Making the PCs famous when they don't want to be [Archive] - Wizards Community

Making the PCs famous when they don't want to be [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
treehouse916
12-29-05, 06:39 PM I was reminded in another thread about a conundrum that I will be facing in the undetermined future. You see, none of my PCs really want to be famous. One of them is a paranoid Cyran refugee-in-hiding, another is a socially inept elan working with the kalashtar rebels to bring down the Inspired threat, and the third is a Shadowbane Inquisitor for the Church of the Silver Flame.

A side note: in my Eberron, the Shadowbane Inquisition is the supernatural danger-hunting version of the Deneith Sentinel Marshals - even people who would prefer not to deal with Flamers might break down and call in the Inquisition when the local clergy of the Sovereign Host can't deal with demon posession and other such problems. And, just like every other organization in Eberron, they have their own closet filled with dirty secrets and hidden agendas.

Anyway, the increasing fame of my PCs seems almost inevitable considering the low-powered nature of Eberron. In a world where most 'clerics' can't cast spells, it won't take long for the Thrane in the group to be pretty well known on an international level for casting out demons, healing the incurable and obliterating the walking dead with a flick of his holy symbol. The others, of course, will be enjoying similar levels of power and recognizability. But I don't really see any of them wanting the fame. The Cyran won't want his cover blown inadvertently by some zealous reporter (he's masquerading as an exile from the Lhazaar Principalities; not even the other players know that he's not what he appears). I myself don't really want the elan to be famous, because one of the key elements to fighting the Inspired that makes them so dangerous is that the Inspired are highly liked by the population of Khorvaire. Only kalashtar 'terrorists' and other such 'lunatics' say anything bad about the Inspired, so how can a big celebrity (such as this PC) possibly think the Inspired are involved in some sort of world domination conspiracy?

The Thrane is the only one I really see not avoiding fame, though he probably won't be super fond of it either if his activities so far are any indication.

I guess what I'm asking is, how do I give the PCs that feel of being not just regular old PC special, but Eberron PC extraordinarily special? I am tempted to just say 'look guys, you are going to have to deal with your fame whether you like it or not' and just have that be an extra element of the campaign (dodging nosy reporters). But on the other hand, that could get quite old after a while. How do you all handle famous (or infamous) PCs who don't want the publicity? Do you lay off that aspect of Eberron campaigns, or do you take the opportunity to throw challenges at them that they can't defeat with a well placed fireball?
Logophylia
12-29-05, 06:47 PM Perhaps an interesting method would be to create a group of NPCs that would, either by accident or intention, gain the credit and fame for many of the PCs exploits.

This could be anything from a patron who likes to bask in the sun down to an individual or group that the PCs could even emply in a "Remington Steel" fashion to take the pressure of fame off of thier shoulders.

The key would seem to be allowing the PCs the knowledge that the things they do make a difference without hampering them with the fame that they might wish to avoid.

And it could lead to a lot of humour/drama
Edymnion
12-29-05, 07:13 PM One answer is to pay off the newspapers.
You send enough gold their way, and get them to change the names and descriptions of the people involved. Possibly to the names and descriptions of someone else, and let them bask in the glory, like was said.

Or they can try to be covert. Don't go flicking that holy symbol out where other people can see, for example. Don't take public missions, and all around try to stay out of the limelight.
aelryinth
12-29-05, 07:25 PM Pay some changelings to sub for them at public institutions...with different faces. I'm sure they'd love taking advantage of the players' notoreity.

==Aelryinth
Capfalcon
12-31-05, 06:52 PM And, of course you have the changlings or the reporters blackmail the PCs later in order to get more money.

Or, said changlings could be kidnapped/assasinated in a public appearance, thus leaving the PCs to rescue them or risk their enemies finding out who they REALLY are.

Both have very good promise.
Just another user
12-31-05, 07:19 PM Another option.

Have you ever seen the movie "Without a clue" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096454/) ?

