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The Naughty Nymph ala Hotel Impossible. Swargen bought, Party renovated. AKA Giant's Beard / Money Pit / Swarg-Inn

Before I can go about furnishing our new money maker, I need a bit of info from our DM. The biggest is how many rooms are in the place (not counting kitchen/common room)? After that I guess would be, does it have a bar? I'm sure a kitchen is there but not all offer a bar so i need to ask, sorry. And im assuming (correct if needed please) by "poor furnishings" you mean simplest, lowest cost items? if so, gonna need to know how much of what there is so i know what it needs. Sorry it is alot of work on you, but also for me/us. Thanks man.
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No problem, Paul. But first, I'll need to do a walk-around the property, and see if we can spot some of the issues. I see you have a small kitchen & bar area with a couple dirty tables and broken barstools, in addition to a musty cellar with spiderwebs, lobby with sticky check-in counter, rickety burned-out stairwell, narrow hallways, and a few guestrooms downstairs with more upstairs - some for rent along with other off-market rooms with safety and maintenance issues. The situation is something like this, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBOT9v6iaFk" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBOT9v6iaFk</a> The inn has been hemorrhaging money over the last 6 months, before Swargen purchased the shamble. With 8 guest rooms (6 private quarters of 1-4 beds each, and 2 common rooms fitting 8 bunk-bed spots each), and usually only 2-3 people staying at the inn overnight each night, plus a few more guests entering for only food-drink. The typical occupancy rate stands at around 10%. Some of the current beds and rooms are unrentable, due to bad quality, damage and disrepair. The previous owners were losing on-average about 800-1000 GP per month for staff and expenses exceeding the revenue. The previous owners went underwater in debt, and sold to you as a way to repay some of their creditors.&nbsp; After a kitchen fire, and rain damage, the property fell into severe disrepair, further eroding the room sales and attracting a less desirable clientele. Infestations of&nbsp;black mold, termites, Giant Rats in the cellar, centipedes, and rot grubs, drove away any adventurers or good customers who might have visited in years past.&nbsp;Some local ruffians now view this Inn as their private playground bar, took advantage of the previous owners, and won't take kindly to new owners trying to clean up their familiar hangout. The furnishings are disgusting, gross, and outdated, in the guest rooms and the food-beverage areas. The lobby is in bad shape with holes in the wall and poor security for the cash management and room keys. &nbsp;Guests fear for their safety. A rumor about this inn says that evil swamp spirits are able to filter-in to the edges of the normally peaceful Portlandio, and can disturb the nightmarish sleep of anyone who ventures to rent a room in this Inn. That's the main reason for its reputation as the worst Inn in Portlandio. Most people think of Portlandio as a haven of safety and civility away from the stink of the nearby swamp, but somehow this Inn seems to bring some of the swamp smell (if not wicked spirits) into the Southeast edge of town. You can name the Inn, ________ Inn, and try to fix the place up & restore profitability.&nbsp; You're going to need to hire some good help, a trustworthy staff, and invest in room remodels, new menu, and a better supply chain for provisions, food and beverages. What do you want to call the place, and hang a sign out front? You can steadily pay for the remodeling, week to week, as you like.
Paul, Torvald&nbsp;has had experience leading work teams. He spent over a decade working in his clan's mines. Between the two of us, we could easily round up some laborers from the local dwarves. They would supply the grunt work harvesting the lumber and stone needed to make repairs. Horukh could be the construction foreman due to his engineering training. A few paid skilled craftsmen and we're in business... The next phase will be finding staff but Mora maybe able to help with that.
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Representational pictures, now with added captions & the NPC Anthony Mel Curi. Torvald the Dwarf Foreman discusses structural problems in Swargen's Inn, with Portlandio building inspector, the Gnome Anthony Mel Curi. Portlandio Building-Inspector, the Gnome Anthony Mel Curi, reacts to a Permanently Held or Taxidermy'd swamp bear in the lobby of Swargen's Inn.
