The Carcass House is really not much of a house, as it doesnt have walls. Instead it has thick cornerposts and a large slatted roof that is adorned with hundreds of metal hooks. When the fishermen bring in their catches, the fish are hung by their tails in the carcass house and fires are built in pits in the floor. The constant heat and smoke dry out the fish, and regular rubs of salt help cure the meat.

After a bit, the other meat packers and butchers caught onto the idea, especially those who couldn’t afford their own privatre smoke houses and such. Given access to a communal house, the independent poultry butchers found a place to hang their birds. Some like pheasants were kept in cooler areas to properly ripen before being cooked and eaten. Other more quickly eaten birds were dressed and hung above the smoldering coals to seal their meat and preserve it.

Some pork and beef make their way to the carcass house, but most operations that have enough money to operate in the realm of cattle are generally able to afford their own smokehouses.

Economics
The Carcass House is a good local source of preserved meat. The folk who own and operate it, keeping up with the hooks and providing wood for the pits, take a share of each batch of preserved meat after it is smoked and dried. While some of this is consumed, the rest is sold on the general market. PCs looking to get food to take on a long trip can purchase this dried meat (Jerky!) and have something besides hardtack or iron rations. There can also be a variety of spicings, as well as a Carcass House Tavern that serves cheap beer that goes good with the often salty meat they come by cheap.

Dramatics
A semi-flimsy structure with pits full of coals and a roof dangling with hooks of varying sizes is a great place for a battle. Friend and foe have to dodge the hazards. A villain can be tripped up to step into a pot of hot coals, fall and catch his sword arm (or much much worse) on a used meat hook, desperate characters might even take up a hook and use it as a weapon.

Additional Ideas (0)

Please register to add an idea. It only takes a moment.