I Cast...Brainstorm bonus issue!

In partnership with

In this bonus issue of I Cast…Brainstorm! we expand on the Harthen Home Inn from issue 05

I was kicking around some additional ideas for the Harthen Home that didn’t make it into issue 5, so I thought I’d release a bonus issue just to get them out there. Issue 6 will drop on our normal schedule — Fridays at 5:00 pm PT — on May 16.

If you’d like to read the original Harthen Home post, its at the end of the issue.

As always, you can say hello, share feedback, and let me know what you’d like to see in the newsletter at [email protected].

You can now find us on Instagram and Bluesky. And please share our ‘subscribe’ link with your friends and fellow gamers, so they can join us, too. https://icastbrainstorm.beehiiv.com/

In this bonus issue

• More fun for the Harthen Home Inn

  • Extended Cast of Characters

  • Possible Events

• The Harthen Home Inn

  • First Floor

  • Second floor

  • Cellar

  • About the Harthen Home Inn

  • Cast of Characters

• Ye Olde Shoppe

More fun for the Harthen Home Inn

Extended Cast of Characters

Allint Crowstone
Adult LN Guard — ambitious, fearless, incredibly strong
Allint and his younger brother Pell are two of Sir Swindley’s guards, and recent additions to Garagol’s command. Allint has proven himself an excellent guard. His bravery and considerable strength are both incredibly valuable, but its his ambition that drives him — he sees himself in Garagol’s position as head of Sir Swindley’s guard, sooner or later.

Pell Crowstone
Young adult CG Guard — friendly, respectful, reckless at times
Pell is on his first assignment as a guard, the newest recruit in Garagol’s command. He took the job because the pay is good, the risk is relatively low, and he respects Garagol, but mostly because he idolizes Allint, and would do anything for his approval. Pell has a lot to learn about being a guard, and this lack of knowledge, along with a youthful lack of self-awareness, causes him to act recklessly and irresponsibly at times.

Maha Sen Halkan
Middle-aged LG Guard — wiry, terse, loyal
Maha has been a guard for Sir Swindley for years — an old-timer close to retirement, (if he lives that long). He’s worked for Garagol for a long time, and is incredibly loyal to the Oathsworn. He has survived more than a few scrapes due to both Garagol’s leadership and sword-arm, and takes it upon himself to watch his boss’ back at all times.

Salondra Baye
Middle-aged CN Commoner — whip-smart, untrustworthy, selfish
Salondra has been working for the Wystkins for five years, and has been stealing from them since her first day. She’s careful not to take anything that would be immediately missed — usually a coin here and there, or the odd bit of cutlery she can pawn. Two months ago, Denikka gave her the key to one of the suites to deliver to a guest, and Salondra made a tracing of the key before handing it off. She paid a blacksmith from a town a few days away to create a duplicate key for her, and though the cost was dear, she’s hoping that one night soon she’ll be able to slip into the suite and steal enough to escape to a far off place and live out her days in comfort.

Tetian Redbowe
Adult CE Fiend Cultist — charming, funny, devious
Tetian is a traveling merchant who travels from town to town via a covered wagon pulled by a single sturdy horse. There’s an 80% chance that Tetian will have 1d4 of any common mundane item the PCs ask about, but his specialty is ancient relics, which he loves to buy, but will rarely sell. If asked, Tetian will reveal a few items on his person he is willing to part with, (the DM can decide on 1d4 common magic items, 1d2 uncommon, and if the PCs are an appropriate level, 1 rare magic item).

Tetian is charming and talkative, but his charm hides the soul of a fanatical fiend cultist. Once a month, Tetian seeks out a new victim to sacrifice to his dark god, usually by luring them to his wagon to see something of great value. When alone with the person, Tetian subdues them with his great strength, then places them in the wagon and takes them somewhere remote to offer to his dark god. Hidden inside the wagon is a book of fiendish rites, and small “trophies” from each of the dozens of his previous victims. On the day the PCs reach the Harthen Home, Tetian is eyeing both Hrina and Salondra as potential targets.

Possible Events

The Harthen Home is a relatively safe place the PCs can rest when traveling, and though they could simply spend the night and move on, there are a few different events you could trigger while they’re there. Choose any or all of the ideas below, give the PCs a chance to hear or see something that will pique their interest or raise a red flag, and see what happens!

• Tetian tries to lure Hrina or Salondra to his wagon, promising them a glimpse of a valuable and ancient jeweled ring he’s just acquired.
• Crispin sneaks into the Wystkin’s residence to recon the layout and search for the item he’s supposed to recover. If he finds Denikka alone, he’s happy to “close the contract”, so to speak, but he won’t risk being discovered, yet.
• Garagol mentions Crispin’s hidden daggers to Sir Swindley as a warning to stay away. Instead, that night Swindley tells Pell (who has guard-duty in Swindley’s suite) that he’s stepping out to speak to Denikka, and instead he tries to stealthily spy on Crispin as “research”. Crispin will almost immediately become aware of the spying noble, and won’t take kindly to the attention.
• Laer and Hrina will finally have a real conversation, during which they’ll leave the inn for a late night walk along the road.
• Salondra will see Sir Swindley leave his suite, and will sneak in to see what she can steal. Inside, she finds Pell sound asleep in a chair.
• Something voracious breaks through the wall in the basement and climbs up the stairs to the kitchen looking for a meal.

