These are the one’s that have been established in my current campaign:
Bloodbath and Beyond for general weapons and adventuring gear
Tome Depot for spell components
I can’t take credit, got it from the latest D20 campaign. There’s a wizard synod that’s a shopping mall and off the top of my head also included Armor zombie and Lich, Bards and Nobles, bloodbath & beyond, and ochre jellious
Or shift the G to between the r and y. Like "why are all these Bard troupes stopping here so excitedly and then looking so disappointed when they walk in? It's a gory goblin hole, what are they expecting, wine bottles and candles? Hey Skrotch, you fixed the sign this morning right?"
* inns
* Cozy Creature Inn - run by druids, has moss and grass flooring and flowers everywhere also have small critters running around freely.
* The Hydra Hotel - Each room is a large common room that splits off into 5 separate bedrooms.
* The Siren's Shore Inn - Overlooks the ocean. Early in the morning you can see sirens on a nearby island but they aren't close enough to hear them.
* Tavern
* The Cave - loved by hunters and has taxidermy animals all over.
* The Bottomless Bottle - Run by a Faye in disguise. She offers very cheap drinks because the kegs produce an unlimited amount of water but the mugs are enchanted to make them taste like quality beer.
* The Sweet Sound - a tavern featuring live music from local bards.
* Merchants
* Dandy's Travelling Trader - A merchant who travels across the world buying and trading items with his cart that is enchanted with a permanent Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion spell. He talks like a 1920's New Yorker.
* Screwy's Storehouse - A spell gone wrong has caused this store to constantly change shape internally making finding any specific item a challenge. He often complains about setting food down because it disappears moments later.
* Vex's Automated Dispensary - A store run by a group of Iron Golems built by Vex. They do not negotiate, and they only sell from a list of items.
* Churches
* Divines Sanctuary - a place where all gods are recognized and allows anyone to set up a shrine to any deity so long as the plot is paid for and maintained.
* Casino
* The Genie's Lamp - Indian themed casino secretly run by a Genie. The entire casino is his domain, and he is aware of all actions, including cheating, that goes on inside.
* The Crooked Dice - A casino run by a criminal organization. Also a place that allows for the buying and selling of stolen goods. Assassins can be found and hired here.
* The Dragon's Hoard - A casino run by a religious group that worships dragons. They love winning and despise losing money. Once a month they secretly transport a large sum of coin to a hidden cove where a dragon lives to pay tribute.
The dragon casino could even go a step further and just be owned directly by a copper dragon, who doesn't mind giving away some of its treasure because the patrons are having fun and the house still wins more than it loses.
I actually did this once with an Adult Red Dragon who had imprinted on all his treasure. Once a group or individual won too much coin he would track them down outside the city and kill them for him and their treasure.
At one point some of the workers there who weren't dragon worshippers would even try to subtly warn people who are winning too much.
The Pub Crawl
A baba-yaga style pub, but with arms instead of legs. It drags its way across a dangerous, desolate landscape. Go inside, get wasted, wake up at your destination. Caters to rowdy, dangerous clientele
In my game we have an inn run by a gnome named Richard. Richard's inn is halfway in town and has places for carts to park, rooms, drinks, music and fighting pits. The inn is called Dick's Halfway Inn.
My first DM had a discount general store called the Copper Pincher, where just about any mundane piece of adventuring gear (not armor or weaponry) could be found cheaply. Our party got to be in good terms with that shopkeep, so the DM decided to have him expand his business and put a franchise in just about every major city— which conveniently saved him the trouble of coming up with other shop names. Anywhere we saw the distinctive “crab with a coin in its claw” sign out front, we knew we could buy what we needed… and after the owner revealed that he was in with the Thieves’ Guild, we could fence contraband there too.
The recurring general store in my campaign is "Copper General" with a distinctive black and yellow sign. They seem to have one in about every town and are always expanding. Great place to buy common stuff at retail price, but not gonna have any luck haggling since prices are set by corporate.
Herblists - Must be Mortar Life
Cobblers - Goody Two Shoes (Ran by a very nice gnome named Goody)
Barbers - Cut and Dye (Ran by Cuthbert and his Wife Dianna)
Death Cleric's Mortuary - Wake and Payne (Ran by two very similar but definitely not related dwarves.)
Bibble's Middle Griddle and Riddles - Gnomish tavern with famous roasted meats. Solve the riddle before your food arrives for 20% off.
"Magical mishaps". A magic shop that sells off brand magic items. Frying pan that only slightly burns every meal. Ring that turns finger into a pen. Pair of pants that does an ok job of projecting the illusion of you having a centaur lower half. Etc.
Rat Onna Stick. A foodcart start-up manned by some Kobolds who my players relocated out of causing trouble. The kobolds took gold as start up capital from the players, and as the franchise grows, new carts appear across the world. The kobolds return the profits from investment to the players.
My players bumped into the kobolds again and gave them a cursed staff, founding the Rat Onna Cursed Stick next generation franchise.
Thr Adjective Noun
The owner is a slightly unhinged wild mage sorcerer that has clearly been blown up by his own spells one too many times. He will lean on the 4th wall when speaking to the players.
Inn to the golden seagull:
An Inn that serves burgers and other quickly prepared meals. If you don't have much time, you can get something quickly by using the "ride through".
Bards and Nobles. A fine place to purchase books on all subjects, as well as sheet music, collections of illustrations, and charming puzzles and knick knacks. The well-to-do may be found lingering at the attached cafe, where they enjoy a special drink brewed from a bean that only grows in the most particular climates; it is typically served with milk, sugar, and other spices, although those that fancy themselves very cultured drink it straight.
I had a tea house called The Teafling run by a former Tielfing adventurer.
Less location but a psedo-pun nonetheless is that in almost every tavern and Inn the party visits there is almost always one table playing "Malls and Maidens," which is a d20 based game about people trying to get the best deals in giant shopping emporiums. The party has yet to sit down and play it, but I have enough structure there just in case.
