Taverns
Taverns are a type of building that can be placed in Nodes or Freeholds. There is also a limit to the number of taverns that can be built in a node and this is dictated by the node government.
In-Node & Freehold Taverns
Freehold Taverns may be leveled up based on the length of time and productivity of a freehold. These types of taverns are specific to a player’s personal freehold. To build a freehold tavern the player will need to purchase a freehold blueprint before building the tavern on their freehold plot.
In-Node Taverns are currently something we know very little about. We do not know how they will be acquired or what requirements will be in place to own them. We know tavern plots in nodes will be limited but more information is needed before we can elaborate on these types of taverns further.
Tavern Progression
Taverns provide tiered services such as quests that may only be gathered from the player-owned tavern, meals that grant buffs for a period of time once the player leaves, and recipes that could be used by or sold to cooking professions exclusively found via a tavern. The longer the tavern remains present and in business, and the more patrons served, the faster the tavern will level up and progress. As a result of their progression, taverns will unlock new bonuses, abilities, and capabilities.
Business & NPCs
It’s important to remember that taverns are player-run businesses. This means that owners of taverns are able to rent out rooms. The quality and quantity of the rooms scale with the level of the tavern. Taverns offer Rested XP to those who rent rooms or spend time in taverns.
The owner of the tavern has the ability to set permissions for others, as well as, for NPCs. Bartenders are a good example of the type of NPC you may interact with at a tavern. These types of merchants can sell food, drinks, and other types of crafted items that have been made for that tavern. These items could be made by the owner or from the menus of the tavern patrons. Using these types of consumables grants buffs for a period of time and will benefit those who remain within a certain proximity of the tavern.
Parlor Games
Parlor games can be played at the In-Node or Freehold taverns. Some games include dice games, card games, or other less-savory games. These games will involve aspects of both chance and skill and must be played between 2 or more players. Players will be able to wager in-game currency against other players and a portion of all games played in a tavern will go to the tavern owner. Parlor games will also be based on the predominant race of a node.
Special Note: It has also been discussed that there will be games that have long been forgotten that may be found in the world by players that can be played or shared between one another.
Bulletin Boards & In Tavern Maps
Bulletin Boards are available within nodes or freehold taverns. The market UI will list the current items available for sale in the node and within the same economic region. This can include items for sale in Player Stalls and Auction Houses. Players can’t purchase directly from the UI, however, the board will give locations of player stalls where the items may be purchased. These boards may be used to help players establish local grouping, enable job postings, or quest sponsorship.
Bounty Hunter Maps are a necessary asset to Bounty Hunters in Ashes of Creation. Players with a high enough Corruption score will be visible on the world and mini maps. These players will have their markers posted on the map by an NPC from a Military Node at a stage 4 town node and will only be granted to players who have the Bounty Hunter title. The accuracy of Bounty Hunter maps is determined by a player’s progression in the bounty hunter system. Taverns are one of the locations you will find bounties posted on corrupt players. As players gain corruption taverns may offer bounties to eliminate them or even have a specific area cleared of problem players. These individuals or areas will be the POI (Point of Interest) on the world map.
Battle Maps will allow players to engage in strategy, gain bonuses for planned attackers, and see the blueprints of attackable points. Whether it be a node or castle, players will be able to identify defenses, analyze weak points, and gain tactical advantages before a battle begins. Battle maps might not fit into smaller taverns of lower levels and battle maps have not been acknowledged as being in the launch of the game.