The original Harthen Home post is below the following ad. My goal is to keep I Cast…Brainstorm free for everyone, and clicking on the ad below will help me do that, so thank you. Also, I’m a fan and subscriber of 1440 — its a fantastic source for unbiased news — and you might like it, too.

The Daily Newsletter for Intellectually Curious Readers

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Join for free today!

The Harthen Home Inn

(originally published in issue 5 — May 9, 2025)

Harthen Home is a roadside inn, situated along any well-traveled road, at least a day or two by horseback from the closest towns. Below is a description of the building and some characters to fill it, which you can use as is, or as a leaping off point for your own creation. And if you need a map or two, Reddit and DM’s guild are both good resources. There are also a lot of talented map creators out there like CZRPG, and I personally love using Dungeon Alchemist to create my own, too. Adjust the descriptions below to match your favorite map.

First Floor

Most of the first floor is a common area with tables and benches in the middle of the room, and booths along the walls, warmed by a large fireplace centered on the wall opposite the front door. Oil lamps in wall sconces provide additional light at night, and leaded glass windows to either side of the front door, (which faces the road) provide light during the day. A counter at one end of the room is where the proprietor, Denikka Wystkin can be found greeting guests, preparing drinks and taking food orders, with the jangling from a large ring of keys she wears at her hip responding to her every movement. Behind the counter is a saloon door that leads to the kitchen, where Denikka’s spouse Harth scurries about as he prepares meals with the help of a few cooks and servers.

Denikka Wystkin (Middle-aged CN Tough Boss — friendly, fastidious, brawny)
Harthen Wystkin (Adult CG Commoner — short, nimble, distracted)

The kitchen contains a fireplace, stove, washbasin, and large butcher block table. A narrow stairway in one corner leads down into the cellar, and an exterior door opens to the back of the building. An open doorway leads to a well-stocked pantry, and a door next to the pantry is the entrance to a small suite of rooms where the Wystkins live, consisting of two bedrooms, an office, a washroom, and a comfortable living area.

Treasure — a metal box hidden under a removable floorboard in the Wystkin’s office contains the bulk of their savings. A DC 18 (Wisdom) Perception check in the proper corner will reveal the worn edge of the floorboard that can be lifted to reveal the box. The box is locked, (Denikka carries the key on her ring of keys), and can be picked with a DC 22 (Dexterity) Thieves Tools check. Inside is 715 gp, 72 pp, 3 diamonds worth 200 gp each, and a Rare magic item, (a souvenir from Denikka’s adventuresome youth).

Across the common room from the counter and kitchen is a wide interior stairway leading to the second floor, as well as a side door that leads outside to the stables. The stables are large enough for sixteen horses and three carriages or wagons, and appears well-tended by the Wystkin’s son Laer — a hulking teenager in a leather apron. Around to the back of the establishment are three outhouses, a wooden bulkhead door which opens to a stone stairway leading to the cellar, and a paved path from the exterior kitchen door to a well, (about twenty feet away).

Laer Wystkin (Teen LG Tough — happy, heavily muscled, never stops moving)

Second floor

The stairs from the common room lead to a sitting area with a fireplace and overstuffed chairs, lit by oil lamps. Across from the fireplace are four doors — three lead to small rooms with a bed, chair, and small table set with a wash basin and pitcher. The fourth door opens on a larger room with three beds, a table and three chairs, and a small table with a wash basin and pitcher.

A hallway with six doors — three to a side — extends from the sitting area to the far end of the building. The two doors closest to the sitting area open on two smaller rooms, the next two doors are two more larger rooms (each with three beds), and the last two doors are two suites, each with a bedroom, a sitting room and a separate washroom.

All of the doors are stout wood, banded in iron, with a keyhole above the door handle.

Cellar

The cellar can be accessed from the stairs in the kitchen, or through the bulkhead doors at the back of the inn. The bulkhead doors are always barred from the inside.

The walls of the cellar are rough stone supported with thick timbers, and the floor is packed dirt. An oil lantern hangs from a hook at the bottom of the kitchen stairs. The cellar is large — about the size of the first floor common room — and a pile of picks and shovels in one corner reveal how the Wystkins have enlarged it as needed.

Crates and barrels of grains, vegetables, flour, beer, wine, and other foods are arranged around the space. One wall is lined with shelves with linens, mugs, plates, cutlery, and other supplies. Dressed venison hangs from hooks down the center of the room.