In this movie it is made the assumption than in the couple Holmes-Watson it was Watson the real brilliant detective and "Holmes" was just an actor paid from Watson to interpretate a character he made up to distract the attentions from himself. You PCs could do the same, hire some NPC to work as their "faces" and try to pass up as their "watsons",their henchmen, assistants, sidekicks, the secondary characters that generally nobody pay attention at.
Not easy, but it could be a lot of fun.
ChimericalWolf
12-31-05, 07:26 PM You could give them a number of missions where the group employing them wants the event kept under wraps, so no-one involved goes and tells anyone about it.
Capfalcon
12-31-05, 09:49 PM Another option.

Have you ever seen the movie "Without a clue" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096454/) ?

Ah, one of the better movies in existance. Not as good as the supreme acheivment of the entertainment industry, aka Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but, then again what is?

The sword fight at the end was great.
"I've fought with a man every night for the past month, even matnees."

Meh, close enough.
DarkWarriorKarg
01-01-06, 02:01 AM A perfect example is regularly used in many anime/movies...

They are famous... in certain circles.

For example:

All spies know of James Bond. But the common population doesn't.

The A-Team.

Golgo-13.

True Lies.

El Mariachi (One upon a time in Mexico, etc...)

Relic Hunter

Lara Croft

These are all characters that are well known in certain circles. If you have reason to know of them, then you will hear of them. But they aren't exactly "in your face".
Kalanth
01-01-06, 02:13 AM Not all fame is good fame either. With the character that is out there fighting to bring down the inspired, but yet the people think of the inspired as good people. I could easily see the crowds throwing cat calls or generally avoiding the one that would bad mouth the communities favorite people.

Maybe that bad fame finally catches wind of some enemy that would feel they best be removed, to include those that they are working for (corrupt Silver Flame representative anyone?). With the reporters, I would not really be chasing them for the story unless these guys would move papers. Are they flashy, flambouant, exciting? Or do they treat their powers as just that, normal, hum drum powers (standard D&D outlook to be honest)? If your boys are gonna sell me some papers than I am gonna ask them questions, but I can't say I hear to much thats gonna make me want to put them in there all that often (even the most boring politicians do make the paper once in a while).
Brain Picker
01-01-06, 02:25 PM Sonds like you have a adventure cooking. A reporter in Sharn has caught wind of their great deeds and has writen a story about them. The PC's must break into the writers residence and destroy the article. If not they must destroy every copy of the paper before they sell. Is it worth commiting crimes to keep their cover? Perhaps the reporter is a reccuring villian, blackmailing PC's into doing him favors, threatining to publish what he knows. If your PC's are really afraid of being famous this will really motivate them. ;)
Lux72
01-02-06, 05:25 PM Have the characters thought of using disguises in the tradition of Zorro or Batman. I know it sounds very superhero-ish but if they want to do good deeds and are that concerned about being found out then a simple mask and an alias (superhero or otherwise) would solve a lot of their troubles.

And it opens up new situations for the DM to explore. Situations like having an NPC find out or almost find out the character's identity; whether or not to reveal it to a love interest NPC; the reporter following the characters around trying to determine who the characters really are (possibly leading to some incorrect guesses that get published); those sorts of things.
DargonSwift
01-02-06, 09:53 PM I have a similar situation coming up in my current campaign. My adventurers are trying to hide from the forces of a daelkyr, as their blood holds the key to his release. Currently, the daelkyr can't locate them, due to magical protection against such, but a reporter from the Korranberg Chronicle is about to join the party as an NPC. She does this on occassion if she feels the group will be doing something news worthy, and has made a name for herself doing articles while tagging along with expeditions to Xen'drik and so on. She carries with her a scroll of communication (her editor has the other half), which allows her to meet her deadlines. For those unfamiliar with this item, it comes as two scrolls. What you write on one appears on the other. The party will be travelling away from most civilized places, thus wont find out for some time that these articles are laying out their lives for the world to read about, including those who are looking for them. All they will know, initially, is that the bad guys have an uncanny way of finding them. Their natural paranoia will keep them from telling the gnome the whole story, thereby giving her no reason to keep their names or any harmful specifics from being published. When they arrive at the next large city, they will find themselves instant celebrities, much to their dismay.

