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. Farond, the mayor of Omar in the Sea Kingdom of Ghan, is a tough individual who maintains order in her equally tough town using a suit of ancient armour and its devastating numenera weapons. There’s a rumour, though, that Farond is quietly seeking out people familiar with that sort of armour, as reputedly it’s starting to fail and becoming less effective. Without the armour, Mayor Farond will have much greater difficulty maintaining order.
2. It’s been said that King Laird, the ruler of the Sea Kingdom of Ghan, hasn’t been seen in public in some time. Some are claiming that the king is very ill; others that he’s actually died and his advisors are ruling in his stead. Most citizens of the Sea Kingdom, whilst loyal to the king, dislike a heavy-handed government and, should the king truly be unable to rule or dead, as long as whoever is doing so in his stead doesn’t alter the current situation, they may well go along with it.
3. Keford is a lumber town in the Sea Kingdom of Ghan and the lumberjacks of Keford frequently cross into Navarene to harvest wood from the Westwood, as there is no firm border. Navarene does patrol the woods, and sometimes the lumberjacks and soldiers come into conflict. Recently, a number of parties on both sides, lumberjacks and soldiers alike, have disappeared in the woods without a trace. Both Navarene and Ghan seem to think the other is responsible.
4. King Laird, the ruler of the Sea Kingdom of Ghan, lives in the Coral Palace in the City of Bridges, taking up most of one platform and provides a location for the king’s personal ships to dock. Recently, those close to the palace have said that access to it has been greatly restricted, with outsiders being searched before entering and leaving, and that there has been a substantial increase in the guard presence.
5. Massive humanoid statues float above the Sea Kingdom of Ghan, ancient war machines that have done nothing but float above the hills, never travelling far from their origin point. They have floated for so long that most don’t pay them much attention any longer. Recently, though, some of the inhabitants of the region have claimed that they have seen signs of activity from some of the machines. Not much, little more than twitches or lights, but they seem to suggest that the war machines are coming back to life somehow.
6. Omar in the Sea Kingdom of Ghan is a mining town whose miners cut away metal from an ancient structure below the surface, which can then be reforged, though not easily. The metal, known as omaroa or azure steel, is in great demand, but there are rumours that recently supplies have started to become scarcer. It’s been said that the miners have run into trouble, perhaps an ancient defence mechanism that is objecting to the intruders and attacking them.
7. The City of Bridges is the capital of the Sea Kingdom of Ghan, though truthfully the construction is not in Ghan itself, but stretches out into the sea, a series of metal platforms joined together by a web of bridges. The platforms are constructed from materials from prior world and, until now, have proven perfectly safe. There’s a rumour, though, that some of the material of which the city is constructed has started to rapidly fail. Should this not be stopped, then the city may have to have large parts replaced, or perhaps even abandoned.
8. The lumber town of Keford in the Sea Kingdom of Ghan is known for the constant, and deafening, noise that can constantly be heard by everyone except, oddly, those that are blind. The sound is deafening enough that those who can hear it find it troublesome, and there are rumours that the sound is both growing louder and that the area in which it can be heard is growing in size.
9. The Sea Kingdom of Ghan maintains its position primarily through the leverage of its vast merchant fleet. With the ships being merchant ships, they are not an immediate military threat to any other nation, but they could also be converted to naval vessels if need be. The merchant fleet is also a vital part of the economy of the Steadfast; loss of it would cause damage to the trade routes that the other kingdoms depend on. In recent months, losses amongst the merchant fleet have apparently been higher than normal. More vessels are being lost, and lost without a trace, than is usual. It could be that a foreign power is attempting to reduce the fleet’s utility, harming the Sea Kingdom and, perhaps, the other nations of the Steadfast as well.
10. There are rumours of a chain of islands leagues to the west of the Steadfast, and King Laird of the Sea Kingdom of Ghan is said to be preparing an expedition to head to those islands to discover if they are as rumoured. Some say that the expedition has actually happened, and that the fleet discovered something extremely unusual, perhaps extremely dangerous, and that its discovery is being covered up until a course of action can be decided on.

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