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Gossip Network

How reputation spreads between NPCs through the social graph — influence weights, spread rates, and strategic implications.

Gossip Network

The gossip network in Wanderfolk is the system that propagates reputation changes between NPCs through the village social graph. It spreads at roughly 15% influence per cycle, with negative news traveling faster than positive, making every social interaction ripple outward.

How Gossip Works

Each gossip cycle, NPCs share their opinions of you with connected NPCs in the social graph. The influence spreads at approximately 15% per cycle — meaning if your reputation with an NPC changes by +10, connected NPCs will shift by about +1.5 in the next cycle.

This creates a gradual ripple effect. A single good deed doesn’t instantly make the whole village love you, but sustained positive interactions compound over time.

Asymmetric Spread

Bad news travels faster than good news. Negative reputation changes spread through the gossip network more aggressively than positive changes. This reflects the reality that gossip about troublemakers spreads faster than praise.

Practically, this means:

  • Recovering from a reputation mistake takes longer than building reputation from scratch
  • A single taboo violation can poison your standing across an entire village
  • Prevention is better than recovery — don’t give NPCs bad things to talk about

Influence Weights

Not all NPCs carry equal social weight. Some are hubs in the gossip network, amplifying the spread of information:

RoleInfluenceImpact
Elder2.0xVillage leader — their opinion carries the most weight
Shopkeeper1.5xCentral figure, talks to everyone who trades
Candlemaker1.3xTraditional gossip role, spreads information widely
Blacksmith1.2xRespected craftsman, moderate influence
Herbalist1.1xSlightly above average influence
Farmer1.0xAverage influence
Farmhand0.8xBelow average — fewer social connections

Social Graph Connections

NPCs are connected to others based on proximity and role:

  • Work connections — NPCs who work together (farmhand → farmer, barmaid → barkeep)
  • Proximity connections — NPCs whose homes or workplaces are near each other
  • Role connections — NPCs in similar roles (guards talk to other guards)

The candlemaker, historically the village gossip hub, has connections to the shopkeeper, farmer’s spouse, and elder — making them a critical node in the information network.

Strategic Implications

Understanding the gossip network gives you strategic advantages:

Build from the Top

Impressing the elder first creates the strongest positive ripple. Their 2x influence means your good reputation spreads twice as fast through the network. A +20 reputation with the elder eventually lifts your standing with every connected NPC.

Protect Key Relationships

If your reputation with the shopkeeper drops, the damage cascades quickly due to their 1.5x influence and central position. Always maintain positive relations with high-influence NPCs.

Isolate Damage

If you’ve angered one NPC, focus on repairing that relationship before the negative gossip spreads. The sooner you address a reputation drop, the less it affects your global standing.

Cross-Village Effects

Gossip is limited to within a single village. Your reputation in one village doesn’t directly affect another. However, caravans may carry news between settlements in the future, so maintaining good relations everywhere is wise.

Eavesdropping

You don’t have to participate in conversations to learn from them. NPCs chat with each other throughout the day, and you can listen in.

How It Works

  • Walk near a pair of NPCs who are socializing — you’ll see speech bubbles floating above their heads
  • Press E near a chatting pair to eavesdrop — a read-only chat panel streams their conversation
  • The eavesdropping range is slightly longer than direct conversation range
  • Walk away at any time to stop listening

What You’ll Hear

NPC-to-NPC conversations draw from real context — their relationships, current events, village drama, and sometimes gossip about you. Topics include:

  • Work complaints and daily life
  • Opinions about other villagers
  • Reactions to recent events (raids, weather, new arrivals)
  • Relationship dynamics — who trusts whom, who’s feuding

Strategic Value

Eavesdropping is a zero-cost intelligence tool. You learn about village dynamics and NPC relationships without initiating a conversation, spending reputation, or revealing your interest. Overheard topics feed into the Village Buzz (the world event feed) and won’t repeat, so each listen reveals something new.