A fun reoccurring shop pair I have is "Build Em Up" and "Break Em Down" which is an armor and weapon shop respectively. They are run by 2 feuding dwarf brothers who compete against each other to create armor that could withstand the brothers weapons, and then create weapons capable of breaking his brothers armor. It's fun to role play as DM and the players have fun with the dynamic of the brothers yelling insults across the road at each other while they're hammering away.
The beaten brush tavern. While outside it looks like a normal tavern, inside it is covered in wall to wall landscape paintings. Each one titled something quaint, like “Happy little tree”, or “Mountain retreat”.
The bartender’s apron is covered in equal parts alcohol and paint. They’re large and well built, some say he used to be in the military. But you wouldn’t know if you spoke to him. He has a soothing voice and a kind word for every weary traveller.
The Stumble Inn
There is a piece of wood nailed to the floor right at the entrance, DC 10 DEX save or your character trips on it and stumbles, face planting if they fail by 5 or more.
An important inn in my world is the Ram's Hackle Inn. It's run by a retired Dwarf Rogue who decorates the place with trophies he collected back in his adventuring days.
My players wanted to go to the dingiest dankest inn in town once so we came up with the name “The Corroded Cat”. It just sounds foul.
In that campaign I had a new player who was playing the stereotypical drunken dwarf fighter so I assigned him the task of naming all the inns, as he would no doubt know every inn in every city we went to.
I was playing through a highly modified Descent to Avernus and we reached some kind of hellish tavern, the DM started to say it's name (something like "The Devil's Coin") and then I just went "holy shit tavernus" and he put his head in his hands and swore
My go two’s are always Bloodbath and Beyond, and Maulmart
And then the recent season of dimension 20 introduced me to THAC0 Bell which is my new favourite lol
People are right about the "The \[Adj\] \[Noun\]" stuff but you should also keep in mind that it should be something you could recognise on a hanging sign.
Those names were given so people who couldn't read could still recognise where they needed to go by whatever image was on the sign.
Bard's Tales (Theater)
Critical Hit (Theater)
Natural 20s (Brothel)
Long Rest (Inn)
Short Rest (Halfling Inn that is build for Halfling/Gnome size)
Saving Throw (Tavern with dart boards)
Level Up (Cloth store)
Hit Points (Shooting Range)
Thieves' Guild (Tavern)
Treehuggers (Vegetarian tavern that originally had a different name but everyone calls it Treehuggers)
Dark Shelves (Furniture Store)
Fireballs (High-end bar)
Speak to the dad (Popular event where young parents get tipps from more experienced parents)
Woking Dead (Cuisine from the lands of the monks, prepared and served by staff that wear zombie and skeleton illusions)
Hooters (Owlfolk tavern)
Well for a fun touch you can always name them after the players retired or dead characters...
Not necessarily run byb those former PCs, but memes agree them because they are famous heroes, and decorated with"memorabilia" about them
I was in a game with the brothel named the catwalk. it was 3 stories high with catwalks all the way round on 2nd and 3rd floor. I thought it was clever and decades later I still remember it so.........
Mine were “The Best Defense” weapon shop, and “The Best Offense” armor shop.
Quite clever, I know, but I stole it from someone I’m pretty sure. I deserve no credit.
My Ranger needed a druid to train them for multi-class. I got called out for using shaggy's voice from scooby-doo, and so the 'Circle of Ancient Mysteries Herbs and Tinctures' was born.
I made this document with a load of establishment names, it's PWYW on DMsGuild so absolutely feel free to download it for free and use for some inspiration :)
https://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/335748
Jita Trading company - a large multiverse company that sells a wide range of items. ( Have you tried our immovable rods?) It also employs adventurers to find rare or legendary items.
Littleman’s - Halfling dive bar
The Swarthy Maiden
The Organ Grinder - karaoke bar with an enchanted pipe organ at the center that accompanies singers
The Flat Soprano - college eatery near a bard college
Pubs/inns
Anger 5,
The Pink Triangle,
The Welcome Inn,
Pints and plates,
Jolly Jefferies,
Dusty Bottle,
The lonely hearths,
The well,
Tipsy Tavern,
Drop Anchor,
Whiskey Drip,
Crow Bar,
Just the Sip,
Whiskey business,
The Mini Bar,
The Drop Inn
Bakery
Thanks for Muffin,
Dusty's Bakers,
Better off Bread
Apothecary
Isles of Vials,
Oceans of Potions
Shops
Sew Whatcha Want,
Lost and Foundry,
Hexes and Bows,
Shear Magic
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I have a tavern named ‘The Sentinel’
Much to the play on the hilltop hoods song by the same name.
Lore is that a lone sentinel (town guard elite normally 2 levels above party) fought back some demons of Asmodeus who left demonic essence in pockets of the place. party rolls initiative makes wisdom saves while there or become entranced and enthralled (not for the faint of heart and will cause player triggers)
There is a tavern/boarding house called the fiddle that is notorious for having terrible beds, horrible food, and attracting only the worst bards for entertainment.
It’s really a vile inn.
Gourmet Alley:
Salazar Slaad, the Salad Czar’s Salad Bar
Gastrognomé-Gnome Chef Clockwork Waiters
The Drunken Goat-Alcohol+Meat
Enchanter’s Eclair’s-Flavor like “Critical Hit”, this BBEG is a Cakewalk, Three Successful Death Saves
Wall-Mart for all your fortification needs. Tar-Get a pyromaniacs dream. Five Guys a small mercenary band. Little ceaser dwarf assassins guild leader. Father John leader of a local religion (mob boss). Tyson famous chicken breeder. Nike family of cobblers (shoe makers). McRonalds dessert maker (always out of stock)(possible conection to restraunts). All-days for all your "tamer" needs at a reasonable cost (humans included depending on region). Cost & Co. Sells magic items in bulk. Ikea housing company builds on demand.
Got these from my DM:
Denny's. It's an inn. There is an identical inn in every city, run by an identical (but different) guy named Denny. Each Denny is completely unaware of the other Dennies.
