Rank 9 of 14
The Innkeeper
“She’ll lend an ear, but you’re paying for the beer.”
She's poured more drinks than the kingdom has laws, and listened to more secrets than the Royal Advisor ever will.
Once a travelling bard, now grounded by stiff knees and stronger liquor, she runs the Old Pub with one hand on the bar and the other keeping the peace between knights, peasants and drunk nobles who “swear they know the King personally.”
She doesn't tolerate nonsense, unless it's funny. Her apron has hidden pockets for flasks, bandages and unsolicited advice. Her tongue cuts deeper than a sword, but her warm heart keeps the regulars coming back. Nobody remembers when she started working there. Everyone agrees the place would fall apart without her.
Four copies, four lines
There are four Innkeeper cards in the deck, and each one says something different.
- She’ll lend an ear, but you’re paying for the beer.
- Has a kind heart, but don’t ask about her political views.
- The kingdom’s unofficial therapist – being drunk is the price.
- She will listen to your problems, but care about none.
In the game: beats ranks 1–8, loses to 10–14 and the Crown. See card ranks.
The real medieval innkeeper
In England around 1300, much of the ale was brewed and sold by women, known as alewives or brewsters. When a batch was ready, the brewer hung an ale-stake over the door: a pole with a bush or garland on the end, the medieval version of a neon sign.
Then came the ale-taster, a local official who checked that the ale was decent and sold at the legal price. Our Innkeeper doesn't need a pole over the door. Everyone already knows where she is.
More medieval jobs, and the world they live in: the world of Crown Shuffle.
Want to play the Innkeeper?
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