The Rotunda
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The Rotunda
The noise was overwhelming, the sheer wall of talking and singing and laughter, every table was filled, every chair taken, and every balcony crowded. The room was sweltering with the heat of the candles and the mass of bodies.
Folgar stepped onto the central stage, his wooden leg clacking loudly on the highly polished wood, a wide grin across his face, white teeth beaming beneath his thick dwarven beard. He raised a single hand and silence fell like a curtain, all eyes on him.
“I know what ya all here for, it’s what we’re all ‘ere for. We’ve got a whole night of entertainment for ya lot, some old, some new, some good, some bad. As always, keep ya blades to yurselves, no magics in the bar and tip ya bar staff with gold!” he winks, “and so, wiv’out further ado, let the music commence!’
And all with the inn erupts into applause as the light drop to darkness for all but the stage, as a pair of nervous-looking halflings step up, lyres in hand to face the baying crowds….
The Rotunda
Situated in the heart of Pell, The Rotunda is the largest and most well-known inn in this remote pirate town. Run by the Folgar, a long-retired ship’s captain, the beer is cheap and the food above average, but the big draw is the entertainment.
Every night Folgar puts on an open stage night, any and all may turn up and play. If you’re good, the audience will toss coins your way, if not, likely you’ll leave covered in beer.
Many famous names have found their first spark of fame on the hallowed boards of The Rotunda - Castival Akminos, Deimos The Divine, Ol’ Shanty Joe - each started as just a name on the talk chalkboard marking out that night’s entertainment.
But, this rowdy and rough atmosphere is the perfect cover for all manner of misdeeds. The Rotunda attracts all, meaning seeing specific someone there is rarely of note, it’s loud enough to dissuade any eavesdroppers, and the inn’s many dark corners make for excellent nooks away from prying eyes.
Every campaign needs a good inn, and The Rotunda is a creation of a pirate town I built for an old game. I wanted to find a way to bring in an upbeat and bright inn in a world that otherwise could easily slide into murk and mire. Too many taverns outside of the law are pitched as dangerous and unwelcoming places, and I wanted to come against that. Less grimdark, more Errol Flynn.
And so I went with this, to lean into the idea of sea shanties and rowdiness without the accompanying violence. The Rotunda is a place of music, of parties, of sharing tall tales around a roasted pig and a foaming ale.
But I also wanted to give it things to do there, the idea of an open mic night sprung up, a chance to use the proficiencies that most players take but never use (outside of the bards) and give a natural ‘in’ for any budding singer or musician. I’d suggest setting a sliding scale of DC for performance checks if a player wants to play, and reward them with gold or humiliation depending on their roll. Or simply let your players listen, and you get a chance to improv away with various other musicians for the evening!
If you are in need of inspiration for the bands, roll a d20 on this is a handy roller for that, and then roll a d10 to find out how they did…
A pair of halfings playing lutes, singing songs of their homelands.
A sole Triton who sings in an unknown and forgotten language
Four half-orcs who play their war drums
A human and two elves. She sings while they play dulcimers
Twin dwarves who play stone pipes
A young half-elf playing lilting and sad songs on a bone flute
Three tortles playing a single over-sized tantan
A full cover band, a human on drums, a tabaxi on lute and a kenku singer. They just play covers of the other bands who have played that night
An overly enthusiatic gnome playing the hurdy-gurdy
An elderly goliath playing complex and interesting music on a trumpet
Four genasi, one of each element, playing dulcimers of varying sizes
A dwarf who only plays old battle hymns on a worn-out set of bag-pipes
A teifling violently playing the viol as they dance around suggestively.
A quartet of halflings, singing well-known sea shanties in close harmony.
An erratic and frazzled artificer who has created various automatons to recreate the effect of a full orchestra
Two hulking loxodon playing tiny and delicate ocarinas
A purple teifling tells bawdy stories as she plays the lyre with her tail
Three goblins bang together rocks of various sizes to create a mesmerizing soundscape
An aarakocra whistles the melody to popular tunes and old classics
A tiny gnome attempts to play a one-man band setup. Complete with the massive bass drum.
As always, let me know if you find a place for The Rotunda at your table!