100 Hooks and Rumours for Fading Suns
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When asking around in different places¸ characters may overhear rumours of different things. They may be insuring about a different matter entirely and stumble across additional information by accident. This supplement has 100 rumours that characters could hear. They can be used as misdirection¸ background information or as potential adventure hooks.
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Of the vote sceptres crated by Vladimir as symbols of authority and a means to install a regent or crown an emperor or empress¸ thirty-five of the original forty remain. There are rumours¸ though¸ that more than five sceptres have been lost¸ and that some of those that remain are in fact clever¸ but not perfect¸ forgeries. If this is true¸ exposing any as forgeries could have enormous repercussions¸ varying by which was shown to be such. On Vril-Ya¸ some lower-caste vau sell vautech items on the black market to humans¸ though not so much as to bring the attention of the Mandarins to bear. It's rumoured¸ though¸ that the Mandarins already know about this black market¸ and may in fact be behind it¸ using it to sell items to humans that are not always entirely what they seem. Operatives from all over the Empire congregate in Apshai¸ with the intent of spying on the vau¸ but with the more common result of spying on each other. Recently¸ there are rumours that a number of spies have been turning up dead¸ and that the dead spies worked for several different factions. Some wonder if the vau are sending a message; others if a faction in the Empire is eliminating some of the competition. Ouroboroi¸ or "reset keys¸" are rings placed around jumpkeys that allow gates to be reset between jumps. The ouroboroi are even more tightly controlled than the jumpkeys themselves¸ and it's rumoured that the Charioteers¸ with the backing of the Emperor¸ have been collecting as many as they can. There are suggestions that the ouroboroi may cause a problem¸ and that in order to reduce this problem¸ as many ouroboroi as possible are going to be taken out of circulation. Pentateuch is under the control of the Eskatonic Order¸ which doesn't please the Orthodox Church¸ the Avesti or the Hazat¸ all of which would prefer to own the planet. It's rumoured that the Orthodox Church is attempting to make more vigorous use of the Inquisition in proving that the Eskatonic Order is too heretical to be allowed to keep Pentateuch¸ but that the Hazat at least are attempting to counter any such manoeuvrings.
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