Category Archives: GameMaster’s Resource

D8 Hooks and Rumours for the Blight: The Jumble

krahnkemarket
Andrew Krahnke

Here are eight rumours for characters to hear in or about the Jumble in Castorhage, also called the Blight, of the Lost Lands setting. They could hear these rumours whilst asking around for other information, or stumble across them in other ways. Whether or not a rumour is true, false or somewhere in between is up to the GameMaster. The rumours can be used as a source of background colour, misinformation or as potential adventure hooks.

  1. Cat’s Cradle is the endless maze of streets that surround the Jumble or head into the Bazaar. It’s said that the maze is truly endless in parts, as it’s reported that some parts of Cat’s Cradle also dip into Between, and those who stumble into those parts at the wrong time pass into Between and a truly never-ending maze.
  2. Ha’ab of Ha’ab Makkum is one of many insectum dealers who can be found in the Bazaar. It’s said that Ha’ab, as well as being an expert in insectum, is always looking for things that could lead to the development of more insectum, and will may well for strange bugs from unusual places.
  3. It’s rumoured that Oscar Grudge III, who runs the weekly events at the Rigging, has something special planned for an upcoming event. Some are saying that Oscar has managed to get his hands on a dangerous creature which will be incorporated into that event, though there are concerns he might not have control over whatever it is.
  4. Master Brewer Quarus Gobb of the Queen’s Head Inn in the Jumble creates some of what are considered to be the finest brews in the city, despite saying that the taste of beer makes him sick. This has led to rumours that perhaps Gobb isn’t really the one brewing the ales, for how could someone who doesn’t like beer brew a decent one?
  5. Private balconies and boxes are offered at exorbitant rates during the events held at the Rigging, and it’s rumoured that there’s an entire black, or at best grey, economy forming around them. Such seats are being offered in trade for various things, and sometimes threats are being made, followed up with violence, in order to obtain them.
  6. The Ladder in the Jumble is the collection of ladders, spiral stairs and rope bridges that criss cross the place and are the fastest way to get from top to bottom. It suffers almost daily collapses, blockages and accidents, and there are rumours that some of these are done intentionally to kill specific people, as well as innocent bystanders.
  7. The Roguery in the Jumble is the primary area of entertainment with taverns, theatres, gambling dens and more present. It’s rumoured that behind the more obvious front places are some, much more exclusive, venues, ones where it’s not uncommon for disguised nobles to visit to partake of the, often illegal, entertainment.
  8. There was once a cult of brain eaters that made its home in Skum Point before being removed by the guild. There are rumours that the Guild didn’t manage to get all of the cult, though, and that some returned to the pier to make it once more into their home, though they now live much more secretly.

Want more rumours for the Jumble? Check out 100 Hooks and Rumours for the Blight: The Jumble and Town Bridge (Lost Lands).

This product contains intellectual property of Frog God Games LLC under license. Such intellectual property is considered Product Identity under the terms of the Open Game License provided by Wizards of the Coast.

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D10: Numenera Rumours – The Nullified Harbor

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

Numenera is a game published by Monte Cook Games. Its setting is the Ninth World, and this list has eight 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. Britners can be found in the Nullified Harbor, and their eggs are valuable baubles often as valuable as a shin. It’s rumoured that someone has been buying all the britner eggs they can lay their hands on, leading to people wondering just what they are wanted for.
  2. It’s not known why the Nullified Harbor is a graveyard for sunken ships, but there are theories. One suggestion is that the ships sink in a variety of places, and are then teleported to the harbour. Another is that it’s where pirates sink their prey. A third suggestion is that there’s some technology in the area that sinks the ships.
  3. None of the invisible corridors, tunnels made from water, goes anywhere near the Nullified Harbor, and some believe that this can’t be a coincidence. Theories include the idea that the invisible corridors deliberately avoiding it, the Nullified Harbor has destroyed or driven away any nearby corridors or that it was constructed in a place they would never reach.
  4. Some claim that one of the shipwrecks of the Nullified Harbor is unlike any ship that’s ever seen before and, though it’s clearly been down there a while, it has suffered very little in the way of damage, still looking as if it might be functional.
  5. Someone has returned, seemingly from the Nullified Harbor, with some very odd technological items they claim to have discovered on one of the ships. It’s said that the Aeon Priests have been very interested in these items and want to get more of them.
  6. The Nullified Harbor is home to the marrudi, a rare plant that can be distilled into a useful drink. It’s rumoured that it grows in greater profusion the the Harbor than anywhere else, despite attempts to grow it in other places, leading to some wondering if there’s something special about the local conditions.
  7. The Nullified Harbor is known to be a graveyard of ships not far from the Rayskel Cays. There are constant rumours about just what can be found on the wrecks of the ships, and it’s said that a major expedition is being planned to plunder them as much as possible.
  8. The perou is a dangerous fish found in the Nullified Garden, because it harms powered devices it touches by draining energy from them. It’s rumoured that some have been launching expeditions to the garden in order to capture perou to use as weapons.
  9. The waters of the Nullified Harbor are warmer than they should be, though this isn’t the same as warm. There are suggestions that something in the area is making the waters have a higher temperature than would normally be expected.
  10. Wrecked ships are common in the Nullified Harbor, and it’s rumoured that some of these wrecks are old enough that they hark back to a prior world. However, few seem to know which ships might fall into that category, or how they might have survived that long.

