Bar Fight!
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Sooner or later, every adventuring party winds up in a tavern. Whether it’s a meeting place for PCs or a well-earned break between adventures, there’s nothing quite like the unusual and interesting people you meet in the village pub. And since this is D&D, what’s the point of meeting interesting people if you don’t get to fight them? Presented below are intense situations that can easily escalate into fights, along with stats for sample brawlers—in short, everything you need to craft a barroom blitz on the fly.
Bar Fight Scenarios
Who’s Your Daddy? Two large men stand over a crying woman holding a baby, arguing fiercely over which man is the child’s real father. Suddenly one of the men swings at the other and misses, knocking the woman out cold. The rest of the barflies leap to their feet, and in the ensuing ruckus, it’s up to the PCs to recover the baby and keep it safe.
Damn Your Eye! A furious farmer slaps another across the face, and to his horror, the victim’s glass eye pops out and skitters across the floor. The one-eyed man yells, “Grab that eye!” before leaping on top of his opponent, slamming into a full table and rousing the other drinkers. PCs attempting to recover the eye must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity check.
Wedding Crashers: The inn is hosting a small wedding ceremony when the doors suddenly burst open and the bride’s jilted lover comes crashing in, demanding that the “no-good dandy” relinquish his bride. Wedding guests and drunken barflies alike throw themselves into the fight with gusto, though the bride’s assumed father might have other ideas. Correcting the misstep requires a DC 20 Diplomacy check, and settling the dispute a DC 30 check.
Drunk as a Lord: An intoxicated lordling seats himself at the PCs’ table and awards them the “honor” of buying his drinks for the evening. With each cup, he becomes more demeaning, pinching female PCs and holding forth on “the problems with common folk,” taking offense at any perceived slight. His two beefy guards look embarrassed, but once the lord takes a swing at the characters, they sigh and wade into battle. If the PCs fend off the lord’s wild blows without doing any permanent damage, they can avoid incurring the wrath of the city guard.
Race Riot: A drunken dwarf topples off the tall barstool provided for him, drawing laughs from a group of elves. The dwarf leaps up and upends their table, and in the brawl that follows any elves or dwarves in the party find themselves singled out for vengeance.
Fire! A man flings an accused horse thief over the bar, smashing several bottles of the tavern’s finest as well as one of the lamps, which ignites the flammable liquor. Unless quenched by a party member, fire spreads at a rate of one five-foot square per round, eventually consuming the entire building.
Mistaken Identity: The party is drinking quietly when four young men carrying chains and axe-handles burst through the door. The apparent ringleader points at the most inconspicuous male PC and yells, “There he is! Him’s the one that done got Marilee with child!”
Political Debate: Two makeshift podiums stand on one side of the common room, from which two local mayoral candidates rail at each other before a sharply divided constituency. Suddenly, a gobbet of spit flies between the groups of supporters, and the room erupts into violence. In addition to being swept up in the commotion, PCs making a DC 15 Spot check notice one of the “farmers” has stolen the ballot box and stuffed it beneath his long jacket.
Gambling Problem: The PCs are drawn into a “friendly” dice game with some locals. At some point when the PCs are doing well, one of the players “spills” a pair of weighted dice (actually palmed by someone else) on one of the players’ sleeves. The rest of the bar patrons leap to their feet in a righteous attempt to strip the “cheaters” of their goods.
Diversion: Two loud drunkards cast ever-greater curses and aspersions on each other over whose turn it is to pay the bill, finally falling into a raucous wrestling match that slams into the PCs’ table, likely resulting in one of the men taking a misguided swing at a PC. When the bartender emerges from behind the counter to break it up, PCs can make a DC 15 Spot check to notice a third man (secretly the drunkards’ accomplice) stealing money from the unattended till.
Bored Enchanter: In the far corner of the inn, a man wearing luxurious purple robes sits sullenly in the corner, surrounded by empty tankards and drawing impatiently on the table with a wine-damp fingertip. When another brawl begins, two patrons from different tables leap to their feet and begin madly wrestling in the center of the common room, much to the consternation of their previous companions. The man leans back and watches with a grin as the altercation becomes a full-blown fistfight. PCs making a DC 15 Spot check notice his lips moving slightly, and successful Spellcraft checks reveal that the man (male human sorcerer 4) is stirring up trouble via message and charm person.
Hitting With The Bottle
No bar fight would be complete without at least one person getting a bottle broken over his head. In your next raucous alcohol bash, consider allowing your players to use bottles of wine or beer as improvised melee thrown weapons (with a -4 penalty on attack rolls). Glass bottles use the same stats as a dagger, with the exception that, if successful, hit does nonlethal bludgeoning damage and shatters on impact. From this point on, the bottle uses standard dagger statistics, as its jagged edges are perfect for slitting throats.
The Bartender
Behind the bar stands a lumbering red-haired man in a leather apron. Despite his easy grin, muscles ripple beneath his beer-stained shirt, and a massive warhammer hangs within easy reach. He is too hard to handle any complaints about the service.
Bartender
Male human fighter 2/expert 2
CR 3
NG Medium humanoid
Init +0; Senses Listen +1, Spot +6
Languages Common
AC 11, touch 10, flat-footed 11
hp 30 (4 HD)
Fort +5, Ref +0, Will +4
Spd 30 ft.
Melee unarmed strike +6 (1d3+3) or
warhammer +6 (1d8+3/x3)
Base Atk +3; Grp +6
Feats: Cleave, Power Attack, Improved Unarmed Strike
Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds
Abilities: Str 16, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 13
Feats: Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Improved Unarmed Strike, Negotiator, Power Attack
Skills: Craft (brewing) +2, Diplomacy +3, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (local) +6, Sense Motive +3, Spot +6
Possessions: combat gear, bracers of armor +1, warhammer, 20 gp
The Patrons
The customers here are generally farmers and laborers having a quiet drink, but mixed in among them are a more raucous bunch—rough, surly-looking characters, perhaps merchant caravan guards or the local constabulary, looking bored and eager for entertainment.
Brawler
Male and female human warrior 1
CR 2
N Medium humanoid
Init +5; Senses Listen +0, Spot +0
Languages Common
AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14
hp 17 (3 HD)
Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +1
Spd 30 ft.
Melee bottle +1 (1d4/2d19–20) or
longsword +5 (1d8+2)
Base Atk +3; Grp +5
Atk Options Power Attack
Combat Gear potion of bull’s strength
Abilities: Str 14, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 8
Feats: Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Power Attack
Skills: Intimidate +5, Jump +5
Possessions: combat gear, studded leather armor, light wooden shield, longsword, 5 gp
By James Lafond Sutter
By Kyle Hunter
