"You are all refugees in a tavern"...
"You all meet in a tavern" is classic stale D&D fare that no one minds and no one loves. Reading Martin Kallies' gripe with tavern meetups over on Spriggan's Den not long after reading Blackrazor's musing on Luln, the original B/X home base got me thinking. Let me first re-quote the passage about Luln before we get into what that says about the assumptions of the starting setting: "Composed primarily of persons who have fled Black Eagle Barony, merchants who have come to trade with the Baron, and some non-humans who have left the wilderness, Luln is a base town for adventurers exploring the Haunted Keep, also called Koriszegy Keep and the surrounding land. Somewhat lawless and open, the town can provide most of the basic needs to any group of adventurers. The town is poorly defended, relying on the goodwill and capabilities of both the Baron and the Duke for its defense. Approximately 500 people live in the town." (from Cook/Marsh, page X60)