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Post by The One Rob on Mar 5, 2010 17:40:52 GMT -8
Cleaned up the formatting a bit, here it is in the next few posts.
INFLUENCE The additional Influence rules here expand upon the systems presented in the various Mind’s Eye Theatre source books. They are intended to add a level of intrigue to larger games, facilitating a shadow war of characters struggling behind the scenes to maintain their tenuous grip on the mundane world.
KEEPING I T FUN For the Storyteller, it is important to maintain the flavor of Influences when using them in a game. Being descriptive when reporting the results of Influence endeavors to the players is critical. Otherwise the interactions of Influences in a city will degrade into a sub-game of number-crunching, in which no story is being told at all. Much of the burden of this task falls upon the shoulders of the players themselves. When a player wishes to perform an endeavor, the Storyteller should have her give him a write-up of the activity, complete with a description of exactly how her Influences are going about executing the desired task. Examples of descriptive use of Influence are given with each new endeavor type.
POSSESSING AND USING INFLUENCE You cannot manage more Influence than the sum of your permanent Physical, Social and Mental Traits. This limit counts against all of your total Influence — your combined levels cannot exceed this total. After all, there are only so many things you can do in a day.
When you exercise Influence, you expend temporary Influence Traits. The tables for various Influence areas detail what you can do with a specific number of Traits. Performing an endeavor requires a number of Traits equal to the level of the action. Therefore, with high levels of Influence, you can perform many small actions or a few significant ones. To perform the new Influence endeavors presented here (such as Attack, Grow and Watch), you must spend Traits just as you would for endeavors on the traditional charts. Certain levels of Influence gift you with items, money or aides. Unlike the Resources Background, money and equipment garnered with Influence does not come automatically each month. If you want a steady income from Influence, you must direct your Influence in that direction continually, and this income does not come with any associated trappings of wealth. (You’d have to buy a house and car separately, for instance.) Aides garnered with Influence generally help for only one specific task, and they usually have the equivalent of only one level of Ability in their area of skill. For more competent and readily available help, take the Allies Background. Most cities have only a set amount of Influence in various areas. For instance, Atlanta has a great deal of Transportation Influence, while Hollywood would have a lot of High Society and Media Influence. A Rust-Belt city in which manufacturing and heavy industry has all but disappeared would have very little to no Industry Influence. Storytellers should map out the total amount of each type of Influence to be had in the city setting. Once all of the Influence of a given type is used up, the only way to get more is to use existing Influence to grow that area of society (making new projects or sponsoring investment) or to destroy someone else’s Influence and free up those resources. Also, each city may have different reflections of the Influences listed here. A city with a thriving independent film community is going to have a different picture of Media or High Society Influence than a city in which the arts are being literally starved out due to budget cuts.
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Post by The One Rob on Mar 5, 2010 17:47:57 GMT -8
Bureaucracy You can manage various government agencies and bureaus. By dealing with social programs and public servants, you can spin red tape, bypass rules and regulations or twist bureaucratic regimentation to your advantage. Bureaucracy is useful in operating or shutting down businesses, faking or acquiring permits and identification papers and manipulating public utilities and facilities. Government clerks at the city and county level, utility workers, road crews, surveyors and other civil servants are potential contacts or allies.
Cost Effect Level 1 Trace utility bills Level 2 Fake a birth certificate or driver’s license Disconnect a single small residence’s utilities Close a small road or park Get public aid ($250) Level 3 Fake a death certificate, passport or green card Close a public school for a single day Shut down a minor business on a violation Level 4 Initiate a phone tap Fake land deeds Initiate a department-wide investigation Level 5 Start, stop or alter a city-wide program or policy Shut down a big business on a violation Rezone areas Obliterate records of a person on a city or county level
Church Although the modern church has arguably less control over temporal society than it did in the Middle Ages, church policies still exert considerable influence over the direction of politics and communities. Knowing the appropriate people gives a character insight into many mainstream religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Shinto or Buddhism. (Fringe or alternative groups, such as Scientology, are the purview of the Occult Influence.) When you exercise Church Influence, you can change religious policy, affect the assignment of clergy and access a variety of lore and resources. Contacts and allies affected by Church Influence would include ministers, priests, bishops, Church-sponsored witch-hunters, holy orders and various attendees and assistants.
