Rumour that’s based on something that actually happened, but the facts have been distorted
Rumour that makes the player look good, but is false
Rumour that makes the player look bad, and is false
If there are only 2-3 other players, each one gets 1 or 2 rumours. If there are a lot of players, you might duplicate some of them. You could ask the player to pick the rumour that’s most popular about them, and some extra copies of that one get handed out.
So, about half the rumours are true, or based on something true. Half are false or distortions. There’s one that the character might want people to continue to believe, even if it’s false. Another one that is a lie that the player can’t seem to shake. Another one where it’s a true story, but maybe the character is just tired of having to re-tell. On the other hand, maybe it’s a tale of heroism that they love to tell people about.
IMO having one that makes the player look good, but is false, and one where the facts have been distorted are the most interesting ones. A paladin-type character would probably want to clear up the rumours even if they made that paladin look good. A rogue might want people to believe all the rumours even the ones that make them look bad, just so that nobody really learns the truth about them. A bard might want to string people along, building more rumours and making even the true stories into fanciful tales.
I’m playing a kobold artificer who used to be a wild magic sorcerer, before a wild magic surge blew up his left arm and leg and severed his connection to the weave
I heard that he made his own prosthetic limbs while he only had one arm
I heard he invented those weird goggles (he calls them “shutter shades”) to help with the migraines that sunlight gives him
I heard he blew up his whole school when he was just a kid, and vowed to never use his sorcery powers again
I heard he’s Professor Hakase’s favorite artificer student
I heard he worships Tiamat. You can never trust those kobolds…
The first 3 are really interesting. They make me want to know more about your character. I especially like the shutter shades one, because it draws you in and makes you want to know more about how they work, why he has migraines, etc.
I have a suggestion for one though: “I heard he made a deal with Tiamat, giving up his limbs to gain secret knowledge.” I like the idea of people thinking the limbs getting blown off wasn’t an accident, but was a deliberate trade. You can imagine how that kind of rumour would spread, especially among people who don’t trust artificers because they’re scared of “technology”.
The migraines aren’t actually all that interesting, he just has sunlight sensitivity because I’m using the old VGM Kobold race stats. They remove the Sunlight Sensitivity trait, but because they occlude his vision, he has disadvantage on perception checks and attack rolls that rely on sight while he’s wearing them. I do like your take on the bad rumor though, it fits much better!
So, 4 out of 5 rumours are true?
I’d say make it like this:
If there are only 2-3 other players, each one gets 1 or 2 rumours. If there are a lot of players, you might duplicate some of them. You could ask the player to pick the rumour that’s most popular about them, and some extra copies of that one get handed out.
So, about half the rumours are true, or based on something true. Half are false or distortions. There’s one that the character might want people to continue to believe, even if it’s false. Another one that is a lie that the player can’t seem to shake. Another one where it’s a true story, but maybe the character is just tired of having to re-tell. On the other hand, maybe it’s a tale of heroism that they love to tell people about.
IMO having one that makes the player look good, but is false, and one where the facts have been distorted are the most interesting ones. A paladin-type character would probably want to clear up the rumours even if they made that paladin look good. A rogue might want people to believe all the rumours even the ones that make them look bad, just so that nobody really learns the truth about them. A bard might want to string people along, building more rumours and making even the true stories into fanciful tales.
Imma try
I’m playing a kobold artificer who used to be a wild magic sorcerer, before a wild magic surge blew up his left arm and leg and severed his connection to the weave
I heard that he made his own prosthetic limbs while he only had one arm
I heard he invented those weird goggles (he calls them “shutter shades”) to help with the migraines that sunlight gives him
I heard he blew up his whole school when he was just a kid, and vowed to never use his sorcery powers again
I heard he’s Professor Hakase’s favorite artificer student
I heard he worships Tiamat. You can never trust those kobolds…
The first 3 are really interesting. They make me want to know more about your character. I especially like the shutter shades one, because it draws you in and makes you want to know more about how they work, why he has migraines, etc.
I have a suggestion for one though: “I heard he made a deal with Tiamat, giving up his limbs to gain secret knowledge.” I like the idea of people thinking the limbs getting blown off wasn’t an accident, but was a deliberate trade. You can imagine how that kind of rumour would spread, especially among people who don’t trust artificers because they’re scared of “technology”.
The migraines aren’t actually all that interesting, he just has sunlight sensitivity because I’m using the old VGM Kobold race stats. They remove the Sunlight Sensitivity trait, but because they occlude his vision, he has disadvantage on perception checks and attack rolls that rely on sight while he’s wearing them. I do like your take on the bad rumor though, it fits much better!
Interesting.