Month: October 2009

The Tavern and Gambling Den at the Sign of the Squandering Snail
Written by Fraser Ronald
Maps and Illustrations by Dean Martin

The Third Floor

The third floor is also built out of wood. The ceilings of some rooms will slope, as this is the top floor of the building and it has a sloped roof.

Murnac’s Room

Against the east wall of this room is a bed that wouldn’t be out of place in a noble’s chamber. A draping canopy hangs on four posters carved to resemble mermaids. The mattress looks thick and comfortable. At the foot of it is a great chest with two padlocks. Across from it, against the southwest wall, is a large stone hearth. At the northwest wall is a counter and cupboard. On the counter are four glasses surrounding a glass decanter. The liquid in the decanter is a pale gold. In the northeast corner of the room is a tall wardrobe. There are doors to the northwest and east.

This room is proof of Murnac’s success and prosperity. The locks on the chest are each DC 30. In the chest is Murnac’s life savings, a total of 150 wrens (gp) and an astonishing 78 braces (pp). Along with this is a hauberk of chain (“light” masterwork chain shirt weighing 20 lbs.) and a shortsword (masterwork shortsword with a +1 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls). Murnac does not usually wear or use these items as they have a sentimental value to him, memories of a time he relied on his wits and—more regularly—his strong right arm to get him out of trouble.

In the wardrobe are sets of clothing both for work (effectively, artisan’s outfits) and for entertaining (effectively, courtier’s outfits). These clothes are for a relatively hefty man, but could be worn by any person of average Human size. They are quite clean, amazing considering so little else of the Snail is.

The door to the balcony has a DC 30 padlock on it.

The Balcony

This small balcony overlooks the road to the north of the Snail. It has a carved wood banister. There are two doors giving access to the building.

Both doors are locked from the inside. The locks cannot be accessed from the exterior. The padlock in Murnac’s Room is DC 30. The padlock in the Sitting Room is DC 25.

The Sitting Room

This small area has three cushioned chairs, all appearing quite comfortable.

This small area is used by Murnac when he is meeting with individuals and wants to make them wait, as a way of exerting or exhibiting power. When he is having individuals wait here, he will unlock the balcony door at this room, but not his own.

Dunchad’s Room

This room has a sturdy bed in its southeast corner with a small chest at its foot. Against the east wall is a wardrobe. A table with two chairs sits against the north wall.

The largest of the staff accommodations, this room reflects much about Dunchad. It is practical, comfortable but not ostentatious. The wardrobe includes a selection of work clothes, artisan’s outfits, and two cloaks, one worn and patched, the other in good condition, black with a blue border.

Tathan’s Room

This room has a bed and a chest at its foot. A wardrobe is set against the north wall.

There is nothing of value in this room, as Tathan has nothing of value. The clothing in the wardrobe and the chest is old and worn.

Staff Dormitory

This room has two sets of bunkbeds, each with one bed atop another. There is a set of four chests, one at the head and foot of each bed.

Staff without outside accommodations and not important enough to Murnac to rate their own room can stay in one of these dormitories. As they are unpopular, right now only a couple of the toughs share the north one and two servers share the south one.

Staff Lounge

This room has a collection of ratty and worn furnishings, including a divan, a settee and two cushioned chairs. A scratched and stained set of cupboards is set against the west wall.

This is where the staff comes to unwind and relax when not working. Murnac did not create this—the staff did, rescuing old items of furniture of which Murnac had intended to dispose. As it costs Murnac nothing and it seems to keep the staff happy, he hasn’t shut it down.

Staff Rooms

This room has a sturdy-looking bed with a chest at its foot. Beside it is a wardrobe. Against the opposite wall is a chair and table.

The rooms for Chardine, Flourette, Faelan and Bressal are all the same. None of them has anything of any real value, save for their clothes and possibly a few personal items of sentimental value.

The Treasury

This room has four, iron bound chests, each with two padlocks.

Here is where Murnac secrets the money for the Snail. He may not be a brilliant man, but he is smart enough to keep his money separate from the Snail’s, and he does not dip into this money, except to pay off big winners or pay for improvements on the structure. He feels some security as the locks are very expensive (DC 35 each) and he has paid the local thieves’ guild for immunity.

Murnac’s Private Suite

Scattered about this room are various sturdy furnishings, such as chairs and settees. The walls are plastered and painted. There is a sideboard against a wall, atop of which are an earthenware jug and some pewter tankards. A large table in the center of the room has a cloth top.

