100 Rumors for Your Campaign World

[True Black Raven]

Welcome to 100 Rumors for your Campaign World. Please post one rumor per post, 10 rumors then 10 posts. Please number them in order as we go. When we get to 100 I will update this first post and title to 500, we reach that and I will update it again and so on and so forth.

1. It is said that strange things happen up in those hills and at night strange noises are heard up on those hills, noises that make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. All the livestock is brought inside the town walls at night and driven back out the next morning. Sometimes things are heard outside the walls at night. A road that looks well traveled leads up into those hills, but the town folk never travel it and no one has ever come down from those hills doing the daytime. Sometime travelers come through town and even being warned they go up the road into the hills, but no one ever comes back down from the hills. No one ever comes back.

[mormonyoyoman]

2. "Two villages past yonder hill, every man over 12 years old woke up one morning to find they was left-handed. Every woman more than 10 woke up right-handed. Only person not affected was old Ma Bagley and ever'one knows she talks with spiriks. I mean, yeah, she has six fingers on one o' her hands. No, I don't remember which hand and neither does my wife."

[Admin Pete]

3. Overheard by a young thief while passing quietly beneath an alley window: A voice says "I've told you before, why won't you listen. My info is good, there will be a gold shipment from the dwarven mines to the Capital in three days and all we have to do is get a few good men and ambush the dwarves. I found out they try to make it look like nothing by having it lightly guarded." A difference voic replied, "We've been over this before, just because someone said it will be lightly guarded doesn't mean it true and there's likely a mage involved in this and dwarves are no pushover in a fight." Pausing he said, "The old trail north of town, you say? Hmm if we can get our own mage and enough men for twice the number of dwarves you 'think" there will be and we might pull it off." "Let's ...and the voices are too quiet to make out anymore.

[Deleted]

4. Cattle have been found dead, with no signs of violence or trauma. Both the location and frequency seem quite random. Examination of the dead animals reveals they've been completely drained of blood, no incisions or punctures are to be found on the carcass. On a non-related note, there has been a lot of falling star activity around the region lately ...

[captaincrumbcake]

5. There is a secret location in the (you name'em) mountains where, on the night of the winter solstice, moonlight striking a portion of a cliff will reveal a concealed portal leading deep into the earth. Somewhere, down a maze of twisting and trapped mine shafts, is a guarded chamber filled with gems. Enough to support 7 kingdoms... So it is said.

[robkuntz]

6. One day a familiar shopkeeper informs you that he thought such and such a person or persons were following you one day and he thought it strange enough to mention.

[Deleted]

7. A goodwife over in cheapside had ‘er baby girl switched out fer a goblin pup. That’s one ugly baby, and it’s a real terror.

[The Archivist]

8. You're home from the war and have been spent several weeks helping your parents on the farm, but you are getting cabin fever. Having seen something of the world and survived learning how to fight, you are itching to go see more of it. The last couple of days you have been seeing a stream of hard bitten warriors traveling along the road each one alone. Tomorrow is market day and you hope to find out what is going on. 

[True Black Raven]

9. You are in the market looking around for nothing specific (or maybe something specific) and just listening to the chatter around you. You hear a number of times as you wonder around the market furtive, fleeting whispered comments about missing female family members and merchants are worried and some of them are thinking of pulling up stakes and leaving. As you continue to listen, you get a picture that the "authorities" are behind it.

[robkuntz]

10. "Old Crack," a wandering beggar, tells you a secret for a coin or two that it's been X days since a local Baron's tax monies mysteriously disappeared. It's been kept hush-hush so he believes it was an inside job as several of the baron's caravan guards have gone missing (perhaps they were captured?).

[Deleted]

11. Sound it from here and yon, the Dwarves are descending from their mountain homes and raiding villages - stealing our daughters away for wifing!

[Admin Pete]

12. Some grizzled old trappers came in this morning, they say they had to leave their furs stashed to make it back. They are telling a story of a cat and mouse game with goblins to make it out of the wilderness and passing a number of burned homesteads on the way. They tell of all manner of vile creatures banded together and roaming the country side. The village elders are talking about shoring up the village walls. Someone said a bunch of riders went out this morning and someone else said there is a trickle of homesteaders coming in, families and all, with their wagons and what supplies they can carry.

[True Black Raven]

I think I want to work on this thread more on another day, there are some good things here.

[hengest]

13. There's a flower that grows nearby. The buttercup. If you rub it on your ears, you'll be able to understand the language of dogs.

[hengest]

14. There's a cave that's even better than a mine, because all you have to do is walk in and pick up all the gems and coins you want. You can take them, according to the wide-eyed child who tells you this, "because they're nobody's."

[hengest]

15. If you go outside at midnight when there's no moon, you will see a man walk down the street with his head on backwards.

[hengest]

16. There's a hermit outside the village. She can help you when you're really sick, but her house is only there sometimes.

[hengest]

17. My own sister was walking to the well, and who do you think she met coming the other way?  Her own self, but with a little one at her side!