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118 Tavern Names

How many campaigns have you played where the DM started the campaign by stating “The party is in a tavern and an old man walks up to you with a job offer.”

Now my normal response is “What’s the name of the tavern?”

To which most DMs respond it doesn’t matter.

The problem is it does. Call me a stickler, but I like names for locations and I really like tavern names. They are amongst the most interesting locations in D&D to name and the very name can mean any number of things. A good tavern name adds atmosphere to the game and can become a place of fond memories for the players.

On the way home today I passed a van advertising a local restaurant, The Mermaid and the Oyster. My immediate thought was that I need to have a pint there.

So in the spirit of providing every DM with the name for a tavern to start a campaign in, here’s a monster of a list.

  1. The Bull and the Bear
  2. The Lost Shepherd
  3. The Three Arrows
  4. The Three Bucks
  5. The Three Castles
  6. The Three Crowns
  7. The Three Cups
  8. The Three Hammers
  9. The Three Swords
  10. The Kings Key
  11. The Silver Lion
  12. The Silver Dragon
  13. The Golden Serpent
  14. The Lonely Shepherd
  15. The Lost Key
  16. The Hermit
  17. The Prancing Pony
  18. The Masons Arms
  19. The Kings Own
  20. The Kings Arms
  21. Rose and Crown
  22. The Royal Oak
  23. The Serpent
  24. The Siren
  25. The Cyclopses Second Eye
  26. The Medussa’s Head
  27. The Queen’s Arms
  28. The Queen’s Head
  29. The Nuttery
  30. The Crooked Inn
  31. The Drovers
  32. Jinty McGuinties
  33. Cock and Bull
  34. The Cat and Fiddle
  35. The Serpents Den
  36. The Phoenix
  37. The Nag’s Head
  38. The Hydra
  39. Lion & Lamb
  40. The Cross Keys
  41. The White Lion
  42. The Fountain
  43. The Straggler
  44. The Den
  45. The Bullseye
  46. The Coach and Four
  47. The Judge and Jury
  48. The Dirty Sack
  49. Last Call Tavern
  50. The Mandolin
  51. The Flying Nymph
  52. The Last Wish
  53. The Cauldron
  54. The Wizards Staff
  55. The Wench
  56. The Donkey’s Goose
  57. The Devil’s Bridge
  58. The Devil’s Brigade
  59. Graves Tavern
  60. Vecna’s Folly
  61. The Armoured Duck
  62. The Unicorn
  63. The First Arms and Unicorn
  64. The Duke of (insert town name)
  65. The Hound
  66. The Dirty Goat
  67. The White Key
  68. The Fox
  69. The Cooper
  70. The Angel and the Dragon
  71. The Royal Eagle
  72. The Brazen Hare
  73. The Firkin
  74. The Rose
  75. The Hound and Stag
  76. The Bloody Fist
  77. The Bloody Sword
  78. The Blue Cup
  79. The Broken Prayer
  80. The Centaur’s Hoof
  81. The Destitute Priest
  82. The Excited Fish
  83. A Potion and a Prayer
  84. The Immortal
  85. The Butcher
  86. The Vulgar Dutchess
  87. The Quiet Harpy
  88. The Laughing Fox
  89. The Angelic Imp
  90. The Staggering Paladin
  91. The Angry Orc
  92. The Dragon’s Breath
  93. The Dancing Wanderer
  94. The Watering House
  95. The Rogue Archer
  96. The Broken Sword
  97. The House of Shattered Dreams
  98. The Nine Knights
  99. The Toothless Orc
  100. The House of Lost Memories
  101. The Scribe
  102. The Gargoyle’s Perch
  103. The Dirty Vixen
  104. The Maiden Head
  105. The Pearl
  106. The Lonely Gazebo
  107. The Weary Wanderer
  108. Lands End Inn
  109. The Black Dog
  110. The King’s Stag
  111. The Devious Dog
  112. The Troll’s Toll
  113. The Empty Cup
  114. The Weeping Minotaur
  115. The Highwayman
  116. The Bawdy Boar
  117. The Alchemist’s Brew
  118. Ye Olde Tavern

What tavern names have you used or been exposed to during your campaigns? What stories have resulted from those names?

Tags: 4eD&DDM ResourcesDungeon's MasterDungeon's Master ResourcesDungeons and Dragonspub namestavern names
Wimwick (Neil Ellis):

View Comments (32)

  • If you use some of the real world tavern names from that list, you can find matching songs to put on your soundtrack, if you're into that thing.

    Tom, feeling inspired

    O what has become of the old Rose and Crown /
    The Ship, The King's Arms, and the World Upside Down ...

  • Our campaign trends silly, and human establishments traditionally follow an "adjective-noun-starting-with-same-sound" convention. So Prancing Pony would fit. We have the Pickled Platypus, the Merry Maiden (a brothel -- the name made more sense when they first opened), and the Weeping Will-O-Wisp.

  • Who couldn't use more Inn names

    Vulgar Unicorn (personal favorite)
    The Office
    Bronze Dragon
    Silver Mandolin
    Dragon Slayer
    Dragon's lair
    Fool's Tavern
    Tigers Head
    Diamond Realm
    The Parlor
    Staggering Lion
    The Power
    The Rowdy Bar
    Hell's Kitchen

  • A few times when players asked me the name of the inn I replied without thinking "The Green Dragon". Eventually they noticed they all had the same name, while I hadn't realized I'd given them all the same name. They started making jokes about inn franchising :-)

  • Well, there are many many tavern names to choose from..... But I like this one the best:
    The Dirty Dungeon
    You can actually pull a trick with this one. When the players enter, tell them that they have entered the Dirty Dungeon. They'll be so confused because they though they entered a tavern... After that you can get a good laugh out of it.

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