Mead Halls are the Viking Conquest equivalent to the Taverns of the basic game.
People you might meet in a tavern include:
- Host: Equivalents of Tavern Keepers. Hosts run the hall and can provide the player with several new options.
- Belligerent Drunks: Men who drank too much and are looking to fight. Players with high renown can coax drunks into submission and to leave the tavern. Otherwise, the player has a bar fight on their hands (no projectile weapons by order of management). Killing or incapacitating the drunk will yield the player the drunk's weapon and purse, along with either a slight positive or negative reputation gain with the host (-1 for calling drunk 'animal' or killing him without a chance to draw his weapon, +1 for killing/knocking him unconscious after he draws his seax, or apologizing). A bar fight will also send all tavern occupants scrambling for cover.
- Mercenaries: Groups of men looking to fight loyally for pay, represented by a head mercenary in the tavern. The player can choose to hire some or all of them for a hefty fee. They all come from the mercenary tier tree. Once hired, mercenaries disappear from that tavern until a new band moves in. Higher tier mercenaries such as Veterans and Sviar Warriors require 150 renown in before they can be hired.
- Travelllers: Travellers roam the land of Viking Conquest, brokering information and gossip about the entire realm. They offer the player advice about life in the game. They also offer information on where to find claimants and lost NPC heroes for a 30 peningas fee. For 300 peningas they can spread rumors about a lord's disloyalty, for 150 - about indiscretion. For 250 peningas they can start a quarrel between two lords.
- Ransom Broker: Ransom brokers buy prisoners for different prices based on the prisoner level. They also provide information about the whereabouts of imprisoned party heroes and the possibility to ransom them. Aethelmaer, the Slaver is a special ransom broker, who is glad to teach players the manhunter trade.
- Heroes: The backbone of a player party, all heroes are initially met and recruited at a tavern (in sandbox). Heroes lost from a party, either from a loss in battle or over a disagreement with the player, after trying and failing to make it in Calradia will eventually wind up in taverns. The player may only attempt to recruit a hero a number of times in one day.
- Wandering Poets: They are masters of romance.
- Poets provide all of a kingdom's gossip on courtship. They provide details on the personality of eligible ladies, as well as news on courtship developments in a kingdom. Both personalities and news are recorded in the player's character log along with the relevant date. Married ladies leave the poet's list of newsworthy maidens.
- From this courtship news, male players may issue duels to lords rivaling for their ladies' affections.
- Poets also teach new players the intricacies of wooing and eventually marrying.
- Poets teach players poems, based on their specific poem set, that are used during courtship. These poems cost 300 peningas and time will pass as they are taught.
- Happy Widow: For 1500 peningas she can raise morale of your men or, for 100, provide you with company for one night.
- Citizens and Guards: These are random individuals, from common folk to soldiers on break, they are usually busy either eating or cleaning the room. Some may be open to conversation after you survive a brawl with a belligerent drunk, and will offer themselves for hire as soldiers in your army.