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Welcome Dear Traveler,
I am currently the DM of my first ever campaign. I do have a few seasoned DM friends who are teaching me how to be a good DM. I became more and more interested in DND sometime after my sister married her husband and I was getting recommendations on facebook to watch Quincy on youtube. If you don't know who that is, he has his own fantasy tavern called the lucky gryphon. I really wanted to implement that into my game.
I started creating an NPC which would later turn into Elle. I love history and I am related to Marie Therese so I started creating this character with her in mind. My players also wanted me to have my own character in the game so my NPC I created Elyelena Mirniya Daecynne, Elle for short became an actual living player.
Elle is a high half elf who owns her own Tavern and Inn. The story goes that Elle's grandmother (A sea elf) was sent to marry her grandfather (A high elf) who was (at first) an amazing king. He fell in love with his new queen and they married. She had a son but he was murdered. The loss of his son took a toll on both of them. She found out she was pregnant and hoped that the birth of another child would soften him. However, it didn't. He became even more strict.
The queen could not put up with his continued cruelty so she put in motion for a rebellion to be formed. She arranged for her and her daughter Engella to safely leave before the rebellion caught up with the King. She then disappeared. Engella never saw her again. The guard Eugen helped her continue to go on the run. Eugen and Engella fell in love and married but agreed that the life they lead was not good for a child. So when Engella became unexpectedly pregnant it was quite the shock.
Engella wanted to keep her daughter but Eugen insisted they put her up for adoption. She would be better off. So when Elle was born she was left at the orphanage with a letter that said what her name was. Due to the laws in the area children and babies who were abandoned weren't allowed to be adopted on the off chance that the mother came back for them.
Elle was one of the few who even had a name at the orphanage. Due to lack of resources the chances of survival was very low so most were only given numbers. Because she had an actual name it became more personal for the head mistress of the orphanage so she was given special treatment.
Elle's parents decided to settle down and came back to look for her when she was a teenager but at that point she had left. She stumbled upon a quaint little tavern in her early travels and fell in love with it. She wanted a home like this of her own and decided to create her own Lucky Gryphon Tavern and Inn. Eventually her father was able to find her and they reconciled.
Elle's parents ran a small farm for years. They told the farm and moved the animals that were on that farm to a new farm on a bigger lot next to the Tavern and Inn. Elle has many younger siblings and all of them play some role in the family business.

So I am adding this book into my game play. I am not leaning too much into the romantic part of it since I have a eight year old in the campaign but as far as businesses and other mechanicals this is really helping me create a better experience for my game.
I hope it helps you out. This book is for digital download. I found it on anyflip for free and have it printed out. I hope this helps in your own game. heart

So, I did a lot of thinking on what I wanted our characters to eat. My sister and a few people I knew are a chips and soda kind of fan for the games. However, I noticed from the other players I talked with and online that that route wasn't the best. Loud crunching and crumbs would be in my future. So, I talked with my group and we all reached the decision that we wanted our games to be more immersive and food needed to be a big part of that. We will be eating like our characters and the food will be based on what our characters eat.
Normally, I would say that the food would be based on the region that we are traveling in. However, due to Elle's drive we have a little bigger of a food variety that we can use.
More in next post.

What are we cooking?

So far you are probably thinking that because we have a hot and cold box that means our meals are elaborate. However, I have thought about it and I don't want our menu to be that easy. Yes, we might have some luxuries since we have a hot/cold box combo that poofs in what ever we need. However, that isn't the case. Keep in mind, veggies are seasonal. Our farmers do not have the modern conveniences that we have today.

As far as meat is concerned we have chickens, pigs, and some dairy cows. However, these items are theoretically in short supply because the farm has to raise these animals. Pork might be in a big better supply but chickens and cows would only be available once they have gotten older and no longer provide a resource. So we can have a little of these meats but the big portion will come from what we actually kill.

As far as other things we can eat, it has to be something that is on the road like nuts, berries, or roots but it has to be native to the area. So, if we are by the ocean and there is coconuts and fish we can have those items but nuts and berries that are naturally found in the forest will most likely not be available. There are certain fish that are also native to steams like a forest while others are native to oceans.

Staples are endless. We get the eggs from the chickens, milk from the cows, and items such as flour or water are in high supply.

I am looking into making a list of the different areas and the resources that you can get from that area.

My Tavern and Inn

Elle felt so inspired by Quincy's Tavern she created Elle's Tavern: The Lucky Gryphon Tavern and Inn. She made the Tavern her own.

Staff:

Narok Stoneherder: The Bartender of the Tavern and Inn. He his a very handsome Goliath. He spent time in the war and was changed by all of the death. He decided to retire which was against his race so he was outcast from his village. She became a traveler and stumbled upon the Tavern in it's early days. At the time Elle was breaking up bar fights and getting hurt. Narok helped break up a bar fight and decided to stay for the night which turned into staying long term. He is known as the score keeper and keeps track of games. He doesn't like people harassing the female customers and will happily throw out a handsy bard who won't take no for an answer. Has a crush on Elle.

Katma Blackbraid: The maid of the Tavern and Inn. A Mountain Dwarf who Elle bought out of slavery so she could have her freedom. Katma chose to work as a maid and is paid and treated well at the Tavern. She wishes to make enough money to find her mother and buy her out of her contract as well.

Melrae Daecyne: The Cook of the Inn. She is the younger sister of Elle. She grew a love of cooking when she was young and cooked with her mother. This love grew after reconnecting with Elle who also liked to cook. They enjoy trying new foods together.

Our youngest player is in girl scouts and a few days ago I was flipping through facebook when I saw DM Badge Quest. It uses the idea of DND but the characters are girl scouts who are selling cookies and solving mysteries and in doing so you earn badges.
I really liked this idea so I am thinking about implementing this into my game for our junior members. I know that I am creating more work for myself but I think that in the end it will be really fun and engaging.

-We get to come up with cookie ideas and recipes she can make in real life.
-The sales she makes in game goes toward her getting better equipment and helping her in her adventure.
-She has goals and when she finishes those goals she gets a badge for her efforts. The more goals she completes the more badges she can collect.

Hello traveler,
So I want to make a post about Elle's adventures and what has been implemented in the world that she lives in every couple of days for my page. Maybe some of these things will inspire you for your own campaign.

Pets and animals:
So, pets and animals are a big part of our game. The Farm that Elle's family runs has to rely on animals a lot. That being said, the way that they are treated and cared for is very important. Most of the members in Elle's family are ether Elves or Half elves who respect all of nature so they all take good care of the animals in their charge.
The tavern it's self is home to a lot of animals. On occasion there is a gryphon who likes to stop by to sample the latest bit of sweets. Elle loves books and takes pleasure in reading about other people's stories. So does an owl cat who likes to perch on her favorite reading chair by the fireplace and drift off. Every now and then she even finds the occasional book worm that wiggles out of the pages of one book to wiggle into another.
The most interesting idea of animals I have had which I want to implement for the campaign is the kimodo dragon and tea cup dragon. The Kimodo dragon is no bigger than a house cat and overly aggressive. The tea cup dragon I really liked after seeing concept art for a coffee dragon who loves coffee. Imagine ordering a cup of coffee and having a conversation with a friend only to look at your cup and find that a tiny dragon has curled up in it and is happily sipping on it. Definitely my cup of tea.