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.

The Chronicles of 'Team B" - Chapter 3 - All Roads Lead Back to Malinka

Yuri departs the mill after spending the night outside its fence with the archbishop's riders. He agrees to leave markings for his companions to follow once they have returned from Malinka, and rides off in hot pursuit of the Kochmaki. At noontime, he finds a child's corpse, apparently whipped to death by the marauders, and continues to follow the raiders. He finally catches up to them around sundown, and looks down at the encampment from the top of a small bluff. Hundreds of raiders, and more captives, have set up a camp below. The raiders' whips crack as they force the captives to light fires, and the sounds of wailing reach him at his observation point.

Kochmaki - too many to fight!

Eager to spot his loved ones, Yuri lingers too long at the outcropping, and is spotted by some of the guards. He draws back into the woods, hoping the Kochmaki will not follow a lone rider. His assumption proves mistaken, as two (or probably more) riders soon appear, yelling at him to dismount and drop his weapons. Yuri rides out to meet the lead pursuer, but his first real fight does not live up the heroic lays about the bogatyri. His spear grazes off the rider's silken shirt, while his opponent, likely more experienced, manages to catch Yuri off-balance and bloody him. Hearing reinforcements approaching, sense wins out over heroism. Yuri turns his horse, and flees. The riders pursue, but horses tire quickly, and with darkness approaching, the riders turn back. Yuri rides deeper into the woods before concealing his horse and retiring for the night.

* * *

Back at the mill, Kesha, Fedor, Alden and Zoya decide to return to Malinka with their prisoner - Zbigniev the miller. He is tightly bound and gagged, and draped over Fedor's horse. Shortly after going past Vladykino, Zbigniev breathes fire out of his gagged mouth, catching Zoya and Alden, but more importantly, burning through his gag and ropes. He then hisses out that his assailants will all burn, and once again succeeds in putting everyone except Kesha and Fedor to sleep. Fedor succeeds in skewering the miller, while Kesha then lifts his veil and suggests that the miller take a nap. After a short debate, in which Fedor insists on finishing the "monster" off, Kesha insists on bringing him back alive. They bind Zbigniev again, Kesha heals him, and then, ensorcels him to follow along quietly.

After two days, while the group is approaching Malinka, they are joined by Yuri, who has decided to ride back to the archbishop's estate to seek more help. He tells them about his encounter with the Kochmaki, while they tell him about the fight with Zbigniev at the mill, and his second attack against them on the road back.

At Malinka, the group turns Zbigniev over to one of the archbishop's attendant priests, Father Oleg, and is the invited to take refreshment in the rectory (in the meantime, Zoya wanders off to look for more thistles). They inform the priest of the miller's evil deeds, and the true function of the mill, and then, Kesha and Fedor spy on the archbishop's conversation with Zbigniev behind closed doors. They overhear Zbigniev claim they attacked him, and used sorcery against him. Later, the archbishop visits the group while they are eating. Yuri entreats him to send people to free the captives from the Kochmaki, but the archbishop demurs, saying he has at best 50 people, who cannot fight hundreds of raiders. In any event, he is responsible for the lives of those who live on his lands, and he will not risk them to free the prisoners. In response to Yuri's plea for aid of some sort, he suggests that he is free to recruit any helpers he might find, track the Kochmaki, and attempt to buy them out of slavery. He will not help materially, however - all available funds must be spent on rebuilding.

Kesha, in the meantime, asks the archbishop to tell him more about the mill and the miller. He also shows him a document that stipulates his mother owns a piece of land, and asks where it might be. The archbishop replies that the land is that on which the mill stands, but recommends that Kesha forget about it, as trying to claim it will only bring trouble. He tells him that he is now free, and that he should use the opportunity to get away from Vladykino.

A new group of captives is brought to the estate. They were apparently sent back by the Kochmaki as a goodwill gesture - or perhaps to demonstrate that the incident with Vladykino is best considered closed. One of the captives - an Irii merchant named Konstantius Azovos - wanders into the rectory, looking for the archbishop, and for something to eat. He is introduced to the rest of the group, and tells of his brief experience as a captive - perhaps a case of mistaken identity.

All five companions tell their stories before Fedor and Alden retire to their homes to sleep. 

The Chronicles of 'Team B' - Chapter 2 - The Archbishop's Mission

Wounded by the vasilisk, Fedor wants to return to return to the archbishop's residence at Malinka, and beg the priests to heal him. Yuri, however, burns to follow the Kochmaki and free the captives, and does not want to lose two days by traveling in the opposite direction. He tells his companions that he will leave marks along the way so they can find him, while they promise to look for more volunteers to rescue the captives among the archbishop's servitors. Fedor and Kesha, along with Sen'ka and the rest of the archbishop's riders then leave the mill and ride toward Malinka, bypassing Vladykino, and fording the stream to its north.

