Should we keep Rumor Sheets?

Mike Ventrella

Mike Ventrella

Duke
We didn't have any rumor sheets at the last event. What's your opinion on that?

I like rumor sheets myself, but I like true rumors best. Anyone can make up fake rumors, and they're not as fun to get.

I like it when players get rumors they can actually use. I enjoy seeing players say "Hey, I heard a rumor that the password is swordfish" and then it works, or when they say "I heard that these monsters are immune to Sleep" and it's true.

Maybe we should call it "Clue" sheets instead.

Sometimes Plot objects and says that certain things would never be known in advance of the event, but I say in a world of fortunetellers and seers a few views into the future are fine. And not all of them have to be really important. Even something as simple as "Bobo the Farmer is very trustworthy" is nice to get.

I'd like players to submit rumors too, about their characters and the NPCs they've met.

Anyway, what does everyone think?
 
Mike Ventrella said:
We didn't have any rumor sheets at the last event. What's your opinion on that?

I like rumor sheets myself, but I like true rumors best. Anyone can make up fake rumors, and they're not as fun to get.

I like it when players get rumors they can actually use. I enjoy seeing players say "Hey, I heard a rumor that the password is swordfish" and then it works, or when they say "I heard that these monsters are immune to Sleep" and it's true.

Maybe we should call it "Clue" sheets instead.

Sometimes Plot objects and says that certain things would never be known in advance of the event, but I say in a world of fortunetellers and seers a few views into the future are fine. And not all of them have to be really important. Even something as simple as "Bobo the Farmer is very trustworthy" is nice to get.

I'd like players to submit rumors too, about their characters and the NPCs they've met.

Anyway, what does everyone think?
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Mike I love Rumor Sheets. Its always fun to see some thing crazy in there even if it is about your character/team. I wish other chapters did this. Funny you mention passwords. "Blue Goo". There was this one mod that my team went on and when asked the password Perwin sprung up and yelled "Blue goo". The look on the npc's faces when he said that was priceless.
 
Maybe do some online rumor sheets. Granted, everyone will know the same rumors. But Colin's pre event postings about the fall of Falkirk were enjoyable and probably seen by a lot more people. Spread them out over the time between events to get people interested in the next event.
 
I think Scott's idea is a good one.
I know it's hard for me to "absorb" all the rumors on the sheet as I am checking in and getting ready to go into game. This way it has time to sit in our brains more and we are more likely to continue to spread the rumours when we are IG as well....

Just my two cents.. :)
Kathy
 
I like the rumor sheets to. I've gotten quite a bit of useful information out of them that I otherwise wouldn't have known.

I'd like to see rumors in the sheets to other characters personal plot that might unlock advancements or contacts in someone elses character plot. If someone is looking for a specific ritual scroll, put that the ritual scroll was seen for sale at a shop on someone elses rumor sheet.
 
I like the idea of rumors only been seen by a few people instead of posted publicly for everyone to see. If you're the one player who gets the really important rumor on your sheet, that makes you special. :king:
 
I dig em. I'll mail like 29 rumors into plot later. Just for funzies
 
Mike Ventrella said:
I like the idea of rumors only been seen by a few people instead of posted publicly for everyone to see. If you're the one player who gets the really important rumor on your sheet, that makes you special. :king:
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Isn't that what IG at events is for?
 
Duke Frost said:
Mike Ventrella said:
I like the idea of rumors only been seen by a few people instead of posted publicly for everyone to see. If you're the one player who gets the really important rumor on your sheet, that makes you special. :king:
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Isn't that what IG at events is for?
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Well, the two are not mutually exclusive.

I mean, technically we could always send NPCs into the tavern with all of the rumors (which we do now to a lesser degree). It just seems, from what I am reading here, that players enjoy getting them, especially if it's something they can actually use in game. And the bottom line is to do whatever provides the most fun. If you don't like 'em, don't read 'em.
 
I have a suggestion that may be a good compromise to the various opinions I've seen on rumor sheets.

