d20 Ronin Arts A Dozen Troubling Rumors.pdf

A Dozen Troubling Rumors

A Dozen

Requires the use of the

Dungeons & Dragons ®

Player’s Handbook

Troubling Rumors

by Philip Reed

A roleplaying session, to be truly interesting and enjoyable,

requires the DM be ready to drop the smallest detail into place

just as if it had always been there and the campaign world were

a real, living place. While I consider many of my PDFs well-

suited to providing DMs with lots of fine details that go a long

way toward bringing a campaign alive there is one area I feel

has been neglected by myself and other publishers: background

noise.

By background noise I am referring to inconsequential

events, characters, and locations that all work together to add

another layer of depth to any campaign. In short, anything that

can be used in descriptive text – and in discussions between

PCs and NPCs – so that the players get the sense that the cam-

paign is larger than them; while the adventurers may have

recently vanquished the horrible minotaur of the southern caves

a nobleman was accosted by thieves on the north road and One-

Thumb Arnold – the local rat catcher – took ill with cackle fever

and the area now faces a growing rat problem.

With this in mind I present A Dozen Troubling Rumors. I

hope that you find a way to work at least a few of these rumors

into your D20 System fantasy campaign.

long as they follow the open game license (see the end of this

PDF).

About the Author

Philip Reed has been working professionally in the roleplay-

ing game industry since 1995. In that time he has worked for

such companies as West End Games, Privateer Press, and spent

almost five years as an employee of Steve Jackson Games.

Today Philip spends his days at home running Ronin Arts, writ-

ing and designing new games, and reading whatever books

interest him at the time. To learn more about Philip Reed –

and Ronin Arts – please visit w w w. p h i l i p j re e d . c o m

a n d

www.roninarts.com .

U SING THE R UMORS

This PDF is intended solely for the DM. Players who suspect

that their DM may have a copy of this PDF would do best to

close this file now and find something else to peruse.

F o r m o re PDFs please visit www. p h i l i p j re e d . c o m

and www. r p g n o w. c o m .

Open Game Content

All of the text of this free PDF is presented as open game

content. While this means absolutely nothing to your campaign

it does give other publishers permission to use this material as

book is designated as open game content. You may not distribute this PDF

without permission of the author. Dungeons & Dragons® and Wizards of the

Coast® are Registered Trademarks of Wizards of the Coast and are used with

permission.

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A Dozen Troubling Rumors

The rumors in this PDF may be sprinkled liberally in a cam-

paign either as written or modified by the DM. DMs should

always be prepared for the situations, characters, and locations

discussed in any rumor to leap to the forefront of the game ses-

sion; you never know what bit of information the players will

grab and run with.

When in any tavern, inn, coffeehouse, or similar establish-

ment where men and women gather, select a rumor (or two or

three) from this PDF and have each player make a Gather

Information check and then check the roll against the chosen

rumor(s).

Each rumor follows the format:

for a week.”

Source: Edgar Ellis [male human, Com1, 2 hp], a young

dock worker who walks with a limp and is bald. Ellis dresses in

filthy breeches and tunic and wears wooden clogs.

Successful Gather Information Check: “What I’ve heard is

that Lord Marlborough was tricked by those filthy dwarven

traders that were terrorizing the market last week. Marlborough

says that he’ll pay 50 gold to any man brave enough to confront

the dwarves and take his father’s sword from those foul

midgets.”

Source: Harold Bonelli [male human, Exp 3, 10 hp], owner

of Bonelli’s Wine Shop. Harold Bonelli dresses in a threadbare

supertunic that was, at one time, quite elegant and dark breech-

es with leather-soled booties.

Follow Up: The dwarven caravan consists of 20 dwarves – a

mixture of merchants and guards (exact strength should be

determined based on the strength of the PCs) – assorted pack

mules, and a wagon. The dwarves recognized Marlborough’s

sword as one forged hundreds of years ago in their own kingdom

and offered Marlborough 100 gp for the weapon (which is easi-

ly worth 500 gp). Marlborough foolishly accepted the proposal

and just yesterday learned of the sword’s true worth. The

dwarves are not willing to give up the sword without a fight but

if they appear to be losing the battle – or the minute any of their

number is slain – they will surrender and attempt to escape with

their lives.