Less than an hour later, Kesha hears chimes in the woods that no one else seems to note. They remind him of his underground home in the Svora, so he tells his companions that that he will catch up to them, and goes to see what it is. It turns out to be a chud', vaguely familiar to him. The chud' tells him that he has come to see Kesha off on the next stage of his life, and to ensure that he moves toward fulfilling his destiny. The age of his enslavement is over, and he should somehow convince the archbishop to give him his freedom. Just then, Fedor comes riding up to look in on his companion. But somehow, he fails to see the creature, and then forgets about the incident entirely.

At the end of the day, the riders arrive at Malinka. After stabling the horses, Sen'ka goes off to report to the archbishop, while Fedor and Kesha wait their turn to supplicate him. Inside the church they encounter a man himself Alden Gravenich - a distinctly lupine-aspected servitor of the archbishop, who eagerly awaits to hear the news that the riders have brought back from Vladykino. Soon, Fedor and Kesha get to see one of the archbishop's priestly assistants. The priest has been briefed on the basics, but asks more in-depth questions about the mill, and the encounter with the vasilisk. He seems relatively unconcerned about the captives, and fears that any action against the Kochmaki will only provoke them further. He is concerned about the miller, and will allow Fedor and Kesha to recruit volunteers to find him and bring him back to Malinka. In exchange, he is even willing to heal Fedor's wound free of charge, and to give Kesha his freedom. Kesha also turns over the book he was working on and salvaged from his cellar.

The main church at Malinka

As they begin their search for helpers, Fedor and Kesha once again encounter Alden. The latter was brought to Malinka by a mysterious benefactor who freedom him from servitude to a Garip merchant, but now he seeks to adventure and to prove himself, and accompanying the pair to Vladykino seems like a good opportunity. None of the archbishop's other servitors seem willing, but a strange visitor, named Zoya, richly but incongruously dressed, and covered with a rash from nettles that she is trying to sell in front of the church, wants to come along. The party of four finds shelter for the night in Fedor's residence, and heads out the following morning.

The way back to Vladykino is longer than the journey to Malinka, as Alden refuses to take a horse from the archbishop's stables, saying that the beasts fear him. With one only one horse between the four of them, the journey back takes two days. During the first night, while camping in the woods, the group is set upon by a lynx, which hopes to make a meal of Fedor's horse. But the soldier successfully spears the cat, and Kesha, adept at working with leather, successfully skins it and takes the pelt. Zoya keeps the ears, and attaches them to her hood.

The following day, the group arrives back at Vladykino. The village is still smoldering, but no one is around. The foursome head toward the mill, where Kesha once again tries to detect arcane energies. There is definitely magic connected to changing one thing into another coming from within the mill. The companions climb over the gate, and approach the mill. The mill wheel is turning, and it sounds like something is being ground inside. The chain lock is off the front door, so everyone except Kesha quietly walks in. The leatherworker circles around the mill, seeking other entry points. Inside, the three hear the sounds of coins, which are clinking down the chute, and into a sack. There is also a hissing chanting in an unfamiliar language coming from one of the upper floors of the mill. 

The companions rush upstairs, and find the miller Zbigniev Dragutinovich - dark-haired, mustached, and with distinctly large, pointy teeth. Zbigniev utters a spell, and Alden, Zoya, and Zoya's cat fall asleep. Fedor is left alone to face the magician alone, and rushes into battle. He swings wildly and misses, though by then, Kesha has managed to climb the stairs and ladders to the third tier of the mill. The miller calls forth arcane power and makes pain erupt in three places in Fedor's chest and legs, and the soldier falls to the ground. Zbigniev flees upstairs, but Kesha follows, and succeeds in enchanting the miller before he jumps out of the upstairs window.

Zbigniev Dragutinovich, surprised while hard at work milling bones

Kesha attends to Fedor's wounds, and the soldier rises up, but now moves with difficulty. Then he questions the miller, who is now more favorably disposed toward the group. He explains that the mill grinds bones into coins, and that has made it into the lifeblood of Vladykino's economy. He claims never to have killed anyone, but to simply collect the corpses that the Kochmaki left behind. After Kesha directs a heavy gaze toward the miller, and suggests that he accompany the group back to Malinka, Zbigniev says he would be glad to explain everything to the archbishop. Tying the miller up, the group settles down for a rest inside the mill.