Cost Effect Level 1 Identify most secular members of a given faith in the local area Pass as a member of the clergy Peruse general church records (baptism, marriage, burial, etc.) Level 2 Identify higher church members Track regular church members Suspend lay members Level 3 Open or close a single church Find the average church-associated hunter Dip into the collection plate ($250) Access private information and archives of a church Level 4 Discredit or suspend high-level church members Manipulate regional branches of the church Level 5 Organize major protests Access ancient church lore and knowledge
Finance Manipulating markets, stock reports and investments is a hobby of many, especially those who use their knowledge to keep their wealth hidden. Although your actual available money is a function of your Resources, you can use Finance Influence to start or smother businesses, crush or support banking institutions and alter credit records. Clearly, such power over money is not to be trifled with. Fortunes are made and destroyed with this sort of power.
Cost Effect Level 1 Learn about major transactions and financial events Raise capital ($1,000) Learn about general economic trends Learn real motivations for many financial actions of others Level 2 Trace an unsecured small account Raise capital to purchase a small business (single, small store) Level 3 Purchase a large business (a few small branches or a single large store or service) Level 4 Manipulate local banking (delay deposits, alter credit ratings) Ruin a small business Level 5 Manipulate an aspect of city-wide banking (shut off ATMs, arrange a bank “holiday”) Ruin a large business Purchase a major company
Health Some creatures rely on connections in the medical community to acquire blood. Necromancers and practitioners of arcane arts may also require body parts or medical data to further their studies. These sorts of research and development fall under the purview of Health Influence. Coroners, doctors, lab workers, therapists, pharmacists and specialists are just a few of the folks found in this field.
Cost Effect Level 1 Access a person’s health records Fake vaccination records and the like Use public functions of health centers at your leisure Get a single Blood Trait of mortal blood Level 2 Access some medical research records Have minor lab work done Get a copy of a coroner’s report Instigate minor quarantines Level 3 Corrupt results of tests or inspections Alter medical records Level 4 Acquire a cadaver Completely rewrite medical records Abuse grants for personal use ($250) Have minor medical research performed on a subject Institute large-scale quarantines Shut down businesses for “health code violations” Level 5 Commission special research projects Have people institutionalized or released
High Society The glitterati at the top of society move in circles of wealth and elegance. Many people find such positions alluring, and they indulge in the passions of the famous and wealthy. Access to famous actors, celebrities and the idle rich grants a certain sway over fashion trends. Combined with Fame, a modicum of High Society Influence turns a character into a debonair darling of the most exclusive social circles. Among these circles, one finds dilettantes, artists of any stripe, old money families, models, rock stars, sports figures and jet-setters.
Cost Effect Level 1 Learn what is trendy Obtain hard-to-get tickets for shows Learn about concerts, shows or plays well before they are made public Level 2 Track most celebrities and luminaries Be a local voice in the entertainment field “Borrow” idle cash from rich friends ($1,000) Level 3 Crush promising careers Hobnob well above your station Level 4 Minor celebrity status Level 5 Get a brief appearance on a talk show that’s not about to be canceled Ruin a new club, gallery, festival or other posh gathering
Industry The grinding wheels of labor fuel the economies and markets of the world. Machines, factories and blue-collar workers line up in endless drudgery, churning out the staples of everyday living. Industry Influence sways the formation of unions, the movements of work projects, locations for factories and the product of manufacturing concerns. Union workers, foremen, engineers, construction workers, manual laborers and all manner of blue-collar workers exist among these ranks.
