The Brief
Wipe down those mugs, uncork the ale, and share your best gossip! We've teamed up with Ghostfire Gaming and we can't wait to read about an incredible Tavern in your world setting!
To take part, all you'll need is a World Anvil account (they're free!). Then, create a new
Building template article in your world to write your article. There's no special requirement for this challenge, but it might be a good idea to make a quick top-down map of your tavern!
This challenge is designed to help you make a detailed and memorable location for your stories, be it RPG campaigns, novels or anything else! For inspiration, think of
Quark's in
Star Trek; The
Star Wars Cantina,
The Prancing Pony, in
The Lord of the Rings; or, well, any tavern in
Skyrim!
There are so many ways to make your tavern feel unique! What is it made of, who built it, who runs it now, and what kind of customers does it get? You can go as deep as you like, exploring myths and legends surrounding a storied tavern, the kind of entertainment clients can expect and, of course, the food and drinks it serves!
If you're looking for more inspiration, make sure to check out the resources section!
What to include in your article
The Building
What's unique or special about the building your tavern is housed in? Was it always a tavern, or is the building repurposed from something else - say a castle, a spaceship, a mill, the skeleton of a giant creature or even a giant tree? What is the building made of - does it feel breezy and cool, or cosy and warm? How many floors does it have, and how many rooms? Is it clean and beautifully painted, or run down and scummy? Remember to talk about where the tavern is, too - is it the only pub in a quaint village, a refuge in a desert oasis, or one of many divebars in the bad part of a CyberCity? How does its location affect it?
The Barkeep & Staff?
Who owns and runs the tavern, and how did they come to be in charge? Who else works at the tavern - servers, cooks, cleaners and more? What's expected of staff, and how friendly are they with customers?
The Tavern Tales
Longstanding taverns can be the source of rumours, intrigues and even legends! Taverns and pubs might hide a key witness or informant, a hidden secret, or even undiscovered treasure! And of course, any tavern worth its salt offers entertainment - a bard, card games (like Gwent!), darts, wrestling and more! How do customers remain entertained during their nights in your tavern?
(don’t worry, it’s free!) to get started. Once you’ve logged in and created your first world, you’re ready to enter the competition.
template on World Anvil.
Once you've finished your entry and are ready to submit, make sure that your article is not a draft (i.e. published) and public (not private) and then click the button on the right-hand side to submit it to the challenge.
Adjudication Criteria and Process
A shortlist of the top
twenty entries (as ranked by community likes -
ten from each league) will be compiled by the Master of Games. The Judges will choose the winner. The winner will be announced by the World Anvil Team on Saturday 16th of April on a
World Anvil community stream.
Entries will be judged on a number of criteria, including originality, presentation, and thoroughness.
Timeline |
Event |
March 5th - March 26th |
Competition is opened and closed (both on livestream)! |
March 26th - March 31st |
Sharing period, give feedback, make minor edits. |
April 2nd - April 16th |
Adjudication and Judging |
April 16th |
Winner Announcement Date! |
Social media sharing
Because community likes are an important metric in the competition, competitors may wish to share their entries on social media to garner more interest from the community.
Posts tagged with #TavernChallenge which mention @WorldAnvil may be shared by World Anvil's official social media accounts!
Leagues
There are two leagues that will be independently judged, the Regular and the Premier League. The Premier League consists of all the authors who have previously won a World Anvil competition.
Winning a competition in the Regular league will promote you to the Premier League for future challenges.