How does fame affect your characters?

[Umbran]

In my current campaign, the PCs are second level. There's belly button lint that has more fame than the PCs

Are they mentioned in songs?
Do people on the street recognize them?
Does it get them discounts at stores?
Does it draw out challengers?
Do people want to associate with them?

These are all things that would be affected by heroes wo do things in public, with lots of other people around - like in a major war, or in the marketplace during the day. I find most of my groups want to follow plots that happen out of the public eye, so they don't see these effects. The PCs tend to become powerful, but not famous.

Does it endanger those around them?
Do they get invited to participate in things (balls, tournaments, affairs of state) that they wouldn't otherwise?
Does it give them more leeway with the authorities?

These are all things determined by folks "in the know". Whether they are also publicly famous may also have an impact, but for the most part it is about the lords and ladies of the land knowing what is going on, which isn't really "fame" in the broad sense.

 

[Herpes Cineplex]

We played a Scarred Lands campaign a while back where the GM incorporated Monte Cook's "Banewarrens" adventure. At the end of that, we returned to Shelzar and shared the story around a little. I seem to remember that our monk (from the library at Lokil) had commissioned a small book about it to send back to the library as a gift, and that got spread around a bit, too. It caught the public's attention, and within a few weeks one of the local theaters was putting on a play about us and our exploits.

It was, of course, as close to our actual adventure as a made-for-TV movie is to an actual event: the monk had mysteriously changed race and was romantically entangled with our hot paladin chick, another PC had become the somewhat-dim comic relief character, that kind of thing. We got a good laugh out of it and a little recognition, but Shelzar being what it was, within a month or so it was ancient history and other people were getting their fifteen minutes instead. Plus, it was difficult to recognize us if all you'd seen was the play.

Didn't do much for us in terms of discounts or attracting unwanted attention (which we had more than enough of already), but I think we got a few party/dinner invitations out of it and occasionally we could attempt to trade on our "fame," with mixed results.

--
the session where we went to go see the play about ourselves was hilarious
ryan

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

We played a Scarred Lands campaign a while back where the GM incorporated Monte Cook's "Banewarrens" adventure. At the end of that, we returned to Shelzar and shared the story around a little. I seem to remember that our monk (from the library at Lokil) had commissioned a small book about it to send back to the library as a gift, and that got spread around a bit, too. It caught the public's attention, and within a few weeks one of the local theaters was putting on a play about us and our exploits.

It was, of course, as close to our actual adventure as a made-for-TV movie is to an actual event: the monk had mysteriously changed race and was romantically entangled with our hot paladin chick, another PC had become the somewhat-dim comic relief character, that kind of thing. We got a good laugh out of it and a little recognition, but Shelzar being what it was, within a month or so it was ancient history and other people were getting their fifteen minutes instead. Plus, it was difficult to recognize us if all you'd seen was the play.

Didn't do much for us in terms of discounts or attracting unwanted attention (which we had more than enough of already), but I think we got a few party/dinner invitations out of it and occasionally we could attempt to trade on our "fame," with mixed results.

--
the session where we went to go see the play about ourselves was hilarious

I think I'll be stealing this for a later level of the campaign.

 

[Aramax]

I run a very low-level world so that when the pcs reach about 5th,they have enterered a realm where they are known and talked about widely because the theme of the game is always world saving,

Mostly this means that they can expect a fair amount of help from Good clerics and wizards,,
who will do them favors free of charge.