Cost Effect Level 1 Learn about industrial projects and movements Level 2 Have minor projects performed Dip into union funds or embezzle petty cash ($500) Arrange small accidents or sabotage Level 3 Organize minor strikes Appropriate machinery for a short time Level 4 Close down a small plant Revitalize a small plant Level 5 Manipulate large local industry
Legal Since many of the operations that supernatural characters tend to undertake are at least marginally illegal, a good amount of sway over judges and lawyers is indispensable. Those who dabble in Legal Influence often pull strings in the courts to make sure their questionable practices go unpunished. Of course, a little Legal Influence is also excellent for harassing an enemy’s assets. Such Influence ranges from law schools and firms, to lawyers, judges, district attorneys, clerks and public defenders.
Cost Effect Level 1 Get free representation for minor cases Level 2 Avoid bail for some charges Have minor charges dropped Level 3 Manipulate legal procedures (minor wills and contracts, court dates) Access public or court funds ($250) Get representation in most court cases Level 4 Issue subpoenas Tie up court cases Have most legal charges dropped Cancel or arrange parole Level 5 Close down all but the most serious investigations Have deportation proceedings carried out against someone
Media Directing media attention away from one’s activities is a key component of survival for some supernatural creatures. Putting specific emphasis on certain events can put an enemy in an uncomfortable spotlight or discredit a rival. With Media, you can crush or alter news stories, control the operations of news stations and reporters and sway public opinion, with DJs, editors of all varieties, reporters, cameramen, photographers and broadcasters at your disposal. At the Storyteller’s discretion, Media Influence may also allow access to the more technical areas of television, radio or movies.
Cost Effect Level 1 Learn about breaking stories early Submit small articles (within reason) Level 2 Suppress small articles or reports Get hold of investigative reporting information Level 3 Initiate news investigations and reports Obtain project funding and squander it ($250) Level 4 Ground stories and projects Level 5 Broadcast fake stories (local only) Kill small local articles or reports completely
Occult The hidden world of the supernatural teems with secrets, conspiracies and unusual factions. Obviously, most supernatural creatures are aware that strange things exist out there by dint of their very existence, but acquiring hard knowledge of such things is a function of Abilities. By using Occult Influence, you can dig up information to improve your knowledge, get inside the occult community and find rare components for magical rituals. Cult leaders, alternative religious groups, charlatans, occultists and New Agers can be found here.
Cost Effect Level 1 Contact and make use of common occult groups and their practices Know some of the more visible occult figures Level 2 Know and contact some of the more obscure occult figures Access resources for most rituals and rites Level 3 Know the general vicinity of certain supernatural entities and (possibly) contact them Access vital or rare material components Milk impressionable wannabes for bucks ($250) Access occult tomes and writings Research a common Basic ritual or rite Level 4 Research a common Intermediate ritual or rite Level 5 Access minor magic items Unearth a common Advanced ritual or rite
Police “To protect and serve” is the motto of the police, but these days, many people have cause to wonder who is being protected and served. That said, Police Influence can be very handy in protecting one’s holdings or raiding the assets of another. Police of all ranks, detectives, clerical staff, dispatchers, prison guards, special divisions (such as SWAT or homicide) and local highway patrol officers make up these ranks.
Cost Effect Level 1 Learn police procedures Hear police information and rumors Avoid traffic tickets Level 2 Have license plates checked Avoid minor violations (first conviction) Get “inside information” Level 3 Get copies of an investigation report Have police hassle, detain or harass someone Find bureau secrets Level 4 Access confiscated weapons or contraband Have some serious charges dropped Start an investigation Obtain money, either from the evidence room or as an appropriation ($1,000) Level 5 Institute major investigations Arrange sting operations Instigate bureau investigations Have officers fired
Political Altering party platforms, controlling local elections, changing appointed offices and calling in favors all fall under the purview of Political Influence. Welltimed blackmail, bribery, spin-doctoring and sundry other tricks are the stock in trade on both sides of this fence. Some of the likely contacts and allies include pollsters, lobbyists, activists, party members, spin-doctors and politicians from rural zoning committees to the mayors of major cities or representatives in Congress.
