The demon lord, waiting for his tea order
A TAVERN FOR TEA is a short visual novel by npckc, released on March 24, 2023.There is a tavern set up on the border between the human and demon realms, which treats all of its customers equally. It does not serve ale, only tea. Business is usually slow, but tonight, two customers are about to make, or miss, a very important connection.
A Tavern for Tropes:
- All There in the Manual: The game's built-in gallery contains information not directly stated in the story itself, such as the picture of the tavern's kettle stating that "brewing tea" is more akin to alchemy than actual beverage-making.
- Calming Tea: The adventurer is unable to open up to the tavernkeeper unless his request for a calming, not-sour tea is fulfilled, due to the stress that comes with what people expect of him.
- Cannot Spit It Out: If one customer leaves and the other stays, the remaining one admits that they would've been genuinely interested in a conversation but assumed that the other one wouldn't be due to their races' Fantastic Racism, leaving it up to the tavern keeper to actually keep them in the same room together.
- Cooking Mechanics: When brewing tea, there are multiple combinations of three ingredients that have different results, and the game keeps track of which ones you've created in a special recipe section.
- Evolving Title Screen: After completing the main story, the title screen's view of the tavern from outside changes from daytime to nighttime, to show that the player has reached the Playable Epilogue.
- Fantastic Racism: The human and demon territories generally dislike each other, though when given the chance to admit their frustrations to the tavern keeper, both the adventurer and the demon lord each admit that it's something they've grown tired of.
- Featureless Protagonist: The story is told from the tavern keeper's perspective, and at no point are they seen by the player, nor is their appearance described by the customers. The only hint to their true appearance is at the end of the main story, when the customers leave and the tavern keeper remarks how they're glad that Witches like themself aren't common in this territory, so people aren't aware of their full powers.
- Gargle Blaster: Some of the potential teas that can be served are not considered appetizing by the customers, such as a "Savoury Potion" that's stated to taste more like soup than tea. Additionally, after enough runs to learn about both the adventurer and the demon lord, the tavern keeper decides that the best way for them to bond is by serving them the sourest possible drink to act as a conversation starter.
- "Groundhog Day" Loop: Although the story initially appears to completely restart every time, with it always being the adventurer's first time visiting the tavern, the tavern keeper's dialogue changes to reflect what happened in past runs, such as trying to encourage their customers to stick around if they've witnessed each of them individually confessing that they would've been interested in learning more about each other. This turns out to be one of their Witch powers.
- Hint System: After a run through the story, the "Notes" section of the menu updates with hints on how to proceed, such as recording the demon lord's regular order if the player didn't correctly serve it to him.
- Horned Humanoid: The demon lord, in addition to having red skin and black wings, has two small horns protruding from his head.
- In Medias Res: When the story begins, the titular tavern has already been in operation for some time, leading to some potential awkwardness when the demon lord asks for "the regular" when the player has never served him before.
- Maou the Demon King: The tavern's second customer of the night is the feared, princess-kidnapping demon lord, though he has an Unmanly Secret and is accustomed to the tavern's status as a Truce Zone.
- Minimalist Cast: The story's cast consists of three characters: the tavernkeeper, the adventurer, and the demon lord.
- Multiple Endings: The teas that are served to the adventurer and demon lord determine whether they both leave unsatisfied, if one or the other is able to communicate their issues to the tavernkeeper, or if they both reach an understanding.
- No Name Given: None of the characters are addressed by their actual names due to the tavern's stance on keeping personal matters outside its walls; at most, the demon lord is referred to with the nickname "Horns".
- Playable Epilogue: After clearing the main story, an "After Hours" segment is unlocked that allows the player to create as many drinks as they want for the demon lord in order to fill out the "Recipes" section of the menu. Filling out the list then leads to an extra scene where the adventurer also shows up, and they both admit their plans to take a break from their current positions in order to reevaluate their lives.
- Rebellious Princess: In the Playable Epilogue, when the adventurer comes in after the Recipes are all found, he states that he's allowed to take a break from adventuring because it turns out the princess he kept saving wanted to be kidnapped in order to get away from her restrictive father and is actually capable of taking care of herself when allowed to roam free.
- Spiky Hair: The adventurer namedrops this trope, as while his current appearance is more casual, he mentions having to gel his hair into spikes while on the job in order to fit the "hero" image everyone expects from him.
- Sweet Tooth: The demon lord's regular order is noted for its sweetness, and if anything else is served to him, he'll note that he's disappointed that it's not as sweet as he'd prefer.
- Trial-and-Error Gameplay: While the demon lord will outright list the ingredients to his regular order if served something different, learning how to create any other tea requires mixing three of six available ingredients together and then serving the result to record it in the "Recipes" section of the menu. Additionally, knowing what teas to serve the adventurer requires some guesswork, as statements like the adventurer wanting "something calming" can narrow down the ingredients without actually stating what tea flavors will actually help him to open up.
- Truce Zone: The tavern is advertised to its customers as a place for anyone trying to find themselves, and that they only have to share as much strife from their regular life as they wish, with the tavernkeeper treating all customers as equal. This leads to a bit of friction when first-time-customer adventurer sees the demon lord enter for his regular cuppa.
- Unmanly Secret: If talked to alone, the demon lord admits that he just wants to have a peaceful life and grow his own flower garden, but his status and his territory's antagonism with the human territory means that he's unable to show any weakness outside of the tavern.
