Tavern Talk Complete Walkthrough – All Drinks, Quests & Act Guides

Visual novel game Tavern Talk is a delightful peek into the life of that innkeeper NPC you keep grabbing quests from in basically any RPG. The game puts you behind the bar, serving drinks and gathering rumors to send adventurers on daring quests.

As a visual novel, the gameplay mechanics of Tavern Talk are pretty straightforward. Here, it’s the story that counts, and your choices impact the lives of your patrons in myriad ways. If you want to gaze in the crystal ball to foresee the consequences of the drinks you serve, look no further than our complete walkthrough guide.

DLC Walkthroughs

• Tempest Tantrum DLC Guide

Additional Taven Talk Guides

• All Drink Recipes & How to Make Them

Basic Gameplay Overview

Tavern Talk is a point-and-click game, meaning there are no complicated controller combinations to learn. Most of the story unfolds through written dialogue between The Inkeeper (you) and the various adventurers who visit your tavern.

As you talk to your patrons, you’ll serve up drinks and gather rumors. Get three related rumors, and you’ll build a quest that a brave adventurer will take on.

Customers often order a specific drink when they’re just stopping by, but once they grab a quest, they’ll ask you to choose between two options to aid their efforts. The drink you choose to serve them will impact the story in a big way, determining how and if they succeed in their mission. There’s no clear right or wrong answer here, so it’s up to you to decide how to aid your tavern guests.

Does Tavern Talk Have Romance?

No, in terms of you, the Innkeep, falling in love with a patron, there are no romanceable NPC options.

However, I won’t say we don’t get to witness a few budding love stories unfold between NPCs and maybe even nudge them along a bit as we go.

How to Make Drinks

When you first serve a drink to long-term patron Fable, they’ll ask you to show them how you make it. This is the game’s way of offering you a tutorial and walking you through the steps of making a drink. In case you skipped it or need a refresher, here are the basics for crafting drinks in Tavern Talk.

When a patron asks for a drink, you’ll automatically enter the drink-making space with adorable pet dragon Andu. Open the journal in the bottom right-hand side of the screen and you’ll get a reminder of the patron’s drink order, alongside a list of drink recipes.

The drink orders will have an icon showing which attribute should be the strongest for the drink. Match this symbol to the recipes from your book to decide what to serve. In some cases, you’ll have two different notes to choose between – serve either one and the customer will be pleased, but your choice will determine their fate!

Once you find the recipe you’d like to serve, click on the piece of chalk at the bottom right corner of your journal. This will automatically draw the recipe’s characteristics on the chalkboard, where you can match them as you pour ingredients into the cup.

When you hover your mouse over the ingredients, the coaster to the left will light up with the quality that the ingredients boost. Personally, I like to pour the dominant ingredient first. In other words, if a patron wants a drink to boost Strength, I’ll pour the Strength ingredient first, then add the others to get the right shape.

Click on the ingredient you want to pour and hold the mouse button down to drag it over to the cup. Keeping your mouse button pressed, hover the vial just over the cup. Hold it there to pour and watch the symbol on the coaster change.

Release the mouse or pull the ingredient away from the cup when you’ve got that attribute to the right place. The vial will snap back to its original position once you’re no longer pressing down, and you can grab whatever you need next.

If you accidentally pour too much, pick up the cup and drag it over to Andu. He’ll drink your mistakes – even if it’s just a few drops because you were too heavy-handed with one ingredient.

When you get the combination correct, Andu will hold up a sign with the recipe’s name. When he does, you can hit the little bell and the order will appear in front of your customer.

Note: After the first few chapters, you’ll also gain access to infusions. These ingredients have magical effects and can alter the drink you’re serving. When using infusions, put them in the glass first so you can craft the drink after knowing how the magic impacts its qualities.

What Happens If You Make the Wrong Drink?

When serving customers standard orders, it’s possible to get their requests wrong. If you serve a drink with a dominant ability other than what the customer requested, they’ll be less than pleased with their drink. However, the story will continue – with a few barbs from your guest.

