Elven Maid Inn: Tales from the Tavern Magazine Issue #1 Review - RIB01

Elven Maid Inn: Tales from the Tavern Magazine Issue #1 Review

TLDR: If you are a fan of the tabletop hobby sphere, especially centered around fantasy, there’s no reason not to check this out, it’s great.

        Tales from the Tavern is a new magazine from the Elven Maid Inn, an amazing voice in the TTRPG community who I have seen many times over on X (@elvenmaidinn). When they announced this project I initially felt an unreasonable sense of joy. One of the things I love most about the tabletop gaming community are the informative magazines of old such as Dungeon, Dragon, and even White Dwarf before GW decided to narrow its focus.

        One of the best things about this project is that, at least for this initial issue, the title is PWYW over on DTRPG for the PDF. I am pretty sure that softcover and hardcover versions are being made available but at the time of writing these aren’t up on DTRPG, the issue is also available over on Amazon.

        Aside from the friendly face spearheading this endeavor, the title catches your attention and stands on its own merits. It hooks your eye almost immediately with a great sketch composition making up the front cover by the immensely talented Richard Whitters (X: @WhittersRichard) depicting a hulking guardian and, aptly, an elven maid guiding the way with a stylized torch (I wish I could draw like this).

The trade dress is a nice touch with a header that lays out what I assume to be the scope of the series at large and the project seems to incorporate a wholly black and white color motif. Don’t let the lack of color steer you away from checking this out, it’s a grassroots project, keeping it B&W reduces costs for physical versions on the consumers’ end, and the material within is of a high quality (there’s also the added bonus of it reminding me of B&W indie comics, but that’s more of a personal evocation).

        Digging into the actual issue, the work begins with acknowledgments from the author. This may sound strange but I really like how they decided to capitalize ‘Family’ ‘Partner,’ and ‘Son’ when thanking their family. It's a touch of respect and I respect it myself. Elven Maid Inn also thanks Gygax & Arneson while speaking on unity within the TTRPG sphere, specifically pointing out that legacies should be celebrated and cherished. This is the perspective that I agree with myself. Supporters and contributors are credited before moving into the table of contents and then a word from the author. I really vibe with the author’s perspective here (excuse my language, I’m barely of drinking age) and their philosophy of making the series freely accessible and transcending politics in an attempt to showcase talent and to celebrate the hobby itself. I’m aware of the arguments about how feasible this is but I am of the belief that the attempt at doing so helps enrich the quality of not only this piece but the hobby sphere as a whole, and so I resonate with Elven Maid Inn’s perspective here.

        Now we get to the meat of the issue, with an opening article about evil paladins, looking specifically at how hobbyists have treated the “issue” in D&D. I thought this was an odd choice for an opening article, mostly because I feel that this is such an unimportant “issue” but I think I can understand why it was chosen. Elven Maid Inn does a good job here of meting out why newer and older players may differ in what side they take with this. I have my own opinions here but they’re not worth detailed opining in my estimation. I like the idea that WotC won’t address this issue because it generates noise/publicity for the game but really I feel that most of their staff probably feels the same way I do, that it isn’t worth addressing. Whether this is because we are stuck in the naming convention due to tradition or because game balance doesn’t call for it I don’t know, I see both sides and I think it mostly comes down to whether you’re playing in more of the sword and sorcery old school way or in the "anything goes" new school style. Both have issues and benefits but at the end of the day I don’t think it matters beyond respecting your DM’s wishes.

        After this opening article is a TTRPG-themed word search, I thought this was cool, I didn’t expect something like this and it’s a thoughtful touch. This is then followed by an interview with Tony Garcia (X: @Dystopian_Dawn), creator of the Dystopian Dawn TTRPG. Admittedly, I am not familiar with this system or creator but upon further inspection it scratches an itch I didn’t know I had (we need more science-fantasy projects in the world). It’s an inherently post-apocalyptic setting and my enjoyment of it would probably depend on how gonzo I can make it but if it’s anything like advertised (Fallout meets Borderlands in Skyrim) then I’d probably have a blast. Garcia states that his plans for this year are to release campaign associated books, I’m probably going to wait on those before diving in but I’d be lying if I said my curiosity wasn’t peaked. He has taken heavy inspiration from old school gaming and that aesthetic along with his vision for the project have me pretty stoked for what’s to come. I agree with Garcia’s overall philosophy throughout the interview and you can check his works via Fractured Brain Studios at Giant Slayer Games.

