Tankard Trekker

Licensed Alebound Adventurer

Overview

Tankard Trekkers are licensed adventurers, most commonly halflings, who journey across Iridia in search of legendary drinks and legendary taverns. Originating in the City of Or, these individuals serve as roaming drinkers, judges of hospitality, preservers of stories, and occasional mediators of ale-fueled disputes.

Their authority is recognized in Or and respected (or feared) elsewhere. They wield the sacred Right of the Last Pour, can bless taverns with long life, and—on rare, somber occasions—revoke licenses, condemning a pub to silence.

Origins

The Tankard Trekkers began in ARC 117, born from the Great Ale Disputes in Or. Three halflings from rival breweries resolved the feuding with nothing but a shared brew and a single song. The Council of Or took notice and granted them an official role to "drink in peace, preserve in memory, and settle with song."

Since then, halflings have traditionally passed the title from elder to apprentice, though humans, dwarves, and even the occasional orc have earned the right to carry the Tankard.

The Foam Oath

Spoken before the first sip in any new tavern:

“By barrel and brew, by flame and froth,
I pledge my soul to drink in truth.
I bless the pour, I judge the cup,
And leave no story bottled up.”

This oath is magically binding if spoken over a sanctioned tankard.

Trekker Roles

Alewrights
Brewers and blessing-givers. They craft small, enchanted batches of ale and imbue taverns with longevity charms through their brewing.
Mugsingers
Bardic Trekkers who immortalize local tavern tales, transforming brawls, love stories, and hauntings into song.
Staggerknights
Not fighters in the traditional sense—Staggerknights maintain peace with charm, strength, and a mug enchanted to sting but never kill. They settle bar fights, sometimes by entering them.
Foamwardens
The elder Trekkers who maintain the List of Lost Taverns—an oral history of pubs that fell to time, war, or shame.

Right of the Last Pour

The most sacred right of the Trekker. When invoked:

The Trekker must receive the final pour from a cask or keg before it is retired or destroyed.
They may perform the Blessing of Return, a ritual that ensures the tavern shall endure at least one more generation.
In disputes, they may declare a Sudden Round: all feuding parties must drink together or forfeit their grievance.

This right is magically enforced in licensed establishments within Or.

License Revocation – The Closing Cask

Rare, dramatic, and feared. If a tavern:

Deliberately serves poisoned, corrupted, or cursed drink,
Denies a Trekker’s Right of the Last Pour,
Breaks the sacred truce of hospitality...

Then a Trekker may perform The Closing Cask:
A black-mark ritual in which three Trekkers overturn their mugs and declare the tavern unworthy.
Once done, the tavern is spiritually unblessed—its luck fades, its drinks spoil, and regulars slowly drift away.

In the City of Or, Tankard Trekkers are beloved. In Triz Valley, they're welcomed with stories and free ale.
In Mohinders, their presence is politely tolerated—though the upper arcane elite rarely understand their function.
Outside these regions, they’re folk heroes to some, annoying drunkards to others, and mysterious prophets to a few.

Halfling Tradition

While anyone can earn the mug, the tradition of Trekking is halfling to its core. Their natural cheer, sharp memory, and love of community make them ideal for the role. Tales say a true halfling Trekker can:

Taste the lie in any brew,
Find the nearest hearth blindfolded,
And recall every toast ever spoken in their presence.

Some believe the first Tankard Trekker was not a halfling at all—but a scale-touched Iridian who took halfling form just to keep drinking.

“A poured pint is a sacred thing. Don’t spill it with anger. Spill it with joy.” —Old Mugsy, First of the Trek