The Seeker’s Guide to Twisted Taverns Review
February 6, 2023
Books
There’s ale and adventure aplenty in this collection of fantastical watering holes for D&D 5e.
“You meet in a tavern” has become a long established D&D cliche when starting a new campaign. In most cases though, fantasy taverns tend to be pretty generic and easily forgotten. It’s usually a place where adventure happens after you leave it.
Enter The Seeker’s Guide to Twisted Taverns,a collection of 17 fantasy locales that attempts to offer a much-needed renovation to the tired, old D&D tavern. Developed by Eldermancy and published by Ghostfire Games, the book is perhaps best known for its record setting Kickstarter which raked in a whopping $1.65 million before being fulfilled in late 2022.
Now, The Seekers Guide to Twisted Taverns is available to the general public in print and PDF format, including a special edition hardcover along with a few additional accessories. So is this a D&D bar crawl worth taking? Read our review to find out.
Table of Contents
Who is this book for?
What’s included in the book?
What are the different taverns?
What’s the art and design like?
What other tie-in products are available?
Where can you get the book?
Final thoughts and review score
Back to top
Who is The Seeker’s Guide to Twisted Taverns for?
While players are likely going to find a lot to love in Twisted Taverns, it’s important to note that this book is designed entirely for Dungeon Masters running fifth edition D&D. In particular, the book is chocked full of adventure hooks, NPCs, quests and maps, so you’ll definitely want to keep players out of the materials if you are planning on integrating any of the materials into your existing campaign.
It’s also worth noting that the book can easily be used in just about any existing 5e campaign and there’s really something for just about any play style, storyline and game world you think of. If you’re a DM looking to spice things up and ditch the same old boring inns and taprooms, then Twisted Taverns has you covered.
What’s included inThe Seeker’s Guide to Twisted Taverns?
At 320 pages long the book packs in a ton of content. The broad strokes of what you’ll find inside, include:
- 17 individual taverns and inns
- A full list of NPCs for each location (including operators and guests)
- Individual quest boards that offer adventure hooks and missions
- Stat blocks for specific characters and creatures
- Maps for each location in both a 3D isometric and standard 2D hex format
- Rules for “Trail Seeker,” a game that uses a standard 52 card deck
- Printable menus for each location
Overall the materials presented here are incredibly well done. The writes up are unique, the NPCs are memorable, and the adventure hooks and storylines are genius. With some careful planning, a smart DM could easily ring a ton of fun out of even a single tavern found in the book, but the locations can also be dropped in at random in just about any campaign setting with minimal set up time required.
Back to top
What are the Different Taverns?
The locations featured in Twisted Taverns that run the gamut from your classic RPG watering hole to otherworldly inns on the edge of existence (and death itself). There’s really something here for everyone, but below are brief descriptions of each:
- The Wizard’s Watering Hole: A three-story building that runs itself thanks to a variety of powerful enchantments.
- Rail-away: A magical steam engine, with each train car containing a unique area (and optional murder mystery).
- Wildaback tavern: A series of buildings constructed on the back of a giant, magical stone beast that travels the wilds.
- The Bloated Bounty: An inconspicuous urban dive bar that’s actually a secret gathering place for thieves.
- The Dancing Horse: A cozy village tavern where travellers can rest and recoup from their adventures.
- Poor Larry’s: A taproom that’s fallen on hard times and filled with various down-on-their-luck NPCs.
- Treetop Tavern: An aerial respite built in the branches of a great tree in a magical forest.
- The Spring of Peace: A Middle Eastern flavored establishment built around a desert oasis.
- The Grand Shanty: An old, multi-deck pirate ship repurposed as a seaside inn.
- The Drunken Treasure: A traveling underwater tavern designed for aquatic-based adventurers.
- Fungal Grotto: An underground tavern built inside a series of hollowed out giant mushrooms.
- Ironstein Mine: A former dwarven mine repurposed into an underground hot spot.
- The Dungeon of Darkness: A creepy roadside inn run and populated by undead inhabitants.
- Teapot Temple: A Japanese-flavored inn filled with Asian-themed sorcery and creatures.
- By the Frost: A Viking-themed inn packed with creatures and characters from Norse mythology.
- The Tavern at Death’s Door Death: An otherworldy inn where heroes can rest before they pass to the afterlife.
- The Daydream: A tavern found in a fractured reality filled with endless rooms and strange entities.
Back to top
What’s the art and design like?
While third-party D&D products can often be hit or miss with their artwork and overall design, Twisted Taverns is absolutely gorgeous. The artwork is easily on par – if not better – than anything Wizards of the Coast produces and really captures the tone of each tavern; from creepy and criminal to whimsical and otherworldly.
One of the coolest visual features of the book is the 3D isometric views of each location, which are beautifully designed (some of these would make great posters). The level of detail is incredibly impressive and chances are DMs will want to share these with their players. There are, however, also more practical 2D hex-based maps for each location, which DMs can repurpose for a VTT or add to their If you’re feeling extra adventurous, you can also purchase both physical and digital map add-ons.
Speaking of sharing with players, each location also includes its own custom food and drink menu. Like the isometric maps, these are also beautifully designed and customized for each tavern. They can easily be printed out and given to players when they arrive at the location and offer everything from roasted venison to fried co*ckatrice. It’s a nice touch that really helps bring each tavern to life.
Back to top
What other tie-in products are available?
While the core of The Seekers Guide to Twisted Taverns is the book itself, Ghostfire Gaming does also offer a few additional accessories which you can purchase as add-ons (with many of these the result of the Kickstarter stretch goals). This includes:
- A themed DMs Screen
- Modular tavern tiles
- Seeker playing cards
- Standard and special edition dice
- Digital and physical maps
- NPC plushies
Believe it or not, they also released a free soundtrack on Spotify which includes a number of tracks designed to capture the tone of the book.
Back to top
Where can you get The Seeker’s Guide to Twisted Taverns?
Currently the book is available exclusively online from Ghostfire Gaming. The standard print hardcover will run you about $50 USD (before shipping), while the PDF version is around $25 USD. The various accessories range in cost, but the tiles in particular are fantastic and really add another level of depths and realism to the book.
That being said, for the sheer amount of content that you get in the book alone, it’s well worth it (Wizards of the Coast really could take a lesson or two from Eldermancy when it comes to design and content).
Back to top
Final thoughts and review score
The tavern is a key part of Dungeons & Dragons lore that’s never really had its time to shine. Fortunately, The Seekers Guide to Twisted Taverns puts a fresh spin on an age-old RPG cliche. Jam packed with unique content, NPCs, maps, adventure hooks and artwork, it’s a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration.
Because while a ton of adventures might after you’ve left the tavern, this unique book proves that sometimes the best adventures happen right at the bar.
Final Review Score: 20/20 (A Critical Hit!)
See Our Complete D&D Book Coverage
Visit our page for more reviews of the latest novels and game books.
