The In(n)side JobI just arrived here the day before yesterday but I already knew this was not an ordinary place. The innkeeper seemed to be a very earnest man. “The people’ve had enough,” he said, a little somberly.
I did not want to appear all too interested so I just replied, “they always wish for better times,” hoping for more.
The innkeeper went on, “they are done waiting. Now it’s time to act. They won’t stand Duke Lombard’s oppressive reign any longer.”
I snickered, “Lombard’s what?”
He scowled at me. “And what are
you up to?” he replied.
“Oh, you know, I travel a lot. Bring me another beer and I’ll tell you all about it.”
So the afternoon went, and as the setting sun heralded the evening, the inn filled with townsfolk. In the midst of the noise I overheard snippets of a conversation between the innkeeper and the local blacksmith.
“Who’s in?” asked the latter.
“Teuton the butcher. Varya the baker. I think, most of the fishermen,” the innkeeper reported.
“And Roman?”
“The steward? I’m not sure.”
“How many council members…?”
I looked around and spotted the fishermen in a corner of the tavern. Next to me sat a few vagrants who arrived here at roughly the same time as me. One looked back at me and, if I was not mistaken, winked briefly. But I had a considerable amount of drink so my memory is porous.
The next day I entered the inn early in the morning with a shiver of cold. I assumed I had slept outside but I could not remember. When I was about to sit down at the counter, the innkeeper spoke to me, “You haven’t paid last night. Six pints, that’s twelve copper coins.”
I pretended grabbing for my purse, then said, “Oh curses! A thief must’ve cut my purse. Alas, but a beer will console me for my loss. I can pay you next week.”
“I’ve had enough with all you drunkards and ne’er-do-wells!” the innkeeper grumbled, “Get out!”
I wanted to talk back but suddenly I felt a firm grasp on my right shoulder. The smith’s sturdy arm dragged me back and away from the counter. “Out with you, or else!” he yelled.
I stumbled outside where the vagrants were just being chased off by the townsfolk – farmers, fishers, even miners. I also recognised Teuton the butcher among them. I followed a tramp and stopped him and said, “What did you hear?”
“Same as you,” he answered. “Should we warn Lombard?”
“You should tell his advisor. Meet him at the farmer’s market at noon.”
“Understood,” he replied and trotted away.
I left the town but it didn’t take long until I reached the next village. I asked a wine merchant for the local inn and he said, cordially, “why, friend, I was just heading there. Come with me.”
We got along well with each other and as soon as we entered at the tavern, the wine merchant – his name was Vandal – loudly, but friendly, ordered two glasses of wine. I would have preferred beer but you don’t reject free drinks. After a while, my tongue was loosened, and I whispered mysteriously to the innkeeper, “there is a revolt going on in that town in the north right now.” Vandal and the innkeeper bided in silence. “Bring me another beer and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Innkeeper, $6 <2>, Action, Attack, Reserve
+2 Cars. +2 Actions. Each other player gains a Drunkard from the Drunkard pile, putting it on their Tavern mat. Put this on your Tavern mat.
At the start of your turn, you may call this, to look through your discard pile, reveal up to 4 Action cards from it and shuffle them into your deck.
Drunkard, $0*, Reserve
At the start of our turn, you may discard this from your Tavern mat and take <2>.
While this is on your Tavern mat, you can’t call any cards. (This is not in the Supply.)
There are 12 Drunkards in the Drunkard pile.
I wanted to make a card that somehow attacks the Tavern mat. A way to do this is to have it keep Reserve cards from being called. Obviously, this card has to be a Reserve as well so that there's always a target for the attack. It also has to be powerful enough so that you want to go for it despite the possibility of it being blocked temporarily. So Innkeeper is pretty strong, bearing a lot of resemblance to Inn whose on-gain effect would be a nice thing to call for. Drunkard, the "Tavern junk", has to give you penalty severe enough so that you don't call it automatically to get it off your mat. However you don't get punished for keeping Drunkards in your Tavern which gives you the option of ignoring Reserves and going for another strategy. Even without the attack effect, though, Innkeeper is good enough on its own. And if your opponent mirrors you, it has its own bane built-in.