SolidHybrid said: Paul, Torvald&nbsp;has had experience leading work teams. He spent over a decade working in his clan's mines. Between the two of us, we could easily round up some laborers from the local dwarves. They would supply the grunt work harvesting the lumber and stone needed to make repairs. Horukh could be the construction foreman due to his engineering training. A few paid skilled craftsmen and we're in business... The next phase will be finding staff but Mora maybe able to help with that. while in town, Swargen can easily do the "paid skilled craftsmen" bit. he is a carpenter, stonemason, and has the Endurance NWP for those all nighters :) but yea im totally in for a party effort here, i didnt just buy it for me, i did it for us. tbh as a Viking i see Swargen being more of a trade item hoarder, not a gold hoarder, so he did what he feels is to be done with gold, bought a place to be comfortable. Bonus, we never have to pay for rooms again!!!!!
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Excellent RP and use of NWP's, Swargen . Swargen (Paul) you will be the point-person for developing the Inn, with backup from all Player party-members. Jennifer are you on board with having Mora recruit some of the Inn Staff at this time? Add any RP you want here, or wait for game-day chat, or just assume it happens in the background fast-forwarded, whatever works for fun game play and expressing your character. Meanwhile Torvald is leading the design of overall Portlandio town defenses (building a wall and dry moat), along with planning and negotiation support from Horukh , in the other townie thread that's going on the forum right now. They'll also be needing Swargen's help on the wall, of course, and vice versa, so don't hold back on any input and RP. The division of duties is for organizational purposes. All PC's will continue to be a part of all the projects, to whatever extent is a narrative RP fit for your PC's desires and intents. And so... Swargen makes progress this week on starting to repair the dilapidated Inn. Airen remains aloof and hops away whenever townspeople keep asking him to sign autographs as a member of The Challengers Of Destiny, or "The Champions Of Density" as some of his younger fans mis-pronounce it. &nbsp;But secretly in the background, I imagine the bullywug's magical skills (and possibly his wallet) will help to plan & construct the party's plans for Portlandio. Keep your thoughts coming to this thread regarding development of the Inn.
Horukh can personally see to it that the entirety of the Inn, its grounds, and sublevels, are sanctified and cleansed of any harmful spirits.&nbsp; In addition, he can daily cast Continual Light upon major fixtures such as ceiling lamps, and design a carriage shed and secure wagon area for traders who might stop there.&nbsp; Also, as an altenative to common-area sleeping arrangements, Horukh will suggest a "sleep capsule" analog as an alternative for those who just want a bed but also want privacy: a short hall of lockable bunks. Outside, a firepit and accomodations for parties or ceremonies would be a good idea.&nbsp; Things ranging from birthday celebrations to dealmaking meets could take place there, served by the Inn.&nbsp; Water features would make swamp attendees feel more comfortable, and a double drum smoker could be installed out there as well. Inside the Inn, a stage area for up to a 5 piece band can be built with sound-cupping so that bards and dancers can perform.&nbsp; It would have very, very sturdy yet decorative railings to keep the entertainers seperate from drunken brawlers.&nbsp; Continual Light can be used on footlights with shutters. First priority will be improving the sanitation.&nbsp; Pit privies are not good enough for Portlandio now; the Inn will need a cessdrum and pipes for its indoor privies.&nbsp; Strong swampfolk, such as laborers from the Lizard King's people, can handle most of the sanitation and brute work, for the Inn as well as the trading post now being designed. When things are in good enough shape, students from the magic school can be workschooled there as a class exercise in the use of cantrips such as Clean and Sterilize and Color, in exchange for class credit and beer.
Torvald votes for a proper dwarven brewery and tap house. This human swill is weak...