I can't wait to see the looks on their faces. (Thankfully, they don't read these forums, lol).
Setherial
01-03-06, 07:46 AM DargonSwift: that's cool man :)

treehouse916: Sounds to me like your pc's are rather careless when they should be acting like the superheroes of comic books. They obviously have the goodness in them to help people so they draw attention. Heroes from comic books are like that but they lead double lives, hiding behind a mask each time they go into action.
Bring it to them gradually, make them realize they are gaining fame and unwanted attention, make them come up with a solution. If not I would stage a quori hit on the elan after his portrait was published in a big newspaper, that should get them to be more careful.

I think as a player it would be rather cool to play a dual life. Partially playing a nobody and staying low, then pulling out a mask and transforming in what becomes a legend.
Thramzorean
01-03-06, 08:54 AM I started a 12th level PBP on the WotC boards and simply assumed a certain level of famousness for that level of character doing what characters normally do and what they are. I had an article on them in the Korranberg Chronicle just because they were all seen leaving Wroat together in one big party, heh... a major event adventuring wise for a bunch 12th levels to get togther in Eberron.

In this case though I think the famous part would be being infamous in the wrong places. The war against the inspired is one of covert anti-terrorism and illegal in most of its forms: attacking, killing and destroying property of otherwise quite legal citizens or visitors. Your players, even if granted dispesations by one group to operate undercover would certainly attact the attention of others and by now they would be in the bad books of the Dark Lanterns or the Queens Eyes of Aundair or similar. You could give them a couple of run-ins with the law or otherwise make their life difficult in ways they would find interesting, suddenly being in a fight where they do not want to hurt anybody! Killing a dark lantern agent would not be a good thing!!!
Just another user
01-03-06, 08:58 AM I second the "masked avenger" suggestion.it is a very pulp concept.
Chiyo
01-03-06, 04:49 PM Our group is level 10-11 and have various reasons (such as theft of property) to not want our wereabouts to be known. So we're only reachable via House Sivis messages that one of us collects under a fabricated identity (6th member of our group). It's pretty interesting actually to play cat and mouse with some of the organization that'd like to get to us. But that doesn't mean, we've totally escaped fame. Our last adventure was in Trolanport where we uncovered a plot by sahuagins and a shifter druid cabal to ruin the city. Our employer, the Trolanport representative of the Triumvirate made sure that he publicized our defeat of the cabal as proof that the Triumvirate was active and in control of things. Despite our own wishes, he told us that our names would be mentioned since it reinforced the statement they he was trying to make (and we suspect his political influence too). But report to the Chronicle still didn't have our descriptions and we were out of the city before the chronicle describing our action was published.

So the fame level in Eberron can be somewhat legendary instead of very factual. People may know that such and such adventurers did that in broad lines especially if adventurers take steps to hide/disguise their identities and contributions. When they reveal themselves, they can get some recognition but they can still be famous and relatively stealthy. It'd be discouraging for the PCs if there was nothing they could influence by their actions in terms of fame/recognition. Thinking of the superheroes theme, that's exactly the case. The layman may know that spiderman did it but nobody (ok mostly) really knows where and who he really is because he's taken steps to prevent that.

As far as making PCs aware of their fame, you can make it happen occasionally when they need to establish that it's really them. You know, NPC has netural or unfriendly attitude towards them not knowing their identity, then finds out who they are and can't believe they're really meeting the famous people who did this or that. You could also go with subtle touches like comments on payment for services. Someone wants to employ them for something. Drop a comment like, "i wouldn't dream of offering anything less than xxx to such legendary adventurers." or "I wouldn't bother prominent adventurers of your reknown with a matter of less than critical importance." Basically, give them comments relative to the common feelings of people about famous folks (respect, deferrence, awe, admiration, appreciation, etc...). Especially if it's a gradual effect.

