About & FAQ

[ discord (18+ only) ★ AO3 Collection ★ AO3 Collection (Anon) ]

Welcome to The Tavern, a BBC Merlin prompt challenge server! For those of you who remember Tavern Tales, The Tavern runs along similar lines, but with a slightly different structure and a more social aspect.

HOW IT WORKS:

Rounds

Every three months, we’ll post a new theme/prompt challenge for you to fill. A master list of fills will be posted each month, but otherwise rounds have no minimum ratings, requirements or deadlines.

Quests

For one month each quarter (October, February, and May respectively), we will also be hosting a separate mini-fest, with a break in August for Kinkalot. Each “quest” will have a specific focus, with deadlines, ratings and requirements to be announced beforehand. A list of fills will be posted each week, with a final master list at the end of the month.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

This is a self-posting challenge. All you have to do to participate is create a fill (or fills!) for the theme, post it wherever you like, and then submit the link to us here on Tumblr. We will then share it on Tumblr and in the Discord fills channel.

If you’re a member of the Discord server (18+ only), then each fill you submit will earn you 1 point. Special server roles will be awarded for those who earn a set number of points, as follows:

🧹 Squire (5 points)
⚔️ Knight (10 points)
🐴 Knight Errant (25 points)
🏆 Grail Knight (50 points)
👑 Royalty (100+ points)

As this is an opt-in fest, you will need to keep track of your own fill count and notify the mods when you achieve enough points. We will then verify your point count and award you the relevant role.

Participation in the challenges is not mandatory to be part of the server – all challenges are opt-in, and you may opt out at any time. You’re welcome to stop by just to chat if you prefer, as long as you’re over 18!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

• All fanworks, genres, and pairings are allowed (including podfic and RPF) provided they’re BBC Merlin-related and fit the theme in some way. If creating podfic, please make sure you have received permission from the author.
• You’re welcome to play around with the themes/prompts as much as you like: you can interpret them literally or figuratively, use puns and other double meanings, or subvert them. If there are variants for a theme (e.g. “fish, mammals, birds”), you can create for all of them or only one of them – it’s up to you!
• Multiple fills for each theme/prompt are welcome.
• Anon posting, WIPs, and collabs are fine.
• You may fill multiple prompts in a single fanwork; however, works should be created for the fest rather than previously posted elsewhere.
• You may post your fill(s) wherever you like. There is an AO3 Collection if you would like to add your fill to it. If you prefer to remain anon, you can post to our Anon Subcollection on AO3.