Rumor Heading (Gather Information DC)

Failed Gather Information C h e c k : If the check is failed this is

what the PCs hear. Asection of this entry is to be read aloud to the

players though many DMs will choose to paraphrase the informa-

tion (especially if any of it needs to be tweaked to better fit the

campaign). This entry also discloses the source of the rumor.

Successful Gather Information C h e c k : If the check succeeds

this is what the PCs hear. Again, this entry is intended to be read

aloud and gives the source of the rumor.

Follow Up: If the PCs choose to investigate the rumor this

information will help the DM to prepare for what could happen.

T HE R UMORS

And now, with introductory text and instructions out of the

way, let us dive into the meat of this short PDF.

A Handsome Reward is Offered for . . .

(DC 10)

Failed Gather Information Check: “Didja hear, mate? Old

man Marlborough’s lost his dad’s sword and is offerin’ 100 gold

to any man that can return it. I hear Marlborough’s went and sold

it to them dwarves that were tradin’ in the market last week and

now ‘es tryin’ ta fool his insurance men. I reckon ain’t a one a

us gonna get no reward for a sword that’s been in dwarf hands

The Platinum Tower Serves Warm, Foul

Tasting Ale that Tastes like Piss (DC 11)

Failed Gather Information Check: “You don’t wanta go in

there, lad. That joint serves nothing but the worst drinks and

their ale is no better than warm dog piss. No, a wealthy fella

such as you would be a lot happier at The Serpent’s Tongue and

it’s not too far a walk. You’ve never been? Well, for a few cop-

per I could lead ya there meself.”

Source: Button Hughes (male human, Com3, 6 hp], a man in

his 50s wearing an old robe and sandals.

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A Dozen Troubling Rumors

Successful Gather Information Check: “Be wary of any

man or woman directing you to an establishment known as

“The Serpent’s Tongue.” No such place exists in the city and

many a fine man has found himself surrounded by a gang of

thieves after following a lonely beggar to this imagined tavern.”

Source: Any member of the city watch.

Follow Up: PCs that fail their Gather Information check and

choose to follow Button Hughes will find themselves surround-

ed by a gang of thieves (3 for each member of the party). The

thieves are not brave and will run at the first sign of blood on

any of their own.

Follow Up: One-Thumb Arnold is, in fact, hiding in his sis-

t e r’s cellar. Hundreds of rats are loose in the city and the “rat

catcher” is afraid he’ll be identified as a coward if it gets out

that he’s too scared to face such a large number of rats. W h i l e

these are simply ordinary rats, many of them are carrying dis-

ease and if they’re not wiped out quickly the city will face a

horrible epidemic.

Fighter Coming out of Retirement (DC 12)

Failed Gather Information Check: “Rochester’s gonna

fight Cain! I seen the han’bill meself just yesterday when I was

at the Goose and Gallop. Whata fight it’s gonna be! I’m headed

out to beg me a few coppers so I can see the fight. Or maybe

one so noble as yerself might give this old soldier a handful of

coppers so he can see the fight and have a bowlful ‘a beer?”

Source: Johnson [male human, War6, 33 hp], a one-armed

beggar. Years ago Karl Johnson was an elite soldier in the army

of a neighboring country. An unfortunate accident lost Karl his

arm and his will to fight. For over 30 years now Karl has moved

from city to town to village, all the while begging for his scraps

of bread and the occasional drink.

Successful Gather Information Check: “I’ve already got

my ticket. Cost 2 gold but it’s worth it to see Cain come out of

retirement and whoop this young upstart Rochester. I seen Cain

fight a decade ago when he was in his prime and it was an

excellent battle. If you hurry over to Evans’ Tavern you can get

in on the wagering; Evans is giving 10:1 odds on Cain.”

Source: Rynn Acha [male dwarf, Exp5, 18 hp], a weapon-

smith well respected and admired in the city.