This is where Murnac goes when friends visit. They can sit and talk, gamble or do whatever they like. It is also where Murnac goes when he wants to relax, usually with a courtesan or his mistress, if he has one at the time.

The Ducal Suite

Deep burgundy paper covers the walls of this room. Over the rich paper are tapestries depicting mythological scenes. The colors are vibrant and the images are energetic. A great, four-postered bed with a dark, draped canopy rests against the west wall. Two settees, upholstered in needlework fabrics, flank a low table of dark cherry-coloured wood. Against another wall is a tall wardrobe fronted by a mirror.

Murnac set up this room in case he needed something to impress a moneyed individual. That has not yet happened, but each time a rich merchant becomes indebted to the Snail, Murnac will decide if he will take something of value, such as furnishings, rather than the actual money owed. These furnishings end up here. If a visiting merchant from another city or perhaps even a noble happened to visit the Snail, Murnac would attempt to interest them in staying. For the most part, he wants a reaction to the room itself. He expects he can charge 10 wrens (gp) for a night. The truth is, the room is quite comfortable.

The one thing Murnac has used this room for is for romantic assignations with his mistresses. Sometimes, Murnac finds himself involved with a tradesman’s wife or widow, and Murnac has found the room helps to overcome their better natures.

Top of the Balcony

This room has darkened wood walls, complete with tapestries that may have once been impressive but to which time has been cruel. There are three tables here, each with chairs around them. A chandelier hangs from the ceiling, boasting sconces for at least fifteen candles. There is a hearth in the southeast corner.

This is the best “common” room that the Snail can offer. Open only to those who have the means to play a minimum of a prince, this room is usually closed. When it is opened, Murnac always has a tough on the door at the balcony and a tough at the door leading to the rest of the third floor.

The Tavern and Gambling Den at the Sign of the Squandering Snail
Written by Fraser Ronald
Maps and Illustrations by Dean Martin

The Second Floor

The second floor is constructed out of wood. Please note that the storage room on the first floor is two stories tall, and therefore the doorway into the storage room on the second floor merely leads to a set of stairs.

Tavern Balcony

This walkway overlooks the tavern below. There is no furniture here, though the banister has a small ledge on which one could place a cup or tankard.

The walkway is accessed by the stairs from the tavern or through the door to the guest rooms.

Small Guest Rooms

This room has practical but not attractive furniture. There is a bed with a straw mattress and wool blankets. A stool in one corner has a washbasin and there is a jug of water on the floor beside it. Beneath the bed is the chamberpot. At the foot of the bed is a small, iron bound chest, though it has no lock, merely brackets for the lock.

These rooms, unlike those on the first floor, often have residents. Rarely, though, are those residents travelers. It is far more often that the people staying in these rooms are criminals or men in hiding. The comfort of the room is minimal, but it is better than an alleyway or a gallows. The cost for the room for a night is 10 princes (sp).  Like the rooms below, if one of these rooms is available it can be let by the hour. As these rooms are intended for actual guests, the cost per hour is 5 princes (sp).

Gambling Den Balcony

The stairs lead to a small landing with a single door. There is no furniture, though the banister has a small ledge on which one could place a cup or tankard.

Entertaining Room

This room has three settees, set in a horseshoe shape, with a low table in the middle of them. Against each wall is a table, and these tables have glass pitchers and fine, ceramic cups. A stone fireplace is set against the north wall. Faded and worn tapestries adorn the walls.

The tapestries are all that remain of Wessent’s dream. Murnac uses this room to entertain friends or individuals of influence to whom Murnac wishes to remain on fair terms. Murnac has used this room to hold recitals, have drawing room theatre performed and to simply relax and drink. If more furniture is required, Murnac will have it brought from his own rooms.

When not in use by Murnac, he will rent it out to others needing a substantial area with some small luxury. Murnac requires a wren (gp) for an afternoon’s use and 2 wrens (gp) for an evening’s use. If the room is required overnight, the cost goes up to 5 wrens (gp).

Games Room

This room has plastered walls, mostly covered in worn though still presentable tapestries. It has three tables pushed together near the center of the room. Around these tables are sturdy wooden chairs. Against the west wall is a counter and cupboards atop of which sits a collection of cups and a tall, earthenware jug. There are divans against the south wall.

This large room is available for private parties of any sort. The price for the room is 15 princes (sp) for an afternoon, a wren (gp) for an evening and 2 wrens (gp) for overnight usage. Food and drink is extra, as is the cost of staff. Murnac usually charges a prince (sp) for staff and a further 2 princes (sp) per person for food and drink.