Cost Effect Level 1 Minor lobbying Identify the real platforms of politicians and their parties Be in the know Level 2 Meet small-time politicians Garner inside information on processes, laws and the like Use a slush fund or fund-raiser ($1,000) Level 3 Sway or alter political projects (local parks, renovations, small construction) Level 4 Enact minor legislation Dash careers of minor politicians Level 5 Get your candidate into a minor office Enact encompassing legislature
Street Ignored and often spat upon by their “betters,” those in the dark alleys and slums have created their own culture to deal with life and any outsiders who might intrude. When calling on Street Influence, you use your connections on the underside of the city to find the homeless, gang members of all sorts, street buskers, petty criminals, prostitutes, residents of the slums or barrios and fringe elements of so-called “deviant” cultures.
Cost Effect Level 1 Open an ear for the word on the street Identify most gangs and know their turf and habits Level 2 Live mostly without fear on the underside of society Keep a contact or two in most aspects of street life Access small-time contraband Level 3 Get insight into other areas of Influence Arrange some services from street people or gangs Obtain pistols or uncommon melee weapons Level 4 Mobilize groups of homeless Panhandle or hold a “collection” ($250) Get hold of a shotgun, rifle or SMG Have a word in almost all aspects of gang operations Level 5 Control a single medium-sized gang Arrange impressive protests by street people
Transportation Most supernatural creatures make their homes in defensible parts of cities. Traveling across the wilderness is difficult without this Influence, with the problems of marauding werewolves and other supernatural threats. Getting access to special supplies and services can also take a measure of Transportation. All these things can be controlled with a bit of sway over truckers, harbors, railroads, airports, taxis, border guards, pilots and untold hundreds, as well as more mundane aspects like shipping and travel arrangements.
Cost Effect Level 1 Know what goes where, when and why Travel locally quickly and freely Level 2 Track an unwary target if he uses public transportation Arrange passage that is safe (or at least concealed) from mundane threats (robbery, terrorism, sunlight, etc.) Level 3 Seriously hamper an individual’s ability to travel Avoid most supernatural dangers when traveling Level 4 Shut down one form of transportation (bus lines, ships, planes, trains, etc.) temporarily Route money your way ($500) Level 5 Reroute major modes of travel Smuggle with impunity
Underworld The world of crime offers lucrative possibilities to strong-willed or subtle leaders. Anyone talented or simply vicious enough to do so can traffic in guns, money, drugs and vice. Underworld Influence lets you reap the benefits of all manner of illegal dealings, and its ranks are filled with drug-dealers, bookies, hit-men, fences and criminal gangs.
Cost Effect Level 1 Locate minor contraband (knives, small-time drugs, petty gambling, scalped tickets) Level 2 Obtain pistols, serious drugs, stolen cars Hire muscle to rough someone up Fence stolen loot Prove that crime pays (and score $1,000) Level 3 Obtain a rifle, shotgun or SMG Arrange a minor “hit” Meet someone in “the Family” Level 4 Make white-collar crime connections Level 5 Arrange gangland assassinations Hire a demolition man or firebug Supply local drug needs
University Institutions of learning and research are the purview of the University Influence. Access to the halls of learning can grant any number of resources, from ancient languages to research assistance to many impressionable young minds. School boards, students from kindergarten through college, graduate students, professors, teachers, deans, Greek orders and a variety of staff fill the ivy-covered buildings.
Cost Effect Level 1 Know layout and policy of local schools Have access to low-level university resources Obtain records, up to the high school level Level 2 Know a contact or two with useful knowledge or Abilities Have minor access to facilities Fake high school records Obtain college records Level 3 Call in faculty favors Cancel a class Fix grades Discredit a student Level 4 Organize student protests and rallies Discredit faculty members Level 5 Falsify an undergraduate degree
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Post by The One Rob on Mar 5, 2010 17:50:10 GMT -8
INFLUENCE ENDEAVORS AND MODIFIERS
In addition to the actions listed on the Influence charts in the various Mind’s Eye Theatre source books, characters may perform the additional endeavors listed here. It is important to note that Influence can generally only affect other Influences of the same type. A character can use his Street Influence to aggress another player’s Street Influence, but he would have a hard time getting it to interact with a player’s High Society Influence successfully.