During quest path drink decisions, you won’t be able to serve a drink that isn’t one of the two requests. If you try to, you’ll get a message saying you must serve a drink with the requested properties.

That said, some drinks will bring your adventurers better results than others, both in the short-term and throughout the story. If you want to be sure of the best possible outcome when making these choices, read on for our quest guides.

Does It Matter Which Dialogue Options I Choose in Tavern Talk?

When characters ask questions or make certain comments, you’ll get to choose between a couple of dialogue options. Since this is a narrative-driven game, you might wonder if the choices impact the story.

While your drink choices can change the trajectory pretty massively, dialogue choices make a smaller impact. In my experience, choosing one comment over another will give a different flavor to the conversation, but you still ultimately wind up in the same place.

The choices let you give your Innkeeper a certain personality and can bring out different information about your patrons. So, it’s fun to try out different responses! However, the rumors you glean from them and the quests they’ll create stay the same.

In some cases, choosing one dialogue option over another will have some longer-term impacts, but these cases are rare. Typically, this involves a slight change to that character’s story, such as where Chrissy gets the item she gifts you after her trip, or whether you help Baya pass out coupons for her spa.

How to Create Quests in Tavern Talk

Creating quests is pretty straightforward. As you talk to patrons, you’ll gather rumors. These pop up on the side of your screen with an icon – click it and you’ll view the note for each rumor.

Once you have three related rumors, you’ll automatically head to the quest-creation screen. Here, sort through the bits of parchment until you find three that match in color & content.

Add them to the parchment on the right to create a quest – the order doesn’t really matter, but I like to make a narrative that makes sense of them. Once you have all three lined up how you want them, click on the quill and your quest will be created. It will then become available for your patrons to grab as they please.

Act I Quests & Drink Decision Paths

Where your choices do make a massive impact is with the drinks you serve before patrons head off on quests. For each quest, you’ll get to pick between two drinks that offer different boons for your adventurers.

Initially, you’ll likely only have one drink on the menu that satisfies each request. As your recipe book grows, you’ll be able to choose any recipe that offers the requested abilities.

To help you decide, we picked both to see what would happen. Note there will be some minor story spoilers ahead since we’ll be guiding out the results of your choices. We’ll keep it bare-bones to help you pick without giving you too much detail.

Keep in mind that the results of each smaller quest will impact the overall ending of your story, meaning that what seems like a minor failure in a small quest could have dire consequences. Choose wisely!

A Werewolf on Detours – Fable’s First Quest

Fable picks up this quest, nervous but excited to bring some spice into their life. They will ask you to decide whether to boost their dexterity to help shoot arrows at the werewolf or boost their charisma in case it’s all a misunderstanding.

Serve Dexterity Boost

If you give Fable a Swift Strike, it will boost their dexterity. They’ll be nervous but ready. This is an uncertain success outcome, as they will ultimately succeed but with some unintended consequences – and injuries to a familiar face.

The gift Fable brings you after their “success” from this choice is rather underwhelming – the stick they used to play fetch with the werewolf.

Choosing this option earns the Take Aim! Steam Achievement.

Serve Charisma Boost

Serve Fable a Spoken Heart and they’ll prove surprisingly capable of negotiation tactics. This is the best possible outcome, as Fable will solve a long-term feud and make some new connections along the way.

The gift Fable provides as thanks for this option takes a bit longer, but is worth the wait.

Choosing this option earns the Diplomacy is Key Steam Achievement.

Until Sunrise – Caerlin / Lin / Caer’s First Quest

Note: While Caerlin picks up this quest in Act I, you won’t learn its outcome until Act II. We’re including it in this section since the choice you make will be part of Act I.

Caerlin is eager to face off against a chimera – or take any quest that gets her moving, really. She’s wary of your infusions but willing to try one. Just one. For this quest, choose between boosting defense and adding fire-resistant chilis or making a drink heavy on intelligence.

