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Hi,
As I mentioned in another thread, I created a rumor chart for my CotCT campaign. I choose and/or randomly roll from among the following list to inform my players of rumors they've heard recently. Note that the second columns (T/F) shows whether the rumor is true or false. A skill check (type and DC at the DM's discretion) can tell the player that a false rumor is indeed probably false.
Some of these rumors are just reference to entries in the Guide to Korvosa or some of the modules, but can serve to help the PC's discover Korvosa a little more piece by piece.
I hope it can be of help to those of you out there running this great campaign! :)
# T/F Rumor
1 T The region around Hook Mountain was attacked by ogres.
2 F The towns around Hook Mountain were all overrun by trolls. Everybody's dead.
3 T A fortress next to Turtleback Ferry near Hook Mountain to the Northwest was invaded by ogres, but some adventurers reclaimed it
4 T A cult of murderers worshipping Norgorber who had been rampaging in Magnimar for some time were destroyed by some heroes.
5 T There are wererats in the Vaults below Korvosa.
6 T There are wererats in the Vaults below Korvosa. They are only vulnerable to silver weapons.
7 T There are wererats in the Vaults below Korvosa. They are only vunerable to silver or mithral weapons.
8 T There are wererats in the Vaults below Korvosa. They are not all evil. Some are like normal people most of the time.
9 F Most members of the thieves guild are really wererats. That's why they're so hard to kill
10 F A Sea Dragon lives in Conqueror's Bay, west of Korvosa.
11 F A Sea Dragon lives in Conqueror's Bay, west of Korvosa. It's controlled by the mages of the Acadamae to help the city's defenses.
12 T An evil sea witch lives around the waters in Korvosa.
13 T An evil sea witch lives around the waters in Korvosa. She can use magic and control fish.
14 T There are big monsters called otyughs in the Vaults of the city. They have tentacles.
15 T There are big monsters called otyughs in the Vaults of the city. They have tentacles. The city keeps them there to clean the Vaults.
16 T Watch out for the chokers, don't stand too close to windows on upper floors
17 F Blackjack is the master of the thieves guild
18 F Blackjack was an evil assassin, redeemed by a priest of Iomedae and given a magical quest to help the downtrodden to atone for his evil ways
19 T Blackjack is either an elf or has been several humans over the past decades/centuries. See GTK p58.
20 T The Queen and her bodyguard Sabina are lovers
21 T The King had a harem, but god rid of it when he married his young wife
22 F The King has come back as a ghost and is the true ruler of Korvosa, Ileosa is only the public face
23 F The King was killed by the Curse of the Crimson Throne. It's only a matter of time before his pretty wife shares his fate.
24 F The King died while making love to his beautiful young wife
25 T Many people disappear in Korvosa… It's a dangerous city
26 T Many people disappear in Korvosa… there must be some hidden monsters lurking that nobody has found and killed yet.
27 F The recent riots were made worse by disruptive agents sent by the rival city of Magnimar to sow dissent in Korvosa
28 F The Undead in Gray District are all the restless spirits of the Shoanti warriors killed centuries ago
29 F There is something odd going on in the church of Pharasma: why are there so many undead in the Gray District? Are they building an undead army?
