In Chapter 2 of the Dragon Heist campaign, the PCs are rewarded with the deed to an abandoned inn named Trollskull Manor. The expectation is that they will rehabilitate the abandoned building and re-open the tavern, integrating themselves in Waterdhavian sociey and laying down the sort of roots that can really make an urban campaign meaningful.

For Trollskull Manor to truly become the centerpiece of your campaign, however, you’ll need to make the tavern truly come alive. Part of that will be letting your players take the lead in designing and decorating the manor just the way that they want it, so that it truly becomes their place. A place that they can call home. But once the tavern opens, your job is to make the tavern truly come alive; to make it more than just a place where they can take a long rest.

That’s where A Night in Trollskull Manor comes into play. Using the Tavern Time™ system, it provides a selection of flexible tools and the simple structure you can use with those tools to bring the tavern’s common room to life each and every night. Those tools include:

Patron Tables

Events

Topics/Agendas

Patron Roleplaying Templates

To get maximum use out of A Night in Trollskull Manor, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the Universal NPC Roleplaying Template.

TAVERN TIME



For each night at the tavern:

1. There is a 1 in 1d6 chance that an Event will occur that night. 2. Roll 1d6 to determine the number of significant patrons in the tavern that night, then use the Patron Table to randomly determine which patrons are present. If a result of “Renaer’s Friends” is rolled, roll on the Patrons – Renaer’s Friends table to determine the final result. 3. Look at the Topics/Agendas for the patrons who are present. Generally speaking, you can use one per patron or just select one from among the patrons. When in doubt, default to the first unused bullet point. Supplement or replace these topics with other major events occurring in your campaign.

Using this material is as much art as it is science. The random tables serve as an improv prompt, thrusting different elements together in unexpected ways in order to prompt the frisson of your own creativity as a GM. Once the players start interacting with the patrons and the emerging situation, things will develop in even more unexpected ways. Roll with the punches and see where it all takes you. Don’t be afraid to make bold, strong choices that can completely disrupt the status quo.

USING PATRONS: Note that the significant patrons present on a particular night may all clump together in a single interaction, or they may be separate interactions happening simultaneously or spread out over the course of the evening. Even if various patron interactions do start out separate from each other, don’t be afraid to have them crossover and collide with each other as the events of the evening continue to play out.

Pay attention to which NPCs resonate with the players: Who do they find interesting? Who do they like? Who do they enjoy interacting with? Find ways to keep bringing those characters back. Reincorporate them into other facets of the campaign (and vice versa).

USING TOPICS/AGENDAS: These are conversational gambits, interpersonal developments, or needs that a particular patron has. Think about what reactions the other patrons present in the tavern that night will have to the topic or agenda as it occurs.

You should be able to very quickly reference this material and then rapidly generate a 5-10 minute roleplaying interaction any time the PCs choose to engage with the common room. (In some cases, of course, these interactions will also expand to the players’ level of interest and take more time to fully resolve.)

DESIGN NOTES



The patrons used for A Night in Trollskull Manor draw heavily from the Dragon Heist campaign itself. This is intentional, deliberately reincorporating NPCs so that the life of Trollskull Manor’s common room is intertwined with the rest of the campaign.

Many other patrons, particularly Renaer’s friends, are drawn from Steven E. Schend’s Blackstaff Tower. This novel — which is a delightful romp of pulp fiction — was the first introduction of characters like Vajra, Renaer, and Meloon who would return in Dragon Heist. Schend’s other creations — like Osco, Lord Toryln Wands, and Elra Harsard — were so much fun that I wanted to find a way to bring them into the campaign, too. (Reading the novel, however, is not required to make use of this material.)

On that note, it should be mentioned that A Night in Trollskull Manor will work particularly well with the Alexandrian Remix of Dragon Heist, but the remix is also not required and you should get great results even if you’re just running the base version of the campaign.

Part 2: Setting Up Trollskull Manor

Part 3: Patron Tables & Events

Part 4: Patron Topics & Agendas

Part 5: Patrons

Part 6: Renaer & Friends

Addendum: Manor Menu