Secret — The Wystkins have no idea that the last time they expanded the cellar, Laer nearly broke through the wall into a dank tunnel that leads farther underground. A crack in the wall (noticed with a Passive Perception of 12 or greater) can be quickly widened to a 5’ wide opening with a DC 14 (Strength) Athletics check, (at Advantage if a pick is used). You can decide what creatures, if any, are on the other side of the wall, and if they have any interest in the Harthen Home.

About the Harthen Home Inn

Denikka and Harthen met at the Harthen Home, just after Harth opened the inn with a small inheritance. Denikka was traveling alone, fleeing a bit of trouble she had gotten into, and entered the inn just as a bench flew by and smashed through a window. A full scale brawl was filled the common room, and Harth was trying to break up the ruckus and failing miserably. Denikka — strong, six feet tall, and an excellent boxer — knocked a few heads together until everyone settled down, and Harth was so thankful he asked her to stay and act as a bouncer. Denikka soon learned that Harth was a talented chef, but easily distracted and a horrible businessman. What the inn really needed was a manager, and Denikka proved to be more than capable in that regard. Over the following months, as they worked tirelessly on the inn, the two fell in love.

Now, twenty years later, the Harthen Home is a successful business, and Denikka and Harth are a happy family, along with their son Laer, (who takes after his mother in terms of pugilistic prowess, but is too easy-going to ever throw a punch). However, the Wystkins have no idea that the trouble that Denikka was fleeing twenty years ago has finally caught up with her, and is currently in the common room.

The inn never closes, and though the Wystkins take care of most of the work, they employ 5-10 servers, cleaners and other workers as needed. On any day, there are 3-5 workers at the inn, either in the kitchen, the common room, or cleaning the upstairs rooms. When the PCs arrive, the inn is moderately busy — the common room contains 10-15 patrons sitting alone or in small groups, and there are 2 wagons and 12 horses in the stables. There are 5 available rooms — 2 smaller rooms, 2 larger rooms, and 1 suite.

Cast of Characters

Along with a dozen or so other patrons and workers, the following NPCs are in the Harthen Home when the characters arrive.

Garagol the Oathsworn
Adult CG Guard Captain — relaxed, confident, observant
Garagol is the guard captain for Sir Swindley Abramax, and while Sir Swindley is in his suite upstairs, Garagol and his three guards are enjoying a mug and a meal. The veteran has been keeping eyes on everyone in the common room, as is his practice, and has noticed a patron in one corner, (Crispin Zerz), who is clocking Denikka’s every move. Garagol has also noticed whoever it is has at least three daggers hidden on their person, (boot, glove and collar), so his shortsword is already loosened in its scabbard, just in case.

Sir Swindley Abramax
Adult LN Noble — kind, well-read, bored
Swindley is the oldest son of a family who own a gem mine, and is often on the road traveling to and from the mine, as its his responsibility to ensure the family’s interests are protected, and the work is progressing as planned. Swindley has no interest in gems, mining, or anything else about the family business. What he’d really like to do is write adventure stories — which would scandalize his family, if they knew. The bigger problem, as far as Swindley is concerned, is that nothing exciting has ever happened to him, despite his years on the road, and this lack of real-world experience makes it difficult to write convincingly. When the PCs arrive at the inn, Swindley is in his suite, staring at a blank piece of parchment and wishing for something out of the ordinary to happen.

Crispin Zerz
Adult CE Assassin — haughty, careful, patient, cold
The trouble Denikka was fleeing twenty years ago has found her, in the form of Crispin Zerz, an experienced Assassin. A year earlier he was hired to find her, retrieve a powerful item she absconded with, and eliminate Denikka as painfully as possible. Crispin is currently unaware that the item is hidden under a floorboard in the Wystkin’s office. He arrived at the Harthen Home the previous day, and has been watching and biding his time — its clear that Denikka isn’t going anywhere, and Crispin understands patience is often the difference between a elegant, successful contract, and a messy, successful one.

Hrina Ko
Teen NG Commoner — clever, quiet, deferential
Hrina has worked at the Harthen Home for over a year, at first to make a few coin, but now to stay as close to Laer Wystkin as possible. Whenever he enters the room, she watches him intently, and then finds some reason work her way closer to him. She doesn’t know that Laer is interested in her, too, and has been trying to get up the courage to talk to her for months.

Ye Olde Shoppe

You can also check out great gifts for the gamers in your life at Total Party Kits, which features all-original designs by yours truly on shirts, hats, mugs and other gifts!

 www.totalpartykits.etsy.com

I Cast…Brainstorm! subscribers can save 10% off everything in the store.

If you have an online store that sells D&D or TTRPG themed things, let me know — I’d love to add it here.

What Do You Think?

How do you like I Cast…Brainstorm! so far? What’s working for you? What would you like to see more of? Or less of, or done in a different way? How’s the layout? Please let us know at [email protected]

The original ideas in this issue of I Cast….Brainstorm! are covered under the Creative Commons BY-SA license — all content is free to use (including commercially) and change, with proper attribution.

You can read about the license here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en