Gathering Information: Situations, News, and Rumors

An open-ended approach to urban adventures involves gathering information for a long-term project or an emergent side-venture chosen by the player characters themselves. Cities are typically the best-known parts of the world, and are clearing houses of information about other parts of the world, so operating in cities can make the world somewhat less mysterious than looking outward from small villages or trekking through the wilderness. Being aware of a city’s rulers and its history and people, key trade items and attractions, political position in a wider world, and secrets can help determine characters actions in a campaign or an individual adventure.

Character Knowledge

The larger the city, the more knowledge is available about it. Use the following table as a rough guide for setting difficulties for a knowledge roll (typically History) about a particular type of settlement:

Type of Settlement                                                            Base DC Knowledge Roll

Isolated Settlement                                                                                 30

Hamlet                                                                                                    25

Village                                                                                                     20

Town (1000 – 10000 population)                                                            15

City (10000 – 50000 population)                                                            10

Capital/Metropolis (over 50000 population)                                           5

It is open to GM discretion whether characters who lack proficiency in the knowledge skill in question may make a knowledge check about a particular settlement. The number of facts also depends on having proficiency, and/or on the result of the roll. Rolling to know Secrets (see below) is usually done at disadvantage. Further, at GM discretion, a failed roll may result in misinformation being learned (Variant: 40% of all information learned via a successful Knowledge roll is a red herring).

Learning Information

Information about a city or settlement can be acquired at most public places, though doing so anywhere outside of a Tavern, Hostel, or Market might have to be performed at a disadvantage (especially if the character attempting to do so is clearly not local, or an authority figure such as a noble, official, or priest). In some cases, the disadvantage may even apply at these locations as well. Typically, to acquire a piece of information, a character will have roll a successful DC 15 Investigation check, though the difficulty may increase to 20 or more (or carry a Disadvantage in the case of an isolated Homestead in a particularly small settlement, or if an investigator is trying to learn Secrets. Common information can include the following (see also DMG, p. 112):

·      Who rulers or VIPs of a particular locale are

·      Their relationship to other VIPs in a locale

·      Recent occurrences at the locale (see Year’s Occurrence Table or make one yourself)

·      The presence of a particular type of business or trade item in the area

·      The presence of a particular type of institution (e.g. a church dedicated to a particular saint, a ranger lodge, a postal waystation, etc.)

·      The presence of a particular family or significant individual (if not in hiding)

·      The timing of important events (local celebrations, weddings, tax levies, the planned arrival of an external VIP, the departure of an important mission, etc.)

The first thing newly arrived travelers will likely discover is the general situation in the town or settlement. Unless you already have an idea in mind, you can roll on the following table, or select a particular situation:

Situations (d12):

1.            The settlement is well-governed, orderly, and prosperous

2.            The settlement is preparing for war

3.            The ruler has mysteriously vanished (or is being held hostage)

4.            There is strife between factions or sects, with likely support from outside forces

5.            A revolt is brewing among the lower orders of the settlement (with likely support from above)

6.            The ruler and his/her supporting clique are fools, weaklings, or religious fanatics

7.            An isolated clique wields power with little internal support

8.            The settlement is recovering from a recent calamity (invasion, attack, famine, plague, economic collapse)

9.            A particular neighborhood is unsanitary/has been taken over by unsavory characters

10.          A charismatic stranger has recently arrived with wondrous objects or new ideas

11.          The settlement is overcrowded with refugees from a nearby disaster

12.          The settlement is beset by an inexplicable sense of foreboding and dread 

In addition to learning about the local goings on, characters in settlements may also learn of important goings on in the outside world (News). To learn a piece of information, a person must succeed on an Investigation roll. The difficulty is determined by the size of the settlement one is present in (see the Character Knowledge Table above). If information is sought about a locale with 10 kilometers, the roll is made at advantage. If it is sought about a locale more than 1000 kilometers away, the roll is made at disadvantage. Further, if one seeks information at a tavern, hostel or market, the roll is made as if the settlement is of a type one row lower on the table than in reality (i.e. an isolated tavern is a treated as a Hamlet, a hostel in a Village is treated as a Town, etc.). Moreover, if information is sought at a Waystation, the roll is made as if the settlement is of a type two rows lower (a Hamlet is a Town, a Village is a City, etc.). Types of available information may include (d10 for a random result [Variant: roll a d20, and treat 11-20 as “No Result”]):

News (d10):

1.            Another city or realm are undergoing internal trouble (revolt, civil war, invasion, famine, plague)

2.            Another city or realm are planning to launch an invasion against someone

3.            Another city or realm have just had a change of ruler, dynasty, or political order

4.            Another city or realm is planning or thinking about a religious conversion

5.            Another city or realm is experiencing an unprecedented period of prosperity for some reason

6.            A Power, group of monsters, or calamity (earthquake, comet) is terrorizing a city or a country

7.            A treasure, wondrous item, or new technical marvel have been discovered or imported

8.            A VIP has set out (or returned) from a distant journey with wonders and tales to tell

9.            A prophet, saint, revolutionary or great scholar has arisen in another city or realm

10.          An ancient ruin, creature, or item have been rediscovered

In addition to News, Rumors and Secrets can also be gleaned about a particular person, family, household, or estate. The DC for an Investigation roll is typically set at 15 (as stipulated above), though attempts by outsiders may have a higher DC (or be made at Disadvantage). To determine the nature of the rumor, roll a d6 (if you think a rumor about the NPC is likely), or a d30 (if you think it's unlikely, and consult the Rumors and Secrets table below (treating all results above 6 as "no result"). . [Variant: failed rolls, or 40% of learned rumors in case of success yield spurious information]):

Rumors and Secrets (d6):

1.            Illegitimate child/illicit affair

2.            Criminal wrongdoing in the past or present (theft, graft, desertion, treason, murder)

3.            Secret hatred for or rivalry with another

4.            Dabbling in forbidden religion or lore

5.            Secret identity (including being a changeling, skinshifter, of another gender, etc.)

6.            Possession of secret treasure (or creature)

You may want to consult the DMG, p. 90, for further options.

A particularly effective way of learning about adventures, receiving news, and sniffing out rumors is to gain admittance to a feast. Any true city will have a feast thrown at the mansion of an oligarch, rich noble or merchant, or other VIP thrown on any given day. To win an invitation, one must seek out the appropriate person at the right public place or at their home, and convince them by making a DC 15 CHA roll (CHA-based proficiencies may apply, as appropriate). The check may be conditioned by the following factors:

Admission to a Feast:

Character is an important prince or boyar, or a high-level VIP                        Advantage/-5 from DC

Character is a competent performer                                                                 Advantage/-5 from DC

Character is a commoner or bondsman                                                            Disadvantage/+5 to DC           

Character is foreign or markedly “different”                                                     Disadvantage/+5 to DC

For each additional person trying to gain admission simultaneously                +1 to DC

If a character has managed to gain admittance to a feast, he or she may make further Investigation checks for Information, News and Rumors and Secrets at advantage (or without disadvantage), as appropriate.