[TAVERN]The Elvaris Lives hotel, resort and casino

[Elvaris]

Even from a distance, this building dominates it's surroundings. An enormous stone structure, gleaming white topped by a golden dome that incites greed in everyone who sees it.
The front of the building is a cylindrical tower over 400 feet across, 200 feet tall and topped by the aforementioned dome. Two wings extend back from the tower, ninety degrees from each other, two stories high and extending 360 feet from the tower. Behind the tower and between the wings is a structure that fills in the "V" created by the rest of the structure.

Facing the prodigious front doors, you are flanked by two banks of columns, which hold up an arched portico. Down the left wing, you see an open facade, with many windows and balconies surrounded by exotic trees and lush foliage. To your right, a closed facade, painted with a mural of a flamboyant bard you feel safe in assuming is Elvaris. The double doors themselves are wooden, shod in bronze, and at least 25 feet tall.

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Walking through the doors, you can't help but feel small, as everything around you seems larger than life. From the ceiling that seems to reach into the sky to the massive wooden counter across the far side of the room to the 50 foot tall statue of the building's namesake in the center of the room... Not to mention the two giants who step in your way informing you of the strict "no weapon" policy in the hotel.

[Elvaris]

The main lobby of the resort is the central hub around which everything else revolves. And in the center of the room is the building's namesake larger than life and immortalized in bronze. In an area around the statue is a number of round tables, ideal for meetings or just relaxing without the glitz or noise of some of the other social areas of the club.
Around the double doors leading to the outside are the weapons lockers, manned dutifully by one or both of a pair of giants, who also serve to collect the weapons. Opposite these doors is a three sided counter with areas clearly delineated for spa reservations, hotel booking, and theatre tickets. On the wall behind this counter is a permanently cast moving image of an Elvaris concert
Arched doorways lead left and right down the wings of the building, with the hotel, spa, restaurant to the left, and the casino and bar to the right.


http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e349/The_Mad_Egyptian/OOTSC/ELB.jpg

Going through the archway to the left puts you in a long corridor with rooms and suites to the left, and a restaurant and several gift shops to the right. Also to the right is another corridor which leads to the theatre. And finally at the end of the corridor is a staircase leading up to the second floor of the hotel, and down to the spa.

The "Heartache Hotel"

The hotel rooms themselves are a level of luxury unlike anything you've ever seen. Even the so-called budget rooms are larger than some inns you've seen, with private baths, feather beds, and more closet space than you'd think possible (which is strictly true, as the closets are extra-dimensional, but stable... so your bags of holding are safe.) The high end rooms and suites, which make up the second floor, allow anyone who can afford them to truly live like the king.

The "Hunka' Hunka' Burning Meat" Restaurant...

Chaos. An absolute riot of lights, noise, smells, and people. The restaurant, like everything else in the complex, is spacious, but the lights are kept low and a number of low partitions give visitors a more intimate impression. Intimate that is, until patrons discover why the semi-circular tables have a metal center... and someone's meal bursts into flames before their eyes. At which point, much of the restaurant explodes into laughter and applause for another successful preparation of the restaurant's signature item (see below).

The "Treat Me Tender" Spa...

Descending the stairway leads to a worked stone cavern highlighted by a pair of what appear to be natural hot springs. A row of columns bisects the room which, you are told (should you ask), help to support the back wall of the hotel.
If a long soak isn't relaxing enough, massages are available, along with various beauty and luxury treatments.

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In truth, there are actually four casinos in the Elvaris Lives. The first, the Copper Cutlass has low stakes and a relaxed attitude, even including a supervised play area for children. The second, the Silver Star, caters to those who are more serious gamblers, but not blessed with the wealth necessary for high stakes games.
The third casino, the Gold Standard, is not for the faint of heart. This room features unlimited stakes, and the unlimited risks that go with them. More than a few Gold Standard patrons have found themselves faced with serious muscle to force repayment of various tabs and bills to the casino.
Finally there is the Platinum Lounge, the members only gambling room, which can only be entered by personal invitation of the owner of the casino. In here influence and innuendo are as strong currency as gold, as the elite rub elbows.
All the casinos feature standard games of cards and dice, with the Copper and Silver rooms also having roulette wheels. All the rooms also feature the strongest anti-magic wardings available, and are constantly watched by security to ensure no cheating occurs.

The "Viva Lost Cutlass" Bar

Drinks of any and every sort can be had here. Not only that, but there are ring gates (DMG p.265) positioned throughout the resort that allow drinks to be distributed from the casinos to the suites.
The actual bar is across from the main entry and stretches across fully half the room. In between are a number of tables, including some that appear to feature a game featuring sticks and balls. To the far right of the room is an open area for performers and dancers. and across the room is an entrance to the main theater.