        After this interview is another ‘minigame’ in the form of a TTRPG themed crossword, followed by a little fun fact box about succubi and incubi. I don’t know why those monsters were focused on but hey it’s a nice little break before diving back into talking about Dystopian Dawn, this time with an overview and example of how character creation works. I won’t dig too deep into how that happens here but Elven Maid Inn does a splendid job of highlighting the possibilities for the system and I have to call attention to the art of Dmitry Ivanov showing off a sketch of the example character created, it’s great.

        Elven Maid Inn then shows off a TTRPG map by Snowy’s Maps (X: @snowystar122) as well as an NPC character sheet of a tavern owner. The map is well detailed, the art is really nice and the maker knows what they are doing from that perspective, but I have some criticisms (I think one building has the only outside linking door leading into a bedroom instead of a common area, this doorway also seems to open up to a very narrow and almost blocked off alleyway). I might be wrong about that but overall I think that aside from the art the layout doesn’t make sense for a space in a planned out settlement, but it’s still very usable in combat encounters focused around a tavern, hell the main parts of the map are great, that one building situated in the top right along with the narrow roads sort of just threw me off. I don’t have much to say about the NPC, it’s a tavern keep, retired adventurer, standard fare.

        The next piece focuses on wargaming, with an article about affordably getting into Warhammer by Eryk Rejner (X: @Awennon). Overall it’s fine advice. My own advice would be to play OPR instead (see a case for why here) but I can’t knock someone for wanting to stick with what is probably the premier legacy franchise while saving money. This article is followed by another fun fact box centered around the Sisters of Battle, neat.

        We then get a homebrew cantrip focused on altering a willing creature’s hair accompanied with a little bit of a story, it’s pretty cute.

        I was happily surprised to see an interview with Bill Silvey, the Dungeon Delver (X: @A_DungeonDelver) within the issue. I suppose surprised isn’t the right word considering how strong of a voice he is in the TTRPG sphere over on X, but despite that a smile broke out across my face when I saw his logo (along with a picture of him with Mr. Gygax himself, very cool).

        This was a very cool interview, touching on some of Silvey’s industry experience and his friendship with Gygax. Elven Maid Inn then asks about opinions on the differences between older and newer systems, to which Silvey gives very level headed responses. The interview then pivots over to some of Silvey’s media ventures and some talking points about AD&D for the new and curious. Overall it was a very pleasant read, very wholesome in a way. I think that this piece really shows some of the legacy that Elven Maid Inn was talking about during the issue’s opening.

        An NPC showcase of an elven barmaid is up next. In my opinion there’s more depth to this character than the previous NPC, I think that weaving her into a campaign would be easy and enjoyable. She has a pretty compelling backstory which, the more that I think about it, happens to somehow be rare in play sessions and yet a little bit common in fiction in general, as odd as that sounds. She has potential for a very satisfying character arc, a gimme for any DM.

        Ok this next part is also really cool. There’s a recipe for a pie with a bit of Elven Maid lore and fictional ingredients with real world replacements. As a reviewer I feel an obligation to make this myself but alas I cannot. What I can say from skimming the ingredients and steps is that it’s probably delicious. If you want to alter it (this is untested btw) consider using spinach and goat cheese for a more savory and creamy take, or hot honey and spices to emphasize the chicken and crust. There’s a lot you can probably do here, have fun!

        After another cute fun fact box centered around mimics, we get to another map made by Snowy and a maze minigame. I like the map here, it works pretty well for something like a bandit hideout. Page 49 features a massive drawing by Dmitry Ivanov once more. It is of what looks like a hawkwoman and some of what I assume is Tolkien’s script makes up the borders. It’s really quite impressive. This piece precedes a little short-story/session report of sorts centered around the Sirin, which is the creature that Ivanov has drawn. We then get a fun fact box about liches and some stat blocks and a map for the Sirin adventure.

        A homebrew world map and race are then presented with some more of Ivanov’s art followed by a fun fact box on griffons. More homebrewed spells, monsters, and a feature on cursed items make up the following pages. I won’t dissect them mechanically but the overall presentation is quite nice, with pieces of artwork for basically everything and bits of lore for fun presentation. Want some library based spells? A chimera stat block? Go read this issue!