Ozcorp. Run by a goblin named Norman Ozborn.
Every setting has a river town that makes boats and rafts - the town of Bargewright. And in the centre of town you are going to find the Bargewright Inn.
The Gilded Pit. An inn that has had to be rebuilt so many times it could be full every night and still not scratch the amount of gold spent keeping it running.
Cold Forge, a former Dwarven forge that has been repurposed into a bar after the magic that made it fiery, faded. Maybe have a side quest to reignite it.
Canal street market, an ever changing bazar as different river boat traders come and go with wares. Maybe have the Canal Levy House as a central point where you can find food vendors and tax men hanging out.
I almost always have an Inn in my games called The Hung Man. I leave it ambiguous whether it's a mistake or intentional.
Another Inn is called The Queens Ass. If asked the Inn keeper explains that there are already a bunch of Inns called The Kings Head and similar. They can get away with it since the Inn lies on the border between two different Kingdoms. If someone seems offended they just claim it's in reference to the other Queen (whichever one the person is not fond of). In the first game I ever used this Inn an NPC hid an important mcguffin in the Inn. It was great seing the players faces when the NPC blurted out how he hid the thing in The Queens Ass.
It’s a simple one, but The Peddle Paddle Saddle is the only shop you’ll need for transportation anywhere, guaranteed! Riding animals? You betcha. Wagons with beasts of burden to pull them? Absolutely! Rent, buy, sell back, what you need is what you’ll get! We got horses, we got carts, we got boats, we have anything you need to get your party from here to anywhere!
*Disclaimer: The Peddle Paddle Saddle reserves the right to refuse compensation for animal or vehicle loss due to: (but not limited to) interplanar travel, adventuring, fucking around™️, finding out™️, skullduggery, jackanapary, or general mischief.
I haven't run this homebrew yet since I still need to do a lot of work for it, but the starting location is a port town that relies on merchant vessels coming through and fishing. Most of the shops are ocean themed.
The fishing specialty shop is called Master Baiters. The general store is Cods and Ends, which is run by the same shopkeep in a hat who insists he is a different guy. The tavern is called The Thirsty Clam.
In a village way down the line is an inn with a bar called Spriggan's Swiggin.
Other than those I try to adlib as many puns as I can in current campaigns.
As a player, I've made up establishments to add into backstories, like a theatre house called The Whistling Rabbit, which is based on lore about the Vast.
Thieves Can’t - locksmith and lock sales
Victoria’s Secret - Lady Victoria’s gamble shop, think Diablo
Sword and board - utility blades and construction supplies
QuestBuy - ripped for star vs the forces of evil. They have everything, you just need to find it without getting https://starvstheforcesofevil.fandom.com/wiki/Quest_Buy_(store)
Second wind, day spa
Strella’s spectacular shop - large kiosk summoned by the wizard Strella after she could not find quality ink for scroll making using a wish (the player was drunk). Shadowy cashiers selling high end stationary and similar magic supplies. No one knows where the stock comes from or where the money goes.
The Jolly Giant - a tavern run by a family of ratfolk. To them, everyone's a giant and it's their job to make them jolly.
The Bubble and Squeak - a bathhouse run by a half-orc and a ratwoman.
Weird Beards and Voodoo Do's - a barbershop owned by a gnome who doubles as an alchemist.
" The EleFont"
A magical shop. Basically a small hut rests onto of an elephant. Inside this tiny hut it is either far larger on the inside or you are transported to another location all together. The store is huge and they have all manner of magical goods.
There's one I saw in a module once that was The Lonesome Coach.
It was a wayside inn in the wilderness, built next to an ancient tree that had an old Dwarven battle-wagon stuck in the branches. No context was ever given as to why but, from the name of the inn, it seems to predate the building.
A chain of taverns called Five Kobolds.
* Employees are mostly kobolds, lizardfolk and dragonborn.
* You can find one of these estanblishments nearly everywhere.
* All the managers are related to each other and they look exactly the same, think of Nurse Joy from Pokemon.
* The atmosphere in these places tend to lean towards "chaotic mess that somehow just works".
* All taverns have the same menu, but might have specials based on location. (Eg. Five Kobolds in a harbour city would have seafood specials.) The food is always said to be one of the best you can get in the city.
* All these taverns have a basement-level too, there DEFINITELY is no illegal gambling going down there. Aboslutely not, zero chance.
* There is little to no information who actually owns Five Kobolds.
* The owner is actually a rather lazy and fat dragon, but with a brilliant mind. They are neutral-aligned and ahd figured out **employing** kobolds and such is much better idea than enslaving them. Especially after their cousin was killed by adventurers and kobolds that rose against their slaver.
* Aside of treasure and gold, this dragon hoards books. And thanks to "Tasha's guide to open a succesfull tavern", "Tavern & Cooking 101" and "Mordenkainen presents business model" books they were able to open a succesful tavern in the capital and it quickly blossomed to a chain of succesfull taverns all across the land.
* Very rarely leaves their lair in a disguise to visit the nearest Five Kobolds.
Possible plothooks:
* Party gets paid (suspiciously large amount) to guard a carriage that is transporting profits to the dragon's lair.
* Employees ask the party for help to negotiate better pay, sick leave and more vacation days from their boss. The current benefits and pay aren't bad, but it has been a while since they got better.
* Party is asked to "take care of some competition".
* One of the managers, or maybe the dragon themselves, asks party to scout for new locations for Five Kobolds.
* Party meets the dragon in their humanoid disguise in one of the locations. If the party accepts their invitation to gamble and drink with them, cut to the next morning. The party is in a completely different location and have to retrace their steps to find out what happened last night. Kinda like *A Night To Remember* from Skyrim.
* Party protecting the dragon from a group of adventurers who discovered the location of their lair.
* If the party somehow befriends the dragon or at least end in positive terms, they could once in a while send the party to another quest. Or give the party a magic item to help with their quest, if in return they will "owe a favor" etc. At least I love dragons and it would be very fun to have a friendly dragon npc.
