What do the people of Otari know?

[Poboy]

I am having trouble keeping up what the differences are between what I know and what the players/townsfolk NPCs should know.

So for example the Story of the Rogue Otari. Does everybody know about the Roseguard? And that Otari was supposedly slain? And what do the common people know about Belcorra? Or the Kobold tribe?

Is it all just "legends/stories" or do they for sure know that it happend - I mean there is the museum at Oseph Menhemes Manor. Of course this may differ from NPC to NPC, but I was just wondering how other GMs are going to handle this.

I want to tease information, but don't want to just give out information that would otherwise be discovered :)

[SuperBidi]

This kind of information is quite common, in my opinion. I won't give everything for free, but a simple gather information check should at least recover most information.

For me, it's like learning the story of Remus and Romulus. Not everyone knows it, but if you look for it you find it. After all, it's the story of the founding of their city, it's important to them.

[Ron Lundeen]

SuperBidi wrote:

This kind of information is quite common, in my opinion. I won't give everything for free, but a simple gather information check should at least recover most information.

For me, it's like learning the story of Remus and Romulus. Not everyone knows it, but if you look for it you find it. After all, it's the story of the founding of their city, it's important to them.

I agree. Everyone there, at some point or another, probably asked, "Why is our town called Otari, anyway?" and they'd get the story of the Roseguard. There's a museum in town to them--probably not much better-known or better-patronized than any small-town historical museum--but people know it's there.

I might not even require a Diplomacy check to Gather Information, but just have the townspeople tell anyone who takes the time to ask around.

Anyone under Inkleholtz schooling probably had to write a report on the town at some point! :-)

[CrystalSeas]

Shameless plug for an "Otari, My Hometown" setting box with village tales told endlessly at picnics, in bars, around campfires, enacted as school plays on various holidays, etc

Complete with pawns for the most prominent NPCs, so when PCs interact with them, I've got the same illustration they're seeing when we play (or at least battle cards, eh?)

And maps for the insides of various spots that appear in the BB adventure, Troubles, etc. If the players need to chat with Tamily about her fishcamp, a map of the interior of the Otari Fishery, and a pawn for Tamily would be nice. Ollaria Gallentine's shop and The Dawnflower Library with Vandy Banderdash similarly. Gauntlight, Shroud Of Four Silences, etc.

If the PCs are going to interact with this town for four or five levels, I'd really like to have all the backstories, maps, and pawns handy in one box.

[kayman]

SuperBidi wrote:

This kind of information is quite common, in my opinion. I won't give everything for free, but a simple gather information check should at least recover most information.

For me, it's like learning the story of Remus and Romulus. Not everyone knows it, but if you look for it you find it. After all, it's the story of the founding of their city, it's important to them.

I am following this idea.. and by the way , thanks James Jacobs and Paizo for this wonderful AP... a good story and a lot of room for GM creativity

[Cralius the Dark]

As the PCs walked through Otari, I had some children jumping rope singing a certain nursery rhyme. This sparked questions. One of the players cleric grew up in Otari and told the basic story which I had given her before the game.