I am running a fantasy campaign (using the Ptolus setting), and the PC just looted a “conspiracy board” from the hideout of a rather unhinged creature.

I’ve added a bunch of elements that might or might not be relevant for the campaign. And the element with the most strings to other elements was “beer price increases”.

And I’d like to mess with the minds of the players some more. Thus, I could use some ideas for sinister reasons why the beer prices in a city might have increased.

Any suggestions?

  • antaymonkey@lemmy.world
    1·
    3 months ago

    Dwindling supply due to bbeg creating a portal to some other plane that allows demons to come through and they get out of his control and just decide to get hammered 24/7

  • shnizmuffin@lemmy.inbutts.lolEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    Government official is getting extorted by [a path to the actual plot], but they own a vineyard and have the power to levy taxes. They tax beer to drive demand for wine.

    Purely selfish self-preservation.

  • Nighed@feddit.ukEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    Ale Elementals (Alementals)!

    There is a Drunken Master Monk so powerful that they are weakening the barriers between the material plain and an outer plain of booze.

    This manifests as inebriated Alementals appearing in brewery’s and distillers and causing havoc before dispersing back to their home plane.

    …

    Less sinister, but potentially hilarious. (Cause could be changed if you wanted something more sinister)

  • sharkteethsandwich@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    1·
    3 months ago

    Here’s a boring mundane reason that could be fun. Ancient Egyptian pyramid builders were given beer as payment.

    You could have the local evil person have an army of builders building some evil building, supplementing their pay with beer. Such a massive work force would require a lot of beer siphoning off most of the local supply. As the beer supply dwindles, the price increases.

  • Hiplobbe@lemmy.world
    1·
    3 months ago

    Constructed scarcity? The brewers pour out the beer per night on behalf of insert local rich person to make the prices higher, and when that has happened they then secretly will produce more to earn A GAZILLION gold.

    (Based on a conspiracy theory i heard from a wacky guy at a party)

  • Zombiepirate@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    Someone is stealing the grain to feed an invading army.

    A brewer cabal has employed ruffians who rob taverns and smash up the kegs, driving the prices up.

    The crown is trying to keep it a secret, but there’s a flesh-eating disease that is spreading throughout the kingdom, and it incubates in the alehouses. Taverns and breweries are being shuttered all over with only an offhand explanation. When ingesting the infected brew, the host will be consumed painfully and noisily from the inside.

    A “hero” fresh from the dungeon throws his weight around and threatens that bad things might happen if he doesn’t get paid protection money. He found a magic item that makes the danger clear.