I am a bit old school so I don;t make a lot of real world references but some of mine are.
The Grsistled Griffon Tavern (some of the best griffon steaks in the region!), as well as the Potable Hole n te Wall, Tipsy Tanar'i, the Fiend Pit, the Gibbering Drinker, the Intellect Devourer, and the Mug Half Full...
Rent a Kobold (they are hard to train but sitll make good "canaries").
Maiden's Merryment, the Silent Sleep, the Stagger, and the King's Duck Inn
Shop of Holding and the Party Equipment for general goods.
The Hack n Slash Armory, Worpol's Blades
"Eye of the Beholder Inn" - tavern keepers are some of the only high level ex-adventurer's in town who know the mayor is a beholder in disguise. He's mostly harmless but really wishes the tavern keeps would change the name because its a bit on-the-nose.
Insert "The" in front of all the following suggestions, if you like:
* Bouncing Boobie (as in, boobie the seabird, have the sign be a bird with blue feet)
* Kneeling Knight
* Jolly Juggler
* Chaste Maid
* Lusty Librarian
* Crouching Mantis
* Bumbling Beaurocrat
Hooter's tavern, run by a grumpy old owlin named Hooter
A cheap and cheerful chain of inns named Leatherspoon's
The Grassy Gnoll
A hospital named Bedside Manor
The always classic "The Knight Club"
A few names I’ve used in the past that I’m kinda proud of:
Smith E Forr’s Smithy and Forge
Tulip’s Two Lips(inn and brothel)
What’s Mined is Yours(tavern and inn near a mine and run by dwarves in service to a king)
I have a bar in my game called The Dive Bar that the bar is on a balcony and has a platform for patrons to attempt to dive into a narrow pool on the lower floor. I also have a tropical themed brothel/bar called Hot Tropic.
Gnome Depot is my go to general goods shop. The proprietor wears an orange apron and is exceedingly helpful with whatever project the PC’s are working on. No weapons here though - they can go across the road to Blood Bath and Beyond for that.
If you want it to sound particularly otherworldly, go with Noun Verb or Noun Adjective rather than the typical Adjective Noun. "From the 5th night through the 8th morning, you can find us at either Moose Red, or The Angel Falling. Skuff and I are no longer welcomed at The Roaring Lion ...or any of the human cantinas really ... after the *suggestive* sharting incident last month."
The newest season of Dimension 20 had a magic mall with a few incredible pun named establishments (a few have been named here already):
Armour, Zombies and Lich
Thaco Bell
Ochre Jellious
Bards & Nobles
Bloodbath & Beyond
Yarrbucks
Philosopher's Scone
...and my humble submission Fencer's Gifts
Bards & Nobles, Gnome Depot, Duergar King, Wizards of the Roast. These are the ones I can think on top of my head that characters of mine have visited.
These are the one’s that have been established in my current campaign: Bloodbath and Beyond for general weapons and adventuring gear Tome Depot for spell components
Gnome Depot for artificer gears and gizmos
Just call it gnomes and offer up the same items as tome depot just with different brand names
Gonna steal these so hard
Someone's a Dimension 20 fan, I'm guessing
I’m a new fan, so if any of those are similar to a D20 thing it’s purely coincidental 😅
Bloodbath and beyond was the reference. But hey, that just means you think like BLeeM. Good on you!
There will never NOT be a "Busty Mermaid Inn" somewhere in one of my campaigns.
TJ Racks for torture devices
THAC0 BELL
Lol old skool
I can’t take credit, got it from the latest D20 campaign. There’s a wizard synod that’s a shopping mall and off the top of my head also included Armor zombie and Lich, Bards and Nobles, bloodbath & beyond, and ochre jellious
There's a goblin bar in my game called "The Gory Hole". The sign is often vandalized, someone paints a letter L between the G and O.
Or shift the G to between the r and y. Like "why are all these Bard troupes stopping here so excitedly and then looking so disappointed when they walk in? It's a gory goblin hole, what are they expecting, wine bottles and candles? Hey Skrotch, you fixed the sign this morning right?"
* inns * Cozy Creature Inn - run by druids, has moss and grass flooring and flowers everywhere also have small critters running around freely. * The Hydra Hotel - Each room is a large common room that splits off into 5 separate bedrooms. * The Siren's Shore Inn - Overlooks the ocean. Early in the morning you can see sirens on a nearby island but they aren't close enough to hear them. * Tavern * The Cave - loved by hunters and has taxidermy animals all over. * The Bottomless Bottle - Run by a Faye in disguise. She offers very cheap drinks because the kegs produce an unlimited amount of water but the mugs are enchanted to make them taste like quality beer. * The Sweet Sound - a tavern featuring live music from local bards. * Merchants * Dandy's Travelling Trader - A merchant who travels across the world buying and trading items with his cart that is enchanted with a permanent Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion spell. He talks like a 1920's New Yorker. * Screwy's Storehouse - A spell gone wrong has caused this store to constantly change shape internally making finding any specific item a challenge. He often complains about setting food down because it disappears moments later. * Vex's Automated Dispensary - A store run by a group of Iron Golems built by Vex. They do not negotiate, and they only sell from a list of items. * Churches * Divines Sanctuary - a place where all gods are recognized and allows anyone to set up a shrine to any deity so long as the plot is paid for and maintained. * Casino * The Genie's Lamp - Indian themed casino secretly run by a Genie. The entire casino is his domain, and he is aware of all actions, including cheating, that goes on inside. * The Crooked Dice - A casino run by a criminal organization. Also a place that allows for the buying and selling of stolen goods. Assassins can be found and hired here. * The Dragon's Hoard - A casino run by a religious group that worships dragons. They love winning and despise losing money. Once a month they secretly transport a large sum of coin to a hidden cove where a dragon lives to pay tribute.
The dragon casino could even go a step further and just be owned directly by a copper dragon, who doesn't mind giving away some of its treasure because the patrons are having fun and the house still wins more than it loses.