        The feature on cursed items is really a nice touch, 5E not having many of them is a crying shame and they really add charm to a play session (they really help with the irl memory making is what I’m trying to say).

        A lore piece follows this bit of the issue, it focuses, how do I write this, more on realms and celestial world building than anything small scale. It’s really handy if you want a quick cosmology (is that the right word?) and some accompanying lore for a new session or to up the stakes and opportunities in a current campaign.

        This issue gets cooler and cooler, next up is a feature on Glen Cook’s The Black Company. Ok, admittedly, haven’t read the series, but I know enough about it to know that I’d love it, it’s on my TBR (at least in my head if not on my Goodreads) and I read a TON of fantasy (here’s my Goodreads I rate everything a 5 over there for literally no reason, I use that site as nothing more than a tracker). Since I haven’t read it I can’t say much but what I can say is that its inclusion is all the more a sign of Elven Maid Inn’s cultured participation in the fantasy sphere. It’s worth mentioning to the reader that the publishers of Delta Green are working on a Black Company TTRPG, very cool.

        We get another fun fact box talking about nymphs (I really like these boxes, they remind me of the little chibi shorts at the end of a lot of shonen anime, this issue’s boxes even include a chibi Elven Maid, very kawaii).

        Another lore-ified recipe follows, this time for a salad. I’m skeptical on this one, as it calls for pineapple and mayo but I trust the author as there’s more to it than that. Plus it’s a salad, do whatever you want this is like the easiest thing in the world to modify.

        I just noticed something, two things actually that are technical issues with the PDF. The first is that the table of contents isn’t hyperlinked. Not the biggest deal but it would’ve been a nice touch, along with PDF specified chapters. Another thing is that the page numbers on the actual pages match with the PDF page number, but these both are out of sync with the table of contents as I think it begins counting after the front cover, which isn’t how PDFs handle page numbers. An understandable mistake but something to watch out for when navigating.

        We’re presented with some more lore for that cosmology mentioned earlier, this time focused on the pantheon. I love pantheons in fantasy, especially when you’ve got sub-sects, cults, alterations in behavior, laws, customs, etc. They really add a lot when done right. The one presented here is really fleshed out but it has redundancies that could be confusing and is missing some obvious things (like a god of money) but overall there’s potential for a DM to make some really captivating plots with these.

        (I haven’t commented on any of the actual advertisements in the issue as a matter of policy, but it’s cool seeing Baptism of Fire by RPGPundit (X: @KasimirUrbanski)).

        We’re treated to another crossword, chibi fun fact on trolls, and hair spell, the latter of which is accompanied by a short story of sorts.

        (Ah I just realized, I think, that the hair spell here is a nod to Harmony Ginger (X: @Gingerblast) which is pretty cool, she’s another prominent TTRPG hobbyist on X, I could be wrong though).

        The issue ends with a real short story (the ones I refer to as such previously were really just short lore bits). I don’t know what to say about this, it’s rushed and lacks detail, so it wasn’t really impactful. I can’t tell you what I was musing about while reading it due to potential spoilers but know that it at least connects to the opening of this issue in a good, though perhaps ironic way given what Elven Maid Inn shared in those opening pages. I like the main character, but this reads more like a fairytale than a novel because the brushstrokes are too broad so to speak. The combat writing needs some work, Abercrombie should be referenced here, I don’t think anyone writes combat better. I think it just needs to be slowed down as I didn’t really get a chance to become invested or bond with some characters, but overall it was a nice close to the issue and another sign of the effort and passion that went into making this issue.

        My general thoughts about the issue are very positive. I’m glad that Elven Maid Inn is doing this, it’s really a fantastic initiative and although it was heavily TTRPG centered over anything else, this is understandable given the context in which it was formed and who was on hand to contribute. Even despite this there were still efforts to branch out from solely TTRPGs and pure fantasy and so it really is a remarkable work. I’m super appreciative of the small efforts put in to make it entertaining and fun, as well as the PWYW model and Elven Maid Inn’s philosophy in creating this series. If you’re a tabletop hobbyist, or a fan of fantasy in general, I think that there really is no reason not to check this out.

Nikhil Saxena

Founder, Destrier Studios

https://linktr.ee/destrierstudios

P.S. I was notified over on X that the short story at the end had a 2500 word limit, which totally explains why it goes from 0 to 100 as fast as it does. In light of this constraint Elven Maid Inn did a pretty good job.