Serve Defense Boost with Fire Resistance

Give Caerlin a Frosted Lagoon with fire chilis, and she will set off to battle the chimera. Given her grandmother’s affection for them, however, Caerlin returns a bit conflicted about her victory – making this a decent success outcome.

Choosing this option earns the The Beast Steam Achivement.

Serve Intelligence Boost

If you give Caerlin a Sparkling Nebula to boost her wits, she’ll find a way to outsmart the chimera – without the need to kill it. Since her Baba was so fascinated by the creatures, Caerlin seems most satisfied with this outcome, so we consider it the best possible outcome for this quest.

Choosing this option earns the Puppet Master Steam Achievement.

Hey There, Evelynn – Zephir’s First Quest

Note: While Zephir picks up this quest in Act I, you won’t learn the result of your choice until Act II. Since you have to decide during Act I, we thought it made sense here.

The mysterious patron who’s short on words grabs this quest from the board, and you finally learn he’s called Zephir. He’ll ask you to aid him in one of two ways – a drink to make him swift and invisible, or one to make him strong and capable of creating ice shields.

Serve Dexterity Boost with Invisibility Infusion

Giving Zephir a Swift Strike with the invisibility infusion will let him pass without a trace through Marrow Castle. Though the positives & negatives are less clear with this choice than some other quests, this still seems to be the best possible outcome due to the reduced bloodshed. Zephir succesfully retrieves the cape & escapes without a scrape.

The trinket Zephir brings you on this path is a bat-shaped clock for your tavern wall.

Choosing this option earns the Shadow Steam Achievement.

Serve Strength Boost with Ice Shield Infusion

If you opt to serve Zephir a Southern Brawler infused with an icy pinecone, he will be ready to do battle with the hoards at Marrow Castle. Though he will succeed at getting the cloak with this option, he’ll get some scars from the experience, making this a decent success outcome. This result will also negatively impact Kyle’s story and your final battle.

On this path, Zephir brings you a ceremonial dagger for your tavern wall.

Choosing this option earns the Rogue Steam Achievement.

Act 2 Quests & Drink Decision Paths

After the shocking events that end Act I, your patrons will wrap up existing quests and begin taking on new ones. Many of those quests will involve solving the newly minted mystery.

Twinkle Twinkle, Deadly Stars (Eleithyia’s First Quest)

It’s clear that Eleithyia would grab this quest since she asked you to gather information regarding the fallen stars. Once she grabs it, she’ll reluctantly accept your help in one of two ways.

Serve Intelligence Boost with Honey Flowers

If you serve a drink to boost Eleithyia’s intelligence and give her a dash of inspiration, she’ll return with a new friend and a thrilling tale of communicating with astral whales. While she doesn’t get all the info she sought, she gets a solid lead without resorting to violence. This is the best possible outcome for this quest.

Taking this direction earns the Gently Giant Steam Achievement.

Serve Defense Boost, With Fireproof Infusion

Boosting Eleithyia’s defenses and making her fireproof means she’s more ready to fight than to come up with creative solutions. She’ll still make a new friend, but he’ll arrive sad due to the choices they had to make along the way. They’ll find a way to get the lead they need but at great cost. This is a short-term success outcome that comes with unexpected longer-term consequences.

Choosing this path earns the Beauty & Sadness Steam Achievement.

A Scanal in Zoford (Melli’s First Quest)

Melli will excitedly claim her first quest once you’ve readied it – and it’s a perfect fit for an aspiring detective. Along with her enigma of a friend, Zephir / Malachite / Blaze, she will head to Zoford to investigate the missing familiars.

Serve Dexterity + Haste + Charmisa (Melli’s Request)

If you hand over a drink that boosts speed and charisma along with dexterity, such as the Sailor’s Delight, Melli and her mysterious friend will swiftly follow clues. Their journey isn’t without risk, but they manage to think their way out of it and solve the mystery – while bringing you a new recipe for your collection. They also get a gift from the wizard, which they pass on to you, adding another familiar to your tavern. This is the best possible success outcome.