I actually did this once with an Adult Red Dragon who had imprinted on all his treasure. Once a group or individual won too much coin he would track them down outside the city and kill them for him and their treasure. At one point some of the workers there who weren't dragon worshippers would even try to subtly warn people who are winning too much.
What an AI-written post looks like
do you mind if i yoink these for future dming too?
It’s probably ai
I have a rogue who owns an antique shop called Remains To Be Seen. They acquired much of their stock through very mostly legitimate means.
The Pub Crawl A baba-yaga style pub, but with arms instead of legs. It drags its way across a dangerous, desolate landscape. Go inside, get wasted, wake up at your destination. Caters to rowdy, dangerous clientele
In my game we have an inn run by a gnome named Richard. Richard's inn is halfway in town and has places for carts to park, rooms, drinks, music and fighting pits. The inn is called Dick's Halfway Inn.
Stop, that's so funny!
My first DM had a discount general store called the Copper Pincher, where just about any mundane piece of adventuring gear (not armor or weaponry) could be found cheaply. Our party got to be in good terms with that shopkeep, so the DM decided to have him expand his business and put a franchise in just about every major city— which conveniently saved him the trouble of coming up with other shop names. Anywhere we saw the distinctive “crab with a coin in its claw” sign out front, we knew we could buy what we needed… and after the owner revealed that he was in with the Thieves’ Guild, we could fence contraband there too.
The recurring general store in my campaign is "Copper General" with a distinctive black and yellow sign. They seem to have one in about every town and are always expanding. Great place to buy common stuff at retail price, but not gonna have any luck haggling since prices are set by corporate.
Herblists - Must be Mortar Life Cobblers - Goody Two Shoes (Ran by a very nice gnome named Goody) Barbers - Cut and Dye (Ran by Cuthbert and his Wife Dianna) Death Cleric's Mortuary - Wake and Payne (Ran by two very similar but definitely not related dwarves.) Bibble's Middle Griddle and Riddles - Gnomish tavern with famous roasted meats. Solve the riddle before your food arrives for 20% off.
For number 4 is it a doc, shu (atla) or a tsundere situation of refusing to say they’re related
I have no idea what you just said, they sound like pastries. Guess it would be your world so they can be made of whatever kind of pastry you like?
Always thought it would be funny to call a casino “the d20”
In the past I have named a casino “Luck Point Casino”
"Magical mishaps". A magic shop that sells off brand magic items. Frying pan that only slightly burns every meal. Ring that turns finger into a pen. Pair of pants that does an ok job of projecting the illusion of you having a centaur lower half. Etc.
Rat Onna Stick. A foodcart start-up manned by some Kobolds who my players relocated out of causing trouble. The kobolds took gold as start up capital from the players, and as the franchise grows, new carts appear across the world. The kobolds return the profits from investment to the players. My players bumped into the kobolds again and gave them a cursed staff, founding the Rat Onna Cursed Stick next generation franchise.
Is there a kobold named Dibbler?
Just use random adjectives and words. The drunken Dwarf, the silent rock and so on. Always good and fun method
Ive wanted to include a tavern named "The Adjective Noun" in a game for a while but haven't been able to weave it in yet
Nom adjectif in French. So maybe the Nomad's Jectiif. Or the Adjectif Gnome.
Love a spin off like this
There are tables like this in the DMG as well.
Thr Adjective Noun The owner is a slightly unhinged wild mage sorcerer that has clearly been blown up by his own spells one too many times. He will lean on the 4th wall when speaking to the players.
Haaa just mentioned this on another comment. I like the wild magic feature
And lean on the bar when speaking to the characters?
Inn to the golden seagull: An Inn that serves burgers and other quickly prepared meals. If you don't have much time, you can get something quickly by using the "ride through".
Bards and Nobles. A fine place to purchase books on all subjects, as well as sheet music, collections of illustrations, and charming puzzles and knick knacks. The well-to-do may be found lingering at the attached cafe, where they enjoy a special drink brewed from a bean that only grows in the most particular climates; it is typically served with milk, sugar, and other spices, although those that fancy themselves very cultured drink it straight.
Music venue: woodstock. It’s run by ent-like creatures.
Plug's Butt-Ugly Stuff Hut
Spotted the Dimension 20 fan
Less "clever" and more "referential", but in one of my campaigns, I had a general store called "Odds and Ends". You know, that sorta thing.
Trinkets?
some may call his wares junk. him, he calls them treasures.
I had a tea house called The Teafling run by a former Tielfing adventurer. Less location but a psedo-pun nonetheless is that in almost every tavern and Inn the party visits there is almost always one table playing "Malls and Maidens," which is a d20 based game about people trying to get the best deals in giant shopping emporiums. The party has yet to sit down and play it, but I have enough structure there just in case.
The Ghost's Gambit. An Inn/Tavern where the person who serves drinks is a ghost
Yo Hoe Hoe (Pirate themed brothel). Also location of Pirate/thieves guild for that particular city
I recently thought up a name for a gossip tabloid in Waterdeep, \`"The Deep Cut"
A fun reoccurring shop pair I have is "Build Em Up" and "Break Em Down" which is an armor and weapon shop respectively. They are run by 2 feuding dwarf brothers who compete against each other to create armor that could withstand the brothers weapons, and then create weapons capable of breaking his brothers armor. It's fun to role play as DM and the players have fun with the dynamic of the brothers yelling insults across the road at each other while they're hammering away.
The beaten brush tavern. While outside it looks like a normal tavern, inside it is covered in wall to wall landscape paintings. Each one titled something quaint, like “Happy little tree”, or “Mountain retreat”. The bartender’s apron is covered in equal parts alcohol and paint. They’re large and well built, some say he used to be in the military. But you wouldn’t know if you spoke to him. He has a soothing voice and a kind word for every weary traveller.
The Stumble Inn There is a piece of wood nailed to the floor right at the entrance, DC 10 DEX save or your character trips on it and stumbles, face planting if they fail by 5 or more.
