Monday, February 25, 2008

BrewerBarrow inspiration

I'll take a quick moment to give credit that isn't in the BrewerBarrow write-up.

The main inspiration was the little-folk that Corwin gets ambushed by on the road to Chaos in the Amber novels.

Add to that a touch of Hobbiton and Bree from Lord of the Rings. The barrows are a reference to the lands just outside such places.

Then the mention of horseflesh as a delicacy, which is a nod to a small part from Time Bandits.

The Pike & Drake was lifted from Gary Gygax's Extraordinary Book of Names. In the middle-ages, businesses (especially British pubs) didn't spell out their names on their signage, since so few customers could read. Instead, the sign would have pictures matching the words. A pike could be a long spear, but it could also be a large fish. A drake could be a small dragon, but it could also be a male duck. So if the PCs ever went looking for the Pike & Drake, they'd find the Awl and Mallard, the Sturgeon and Dragon, and several other cleverly named pubs trying to cash in on the fame of the best.

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