rumor

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I created this city section for a tabletop RPG that I do plan to go back to one day, but for now it’s not doing anyone any good sitting in my google drive folder, so here it is!

Mudstead sits outside of the main city walls to the West, so it should be easy to tack onto the city of your choosing.
Though Mudstead is a mostly poor district, Topaz Hill is actually quite nice. A technicality exists in the city’s tax code and Topaz Hill is filled with jewelers and other artisans who have set their businesses up outside of the city walls to avoid the brunt of the city taxes.
Similarly, the Ecclestone Smithy is a bustling complex of buildings which turn out quite of a bit of high quality metal goods, as wells as acts as a sort of smithing academy.
South of the river is where things start to get ugly for Mudstead, especially as you approach Clay Springs. The ground is mostly clay and, due to a number of underground springs, it is always damp and muddy. This gives those who live there a near-permanent and very recognizable crust of dried clay about their persons.
A new drug called Wormscrape has been making the rounds in Mudstead: it provides temporary HP and increases melee dmg, but is potentially addictive and deadly.
Clay springs is home to a gang known as the Emerald Blades

Click Here for High Res Map File

Important NPCs

There are several key individuals in Mudstead who I will cover below. I will also include various rumors about each NPC which a PC might be able to pick up. The common rumors can be heard anywhere, but the uncommon ones must come from someone who knows the NPC personally (friend, servant, etc). The last three rumors of each type will reveal a Strength or a Weakness about the NPC (Strengths coming from Common rumors, and Weaknesses coming from Uncommon ones). When a PCs is hunting for rumors, roll a d10 to determine which one he or she hears.

Jacquetta Kane, Judge and Owner of Wallbottom Prison

Weaknesses:
Adherance to the law
Concern for her prisoners
Aubery Kane is her enemy

Strengths:
Wealthy
Powerful position
Usually has guards

Rumors – Common:
1. She’s twice the warden her uncle ever was
2. She only ever wears black. Some say it’s to honor her dead parents
3. She owns the Wallbottom Prison building and rents it out to the city
4. She has a low opinion of her cousin, Aubrey Kane
5. She’s an avid consumer of literature and provides a library for her inmates
6. Although she’s kind to the inmates, she’s ruthless to those outside of the prison
7. Wallbottom Prison has the highest rehabilitation rate of any prison in the land
8. She travels with a retinue of guards
9. She is effectively above the law in Mudstead
10. She is the second richest person in Mudstead

Rumors – Uncommon:
1. She believes anyone can be saved and reintegrated into society
2. Some of her staff are reformed prisoners what seen the error of their ways
3. She’s always surrounded by her most trusted staff, who protect her with their very lives
4. She considers each death penalty she issues to be a personal failure
5. She doesn’t really like the church, but she has a lot of respect for Talbot Paul
6. She’s never been outside of the city before, having lived here her whole life
7. She grudgingly accepts the charity of Countess Hermia Jessamyn Mlakar on behalf of her prisoners
8. She legitimately cares about her inmates, more than their own mothers would
9. Her Uncle chose her over his own daughter, Aubry Kane, to inherit his estate
10. She’s a strict authority figure and follows the law to the letter

Countess Hermia Jessamyn Mlakar

Weaknesses:
Rarely has guards
Gambles
Disliked by the nobility

Strengths:
Energy and vivaciousness
Wealthy
Beloved of the people

Rumors – Common:
1. She supplies books to prisoners at Wallbottom
2. She has founded several vocational schools
3. She has a noticle burn scar on her face
4. She wears only the finest clothes
5. She is the patron of several up-and-coming craftmen and women
6. She owns huge tracts of land outside of the city
7. She owns a large part of the Ecclestone Smithy
8. She is loved by the common folk
9. She has a manor on Topaz Hill and is very wealthy
10. At 58 years old, she is still energetic and full of life

Rumors – Uncommon:
1. She was severely burned in the house fire that killed her husband years ago
2. Her Circlet was custom made for her by Johan Ecclestone himself
3. She eats porridge at every meal
4. She and Jaquetta Kane don’t get along but share a similar philosophy
5. She spends a lot of her time at the Ecclestone Smithy
6. She leaves the ruling of her lands to her reagent who is also her son
7. She is a known gossip among the upper-class
8. She dispises the nobility and in turn is not looked well upon
9. She has quadrupled her fortune via high-stakes gambling
10. She rarely has an escort of guards

Desmond Roscoe, Dockmaster

Weaknesses:
Boredom
Depression
Inexperience in non-business matters

Strengths:
Always has guards
Wealthy
Good Reputation

Rumors – Common:
1. He owns fleets of cargo ships
2. He’s a gloomy old bastard
3. He grew up in the frozen North
4. He invested all of his money into his business 25 years ago
5. He owns most of the docks in Mudstead
6. He is a shrewd businessman
7. He doesn’t have any family to speak of
8. He is always surrounded by guards, and hates it
9. He has vast wealth
10. He has a good reputation among the townsfolk

Rumors – Uncommon:
1. He has a strange tattoo on the top of his head, under his hair
2. He did some construction in the Clay Springs sewers a few years ago
3. He spends his freetime doing various art and hates everything he makes
4. He got hold of some kind of magic artifact a few years ago
5. He hates the cold
6. He will only eat hot food or drink
7. His art isn’t half bad, even if he hates it
8. He is bored with his lavish lifestyle
9. He has no real world experience in anything but business
10. He has been very depressed lately

Johan Ecclestone, Blacksmith

Weaknesses:
In a secret relationship
Addicted to wormscrape
Nearly bankrupt

Strengths:
Position of authority
Master swordsman
In good standing with the church

