10 Ways for a Magic-User to Get a Room at the Inn for Free

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Sometimes it pays to be in the right place at the right time with the right spell ready. Here are 10 randomly selected 1st level magic-user spells along with a situation in which using the spell can earn a free stay at an inn.


  1. Spider Climb; The innkeeper is trying to change the sign outside his business. The old sign, which must be swapped out for the new one, is placed on the exterior of the building about 16 feet off the ground. The innkeeper’s ladder breaks and he grumbles about how much it will cost and business being slow.
  2. Feather Fall; The innkeeper is trying to change the sign outside his business. The old sign, which must be swapped out for the new one, is placed on the exterior of the building about 16 feet off the ground. The innkeeper’s wobbly ladder falls out from under him, leaving him hanging from the sign and about to lose his grip!
  3. Detect Magic; In the common area at the inn, several persons are engaged in a card game. One person seems to be winning almost every hand. He is using a deck of magical cards that allows him to read the cards even from the back side. Detect magic will reveal the cheat. The grateful marks will happily pay the price of room and board for the mage.
  4. Unseen Servant; A server maid storms out of the inn shouting “I quit!” to the innkeeper. Now the innkeeper is in a tough spot. He has cooking and cleaning that urgently need doing.
  5. Shocking Grasp; A miniature iron golem (half height, 10 hp) that helps the innkeeper clean and make repairs has gone berserk. An electrical attack on the golem will stop it for 1 round per point of damage dealt. If this is done, the golem will be functioning normally when it resumes action.
  6. Write; A sage is seated in the common area at the inn transcribing an ancient text and needs a steady hand to get the inscription perfect. Any magic-user will recognize the writing as magical in nature. The sage will happily pay the PC’s room and board for 1 month in exchange for help.
  7. Erase; A sage is seated in the common area at the inn transcribing an ancient text and has written an error into his book which he’s spent many days working on. He will happily pay the PC’s room and board for 2-3 days in exchange for erasing the error.
  8. Charm Person; The innkeeper or innkeeper’s wife may become smitten with a charming or attractive PC. Any NPC reaction result of “Enthusiastically Friendly” will indicate such, and the PC will be offered free room and board for one night, plus any length of time for which an illicit affair may persist, or for the full duration of a Charm Person spell.
  9. Find Familiar; The innkeeper’s daughter has a budding interest in witchcraft and will be fascinated by any PC magic-user. She would delight to witness the finding of a familiar so she can try to do it herself, and will sneak a PC in after dark and give food for the PC’s mentorship.
  10. Comprehend Languages; A foreigner has lost her young daughter somewhere in town. She is able to give a description of the child and where she was last seen, but no one understands her language. She will pay room and board for up to a year for a PC who finds her child.

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