Taking this path earns the Case Closed Steam Achievement.

Serve Dexterity + Strength + Porcupine Chilis (Zephir’s Request)

Opt to provide great power alongside fire resistance with something such as the Sailor’s Delight, and your duo will use strength to prevail. They will need every ounce of that fire resistance when they do battle with a wizard – and he will perish in the process. They still get the info to solve the mystery, but with less of a happy ending, one that may have longer-lasting consequences than you realize. This is a mild failure outcome. However, you’ll wind up with a new dragon familiar from this path, as well.

Serving this drink earns the Cold Case Steam Achievement.

The Lagoon of Tranquility (Zephir & Fable’s 2nd Quest)

Antsy after returning from aiding Melli on her first quest, our many-named friend grabs the Lagoon of Tranquility quest from the board. After he does, Fable stops by, hoping for their next quest as well.

Here, you can make a choice – let Zephir take the quest, give it to Fable, or suggest that they go together. Regardless of what you choose, the two will eventually decide to form a small party to tackle the deed.

Serve Charisma + Thunder Sage (Fable’s Choice)

Serving a drink such as Sunny Breeze, which offers a charisma boost & incorporates Thunder Sage, will lend our duo dexterity and charming air. They will navigate their conversation with the banshee and Mari-Morgan with care, finishing early enough to bake a cheesecake together. The couple reunites, and some new love may bloom between our heroes. It is the best possible outcome for this quest.

Picking this choice earns the A Lullaby Steam achievement.

Serve Fae Crystals + Intelligence (Zephir’s Choice)

Armed with invisibility and smarts, newly-renamed Kumo and Fable hatch a plan to force the Banshee and Mari-Morgan to talk. While they do wind up talking, they don’t really get into the feelings of it all, and their reunion remains uncertain. Fable and Kumo still seem to bond a bit, but their love story is much less developed with this choice, as well.

This is an uncertain success outcome where it seems the quest may not be fully complete, but it’s also not a total disaster. However, the lack of union here will cause issues that prevent a happy resolution to the story.

Picking this choice earns the Camoflodge Steam achievement.

Raiders of the Lost Archives (Eelithyia’s Second Quest)

Note: Eelithyia claims this quest in Act II, but we don’t learn the resolution until Act III. We’re including here because you’ll need to make your choice during Act II.

Eager to keep moving on her quest to solve the mystery of the falling stars, Eelithyia snags this quest the moment it’s ready. This time, she’s joined by her new friend, Clay.

Serve Charisma + Inspiration + Defense (Clay’s Choice)

Ever willing to make friends with strange creatures, the Defense & Charisma boost from a drink such as First Snow lets Clay recruit some unexpected guides through the archives. Along with their new friends, they find the information they seek and bring along a new recipe for your books as well. Given its short- and long-term impact, this is the best possible success outcome for this quest.

This quest path earns the Ever Blooming Steam achievement.

Serve Strength + Citrin (Eelithyia’s Choice)

Empower our adventurers with strength and they’ll be able to battle their way into the archives. While they gain the information they seek, Clay isn’t able to befriend the bleak stalkers. This may not seem like an issue, but you’ll need every ally on your side to prevent the end of the world, making this the mild failure outcome in the long run. On the bright side, you will still get a new recipe for your collection.

Choosing this path earns the Archiving Steam Achievement.

Fatal Company (Caerlin’s 2nd Quest & Rhea’s First Quest)

Note: This crew assembles during Act II, but you won’t learn the results of your chosen drink until Act III. Since you picked the path in Act II, we’re including it here.

Serve Charisma with Evasion & Speed

Offer up something like the Peak’s Sunrise, which combines speed and charisma, for this outcome. Alas, it’s a sad tale, and ultimately the man they were meant to accompany doesn’t survive. The crew isn’t confident that another drink would’ve helped, but we tested to know for sure. Between the two options, this outcome is a quest failure.

This path earns the Distract and Run! Steam Achievement.