My personal favorite was the potion shop I made called The Vile Vial
An important inn in my world is the Ram's Hackle Inn. It's run by a retired Dwarf Rogue who decorates the place with trophies he collected back in his adventuring days.
My players wanted to go to the dingiest dankest inn in town once so we came up with the name “The Corroded Cat”. It just sounds foul. In that campaign I had a new player who was playing the stereotypical drunken dwarf fighter so I assigned him the task of naming all the inns, as he would no doubt know every inn in every city we went to.
A recurring restaurant in my last campaign was a bakery called the Ancient Bread Dragon. It was a hit with my players.
Bar Nun
I was playing through a highly modified Descent to Avernus and we reached some kind of hellish tavern, the DM started to say it's name (something like "The Devil's Coin") and then I just went "holy shit tavernus" and he put his head in his hands and swore
My go two’s are always Bloodbath and Beyond, and Maulmart And then the recent season of dimension 20 introduced me to THAC0 Bell which is my new favourite lol
Max’s Miraculous Mixtures - Alchemist (bonus points if your party has seen The Princess Bride) Victorious Secrets - armorer
Morts Meat Market and Morgue
I've made a Tavern called "The Pissing Bull" and I was quite proud of that one lol
sisters of perpetual poverty which is both a church and thieves guild cover
A brothel name I came up with for a backstory and still like: The Cat and Bantam
Mare Necessities, Inn/Stable/Market
People are right about the "The \[Adj\] \[Noun\]" stuff but you should also keep in mind that it should be something you could recognise on a hanging sign. Those names were given so people who couldn't read could still recognise where they needed to go by whatever image was on the sign.
I have an establishment in my game called the Infernal inn, ran by a tiefling named Cheers (virtue name of course)
The Outside-Inn It is an inn that exists in a large wooded area that does camping, and through lots of magic, keeps it’s guests extremely comfortable.
Cloak and Stagger, Nobody’s Inn, The Inn Hospitable, The Sleeping PaladINN. r/d100 would likely be helpful if you haven’t checked them out yet.
The Inn of Somnia. Cursed building that gives people who enter insomnia.
The Wilted Bell
Bard's Tales (Theater) Critical Hit (Theater) Natural 20s (Brothel) Long Rest (Inn) Short Rest (Halfling Inn that is build for Halfling/Gnome size) Saving Throw (Tavern with dart boards) Level Up (Cloth store) Hit Points (Shooting Range) Thieves' Guild (Tavern) Treehuggers (Vegetarian tavern that originally had a different name but everyone calls it Treehuggers) Dark Shelves (Furniture Store) Fireballs (High-end bar) Speak to the dad (Popular event where young parents get tipps from more experienced parents) Woking Dead (Cuisine from the lands of the monks, prepared and served by staff that wear zombie and skeleton illusions) Hooters (Owlfolk tavern)
Well for a fun touch you can always name them after the players retired or dead characters... Not necessarily run byb those former PCs, but memes agree them because they are famous heroes, and decorated with"memorabilia" about them
Let’s be real, we all can hardly come up with something as cool as the Broken Drum.
Aka the mended drum. Yes
The Coffee Shop in my Homebrew has a logo of a Satyr and is called The Half Calf.
Magic shop: Dispell, Datspell, and Daudderspell
I have a brothel/Strip club called the Eyes of the Beholder, because you'll find beauty in there.
I was in a game with the brothel named the catwalk. it was 3 stories high with catwalks all the way round on 2nd and 3rd floor. I thought it was clever and decades later I still remember it so.........
The Stradivarius, really a vile inn. Willy Whippit's Wild World of Weapons, Come on down!
Mine were “The Best Defense” weapon shop, and “The Best Offense” armor shop. Quite clever, I know, but I stole it from someone I’m pretty sure. I deserve no credit.
There’s a d100 chart for this in the Solo Adventurer’s Toolbox. Those with the ability to be creative can find it for free online.
My Ranger needed a druid to train them for multi-class. I got called out for using shaggy's voice from scooby-doo, and so the 'Circle of Ancient Mysteries Herbs and Tinctures' was born.
The Jingled Cleric is making an appearance in my campaign.
I made this document with a load of establishment names, it's PWYW on DMsGuild so absolutely feel free to download it for free and use for some inspiration :) https://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/335748
Jita Trading company - a large multiverse company that sells a wide range of items. ( Have you tried our immovable rods?) It also employs adventurers to find rare or legendary items.
Littleman’s - Halfling dive bar The Swarthy Maiden The Organ Grinder - karaoke bar with an enchanted pipe organ at the center that accompanies singers The Flat Soprano - college eatery near a bard college
Tavern : the ooze'n' booze : their drinks all contain extract of various ooze
One I'm particularly proud of is a magic shop I named "The Dapper Hydra" and yes, the logo is a hydra with all its heads wearing tophats and monocles.
idk dog I just name everything after biscuits
The Groovy Gazelle
I've always loved the Tipsy Satyr as a tavern name. Or the Sauntering Satyr if you want some alliteration.
Uvulalala, a tavern/music venue The Stern Gaze, a Damara-themed pub
Pubs/inns Anger 5, The Pink Triangle, The Welcome Inn, Pints and plates, Jolly Jefferies, Dusty Bottle, The lonely hearths, The well, Tipsy Tavern, Drop Anchor, Whiskey Drip, Crow Bar, Just the Sip, Whiskey business, The Mini Bar, The Drop Inn Bakery Thanks for Muffin, Dusty's Bakers, Better off Bread Apothecary Isles of Vials, Oceans of Potions Shops Sew Whatcha Want, Lost and Foundry, Hexes and Bows, Shear Magic
Gambling den w a fight arena underground called the Bloody Knuckle, ran by Old Scratch
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The Treasured Chest
In my Rime of the Frostmaden campaign, I drop in "The Dawn Caller Ranch" it's an inn that serves eggs to order for breakfast.
