10 Hooks and Rumours for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.’s Night City
This list has ten hooks and rumours that can be heard in or about the City Centre district of Night City. Whether or not they are true is up to the GameMaster. They can be used as background colour or as potential adventure hooks.
Fantasy Unlimited in the city centre is a business that helps their clients’ fantasies come true, through their network of contacts. Some claim that Fantasy Unlimited will make any dream come true, no matter what it is, but it’s rumoured that those who’ve believed that and have tried to ask for something like that have either wound up getting an unexpected visit from the NCPD or have simply disappeared.
Grandmill in the City Centre is the place for people with too much money to burn to shop, where they can find things to suit even the most jaded tastes. And rumour has it, that anything means just that; anything. It’s said that those in the know can buy things that are definitely illegal and often horrendous in nature.
La Croix in the City Centre is considered to be the most trendy restaurant in Night City. At least by the trendy magazines. The food and service are, however, excellent, though this doesn’t tend to draw in non-trendy clientele. Rumour has it that the owner, Jaqueline duBenalle, has extensive contacts with journalists working for the trendy magazines to ensure her restaurant always remains on the list of trendy places to eat.
Mbole Ebunike, the mayor of Night City, has grown tired of being a toady for the corporations. In turn, the corporations have grown tired of the man they groomed for office behaving as if he had a will of his own. Ebunike is usually unavailable these days, even when in his office, and it’s rumoured that he now has a second office elsewhere after his security had to deal with visitors who were not so much irate as paid assassins.
Night City City Hall is in the City Centre is a bustling place filled with all sorts of lobbyists, corps, execs, government employees and special interest groups. This abundance of people with power, or who are close to those who have power, means that there is a lot of, to the right people, valuable information floating around. Despite City Hall’s security, there are rumours that information still manages to be acquired from it, and some wonder if it’s that same security acquiring it.
Night City Museum in the City Centre has a collection with a lot of valuable items in it. The more valuable the item, the more likely it is to be found in the underground areas which have tighter security. There are rumours, though, that sometimes-valuable items end up being placed in the upper areas, and then stolen, suggesting perhaps that someone who works for the museum is deliberately placing valuable items where they, or a partner, can steal them.
The Del Cornanado Bay Journal, based in the City Centre, is the home of an old-fashioned newspaper and a source of unbiased news. It’s rumoured that the paper has been looking into increasing security recently, as some are objecting to the unbiased approach and are suggesting it would be in everyone’s best interests, and particularly those who work at the paper, to add an element of bias.
The NCART City Center Station has a lot of juviegangers that avoid doing anything technically illegal when they are dealing with clients, and the fact that these clients are usually wealthy means that the Transit Police rarely crack down on them. It’s rumoured that some of the Transit Police are actively involved with the juviegangers, taking a cut of everything they make in exchange for a guarantee they will never get into trouble.
There have been attacks on a number of vehicles belonging to the Revere Courier Service recently, and these have always taken place in the City Centre, despite the district and the company’s precautions. Some think these attacks aren’t designed so much to rob the company as to make people start to think their service is not as safe as it could be.
Totentanz is a club in the top three floors of Burleson Tower in the City Centre, and it’s one where a lot of boostergang members go, and some don’t come back out again due to the patrons getting rowdy. The NCPD lets the club stay open because, for one thing, it cuts down on the numbers of punks on the streets. Rumour has it that the NCPD secretly encourages the violence that happens at Totentanz, ensuring the gangs keep on killing each other.
D10: Night City Rumours – City Centre 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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Four encounters for each of the districts of Archbliss are given here. The encounters will work with the Pathfinder and 5E versions of the supplement.
Sunrise Way
A creature whose true appearance is unknown is rapidly changing shape, from humanoid species to inhuman to monstrous.
A rainbow of strange colours forms over the district, seemingly becoming solid, before slowly evaporating away.
A tree forms out of stone, rapidly growing up out of the ground, budding and sprouting stone flowers and fruit.
