While preparing to run the Barrowmaze Complete megadungeon by Greg Gillespie I decided to extend the basic random rumor table found in it from the basic twenty rumors up to one-hundred. Perhaps someone else may get some use out of it as well. I have removed the “True” and “False” tags so it should be pretty spoiler free.
1. If you don’t look an undead in the eyes it will not attack.
2. If you fall asleep on the moor the mud-faeries will take you.
3. Piles of magical items can be found in the southern crypts.
4. The lord of Ironguard Motte have made a dark pact with the Undead of the Barrowmoor. He has promised his first-born son as a sacrifice to them in return for eternal life.
5. The spirits of the dead will not harm you if you leave an offering at each barrow.
6. There are lots of tomb-robbers among the barrows who will not explore them but happily rob those who do.
7. There is a curse over the Barrowmaze which strengthens the undead, even against the holy power of the Gods.
8. For safety seek the pools.
9. The tiny blue flowers called Bardseye only grow where gold is buried.
10. Lately there are Bugbears roaming the Barrowmoor, searching for treasure.
11. Many of the barrow entrances are still buried beneath earth and stone, requiring tools to uncover them.
12. The ancient people living in Barrowmoor were masters of binding spirits to inanimate objects. Beware their creations!
13. There is a teeming horde of Lizardmen breeding in the Barrowmoor which will one day rampage across the Duchy.
14. There are several levels of tunnels below the Barrowmaze.
15. Beware the breath of the tall man!
16. The Froglings of Barrowmoor bury any prisoners they take alive as a sacrifice to their slimy Gods.
17. The mutated people of Barrowmaze guard wonderful treasures.
18. Many of the dead where buried with death masks. A living person who wears one is imbued with great powers.
19. There have been sightings of giant bird-like lizards flying over the marsh.
20. An army of holy knights once went into the Barrowmoor to cleanse it of the Undead. None returned.
21. In deep water there may be deep truths.
22. A powerful evil warrior and his band of outlaws use the Barrowmaze as their hideout.
23. The rumors are just folk-tales, the mounds are just an old burial ground.
24. A girl pure of heart can open any barrow by simply walking around it.
25. You know there are Undead nearby when the birds stop singing.
26. Be wary of Undead lurking beneath the mud and murky water of the moor!
27. Small dolls or figurines can be found in the barrows. Those should be avoided at any cost as they are always cursed.
28. There is an abandoned Wizard’s tower in the middle of the Barrowmaze. It is hidden behind a grand illusion.
29. The Chosen, an ancient sect of Nergal, are said to be buried in the barrows.
30. Not only Undead but Demons lurk in the oldest barrows.
31. There are Dwarves living in the Moon Peaks. They have great hoards of treasure which they guard jealously against intruders.
32. The Undead have been seen walking the Barrowmoor with increasing frequency.
33. There are Dwarves digging tunnels below the barrows in hunt for gold.
34. Many of the dead were buried with death masks. They can be powerful artifacts but their close association to the Underworld makes them useless to the living.
35. If you kill a Bograt, gut it and wear it like a hat, no Frogling will touch you.
36. Frogling tribes make their home among the muck and mire of the Barrowmoor.
37. There is nothing alive walking the Barrowmaze.
38. Altars found among the barrows are very dangerous.
39. All rumors are true.
40. There is a ruin covered in spider-webs deep in the Blackened Wood. The spider silk is extremely valuable, but stealing it risks attracting the interest of the Spider-Godess once worshipped by the ancient people of Barrowmoor.
41. It is said that a twisted, mutated people live in the Barrowmaze.
42. A Cult of Orcus, the God of Death and Undeath, are hiding out in the Barrowmoor, biding its time until the return of their dread master.
43. The people who lived here in ancient times worshipped insects, and their likenesses are often found in the barrows.
44. Wounds from Frogling poisoned weapons will turn rotten unless doused in salt water.
45. Tomb-robbers recently returned with a silver chalice worth 666 gp.
46. Lizardmen sometimes attack caravans and drag unfortunate victims back to the Barrowmoor for sacrifice to their cold-blooded gods.
47. There is a vast labyrinth hidden beneath the barrows.
48. Soulless Necromancers are massing in the Barrowmaze for a powerful ritual that will bring death and darkness to the world.
49. Some of the potions found among the barrows have turned foul and corrupted over the centuries.
50. Deep within the Barrowmaze lies hidden an abyss leading straight down to Hell.
51. Out in the marsh there is a black snake with a white skull-like marking on its head. It’s poison makes the victim turn into an Undead.
52. There’s a Thieves Guild operating out of Ironguard Motte who prey on wealthy merchants in the region. They don’t take kindly to competition.
