101 Rumours in a fantasy world

[Noldor Elf]

I am building a homebrew campaing world, and because of that I will soon have the luxury of players really not knowing more than their characters about the world... Thus I would like to create rumours for this world and to ease my task I ask for help: Rumours or legends that could be told in a fantasy setting.

1.) The king of the northen kingdom feed itself with blood

2.) There is a dragon living on the cave of the nearby mountains. The old Gru saw it last summer, flewing ower the forest, body gleaming in the sun like gold.

3.) Trolls look like dogs, walking on their rear foot. They steal little children who wander outside after the dark

4.) There is a strange stone in the forest. Everybody, who stand next to it at the full moon disappears. (That's true for my world, althought it happens every night)

So please, contribute!

 

[Emiricol]

You know, the DMG tables are great resources. I find that I have to put the results into a context, and they usually (hopefully!) take on a life of their own, but a good tool for idea generation.

Three rolls is usually enough to create a baseline story from which 3-6 rumors can be drawn, and plus it is fun trying to figure out how the three results might interrelate to make up the "real" story

 

[s/LaSH]

What about:

5) A woman died in the next town after she touched a toad. (That toads were poisonous was a common superstition amongst medieval people, incidentally - and a good reason to encourage a wizard player to take a toad familiar.)

6) A vile necromancer wanders the lands in a tattered robe, ringing bells to put his victims off guard. (If you know who really wandered the lands in tattered robes ringing bells, you'll understand why this is so cruel.)

7) A man once purchased a candle that, when lit, screamed rather than shed light - the chandler (candle maker) was nowhere to be found when the customer returned, and his shop had vanished.

Weird enough for ya?

 

[Noldor Elf]

Thank you s/LaSH, those were great. Perhaps not going to use them all, but grea anyway.

And a few not so grim rumours:

8) Son of the local farmer died last night, the village is waiting for the clerics from a monastery to pick his body soon (This is true in my world)

9) One can find marvellous treasure if one is able to walt through all the twelve stone arches in the desert

 

[tleilaxu]

he who eats the lotus blossom will be visited by strange visions and mystical knowledge

 

[rounser]

10) "One of the local shepherds is a vampire who feeds from his own flock. If you see any sheep with blood stains on their wool, run like blazes."
11) "No matter what the locals tell you, that there fountain isn't a magical wishing fountain. Throwing in coppers is just a waste of time."
12) "Guffry is a retired mage turned landholder who gave all the local farmers these animated scarecrows which could bring in the harvest, bless him. Everyone was happy except the druids, who said it weren't natural and confronted Guffry. Been awful quiet in the woods since they left."
13) "Lindsay is Pikkery's daughter, and she's done very well with the bakery since her father went off to war. Some say she has a brownie helping her and the other bakers, so mind the pixie-dust in your bread."
14) "Adventurers, eh? Don't let the taxman know you're in town, the local lord has a list of levies on your type as long as your arm."
15) "The monks of the local monaestery may seem pious enough, but I know the truth. Ever wonder why they're always hooded, and you never see their faces? Half of them are dark elves which the others are in league with, and they'll steal you away to the deeps and enslave you if you go there!"

 

[Mark Chance]

16. Carefully dispose of nail and hair clippings, for evil sorcerers can use them to harm you.

17. Carefully dispose of nail and hair clippings, for evil creatures such as lice and serpents are born from them.

[Both of the above are historical admonitions common to many systems of magic superstition.]

 

[WanderingMonster]

I made rumors on index cards for my most successful campaign. Every session, the players would get a card. One or two might have info on it that might be helpful for the current session (useful because it didn't rely on me prompting players and saying "Your character would know this..."). The cards also contained seeds of adventure, common lore, dirty secrets, and general knowledge. Here's two examples:

HEARTH WISDOM
In the month of Thanta, a young dwarf’s heart turns to love. Customarily, all dwarves of marrying age cast their personal runes into the forge of the torgunder. Through ancient meditations and traditions passed down through the eons, the torgunder will find a mate for each dwarf who casts his or her rune.

DIRTY SECRETS:
The disdain that elves hold for the undead is not a very well kept secret. It stands to reason that elves would hold little love for those who would pursue the knowledge of death, and the acquisition of power over the energies of Shadow. It is in effect UNKNOWN that elven necromancers must forswear allegiance to Corellon Larethian, and wear the mantle of pariah in his eyes.

 

[HellHound]

18. "Bree-Yark!" is goblin for "We Surrender!"

 

[Dark Eternal]

19. Non-humans (elves, dwarves, etc.) carry strange diseases that don't harm them, but can contaminate anyone they come into contact with.

20. Something strange happened to the mayor's daughter in a nearby village. You didn't hear it from me, but I heard that she was assaulted by an incubus, and will give birth to a demon child in the fall.

21. In the mountains, there's an ancient haunted ruin. Anyone who stays overnight may be able to learn the answer to any question, but risks losing their mind.

22. There's a hermit who lives in the swamp nearby who can cure any disease, but he's absolutely insane, and can't be trusted.

23. If you ever find a tree that has green mushrooms growing on it, don't go near it - the mushrooms have spores that will put you to sleep for a hundred years.

24. The baron in the east has offered a reward of a thousand gold crowns to anyone who can banish the spirits that plague his family crypt.

25. In the south, there's said to be an enchanted spring that turns anyone who drinks of it to solid gold!

If you like those, I'll post more later when I think of them.

Edit: Had to change the numbers, since HellHound snuck in a post while I was typing!