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D10: The Strange Rumours – Recursions: New Centropolis

WorldsThe Strange is a game published by Monte Cook Games. It is, at least in part, set in the normal world, but there are other worlds out there, in the Strange. This list has ten rumours for that setting, similar to the various different adventure hooks in the books, and these can be used as adventure hooks or simple misinformation.

  1. Acts by superheroes in New Centropolis that are found to be questionable or outright illegal by the Department of Superhuman Affairs can result in a warrant for the individual’s arrest. It’s rumoured that on occasion the DSA has neglected to do anything about illegal actions when they believe that the ends justified the means.
  2. Agents from groups on Earth and Ruk have apparently been spotted in New Centropolis. It’s rumoured that Ruk especially is looking to see if the superpowers possessed by some of the inhabitants can be copied and used in other recursions, creating, essentially, supersoldiers.
  3. Alicia Reardon is the current head of the DSA office in New Centropolis. She was retired from field work after being injured bringing in the terrorist Mister Nefarious. It’s rumoured that the injury she suffered is causing her increasing problems, and that she may end up having to step down from running the office.
  4. Centropolis Square is home to a tall statue of Radioactive Girl, the superhero who exploded with the force of a nuclear bomb in order to save the city. Some have claimed that on occasion the statue changes its position slightly, as if something, perhaps Radioactive Girl’s spirit, is animating it.
  5. Corvid is a superhuman who looks like a human crow who has taken up the role of guarding Centropolis Square. He’s also fond of telling people that Radioactive Girl will return in their darkest hour, and some of the visitors to the square have apparently taken up to asking Corvid for more; it’s possible that a cult is starting to develop around Radioactive Girl with Corvid as its leader.
  6. Radioactive Girl died when she went supernova to save the city from the Kasrang Mother Virus. Despite this, there are occasional rumours that people have seen her, injured but not dead, on the streets and alleys of New Centropolis, hiding in the shadows at night.
  7. Supervillains are held by the DSA using a special facility based on little-understood technology which collapses prisoners to nonexistence for their duration. There are rumours by those who know about the Strange that this could be hacked into from the Strange itself, allowing prisoners to be broken out.
  8. The Busker performs in Centropolis Square every day, with a level of ability that seems superhuman, and she also is able to answer questions truthfully, if paid and only once, even when it seems there is no way she can know the answer. Some think she may have a connection to the Spectaculars as some kind of information gatherer.
  9. The headquarters of the Department of Superhuman Affairs in New Centropolis often sees protestors outside, some wanting all superhumans locked up, others wanting the DSA to let vigilantes do their jobs. It’s rumoured that opposing sides are more often arriving outside the DSA at the same time, leading to clashes, and some believe that these clashes are being deliberately engineered, perhaps with the intention of staging one large enough that it will make breaking into the DSA easier.
  10. Warden Hughes is the only agent of the DSA authorised to use the quantum collapse arch, which is how the DSA stored its prisoners by literally making it so that they don’t exist whilst imprisoned. There are rumours that Hughes is under constant surveillance by other agents, not because he isn’t trusted but because supervillains might choose to kidnap him and force him to use the arch.

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D10: Europe Rumours: Portugal

Europe10 Hooks and Rumours for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.’s Europe

This list has ten hooks and rumours that can be heard about Portugal. Whether or not they are true is up to the GameMaster. They can be used as background colour or as potential adventure hooks.