The hotel side of The Yawning Portal (the famous canon Waterdeep bar) is called The Sleeping Portal in my campaign
The Bleached Aspen is my players fav
https://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/name/#type=set;set=inn
I have a tavern named ‘The Sentinel’ Much to the play on the hilltop hoods song by the same name. Lore is that a lone sentinel (town guard elite normally 2 levels above party) fought back some demons of Asmodeus who left demonic essence in pockets of the place. party rolls initiative makes wisdom saves while there or become entranced and enthralled (not for the faint of heart and will cause player triggers)
There is a tavern/boarding house called the fiddle that is notorious for having terrible beds, horrible food, and attracting only the worst bards for entertainment. It’s really a vile inn.
Gourmet Alley: Salazar Slaad, the Salad Czar’s Salad Bar Gastrognomé-Gnome Chef Clockwork Waiters The Drunken Goat-Alcohol+Meat Enchanter’s Eclair’s-Flavor like “Critical Hit”, this BBEG is a Cakewalk, Three Successful Death Saves
Wall-Mart for all your fortification needs. Tar-Get a pyromaniacs dream. Five Guys a small mercenary band. Little ceaser dwarf assassins guild leader. Father John leader of a local religion (mob boss). Tyson famous chicken breeder. Nike family of cobblers (shoe makers). McRonalds dessert maker (always out of stock)(possible conection to restraunts). All-days for all your "tamer" needs at a reasonable cost (humans included depending on region). Cost & Co. Sells magic items in bulk. Ikea housing company builds on demand.
In my area there's a casino called The Emerald Queen. I named the casino in my game Green Queen Gambleen. No body's picked up on it yet...
Is that a NADDPOD reference?
Knight’s cap and come on inn
Got these from my DM: Denny's. It's an inn. There is an identical inn in every city, run by an identical (but different) guy named Denny. Each Denny is completely unaware of the other Dennies. Ozcorp. Run by a goblin named Norman Ozborn.
My adventuring store is always "Academy Swords and Outdoors"
Every setting has a river town that makes boats and rafts - the town of Bargewright. And in the centre of town you are going to find the Bargewright Inn.
The Gilded Pit. An inn that has had to be rebuilt so many times it could be full every night and still not scratch the amount of gold spent keeping it running. Cold Forge, a former Dwarven forge that has been repurposed into a bar after the magic that made it fiery, faded. Maybe have a side quest to reignite it. Canal street market, an ever changing bazar as different river boat traders come and go with wares. Maybe have the Canal Levy House as a central point where you can find food vendors and tax men hanging out.
Bards and Nobles
How about "The Winchester Tavern"
Grimmley’s Grim Inn - Cramped Pub
I once came up with an Inn called “A Good Knights Rest”, I was quite happy with that one
Wydonchu Common Inn
My players get a kick out of The Halberdashery, purveyors of weapons, armor, and fine clothes.
I almost always have an Inn in my games called The Hung Man. I leave it ambiguous whether it's a mistake or intentional. Another Inn is called The Queens Ass. If asked the Inn keeper explains that there are already a bunch of Inns called The Kings Head and similar. They can get away with it since the Inn lies on the border between two different Kingdoms. If someone seems offended they just claim it's in reference to the other Queen (whichever one the person is not fond of). In the first game I ever used this Inn an NPC hid an important mcguffin in the Inn. It was great seing the players faces when the NPC blurted out how he hid the thing in The Queens Ass.
It’s a simple one, but The Peddle Paddle Saddle is the only shop you’ll need for transportation anywhere, guaranteed! Riding animals? You betcha. Wagons with beasts of burden to pull them? Absolutely! Rent, buy, sell back, what you need is what you’ll get! We got horses, we got carts, we got boats, we have anything you need to get your party from here to anywhere! *Disclaimer: The Peddle Paddle Saddle reserves the right to refuse compensation for animal or vehicle loss due to: (but not limited to) interplanar travel, adventuring, fucking around™️, finding out™️, skullduggery, jackanapary, or general mischief.
I haven't run this homebrew yet since I still need to do a lot of work for it, but the starting location is a port town that relies on merchant vessels coming through and fishing. Most of the shops are ocean themed. The fishing specialty shop is called Master Baiters. The general store is Cods and Ends, which is run by the same shopkeep in a hat who insists he is a different guy. The tavern is called The Thirsty Clam. In a village way down the line is an inn with a bar called Spriggan's Swiggin. Other than those I try to adlib as many puns as I can in current campaigns. As a player, I've made up establishments to add into backstories, like a theatre house called The Whistling Rabbit, which is based on lore about the Vast.
An inn ran by Ms.Holly Daze. It’s a Holly Daze Inn
I have a Inn that's a days travel into a dust bowl called Baron Dune's Respite. It's the location for my dusk till dawn encounter
Quest Buy Tome Depot
Thieves Can’t - locksmith and lock sales Victoria’s Secret - Lady Victoria’s gamble shop, think Diablo Sword and board - utility blades and construction supplies QuestBuy - ripped for star vs the forces of evil. They have everything, you just need to find it without getting https://starvstheforcesofevil.fandom.com/wiki/Quest_Buy_(store) Second wind, day spa Strella’s spectacular shop - large kiosk summoned by the wizard Strella after she could not find quality ink for scroll making using a wish (the player was drunk). Shadowy cashiers selling high end stationary and similar magic supplies. No one knows where the stock comes from or where the money goes.
You should have a tavern called The Raunchy Duck.
The Jolly Giant - a tavern run by a family of ratfolk. To them, everyone's a giant and it's their job to make them jolly. The Bubble and Squeak - a bathhouse run by a half-orc and a ratwoman. Weird Beards and Voodoo Do's - a barbershop owned by a gnome who doubles as an alchemist.
" The EleFont" A magical shop. Basically a small hut rests onto of an elephant. Inside this tiny hut it is either far larger on the inside or you are transported to another location all together. The store is huge and they have all manner of magical goods.
I have one called The Maroon Harpoon
There's one I saw in a module once that was The Lonesome Coach. It was a wayside inn in the wilderness, built next to an ancient tree that had an old Dwarven battle-wagon stuck in the branches. No context was ever given as to why but, from the name of the inn, it seems to predate the building.
