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By Trevor James
By Jim Zubkavich

Many adventures begin with a well-placed rumor. But what the PCs hear and what they want to know isn’t always the same thing. After all, Gather Information isn’t a precision tool. Here is a list of 25 rumors and events that can add realism and dimension to the conversation in any tavern within a large city.

1. The jeweler Jarwin Quickflint died in his sleep. The will says that his two layabout sons stand to inherit his business, but all his gold goes to a charity for orphans. The sons are furious!

2. Juno Drinkwater, an elf ranger who frequents a local tavern when he’s in town, dropped by recently and announced he’s organizing an adventuring party. Beowin Goodly, the barrel maker, told his friends that he’s going to close his shop and join the party if Juno will have him.

3. Nigel the fishmonger got caught using a rigged weigh scale and an angry mob tore down his booth. He claims it was a misunderstanding.

4. The city watch arrested a drunken man they caught relieving himself on a city councilman’s gate, but when he identified himself as another city councilman, they let him go without question. Nobody knows what caused the incident.

5. Dal the blacksmith entered the annual weaponsmithing competition of the Blade Brothers Guild, and he won! Nobody even knew he could make swords. Now the guild has commissioned another ten longswords from him. He’s going to be rich.

6. A priest of St. Cuthbert was beaten nearly to death and robbed of a gold chalice inside his own church. That night, an unlit shack in the beggar’s district was blown to bits by a bolt of lightning and then drenched with acid rain. Several men ran out screaming as their skin smoked and their clothes burned. Next day the chalice was reportedly back in the church.

7. A local bartender heard a rattling noise inside an empty ale barrel as he was rolling it into his storeroom. He opened the barrel and found a silver hair comb inside. What luck!

8. A bard performing last week sang a hilarious song about an arrogant city official who doesn’t realize that his eagerly unfaithful wife has made him a laughing stock. The next day the city guard came and arrested the bard. The sergeant whispered that a magistrate named Eremont had ordered the arrest as soon as he heard about the song.

9. A warehouse burned to the ground a few nights ago. The whole neighborhood almost went too, but a cloaked figure arrived and created a wall of ice that kept the fire from spreading. Some people think it was the old alchemist whose shop was threatened by the fire, but the alchemist insists that he doesn’t know anything about it.

10. City guards found a fencing ring operating in a monastery. A pickpocket tipped them off in exchange for leniency in front of the judge. Apparently, fake monks were running the whole thing. Officials aren’t sure if they got the whole group.

11. The *Lady Down*, a cargo ship that was three months overdue and presumed lost, arrived in port yesterday without the captain, the first mate, or the cargo. The crew said they ran aground in a storm and hostile natives killed the captain and the mate. Then they traded the cargo for their lives and spent weeks trying to find their way home. The ship’s owner, a powerful merchant, is suspicious of their story, especially since the vessel shows no signs of damage.

12. Thieves stole a valuable magic item from a nearby dealer of curiosities. The dealer denies the theft, and some people think that he stole the item in the first place and that’s why he won’t report it to the authorities.

13. Shella, the seamstress who owns a little shop down the street, is starting to look a little pregnant, but nobody has the nerve to ask her because she isn’t married.

14. A caravan from the south apparently caused an outbreak of cackle fever in the city. Theaters were closed for a week to prevent the spread of disease. Now anybody who even snickers while waiting in line to enter through the south gate gets turned away.

15. Lord and Lady Hardnod’s beautiful daughter Janna has just become eligible to marry. Suitors with acceptable credentials can request an invitation to a gala ball being given next week to honor the event.

16. The famous bandit leader Rogo the Razor broke out of prison and there’s a reward of 1,000 gp for anyone who gives information that leads to his capture. If you bring him in yourself, alive or dead, the reward is 5,000 gp!

17. The royal seer predicted a crop failure followed by a harsh winter. The city guard was called out to control the mob that converged on the food market.

18. Sixty people in the same neighborhood got violently sick on the same day. Investigators were baffled until someone discovered the body of a dead half-elf in the well. With it was a sack containing broken flasks. They had to get a priest to purify the water.

19. Arlo Jass, a wealthy merchant, bought a *headband of intellect* from a halfling stranger who was offering it at less than half its normal value. It worked, but it was also cursed, forcing Arlo to speak only the truth. He paid a handsome price to have it removed, but not before his wife found out about his mistress and his secret cache of gold buried in the cellar.

20. The barmaid’s sister, Gabriella, is getting married next week to a local painter. He’s dirt poor and the barmaid is worried about her sister’s future.

21. The king’s men have posted announcements that taxes will be increased. The sign says it’s to pay for new soldiers to protect the city, but some people have heard he’s constructing a summer palace.

22. Assassins slipped past estate guards and attempted to kill the Duke of Andermeer as he slept, but the attempt failed when one of them stepped in the duke’s chamber pot as he approached the bed, waking everybody and alerting the guards.

23. Viceroy Brigg’s 14-year-old son is missing. Everyone thought he’d been kidnapped, but there’s been no ransom note. Some people think he ran away because his father has betrothed him for political reasons to a girl who’s said to have all the warmth of an aboleth and a face to match.

24. The moon looked blood-red last night. Some people say it’s a bad omen.

25. Short Sam, the beggar, swears that he knows a terrible secret but he can’t tell anybody because if he does, a fatal curse will befall that person the instant they hear it.