The Thirsty Throat
This tavern is as ramshackle an establishment as its name im¬plies. A merchant described it to me as "a pile of wood taking its own lazy time about falling into the street," and he got it right. All the furniture is crowded to¬gether and bolted down.
"Crowded, dark, and smells of stale beer," I wrote, years ago, on my first visit—and it hasn't changed a bit. What it does have to offer is mediocre beer at low prices. A tankard as big as a man's head costs 1 copper piece. Those who like to laugh and brawl tend to go elsewhere. This place is full of quiet men drink¬ing themselves into slumber with a handful of coppers.
The washrooms are interesting. You climb down a ladder into a little antechamber opening right into a harborbound sewer channel. Men climb down one ladder, and ladies down an- other—and end up facing each other in the same room, about an arm's stretch apart. It's an ideal place for exchanging items on the sly, dumping incriminating things into the sewer, or even for easily getting into Waterdeep's sewer network.
Proprietor: Bulaedo "Fists" Ledgileer, a monstrously fat, toad-like man with forearms as big as the larger hams you'll see for sale down the street, runs the Thirsty Throat. His nickname comes from his habit of knocking men cold with one punch.
Description
This ramshackle tavern, just west of the Way of the Dragon and at the comer of Slut Street and Candle Lane, is rumored to be a hangout of thieves, cutthroats, and other blackguards. In truth, it caters to a regular crowd of dockworkers, couriers, and visiting sailors from other ports (some of whom just happen to be thieves . . . ). On Candle Lane, the tavern is flanked by a small rental warehouse facility called Maernath Storage. The Throat is bordered on the other side by a minor warehouse owned by Alek Lenter of Waukeen's Wares (AQ13). It is a quiet tavern with a small collection of tables, benches, and mismatched stools and chairs for its patrons. Most of the tables have elaborate carvings in their surfaces from the daggers of the patrons; there might even be some messages left within the general scrawls and carvings and useless graffiti. Its only light f liters in through filthy win¬dows during the day, a tallow candle chandelier providing light at night. The back wall is decorated with some tapes¬tries that once hung in a noble villa (and were used as pay¬ment to the barkeep for a favor), though they are now so threadbare and stained by smoke and spilled ale that they are nearly worthless. The larger one has a blue field with a red griffon rampant, and the smaller tapestry shows the sil¬houette of a sailing ship. The washrooms are accessed by two ladders in the floor. Climbing down into an antechamber, male and female patrons find one room with two jakes that face one another across a low 3-foot-high wall. People use this room for clan¬destine item exchanges or fast escapes (for those that know of the secret doors!). The rushing waters of the sewers are easily heard down in the jakes room. Upstairs are bedrooms for the owner and one guest or servant, and a meeting room. For 1 gold piece a night, the meeting room can be "used for parties" (that is, it is often crowded with thieves or some other secret group plotting a heist or other underhanded activity). For those who are regular customers, or first-timers who pay 2 gold pieces, Bulaedo tells them of the secret exit from the room. This tavern's prices are incredibly cheap (but so is the fare one copper piece gets you a watery ale in a tankard as large as a man's head. Aside from ale, Bulaedo provides hand wheels of Waterdhavian cheese (2 cp), hunks of cured and smoked meats (1 cp/piece), and zzar (1 cp/glass or 1 sp/bottle), but that's it; only the owner gets a hot meal cooked in here, and he's more apt to wander down the street to Chrandeth's, a small, second-story club that has a passable menu for a few coppers (the hot cheese-and-meat- scraps pies are Bulaedo's favorites).Secret Exits
This taverns holds many exits, some mundane and easily spotted, and others secret. The front door and back door can both be locked and barred from inside; the bars for the doors are stored underneath the benches while the tavern is open. The windows are the secondary exits from the tav¬ern. They are all hinged at the top and swing open easily if pushed out from the inside, intended for those who don't wish to face the watch patrol to jump out easily. These are locked at night with metal pegs sunk through the window frame and into the sill. There are also secret exits out of the tavern (known only to those constant customers who tip Bulaedo often and generously, though he will only tell of the access into the sewers, not the others): Behind the large griffon tapestry on the main floor is a secret pivoting door that leads into the Maernath Stor¬age warehouse; those who work for "Maernath" (a front for the Xanathar), such as Avaereene and Randulaith, know of this exit. Pressing a certain stone on the low wall in the jakes opens a small 2-foot-wide door about 3 feet up from the