Sidh'Rak

The first tavern most encounter is Sidh’Rak (pronounced Sid Rack, the literal translation is the Final Bastion). This is a largish tavern with space for about 50 people to be comfortable in the main room. There are also some rooms above the tavern, presumably for rent for visitors to Khelez-Mar who have not been granted private quarters. Currently, there are few who come to the fortress who are not invited, and those few who are invited are given quarters or at the least, do not have to rent a room so these are generally empty.

During the invasion and fall of Khelez-Mar some 100 years ago, Sidh’Rak was the last position to fall on the main level, and from what can be determined, had perhaps the strongest resistance in the entire fortress.

There is generally a good mix of people in Sidh’Rak but the militia and those who engage in military missions outside of the fortress patronize Sidh’Rak more than the other establishments. Sidh’Rak can be a little boisterous at times, since there are frequently dwarves and humans mixing here. The occassional bar fight is not unknown but fatal violence is not tolerated, nor is extreme drunkenness (by dwarven standards, usually defined as too drunk to hit a table top with an axe).

Of note: when Khelez-Mar was retaken, those exploring the tavern found an encoded runic scroll hidden under a broken ale barrel. After the dwarves deciphered the scroll they found a recipe for a drink called Grimfal (Eternal Strength).

Grimfal

Grimfal is a strong, spicy alcoholic drink served hot. One or two tankards has little effect except to induce a mild intoxication (by dwarven standards), but for dwarves, 3 or 4 tankards produces an effect identical to a barbarians rage class ability.

After the effects of the rage wear off, the dwarves may suffer some ill-effects. The best case scenario is that they become fatigued as a barbarian would be after ending a rage. However the ill-effects can be quite a bit more severe, even including death from over-exertion. Roll percentile then subtract the imbibing character's Con score to determine the effect (die roll cannot be modified below 1. An imbibing character will always become at least fatigued).

Table 1: After-effects of Grimfal Rage 1-20 Fatigued 21-30 Exhausted 31-40 Disabled 41-55 Blinded 56-65 Confused 56-60 Staggered 61-70 Unconscious 71-80 Ability Damage – 1d10 damage to either Str, Dex or Con 81-89 Ability Drain – 1d4 damage to Int, Wis or Con 90-100 Dead Grimfal is not to be imbibed lightly.