30 F The Church of Asmodeus has plans to overthrow the Church of Abadar and become the most powerful church in Korvosa
31 T Queen Domina had a bastard child; Eodred's half-brother
32 T Queen Domina had a bastard child; Eodred's half-brother; he is a tiefling
33 T Queen Domina had a bastard child; Eodred's half-brother; he is a tiefling who always remains in a secret place in the castle
34 F Queen Domina had a bastard child; Eodred's half-brother; he is a tiefling who always remains in a secret place in the castle; he is in fact the mastermind manipulating Eodred all along, and now manipulating Ileosa
35 F House Ornelos is trying to depose Ileosa to take control of Korvosa
36 F House Jeggare is trying working with Magnimar to undermine Korvosa authority to weaken it for an invasion
37 F Mister Pestico makes living dolls, but one went insane and killed people. She has never been found
38 F The wizards of the Acadamae often use Invisible Stalkers to get rid of people who are too nosy about their affairs
39 T There are strange little creatures with white eyes living below Korvosa; they are cruel and kidnap people; my cousin was kidnapped by them but doesn't remember what they did exactly
40 T Vencarlo Orisini is one of the finest blades in Korvosa - he often teaches young noblemen
41 T Vencarlo Orisini is one of the finest blades in Korvosa - he is often vocally opposed to the Korvosan rulers
42 T Vencarlo Orisini is one of the finest blades in Korvosa - he even taught Sabina Merrin, the queen's bodyguard
43 T House Arkona does a lot of trading with distant Vudra
44 T House Arkona does a lot of trading with distant Vudra - their mansion is decorated with themes from that country and there are wild and fantastic beast that roam in their gardens.
45 T Info on House Arkona (GTK p40)
46 T The enemies of House Arkona have a tendency to disappear under mysterious circumstances
47 T If you want to see some sick plays, go to Exemplary Execrables in Old Korvosa
48 T If you want to see some sick plays, go to Exemplary Execrables in Old Korvosa. Sometimes the bad actors there die for real
49 T Pilts Swastel is the demented owner of Exemplary Execrables. He keeps a crazy gnome as his pet.
50 F The high-ranking priests of Asmodeus are all vampires
51 T There are some red-clad assassins working around Korvosa
52 T Queen Ileosa is young and arrogant. She only married King Eodred for his power
53 T Queen Ileosa comes from Cheliax. She has made clear that she finds Korvosa to be a backwater place
54 F Queen Ileosa was married against her will to King Eodred. She is a sweet, innocent and misunderstood woman
55 F Queen Ileosa is being courted by lord Calerdo of house Jeggare and we can expect a marriage soon
56 F Queen Ileosa's beauty has something magical because she has some nymph blood
57 F Bogus rumors like Lady Marguerite of House Jeggare has a torid love affair with the hero Blackjack.
58 F Bogus rumors like Lady Calaria of House Leroung has an affair with the Mieraeni Ambassador and gave birth to a half-elf bastard.
59 F There is an evil old Varisian Witch living in Thief Camp who puts curses on Chelaxians who go there
60 F FM Kroft is getting annoyed with those damn Varisian thieves. It's only a matter of town before the guard raids Thief Camp and arrests them all!
61 T Zenobia Zenderholm is tough as nails - merciless with criminals
62 F Zenobia Zenderholm is tough as nails - merciless, devout follower of Asmodeus
63 T Zenobia Zenderholm is tough as nails - merciless with criminals but with a kind heart
64 F The pseudodragons in Korvosa are all the offspring/servants of a huge gold dragon living in a secret cave near Korvosa
65 T The imps in Korvosa come from inept Acadamae students who summoned them as part of their studies
66 F There is a portal to Hell deep below the Acadamae. Students who fail to become wizards are sent there as gifts for devils who aid the master wizards.
67 T Sabina Merrin is as deadly as she is beautiful
68 ? Sabina Merrin is the most powerful warrior in Korvosa
69 F Sabina Merrin wields a magical sword that makes her invincible
70 F Commandant Endrin and FM Kroft rarely see eye to eye and often enter in conflict
71 T Command Endrin hates the Hellknights
72 F The Hellknights serve the church of Asmodeus
73 F The Hellknights are evil and are a danger to Korvosa
74 T Rumor describing the Hellknight leaders (Severs and Maydraine Vox)
75 T Rumor describing the relationship between the Hellknights and Queen Domina
76 T Rumor describing the other Hellknight orders (see Council of Thieves books 3 and 4)
77 F The Hellknights are here under orders from Cheliax to prepare for an invasion of all Varisia
78 F The Hellknights are far more powerful than those Shoanti barbarians
79 F Blackjack hasn't been seen in a while because he's been captured by the Hellknights. He probably met a very unpleasant end at their hands
80 T The power over Korvosa is actually split between the King/Queen and the Seneschal
81 F Some people suspect that the seneschal had a hand into Eodred's death. Ileosa is surely easier to manipulate than the wise old king.
