Local Lore

I must apologize for a recent dearth of posts - I'm in the process of moving, and that has meant that my availability has declined. However, I recently stumbled upon a delightful thread on RPG.net that I just had to comment upon, and I felt it would do for a quick update to keep interest alive - but then, the tale grew in the telling, as they say, and I came up with a much bigger idea!

I haven't been active on RPG.net in a long while, and I have no intentions on going back in any major capacity, but sometimes it still produces gems - like this series, going through the villages of the German region of Upper Franconia circa 1600 and detailing the gaming potential of each based on its history and folklore.

Now, it's a bit after the time period I use as the basis of my setting, but as a fellow Holy Roman Empire enthusiast it couldn't help but get my attention - and reading through it has even taught me a few things about that region's history! However, what strikes me the most is that just about every populated place, in one small region of one country alone, has a story associated with it (one town has 28!). From ghosts in the woods to locals granted supernatural powers through demonic pacts, it's positively bristling with content, and it seems ripe for a sandbox or hexcrawl.

The idea of going through a particular region of the world and cataloging the history and folklore behind each place definitely seems like a worthy exercise for inspiration, and I'm almost tempted to do something like it for my home, although I'm unsure how much folklore Maine would have by comparison. What the project has shown me, however, is that not enough DMs take into account how localized and specific folklore can be.

I've always been a proponent of filling each site in a campaign world with enough detail to set it apart from others and help it stand out - whether it's with a notable geographic feature, an important building, or a special event going on at the time the PCs happen by, no place should feel like "just a town." However, with that comes the idea of every town having its own legends, too. This can help the setting feel alive and lived in and allude to a sense of history, as well as providing hooks for adventures and encounters. Of course, you don't need to have every story told about a given place be true, and it's possible to throw in a few red herrings here and there. But even if you only use them in as a story told in whispers over tankards at the local tavern, local legends can go a long way toward keeping your settlements from being just another stop on the road, and making them into something unforgettable.

The next time you design a town for your games, take a moment to think about what local legends it might have - what are they, who knows them, and how true are they, if at all? To help with inspiration, I've included a table - but of course, this is only scraping the surface of what folklore can hold. I'd be interested in hearing your own ideas in the comments!

Random Local Legends

To use this table, roll 1d4-1 times for each village and 1d6-1 times for each town for the number of local legends. Treat results of 0 as 1. Then, roll 1d20 for each legend, and roll the appropriate dice for the subtables in each entry. Depending on personal preference, these may be separate legends, or different aspects of the same legend. Feel free to adjust the results to fit your setting, if necessary.

Please note that this is a table that requires some thought put into how to implement the results. You may want to roll on it before a session so you have time to figure out the details.

