Random Rumor Generator

One press starts a rumor in a made-up town: who it is about, what they did, how word got out.

Random Rumor Generator: 20 rumors

Word is that the messenger who rides in on market days was seen at the fair in three different hats. It came to me in three whispers from three people.

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Who it is aboutthe messenger who rides in on market days
What they didwas seen at the fair in three different hats
How the teller heardit came to me in three whispers from three people

History (0)

Every rumor you make is kept here, newest first, up to the last 20. The list stays in this browser.

Rumor of the day

Word is that the messenger who rides in on market days was seen at the fair in three different hats. It came to me in three whispers from three people.
Word is that the keeper of the town records holds the only copy of the old market grant. It sounds like a lie, and that is why I believe it.
Word is that the sergeant of the night watch came here under another name. There is a grudge behind the telling, I would guess.
Word is that the keeper of the town records is the real owner of half the market. It went down the street faster than a loose pig.
Word is that the heir to the big house carries a key that fits no door in town. I found out by accident and wish I had not.
Word is that the weaver with the loud loom writes down everything the neighbors say. My aunt heard it across the back fence yesterday.
Word is that the wool buyer from the city has a second house in another town. Somebody is being paid to spread it, if you ask me.
Word is that the lord's steward was seen on the north road with a loaded mule. Somebody chalked it on the wall by the pump.
Word is that the landlord of the smaller inn is paying children to count the wagons at the gate. It sounds like a lie, and that is why I believe it.
Word is that the apothecary's assistant has been collecting odd shoes, and only left ones. It was said at three stalls before I had my basket full.
Word is that the woman with the three black dogs was seen talking to a light at the bottom of the well. It was told to me as a joke, but nobody laughed.
Word is that the woman who reads letters for a fee keeps a cat that walks through closed doors. The woman at the next stall told me for nothing.
Word is that the schoolmaster found something under the market cross and kept it. My neighbor swears to it, and she is no fool.
Word is that the old candle maker has been quietly paying other people's fines. The one who told me made me promise not to tell.
Word is that the gatekeeper on the north gate is paying children to count the wagons at the gate. I got it from the old men on the bench by the gate.
Word is that the heir to the big house came back from the city with a wagon under canvas. I was close enough to hear every word.
Word is that the leader of the traveling players has drawn up plans for a second bell tower. I had it from the washerwomen, and they miss nothing.
Word is that the crier who reads out the notices sends a letter by every coach and gets none back. The same mouth told me the well would run dry.
Word is that the weaver with the loud loom has entered the pie contest under a false name. Even the children have a game about it now.
Word is that the baker on the corner of the square has been hiding someone in a hayloft. The one who told me made me promise not to tell.

Next step Meet someone who repeats it Name the inn where it is told

Who it is about: all 76 townspeople

Trades and stalls 24

the apothecary's assistant
the baker on the corner of the square
the barber on the market side
the bell ringer's apprentice
the best-dressed tailor in town
the blacksmith's brother
the butcher's wife
the carpenter who built the new stalls

Show all 76 townspeople (68 more)

Trades and stalls, continued

the cooper's new apprentice
the fiddler who plays at every wedding
the fishmonger with the short temper
the glover's widow
the groom at the big inn
the lamplighter who starts at the wrong end
the landlord of the smaller inn
the midwife from the lower street
the miller's youngest
the old candle maker
the potter who never opens before noon
the saddler's eldest
the shepherd from the top farm
the tanner at the edge of town
the weaver with the loud loom
the woman who sells eggs by the gate

Office and rank 18

the bailiff's deputy
the crier who reads out the notices
the gatekeeper on the north gate
the heir to the big house
the inspector of weights at the market
the judge's secretary
the keeper of the town keys
the keeper of the town records
the lady of the big house
the lord's steward
the magistrate's cook
the mayor before this one
the mayor's clerk
the new toll keeper
the newest face on the town council
the schoolmaster
the sergeant of the night watch
the tax collector's nephew

Neighbors 18

the cook at the big house
the elder of the twins by the well
the gardener who tends the walled orchard
the grandmother who keeps the geese
the hermit on the hill
the last of the family at the mill house
the man who mends the town clock
the man who sits by the well most days
the miser on the high street
the old schoolmistress
the old soldier who lives over the stable
the oldest person in town
the quiet lodger at the inn
the richest farmer's only son
the tenant of the shuttered house
the widow at the end of the lane
the woman who reads letters for a fee
the woman with the three black dogs