Follow Up: The fight takes place and as long as there is no

interference or foul play Cain does, indeed, win the bout. Of

course, several unsavory individuals will go out of their way to

influence the fight so it may just be up to the PCs to halt any

wrongdoing (or, if I know players, it’s just as likely they’ll have

their own wrongdoings to orchestrate).

One-Thumb Arnold is Sick (DC 12)

Failed Gather Information Check: “Arnold got them

shakes from spendin’ too much time with the rats. Now we’re

all a gonna pay for it since them rats are buggerin’ each other

so fast that there’s a million of ‘em under us right now. Tr u t h !

Me “friend” Jacob, he’s the one works in the sewers, barely

escaped from them last night.”

S o u rce: Harriet (the Whore) [female human, Com 1, 1 hp],

an ugly young woman that gets by in ways best not mentioned

in the presence of one of such noble stature as yourself.

Successful Gather Information Check: “ O n e - T h u m b

A r n o l d ’s been a plague on this city ever since he took up the

rat catcher practice five years ago. He’s as dishonest as they

come and the rats he catches are his very own! See, he trains

‘em and sets ‘em loose in a shop then comes along and “catch-

es” them. Now A r n o l d ’s gone and bred too many of them rats

and they’re out of his control. I hear he’s hiding in the cellar of

his sister’s house and letting on some story that he’s sick. A i n ’t

so. He’s just scared to face the mess he’s made.”

S o u rce: Michael the Bloodless [male half-elf, Clr2, 11 hp],

adventurous cleric of war. Reddish hair, fair complexion,

dressed in robes and armed with a mace.

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A Dozen Troubling Rumors

The Gentleman Bryce has been

Assaulted by Thieves (DC 12)

Failed Gather Information Check: “Hatcher took it on his-

self to check his lands north a the city last week and got what

was comin’ to him. Dirty thief has been robbin’us common man

blind every day for two score years and it’s time someone laid

inta him. Hell, I’ve thought a doin’the same thing to him meself

ever since my pap lost the horse to that “gentleman.”

Source: Nathan Skrogs [male human, Com2, 5 hp], a middle-

aged man with a receding hairline and dressed in tattered robes.

Skrogs is barefoot, armed with a club, and sometimes works in

Smithfield’s Chocolate House (see A Dozen Documents and

Papers or www.philipjreed.com ) as a rough.

Successful Gather Information Check: “Yes, I heard gen-

tleman Martin was attacked a few weeks ago. What my sister

told me – and she’s a friend of Miriam Martin – is that the good

gentleman was returning from his cottage in the country when a

gang of roughs ambushed him and his bodyguard. Both barely

escaped with their lives and now Martin’s looking for some gen-

tlemen to accompany him on an expedition to exact revenge on

those terrible thugs.”

Source: Green Robinson [male human, Exp4, 15 hp], a

wealthy draper (a draper is a merchant that specializes in cloth)

who frequently sells his wares from the back of a well-kept

wagon.

Follow Up: Hatcher Martin is indeed looking to hire men so

that he may punish those who attacked him. Martin will pay 10

gold to any man that will ride with him early next week. The

thieves – six in total – have already heard that Martin is looking

to punish them and have fled to a nearby city or large town.

Once Martin determines that the rogues have fled the area he’ll

offer a reward of 100 gold to any man who brings him the leader

of the thieves – dead or alive.

That Whore’s Got What’s Coming to Her

(DC 14)

Failed Gather Information Check: “Mary sure was a pretty

whore but she and Jack Hall were up to no good running that

buttock and twang. The only sad thing is she’s gonna swing from

a rope before anyone gets the secret of where her and Jack had

their booty hid. My wife – she’s a maid for that scoundrel mon-

eylender Matthews – heard Matthews talking about the hun-

dreds of gold and jewels Mary and Jack had hidden away.”

NOTE: A “buttock and twang” is an old practice in which a

prostitute and thug would work together to lure unsuspecting

gentlemen to dark alleys where they would relieve the man of

his possessions.

Source: Ageb Brown [male human, Com3, 6 hp], a pawn-

broker dressed in clean tunic and breeches. Brown is a fanatic

when it comes to cleanliness.