Serve Defense + Strength + Citrin

Give the crew a Steel Tonic, complete with a citrin infusion, and they’ll be blessed by the Dragons themselves. This will come in handy against the zombie horde, and allow for a much happier tale for Archie and Theo. Serving this drink gives the best possible success outcome.

This selection earns the Hero’s Tale Steam Achievement.

Act 3 Quests & Drink Decision Paths

By the time you enter Act 3, some of your path has already been set. You’ve begun to piece together the Big Bad and will work with your friends to prevent the end of the world – or not. While your drink choices in this act do still impact the outcome, true success is harder to come by.

The Vegan Dead (Caerlin’s 3rd Quest, with Skully)

After her recent experience with the undead, Caerlin is confident she’s equipped to figure out just what the zombies are up to. Skully stops by while you’re discussing this quest and decides to come along. After all, he’s both undead and curious.

Serve Charisma + Defense, With Frost Armor

Offer up a dose of Charisma with a drink such as the Spoken Heart, and your friends will try to reason with the mindless hoard. Oddly enough, they do get through to them – kind of. Convincing the undead to unionize might not save the world, but it’s certainly a headache our necromancer friend didn’t anticipate. This is a slight success outcome, as ultimately the zombies will still march on to nefarious purposes. But at least now they have dental, I guess.

They do harvest some Ghost Berries for you on their way back, adding to your infusions.

This path earns the Unionize! Steam Achievement.

Serve Dexterity + Defense, With Lotus Flower

If you’re like me, you presume reasoning with the undead is useless and may opt to serve up something like a Swift Strike to boost Dexterity. Doing this will help our friends battle against the undead army but without a real sense of accomplishment. After all, the necromancer can just raise more to take their place. This is a mild failure outcome since they learn a bit but don’t achieve anything.

With this path, you’ll also get a gift of Ghost Berries to add to your drinks.

This choice unlocks the Burn Out Steam Achievement.

Mission: Magically Impossible (Hex’s First Quest, with Iniko and Voy)

Our young wizard has been wanting to check out the Wizard Tower in Morlya, and now’s his chance! This quest has massive consequences in the story depending on your choice, even if it seems relatively trivial at first.

Serve Intelligence + Dexterity

A little intelligence and quick reflexes, such as you get from Peak’s Sunrise, will aid our trio as they solve the tower’s puzzles. Hex will get some goodies to study, and Iniko and Voy will become fast friends from creative problem-solving. This is the best possible success outcome.

This quest path will get you the From Rags to Riches Steam Achievement.

Serve Strength + Fire Resistance

If you love to sow chaos, go ahead and give this trio of pyromaniacs fire resistance and see what happens. Serve up some strength and Pheonix Chilis in a drink such as Sailor’s Courage. If you do, they’ll manage to salvage a few spell scrolls but they’re 100% gonna blow up that tower. This disaster is a failure outcome. Trust me.

Unsurprisingly, this choice earns the Boom! Steam Achievement.

The Parent Trap (Jade’s First Quest)

Thanks to Zephir’s surprising discovery, Jade has a new hit on her list. Or… does she? After Jade picks up this quest, you’ll try to guide her towards a less violent approach, one way or another.

Serve Strength + Defense with Frost Armor

Assassins need the strength to follow through, right? That’s the idea here if you serve up something like a Sailor’s Courage, giving Jade the defense to withstand a fight. Kumo will step in here as well, but it’s more of a shouting match than a reconciliation. This is a mild failure outcome since it’s kathartic, but not much else.

Taking this route earns the Katharsis Steam Achievement.

Serve Charisma + Speed with Honey Flowers

Give Jade a bit more friendliness than usual through something like a Sunny Breeze and she’ll talk her way through this quest. Some careful lying gets her in proximity to our mysterious Rogue’s parents. She’ll offer him the choice, and he’ll get to confront his long-lost parents. This is the best possible success outcome.

This drink choice will earn you the Katallage Steam achievement.