Upper Common Room

This room has darkened wood walls, complete with faded tapestries, the figures and themes of which are no longer discernable. A bar runs along the west wall, from the door near the north to the south end of the room. There are three tables here, each with chairs around them. A chandelier hangs from the ceiling, boasting sconces for at least twenty candles. The windows are open and unglazed.

This is a place for Murnac to move “high-rolling” customers or to entertain groups from influential guilds or gangs. While it is the same as the games room below, Murnac will have Dunchad at the bar and will have Faelan and Bressal run the games. If he needs a server, he’ll use Flourette. Except during feast days and festivals, this room is usually closed, though the doors are rarely locked. Nothing of value is stored here.

The Tavern and Gambling Den at the Sign of the Squandering Snail
Written by Fraser Ronald
Maps and Illustrations by Dean Martin

The Tavern at the sign of the Squandering Snail

The dim light of a few candles is all that illuminates this area. The shutters are always closed. Few who frequent this establishment wish eyes upon them. Smoke infuses the atmosphere. The few round tables and the chairs around them have seen too many patrons and too many years. Cracked, chipped and gouged, they serve their purpose but little else.

Against the far wall, opposite the main doors, runs the bar. It is uneven, lower to its left, a fact apparent when looking at it from across the room. Still, it is even enough to stand at, and the tilt does nothing to disturb the tankards atop it.

A door is set into the wall beside the bar and a stairwell beside this door leads up.

The tavern is not Murnac’s main focus. It’s always second on his list of priorities, and if it weren’t attached—physically—to the gaming hall, he would likely sell it. Still, it nets him some small profit, and he can’t argue with that. Strangely enough, Murnac places his most trustworthy and competent staff in the tavern. This is because he visits the tavern so rarely and the workers are without any real supervision.

Dunchad will be at the bar in the tavern from about noon until well after midnight. While he occasionally leaves the tavern for errands, he is a constant most evenings. If the tavern is at all comfortable or at least not uncomfortable, this is due to Dunchad. He uses his carpentry skills on slow days. The beer and ale served here is not the worst in the Temples, and is certainly palatable given its cost.

The food in the tavern is limited. In the morning, meaning from the first bell of the new day until the fourth bell, porridge and bread are available. A bowl of porridge and a slab of crusty bread costs 2 dublings (cp). After four bells, the menu becomes more varied. One can have a bowl of stew and bread, a slab of cheese and bread, or a slab of meat and bread. These gastronomic threats will set the customer back a hefty 5 dublings (cp).

A mug of beer or ale is 1 dubling (cp). A pitcher of the detestable wine available is 4 dubling (cp). The beer and ale is better than the wine, though few patrons of the Snail are connoisseurs of the finer things in life.

The Tavern Kitchen

Between the oil lanterns ensconced on the walls and the fire in the great hearth, this room is both well-lit and extremely hot. Atop the fire is a cauldron, steam rising from it, as is the scent of meat stew. A long, wood table dominates the center of the room. There is little room in which to manoeuvre around it. Beneath it are stacks of pots, mostly iron, and bowls, mostly wood.

Tathan works here, alone. She will not abide interference in her kitchen. No one ever bothers her there. She works all day long and at night, she disappears into the Temples. She doesn’t speak to anyone except Dunchad, and then only in short, terse sentences.

The Guest Rooms

This room is small and dank. Its windows are covered in a thin layer of oiled skin, tattered and torn, letting in filtered light and offering some privacy. The wood shutters hang on leather hinges. A single bed with a straw-filled mattress abuts one wall while a small chest sits against the other.

These rooms are intended to be rented for nights. They were intended for travellers. They’ve become something else. Most of the time they are rented for an hour or two. While the bed gets messed, people don’t usually sleep in them. The cost for renting a room is 10 princes (sp) per night, though they can be rented for 3 princes (sp) per hour.

The Interior Guest Room

This room boasts stone walls though no windows. Oil lamps at either end light the cramped room, which offers only a small bed and a foot locker. The mattress, though, is filled with goose feathers and there is a clean wool blanket atop the dingy sheets.

This is the one guest room regularly used for its intended purpose. Due to its stout walls and relative assurance of safety, it is one of the few rooms in the Temples travellers or those required to stay the night in the area regularly hire.

Due to the higher quality and utility of the Interior Guest Room, it runs at 15 princes (sp) per night. It isn’t rented by the hour. If it looks like the hirer can afford it, Dunchad or Murnac will try to run him for a wren (1 sovereign or gp)

Storage

This is the dry storage room. The walls are lined with shelves on which sit bags of grain. Barrels fill the centre of the room. They are each marked as beer, meat or fish. Stacked atop the barrels are amphora.