Attack You can Attack another’s Influence with your own, provided you have previously Traced the target Influence. To Attack, you assign a number of Influence Traits, and that number becomes the level of the Attack endeavor. If the level exceeds the victim’s Influence level, the victim drops a level of her Influence at the end of the month. Traits banked for Growth are lost as well, even if they would have given the victim a new, higher level Influence at the beginning of the next month.
Mechanics Example: Scott and Wade both have Media Influence, at levels five and two respectively. Scott Traced Wade’s Influence successfully last month, and he desires to make an Attack upon it this month. He spends four Traits on the endeavor, meaning that the Attack’s level is four. Since the level of Scott’s Attack is greater than the level of Wade’s Media Influence, Wade will only have a level-one Media to work with next month. If Wade had been spending Traits for Growth, and had accumulated three or more, he would immediately apply three of them to bring it back to level two.
Descriptive Example: When Scott made his character, he decided that his Media Influence would be represented by his control over various media moguls through Blood Bonding and the use of Dominate. To Attack Wade’s Influence, Scott performed the necessary prerequisite of succeeding in a Trace on it. Having done so, Scott discovered that Wade’s Media Influence was represented by his control over one of the city’s major newspapers. When writing an explanation of the Attack endeavor for the Storyteller, Scott describes influencing his media mogul thralls to have their networks broadcast a television news story about Wade’s newspaper. The television news story highlights the paper’s “long history of poorly researched news articles” and describes a number of incidents in which the paper was forced to print retractions. The television news story goes on to rate the various other papers in the city, giving them a far more favorable rating than Wade’s paper. When the Storyteller looks at the Influence numbers and decides that Scott’s Attack is successful, he informs both Scott and Wade of the resulting decline in the paper’s circulation, which represents Wade’s Media Influence dropping to level one at the beginning of the next month.
Block You can use your Influence to prevent Influence endeavors from taking place for that month. Any action from the other sourcebooks may be blocked, provided that your Influence level is at least equal to the endeavor’s level on the chart. The Block’s effective level is the total number actions spent toward it. A Block will affect all attempts at the selected endeavor during that month; anyone attempting the Blocked action in the city will not succeed unless they have added enough levels of Boost to the endeavor. Multiple Blocks against the same endeavor type are not cumulative in effect. If more than one Block is put in place on the same endeavor, use only the highest level when calculating the success of those attempting the endeavor.
Mechanics Example: Jana has four levels of Legal Influence. Because she is capable of arranging a parole, she is therefore able to put a Block on that endeavor type as well. She decides to spend two of her Legal Influence Traits to create a level two Block. Anyone wishing to arrange a parole in the city that month must spend two or more additional Influence Traits into Boost in order to be successful.
Descriptive Example: When Jana made her character, she decided that an extensive network of judges, lawyers and corrections facility officials who are accepting bribes from her would represent her Legal Influence. Now that one of Jana’s character’s enemies has just been arrested, she doesn’t want anyone to arrange for his parole. When writing an explanation of the Block endeavor for the Storyteller, Jana describes bribing members of the parole board to stop proceedings, or at least delay them until the end of the month.
Boost Boost is simply a term used to describe spending additional unneeded Influence Traits to perform an endeavor, just in case someone has put up a Block that needs to be overcome. If the Traits spent into Boost equal the level of the Block, the action is successful. The Block does not go away if one action beats it, though. It can still be effective against any additional attempts at that endeavor in that month.
Mechanics Example: Mathew has used a Trait of his Health Influence put a level one Block on getting mortal blood. Sue attempts to acquire a Blood Trait using a Trait of her level-four Health Influence. When the Storyteller informs her that she is not successful because of a Block, Sue tries it again, this time adding her last two Traits into Boost, thereby raising the cost of her second attempt to three Health Influence Traits. Since the level of the Boost is at least equal to the level of the Block, Sue is successful, and she acquires the Blood Trait.
Descriptive Example: When Sue made her character, she decided that ownership of a small, private clinic would represent her Health Influence. She uses her clout to have a small amount of blood delivered to her while she is off-site. She finds out that there is a major shortage of blood in the city and that her request for whole blood isn’t prioritized highly enough to acquire it (thanks to Mathew’s Block). Sue’s second attempt is backed by an urgent request from two of her clinic’s doctors, who falsely claim to need the whole blood for an emergency surgery. This time, the request is granted.
