Bar Fight (Short)

Common character themes:

Sword and Sorcery

Main characters are Humans. Monsters are mysterious. Magic is fear, evil, and generally at great cost.

TTRPG Fantasy

Tolkien worlds, with Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and all the fantasy trappings. Dragons are real and some people can cast magic spells.

Renaissance

Adventures abound, but people are usually human, and magic is limited. Monsters are generally animals or the occasional witch.

Other Opponents:

Large Burley Fighter
Hiding opportunistic Rogue
Chaos adding wizard
Hapless bouncer
Irritated Barmaid
Cowardly Owner

Random Items:

Tankard of something
Lost coin purse
Aggressive rat
Cake

Surprises:

Runaway carriage running into the bar
A flood of Ale from the Butte Casks behind the bar.
The band played on.

In character:

You will be playing in a character. The characters will describe the events that happened to make the story.

The focus is to have fun. Sometimes craziness ensues and you may break character (especially laughing). While you should minimize the break, it’s more important to ignore the obvious out of character laughing that can happen.

Yes/And

You should strive to take whatever narrative is presented by the host and other characters and add to it to build the story. Those unexpected curveballs are what makes the exercise fun.

No/But

Lines and Veils are in full effect. If the narrative turns to an area that you can’t just ignore or play through, say something.

If a player says something about “I’d rather not go into detail”, assume that we need to “fade to black”. It still happens, but we should not describe more detail on the action.

If a play says, “I’d rather not talk about that”, or “Let’s talk about something else”. Assume it’s a line and find a different direction to go.

Hard stop:

If anyone says, “Break Break Break”, this is our safe word. Stop and the person who broke tells us if we need to strike a topic from the story or what we need to do to move forward. Can also be used for real life intrusions.

Opening:

Welcome to the Survivor's Tavern podcast where we interview a different group of travelers to tell us stories of their latest adventures.
This episode is titled “Bar Fight”
Our guests tonight returned from a crazy bar fight. The fight was more than they expected. This is their story.

Introductions

Let’s go around and tell me who you are and something about yourself.

The Trigger

Before we get into the story, let’s go back what started the fight.

First instance

The fight started quickly and there have been conflicting reports of what started the fight. What do each of you remember being the thing that started the fight?

Stakes

Description.

Were you part of the initial fight? If not, why did you stay in it? What were you fighting for?

Turning Point

Escalation

There was a surprise event that made this simple bar fight into an epic one the bards will tell tales of for generations. What was that surprise? Or Surprises.

Challenge

Stunts

Some amazing stuns were performed in the battle. What was your favorite stunt?
Was it successful?

Discoveries

What was the (thing | person) you tried to rescue from the fight?
--where you successful?

Losses

The battle was longer than a normal bar fight? What injuries did you take?
Did you lose anything of value to you?

Resolution

In the end, who were the winners and losers in the bar fight, if any?
Did you gain anything from the fight?

Aftermath

What was the condition of the bar after the fight?
How have you managed to recover/spend your time in the week since the fight?
Are there any plans for revenge?

Closing:

This has been the Survivor’s Tavern podcast coming to you from the backroom at the Survivor's Tavern and end at the Crossroads to everywhere. 'Til next time, may all your adventures be worth the trouble.