82 T Some customers of the "Upslope House" inn in the Heights (H2, GtKp16) have disappeared during the night.
83 T Some customers of the "Upslope House" inn in the Heights (H2, GtKp16) have disappeared during the night. The inn stands atop an opening into a natural-cave Vault under the hill. Servants of some dark power use the Vault for some nefarious plots.
84 T Some customers of the "Upslope House" inn in the Heights (H2, GtKp16) have disappeared during the night. The inn stands atop an opening into a natural-cave Vault under the hill. Servants of some dark power use the Vault for some nefarious plots. There are nocturnal creatures called Derros who kidnap humans. At least, that's what I heard from a wizard. I don't know what a Derro actually is. Maybe some kind of demon?
85 T One of the noble houses is the true power behind the Cerullean Society, the thieves' guild.
86 F One of the noble houses is the true power behind the Cerullean Society, the thieves' guild. It is House Bromathan.
87 T One of the noble houses is the true power behind the Cerullean Society, the thieves' guild. It is House Arkona.
88 T I'm glad we have a strong queen in charge now! All those damned arbiters and magistrates just waste our time and our taxes. Who knows what the hell they're doing anyway!
89 T The Seneshal, Neolandus Kalepopolis, is a wise and reasonable man. He'd make a much better ruler than that young spoiled queen Ileosa! They should put him in charge, I say!
90 T When she was young, my aunt Lirbella was saved from a pack of stinking Varisian thugs and rapists by none other than Blackjack himself! He beat the crap out of them and walked her home safely. Now, that's a gentleman! Now, that's a hero! I wish he would return to Korvosa and help us out, we could sure use his help in these troubled times.
91 T One of the leaders of the Order of the Nail Hellknights, Paravicar Acillmar, wields incredibly powerful magic, being able to call upon the power of Asmodeus but also to cast spells as a Wizard (he's a MT)
92 T Discussion among workers, some bitter because they can’t form unions (except thieves!), others saying they’re fine, have plenty of laws protecting them, then start calling the other a Solly, and a bar brawl starts.
93 T Some people look down on adventurers, citing that all groups hired in 4661 by King Chadris to kill the red dragon Glarataxus who was terrorizing the villages of Palin’s Cove and Baslwief failed. The last time the dragon attacked was in 4674.
94 T Info about Kaer Maga (guide to Korvosa p7)
95 T Info about Abken (guide to Korvosa p7)
96 T Info about Biston (guide to Korvosa p7)
97 T Info about Baslwief (guide to Korvosa p7)
98 T Info about Harse (guide to Korvosa p7)
99 T Info about Melfesh (guide to Korvosa p7)
100 T Info about Palin's Cove (guide to Korvosa p7)
101 T Info about Sirathu (guide to Korvosa p7)
102 T Info about Veldraine (guide to Korvosa p7)
103 F Few people are allowed inside the Acadamae besides teachers and students of the arcane. They focus on conjuration. Students who fail are recycled as fodder for necromantic studies…
104 F Few people are allowed inside the Acadamae besides teachers and students of the arcane. The necromancers are building an army of undead to overthrow the dominant conjurers and take control of the Acadamae.
105 T There is some rivalry between the schools of conjuration and neceromancy at the Acadamae. The young students from those departments sometimes duel each other.
106 T Information about the building of the Great Tower (H1, GtK p16)
107 T Description of the construction and consecration of the Temple of Asmodeus (H4, GtK p17) It was a priestess of Shelyn, now dead, who performed the resurrections of the virgins.
