Encounter at the Broken Banner

I run a game with a steampunk airship crew, skirting the edges of the law and of solvency in a newly minted Empire in what was once a high fantasy world. They’d bounced between a few jobs and had made a few friends, but I wanted to introduce a fellow airship smuggler as a contact for later down the line. I wanted them to be memorable, friendly, but not necessarily trustworthy; and of questionable judgment - so they could fill whatever role I might need later! So I introduced them to Captain Borda, an Orcish smuggler.

The crew had been making their way generally north following another plotline, doing odd jobs along the way to help defray fuel costs. This stop marked their entry into the Badlands, where the orcs, ogres, goblins, and other less savory races were pushed during the Empire’s expansion across the continent. Johnny, the crew’s halfling Face, had heard about a quick & easy job for a transport like theirs whose crew understood discretion. The crew, familiar with how these things go, was immediately on guard - but decided to at least hear the offer. Captain Borda asked to meet them at a local tavern; everyone decided to come along (4 PCs, and Johnny the DMPC).

They arrived a few hours after dark at the Broken Banner, which turned out to be a large, busy establishment serving the locals. None of the crew are greenskins - a few are from other minority races (and get occasional flak from NPCS for it), but they all clearly didn’t belong here. After talking their way past the bouncers and checking their weapons at the door, they got a view of the main floor of the tavern - and it was packed! All the local races were represented - orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, a few ogres, even a troll were crammed in around a dozen tables and booths. A local band was playing a slow, moody piece in Orcish (we checked at this point if anyone knew the language; nobody decided they should). After a moment’s searching, and being eyeballed thoroughly in turn by some of the other patrons, Captain Borda recognized Johnny from across the room, and waved them enthusiastically to his table.

The crew made their way cautiously through the crowd to Borda’s table, on the far side away from the doors and next to an open space where the band was playing. Aside from some rough jostling that they ignored, they made it safely to the table. The captain greeted them warmly: “You’re just in time! The band just started, these guys are amazing!” He got them settled around the table, waved to the bartender to send drinks over, and started inquiring about their ship while the brooding, gravelly voiceof the singer chanted on.

After a minute or two of this, the tavern was rent by a crashing blast of sound, accompanied by what was recognizably an Orcish battle cry. On cue, most of the patrons leapt from their seats and stormed towards them!

The crew had one second to react before the first of the patrons reached them (this is in GURPS, so a combat round is one second). Johnny moved to the backline, the dragon-blooded captain moved to grab Captain Borda as a potential hostage, the dwarf engineer grabbed a chair as a makeshift club, the four-armed coleopteran (beetle-person) braced to meet the charge, and the satyr… asked to make a general Perception check.

She rolled three 1s - a critical success!

She noticed that Captain Borda was shaking, and suppressing a mirthful grin. And, since it was the strongest crit you can roll, she also realized the other customers were actually running to the open space next to them. She seized one of the arms of the coleopteran, stopping him just long enough to let the customers reach the dance floor, where they started dancing violently, joyfully pushing and shoving each other to the now raucous beat. At this point, Captain Borda burst out laughing, and answered their glares with “What? Never seen a mosh pit?!”

The players groaned, and most of them ended up joining the mosh. They even talked little Johnny into jumping in, once they noticed goblins in the crowd. They couldn’t talk the poor dwarf into joining in, though!

Once their business was concluded, the crew’s captain also spotted Borda getting quietly chewed out by the bartender. It sounded like the bartender did not share Borda's sense of humor, he caught phrases like “safety of my customers” and “dignity of our people”! Borda snuck a wink at them when he realized they were watching. The job turned out to be genuine as well - an honest misdirection of an Imperial interceptor who had been chasing Borda, for which they received a portion of the take.