The "Return to Splendor" Theater

The centerpiece of the resort is the 175,000 sq.ft. theatre. This gargantuan arena can hold the entire population of several countries. While it was built to hold the kind of throngs expected should Elvaris return again, it regularly plays host to popular Elvaris impersonator Aron, who draws crowds in the thousands of people.
Rows are tiered so that every row has at least some view of the stage. There are two aisles down the seating section, with exits at the back of each. Also, a wider row roughly halfway to the stage features exits to the bar and the hotel wing.

[Elvaris]

Knowledge about Elvaris:
Knowledge (history): 15 or Bardic Knowledge: 10 Elvaris was a well known bard roughly 200 years ago, and was hugely popular, building his reputation to the point where he played before nobles of all stripes, including kings of several nations. However, there seems to be some mystery about when and where, or even if, he died.

Knowledge (history) 25, Knowledge (local) 15, Bardic Knowledge 20: Elvaris grew tired of playing for nobles and “retired” for a time. However, a few years later, he returned to his more humble roots and performed a concert for “the people”, performing a free show in the square of a tiny hamlet named Lost Cutlass. Word quickly got out, and soon he was performing regular shows in Lost Cutlass, freeing himself of the normally nomadic life of the minstrel. Soon, though the performances stopped, and Elvaris was never heard from again.

Knowledge (local): 25, Bardic Knowledge 30: The local lord took offense not only to Elvaris' refusal to play before him, but the local's habit of referring to the bard as “the King.” Finally, at one show, people believed to be agents of this lord rushed the stage and attacked Elvaris to end the threat to his popularity and seemingly his sovereignty. Much of what happened was obscured from the crowd, leaving the ending to the king's final performance a mystery.

Knowledge about the Elvaris Lives:
Gather Information:
1: Big building, center of town. Can't miss it.
5: Locals love and hate the place. It brings money into town, but it's always trouble.
10: The whole place was starting to get a bit run down, but the new owner seems to have turned things around.
15: But don't get caught cheating there...
20: Anything and everything is available there, if you know where to look. The image has changed, but it's still a rough and tumble place.
25: Tyrian, the new owner, is not a man to cross. Very well mannered, but with a temper and a long memory.
30: Tyrian upset the local thieves guild when he purchased the place, but nobody is quite sure why they're upset.

Thunder: Giant Bard 8
Lightning: Giant Monk 8
Thunder and Lightning are the resort's bouncers, doormen, and all around tough guys.

Aron Human Bard 7 Elvaris Impersonator 7
Resplendent in his color shifting cloak, rhinestone-studded leather armor and blue suede boots of hip-swaying, Aron is the current draw in the theater.

Tyrian Human Rogue 6 Expert 9
Tyrian bought the resort to gain back some of his losses in the casino, and he has done so in spades. He is now easily the wealthiest and most influential person in Lost Cutlass. Some wonder how he gained enough money to buy the casino in the first place, some attributing it to an adventuring career, others pointing to less acceptable activities associated with his former class.

The casino employs several Kolyarut (Inevitables) to handle disputes, and at any given time there may be from two to five in the resort.

[Elvaris]

Elvaris Lives! No really! As it turns out in his 200 year absence, nobody noticed in all the murals, statues, and illusions of him in the resort, that he is actually an elf. Is he being held in the local lord's dungeon? Hiding out in a small village? Guiding the hotel from behind the scenes? Wherever he is, he is well protected from divinations, and the party won't have an easy time finding him.
The group's fighter is approached by ten members of his old militia/army/city guard unit with a plot to “liberate” some money from the casino.
The group's rogue is approached by ten members of the local thieves guild with a plot to “liberate”some money from the casino.
A dragon has flown off with the roof of the tower... again... and the resort will pay a handsome sum to anyone who can retrieve it... or at least clear the way for their teamsters to haul it back.
A nobleman of some influence has gained a taste for roasted roc, but the restaurant's stores are out. They will pay handsomely should someone hunt down a roc and restore the supplies.

While there are a number of mementos unique to the hotel available, no visit to the Elvaris Lives is complete without experiencing the restaurant's signature item (and namesake,) the Hunka' Hunka' Burning Meat.
When ordered, one of the crack staff of cooks will come to your table and prepare the dish personally, bringing either your choice of meat, or the cook's choice, always prime, and usually exotic. Next, the meat is roasted over a metal fire pit in the middle of the table, searing in all the exquisite flavor. Once a certain wellness is achieved, the piece de resistance... the meat is coated in a secret sauce and lit on fire before your eyes.
Truly a magnificent experience, and a magnificent meal.

[Elvaris]

A little left to do, but any comments welcome...

[Quincunx]

I had stopped by intending to leave some constructive criticism, but everything that I had wanted, you're already doing.

Plot Hook: Group desperate for cash. Feather Fall. The Flying Elvii.


Aron. . .Elvaris Impersonator 7

Proof that a prestige class need not be a prestigious one :D

[Elvaris]

The Flying Elvii.
Wow. Thanks. I can't believe I forgot the Flying Elvi... I'm in shock right now...