108 T The temple of Asmodeus promotes slave trade (H4, GtK p17) even though the guard found nothing.
109 T Strange noises can be heard from the top floor of the university after sunset, as if people were walking on the rooftop. But the Korvosan Guard didn't find anything strange when they investigated. They think maybe it's a rumor started by someone trying to cause problems for the university. (H8b, GTK p18)
110 T The Marbledome (H11, GTK p19) isn't profitable, and badly managed by Touran Palastus. The artists are treated like crap. Some defect to Magnimar as a result.
111 T Story of how Kendall amphitheater was created (H12, GTK p19)
112 T Basha (M4 GtK p22, 2nd one) sells fake treasure maps he draws himself.
113 T Gemshare Jewelers (M4.5, GTK p22) is a good place to buy and sell gems.
114 T Phaeton Skoda, the owner of Hedge Wizardry (M4.6, GTK p22) stole magical items from Theumanexus College before she left it, and now she's in trouble with the other wizards.
115 T Kep, the owner of Kep's fishery, sells all kinds of exotic fish caught by his brother's wide nets. (M4.8, GTK p22).
116 T Kep, the owner of Kep's fishery, sells all kinds of exotic fish caught by his brother's wide nets. (M4.8, GTK p22). He has a stuffed sahuagin in his shop, that draws a lot of people. Some have claimed to see it move.
117 F Kep, the owner of Kep's fishery, sells all kinds of exotic fish. (M4.8, GTK p22). Rumors say that he keeps some undead animated sea creatures to protect his shop; perhaps he and his brother found an underwater treasure and they're trying to keep it secure?
118 T Rumors about "Tracey", the owner of Fair-Fished Baitshop (M4.9, GTK p23)
119 T (Coming from a very well-groomed person): the best barber in town is Hooktooth, the half-orc owner of Pinking Shears (M4.10, GTK p23). He can introduce the PC to him.
120 T Slicing Dicers (M4.11, GTK p23) is a great place to sell previously owned weapons.
121 T The food shop Smoked Foods (M4.12, GTK p23) just received a Bulette killed by Shoanti hunters in the Cinderlands! The owner is going to cut it in the street in front of everyone! You gotta see this!
122 T The owner of the clock shop "Time Stop" is also the one who made and adjusts the clock on the high tower of Castle Korvosa. He's a crazy gnome who named his daughters Min and Sec.
123 T Info about Trapper's Hole (M4.14, GTK p23).
124 T Info about Citadel Volshyenek (M5, GTK p23).
125 T Info about Pestico's Dolls and Figurines (M8, GTK p24).
126 T The ghost of a Shoanti princess appears three nights each year at the Laughing Wave Inn (N1, GTKp24)
127 T The old inn "Whitecaps" in North Point used to be very secure, but burglars have broken into it twice in recent months (N3, GTK p25)
128 T Info about Longacre building (N4, GTK p25): how prisoners are executed + mysterious disappearances.
129 T Info about City Hall (N5, GTK p25): nicer old style architecture + most famous painting.
130 T Info about Montlarion Jeggare (GTK p 12)
131 T Info about Saint Allika the Martyr (GTK p19)
132 T Info about Keyra Palin (GTK p23)
133 T Info about FM Korvosa (GTK p27)
134 T Info about the temple of Abadar (N6, GTK p26)
135 T Info about the Three Rings Tavern (N7, GTK p26)
136 T Description of the avenue of arms (N9, GTK p26)
137 T Info about Posh and Turtle (N10, GTK p26), its appearance and how it's the nicest restaurant in town.
138 T Info about Posh and Turtle (N10, GTK p26), about the Druids causing trouble and being hired by a Magnimar competitor.