ground, which leads directly into a tertiary sewer line. This apeture is most often used to dispose of any items (or bodies) quickly. Few use it to escape directly, unless they do not know of the other escapes. Behind the southern ladder leading into the jakes, a loose flagstone in the floor hides the trigger for a secret door into the hidden cellar of Maernath Storage. Only Avaereene and Bulaedo know of this exit, which she uses to reach her main meeting place with the Hand (see Appendix Two in the Campaign Guide and Chapter Six of this book). Bulaedo knows of the mysterious disap¬pearances of those who cross her, and he allows her to use this access to funnel any recent kills through the jakes and into the sewers. The third secret door out of the jakes leads to a junction room of the sewers, the door opening directly onto the ledge above the muck. This secret door opens by simulta¬neously pushing in a stone at the base of the wall and another at the center of the door, causing it to slide back and open onto a small staircase leading down to a secret door into the junction room. Bulaedo has his own secret door out of his main cellar beneath the bar, accessed by moving a few barrels and pressing a sequence of wall stones; Alek Lenter is the only other person who currently knows of this secret door, which leads to a small hallway and respective secret doors into the cellars of either warehouse. A permanent illusion masks the side tunnel into the cellar of Maernath Storage; Alek has yet to stumble across this, and Bulaedo guards this secret well. He does not wish to enlighten his contact with the Shadow Thieves of this connection with the Xanathar, fearing backlash from both groups. The final secret doors are connected with the second floor meeting room. One small door allows Bulaedo to sneak from his room into the meeting room; he uses it when the meeting room door is open, masking his own entrance. He has used this on many occasions to surprise people with sudden appearances, as well as a quick escape if needed. The other secret door is the lower panel in the upper comer of the western wall; pressing a particular knothole allows a 2-foot-high and 3-foot-wide section of the wall to pivot, allowing escapees to roll out onto the southern slope of the roof of Maernath Storage, their escapes visible only to those in the back alley behind the Thirsty Throat (20% chance to observe the secret door at work, 50% chance of seeing figures on the one-story roof). There may yet be other hidden doors about the tavern; Bulaedo locks all entrances from the outside into the tav¬ern when he closes at dawn, so he can prevent from being robbed while sleeping.The Regulars
The following are constant presences that PCs can count on meeting every time they enter the Throat. In addition, a crowd of 3-12 NPCs (F1-4, T1-3) sit at the tables or bar. Other known NPCs you might find here are: Alek Lenter, Avaereene, Randulaith, and other shady people.Bandit
Bandit is the small pet racoon that sits on the shelves behind the bar. Bulaedo haphazardly tosses pieces of cheese and meat to Bandit, who promptly leaps from shelf to bar to tables, searching for a drink to wash his food in. Regulars know Bandit's maneuvers and cover their drinks when they hear him coming across the floor, but newcomers are usu¬ally rudely joined and "asked" to share their ale with him.Hook
There is also a ghostly presence within the Thirsty Throat, the grandfather of Bulaedo and the former owner of the tavern, known in life and death as Hook. He manifests only as a roving spot of icy coldness, every now and again shoving an object or two around. His usual spot is in the chair at the foot of the stairs. Hook hates the watch, and often does things to scare the patrols. If they burst in with intent to arrest someone, Hook's old hook launches out of nowhere and pins the cloak of the lead watchman to the door or a wall, delaying them enough for any "friends" to make good their escapes. Bulaedo has been taken to court on charges of interference with justice, but a Lord dis¬missed the charges and ruled he could not be held responsible.Bulaedo ”Bsts” Ledigleer
Game Data: NE hm F5; STR 18(12), CON 17 Description: This monstrously fat man, who is often found behind the bar wiping a grimy mug with an equally grimy rag, gained his nickname from his ability to knock out men with one punch. From the looks of his huge arms, this is no idle rumor. His humor tends to be quite scatalogical, though few would wager the man laughs at all to see his commonly scowling face. Notes: Bulaedo Ledigleer is not a timid man or common barkeep; he was once a promising mercenary who com¬manded high prices (and many believe he still has his riches hidden within the tavern). During Bulaedo's career as a mercenary, he was poisoned many times and as a result is 40% resistant to any poisons.Если вы хотите что то добавить или присоединится к команде редакторов - пишите комментарии
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The Thirsty Throat
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