  1. Amazonian Security and Arasaka, two of the corps involved in the current dispute over who corporate-owned Portugal, both have the resources to fight a corporate war. It’s rumoured that the EC itself is starting to intervene, not wanting one of its member nations to be the frontline of a full-blown war between companies.
  2. Combra in Portugal is a university city and one that’s a centre of opposition to corporate rule. The two corporate blocks running Portugal disagree about whether or not the university should be closed; it’s rumoured that the one opposed to closure has started, indirectly, recruiting students to their cause.
  3. Much money has been spent by Portugal’s corporate government on making Lisbon a showcase and a tourist attraction. However, there are rumours that the current split between two factions of the corporate overlords may be about to spill out onto the streets of Lisbon, damaging it as both as a showcase and as a source of tourist income.
  4. Portugal has become a major player in third age tourism, with European pensioners flooding to the clear beaches. It’s rumoured that more than a few are staying permanently in country, which is causing the average age of the population to rise, a potential long-term problem.
  5. Portugal is now effectively owned and controlled by corporations, which the EC currently allows because Portugal’s influence is not significant. It’s rumoured that Spain has been campaigning with the EC, though, to be given control over Portugal instead, citing ancient connections and that they are not a company but a fellow EC member.
  6. Portugal’s market is essentially captive, because despite EC policies on open borders, the corporations that run the country don’t stock products produced by other companies nor do they advertise them. It’s rumoured that the EC is growing unhappy about this effective flouting of the law in spirit if not in principle, and may do something about it.
  7. The corporate alliance that runs Portugal has recently broken apart into two factions, each with their own presidential candidate supported by three of the controlling corps. It’s rumoured that there is already a war going on in the shadows between the different companies, a war that may spill out from them soon.
  8. There are currently six corps in the corporate alliance that runs Portugal, though this has now become two groups of three with different goals. It’s rumoured that this brewing conflict between them has led other corps to start eying the country up, to see what bits they can bite off whilst the current corps are distracted.
  9. There are some Portuguese who haven’t capitulated to their corporate overlords, though most have moved to other countries. It’s rumoured that some have started gathering resources to start making a much more active dent in the corporate rulership of their country.
  10. Two of the corps that control Portugal, Amazonian Security and Arasaka, currently stand on different sides and both have the resources to fight a corporate war. There are rumours that both have been moving assets into the country, assets of the nature needed to fight such a war.

D10: Europe Rumours: Portugal is unofficial content provided under the Homebrew Content Policy of R. Talsorian Games and is not approved or endorsed by RTG. This content references materials that are the property of R. Talsorian Games and its licensees.

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D10: Bits of Misinformation to Learn About Gnomes

Gnome on Raccoon
Some artwork © Dean Spencer, used with permission. All rights reserved.

Characters may attempt to learn more about types of creatures that they may end up fighting, and there are many sources they might check, but not everything they learn is necessarily true. Here are ten bits of misinformation to learn about gnomes.

  1. Gnomes are not actually living creatures, but stone ornaments that have been granted a semblance of life through magic.
  2. Gnomes are so connected to the fey realms that saying “I don’t believe in fairies” can cause them physical harm.
  3. Gnomes are sterile hybrids, the offspring of dwarves and halflings.
  4. Gnomes do not actually exist; all gnomes are halflings pretending to be another species.
  5. Gnomes have technological and clockwork innovations they keep secret from the rest of the world.
  6. Gnomes live in foetid holes in the ground, where they wallow in squalor and filth like pigs in muck.
  7. Gnomes manufacture clockwork versions of other people, which they use to spy on the taller peoples.
  8. Sometimes gnomes dress up as if they are human children.
  9. The first gnomes were created by ancient elven mages.
  10. Young gnomes are moulded from special clay that their “parents” find.

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D8: Numenera Rumours – The Drowned City of Cle

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

Numenera is a game published by Monte Cook Games. Its setting is the Ninth World, and this list has eight 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. Eggs have reportedly been found washing up on the coast of the Beyond near Harmuth, reportedly of kinds that have never been seen before. Some of the eggs have reportedly hatched, revealing previously unseen creatures.
  2. It’s rumoured that a number of strange cyphers have been turning up in some markets of ports on the western seas of the Beyond. These cyphers are of unknown origin, and though they have proven to sell, it’s also said that a number of those who purchased the cyphers have disappeared not long after.
  3. Kasanth is an Aeon Priest and colleague of Darnet who came to Cle with him. It’s rumoured that the varjellen feels that they aren’t going to be able to accomplish their mission in the sunken city, and that they should consider trying elsewhere.
  4. Rumours are abounding in some of the towns of the Beyond on the western shores of a sunken city not far off the coast that’s home to vast treasures from a prior world. Some are said to be raising resources for an expedition to this city in order to loot it.
  5. The Aeon Priest, Darnet, came to Cle looking for something to help his wife and others after they fell ill following the failure of the artefacts that were being used to prolong life. It’s said that Darnet’s wife has actually died, and that he’s in denial about the whole thing.
  6. The portal at the inland temple that transports people to Cle transports them to underwater conditions, which is inconvenient to anyone who lacks a means of breathing underwater. It’s said, though, that if the portal is activated in the right way, it will confer the ability to breathe water on those transported.
  7. The sunken city of Cle can be reached using a portal at an inland temple. Though the portal will transport travellers to Cle, it’s said that on occasion it will, for some reason, transport people somewhere entirely different.
  8. There were tunnels beneath Cle before the city was submerged. Some things in the city proper suggest that there were powerful objects hidden within the tunnels, in secret vaults, and that these artefacts could be used to bring the city to the surface once more.