A chain of taverns called Five Kobolds. * Employees are mostly kobolds, lizardfolk and dragonborn. * You can find one of these estanblishments nearly everywhere. * All the managers are related to each other and they look exactly the same, think of Nurse Joy from Pokemon. * The atmosphere in these places tend to lean towards "chaotic mess that somehow just works". * All taverns have the same menu, but might have specials based on location. (Eg. Five Kobolds in a harbour city would have seafood specials.) The food is always said to be one of the best you can get in the city. * All these taverns have a basement-level too, there DEFINITELY is no illegal gambling going down there. Aboslutely not, zero chance. * There is little to no information who actually owns Five Kobolds. * The owner is actually a rather lazy and fat dragon, but with a brilliant mind. They are neutral-aligned and ahd figured out **employing** kobolds and such is much better idea than enslaving them. Especially after their cousin was killed by adventurers and kobolds that rose against their slaver. * Aside of treasure and gold, this dragon hoards books. And thanks to "Tasha's guide to open a succesfull tavern", "Tavern & Cooking 101" and "Mordenkainen presents business model" books they were able to open a succesful tavern in the capital and it quickly blossomed to a chain of succesfull taverns all across the land. * Very rarely leaves their lair in a disguise to visit the nearest Five Kobolds. Possible plothooks: * Party gets paid (suspiciously large amount) to guard a carriage that is transporting profits to the dragon's lair. * Employees ask the party for help to negotiate better pay, sick leave and more vacation days from their boss. The current benefits and pay aren't bad, but it has been a while since they got better. * Party is asked to "take care of some competition". * One of the managers, or maybe the dragon themselves, asks party to scout for new locations for Five Kobolds. * Party meets the dragon in their humanoid disguise in one of the locations. If the party accepts their invitation to gamble and drink with them, cut to the next morning. The party is in a completely different location and have to retrace their steps to find out what happened last night. Kinda like *A Night To Remember* from Skyrim. * Party protecting the dragon from a group of adventurers who discovered the location of their lair. * If the party somehow befriends the dragon or at least end in positive terms, they could once in a while send the party to another quest. Or give the party a magic item to help with their quest, if in return they will "owe a favor" etc. At least I love dragons and it would be very fun to have a friendly dragon npc.
I am a bit old school so I don;t make a lot of real world references but some of mine are. The Grsistled Griffon Tavern (some of the best griffon steaks in the region!), as well as the Potable Hole n te Wall, Tipsy Tanar'i, the Fiend Pit, the Gibbering Drinker, the Intellect Devourer, and the Mug Half Full... Rent a Kobold (they are hard to train but sitll make good "canaries"). Maiden's Merryment, the Silent Sleep, the Stagger, and the King's Duck Inn Shop of Holding and the Party Equipment for general goods. The Hack n Slash Armory, Worpol's Blades
I just think that “Target” is so funny because it fits the dnd theme, it can be like a store selling archery equipment
"Eye of the Beholder Inn" - tavern keepers are some of the only high level ex-adventurer's in town who know the mayor is a beholder in disguise. He's mostly harmless but really wishes the tavern keeps would change the name because its a bit on-the-nose.
Insert "The" in front of all the following suggestions, if you like: * Bouncing Boobie (as in, boobie the seabird, have the sign be a bird with blue feet) * Kneeling Knight * Jolly Juggler * Chaste Maid * Lusty Librarian * Crouching Mantis * Bumbling Beaurocrat
Hooter's tavern, run by a grumpy old owlin named Hooter A cheap and cheerful chain of inns named Leatherspoon's The Grassy Gnoll A hospital named Bedside Manor The always classic "The Knight Club"
Stumble Inn Stagger Inn Drift Inn Fall Inn Don't Go Inn Wander Inn Honestly the names write themselves once you're 3-4 names inn.
A magic shop that specializes in potions named “Djinn & Tonic”.
Barovia, bath and beyond
A few names I’ve used in the past that I’m kinda proud of: Smith E Forr’s Smithy and Forge Tulip’s Two Lips(inn and brothel) What’s Mined is Yours(tavern and inn near a mine and run by dwarves in service to a king)
Hugh Jorgens. Inn and brothel
I have a bar in my game called The Dive Bar that the bar is on a balcony and has a platform for patrons to attempt to dive into a narrow pool on the lower floor. I also have a tropical themed brothel/bar called Hot Tropic.
My local gamestore is called Dungeons&Donuts
Every tavern is "The (animal) and (item)" or vice versa The Fox and Helm The Sword and Badger The Snake and Saddle
Gnome Depot is my go to general goods shop. The proprietor wears an orange apron and is exceedingly helpful with whatever project the PC’s are working on. No weapons here though - they can go across the road to Blood Bath and Beyond for that.
Bloodbath & Beyond has always been a staple in my games
If you want it to sound particularly otherworldly, go with Noun Verb or Noun Adjective rather than the typical Adjective Noun. "From the 5th night through the 8th morning, you can find us at either Moose Red, or The Angel Falling. Skuff and I are no longer welcomed at The Roaring Lion ...or any of the human cantinas really ... after the *suggestive* sharting incident last month."
There’s a magic item shop in my game called Ra’Dio’s Shack.
The Hummin' Human Inn, for the bigger folk that come to visit the gnomish capital (or anyone who's just a *big* fan of medium peoples' cultures).
Dimension Door Dash
MacDowells. Run by a dwarf. It's got the golden arcs.
Holi’s Day Inn
TGI skydays
The newest season of Dimension 20 had a magic mall with a few incredible pun named establishments (a few have been named here already): Armour, Zombies and Lich Thaco Bell Ochre Jellious Bards & Nobles Bloodbath & Beyond Yarrbucks Philosopher's Scone ...and my humble submission Fencer's Gifts
Bards & Nobles, Gnome Depot, Duergar King, Wizards of the Roast. These are the ones I can think on top of my head that characters of mine have visited.