Successful Gather Information Check: “Yeah, I’ve heard

the talk about that whore and her man having wealth hidden

somewhere in the city. What I heard, from Jack Hall’s mum no

less, is that the pair didn’t have a cent to their name. Everything

the stole went to Jack’s habit with the drugs and it’s that awful

addiction that got him killed.”

S o u rce: Roger Hunt [male human, Exp6, 21 hp], c h a n d l e r

(a candle maker) who runs The Moon’s Candles, a small shop

just outside of the common market. Hunt is tall, lean, and in his

40s. He dresses well for a man of middle class and is a

w i d o w e r.

Follow Up: There is no money or riches to be found. Player

characters that investigate the matter will learn that Jack was

killed when one of their marks got the best of him and Mary

nearly died in the struggle. She was grabbed by the town watch

and instantly sentenced to death.

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A Dozen Troubling Rumors

A Nearby Dungeon (DC 14)

Failed Gather Information Check: “It’s just a day to the

south by foot, seen it with me own eyes. We were there doing

some mining for the city when we uncovered the entrance. Some

of our boys went into the dungeon but me and the others would-

n’t have anything to do with it and we fled just as fast as we

could when we heard screams inside the dungeon. You look like

a strong enough warrior. How about I draw you a map to the

dungeon and you give me enough coin for a bottle?”

Source: Wilson the Dirty [male halfing, Com2, 4 hp], a mid-

dle-aged halfing who makes his living digging trenches, out-

houses, cellars – anything that needs dug.

Successful Gather Information Check: “It appears to be a

long-forgotten tomb, probably a few thousand years old. Those

men who were lost inside should have never entered a freshly

uncovered dungeon. The city leaders are just now trying to

decide if they should send men in to investigate the tomb or just

cover it back up with earth and rock. If you’re a man in search

of treasure I’d say you’ve probably got a week before the city

makes their decision and does something. Though who knows

what course of action those fools will decide on.”

Source: Clark Turner [male human, Com5, 10 hp], a barber

who owns a small stall in the common market. Turner has

friends on the city council and is well connected to local events.

Follow Up: If the player characters learn of the dungeon

from Wilson and choose to investigate they’ll quickly find that

their map is worthless. It isn’t that the halfling was trying to

cheat them; just that he isn’t very educated and doesn’t have a

clear idea of where he was working. If the PCs decide to descend

into the dungeon you’ll need a map and the area planned. Any

one or two-level dungeon would do though there’s no reason the

DM couldn’t decide that this is the entrance to some vast, cam-

paign-shattering dungeon complex.

The Dock Laborers will Strike (DC 14)

Failed Gather Information Check: “Strike? That’s a bloody

lie! Me dad’s a dockman and he told me there’s no way they’ll

be strikin’. What I heard is some troublemaker’s goin’ round

tellin’ these strike rumors so the captains will take their ships

and cargo to the south and leave us without.”

Source: Keyhole [male human, Com1, 1 hp] , a boy of about

12. If pressed, Keyhole lets on that his given name is Joshua and

he’s called Keyhole because of his skill opening locked doors.

Successful Gather Information Check: “I can guarantee

there will be a strike in less than a week. For too long the tobac-

co and coffee merchants have been taking advantage of us men

and we’ve had enough. Why, just last month they cut our wages

in half. We’ll see how fat those lousy merchants get when their

merchandise is left rotting on a boat.”

Source: Webb [male human, Com3, 6 hp] , a man in his 30s

dressed in worn clothes and quite sunburned. Webb works as a

dock laborer.

Follow Up: Sure enough, in one week the dock laborers go

on strike. Within days the strike turns bloody as the dock work-

ers clash with scabs and the town watch are called in to put

down the resulting riots. The price of most goods in the city

slowly begins rising, at first by a few copper pieces and then a

few silver pieces. The violence and escalating prices will con-

tinue until the strike is resolved in some manner. Perhaps the

player characters are called upon to assist one side or the other

or, perhaps, by the city council that need men willing to do what

must be done to end the strike.

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