Rules

[Cearnach]

The Rumormill is the (humorous) information nerve center of Winter Court. While the Scorpion and Otomo might get more of the straight dope, the Rumormill is full of those little tidbits that make life interesting, whether they are true or not.

Your friendly neighborhood gms (at least one of which is an inveterate Rumormill contributor), will have a certain number of rumors each day, but that does not mean that you should deny yourself this powerful tool.

To make a Rumor, your character must succeed at a Courtier (Gossip)/Awareness check against a TN 25. Characters may call raises on this roll to conceal the fact that they are the source of the gossip. Each raise successfully called will increase the TN to discover the source by 5. Please post these Rumors in your personal folder. Remember, those of you with the Rumormonger disadvantage, to make those checks. You will certainly encounter situations that require it. If you are successful at your roll, post your rumor in a thread in your personal folder. The gm staff will collect these and post them as a whole when morning follows night so that you can remain anonymous.

You can try to find out who spread a rumor. In fact, it might be a good idea to do so. You may make a roll in either your pf or as part of a scene in which you roleplay trying to find out who did the action. This roll should be an Investigation/Awareness roll. Each rumor with a discoverable source will have its TN to discover printed right next to it. Some rumors, that is those whose makers did not call raises to conceal, simply have their authors on them.

If a negative rumor gets traction (is repeated in the Rumors section 3 times over at least 2 days by your enemies without being addressed by you), you may end up with a Bad Reputation disadvantage. Not all negative rumors are serious enough to warrant this, but we will definitely warn you if things are getting there. A public retraction or apology will end this process and restore your honor. A duel will also resolve the question entirely, either restoring your honor or giving the Bad Reputation disadvantage. Mentioning the issue after a retraction, apology, or duel is a major breach of etiquette, unless the duel resulted in a Bad Reputation, in which case the reputation is plain fact and can be repeated (but try not to be tiresome or rude).

Friendliness and Rumors:
Rumors are submitted anonymously. They are from characters by characters. It is not a good idea to make them directed at a player, even subtly. It is also not a good idea to assume that a negative rumor about your character is about coming after you as the player. We will make an effort to address and suggest tweaks to rumors that we think might go over the line, but obviously we cannot anticipate how people may read things. Please be patient with each other, and remember to make a conscious effort to understand each other when you disagree.