That's a great idea for any kind of character development.
I'm stealing it.
Yeah, that's fucking slick right there.
Roger Zelazny wrote that he'd sometimes do an entire story about a minor character in order to flesh him out in his mind.
So, 4 out of 5 rumours are true?
I'd say make it like this:
If there are only 2-3 other players, each one gets 1 or 2 rumours. If there are a lot of players, you might duplicate some of them. You could ask the player to pick the rumour that's most popular about them, and some extra copies of that one get handed out.
So, about half the rumours are true, or based on something true. Half are false or distortions. There's one that the character might want people to continue to believe, even if it's false. Another one that is a lie that the player can't seem to shake. Another one where it's a true story, but maybe the character is just tired of having to re-tell. On the other hand, maybe it's a tale of heroism that they love to tell people about.
IMO having one that makes the player look good, but is false, and one where the facts have been distorted are the most interesting ones. A paladin-type character would probably want to clear up the rumours even if they made that paladin look good. A rogue might want people to believe all the rumours even the ones that make them look bad, just so that nobody really learns the truth about them. A bard might want to string people along, building more rumours and making even the true stories into fanciful tales.
Imma try
I'm playing a kobold artificer who used to be a wild magic sorcerer, before a wild magic surge blew up his left arm and leg and severed his connection to the weave
I heard that he made his own prosthetic limbs while he only had one arm
I heard he invented those weird goggles (he calls them "shutter shades") to help with the migraines that sunlight gives him
I heard he blew up his whole school when he was just a kid, and vowed to never use his sorcery powers again
I heard he's Professor Hakase's favorite artificer student
I heard he worships Tiamat. You can never trust those kobolds...
The first 3 are really interesting. They make me want to know more about your character. I especially like the shutter shades one, because it draws you in and makes you want to know more about how they work, why he has migraines, etc.
I have a suggestion for one though: "I heard he made a deal with Tiamat, giving up his limbs to gain secret knowledge." I like the idea of people thinking the limbs getting blown off wasn't an accident, but was a deliberate trade. You can imagine how that kind of rumour would spread, especially among people who don't trust artificers because they're scared of "technology".
The migraines aren't actually all that interesting, he just has sunlight sensitivity because I'm using the old VGM Kobold race stats. They remove the Sunlight Sensitivity trait, but because they occlude his vision, he has disadvantage on perception checks and attack rolls that rely on sight while he's wearing them. I do like your take on the bad rumor though, it fits much better!
Interesting.
Awesome. Stolen!
Only really fits settings where PCs are somewhat famous, at least on a town-level, or already somewhat know each other. If the party starts not knowing each other, why would they have heard any rumours about these other randos?
Take a comic book character like Bruce Wayne of Peter Parker. Someone could take one look at them and come up with some dirt. Remember, it doesn't have to have anything to do with reality. Every pretty girl is a slut, a snob, or a dope. Every big guy is a bully, a moron, or a cream puff.
Bruce Wayne is a billionaire philanthropist, but I'll give you Peter Parker in the timelines where he's not working on the cutting edge as a scientist.
The question isn't "why would they have rumours?" but "why would the party be privy to them?" If you're famous, these rumours float around by themselves but why would the party be asking about the other members? Again, unless they were somewhat famous or already knew each other.
The sticking point is the word "rumour" or "dirt". Rumours are thinking that build up slowly, like dust in a corner. It almost sounds like you're saying players should form impressions of the other party members which...yeah, that should happen when they get described.
why would the party be asking about the other members?
Look up old time writer Damon Runyon. His short stories inspired the musical 'Guys And Dolls.' He wrote about Times Square and the showgirls, gamblers, crooks, bar flies, social workers, servers, bouncers, general riff raff, and hoi polloi that he'd seen.
It's common in his stories for people to strike up a conversation with a stranger and ask about what's going on. Even a small time hustler will be known by sight, and a stranger in town is evaluated.
Also, remember that when you ask A about B, A is telling you a lot about themselves. In 'Stranger Things,' the boys warn the new girl that the town is full of bullies, which tells her that these are the kids who get bullied.
epic outer planes level character
Have them meet at a tavern, someone at the tavern knows them and can give all of the gossip.
It can even be made into a game where you have to earn the gossip.
"I heard you like smoking cheese. What an interesting hobby"
Lights up a cheese string. "You're damn right!"
So, if you are a first level character who is new in town that should be a complete stranger, how do you play that?
A level 1 player character is assumed to have taken on at least 1 somewhat notable quest or mission. That's why they are level 1 and not a pissant peasant with virtually no stats. You might not be known world wide, and you wouldn't have saved the world or anything grandiose as that; but maybe your fighter was a city guard and known to have stomped out some bandit camps in the region or helped hold back the advance of a goblin horde.
With the players themselves having these rumors, they're already in the same area to have met each other so why wouldn't they have possibly heard about some of the deeds the rest of the party may have had before they met?
New in town doesn't mean unheard of. You could build up a reputation on the way to town that is being passed around by other travelers.
And some if the rumors could be things that happened the night before.
Imma try
I'm playing a kobold artificer who used to be a wild magic sorcerer, before a wild magic surge blew up his left arm and leg and severed his connection to the weave
Two good: I heard he made his own prosthetic limbs, I heard he used to be a powerful sorcerer
Two bad: I heard he blew up his school by accident, I heard he killed his teacher
One false: I heard he blew up his school on purpose
Humor, jokes, memes about TTRPGs