Combine Combine allows you to aid the Influence endeavor of another character. No action on the Mind’s Eye Theatre sourcebook charts can be attempted by a character who doesn’t have the required Influence level according to that chart. For every two Traits that you spend on Combine, the character you are helping gains one action to use toward his endeavor. Influence borrowed through the Allies and Mentor Backgrounds are also subject to this rule. A character can spend no more than 20 Traits toward a single endeavor in any given month, including all actions spent for modifications such as Combine.
Mechanics Example: Corey has four levels of Political Influence. He wants to enact some minor legislation in the city, which would cost him all four of his Political Influence Traits for the month. Corey has already used a Political Influence Trait this month, so he doesn’t have enough. He asks a friend to Combine her Political Influence with his. Cynthia has only two levels, but she loans them both to Corey. Since the number of Traits loaned is effectively halved when using Combine, Corey nets only one extra Political Influence Trait for the month, but that’s all he needs to enact the minor legislation.
Descriptive Example: When Corey made his character, he decided that blood bonding the city’s mayor would represent his Political Influence. Since he’d already had the mayor ask the city council for a small favor this month, he knows that getting him to push for the minor legislation would be straining the mayor’s authority. Corey asks his ally Cynthia to help him with the endeavor, using Combine. Cynthia manipulates a member of the city council through regular uses of Dominate, and she has this council member propose the minor legislation. With the issue on the table, the mayor can throw his full support into it without burdening his relationship with the council.
Conceal Conceal can be used to hide your Influence from uses of Trace. The number of actions spent toward Conceal generates that month’s Conceal level, which you pit against attempts to Trace it.
Mechanics Example: Jess has heard a rumor that Tim is going to Trace his University Influence. He spends all four of his University Traits to generate a levelfour Conceal over them. For three months in a row, he continues to spend his four Traits on Conceal. On the fourth month, Jess hopes that Tim has lost interest in his University Influence, and goes back to using it for Growth.
Descriptive Example: When Jess created his character, he decided that his University Influence would be represented by the sway he has gained by providing major contributions to the local universities in the past few years. Now that he fears that Tim will be able to follow the paper trail of his donations (Tim’s Trace), Jess quickly uses his clout to convince the universities that the records of his donations and other dealings should be suppressed for the time being.
Defend You use the Defend endeavor when you fear that someone is going to Attack your Influence. To employ this special endeavor, assign a number of Traits as the level of the defense. The level of any Attacks directed at that Influence must exceed the Defend level plus the level of your Influence in order to be successful.
Mechanics Example: Eric fears that someone is going to attack his Underworld Influence this month, so he puts up a defense to protect it. He assigns three of his four Underworld Traits to the defense. An incoming Attack must now be level eight or higher to affect his Influence.
Descriptive Example: When Eric made his character, he decided that his Underworld Influence would be represented by his control of the Lasciano Family, a major organized crime syndicate. Fearing an Attack, Eric writes a description of his Defend endeavor, detailing how he is having all of the family members lay low for a while, out of the sight of other crime families and the authorities.
Follow If you want to keep an eye on what someone is doing with his Influence, you can attempt to Follow them with your own. Follow is similar to Watch, except that it only keeps a lookout for actions performed by a single Influence. To Follow someone’s Influence, you must have a successful Trace on it already. To use Follow, assign a number of Traits to establish the level of the endeavor. The Follow endeavor will reveal all activities performed by the targeted Influence, less any activities hidden with an equal or higher level of Stealth.
Mechanics Example: Jean successfully used her level-three Occult Influence to perform a Trace on Toby’s Occult Influence several months ago. This month, Jean is curious as to what Toby is up to, so she spends all three Traits of Occult Influence to Follow Toby’s Occult activities. She finds out that Toby attempted to acquire a minor magical item. If Toby had put three or more levels of Stealth on that endeavor, Jean would not have been able to detect it.