53. The dancing skeleton will show the way.
54. A hermit lives deep in the Barrowmoor. He is friendly, except to Dwarves who seems to make him go into a raging fit.
55. There is a hidden shrine to Herne out in the Barrowmoor. It is a sanctuary against the horrors that prowl the moor.
56. The mutated people of Barrowmaze enslave humans.
57. Small jars of mummified remains can be found in some barrows. Those remains are valuable ingredients in many potions.
58. There are elvish rangers scouting the Barrowmaze for some unknown purpose.
59. Beware the man of amber!
60. The people of Bogtown are a dirty, untrustworthy lot. It is said they rob any outsider who spends the night there.
61. It is said that during nights with a full moon you can find silver roses blooming in the Barrowmaze. Wearing one of them keeps you safe from all Undead.
62. The Elves of the Thornswild forest are a suspicious lot who keep uninvited visitors away by threats or worse.
63. Even already pillaged barrows may contain undiscovered treasures.
64. Tribes of different monstrous humanoids make their home among the barrows.
65. Some barrows are filled with poisonous air which choke anyone entering them.
66. It is only the yearly Green Man wickerman celebration that prevents the Undead from destroying Helix.
67. There’s a witch living near Bogtown who brews love potions to use on unsuspecting visitors.
68. An elven maid was recently freed from captivity in the Barrowmaze.
69. In an emergency the fat slimy grubs found underneath rotting logs can be safely eaten.
70. Sometimes the fog in Barrowmoor turn yellow and poisonous.
71. In the biggest barrow of them all a giant is laid to rest, and on his hand are five golden rings the size of wagon-wheels.
72. Runic tablets bring awful curses on those who reads them.
73. All the entrances to the barrows are trapped.
74. In one barrow there is a vast library of magical tomes tended by a silent cowled guardian. It permits well-mannered visitors to browse the books but instantly kill anyone who tries to steal them.
75. If you get stuck in quicksand out in the moor you mustn’t make any sound as it is often used as a trap by Froglings living nearby.
76. All the interiors of the barrows are submerged below murky foul-smelling water.
77. A Halfling herb-hunter recently disappeared while gathering mushrooms in the marsh.
78. Runic tablets often contain curses, but sometimes also information.
79. If you get lost in the marsh you should throw a golden ring in the deepest pool you can find. Then surely the spirits of the marsh will show you the way out.
80. The fabled enchanted sword Glorybrand lies buried in one of the barrows. Anyone bearing it is destined to become king of the land.
81. Do not embrace the Triangle-bearers!
82. Sometimes new barrows are pushed up from below, like toadstools.
83. Once long long ago a great Dragon nested in the Barrowmoor and terrorized the nearby lands, until an army of knights destroyed it. But its hoard was never found.
84. The Barrowmaze is almost devoid of life. Spilled blood or even loud noises will quickly attract Undead or other enemies.
85. A dead comrade may come back to haunt you if buried in the Barrowmoor. But an iron spike blessed by St. Ygg driven into the corpse’s skull prevents this.
86. The Elves no longer go to the Wyrdwood.
87. There is more than glory to be found in the barrow of the horse.
88. A corpse bearing the serpent-tattoo’s of an acolyte of Set was found floating in the Merisc river. When disturbed it spoke words of power and sank below the surface.
89. The Old Dwarf bridge have often been used as an ambush point by brigands and worse.
90. Some people claim to have seen the Green Man himself walk the Barrowmoor.
91. Carry a lot of torches, because the barrows are deep and dark, and no dry wood can be found in the moor.
92. Every barrow disturbed by adventurers means another Undead walking the moor.
93. There is a temple to Impurax, the God of Decay, Corruption and Pestilence, hidden deep in the Barrowmoor. Those who stumble into it return bearing horrible diseases.
94. If you sleep on top of a barrow its guardian spirits will guide you through its traps.
95. A lot of the barrows have collapsed into themselves or are brink of collapse. Getting half a barrow roof on you may be as much as a risk as a devious trap.
96. It is said that a phalanx of noble knights wearing a rose as their emblem were buried in the barrows long long ago. And they may be awakened to give aid in the one true God’s name.
97. A true follower of Crom may find a weatherbeaten statue of the God of Strength and Battle deep in the Barrowmoor. This is a sign of favor.
98. Watch everything, touch nothing. That is the way to get through the maze alive.
99. Some tomb-robbers have brought back ancient tablets carved with the skull of Nergal, old God of Death and Undeath, from the Barrowmaze. None of them have lived long.
100. If you see a white stag wandering the marsh, follow it. For it is Herne himself leading you.