Other possibility is to have a random group of opponents surrender just based on their recognition. DM did that to us at 9th level, 3 sessions ago. We had done the published trilogy where we clashed with the Emerald Claw. We were trying to get the key to a Blood of Vol temple/crypt complex from a local thief who had stolen it by mistake. The Emerald Claw was after him for the key and a gang of 6 of them turned up just as we were trying to talk him into giving us the key and location. The thief convinced them that he had already given us the key, naming our group in the process. A challenge and good intimidate check later and the group of the EC surrendered begging for us to spare them the fate of Garrow (EC NPC we had staked in pretty messy way thinking he was a vampire). That was pretty cool to make us feel that the EC grunts thought of us in enough fear that they'd rather surrender than fight, all based on reputation.
Aldarc
01-03-06, 09:15 PM Well if they work under the employ of let's say a Dragonmarked House or a noble family, perhaps they are the ones to receive the credit since it was their will that did it. While the exploits of soldiers are often exemplary, they are often overshadowed by the decision-makers - the commanders, the generals, or the politicians.

Also, fame can easily be overshadowed by gossip. In a world with so much potential where everyone has a motive, it is easy for the most popular bit of gossip to become accepted as fact. So although it may have been your party that defeated the Aundair puritan-inquisitors in order to protect a village in the Eldeen Reaches, the Aundair may believe that the village was infested with lycanthropes who tricked and slaughtered the inquisitors, or others may believe that it was a sect within the more moderate Thrane-branch that put a stop to them.

Who you are and your involvement is not nearly as important as possible implications that arise from the results of your actions.
treehouse916
01-04-06, 10:07 PM Hey, thanks for all the comments.

The general impression I'm getting from pretty much everyone is that I shouldn't downplay this element of the campaign, which is good. I really didn't think it sounded too annoying, and it could be a fun challenge if done correctly. I do like the suggestion that one of you made about giving the PCs some warning that their actions are going to be noticed by the media before it becomes too important (such as having the three of them be 'celebrity spotted' somewhere in a newspaper article).

They've already had a bit of their handiwork make headlines in one of the local papers (Korth Sentry), but I don't think it's registered yet that this isn't a one time thing, or that their names could be associated with their deeds if they aren't discreet. Heck, if they become famous enough, they might end up getting credit (or blame) for something spectacular that happens in the region where they were last sighted even if it wasn't them. Hehe, my players are going to be flabbergasted. I'll report back when the first adventure is over; they are probably going to be directly responsible for the death of a well-known Karrn warlord in the next few sessions, and that might make the front page of the KC. :D