Heir of Dragon Fire (Rhea’s First Quest, with Caerlin, Hex, & Baya)

Now that things are coming together and you’re aware of the evil plot afoot, it’s time to try and stop it. Rhea goes with Caerlin, Hex, and Baya (and maybe Kyle, depending on some of your other choices) to seek out Dragon Fire. Only this can help create the kind of weapon you need.

I’m going to be honest here – there’s no real way to truly succeed at this quest, at least that I’ve found. A flood’s a flood and it does what it does. But there are still some differences depending on which drink you serve.

Serve Strength + Dexterity with Fire Resistance

With a strong drink like the Last Whisper, featuring Pheonix Chilis, our crew will fight their way into the tower that houses the Dragon Fire. Alas, the flood extinguished it, and they returned unsuccessful, though alive. This is a failure outcome.

Serving this drink earns the Lights Out Steam Achievement.

Serve Intelligence + Charisma with Invisibility

Though this drink choice doesn’t magically re-ignite the Dragon Fire, I liked this story a bit better. With cunning and invisibility, the party enters the tower to learn of the fire’s fate in a more interesting way for those of us who aren’t always interested in another combat round. Even so, it’s still a mild failure outcome since they don’t achieve what they set out to do.

This path will unlock the Guivre Steam Achievement.

The Twilight Chase (Eleithyia’s 3rd Quest)

Now that we know what our Big Bad is after, we need to try and stop him from getting it. Eleithyia and a band of allies including her best friend, Clay, head out to try and beat him to the Greataxe of Ur.

Once again, success is pretty much impossible here as we head to our final battle, but your drink choice impacts the details.

Serve Dexterity + Defense

Prioritize speed over defense with something like a Last Whisper, and our friends will do their best to fight their way through. Sadly, they won’t prevent our enemy from his goal, and we’ll lose a friend along the way.

This drink option earns the Last Dawn achievement.

Serve Defense + Dexterity

If you opt for more defense over dexterity, you’ll unfortunately be looking at a similar outcome. There’s just no way to stop the big bad, it seems. He takes the life of a friend and heads on to the next stage in his plan.

Choosing this path earns the First Star Achievement.

Story Climax Quests & Drink Decision Paths

By this point in the story, you’ve made a lot of decisions that will influence your final outcome. Because of the cumulative effect of some story choices, it’s hard to say just how much these last few drinks impact the final say.

I had two very different endings, but some context clues suggest that had a lot to do with every choice along the way, not just these final picks. Even so, let’s take a look at our final quests for the tale and our options.

The Dead Parade (Neil’s Final Quest)

Our mysterious rogue gathers a team for his part in the final battle – trying to evacuate the city so they won’t fall victim to the approaching undead horde.

Serve Dexterity + Intelligence

Alas, all the smarts and speed couldn’t quite convince the government of the need to evacuate the city. Eventually, they manage to get everyone out, but it’s not easy. This is a mild success outcome.

Serve Charisma + Defense

All that Charisma makes evacuating the city a breeze, and your friends will get everyone to safety. Their ultimate fate depends upon the final battle, but this quest itself gets the best possible success mark of approval.

Fight of Hopes and Dreams (Fable’s Final Quest)

Along with Caerlin and their allies, Fable heads into the final battle to defeat the Big Bad. Hopefully. This battle’s outcome is largely determined by the choices you made up to now, and it’s not entirely clear if the drink you serve sways the battle in any major direction. I’m going to cover the options, but I’m pretty sure fate is more or less decided cumulatively for this final quest.

Option 1: Dexterity + Speed

I served this one in my best possible outcome timeline, but I think many of the other choices along the way are what ultimately influenced victory here.

Option 2: Charisma

This is the drink I gave Fable in my darkest timeline playthrough. Based on the final words from the Big Bad, it seems like other choices along the way are what led to the poor outcome rather than this one drink choice alone.

Want to know our thoughts on Taven Talk? Check out our review for the main game and the Tempest Tantrum DLC.