Greetings, ladies and gentlemen,

We're very happy to announce the release of a new system in all instances of DragonRealms, the Rumors System for Traders and Bards.

The Rumors System is in fact a network of bartenders, clerks, waitresses, and market mongers scattered throughout Elanthia that both collect and share rumors that they have heard while going about their everyday lives. These rumors will vary from the silly (such as you might see in a supermarket tabloid) or to the serious (such as fortelling future events). It will be up to you, the Traders and Bards who gather these rumors, to discern which of them are true concerns or mere fabrications, and pass them on to your fellow adventurers in Elanthia.

Should you find any interesting rumors yourself, you may share them with one of these bartenders or clerks by using WHISPER to tell them the rumor. If they decide the rumor's worth sharing, they will then start telling the rumor to both other adventurers and others like them. Rumors will generally start in one area, then slowly spread to others over a span of days, weeks, or even months. Some will die out before they get very far, while others will be pervasive enough that they linger for quite a long time.

Now... keep in mind that these are people with their own minds, and they may not always want to share rumors they've heard. They may only want to hear them, so they can pass them on in their own time. Some may also wish to only interact with members of their own race, or perfer one guild over the other. Others could very well only give rumors to those that bribe them, or perform some service. By travelling and ASKing each one FOR RUMORS, you'll gradually get an idea for their quirks, and which ones tend to give better rumors than others.

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To recap briefly, in a more Out Of Character Format:

You will find throughout Elanthia a great deal of Non-Player Characters (NPCs), most notably in inns, taverns, or markets, who are willing to collect and dispense rumors.
* To ask an NPC for a rumor, type: ASK <npc name> FOR RUMOR.
* To submit a rumor to an NPC, type: WHISPER <npc name> <rumor text>.

Not every NPC will want to interact with every person. Some will only speak with Gor'Togs, while others only like Halfling Men, and so forth. Others will either only collect rumors, or give them. Rumors submitted to NPCs will not appear to the general public right away, if they do at all. This is actually because they will need to be reviewed or edited by a member of the staff before they go live.

Obscene rumors, or those involving LEET will not be tolerated in the rumors system. If you're interested in participating to make this a colorful and fun system for the rest of the people in DragonRealms, please keep it clean and easy to read, folks.

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Questions and Suggestions on this system can be posted at the link below, if you're not already in the appropriate folder. :) Thanks guys, and we hope you enjoy rumors! This system is one we hope will grow more personalized as time goes on, and as more NPCs are created that you can ask about rumors, so keep an eye out now and again for new NPCs in areas you haven't seen them before.

Major credit for the speedy release of this system goes to GM Godrich, who managed to pull off the miraculous feat of coding such a complex and colorful system on the spot just before Hot Summer Nights. :) Kudos!

The Trader and Bard Teams