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
treehouse916 12-29-05, 06:39 PM	I was reminded in another thread about a conundrum that I will be facing in the undetermined future. You see, none of my PCs really want to be famous. One of them is a paranoid Cyran refugee-in-hiding, another is a socially inept elan working with the kalashtar rebels to bring down the Inspired threat, and the third is a Shadowbane Inquisitor for the Church of the Silver Flame. A side note: in my Eberron, the Shadowbane Inquisition is the supernatural danger-hunting version of the Deneith Sentinel Marshals - even people who would prefer not to deal with Flamers might break down and call in the Inquisition when the local clergy of the Sovereign Host can't deal with demon posession and other such problems. And, just like every other organization in Eberron, they have their own closet filled with dirty secrets and hidden agendas. Anyway, the increasing fame of my PCs seems almost inevitable considering the low-powered nature of Eberron. In a world where most 'clerics' can't cast spells, it won't take long for the Thrane in the group to be pretty well known on an international level for casting out demons, healing the incurable and obliterating the walking dead with a flick of his holy symbol. The others, of course, will be enjoying similar levels of power and recognizability. But I don't really see any of them wanting the fame. The Cyran won't want his cover blown inadvertently by some zealous reporter (he's masquerading as an exile from the Lhazaar Principalities; not even the other players know that he's not what he appears). I myself don't really want the elan to be famous, because one of the key elements to fighting the Inspired that makes them so dangerous is that the Inspired are highly liked by the population of Khorvaire. Only kalashtar 'terrorists' and other such 'lunatics' say anything bad about the Inspired, so how can a big celebrity (such as this PC) possibly think the Inspired are involved in some sort of world domination conspiracy? The Thrane is the only one I really see not avoiding fame, though he probably won't be super fond of it either if his activities so far are any indication. I guess what I'm asking is, how do I give the PCs that feel of being not just regular old PC special, but Eberron PC extraordinarily special? I am tempted to just say 'look guys, you are going to have to deal with your fame whether you like it or not' and just have that be an extra element of the campaign (dodging nosy reporters). But on the other hand, that could get quite old after a while. How do you all handle famous (or infamous) PCs who don't want the publicity? Do you lay off that aspect of Eberron campaigns, or do you take the opportunity to throw challenges at them that they can't defeat with a well placed fireball?
Logophylia 12-29-05, 06:47 PM	Perhaps an interesting method would be to create a group of NPCs that would, either by accident or intention, gain the credit and fame for many of the PCs exploits. This could be anything from a patron who likes to bask in the sun down to an individual or group that the PCs could even emply in a "Remington Steel" fashion to take the pressure of fame off of thier shoulders. The key would seem to be allowing the PCs the knowledge that the things they do make a difference without hampering them with the fame that they might wish to avoid. And it could lead to a lot of humour/drama
Edymnion 12-29-05, 07:13 PM	One answer is to pay off the newspapers. You send enough gold their way, and get them to change the names and descriptions of the people involved. Possibly to the names and descriptions of someone else, and let them bask in the glory, like was said. Or they can try to be covert. Don't go flicking that holy symbol out where other people can see, for example. Don't take public missions, and all around try to stay out of the limelight.
aelryinth 12-29-05, 07:25 PM	Pay some changelings to sub for them at public institutions...with different faces. I'm sure they'd love taking advantage of the players' notoreity. ==Aelryinth
Capfalcon 12-31-05, 06:52 PM	And, of course you have the changlings or the reporters blackmail the PCs later in order to get more money. Or, said changlings could be kidnapped/assasinated in a public appearance, thus leaving the PCs to rescue them or risk their enemies finding out who they REALLY are. Both have very good promise.
Just another user 12-31-05, 07:19 PM	Another option. Have you ever seen the movie "Without a clue" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096454/) ? In this movie it is made the assumption than in the couple Holmes-Watson it was Watson the real brilliant detective and "Holmes" was just an actor paid from Watson to interpretate a character he made up to distract the attentions from himself. You PCs could do the same, hire some NPC to work as their "faces" and try to pass up as their "watsons",their henchmen, assistants, sidekicks, the secondary characters that generally nobody pay attention at. Not easy, but it could be a lot of fun.
ChimericalWolf 12-31-05, 07:26 PM	You could give them a number of missions where the group employing them wants the event kept under wraps, so no-one involved goes and tells anyone about it.
Capfalcon 12-31-05, 09:49 PM	Another option. Have you ever seen the movie "Without a clue" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096454/) ? Ah, one of the better movies in existance. Not as good as the supreme acheivment of the entertainment industry, aka Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but, then again what is? The sword fight at the end was great. "I've fought with a man every night for the past month, even matnees." Meh, close enough.
