You don’t need magic to mess with the PCs. A simple rumor will do, whether it is about them or someone else. Delicious tales should always be a part of the campaign-setting backdrop, and not just to plant the seeds of adventure. Here’s one method for incorporating tall-tales, speculation, and fantastic stories.
Vile Rumors and Unsubstantiated Claims in D&D
The PCs, having helped the village with their monster problem—after spending a few weeks recovering from various wounds—decide to travel to the city thirty miles away to deliver an heirloom they found to the Baron.
They enter the city, and when walking by a food cart, the vendor screams: “Ah! It’s the werewolf!” and runs off.
Now, the PCs don’t know that a traveling merchant told a nearby tavern, “Those monster killers, they fought them dire wolves like they were werewolves themselves!” And then described what one of the PCs looked like, as the PC entered the Bouncing Mutt Tavern, wounded and in need of a celebratory beer.
By the time the rumor reached the food vendor, that PC was a werewolf. Completely untrue, and a bit funny. Well, for the rest of the players and DM, that is.
Designing Rumors—setting the basics
Put yourself in the shoes of the commoner in a quasi-medieval campaign-world. The nobility is in the hot seat for protecting the locals from the depredations of monsters and magic. Most commoners never wander past the horizon. So a PC, be them a “monster killer,” “magic warrior,” or “wizard,” is just as fantastical as the monsters themselves. Commoners will even view priests of a respected religion as a bit of a freak show, as the priest wandered away from the safety of the church walls.
On the flip side, magic and the objectively observed existence of divine power also has an educational effect. The local populous doesn’t need to create fantastic mythology to make sense of the world—they can ask the resident priestess that channels power from her god, or ask the educated wizard having a beer at the local.
This is the basis of the Rumor Landscape. Before we can dive right in, let’s talk about the basics of a good rumor.
Objective Truth and Falsity
Rumors are true, false, and in between. Creating an accurate tale about a PC is easy, so is embellishing bravado to the point some of it never happened. And then there are outright lies.
I like black because it makes me look good.
But the best lies are rooted in truth. “That warlock talks to voices inside his head, he’s crazy, and will steal your thoughts!” The warlock does talk to voices inside his head and does have access to people’s thoughts on occasion—but he has no capability of stealing or altering memories.
Yet.
When adding rumors to the game, try to keep the ones that are entirely untrue to a minimum.
One of my favorite rumors is the “black widow.” A PC is wearing all black because (the player) she likes the way she looks in black.
But the local populous, wearing black is a symbol of mourning. And thus, the PC finds people calling her “the Widow” because they think she is mourning. Some get confused, mostly if the PC acts against the cultural expectations of someone grieving the loss of a family member. And the player might think it’s funny (or not), up until a widower approachers her asking for advice in dealing with grief and loss.
Designing Rumors—Level Plus Charisma Method
In a game as complex as D&D (and it’s variants such as Pathfinder), it behooves a DM to keep track of information about each PC in a spreadsheet, OneNote, or other note-taking software. That’s where you want to store your rumors!
Here’s the “Level Plus Charisma Method”
For each level, a PC should have one true rumor and one false rumor about them
Add a one true and one false rumor per Charisma ability modifier. So, a first level PC with a 16 (+3) Charisma would have four true rumors and four false rumors about her
As the PC levels, the DM occasionally replaces rumors with stories specific to the location the PC now inhabits or more juicer tidbits introduced by the PC’s actions upon the game world
Now that you have your rumors—have at it. Use them when the energy at the game table seems low, or if a player hasn’t contributed much that evening, or, better still, at the worst opportune time, socially, for the PC.
Rumors as a Weapon, and Plot Device
As deeply-rooted as junior high, using rumors against rivals is as old as sin. Players, once they realize there is a game mechanic around the Rumor Mill, will start to use gossip and slander to their advantage, in addition to battling such from their enemies. Eventually, in any political environment, there will be propaganda.
Which is not to say folk are entirely gullible. Many people participate in the rumor mill just for the sport of it all, exchanging stories for the thrill of making life less mundane than it is. But salacious rumors about good people are damaging. Give your players a chance to deal with rumors as-is—if they engage in hurtful behavior, show the consequences of that, but also allow them to make things right.
The Rumor Mill in D&D is for the creation of DRAMA. Drama can lead to conflict, and conflict leads to action. Action leads to rolling dice and killing monsters.
Even a rumor about wearing black can turn into rolling dice and killing monsters. Perhaps that widower needs to face down the alligator that killed his wife at the swimming hole. And, maybe the PC wants to help him, not knowing that the gator in question is a demon. Perhaps the PC finds a common bond with the NPC, after, of course, she sets him straight about her fondness for black dresses.