Descriptive Example: When creating her character, Jean decided that her level-three Occult Influence would be represented by her hold over a couple of millennium cults dedicated to the research of mystical writings and prophecies. With the successful Trace, Jean discovered that Toby’s Occult Influence is represented by his sway over an organized group of “psychics” whose clientele are powerful and wealthy VIPs in the city. When Jean writes down her Influence activities for the Storyteller, she describes how she will have the leaders of her cults direct their followers to research groups of “psychics” in the city, specifically the group that Toby controls.
Growth To raise one of your Influences to the next level, you must spend a number of Traits equal to three times your current level. In general, you can gain a new level in an Influence once every three months, provided you are using your Influence for nothing else. Unlike other endeavors, Traits spent for Growth can be banked from month to month. When you bank Traits thus, they accumulate until you reach the number required for an increase. If you meet the number of Traits required to increase to the next level, the Influence level improves by one at the end of the month.
Mechanics Example: Cheyana has three levels of Street Influence, meaning she would need nine Traits spent to get to level four. In one month, she spends two of her three Traits on Growth (two banked). In the next month, she spends two more Traits on Growth (four banked). In the month following that, she spends all three Traits on Growth (seven banked). In the fourth month, Cheyana spends two more Traits on Growth, meeting the requirement to achieve level four. At the end of the month, her Street Influence improves by one. Cheyana could have grown her Street Influence a little faster if she had spent all of her actions on Growth each month.
Descriptive Example: Cheyana decided when she made her character that a network of informants consisting of gang members, homeless people and prostitutes would represent her Street Influence. When writing a description of her Growth activities for the Storyteller, Cheyana describes encouraging her contacts in several gangs to push for mergers with other gangs across the city. The next month, she describes organizing the homeless people into small “communities” for safer living, which draws more homeless people into the area to spy for her. The month following, Cheyana describes convincing the prostitutes that sometimes report to her to recruit more prostitutes to her cause. In the fourth month, she describes working with the gangs again to direct their spare time toward more high-profit activities such as the buying and selling of guns and other contraband. Now that Cheyana has strengthened her contacts enough to warrant an increase in her Influence, the Storyteller agrees to raise her Street to level four at the end of the month.
Stealth Stealth is added to endeavors to counter the use of Follow and Watch. If the number of Traits spent to add Stealth to an endeavor equals or exceeds the level of the Follow or Watch, the endeavor is remains undetected. Stealth can be applied to any of the actions on the charts, as well as to Attack, Block, Follow, Growth or Watch.
Mechanics Example: Donny wishes to use his Finance Influence to raise the capital to purchase a small business. Doing so would normally only require two of his five Finance Influence Traits, but because Donny doesn’t want anyone else to know what he’s up to, he throws in the other three Traits for Stealth. If someone had instituted a Watch of level three or less to notice that activity in the city, she would not detect Donny’s sneaky acquisition of the capital. If the observer had put up a Watch of level four or higher, Donny’s stealth would not have hidden him from her prying eyes.
Descriptive Example: When Donny made his character, he decided to have his Finance Influence be represented by his controlling interest in a large acquisitions company. When writing out his Influence activities for the Storyteller, Donny describes the added Stealth as using a large network of dummy corporations through which to move the money so that it could not be tracked back to him through his acquisitions company.
Trace You can use this endeavor to establish the identity of a character whose Influence you have come into contact with. You cannot simply guess that a character has an Influence in a particular category and then attempt to Trace it. You must first have come into contact with it in one of the several ways. This can be accomplished by suffering an Attack from the target’s Influence, by noticing one of the target’s endeavors with the use of Watch, by stopping one of the target’s endeavors with a Block, or by having one your own endeavors stopped by the target’s use of Block. Additionally, if someone ever loans you Influence Traits with Combine, you can Trace them. Finally, if the target ever tells you in great detail about his Influence (i.e., agrees to let you Trace it), you can perform the Trace. The total actions spent on the Trace define its level. If the level of this Trace exceeds the highest level of Conceal or Stealth put up to guard the Influence that month, the Trace is successful. Success tells you the Influence owner’s identity, and whether their Influence level is higher than your own or not. It also gives you a general description of the Influence and the ability to spend Traits to Attack it.