DarkWarriorKarg 01-01-06, 02:01 AM	A perfect example is regularly used in many anime/movies... They are famous... in certain circles. For example: All spies know of James Bond. But the common population doesn't. The A-Team. Golgo-13. True Lies. El Mariachi (One upon a time in Mexico, etc...) Relic Hunter Lara Croft These are all characters that are well known in certain circles. If you have reason to know of them, then you will hear of them. But they aren't exactly "in your face".
Kalanth 01-01-06, 02:13 AM	Not all fame is good fame either. With the character that is out there fighting to bring down the inspired, but yet the people think of the inspired as good people. I could easily see the crowds throwing cat calls or generally avoiding the one that would bad mouth the communities favorite people. Maybe that bad fame finally catches wind of some enemy that would feel they best be removed, to include those that they are working for (corrupt Silver Flame representative anyone?). With the reporters, I would not really be chasing them for the story unless these guys would move papers. Are they flashy, flambouant, exciting? Or do they treat their powers as just that, normal, hum drum powers (standard D&D outlook to be honest)? If your boys are gonna sell me some papers than I am gonna ask them questions, but I can't say I hear to much thats gonna make me want to put them in there all that often (even the most boring politicians do make the paper once in a while).
Brain Picker 01-01-06, 02:25 PM	Sonds like you have a adventure cooking. A reporter in Sharn has caught wind of their great deeds and has writen a story about them. The PC's must break into the writers residence and destroy the article. If not they must destroy every copy of the paper before they sell. Is it worth commiting crimes to keep their cover? Perhaps the reporter is a reccuring villian, blackmailing PC's into doing him favors, threatining to publish what he knows. If your PC's are really afraid of being famous this will really motivate them. ;)
Lux72 01-02-06, 05:25 PM	Have the characters thought of using disguises in the tradition of Zorro or Batman. I know it sounds very superhero-ish but if they want to do good deeds and are that concerned about being found out then a simple mask and an alias (superhero or otherwise) would solve a lot of their troubles. And it opens up new situations for the DM to explore. Situations like having an NPC find out or almost find out the character's identity; whether or not to reveal it to a love interest NPC; the reporter following the characters around trying to determine who the characters really are (possibly leading to some incorrect guesses that get published); those sorts of things.
DargonSwift 01-02-06, 09:53 PM	I have a similar situation coming up in my current campaign. My adventurers are trying to hide from the forces of a daelkyr, as their blood holds the key to his release. Currently, the daelkyr can't locate them, due to magical protection against such, but a reporter from the Korranberg Chronicle is about to join the party as an NPC. She does this on occassion if she feels the group will be doing something news worthy, and has made a name for herself doing articles while tagging along with expeditions to Xen'drik and so on. She carries with her a scroll of communication (her editor has the other half), which allows her to meet her deadlines. For those unfamiliar with this item, it comes as two scrolls. What you write on one appears on the other. The party will be travelling away from most civilized places, thus wont find out for some time that these articles are laying out their lives for the world to read about, including those who are looking for them. All they will know, initially, is that the bad guys have an uncanny way of finding them. Their natural paranoia will keep them from telling the gnome the whole story, thereby giving her no reason to keep their names or any harmful specifics from being published. When they arrive at the next large city, they will find themselves instant celebrities, much to their dismay. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces. (Thankfully, they don't read these forums, lol).
Setherial 01-03-06, 07:46 AM	DargonSwift: that's cool man :) treehouse916: Sounds to me like your pc's are rather careless when they should be acting like the superheroes of comic books. They obviously have the goodness in them to help people so they draw attention. Heroes from comic books are like that but they lead double lives, hiding behind a mask each time they go into action. Bring it to them gradually, make them realize they are gaining fame and unwanted attention, make them come up with a solution. If not I would stage a quori hit on the elan after his portrait was published in a big newspaper, that should get them to be more careful. I think as a player it would be rather cool to play a dual life. Partially playing a nobody and staying low, then pulling out a mask and transforming in what becomes a legend.
Thramzorean 01-03-06, 08:54 AM	I started a 12th level PBP on the WotC boards and simply assumed a certain level of famousness for that level of character doing what characters normally do and what they are. I had an article on them in the Korranberg Chronicle just because they were all seen leaving Wroat together in one big party, heh... a major event adventuring wise for a bunch 12th levels to get togther in Eberron. In this case though I think the famous part would be being infamous in the wrong places. The war against the inspired is one of covert anti-terrorism and illegal in most of its forms: attacking, killing and destroying property of otherwise quite legal citizens or visitors. Your players, even if granted dispesations by one group to operate undercover would certainly attact the attention of others and by now they would be in the bad books of the Dark Lanterns or the Queens Eyes of Aundair or similar. You could give them a couple of run-ins with the law or otherwise make their life difficult in ways they would find interesting, suddenly being in a fight where they do not want to hurt anybody! Killing a dark lantern agent would not be a good thing!!!