Some of the gold bricks on the Street of Gold are being removed from the way and replaced with new, with guards making sure that outsiders don’t interfere.
Glasswood
A sparking ball of light materialises in the air, shedding a pearlescent glow as the sparks drip down from it and evaporate on the ground.
A spelluser casts a spell at one of the crystal spires, which glows as it drinks up whatever the spell was.
Apprentices are checking the sorcerer’s quartz of some of the district’s crystal spires.
Lightning arcs towards two of the crystal spires, seemingly from thin air, causing them to glow briefly, before the lightning fades away.
Samen’s Way
A crowd has gathered to watch a performance as the actors float above the ground.
A dragon swoops down on the street, breathing fire at everyone below. Before the fire hits, the dragon and flames both turn into gold coins, which vanish when they hit the ground.
A patch of unmoving shadow blocks part of the street and seems impossible to illuminate with light. Nothing can be seen from within it.
Soldiers charge down the street, shouting a battle cry. They pass through anyone and anything they encounter.
Spirit Tower
A dozen skeletons march in formation through the streets of Spirit Tower, before finally entering a crypt and closing the door.
A funeral procession is walking slowly through the district, with a robed individual being transported on a floating bier.
Someone is standing by the Obelisk and standing in the chill the monument radiates for an unusually long time.
Undead guardians standing outside a crypt bar the way to someone who has approached it too closely.
North Gate
A duel is taking place at Wardstone, with two different sorcerers fighting each other. One is using a flashy style with many effects; the other is more restrained in their casting.
A patrol of Watchers is leaving the Black Tower. Several people shy away when the see the patrol.
Visitors are entering the city and, by the way they are peering around in every direction with their mouths open, this is their first visit to the city.
Watchers are escorting a captured sorcerer to the Vaults, making sure they don’t get a chance to break free or cast any spells.
Winter Gate
A robed individual is bargaining with a vendor for an enchantment. They appear to be having difficulty agreeing on a price.
A visitor is wandering the district lost and confused and asking for help, disoriented by the area’s effects.
The route ahead seems to shift, blur and change, as if it is constantly moving and altering its destination.
The air briefly shimmers and gives a glimpse of what looks like another world, one from a fairy story.
East District
A group of excited children are being escorted to the Menagerie by what looks like a pair of teachers.
A sorcerer gestures and conjures a creature up, speaks to it briefly, then dismisses it again.
Someone walks past with a creature on a leash that doesn’t look like anything seen in nature.
The Arches are activated and a number of people are teleported through them from the ground below.
Castle Archbliss
A unit of Thuranen Guards arrives at a guard post and the current ones silently depart after their replacements show up.
One of the viewing devices on Stargazer’s Tower shifts position to point at a new part of the sky.
Several officials are chatting about a subject, but they cannot be overheard as it appears a spell is keeping their privacy intact.
Thuranen Guards turn a tourist away who was seeking access to part of the castle, not listening to their protestations as they silently send the tourist on their way.
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Some artwork copyright William McAusland, used with permission
Those who sail the oceans will often tell strange stories about what can be encountered out there. Some of these may be true, some may not.
A circular windstorm makes it impossible for ships to travel through it to see what is beyond. The storm quickly turns ships to splinters and it’s said there’s a similar effect underwater as well. The storm never moves and is clearly artificial in nature. Some say it’s a magical barrier erected by a mage or godling whose island lies within.
A famous treasure ship went down many years ago and so far no-one has managed to find it, though many have looked. Recently, coins and other items that seem to be from the ship have been turning up in various ports, which would suggest that someone has discovered the ship, or stumbled across at least part of its cargo.
Ghost ships aren’t an uncommon thing for sailors to claim they’ve seen, or to have actually seen, but it’s rumoured that there’s an entire fleet of ghost ships prowling the ocean. It’s said that those who encounter the fleet are attacked and, once defeated, the attacked ship and its crew join the ghost fleet. Though no-one has been able to confirm this, as no-one can definitely say they’ve encountered the fleet.