In the southeast corner, there is a wood plank door on the ground with a simple, rope knob.

The wood plank door in the southeast corner covers the stairs down to the basement. The amphora are filled with wine. The meat and fish in the barrels are salted and stored in brine.

The Gambling Den at the sign of the Squandering Snail

Double doors lead into this round hall, with a ceiling some three stories above and balconies overlooking it both from the second and third floors. A collection of round tables, each with a half-moon sized section removed, cover the area. Around each table are a few chairs. At the half-moon section is a man. At some tables, the man holds playing cards, at others he gathers up and hands back thrown dice.

Against the east wall is a bar, curved along the wall, presenting a crescent. Behind it is a door. Across from the bar, a set of stairs lead up, following the curvature of the wall. At the far south end of the room is another door.

Though not the largest gaming establishment in the Temples, the gambling den at the Sign of the Squandering Snails is certainly one of the most unique. Unlike the tavern, the walls of the gambling den are wood.

The gambling here is usually fair. It isn’t necessary to cheat, most times. There are always five hulking guards moving around the room and two more at the main door. Cheating the house will get one beaten within an inch of one’s life (basically, they’ll try to beat an individual to -1, though sometimes mistakes do happen). If a cheater is caught a second time, they are killed and dumped in the alley. In the morning, Murnac will report the suspicious death to the authorities, who will come and collect the bodies, ask questions and threaten Murnac.

Should someone who obviously doesn’t belong enter the gambling den, for example someone who appears to be wealthy—maybe a slumming aristocrat, a young thrill-seeker—Murnac will politely warn them that this is a very rough area and that they might want to move along. If they remain, Murnac will detail one of the thugs (whoops, I mean guards) to watch over the wealthy patron. If a wealthy patron cheats, they will be held and the authorities called. Murnac doesn’t want any trouble with the duke, so in these instances, he scrupulously plays by the rules, including laying a charge and going to court. Murnac even has an advocate on his payroll for just such occasions.

The gambling den offers the same selection of drinks as the tavern, but they cost 1 dubling (cp) more. They taste no different and their quality does not improve when they are served in the gambling den. For food, there are only sweetmeats (basically, organs of small animals, like weasel intestine or fox liver) and pastries (thin bread with sugar). Either cost 5 dublings (cp), the same price as a meal at the tavern.

The Kitchen at the Gambling Den

This large room has worktables lining the walls. The work tables are lined with canisters and jugs. In the centre of the room, a great fire burns in a stone housing. Above the fire is an oven. Smoke rises up past the oven, through a set of grills, and along to the chimney. The design is quite ingenious.

This kitchen rarely sees the amount of activity seen in the tavern’s kitchen, but oddly enough, it has a much larger workspace. The only thing regularly prepared here are sweetmeats and pastries. Often, Tathan comes here in the morning to bake bread for the tavern, and she will help to prepare the pastries, though she will not spend her day here, preferring to work in the smaller though more familiar confines of the tavern kitchen. During the day, the barmaids working at the gambling den will work here, preparing whatever foods are requested.

Office

This is the only room with stone walls in the gambling den. It has a single window with waxed skin and shutters. This allows in some light while protecting the occupant’s privacy. A single desk is set against the south wall with a single chair. A strong box sits beside it. Along the walls are shelves which hold ledgers.

This is Murnac’s office. In easy reach, under the desk, is a short sword. In the desk are a collection of knives, a bottle of good whiskey, a deed to the gambling den and tavern which was the first job Murnac had his advocate complete. Other than that, the other papers and documents on the desk are beyond Murnac’s comprehension. He does not read. The ledgers on the shelves are from before Murnac’s time. He doesn’t really keep records.

Gambling Rooms

This room is spacious, with a single, round table in its centre surrounded by six simple chairs. Against the far wall is a sidetable on which sits two decks of cards and a collection of dice. Candle holders line the walls and torch sconces flank the door.

The Gambling Rooms can be rented for private games. If they are rented, for the minuscule fee of 5 princes (sp), one of the gamesmen from the gambling den can conduct the game. A constant flow of the Snail’s sub-standard brew or wine is part of the rental price of 10 princes (sp) per night. Of course, if one would like something a little better, it can be provided—at an additional cost, of course. Further, for the low, low price of 2 princes (sp) per night, a guard can be assigned to guard the door from the inside or out. Three guards come at the special rate of 5 princes (sp). What a bargain!