Some people seem to love them and others basically ignore them / drop them on the floor of logistics. Also, the goal seems to be to send semi-unique rumors to each person that wants them.

Thus, my suggestion:

A rumor sheet is attached as a file whenever a player receives a response for between game actions. A player who isn't doing a between game action (for any reason) may simply request a rumor sheet in the same manner a between game action is made.

Benefits:
It keeps rumors as "between games" information.
It saves paper.
People who don't want rumors won't get them (or won't bother to open the attachment) if they do.

Drawback:
Players not at a particular game may receive rumors about the game and players at the game might not receive a rumor (if they don't take the time to request or do a writeup).


I believe this should be almost no additional work for plot committee beyond the current commitment. Each player who sends a write-up is supposed to get a response anyway, so there aren't any additional e-mails. Mike V. presumably has some program that creates random rumor sheets, probably in a Word format, so all plot should have to do is attach a Word document.

It may not be perfect, but I think it gets rumors into the hands of those who appreciate them (active players generally) and puts a little more onus on the player to "gather rumors" rather than to be simply handed them.

-MS
 
mikestrauss said:
Benefits:
It keeps rumors as "between games" information.
It saves paper.
-MS
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Also allows more memory challenged players the chance to absorb them. I like the rumors, but I've found that I usually can't really remember what I'm reading with all the getting ready to go into game business. Especially if I'm running late....

Kathy
 
mikestrauss said:
A rumor sheet is attached as a file whenever a player receives a response for between game actions. A player who isn't doing a between game action (for any reason) may simply request a rumor sheet in the same manner a between game action is made.
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I was under the impression that IBGAs only get answered about 50% of the time (presumably when the action is really critical to the advancement of the story line), instead putting time and effort into the "live action" aspect of the game. It seems that they already have a problem with responding to too many e-mails, in which case this would just make things worse.
 
No rumor sheets this event because no one on Plot sent me any. If you want them, be sure to tell Plot.

I think having sheets is important to us, as the HQ campaign, to make us look as professional as possible and be an example for all the other chapters. Not everyone likes them, but those who do should get the enjoyment from them. (Not everyone likes big battles, or tournaments, or role-playing, or anything we do -- the fact that there are some who do not doesn't mean we shouldn't be trying to please those who do).

I would love to make them even more personal, but that would require more work. It would be great if Plot sent me some rumors and said "Make sure X rumor is available for the dark elves and Y rumor goes on the sheet for Terin the Brave".
 
So, we can target rumors to be placed on certain rumor sheets for certain people, Mike? Ten years on plot and this is the first I'm hearing of this.
 
Tom H said:
So, we can target rumors to be placed on certain rumor sheets for certain people, Mike? Ten years on plot and this is the first I'm hearing of this.
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It's been discussed before, but it's a lot of work so it never happened.

We used to put specific extra rumors in packets though that were race-based, on small sheets of paper (like fortune cookie fortunes) so there is a precedent. We've done it for groups too (I recall doing that once for Healers Guild members).

Once more, it requires some extra work.
 
Honestly? I'd almost prefer all the rumors to be "targeted." I always liked when they were tied to groups/character histories/skills/etc. And yes, I agree that it would be a TON more work, but I think it supports a more "get out of it what you put into it" mindset then the "hey, you just rolled into town an hour ago, here's the 25 things you hear on the way in" system. Definitely some good things to think about & discuss at the plot meeting.
 
Actually I think that new/newer players should be the ones who are getting the rumor sheets. This gives them a leg-up to get involved with established players since they will have some info that the longtime players might have no access to.

People who have been playing for a while have access to between-game writeups for info gathering between games and usually talk to each other out of game or at other chapters' events. I'd support a system where you stop getting rumor sheets once you've played X events except in cases where a Craftsman skill you have directly relates to a specific rumor or two. It's a lot more work but it turns the rumors into a useful tool for helping players acclimate to our game.
 
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