Using Trace is specific to one city. Therefore, if a character has Influence of the same type in more than one city, your Trace only tells you about the Influence in the city you are searching. If you have succeeded in a Trace on an Influence, you may not simply relay that information to someone else for his or her Influence to make an Attack on. The information is too complex for them to relay to their own Influence contacts without them actually performing a Trace themselves. If you have performed a successful Trace, you can relay enough information for someone else to perform a Trace with his or her own Influence.
Mechanics Example: Pauline has a level-four Police Influence. Recently her attempt to access confiscated weapons was stopped by Carl’s level-two Block. Having established contact, Pauline decides to Trace the influence. The next month, she spends all four Traits to Trace. Carl, who has level-five Police Influence, is spending two Traits to Block again this month, and because he fears others will Trace him, he puts his remaining three Traits into Conceal. As the level of Pauline’s Trace more than equals the level of Carl’s Conceal, Pauline discovers that the Influence that blocked her endeavor last month belongs to Carl. She discovers its general description (defined by Carl when he created his character) and that its level is higher than hers.
Descriptive Example: When Pauline made her character, she decided that her bribery and blackmail of the members of the local precinct would represent her Police Influence. To make a Trace, Pauline writes up her Influences activities for the Storyteller as simply having every one of her contacts poke around until they discover who tightened the security on the confiscated weapons lock-up. After all, the police are supposed to be practiced investigators, right?
Watch You use Watch when you want to notice a certain Influence action in a city from the chart listed in the sourcebooks. Your Influence must be of sufficient level to perform that action before you can Watch it. A Watch will let you know when and how often the action is attempted in the city for that month, and you will even discover uses of the action that occurred earlier in the same month before the Watch was instituted. The total number of Traits spent on the Watch define its level. You can also use Watch to look for the following endeavors: Attack, Block, Follow (only those targeted at you), Growth and Watch.
Mechanics Example: Mark decides to spend one of his five Church Influence Traits into a Watch this month. He decides to Watch for individuals attempting to contact church-associated hunter groups. Because Mark is paranoid, he decides to put up a level-two Watch on the Watch activity to see if anyone else is doing the same thing. Mark’s Watch for individuals attempting to contact church-associated hunter groups doesn’t get him anything. His second Watch (the one on the Watch endeavor) notices his own Watch of course, and discovers that someone has put up a Watch to notice anyone attempting to peruse general church records.
Descriptive Example: Mark decided when he created his character to have his Church Influence be represented by an extensive network of blackmail against highly placed members of the local churches. When writing up his activities for the Storyteller, Mark describes how his blackmailed network of priests, deacons and elders are going on “crusades” within their various churches to discover any corrupting Influences that might be at work. They are using their authority to persuade other impressionable church members to report any suspicious activities or requests to them immediately.
WHEN T O RESOLVE ACTIONS For the purpose of these rules, Influence Traits spent on endeavors return at the beginning of the month after they are spent. The Storyteller may desire to extend this time for large games that run less often than once a month. Either way, this period of time should remain constant, giving all of the players the same opportunity to employ their Influences on a regular basis. Attack, Follow, Growth, Trace and Watch endeavors should only be resolved at the end of the month. This limit gives everyone a chance to put up levels of Conceal, Defense and Watch, and it lets the Storyteller take everyone’s Influence actions into account so that he can produce better descriptive results of each person’s endeavors.
THE SCOPE O F INFLUENCES As stated previously, an Influence can only affect Influence from the same category. In very rare circumstances, the Storyteller may allow Influences from one category to assist endeavors in another, but only in the same city. In this case, each action is spent as though it was only half of an action. In this way, it is even possible for you to simulate the effects of Combine by loaning Influence to yourself from another category. This type of cross-category Influence use should be rare, and it should be regulated strictly lest it become a common thing. You may have Influences in multiple cities (subject to local Storyteller approval), which are considered to be entirely separate Influences even if they are of the same category.
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