Newcomers and travelers 16

the ballad singer who takes requests for a penny
the cloth merchant with the locked wagon
the fortune teller at the fair
the horse dealer from over the hills
the juggler who stayed on after the fair
the leader of the traveling players
the map seller who never sells a map
the messenger who rides in on market days
the newcomer who bought the old mill
the peddler with the blue cart
the scholar copying the town's old records
the stranger renting the room above the bakery
the surveyor measuring the common
the tinker who comes through every spring
the wandering knife grinder
the wool buyer from the city

How this list was compiled: Our own list of 76 townspeople, written for this page on 2026-10-15 with no outside source. Each is one person of a made-up market town, known by a trade, an office or a street and never by a name, so no line describes a real person. Compared that day with every other list on this site and its sister sites: no line repeats one. Licence: own work

What they did: all 112 deeds

Money and trade 20

came into a fortune and is hiding it badly
found a purse at the fair and never said a word
gave away a full purse and asked for nothing
has been asking what the bell tower would cost
has been buying salt by the wagonload
has been quietly paying other people's fines
has bought up every ball of twine in town

Show all 112 deeds (105 more)

Money and trade, continued

has cornered the market in lamp oil
has hired three guards and will not say what for
has sold the same cart to three different buyers
is buying up land along the north road
is offering good silver for old keys
is paying children to count the wagons at the gate
keeps two ledgers, and only one is ever shown
owes money to half the street
pays for everything in coins nobody recognizes
tried to pay for supper with a brass button
turned down a fortune for a plain wooden box
was left a house in a will nobody has seen
will trade a good coat for any black hen

Hidden things 21

burned a bundle of papers on the night of the fair
came here under another name
carries a key that fits no door in town
found something under the market cross and kept it
has a brother that nobody was meant to know about
has a second house in another town
has been digging at night where the old well stood
has been hiding someone in a hayloft
hides letters under a loose stone by the well
holds the only copy of the old market grant
is not who the town thinks
is the real owner of half the market
keeps a chest that takes two people to lift
keeps a lamp burning in the empty house on the hill
keeps a locked room that nobody has been inside
knows a way through the town wall
knows where the old lord's silver went
knows who let the pigs out on council night
was seen burying a box behind the old wall
wears a coat with a map drawn on the inside
wrote the unsigned letters everyone has been getting

Odd habits 20

bows to the old oak by the gate every morning
buys two of everything and gives one away
counts every stranger who comes through the gate
eats supper alone with places laid for six
feeds every stray dog in town, and they follow no one else
has been collecting odd shoes, and only left ones
has been feeding something in the old quarry
has been seen at the crossroads three nights running
has not been seen in daylight for nine days
has not slept indoors since the fair
has painted every window shutter black overnight
has started locking a door that was never locked
has stopped speaking to anyone on market days
has taken to wearing gloves in all weathers
practices a speech every night in an empty barn
sleeps in the bell tower
walks the town wall every night at the same hour
will not cross the market square after dark
will not let anyone see inside one coat pocket
writes down everything the neighbors say

Comings and goings 16

came back from the city with a wagon under canvas
goes up to the old quarry with a lantern and a spade
got a letter last week and has not smiled since
has been meeting a rider at the crossroads
has been showing strangers around the old tower
has been turned away at the gates of the capital twice
has had the same cloaked visitor every night this week
is being followed by a man in a gray coat
is packing to leave and has told nobody
leaves town before dawn once a week, always alone
rode out at midnight and came back on foot
sends a letter by every coach and gets none back
slips out through the east gate when the lamps go out
was away for a month and will not say where
was seen at the fair in three different hats
was seen on the north road with a loaded mule

Plans and ambitions 18

has asked the capital to send an inspector
has been promised a title for a favor done
has been taking dancing lessons in secret
has drawn up plans for a second bell tower
has entered the pie contest under a false name
has sent for a famous builder from the capital
has written a book about everyone in town
intends to fence off the common
is about to inherit a fortune from a distant aunt
is building something large in a barn outside town
is quietly gathering signatures for something
is raising a company to dig under the hill
is teaching a goose to guard a yard
is training a horse for the big race
means to dam the mill stream
means to stand for mayor
plans to buy the market hall and shut it
wants the market moved to the other side of town

Strange and uncanny 17

can make the weathercock turn on a still day
casts no reflection in the horse trough
found a door in the town wall that was not there before
has a rooster that crows at the names of liars
has a shadow that points the wrong way at noon
has roses in bloom that were planted last week
hears the bell before it rings
keeps a cat that walks through closed doors
keeps a clock that runs backward and is never wrong
knows the weather a week ahead, to the hour
leaves bread by the old well, and by morning it is gone
looks no older than in a portrait from long ago
owns a mirror that shows the wrong room
spoke a word that put out every lamp on the street
struck some kind of bargain at the crossroads
talks to the crows, and they seem to answer
was seen talking to a light at the bottom of the well

