Is Your Character Famous or Infamous? Why or Why Not?

The woman ducked under the doorway, careful to avoid the ceiling beams as she found a table against the wall. Other than her height, nothing much marked her out at a glance. Her cloak was travel dusty and worn, her boots good leather with heels that were starting to show the miles. It was her hair that drew the gaze of several people, though; black as pitch, with a bloody red lightning bolt running through it. That, and the sword at her hip. It was a short blade for her size, the sheathe wrapped in dark leather that looked charred. The cross guard was plain, the hilt wrapped in silver and gold wire. The pommel was a black iron wolf, with red garnets in her eyes.

 

A man crossed the room. He seemed wary, almost as if he were approaching a wild beast that he thought might bite him if he made a wrong move. She saw him coming, but didn't acknowledge him until he spoke.

 

"Excuse me, miss," he said, clearing his throat. "I don't mean to intrude. It's just that you look just like, well... Vanara Blacksword."

 

"Convenient, because that's who I am," she said. There was a kind of forced pleasantness in her tone, and she summoned up a smile for him. At least he hadn't added 'The She Wolf of Striken'... she'd grown sick of that particular honorific. "Is there something I can do for you?"

 

It's, umm... could I get your autograph?

Fame and Fortune in Fantasy

In the world of fantasy RPGs, our characters often accomplish great deeds and legendary feats. From dragon slayers, to demon hunters, to planar explorers, they do things the average population could only dream of. These are the people who lead revolutions against corrupt rulers, who can push back a plague with a prayer and the wave of their hand, or who transform into fearsome beasts when threatened.

And even before characters have achieved the power and skill to accomplish truly legendary deeds, they still tend to be stand outs when compared to many in their community. They're faster, stronger, smarter, more capable, or have abilities that mark them out among the populace. They may be the scions of noble families, or as mentioned in Bastards of Golarion, sometimes all it takes is being born as a half-elf, an aasimar, or another usual race to instantly be known throughout your particular town.

Ah... I see that you've heard of me.

There's a lot of ingredients going into the stew of your reputation, but it's something we should think about as it tends to be one of the more overlooked aspects of most games.

First, Ask What Your Existing Reputation Is

I've talked about this several times over the years, but it's best summed up by what I said in Character Reputation in RPGs: The Small Legend. In short, no matter what your level is, ask what your character is known for, and in what circles they're known for it. Even if you're the local farm boy hero, are you known for how strong you are? The way you can handle any animal with a few whispered words? Your dead-eye aim that wins you the champion prize every year at the fair? What are the stand-out things people know about you?

Duron doesn't talk about himself much... but a man with scars like that earned them somehow.

Whether you're playing it big or small, you need to know what the general public knows about you, if anything, and how far out that reputation extends. Then, once you've got that figured out, ask if there are any land mines waiting to come out. Maybe you served with an elite military force, but only your former comrades-in-arms and your commanders know about the stuff you did. Maybe you were a bandit, or a pirate, and you still have the tattoos of your membership hidden under your jerkin. You might have that signet ring you were given by your father when you left home to seek your fortune, but any noble house in the country would instantly recognize it even if it rides around in your belt pouch most of the time.

These aspects are still part of your overall Small Legend, so it's important to think about who knows about these less-common aspects of your powers, deeds, history, etc. If you're looking for added inspiration for stuff to add, you might want to check out some of the following:

- 100 Knightly Orders: Being knighted is kind of a big deal. Whether it's the order you belong to, or what you did to earn your spurs, this can play into your reputation and personal story.

- 100 Gangs For Your Urban Campaigns: Whether you're still a member, or you got out of that life, it's likely that people who know you for this reason will consider you infamous. Ideal for all the John Wick style characters out there.

- 100 Fantasy Tattoos (And The Meaning Behind Them): Something likely to wind up in any stories about your character is an identifying mark that ensures they'll be recognized. For those who want their enemies to know who they're facing, 100 Fantasy Battle Cries (And The Meaning Behind Them) makes an ideal companion piece.

Second, Ask How You're Spreading (Or Hiding) Your Legend

Whenever you do something, tales are going to get told about it... and the more important you are, the greater the number of stories that will be circulating about you will be. So the question you need to ask is who is telling the stories about what you're doing? And are you just letting tongues wag however you wish, or are you taking a part in trying to shape your persona in some way?