Hidden behind a permanent bank of fog, forever hidden from the sun, is an island said to be occupied only by the spirits of the dead. The island is said to be where the souls of some of those lost at sea go, forever to haunt the place and never move on.
Many ships have been lost to a maelstrom out in the deep ocean, which is a curious place for such to form. Moreover, sailors would have it that the maelstrom is found in different places, as it appears to move around. They claim that the maelstrom is a living thing that hunts down ships to swallow up in its swirling maw.
Part of the ocean is to be avoided for the water there is like air in constitution, yet still water when it comes to breathe it. When ships travel into the region, they sink into the air-like water, as the water is unable to bear them up any more, and everyone onboard will drown unless they can breathe underwater or somehow escape to the surface.
Sharks can be dangerous, though there are greater dangers in the ocean, and most sharks are not a threat. There’s a rumour, though, of a frenzy of sharks of many different types. These sharks seem to act with intelligence, seeking out prey and working together to attack it. Some suggest the sharks are intelligent; others that they are under the control of someone.
There’s a pirate ship that is only intermittently seen, and no ship sent to hunt it down has been able to catch it. Those who have encountered the pirate ship say that it appears on the water out of nowhere, literally shimmering into existence, rather than visibility, and disappears the same way, making it impossible to catch without magic.
There’s said to be a reef somewhere in the ocean, but one that isn’t constant. It seems to remain in roughly the same place, but sometimes it’s said to rise up from the sea bed, breaching the surface as ships pass and ripping out their bottoms. Sailors call it the Eater of Ships and swear it is alive.
Whaling ships have been failing to return to port. There have been reports of bits and pieces of the ships washing up on the shores, or being found in the general area where they were last known to be. Finally, a survivor was found and the whaler said their ship was attacked by a pod of whales acting in concert to deliberately sink the ship.
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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.
Mining operations on the Lambent Fields of Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, uncovered a giant mechanical creature, whose discovery brought matters to a standstill, or at least legal activities. There are rumours of pitched fights happening on the Lambent Fields during the night, though there never appears to be any sign of large-scale conflict in the morning. Some say that this is because it isn’t happening; others that someone, or something, is removing any traces of conflict.
Selascor Castle is a ruin south of White Lake in Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, formerly home to the ruler of the area until he was hanged by his subjects after an uprising. There are rumours that those who have been near the 400-year-old ruin in recent months have seen signs of new construction at the castle, suggesting that someone has moved in again and is rebuilding the fortress.
Sine Picalah in Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, excavated a giant mechanical creature in the Lambent Fields, there have been continual problems as the city has split into different factions with different ideas as to what should be done from henceforth. There’s a rumour that, although mining operations have effectively come to a standstill, proof has been found that more of the mechanical creatures are buried beneath the fields.
The city of Picalah in Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, split into different factions following the discovery of a mechanical creature during mining operations. The four factions that formed have been fighting amongst each other and it’s rumoured this fighting is starting to become physical, not just verbal, with assassination attempts on members of opposing factions.
The dust of the Lambent Fields in Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, is multicoloured and sines int he dimmest light. It is used by the wealthy to decorate everything from their homes to their bodies. There’s a rumour, though, that sometimes those who have been in direct contact with the dust for too long start to change, as the dust has an effect on their flesh.
The Great Slab is a huge construct rising from the ground of Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes. The Slab is steep-sided and a reddish black oil runs down the sides, making it impossible to climb. There are rumours that some have managed to reach the top of the Great Slab, but anyone claiming to have done so seems to disappear not long afterwards.
The land of Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, is covered with broken shards of glass, splintered from the outcroppings that form the region. Some say that the glass is not as inanimate as it sometimes appears to be. That, in parts of the wastes, the glass shards creep across the landscape, looking for creatures to enshroud and feed on.
The town of Yosh-ul in Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, is not much more than a meeting point for the nomadic tribes of the plains, though it has permanent residents as well as transitory ones. The town has a natural spring that provides water for the inhabitants and some fields of food, but there’s a rumour that the spring’s flow has become increasingly erratic of late, as if it’s on the verge of drying up. Should that happen then Yosh-ul will become uninhabitable and will have to be abandoned.