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Didnt want to quote the whole post each time so ill quote in bits as what i feel is priority for fixing, as we get it done. "After a kitchen fire, and rain damage, the property fell into severe disrepair, further eroding the room sales and attracting a less desirable clientele. Infestations of black mold, termites, Giant Rats in the cellar, centipedes, and rot grubs, drove away any adventurers or good customers who might have visited in years past. Some local ruffians now view this Inn as their private playground bar, took advantage of the previous owners, and won't take kindly to new owners trying to clean up their familiar hangout." For the vermin in the cellar, to cut down on numbers/strength before we close off their entrances and perhaps ward them against reentry, Swargen will place a 3rd lvl War Sphere spell, Caltrops, on the floor of the cellar, and instruct all workers/party members to stay clear for the 6 hours it is in affect. the Infantry version does 4 att dice in damage (?) to any creature entering the area. As far as fire/rain damage to the kitchen, 1000gp has been added to the rebuild fund by Swargen, for labor/materials after we leave town to continue work. The lowlifes hanging about, i think Swargen and Torvald would be a big deterrent for their return. If nothing else, to prevent their return after we leave town, perhaps the hiring of a few bouncers (2nd-3rd lvl fighters, paid a bit higher than normal as we need all of our rooms at first unless we build them a private barracks, geared with Club&Blackjack&Dagger, armored with St Leather). These (i think) would be Light Footman, normal cost of 1gp/month but getting 3gp/month from Swargen, i feel 5 would be an optimum number for now, with the gear being purchased by me for a total cost of 180gp. This includes the 1 time cost of equipment, 1st month wage of 3gp, and a signing bonus of 10gp. All GP adjustments have been made on sheet for the mentions of spending here.
Paul, Torvald can ask to see if Stoutly & Freda would be willing to sign on as guards. Each would receive personal training from him. Plus it might give them some safe early experience outside of being simple shield bearers.
Being a successful adventuring party is a form of currency that we should use.&nbsp; Take on students, and offer sweat equity in exchange for the tutelage.&nbsp; Mister Miyagi their asses!&nbsp; "Wax on, wax off.&nbsp; No seriously, wax that or I'll "train" you some more."
Solid, love it! Keep the ideas and suggestions flowing, seriously. Like i said it isnt just Swargens Inn, it is OUR (party) Inn. @Larry, ha ha ha for sure
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All this, love it. Everything is approved. Most of these improvements are "underway" immediately, during the current 2-week period of the Party being in Portlandio. I don't think I saw anything in this thread that was outside-DM-allowances and roleplayability, as long as Players are properly recording your Pay-outs against your GP Wealth. Swargen said he is paying the given amounts & can afford them. &nbsp;At some point if your ongoing-expenses are substantial enough, as DM, I feel it provides a legitimate compelling reason why you need to adventure to obtain more treasure. &nbsp;Swargen you've dropped a few thousand GP recently, as long as you're above 0 GP, it's fine, and I understand why keeping-GP isn't Swargen's style so spending it here is great. I respect the investment. That said, some of these acts will often go wrong, because it's a game and owning a frontier-town gold-rush Inn is challenging, but as DM I will count the efforts towards your Experience and character/town/world development. Horukh doesn't have to specifically pay for his shares and contributions (the Noble count has a complicated series of financial ledgers). &nbsp;Some of the early improvements Horukh offered to fund (firepit with seating, stage & stage lights, and sanitation flow redone by lizard-allies) are considered "paid for" without a specific cost to the party, those items are considered deductions against Horukh's money books. Solid you can bring on Stoutly & Freda as guards here, we can move their tokens down to the Inn next session. Monday, continue townie RP + big picture agenda. I could be late, traveling in. Announcement -- I'm traveling Sunday-Monday and getting home just in-time for game on Monday (if all goes according to plan). For this reason I probably won't be able to respond again until gametime Monday Oct 19, furthermore there is a small chance of me being late or missing Monday if there are any travel issues. That said I'm looking forward to Monday continuing the Portlandio agenda and looking at the big picture and the townie details, both based on discussion that's come up in the Town Map & Inn threads this week. I wanted to post something here quickly, and cover these cool RP topics, and do my part to keep this discussion going.
