Game Mechanic Hi-Light: Rappan Athuk Rumour Table

I have been looking at various megadungeons that have been published, and one interesting hook that I came upon is the rumour table from Rappan Athuk Reloaded.There is a table of 60 rumours that the players may know that are either true, false, or partially true/false. This is a great idea because it deals with several problems at once: it gives the players an adventure hook, gives the players hints on how to overcome challenges, warns the players about threats, and hopefully whets the player's appetite for treasure.

 

This is an example of a good rumour. It is of immediate concern to the players, it helps them deal avoid an otherwise lethal threat, and it is a rumour that other adventurers would have plausibly spread after returning to town.

 


This is a variation of the previous rumour, but whereas the first rumour was of immediate concern this information is of more use in the long haul. I am neutral as to whether this rumour is actually healthy for the game. It may dissuade players from creating magic using classes in the fear that they would eventually become useless. Of course, the players could always believe that this is a false rumour.

I do not want to spoil any of the other rumours for players who are going to be running the Rappan Athuk megadungeon, but there are also rumours for finding alternate entrances to the dungeon, the locations of various powerful and potentially useful NPCs in the environs around the dungeon, and hints to the locations of powerful magic items within the megadungeon. There are also rumours that underplay threats and could actually sometimes force actions that would be detrimental to the party.

The rumour table in Rappan Athuk uses a flat 1d60 roll, but I will probably use something with a curved distribution of 3d20 or something along those lines. Giving characters a way to fudge the dice roll would also be an option. Pushing the curve is actually a very powerful thing when it comes to random distribution. This does go against the premiss I had that you only need to keep your design ahead of the players, but the rumours further into the dungeon just need to be general direction since it is not likely that the players would be able to get that far in immediately.