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D6: The Strange Rumours – Recursions: Microcosmica II

WorldsThe Strange is a game published by Monte Cook Games. It is, at least in part, set in the normal world, but there are other worlds out there, in the Strange. This list has six rumours for that setting, similar to the various different adventure hooks in the books, and these can be used as adventure hooks or simple misinformation.

  1. Associate Researcher Calvin Meyers is said to be trying to find out the truth about what happened to Nereus Five. Though he doesn’t seem as interested in the idea of launching an expedition to the station as Chief Researcher Reggie Garner, Meyers does seem curious about what did happen there.
  2. Microcosmica’s brain has yet to be discovered, but there are many reputed benefits that could be obtained when it is. It’s said that new technology is being developed in order to try and more easily pinpoint the location of this currently mythical organ.
  3. Nereus Two is a mothballed research base in Microcosmica. It’s rumoured that Chief Researcher Reggie Garner is pressing his superiors to get the base reopened, especially since Nereus Five was lost, but is being told that he needs to come up with something to justify the expense of doing so. Dr Garner is reputedly doing his best to find something, anything that will be considered by his superiors to be valuable.
  4. The heart is one of the main sources of life in Microcosmica, and getting close to it is hard. It’s rumoured that measurements taken by the Nereus stations over time, now all collected at Nereus One, appear to show that the heart is no longer beating as regularly as it once did.
  5. The stomach cavity in Microcosmica produces an acid much stronger than that found in a human stomach, yet the cavity lining is immune to its effects. It’s rumoured that Nereus Five was researching the creation of a submersible made from an artificial form of the stomach lining when it was lost.
  6. There are rumours that Nereus Five has recently been spotted in the vicinity of Nereus One, and that there were still lights onboard, suggesting that the station might still be occupied, though automated systems could just as easily be responsible.

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D10: Europe Rumours: Spain II

Europe10 Hooks and Rumours for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.’s Europe

This list has ten hooks and rumours that can be heard about Spain. Whether or not they are true is up to the GameMaster. They can be used as background colour or as potential adventure hooks.

  1. Africans and especially Arabs in Madrid always run the risk of harassment, especially from radical nationalists. It’s rumoured that some of these nationalists have taken to kidnapping such; not for random, just simply to kill them and share the killings with similarly-minded people.
  2. Barcelona, the original one, was partially sunk which led to inhabitants leaving the city. It’s rumoured that the partial sinking led to many things of value being abandoned, such as artworks dating back centuries or more, and that some of these are still hidden in protected vaults.
  3. ESA is not the only player in Tenerife, but it’s the main one, and it’s rumoured that the organisation has been trying to get the mass driver site and city completely brought into its bailiwick, something that the other organisations, and especially the Spanish government, are not keen on.
  4. Most monuments in Madrid are free from graffiti, thanks to strong nationalistic sentiments leading to any caught attempting to disfigure them being thrown into the mostly dry and polluted Manzanares River. Recently, there have been a few bodies found in the river, and though most assume this is people being punished for graffiti, others think that is being used as a cover to kill people for other reasons.
  5. New Barcelona grew from the refugees from the old city, and is a centre of strong Catalanist pride. It’s rumoured that Catalan sentiment is high enough in the city that some believe it should be leveraged to make Catalan independent from the rest of Spain.
  6. Orbital Air is supposedly attacking the mass driver being built on Tenerife, presumably not wanting competition to literally get off the ground. Though most of these attacks are from the net, it’s rumoured that the company has managed to get its hands on some serious explosive ordnance that they plan to use to destroy the site.
  7. Saragossa is a growing industrial centre in Spain, and it’s rumoured that this growth is being accompanied by corporate interest and the ensuing corporate violence that can follow the smell of money. It’s said that a number of companies are battling out to see who becomes top in the city.
  8. Seville may be one of the major Spanish cities, but it’s also poorer than the others. The brigands’ control of the Sierra Morena often results in the city’s airport being shut down and it being isolated for days, and it’s rumoured that the city government is finally trying to do something about this, though this something may not be wiping out the brigands but rather coopting them into the government.
  9. The new city of Tenerife was built especially for the mass driver and various law enforcement agencies have a strong presence there. It’s rumoured that the hidden law enforcement presence is significantly greater than the visible one, given the potential future importance of the place.
  10. Ultranationalist football fans in Spain have been causing problems in some of the country’s cities, and even in those of other countries, when a local team is playing against a foreign one in another country. The hooligans are using the games as an excuse to promote their nationalistic agendas, usually through violence against the opposing fans.