The Wandering Walk is a pilgrimage route through the Ninth World and parts of it pass through Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes. The wastes are not the safest places to travel through at the best of times, but there are rumours of numerous parties of pilgrims disappearing along the route in recent months. It seems that those most likely to disappear are those new to the Walk, which might be a reasonable explanation for why they disappear, but not why the number has increased.
White Lake in Dessanedi, the Jagged Wastes, is a small town on the edge of a lake where ferrix turtles lay their eggs every spring. The eggs are a delicacy and the inhabitants carefully leave enough to ensure another generation every year. However, the number of eggs being laid by the turtles is reportedly decreasing year on year, meaning the number that can safely harvested each year is also declining. It could be that the turtles are dying out.
The 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.
Citadel Hazurrium can be hard for newcomers to navigate initially, due to the vertical manner of its construction, though most can grasp how the place is organised without too much difficulty. It’s rumoured, though, that some of those who struggle to start with disappear in the citadel without a trace.
Citadel Hazurrium is a place where many adventuring companies gain official charters, gaining benefits for both Hazurrium and the companies. Different charters are available with different rights and responsibilities, but it’s rumoured that money in the right place can get an adventuring company a charter with more rights than should have been granted.
First Protector Navar is a qephilim of the Free Battalion and the leader of Hazurrium’s royal peacemakers, the most feared of the three main contingents of the peacemakers. It’s rumoured that Navar may soon be leaving the post, with suggestions of injury, ill health and a falling out with the Queen being given as some potential reasons.
In order to stop necromancers and others from trucking with corpses and the spirits of the dead from the Path of the Dead outside Citadel Hazurrium, Free Battalion mercenaries and peacekeepers patrol the area. Those who sleep near are troubled by terrifying nightmares, and it’s rumoured that recently these nightmares have not only grown worse, but that many seem to be sharing the same nightmare.
The Black Moon Explorers are perhaps one of the best known of the adventuring companies based out of Citadel Hazurrium, and the company still accepts new applications for membership. Some say this is because the company suffers a lot of losses in their missions, and usually amongst the new members, who are inadequately trained and equipped.
The Grieving Vortex is a flatiron carved in the shape of a massive humanoid with a drawn and broken blade. On occasion, the formation screams as wind is exhaled from the open maw. Those who have been keeping track of the screams claim that the frequency with which they occur is increasing.
The previous queen of the Queendom of Hazurrium, Brandalun, mother of the current queen, Elandine, gave the throne to her daughter and left on a quest for a mystical mechanism following a vision. Queen Elandine believes that the vision was a farce, a sign of her mother being senile, but it’s rumoured that she, too, has had such a vision recently, changing her opinion of the matter.
The Queendom of Hazurrium has the largest fighting force in the Daylands, consisting of several contingents of peacemakers as well as a contract with a mercenary company that is mostly comprised of Free Battalion qephilim. It’s rumoured that, despite the size of the current force, the Queendom is looking to both increase the number of peacemakers and hire more mercenaries, though to what aim is unknown.
There are many different markets in Citadel Hazurrium, with traders selling goods from all over the Daylands and Oceanus. As well as the well-known markets, there are rumoured to be other, secret markets, where goods that are far less legal and ethical can be bought. Such markets would be ended if they were found, so discovering where they are is far more difficult.
There’s a ruined city in the undermountain caverns reached through the mouth of the Grieving Vortex in the Nammu Mountains. There are rumours about what might dwell in the city, none of them good, and it’s also rumoured that something has been plaguing the mountains in the region around the Grieving Vortex recently, with a number of disappearances.
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10 Hooks and Rumours for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.’s Night City
This list has ten hooks and rumours that can be heard in or about the Northside district of Night City. Whether or not they are true is up to the GameMaster. They can be used as background colour or as potential adventure hooks.