Just another user 01-03-06, 08:58 AM	I second the "masked avenger" suggestion.it is a very pulp concept.
Chiyo 01-03-06, 04:49 PM	Our group is level 10-11 and have various reasons (such as theft of property) to not want our wereabouts to be known. So we're only reachable via House Sivis messages that one of us collects under a fabricated identity (6th member of our group). It's pretty interesting actually to play cat and mouse with some of the organization that'd like to get to us. But that doesn't mean, we've totally escaped fame. Our last adventure was in Trolanport where we uncovered a plot by sahuagins and a shifter druid cabal to ruin the city. Our employer, the Trolanport representative of the Triumvirate made sure that he publicized our defeat of the cabal as proof that the Triumvirate was active and in control of things. Despite our own wishes, he told us that our names would be mentioned since it reinforced the statement they he was trying to make (and we suspect his political influence too). But report to the Chronicle still didn't have our descriptions and we were out of the city before the chronicle describing our action was published. So the fame level in Eberron can be somewhat legendary instead of very factual. People may know that such and such adventurers did that in broad lines especially if adventurers take steps to hide/disguise their identities and contributions. When they reveal themselves, they can get some recognition but they can still be famous and relatively stealthy. It'd be discouraging for the PCs if there was nothing they could influence by their actions in terms of fame/recognition. Thinking of the superheroes theme, that's exactly the case. The layman may know that spiderman did it but nobody (ok mostly) really knows where and who he really is because he's taken steps to prevent that. As far as making PCs aware of their fame, you can make it happen occasionally when they need to establish that it's really them. You know, NPC has netural or unfriendly attitude towards them not knowing their identity, then finds out who they are and can't believe they're really meeting the famous people who did this or that. You could also go with subtle touches like comments on payment for services. Someone wants to employ them for something. Drop a comment like, "i wouldn't dream of offering anything less than xxx to such legendary adventurers." or "I wouldn't bother prominent adventurers of your reknown with a matter of less than critical importance." Basically, give them comments relative to the common feelings of people about famous folks (respect, deferrence, awe, admiration, appreciation, etc...). Especially if it's a gradual effect. Other possibility is to have a random group of opponents surrender just based on their recognition. DM did that to us at 9th level, 3 sessions ago. We had done the published trilogy where we clashed with the Emerald Claw. We were trying to get the key to a Blood of Vol temple/crypt complex from a local thief who had stolen it by mistake. The Emerald Claw was after him for the key and a gang of 6 of them turned up just as we were trying to talk him into giving us the key and location. The thief convinced them that he had already given us the key, naming our group in the process. A challenge and good intimidate check later and the group of the EC surrendered begging for us to spare them the fate of Garrow (EC NPC we had staked in pretty messy way thinking he was a vampire). That was pretty cool to make us feel that the EC grunts thought of us in enough fear that they'd rather surrender than fight, all based on reputation.
Aldarc 01-03-06, 09:15 PM	Well if they work under the employ of let's say a Dragonmarked House or a noble family, perhaps they are the ones to receive the credit since it was their will that did it. While the exploits of soldiers are often exemplary, they are often overshadowed by the decision-makers - the commanders, the generals, or the politicians. Also, fame can easily be overshadowed by gossip. In a world with so much potential where everyone has a motive, it is easy for the most popular bit of gossip to become accepted as fact. So although it may have been your party that defeated the Aundair puritan-inquisitors in order to protect a village in the Eldeen Reaches, the Aundair may believe that the village was infested with lycanthropes who tricked and slaughtered the inquisitors, or others may believe that it was a sect within the more moderate Thrane-branch that put a stop to them. Who you are and your involvement is not nearly as important as possible implications that arise from the results of your actions.
treehouse916 01-04-06, 10:07 PM	Hey, thanks for all the comments. The general impression I'm getting from pretty much everyone is that I shouldn't downplay this element of the campaign, which is good. I really didn't think it sounded too annoying, and it could be a fun challenge if done correctly. I do like the suggestion that one of you made about giving the PCs some warning that their actions are going to be noticed by the media before it becomes too important (such as having the three of them be 'celebrity spotted' somewhere in a newspaper article). They've already had a bit of their handiwork make headlines in one of the local papers (Korth Sentry), but I don't think it's registered yet that this isn't a one time thing, or that their names could be associated with their deeds if they aren't discreet. Heck, if they become famous enough, they might end up getting credit (or blame) for something spectacular that happens in the region where they were last sighted even if it wasn't them. Hehe, my players are going to be flabbergasted. I'll report back when the first adventure is over; they are probably going to be directly responsible for the death of a well-known Karrn warlord in the next few sessions, and that might make the front page of the KC. :D