We all cast shadows... some longer than others.

On the one hand, you might be taking the Geralt approach and employing bards to spread your legend while managing your reputation. You might have road ballads and heroic poems told about your deeds, ranging from the fairly accurate to the wildly fanciful. Perhaps you have chroniclers who release the equivalent of dime novels about where you've been, and what you've done.

You might find inspiration for some of this in 100 Fantasy Bands, for those who are looking for magical influencers to boost your reputation.

Alternatively, do you have a kind of adventurer persona that you put on when you're out in public or on the job? Do you polish your armor, put on your showiest robe, or let magical energy drift out of you in subtle ways that onlookers will see and remember? You know, the sort of thing that professional wrestlers do to make themselves seem larger than life when they're in the ring, or which you see from bands like KISS and Lordi, where there's no way you'd ever recognize them out of their stage persona just hanging out at the bar?

While you don't have to go full vigilante with it, this approach is very similar to what I talked about in The Onion of Secrets. It also helps ensure that your average, everyday flubs, mistakes, and slips of the tongue get ignored, because no one who sees you out of costume will know you're really you. Or, to quote a famous Hollywood persona, "With these sunglasses on, I'm Jack Nicholson. Without them I'm overweight and 40."

What if you just want to be a face in the crowd?

For those who want to go in the opposite direction, it's important to think more like a covert operative than a traditional hero. If you don't want people to know about your deeds, good or bad, then stealth is going to be your best friend. Making sure you're neither seen nor heard when you sneak into the fortress to rescue hostages, or assassinate the necromancer plaguing the region, or setting a fire that breaks the back of an army laying siege, is the best way to keep yourself on the down low.

If you really want to play a game with it, though, you could also create a false persona that your deeds (and possibly those of the whole party) are ascribed to. If you're an average-looking merchant with boring wares to sell, no one would ever think you were the infamous Nightblade, an assassin who has taken the heads half a hundred petty despots across the region. And if the story is told and retold often enough, even if it was revealed that Nightblade was actually a mask to hide the activities of an entire guild of assassins, it's possible many people simply won't believe it.

When the legend becomes bigger than the facts, people often believe the legend.

The Benefits (And Drawbacks) of Fame and Infamy

This is more for the GMs out there to keep in mind, but it's something the players should be concerned about as well. Because your actions will add to your unfolding story, and that can affect the way you're treated, and the sort of opportunities you have (or don't have) as your game continues.

Yeah, I know you are. Take your money, and get out!

This can manifest in ways big and small. For example, if your character is known to have the power to heal, then you may find there's a steady stream of people asking you to help them mend their bones, cure their diseases, restore their sight, or to perform other miracles. Doing so will certainly increase your reputation, but it could also act as a counter to negative rumors that you're a heretic, or about how you're nothing more than a mercenary who won't lift a finger if there's no coin in it for you. If you're known as a fierce fighter, then when monsters attack the local area, people are more likely to seek you out for aid. And if you're a known criminal, you're a lot more likely to be met with suspicion, and general hostility. It's also not unlikely that any time there's a theft, a murder, or some other heinous offense that the constables beat a path to your door first to make sure you can account for your whereabouts when it happened. And if there are tales swirling about your blood lust, or the dark gods you supposedly made a bargain with, you may need to prove you're not a threat before people trust you.

If your reputation grows large enough, you may even find that enemies either surrender without a fight. In other circumstances, they seek you out to prove how tough they are. If it gets bad enough you might even be able to weaponize your infamy, such as by convincing the servants of an evil cult to take you to their leader if they believe the rumors about what a black hearted bastard you are, only to realize too late that the rumors are far from true.

At the end of the day, fame and infamy are sort of like the weather. In a lot of games, it's easy to forget about entirely unless it actually impacts what you're doing in a meaningful way... so consider making it just one more aspect that your players need to pay attention to as the story unfolds.

Like, Follow, and Stay in Touch!

That's all for this week's Fluff post!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, and stop by the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio. Or if you'd prefer to read some of my books, like my alley cat thriller Marked Territory, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife or my recent short story collection The Rejects, then head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now Pinterest as well! To support my work, consider Buying Me a Ko-Fi, or heading to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron. That one helps ensure you get more Improved Initiative, and it means you'll get my regular, monthly giveaways as a bonus!