Dillon Murphy is a solo in Northside with a reputation for protecting women and children and a soft spot for pretty redheads with little cyberware and lots of freckles. It’s rumoured that Murphy has angered some gangs with his chivalric acts and some are rumoured to be looking to hire, or sculpt, a woman that looks like Murphy’s type so that they can get close to the solo and finish him off.
Dynalar Technologies in Northside designs and manufactures cyberlimbs in the facility, and it’s rumoured that they have some very experimental designs created in some labs that are definitely off the books, due to some of the methods used to gain subjects to try the new designs on.
Everything and More is relatively safe from gang violence for Northside, but recently that relatively has been becoming less and less relevant. If it’s dangerous enough, the store’s clientele will go elsewhere, and it’s said that the owners are planning on stepping up the quality of security more than a little, and getting proactive with dealing with violence.
N.C.P.D. has raided the Meratis Warehouse in Northside twice, following tips that black market weapons are sold from the place for the city’s gangs, but have found nothing. It’s rumoured that the gunrunners have someone inside the department who tips them off about upcoming raids, and some officers are said to be intending to make the next raid be a complete surprise, using only carefully vetted police.
O’Flaherty’s Tavern in Northside is suspected by the police to be a place where O’Flaherty provides sanctuary to fellow countryman in a spot of bother with the law and to those supplying the Northern Irish Pacification Zone with weapons. It’s rumoured that some members of the N.C.P.D. have been pushing to investigate the tavern, but that others, who would appear to share O’Flaherty’s origin, have suggested to them that such investigations would be bad for one’s career. And health.
Psycol in the Renwald Plaza in Northside is a therapy house for registered cyberpsychos that operates out of the fortified fourth floor. Despite the protections to the business, there are rumours that, every now and then, one of the cyberpsychos inside breaks loose and causes havoc.
The Pit in Northside is a rundown building that is now home to the Slaughterhouse, one of the most dangerous and powerful gangs in the city. To date, only one attempt has been made to turf them out, and that failed badly, but it’s rumoured that a number of businesses are talking about combining resources to set N.C.P.D. and Arasaka on the gang. Should the Slaughterhouse discover who might be considering this, they would probably try to personally incentivise them to discontinue.
The Range in Northside is one of California’s most famous indoor shooting galleries, where the user can also learn how to fire many different weapons. It’s rumoured that the gallery has other, less legal, options, where those with the money can shoot at targets that are alive and moving or can gain access to weaponry that would otherwise be difficult to obtain due to legal issues.
The Sandorf Hotel in Northside is a condemned hotel that a number of smaller gangs occupy and keep standing to ensure a roof over their heads. It is also the recipient of frequent drive-by firebombing, due to being in contested territory, and it’s rumoured that something larger, and more permanent, is being planned to take care of the hotel once and for all.
The Wildmark in Northside is a flophouse for those who are tired of living. Those who rent a place there are often killed for just the few measly euros in their pocket, and the police just regard this as scum killing scum. It’s rumoured that not every body killed there comes out; sometimes, the dead person is stripped for parts and any viable organs, body parts or cyberware ends up on the market.
D10: Night City Rumours – Northside 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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Dragon steel, a valuable export from Ironfire: The City of Steel, is a superior form of steel that is stronger than normal steel. Its primary use is making weapons and armour, but anything that would normally be made of steel can be made from dragon steel for improved hardness, strength and performance, which includes tools. Just as with weapons and armour, dragon steel tools are not automatically masterwork but masterwork versions can be made.
Artisan’s Tools, Dragon Steel
These tools serve the same purpose as artisan’s tools but add a +1 circumstance bonus to Craft checks made with them.
Artisan’s Tools, Dragon Steel, Masterwork
These tools add a +3 circumstance bonus to Craft checks made with them.
Thieves’ Tools, Dragon Steel
These tools serve the same purpose as thieves’ tools but grant a +1 circumstance bonus to Disable Device checks.
Thieves’ Tools, Dragon Steel, Masterwork
This kit has more tools and grant a +3 circumstance bonus to Disable Device checks.
