[Homebrew] Gathering Information

A prime location for gathering rumors

    The main way that player characters learn about the various things going on in the local area is by "purchasing" rumors.  Now, at first it might seem silly to spend money on characters talking to NPCs but the way I explain it is this: the gold spent represents buying drinks, shopping at the market, bribing locals, etc so instead of playing through each individual encounter I just speed it up by having them purchase the rumors.  

    Originally, I used rumor tables and players would roll to see how many and which rumors they would learn about but I have recently changed my method.  Instead of creating tables of rumors, I create some rumors that everyone will know that gives each person at least some idea of what is going on lately.  Then, I create 4-5 rumors that explore those initial "free" rumors a little bit more in depth, print them out, cut them into strips, and place them in a bag for players to blindly take.  I also make sure to print multiples of the same rumor so there is a chance that a character could hear the same rumor several times.  When a player buys a rumor they can then take a rumor from the bag.  For example, one of the "free" rumors I gave to my players the other day was that "a strange group of men, wearing black robes, came into town a few days ago."  I then made 5 other rumors that tied into that first one, including a rumor about a local acolyte who was allegedly seen talking to the group of strangers.  Another method for gaining rumors is through hiring harlots, although this is not guaranteed.  Each harlot has a 2 in 6 chance of knowing a few rumors.  Player characters are also able to add their charisma bonus (or penalty) to their rumor rolls.

My rules for rumors