Inn of Odd Wanderings

Doctor here again. Still making my attempts at figuring out the wargaming side of things but until I have something worth mentioning on that end you'll just have to 'listen' to the ravings on the RPG side of things.

So with that out of the way, for those of you doing the RPG side of things, here's a new piece for you. I've been thinking of a shared space for one shots. Play By Posts, and such, tend to have a lot of characters posted, and there are nearly always some folks who don't get into the games. So I thought of having a space where characters could sit in common. And so was born the Inn of Odd Wanderings. Here's the description from one Traveling Adventurer's journal:

The Inn of Odd Wanderings is pretty non-descript. A single building by the roadside, no town near it. It serves as an overnight stop over and has since before even the Orgoth invaded. The building itself, a wooden structure, is well enough maintained but wears its age proudly. The downstairs is wholely given over to the tap room and the kitchens, large enough for a small crowd, though often enough it's a quiet place, depending on where people are coming from or going to. The upstairs has rooms for travelers, both communal rooms as well as a few private rooms for those wealthy enough or important enough to need them. The area immediately around the inn is well groomed enough. A small garden sits in back providing much of the seasonings and some of the vegetables served at the inn. The small stable and 'Jack hall sits to the side, away from the main building, and sturdy enough for even the worst of weather.

Many folks land here for a time, some looking for work, others looking for those looking for work. Some are just traveling through, while others seem to gravitate back to here after each job. The stories that could be told about those in the inn's main room are the things of legend, and sometimes those legends speak or are spoken. It's always been that way. As long as people can remember. Nobody is quite sure why this small inn, out in nowhere has the power to draw people to it. But they come, some searching, some looking to be lost, and others not sure why they are there.

 Now what is the Inn? Well for the GM's out there it's really whatever you want it to be. But the thing is, it is wherever it needs to be or wants to be. Want the characters comfortable in Caspia to end up on the border with Khador? The Inn could be where they go to drink that evening. And their employer shows up and off the exit the inn.. on the border somewhere. But what is the Inn? Well nobody really does know. Some educated scholars have theorized a couple of different alternatives over many an ale or wine. Two of the most popular though can be expressed by some of the scholars themselves.

"the Inn is some sort of semi-magical location run by a spirit of some sort. I'll be honest, there's a part of me that thinks it's run by Morrow, but I was considering it might be a twin pairing. A place for Morrow and Thamar to influence events and which was neutral to both of them. The inn itself could be between the real world without the full cross over to the afterlife to avoid the kind of apocalypse that the Iosans created." - Doctor Kilbride

"Something independent of and older than the twins. Perhaps a form of old and powerful Grymkin like the old witch, but with much less clear intentions." - Annihilator Carnage

This idea  that the Inn is a place for the God's to set things in motion is a powerful one. The gods don't generally show up directly in the Iron Kingdoms, after all the myths from when Menoth walked the earth itself certainly suggest that their very beings would cause massive damage to the world, and their battles, like those of the dragons, would create massive devastation so instead they work through intermediates. But the idea that the Inn is older than the gods themselves. That certainly has merit as well. Such independent entities certainly exist and could be powerful forces for balance. Some suggest that the Inn's existence may even be connected to the Circle Orboros. Other's suggest that perhaps the Inn is actually an ancient Trollkin resting place, for many of the massive warriors find themselves here from time to time and the Innkeeper is strong enough to arm wrestle one of the mighty warriors on even grounds and always has food and drink of the Trollblood on hand.

Regardless of what or who the Inn is or serves, the place serves as resting place for all who enter, a place of neutrality and where many great deeds and quests have started or ended. Neither good nor evil, the Inn may serve as an area of interest to each of your campaigns as well. As more is described I'll be sure to let you all know of it. And if you want to join in one in one incarnation of the Inn, join us over at Privateer Press's Forums at the Inn of Odd Wanderings.