Numenera is a game published by Monte Cook Games. Its setting is the Ninth World, and this list has ten rumours for that setting. The rumours, which are similar to the Hearsay that can be found in the official books, can be used as adventure hooks or as simple misinformation.

1. Beoth in Draolis was struck with an illness which the inhabitants called the “toothless bile.” The illness killed many of the city’s people, and left many more bedridden for some time. No cure has been discovered for the illness, but Aeon Priests constructed a device called the Arch of Illness, which glows when someone afflicted with the disease passes through. There’s a rumour that the arch doesn’t always work correctly, and a worry that some people with the disease may have passed through without it registering.
2. Castle Sarrat in Draolis has been growing ever since the Horges family moved into it seventy years ago. No-one really knows anything about the process, only that new areas suddenly appear in a matter of moments. It’s rumoured that, in recent months, the rate at which the castle is growing has been accelerating, with new portions being added with great rapidity. Some are concerned that the castle will start to engulf the surrounding lands.
3. Draolis used to be ruled by a powerful queen whose symbol was a roaring tiger. Her line died out and was replaced by a council of plutocrats who wished to keep power rather than hand it over to another hereditary line. Many of the people wish to return to the previous rulership, as they believe the nation was more glorious back then, and there’s a rumour that the queen’s line hadn’t died out fully, and that there are still descendants who could take the throne, if the people united behind them.
4. Kordech in Draolis is devoted to the sale, breeding and slaughter of shiul, a valuable source of meat. The cattle, which are popular targets for various predators as well as bandits, are protected at night by wooden palisades erected by those that look after them. It’s rumoured, though, that a number of shiul have recently started disappearing from within the palisades themselves, disappearing with no sign of either them or what might have taken them.
5. Mayor Marvyr Rann of Qi in Draolis lives in a dirigible out of a fear that if he ever treads on the earth he will sicken and die. It’s rumoured that Rann’s dirigible nearly came to earth recently without the mayor’s approval. Some say that it was sabotaged in an attempt to bring Rann back to the ground. If it’s true that Rann will die if he touches the ground, this was an assassination attempt, and it’s said that the mayor is certainly treating it as such.
6. Sister Tevera, a priestess of the cult of Nauz, the Stargod, become the mayor of Beoth in Draolis after the previous mayor died. Tevera is continually clashing with the Aeon Priests over handling the toothless bile that afflicts the city, and it’s rumoured that the priests would be glad to see her replaced with someone who would make their job easier. It’s even rumoured that some of the priests might be willing to help Sister Tevera on her way out of the job.
7. The Fourth Mark in Draolis is a strange construction with a tower like base rising hundreds of feet in the air, topped by a crescent shape. Over the years, many have tried and failed to get through the synth hatch that blocks access to the structure’s head, but there’s a rumour that one of the more recent groups to attempt access never returned. Whether this means that they got through, and were stuck or transported elsewhere, whether they were vapourised or whether they were simply never witnessed leaving isn’t known.
8. The inhabitants of the city of Qi in Draolis often travel from place to place within the city using dirigibles and balloons, though such devices are rarely used to venture over longer distances, as the vehicles lack the capability. Recently, there have been a number of incidents with the vehicles, accidents within the city where they have crashed or otherwise started to fall from the sky. So far, none of these have been serious, but there’s a concern that such is only a matter of time.
9. The Marish Clan of Qi in Draolis have their fingers in all sorts of illegal pies, mostly involving goods that have been stolen in some way, but they also conduct murder for hire. There’s a rumour, though, that the clan is looking to expand into other arenas. A few political figures are said to have died recently, seemingly killed by the Marish, and it’s thought that the clan is attempting to become a political power in the city, not just a purely criminal one. Though some see little difference.
10. The Zhev are the elite peacekeeping force of Qi in Draolis and are flying cylindrical automatons that were created by the Amber Pope. The city’s rulers are able to repair the existing Zhev, but not make new ones, and the city’s area has expanded since the automatons were first created. The rulers are rumoured to be spending a lot of effort into looking for methods to create new Zhev, so that the entirety of Qi falls under their protection once again.

Want some items that could be used as oddities? Check out 100 Xenoarchaeological Finds.