139 T Info about Palace Arkona (black marbe, trade with Vudra, exotic animals and statues) (O1, GTK p28)
140 T Info about Old City Hall (O2, GTK p28).
141 T Info about Vencarlo Orisini's academy (O3, GTK p28). Vencarlo is getting old and will soon retire.
142 T Info about Endrin Military Academy (O4, GTK p28)
143 T Info about Reefclaw Run Market (O5, GTK p29)
144 T Info about the Sticky Mermaid (O6, GTK p29)
145 T Info about the Jeggare's Jug (O7, GTK p29)
146 T Info about Eel's End/Devargo Barvasi (O9, GTK p29)
147 T Info about Exemplary Execrables/Pilts Swastel (O10, GTK p29)
148 T Info about the temple of Aroden (O11, GTK p30)
149 T Info about the Travelling Man Tavern (O12, GTK p30) with the otyugh feeding every oathday.
150 T Info about Hessim, Newby and Sage (O13, GTK p30) the paint makers.
151 T Info about the Ironworks (O14, GTK p30)
152 T Info about Orkatto's Feathers and Fur (S1, GTK p30)
153 T Info about the Green Market (S2, GTK p30).
154 T Info about Bard's End (S3, GTK p31)
155 T Info on the Shingles (GTK p32)
156 T Info on Twitcher's (GTK p33) the tavern up in the Shingles of North Point, with suspiciously strong drink.
157 T Info on the Vaults (GTK p33)
158 T Info on "The Commandant of the Sable Company" (GTK p35)
159 T Info on "Field Marshal of the Korvosan Guard" (GTK p35)
160 T B$@&&ing about how FM Kroft hires adventurers to do guards' jobs.
161 T Chatting about the next upcoming holiday and its meaning (GTK p36).
162 T Chatting about the other holidays
163 T Info about the Magistrates (GTK p35-36)
164 T Info about the Monarch (GTK p36)
165 T Info about the Seneschal (GTK p37)
166 T Info about Peerage review (GTK p37)
167 T Info on the Korvosan Guard (GTK p37)
168 T Info on the Order of the Nail Hellknights (GTK p37)
169 T Info about The Sable Company (GTK p38)
170 T Info about King Eodred 2 (GTK p38)
171 T Info about Zenobia Zenderholm (GTK p39)
172 T General info about nobles (GTK p39)
173 T Info about House Arabasti (GTK p39)
174 T Info on House Arkona (GTK p40)
175 T Info on House Bromathan (GTK p41)
176 T Info on House Endrin (GTK p41)
177 T Info on House Jeggare (GTK p41)
178 T Info on House Leroung (GTK p42)
179 T Info on House Ornelos (GTK p42)
180 T Info on House Porphyria (GTK p42)
181 T Info on House Zenderholm (GTK p43)
182 T Info on the "Dock Families" (GTK p44 sidebar)
183 T Info on Queen Ileosa (GTK p45)
184 T Rumors wondering why King Eodred didn't father any heir with the many harem girls or Ileosa
185 T Info about Waydon Endrin (GTK p47)
186 T Info about the Cerulean Society (GTK p46)
187 T Info about the Catsdew Lofties (GTK p47)
188 T Info about the Dusters (GTK p47)
189 T Info about the Sczarni (GTK p47)
190 T Info about Toff Ornelos (GTK p52). He hoards his power as a Headmaster. To become a headmaster, one had to bind a powerful devil. It is rumored that Toff summoned a Pit Fiend: he is very powerful.
191 T Info about Volshyenek Ornelos (GTK p57)
192 T The grandson of a priest of Asmodeus has mysteriously disappeared a few months ago (see temple of Sarenrae)
193 F Devargo Barvasi, the master of Eel's End, has some fiendish blood and can control spiders.
194 F "Facts" about devilfish (A1 p81)
195 T The legend of "Meatclaw" the giant reefclaw (A1 p89)
196 T History of Varisians (A1 p63-64)
Out freaking standing I will put this to good use.
Thanks for sharing
Nice! I have a random generator program I plugged them into and it made me a nice list of rumors for use. I have a facebook group for my players that we keep docs and discussions on (well its setup and theyve discussed characters and such and i posted some of the player infor for them) That I think It will be some sort of rumor a day feature I'll post and let them look at and comment on...