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Larry, Damn right! We should use the inn as an informal recruiting ground; gathering talented individuals. In time we could slowly develop it into a real "adventurer" guild or academy. Paul, Swargen, Torvald, Stoutly, and Freda can physically clear out the inn and drive off any thugs. The next phase should be recruiting labor to start cleaning & demolishing the ruined areas. Once we get that complete, the real craft work can begin...
A thought did occur to me.&nbsp; Large urban areas tend to attract two particular sentients that remain largely unseen: kenku and ratmen.&nbsp; The "giant rats" below may be ratmen.&nbsp; If that's so, Horukh would like to reach out to them, because there's no finer "sewerfolk" than ratmen, if you want allies that see a LOT.&nbsp; If they are ratmen, Mora would benefit from making them into contacts, and they work very cheap.
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Sending Jennifer via Dropbox / Email, our maps for Swarg-Inn (Giant Beard The Money Pit). She's going to photoshop mix-and-match a custom Inn floorplan map.
Larry D. said: A thought did occur to me.&nbsp; Large urban areas tend to attract two particular sentients that remain largely unseen: kenku and ratmen.&nbsp; The "giant rats" below may be ratmen.&nbsp; If that's so, Horukh would like to reach out to them, because there's no finer "sewerfolk" than ratmen, if you want allies that see a LOT.&nbsp; If they are ratmen, Mora would benefit from making them into contacts, and they work very cheap. Torvald thinks Horukh is mistaken on friendly Rat people... (What Horukh assumes to be Rat people...) (What Torvald has actually fought deep underground...)
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So far no Ratmen, but I will be sure to keep them in mind! Ratmen were suggested by negotiator Horukh as a potential hire for Mora and Swargen , and veto'd by Torvald . In-game, last session, the Challengers cleared out the sewers under The Giant's Beard Money Pit Swarg-Inn. &nbsp;You got rid of&nbsp; an otyugh,&nbsp; dozens of Giant Rats,&nbsp; drove away the regular-size rats,&nbsp; and fired a handful of turncoat Lizardmen chaotics. Jennifer is proceeding with making a Photoshop graphical map of the Inn.
Gold, this will be the last post i do here, i have solid decisions ill start in a new thread. these include # of rooms, types of rooms, cost of rooms, cost to customers of meals, cost to inn for supplying the goods for those meals, and more from everyone i hope. sadly, it wont be as nice as Jens photo shopping would have been, but maybe someone else who is better than i could do that, based off the details i list.
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Sounds good, Paul ! You are welcome to start a new thread for your Inn. &nbsp;I wouldn't mind if you continue tacking on this thread, but if you want a fresh new thread that's fine too. &nbsp;Looking forward to your stat-sheet of the Inn. NOTES on Profits / Losses: 1. I want to roll some randomization that contributes to determining Profits or Losses. 2. You will have a chance of Losses (expenses in-the-red), and there can be Modifiers depending on conditions and events. &nbsp;You also might make profits. 3. Getting your Inn stats such as room pricing will HELP to calculate profits-losses, but I still want to introduce Randomization of the dice on top of this for the final revenue result. &nbsp;I have not decided the dice mechanic to roll yet. &nbsp;I'll look at your next post and decide from there.
The place should now have a legendary "outdoor dining" section consisting of a heavy-duty framework with the dressed-out, scraped & treated Leviathan skin as its roof.&nbsp; Its famed entryway is through the open jaws, though a new late-night tradition called "Barf The Tarf" has sprung up.&nbsp; When someone is so drunk they are about to vomit, they're escorted out through the jaws to a waiting bucket.&nbsp; Symbolically, the leviathan has "barfed" the drunkard onto the "tarf" (turf).&nbsp; Many find this hilarious, and even the drunkards come up grinning afterwards. Inside a large flattened, broken, then repaired clay pot can be run as a coal heater or as a "chatting nest" for Furnace.&nbsp; Snush, the aurumvorax, tried to join him once, which is why the pot was broken and repaired.&nbsp; Snush doesn't talk but likes to watch things, and anyone who recognizes what she is behaves themselves.&nbsp; Pretty much all of the main room and outside structure has been coated in fireproofing whitewash.