D10: Europe Rumours: Spain II is unofficial content provided under the Homebrew Content Policy of R. Talsorian Games and is not approved or endorsed by RTG. This content references materials that are the property of R. Talsorian Games and its licensees.

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D10: Strange Plants to Encounter

Black Lotus
Some artwork © Dean Spencer, used with permission. All rights reserved.

Characters will encounter plants and some of these plants may be somewhat odd. Here are ten odd plants to stumble across.

  1. Crawling along the ground in a fashion similar to a slug, albeit a large one, is a plant.
  2. Flowers that, when the wind catches them, make a sound that is very similar to that of a person, crying in pain.
  3. Fruit growing on plants have what look like faces growing on them.
  4. insects are avoiding this species of plant completely, making a wide berth around it.
  5. Plant that has the ability to mimic anything that is said or any sound in its vicinity.
  6. Plan that is clearly a chimera, formed from multiple different species of plant.
  7. Plant that is covered in a hard shell, like that of a snail only tougher, and it keeps most of its body inside the shell.
  8. Plant that is in two parts, one on the ground and the other, which has a methane-filled balloon, floating above it on a vine tether which the plant can raise or lower as required.
  9. Plants that don’t look to be entirely present in reality, and which prove impossible to touch.
  10. Trees that look like nothing so much as people who have been planted in the ground; human-sized with a split trunk, two main branches and what looks like a head with a screaming face.

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D10: Numenera Rumours – The Island of Undoing II

Numenera Cover
TM and © 2019 Monte Cook Games, LLC.

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. Angusks are giant multi-legged creatures that have somehow evolved the ability to direct the Island of Undoing’s leach of energy to a specific leg, which withers and falls off to be replaced by another. Some believe that there’s no way to angusks could have evolved this mechanism on their own.
  2. Cephaleen spiders have, if killed, something that is notoriously hard, or found dead, metres of sticky webbing inside them that can be harvested. It’s rumoured that some are trying to come up with a way of breeding and keeping the spiders in captivity, so that the webbing can be more easily harvested.
  3. Delormi is protected by a large fence to stop the island’s creatures from attacking. It’s rumoured that the fence is slowly deteriorating, due to the villagers lacking the resources needed to maintain it at full strength, and that there are worries the wall might either have to be made smaller or risk having it give way under an attack.
  4. Most plants on the Island of Undoing that the form of multicoloured moulds. There are rumours that being exposed for too long to any specific type of mould is unhealthy for the one doing so, and that in some cases they may be devoured by the mould’s spores and turned into fertiliser for the next generation.
  5. The Carrils are a Carriles cult of worshippers outside Delormi who believe that the island is a god and they are seeking a way inside the village’s wall to destroy the Tower of Life. It’s rumoured that the leader, Tiass, is seeking out any newcomers to the island to see if they have anything that would breach the wall.
  6. The Island of Undoing drains the health from living creatures on it, but there’s a rumour that this only applies to creatures that are on or near the surface. Some believe that if you were to dig down deep enough, you would be protected from the island’s effects.
  7. The Tower of Life in Delormi on the Island of Undoing is a machine that thumps the ground at night, protecting those within the affected area from the island’s draining of life. Some want to examine the machine to see if its effects can be duplicated, but most are opposed to tampering with it out of fear that doing so could break it entirely.
  8. Those bitten by cephaleen spiders whose bites turn into the symbols found on their stomachs can open the doors to beneath that also bear the same symbols. This has led to rumours that the spiders are some kind of mechanism for opening the doors that has malfunctioned over the aeons.
  9. Tiass, the current leader of the Carils, found the majority of the group from the survivors of a shipwreck. Though up until now those survivors have been eager to follow Tiass’s god rather than their own, it’s rumoured that some of the former crew are becoming increasingly uncertain about this.
  10. Zunak are abhumans who live on the Island of Undoing. It’s said that zunak cannot be found anywhere else, leading to rumours that the abhumans are created by the Island from some of those who die from the island draining all their health, who are then reborn, or reanimated, as creatures who are now immune to the effects.

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