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Greetings, I did something similar but what I did was I took the list of rumors I made and I assigned each a DC in increments of 5 (5, 10, 15, etc) Then I printed them out and cut them into strips to hand out.
Whenever a PC was in an environment (such as a tavern or spent a day on the town) to gather info I had them roll a diplomacy and whatever the result I gave them a slip for each 5 they broke (for instance if they rolled a 17 they got a 5, a 10 and a 15)
I did not give them any clue whether the "rumor" was true or false, though I did tell them the higher the dc the better chance it was true.
The more secret a piece of information was the higher a DC I set for it.
For example I would have taken Moonbeams and set them up like this:
5 The region around Hook Mountain was attacked by ogres.
10 The towns around Hook Mountain were all overrun by trolls. Everybody's dead.
15 A fortress next to Turtleback Ferry near Hook Mountain to the Northwest was invaded by ogres, but some adventurers reclaimed it
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I did not give them any clue whether the "rumor" was true or false, though I did tell them the higher the dc the better chance it was true.The more secret a piece of information was the higher a DC I set for it.
For example I would have taken Moonbeams and set them up like this:
5 The region around Hook Mountain was attacked by ogres.
10 The towns around Hook Mountain were all overrun by trolls. Everybody's dead.
15 A fortress next to Turtleback Ferry near Hook Mountain to the Northwest was invaded by ogres, but some adventurers reclaimed it
Initially, I wanted to have DC's like this (using different Knowledge Skills depending on the rumor), with a high enough success indicating whether the rumor was true or false.
Unfortunately, we didn't actually role-play events such as "a night in the tavern" in such a fine level of detail that I could give them these rumors in-game. So what I ended up doing as just to send all players a "recent rumors in Korvosa" email every week between games, with 3 randomly picked rumors that their characters learned recently. It wasn't as realistic, but it worked well enough for our group.
I can see myself swiping some of these. I actually have a player who's character likes to make stuff up, usually based off an event witnessed where all the details aren't clear, or lying about something the party did and blaming it on another group.... though sometimes he just makes stuff completely up from thing air. When I update my rumor sheets I add in his new ones, sometimes changed slightly sometimes not. It's a lot of fun for both him and me.
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I know this is an old post but I found it and thought it was great and I wanted to add my own opinion.
I love the list, but I think its just too big. In my opinion, if you start giving players lists of random rumors, they aren't gonna remember them all. And even if they keep the list someone and look over it, its still going to be a pain and extra book keeping.
What I thought about doing is just picking a few rumors for each part of the AP CotCT. For example, in Edge of Anarchy (book 1), Part 2, The King is Dead, it tells you some info that happened (the seneschal is missing, Academae closed its doors, food is less frequent, etc). I don't expect the PCs to find all that info at once. So, each day they figure out more, and maybe add some rumors the OP provided above to add some flavor ("Queen Ileosa was married against her will to King Eodred. She's a sweet, innocent, misunderstood woman who needs help ruling", etc). I organized the rumors to different parts using this way.
I also have an order to the rumors. Like, rumors about people going missing before the PCs encounter Derros in the last part of book 1. Or maybe a rumor about a wererat before book 2. It's sort of like fun foreshadowing and I feel like instead of just throwing random rumors at PCs, it gives the PCs fun info before they encounter something.
The thing about CotCT is that there isn't enough XP to get to the right lvl, so these rumors give the GM some ideas for adding some side quests. Aside from creating part specific rumors, I used these rumors to sort of give the PCs some interesting things to do, while at the same time learning about the city.
In short: awesome list, but I think that the rumors shouldn't be random (and the GM should have a plan).
I came across this thread by pure chance but what a lucky find! Awesome job! And so neatly organized with page numbers and everything.
Thank you so much! Yoinked!
dotted.
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These are great.
For my group I have to be very careful about what rumors I throw out there though, they tend to over react.
"A random drunk guy in a tavern mentioned the hook mountains! Drop everything, off we go!"