Stewpot: Tales from a Fantasy Tavern

Stewpot is now live on Backerkit!

If you already purchased Stewpot here on itch.io, you should still have access to the current version files, and you'll be able to download the final PDF through this itch.io page after the campaign!

Thank you all so much for supporting Stewpot this far. I've been working on it on and off for over six years now, and I couldn't have gotten the game to this point without your stories and feedback. I'm looking forward to sharing the fully polished version with y'all!

What is Stewpot?

Stewpot: Tales from a Fantasy Tavern is a collection of small games for groups of three or more players. Each game lets you, a retired adventurer, play out different parts of running a tavern and settling down in a town  together with your old adventuring party. 

You'll be scrambling to cook something edible with random ingredients, bartending for troubled souls, calming down a tavern brawl, going shopping for all the things a tavern needs, and more in a variety of slice-of-life scenes! Typical play time depends on your group and how long you spend on each game. Most likely, the shortest playthrough will be about a 3 hour session, and a longer playthrough may take multiple sessions. 

Stewpot takes design inspiration from similar mini-game collections such as The Sundered Land, Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands, and The King is Dead by Meguey and Vincent Baker.

If you're playing Stewpot online, you can use the Google Sheets character sheet made by Libby Horacek, linked here. Just make a copy of the sheet and you should be good to go.

The Games

The First Step: Before you decided to put down roots here, before you found this group of friends, what were you doing? What was the first thing you learned about how to live in town?

NPC Sidequest: Your adventuring days may be over, but there are plenty of people in town that could use your help.

Wear and Tear: There’s always something to fix, or clean, or pay off.

Market Day: You never would have guessed how many things you need just to keep a tavern running. 

Homegrown: There’s something special about using ingredients grown nearby. Why not give growing your own a try?

Sliced: Sometimes supply routes get disrupted. Or maybe you just want to stand out from the rest of the taverns. Whatever the reason, you’re playing this game because you want or need to do one thing: cook with monster parts.

Romancing a Stranger: Someone in the tavern makes eye contact with you, and their gaze lingers a little longer than you’d expect. Your co-workers urge you on, and make every excuse they can to send you over to talk to the lovely Stranger.

Off the Clock: Where do you go after the tables are wiped down? Who’s heard every story you have about the worst people who have walked in?

A Friendly Tavern Brawl: Every tavern has its rowdy patrons. You know they’re good at heart, but sometimes when the ale is flowing and spirits are high, things get a little out of hand. How do you handle the situation?

Festival Day: Your town has a few festival days a year, and they’re some of your busiest. How do you prepare? How do you handle the influx of people?

A Bard's Tale: During your time as an adventurer, you accomplished many daring deeds. In fact, some of those deeds are retold to this day by travelling bards.

A Glass of the Gods: Sometimes a troubled adventurer will come in, looking for answers, and letting them drink themselves into oblivion is the wrong answer. It's up to you  to  mix the perfect drink, something perfect for the situation that can push the adventurer to look inside and find the answer on their own.

A Distinguished Guest: Someone important is in town, and they’re already almost here. The tavern has to be at its best for this guest. After all, they might leave a generous tip.

In the Rhythm of Things: Time passes. Rough edges are sanded down. Before you know it, life in town has become like breathing. You gather in your favorite part of the tavern and wonder where the time has gone.