Rumors – Common:
1. He has a metal claw instead of a left hand
2. He doesn’t get along with Desmond Roscoe
3. The Ecclestone Smithy turns out the best metal items in the region
4. The Ecclestone Smithy is a large complex of buildings
5. He teaches students at the Ecclestone Smithy
6. He swears like a sailor
7. He has run the Ecclestone Smithy for more than 40 years
8. He is in good standing with the church
9. He wields his sword with natural grace and power, despite his age
10. He runs the Ecclestone Smithy

Rumors – Uncommon:
1. He made enemies with Desmond Roscoe when he wouldn’t sell the Smithy
2. He lost his hand while soldiering in his youth
3. He killed a man who robbed the Ecclestone Smithy years ago
4. He spends more then he can afford on recreation
5. He is too proud to accept help
6. He regularly had affairs with his students until he met Countess Hermia Jessamyn
7. He wears a toupee
8. He is on the brink of banckruptcy
9. He and Countess Hermia Jessamyn Mlakar are lovers
10. He is addicted to wormscrape

Talbot Paul, Clergyman

Weaknesses:
Sex drive (under control for years)
Church disapproval
Desire to help the poor

Strengths:
Worldly experience
Followers
Physical strength

Rumors – Common:
1. He’s an optimist
2. He won’t stand for any nonsense
3. He is the most pious person in the district
4. He gives all of his money to his followers to give to the poor
5. He has been instrumental in reducing the homeless population in Mustead
6. He will have a conversation with anyone, no matter how filthy
7. He lives in Clay Springs
8. He’s 60 years old but he is built like an ox
9. He has a following of citizens and clergymen
10. He’s traveled the world and seen all sorts of things

Rumors – Uncommon:
1. He’s fought with demons and won
2. He sleeps with a candle lit that detects demons
3. He’s on the run from a succubus
4. He tore off his own middle fingers to escape a succubus’s bed
5. He was seduced by a succubus as a young man, but managed to escape
6. He has not been with a woman for many years
7. He can spot a demon from across the room
8. He used to be a tomcat, hooking up with all the ladies
9. The church does not necessarily agree with what he does
10. He wants nothing more than to help the poor

Lazzari, Vigilante

Weaknesses:
He needs the people’s help
Physically weak
He is wanted by the guard and the underworld alike

Strengths:
His custom made hand crossbows
The people help him
Master of disguise

Rumors – Common:
1. His nose has been broken several times
2. He was once the governor’s advisor
3. He killed a gangster during a trial what was going in the gang’s favor
4. He likes to give small gifts to those who help him
5. He has taken the law into his own hands
6. He is disgusted by the state of Order the district
7. He has a very bad temper
8. He uses a pair of custom hand crossbows
9. He has the support of the people
10. He is a master of disguise

Rumors – Uncommon:
1. He killed the head of the Emerald Razors
2. He steals from the city guards while disguised as one of them
3. Members of the Emerald Razors raped and killed his wife
4. He will stalk a target for a time before striking
5. He relies on traps to kill criminals
6. He hates the Emerald Razors more than any other criminals
7. He is fanatical about his causes
8. Without the support of the people he would surely be caught
9. He isn’t physically strong, but he is deadly with a crossbow
10. He is on the run from the city guard and from the Emerald Razors alike

Rod Carter, Cook and Wormscrape Dealer

Weaknesses:
He has syphillis, which addles his mind at times
He fears the river
He loves his three children

Strengths:
He is one of the few dealers in the district
He doesn’t have any enemies
He will murder without a second thought

Rumors – Common:
1. He works in the Wolf’s Tooth tavern in Clay Springs
2. He only sells wormscrape to the dregs of society
3. He plays with an old fork with a sharpened handle
4. He gets the greens he cooks with from Sewer Skimmers
5. He likes to chew on raw chicken meat
6. He sleeps 18 hours a day
7. His food isn’t half bad
8. He’s one of the only wormscrape dealers in Mudstead
9. He doesn’t have any enemies, and most people just avoid him
10. He has no problem murdering people

Rumors – Uncommon:
1. He never uses his own supplies
2. He slips wormscrape into the food he cooks to addict his customers
3. He doesn’t care about money, he just wants to ruin people’s lives
4. He denies drugs to addicts just to make them have a breakdown
5. He will paralyze rowdy customers, then kick them into the sewer where they drown
6. He is a member of the Faithless
7. His fork is poisoned with a paralyzing toxin
8. He has syphillis
9. He is afraid of the river and rarely bathes
10. He has three beautiful children whom he dotes upon

Aubrey Kane, Noblewoman

Weaknesses:
She carries the blade of the Emerald Razors
She is suceptible to attractive men
The majority of her wealth and power come from the Emerald Razors

Strengths:
She has underworld allies
She has access to a lot of information
The Governor favors her

Rumors – Common:
1. She is a known flirt among the upper class
2. Her family wealth decreased after the death of her father
3. She has more piercings than is fashionable
4. She dresses in finery and is very beautiful
5. She is shrewish
6. She holds contempt for the church and the clergy
7. Her cousin is Jaquetta Kane, the District Judge
8. She has underworld connections
9. She owns a messenger service which employs runners throughout the district
10. She is beloved of the city Governor

Rumors – Uncommon:
1. She wants to make Jacquetta Kane look bad
2. Jacquetta Kane inherited most of her father’s wealth on his death
3. She uses her messengers to intercept important communications
4. She owns The Wolf’s Tooth tavern, a seedy place
5. She has a large collection of duplicated seals for letters
6. She flatters men to gain their favor, but rarely means any of it
7. She leads the Emerald Razors gang
8. She carries a blade with a greenish tint
9. She is easily swayed by a pretty face
10. Most of her wealth stems from an unknown and probably criminal source

Never Engine

Of Dice and Men (also women)

More Free PDFs!

Mudstead – City Map and NPCs