone and they believe he’s somewhere in the tavern. Having a confrontation take place in the tavern heightens the tension, both for the characters and the audience.

Tying it all Together

The tavern is a fantastic place to mingle with other people while enjoying some ale or whatever other beverage it offers. It also offers people a chance to chomp down on some tasty food after a long day and they just want something warm to fill their belly. Its convivial atmosphere is one reason why it is one of the top places to be in town.

Location is key for the long-term success of a tavern. It needs to be in an area that’s easily accessible and visible from the road. Since it generates most of its revenue from passersby,  being in a high-traffic spot is a must. Examples of great spots would be near the entrance to the town, high-traffic areas like the marketplace, or key landmark buildings like the castle.

The outside of a fantasy tavern needs to be warm and inviting, as if beckoning people to come in. Its interior should make them feel comfortable, reminding them of home. The relaxed ambience of the tavern makes it easier for its customers to fork over their hard-earned money in exchange for stellar drinks and food as they joyfully gab with each other.

You can make a tavern an integral part of your story or just have it appear one time with it leaving a memorable impression for the characters and the audience. It can play several roles such as being a place where to gather information about their next move or facilitate a confrontation of some kind between the two opposing factions that play a prominent role in the plot.

If you’re unsure about whether to bring one into your story, fret not! You can use a fantasy tavern to mark a critical juncture in the tale you’re creating, one whose reverberations can be felt all the way to the very last page!

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Thanks for reading this and until the next time,

Sunfire

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