Tool, Dragon Steel, Masterwork
This superior quality item adds a +3 circumstance bonus made to related skill checks. Bonuses provided by multiple masterwork items do not stack.
Item
Cost
Weight
Artisan’s Tools, Dragon Steel
10 gp
5 lbs
Artisan’s Tools, Dragon Steel, Masterwork
110 gp
5 lbs
Thieves’ Tools, Dragon Steel
60 gp
1 lb
Thieves’ Tools, Dragon Steel, Masterwork
200 gp
2 lbs
Tool, Dragon Steel, Masterwork
100 gp
1 lb
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Giant scorpions are similar to their smaller kin, only much, much larger. They can be found in the same places, but are even more of a threat, as they don’t need poison to kill their prey, though they have that too.
What is Distinctive About the Giant Scorpion?
Each claw on the scorpion’s pincers can move; neither are fixed.
Numerous serrated outgrowths dot the giant scorpion’s exoskeleton.
One pincer has a poorly-healed break and is not as strong.
The stinger is unusually long, at least triple the normal length.
The tail curiously lacks segmentation, resembling a snake.
The upper side of the scorpion is pale yellow whilst the underside is dark brown.
How Does the Scorpion Hunt its Prey?
Buries itself in the ground and leaps out.
Lies flat on the ground and attacks with its tail when prey gets close.
Perches, hunkered down, on a rock outcropping and leaps down onto prey.
Picks off stragglers, grasping them and running away with them.
Runs in at speed and strikes, then runs away again.
Scuttles through an underground network of tunnels to gain surprise.
What Things Can be Found Around the Scorpion’s Home?
Dozens of prints on the ground where the scorpion has travelled.
Fragment of scorpion exoskeleton.
Rocks bearing marks on them where the scorpion has sharpened its pincers.
Rotting carcass of a predator, a large wound in its flesh where it was stung.
The dead carcasses of a number of smaller, but still large, scorpions.
Tree whose trunk has been snipped through.
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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.
Deathwater Canyon on the edge of the Black Riage is noted for the network of huge ceramic pipes that run through it, exiting from the rock, running outside it, and then entering back in. The pipes are said to be empty, or nearly so, but recently travellers who have passed through the canyon have claimed they have heard something in some of the smaller pipes, perhaps a liquid, though no-one seems exactly sure what they heard. This has raised some concern, as many of the larger pipes are used as thoroughfares.
Scorpion Sanctum in the desert around the Cloudcrystal Skyfields is a place rarely visited due to the presence of chirog raiders, and that seems to be the way the residents of the Sanctum like it. There’s a rumour that whoever lives there encourages the chirog raiders to attack travellers, to ensure their own privacy and, perhaps, acquire anything of interest to them that the chirog might loot.
Seven families who have lived in Uxphon, built in Deathwater Canyon, the longest claim noble status and essentially rule the city. There are rumours that the families have hidden chambers beneath their manors where they hide treasures and their secrets, though none have managed to find any. There are rumours, though, that these secret chambers were not built by the nobles, but were already there and the manors built on top of them, which some believe means they could contain far more secrets than those of the families.
The Cloudcrystal Skyfields float in the sky to the north of the Steadfast, beyond the Tithe River. The crystalline shards continually grow, but some fall to the ground as well, littering the fields below with their shattered remnants. There are rumours that in recent months more crystals than usual have been dropping out of the sky, making passing beneath them substantially more dangerous, especially as a crystal the size of a city is almost impossible to avoid if it falls.
The Crowd City is a mass of millions of corpses of all types of beings beneath the Cloudcrystal Skyfields that have been fused together into a strange city, with the dead making buildings, streets and the other structures of a city. Even stranger, the city frequently moves position, though usually very slowly. Some believe that the Crowd City’s movement has meaning, and that the patterns reveal some insight, though nobody seems to know what.