1. A ghost haunts the (1d4: 1. inn; 2. streets; 3. local noble's castle; 4. nearby woods) at night, said to be the spirit of (1d4: 1. an executed criminal; 2. a former lord of the land; 3. someone who died with unfinished business; 4. a local who sold their soul but didn't go through with the deal)
2. A (1d4: 1. god; 2. saint; 3. demon; 4. fairy) once visited the village, and (1d4: 1-2. revealed themselves only to one worthy bystander; 3. was offended and inflicted a curse; 4. imparted a blessing or artifact).
3. An entrance to a vast underground cavern where hidden treasure is buried is located (1d4: 1. beneath the town well; 2. in a burial mound outside the village; 3. in the cellar of one of the buildings; 4. in the graveyard).
4. Long ago, the townspeople tricked a (1d4: 1-2. demon; 3-4. fairy) into building a (1d4: 1. bridge; 2. wall; 3. temple; 4. castle) in or near the town.
5. A local (1d4: 1. peasant; 2. noble; 3. scholar; 4. knight) made a pact with a (1d4: 1-2. demon; 3-4. fairy) in order to gain power (1d6: 1-4. many years ago; 5. recently, before disappearing; 6. recently - and they're still here!)
6. The Wild Hunt rides by the village every so often, and (1d6: 1-2. abducts those who dare to stray too close; 3-5. picks fights with anyone in their way; 6. will select a champion worthy of bearing a magical treasure if they can impress them).
7. The town is near a (1d4: 1. burial mound; 2. cave; 3. lake; 4. ruin) where an ancient king and his army (1d6: 1-4. were buried after their deaths, but whose spirits haunt their resting place to deter would-be grave robbers; 5. are lying in wait for the day they will be needed most; 6. both!).
8. A (1d6: 1. witch; 2. god; 3. demon; 4. fairy; 5. local; 6. traveler) placed a curse on the village so that a child born there (1d6: 1-2. once, long ago; 3-4. every so often; 5-6. once, recently - and they're still there!) would suffer (1d6: 1. incredibly ill fortune; 2. a fated death in battle; 3. lycanthropy; 4. vampirism; 5. madness; 6. deformity).
9. A (1d6: 1. witch; 2. god; 3. saint; 4. fairy; 5. local; 6. traveler) blessed the village so that a child born there (1d6: 1-2. once, long ago; 3-4. every so often; 5-6. once, recently - and they're still there!) would be granted (1d8: 1. incredibly good fortune; 2. the gift of prophecy; 3. the ability to see the unnatural; 4. the friendship of the fair folk; 5. superhuman strength; 6. magical aptitude; 7. the ability to understand the tongue of beasts; 8. great wealth).
10. A (1d4: 1. holy relic; 2. magic artifact; 3. powerful spellbook; 4. cursed artifact) was held at a local (1d4: 1. temple; 2. inn; 3. castle; 4. household) (1d6: 1-3. many years ago, but mysteriously vanished; 4-5. many years ago, and was buried with its owner; 6. recently - and it's still there!)
11. The village has a pact with (1d4: 1. a fairy court; 2. an elven clan; 3. a demon; 4. the beasts of the woods), and they will come to each others' defense.
12. A (1d6: 1. cave; 2. ruin; 3. lake; 4. grove; 5. stone circle; 6. fairy ring) near the village contains or acts as a gateway to (1d6: 1-3 the land of fairies; 4-5. the Land of the Dead; 6. Hell itself!).
13. Every few years, (1d8: 1-6. a site near the village; 7. the village itself, at night; 8. the village itself, in broad daylight) is the site of a Goblin Market, where the fair folk trade magical trinkets - for a price.
14. One who (1d6: 1-2. drinks from a stream near the village; 3-4. eats the fruit from an enchanted grove near the village; 5. consumes the flesh of a beast living near the village; 6. correctly answers a particular riddle) will be granted (1d6: 1. incredibly good fortune; 2. the gift of prophecy; 3. the ability to see the unnatural; 4. the ability to understand the tongue of beasts; 5. superhuman strength; 6. magical aptitude) - provided, of course, they can brave what guards it.
15. A great hero who vanquished a (1d4: 1. dragon; 2. giant; 3. demon; 4. witch) lived here (1d6: 1-3. many years ago; 4-5. recently, before disappearing; 6. recently - and they're still here!)
16. Near the town is a (1d6: 1-3. vein in a mountainside; 4-5. dwarven mine; 6. meteor) that holds ore that can be used to smith magical items.
17. A monster was sighted dwelling (1d8: 1-2. in a cave; 3-4. in a ruin; 5-6. in the woods; 7. in a lake; 8. under a bridge) near the town (1d4: 1. long ago; 2. recently; 3. recently, but was slain; 4. recently, after having thought to been slain).
18. An omen speaks that doom will befall the village when (1d6: 1. a particular creature is seen near the town; 2. something seemingly impossible occurs, like a mule foaling or the forest moving; 3. a comet appears in the sky; 4. a particular child is born; 5. a certain stone is moved from the town square; 6. someone who matches the description of one of the PCs appears).
19. Thanks to a previous local who (1d4: 1. sold their soul to a demon; 2. earned the blessing of the gods; 3. was a friend of the fair folk; 4. was a powerful wizard), a (1d4: 1. field; 2. mill; 3. fishing pond; 4. mine) in the village is supernaturally fruitful.
20. The townsfolk must partake in a particular festival each year, or else (1d4: 1. the crops will fail; 2. their souls are forfeit; 3. the town will be beseiged by orcs; 4. plague will strike)!

Example

Let's say I want to generate a local legend for a village in my campaign. I roll a 4 on the d4, so that's 3 entries from the list. Let's roll 3d20 and see what we get: 2, 12, 6.

Now, let's see what entries those correspond to:

2. A (1d4: 1. god; 2. saint; 3. demon; 4. fairy) once visited the village, and (1d4: 1-2. revealed themselves only to one worthy bystander; 3. was offended and inflicted a curse; 4. imparted a blessing or artifact).

12. A (1d6: 1. cave; 2. ruin; 3. lake; 4. grove; 5. stone circle; 6. fairy ring) near the village contains or acts as a gateway to (1d6: 1-3 the land of fairies; 4-5. the Land of the Dead; 6. Hell itself!).

6. The Wild Hunt rides by the village every so often, and (1d6: 1-2. abducts those who dare to stray too close; 3-5. picks fights with anyone in their way; 6. will select a champion worthy of bearing a magical treasure if they can impress them).

Some interesting examples here. Now we have some rolling to do on our subtables.

First, a roll of 1d4 for our first entry brings us a 1, so a god, and our second roll gives us a 4, so this god imparted a blessing or artifact.

For our second entry, we get a 4 on the d6, and a 1 on the d4. We have a nearby grove that leads to the land of the fairies.

And for our third entry, a 5. It looks like our Wild Hunt is looking for trouble.

Now comes the fun part - figuring out how all these things fit together!

Perhaps the god that once visited the village was the God of the Hunt, and visited a villager during one of his jaunts - perhaps to give them skill in the hunt, strength in battle, or a magical weapon. Maybe the god is picking fights with people because he was tricked by the townsfolk and won't let it happen again. Or perhaps it was the fairies who waylaid the god!

Or maybe it is the fair folk who are hunting, emerging from their grove to stage their expeditions into the mortal realm. Maybe the god granted the people protection against the fairies, be it a blessing, a protective talisman, or a weapon capable of defeating the fearsome champion of the Hunt!

Hopefully, this will help spark your inspiration as to how to work local legends into your campaigns. I'm curious to see what people come up with - so let me know if you've ever used such legends in your games, or what results you can get from the table!