How this list was compiled: Our own list of 112 deeds, written for this page on 2026-10-15 with no outside source. Each follows any person in the first list and names nobody, and none needs the person to have lived in town for long, so it fits a newcomer as well as a neighbor. Nothing is graphic, and no real event or place is meant. Compared that day with every other list on this site and its sister sites: no line repeats one. Licence: own work

How the teller heard: all 59 sources

Close to the source 12

I asked straight out and got no denial
I found out by accident and wish I had not
I have known for a week and can hold it in no longer
I heard it admitted, late, by someone who should know
I heard it through the wall, and the wall is thin
I know someone who has seen the proof

Show all 59 sources (53 more)

Close to the source, continued

I only know because I was up before dawn
I put two and two together, and so would you
I swear it on my good boots
I was close enough to hear every word
I was in the room when it came out
I would not believe it if I had not been there to hear

Passed along 17

a carter told me while the wheel was being mended
a child told me, and children do not make such things up
a coachman let it slip and tried to take it back
a friend of mine heard it said at a wedding
the goose girl told me, and she has no reason to lie
I got it from the old men on the bench by the gate
I had it from someone who had it from someone reliable
I had it from the washerwomen, and they miss nothing
I was told in confidence, so keep it to yourself
it came to me in three whispers from three people
my aunt heard it across the back fence yesterday
my cousin told me, and never lies about small things
my neighbor swears to it, and she is no fool
my sister's husband heard it from a man who was there
the one who told me made me promise not to tell
two carters were arguing about it outside my door
the woman at the next stall told me for nothing

All over town 14

ask anyone at the gate and they will tell you the same
even the children have a game about it now
everyone knows, though nobody will say it aloud
half the town believes it and the rest will by supper
it is an old story, but it has come round again
it was said at three stalls before I had my basket full
it was the only talk at the well this morning
it went down the street faster than a loose pig
nobody knows who said it first
somebody chalked it on the wall by the pump
the talk started on market day and has not stopped
they were singing a rhyme about it in the square
the whole market was talking about it by noon
you could not buy an egg today without hearing it

Take it with salt 16

I do not believe it myself, but there it is
I had it third hand, and the second hand likes a story
I heard it late at night, so make of that what you will
I would not stake a bent pin on it
it gets bigger every time I hear it
it may be nothing, but I thought you should hear it
it sounds like a lie, and that is why I believe it
it was told to me as a joke, but nobody laughed
my grandfather heard it, and he hears what he likes, mind
the one who told me has been wrong before
the same mouth told me the well would run dry
somebody is being paid to spread it, if you ask me
take it with a pinch of salt, as I did
the tale had a different name in it last week
there is a grudge behind the telling, I would guess
whoever started it stood to gain, that much is plain

How this list was compiled: Our own list of 59 lines, written for this page on 2026-10-15 with no outside source. Each says where the teller got the rumor and fits any rumor from the other two lists. The lines of the last group give a reason to doubt it. Compared that day with every other list on this site and its sister sites: no line repeats one. Licence: own work

How it works

This random rumor generator fills a tavern scene, a market day or a chapter that needs gossip. Each rumor is about a townsperson known by trade or street, never by name, so none is about anyone real.

Read the full guide

Decide what is true before the table hears it

A rumor is a lead the players may follow or ignore. Mark each one true, half true or false, then write what someone finds who goes to look. The closing line is your hint: "the one who told me has been wrong before" leans false, and "I was close enough to hear every word" leans true.

Print a rumor table for one town

Print 20 rumors gives a numbered sheet. Roll a twenty-sided die when a player asks what people are saying, and cross a line off once it is told, so the same gossip never reaches the table twice.

A false rumor still needs a reason: decide who started it and what they stood to gain.
Let two tellers disagree on one detail, and leave the players to work out which of them was there.
Deal three rumors about one person, and the town has an opinion of them before anyone meets them.

Questions and answers

What rumors would you hear in a tavern?

Talk about neighbors, mostly: the miller's youngest owes money to half the street, or the lord's steward was seen on the north road with a loaded mule. To name the house where it is told, use the inn name generator.

Is this a fantasy town rumor generator?

Yes. The people belong to an old market town, a cooper's new apprentice and a lamplighter among them, and a few deeds are uncanny. No line names a rule system, a monster or a published world. For present-day people, try the modern NPC generator.

Does it make rumors about real people?

No. Every line is our own and describes no real person, town or event. Please do not put a real name into one.