The Unseen Lake in the Cloudcrystal Skyfields is a lake of invisible water, though it will regain a more normal appearance after a few days, unless tightly sealed in a container. There’s a rumour that the lake’s water can be used to make a concoction that will render the imbiber invisible as well, and more than one thief, assassin or spy, or those who employ such, has tried to find out how this can be done.
There are people rumoured to be living beneath a small lake to the far west of the Skyfields, in a place called Deep Vormask. The inhabitants are said to have access to a strange, odd technology that is only found within the caverns and doesn’t work anywhere else. A Nano plans to lead an expedition to Deep Vormask in an attempt to discover just what this technology is. By the sounds of it, the Nano isn’t bothered about how they go about this.
Uxphon in the Cloudcrystal Skyfields is known for its slave market and in particular its gladiatorial arena, where slave combatants fight each other, as well as beasts, with the most successful of these gaining not only their freedom but also gaining wealth. There’s a rumour that the arena has put out a call for something different. That they are seeking new beasts to fight that are more than a little unusual. It’s said that the arena isn’t really bothered what, just as long as they’re something previously unseen.
The 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.
Butterfly Objectors are former recursors who have given up the ability due to a belief that those who translate to other realities do not in fact translate but are instead copied at the other end, the original person dying in the process. They believe that groups that use operatives to translate are evil perpetrators of lies. It’s rumoured that some Objectors have grown tired of trying to convince people of the truth by peaceful means and plan to start using violence against the Estate and others.
Disgraced former senator Jerry Toomey is the most visible advocate of the Circle of Liberty and, as well as being a talking head who regularly appears on various programmes, Toomey also operates a private compound called Promised Land, billed as a relaxation spot for the wealthy. Rumour is that not everyone who goes to the compound comes back out again.
Quiet Cabal agents operate on Earth, with the agents often being Earth humans. It’s rumoured that more agents than usual have been deployed recently, perhaps indicating that the Cabal is expecting a threat of some kind that will need dealing with, perhaps because they are searching for something.
Recursion miners are those individuals and groups that find and explore recursions, or that attempt to create new recursions. Sometimes, their methods can be problematic at best and outright dangerous at worst and there are rumours that some of the individuals and groups are also banded together into a larger organisation, and that these miners are those who use the most destabilising methods.
Spiral dust is a drug made from cyphers that has hit the streets that has an odd effect on the heaviest users, as such end up translated against their will to another recursion. It’s not known who is supplying spiral dust, or how it is made, but there are rumours that the amount of it on the streets is continually increasing, creating more and more addicts.
The Circle of Liberty is a loosely-connected collection of groups, including advocacy groups, think tanks, charities and industry associations, that advocates for decentralised government. It’s rumoured that the Circle is even larger than it might appear, with affiliated groups in many different countries, connected to the Circle though such connections are hidden.
The Estate has encountered reports of a number of people on Earth being attacked by what sounds like skeletons from Ardeyn, but there is little proof of the matter and, naturally, no dead skeletons to examine, given they crumble away very quickly. The organisation is trying to determine if there’s any truth in the matter.
The Quiet Cabal maintains a number of sanctums on Earth, camouflaged to look like normal businesses and establishments, often those that are out of the way that might see regular visits by strangers. It’s rumoured that a number of these sanctums have recently been attacked by an unknown party or parties, but presumably one of the Cabal’s rivals or enemies.
The September Project is attempting to create a quantum computer and is regarded as something of a joke thanks to the Estate’s efforts. There are rumours, though, that the Project has managed to convince at least one section of government, or of a government, that they are not a joke and are thereby gaining increased access to funding and resources.
There are reports that there have been issues between agents of the Office of Strategic Recursion, the Quiet Cabal and the Estate on Earth. Though the OSR regularly feeds information to the other two groups, there are rumours that they’ve clashed on occasion when the OSR disagreed with something the other groups were trying to achieve.
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This list has ten hooks and rumours that can be heard in or about the City Centre district of Night City. Whether or not they are true is up to the GameMaster. They can be used as background colour or as potential adventure hooks.
