Barking Alien's RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE! Day 6

Day 6 – Where Shall We Start?

Day 6-Where shall we start?
Where did the campaign begin and/or where should a traveler to the region start their journey through it?

Elowen’s Journal

"The first place I ever went in West Haven was the Drunken Orc Inn, and I still think that tells you everything you need to know about this place. Mother and Father were not impressed, and I think they wanted to turn around and take me home at that moment. 

It is loud. It is crowded. It smells like old ale, wet cloaks, and poor decisions. Voices overlap in ways that make my head ache if I stay too long. And yet, for all that chaos, it feels strangely safe. No spells are cast inside its walls. Not openly, anyway. No grudges are settled there, and no one pretends otherwise. What happens in the Drunken Orc is remembered, and that alone keeps most people careful.

It sits just outside the village proper, along the Western Trade Road, far enough that the laws of West Haven loosen their grip without letting things spiral completely out of control. When I want to feel like I have stepped outside the careful rhythm of covens and quiet streets, this is where I go. Aisling comes with me sometimes. She doesn't like me calling her "Dreamer," but that is what all the ghosts call her. They give her a wide berth and nod in respect to her. I need to find out why. We sit, we listen, we watch strangers who think they are unseen. It is not a safe place, exactly, but it does not threaten the people of West Haven. And that distinction matters more than most travelers realize."

Designer's Notes

The Drunken Orc Inn is a deliberately familiar anchor point. It is the kind of tavern players instantly understand, and that is exactly why it works. By leaning into the cliché rather than avoiding it, the inn becomes a stable social landmark where adventurers, criminals, mercenaries, and outsiders naturally converge.

In practice, the Drunken Orc functions as a neutral zone between West Haven and the wider world. It is commonly run by the local thieves’ guild, who use it to identify marks, recruit talent, and quietly enforce boundaries. Some patrons are fair game. Others are absolutely not. Elowen falls squarely into the latter category. The guild has been warned, directly and without ambiguity, by the Witch Queen herself to leave her untouched. This unspoken protection is why Elowen feels safe there without ever fully knowing why. It is also where adventurers brush up against covens and witch politics without realizing how close they are to real power.

BTW. Ghosts give Aisling respect because, like Elowen, she is half in one world and half in another. Unlike the gentle re-awakening of Elowen, Aisling came back from the dead screaming and covered in blood. Someone else's blood. Her death was tragic, her rebirth was violent, but she wants to live her life to the fullest and is, in fact, a rather sweet and nice girl. She and Elowen are likely to become good friends. Both are good people; they just had terrible things happen to them. 

Join Adam Dickstein of Barking Alien, and his RPG CAMPAIGN TOUR CHALLENGE 2026!