Post by jacob on Feb 22, 2016 22:54:19 GMT -5
Bureaucracy
Church
Finance
Health
High Society
Industry
Legal
Media
Occult
Police
Political
Street
Transportation
Underworld
University
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
1 Trace utility bills
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)
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
4 Initiate a phone tap
Fake land deeds
Initiate a department-wide investigation
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
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.)
2 Identify higher church members
Track regular church members
Suspend lay members
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
4 Discredit or suspend high-level church members
Manipulate regional branches of the church
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
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
2 Trace an unsecured small account
Raise capital to purchase a small business (single, small store)
3 Purchase a large business (a few small branches or a single large store or service)
4 Manipulate local banking (delay deposits, alter credit ratings)
Ruin a small business
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
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
2 Access some medical research records
Have minor lab work done
Get a copy of a coroner’s report
Instigate minor quarantines
3 Corrupt results of tests or inspections
Alter medical records
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”
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
1 Learn what is trendy
Obtain hard-to-get tickets for shows
Learn about concerts, shows or plays well before they are made public
2 Track most celebrities and luminaries
Be a local voice in the entertainment field
“Borrow” idle cash from rich friends ($1,000)
3 Crush promising careers
Hobnob well above your station
4 Minor celebrity status
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
1 Learn about industrial projects and movements
2 Have minor projects performed
Dip into union funds or embezzle petty cash ($500)
Arrange small accidents or sabotage
3 Organize minor strikes
Appropriate machinery for a short time
4 Close down a small plant
Revitalize a small plant
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
1 Get free representation for minor cases
2 Avoid bail for some charges
Have minor charges dropped
3 Manipulate legal procedures (minor wills and contracts, court dates)
Access public or court funds ($250)
Get representation in most court cases
4 Issue subpoenas
Tie up court cases
Have most legal charges dropped
Cancel or arrange parole
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
1 Learn about breaking stories early
Submit small articles (within reason)
2 Suppress small articles or reports
Get hold of investigative reporting information
3 Initiate news investigations and reports
Obtain project funding and squander it ($250)
Ground stories and projects
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
1 Contact and make use of common occult groups and their practices
Know some of the more visible occult figures
2 Know and contact some of the more obscure occult figures
Access resources for most rituals and rites
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
4 Research a common Intermediate ritual or rite
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
1 Learn police procedures
Hear police information and rumors
Avoid traffic tickets
2 Have license plates checked
Avoid minor violations (first conviction)
Get “inside information”
3 Get copies of an investigation report
Have police hassle, detain or harass someone
Find bureau secrets
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)
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
1 Minor lobbying
Identify the real platforms of politicians and their parties
Be in the know
2 Meet small-time politicians
Garner inside information on processes, laws and the like
Use a slush fund or fund-raiser ($1,000)
3 Sway or alter political projects (local parks, renovations, small construction)
4 Enact minor legislation
Dash careers of minor politicians
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
1 Open an ear for the word on the street
Identify most gangs and know their turf and habits
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
3 Get insight into other areas of Influence
Arrange some services from street people or gangs
Obtain pistols or uncommon melee weapons
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
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
1 Know what goes where, when and why
Travel locally quickly and freely
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.)
3 Seriously hamper an individual’s ability to travel
Avoid most supernatural dangers when traveling
4 Shut down one form of transportation (bus lines, ships, planes, trains, etc.)
temporarily
Route money your way ($500)
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
1 Locate minor contraband (knives, small-time drugs, petty gambling,
scalped tickets)
2 Obtain pistols, serious drugs, stolen cars
Hire muscle to rough someone up
Fence stolen loot
Prove that crime pays (and score $1,000)
3 Obtain a rifle, shotgun or SMG
Arrange a minor “hit”
Meet someone in “the Family”
4 Make white-collar crime connections
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
1 Know layout and policy of local schools
Have access to low-level university resources
Obtain records, up to the high school level
2 Know a contact or two with useful knowledge or Abilities
Have minor access to facilities
Fake high school records
Obtain college records
3 Call in faculty favors
Cancel a class
Fix grades
Discredit a student
4 Organize student protests and rallies
Discredit faculty members
5 Falsify an undergraduate degree
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
Block
Boost
Combine
Conceal
Defend
Follow
Growth
Stealth
Trace
Watch
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.
Church
Finance
Health
High Society
Industry
Legal
Media
Occult
Police
Political
Street
Transportation
Underworld
University
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
1 Trace utility bills
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)
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
4 Initiate a phone tap
Fake land deeds
Initiate a department-wide investigation
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
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.)
2 Identify higher church members
Track regular church members
Suspend lay members
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
4 Discredit or suspend high-level church members
Manipulate regional branches of the church
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
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
2 Trace an unsecured small account
Raise capital to purchase a small business (single, small store)
3 Purchase a large business (a few small branches or a single large store or service)
4 Manipulate local banking (delay deposits, alter credit ratings)
Ruin a small business
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
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
2 Access some medical research records
Have minor lab work done
Get a copy of a coroner’s report
Instigate minor quarantines
3 Corrupt results of tests or inspections
Alter medical records
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”
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
1 Learn what is trendy
Obtain hard-to-get tickets for shows
Learn about concerts, shows or plays well before they are made public
2 Track most celebrities and luminaries
Be a local voice in the entertainment field
“Borrow” idle cash from rich friends ($1,000)
3 Crush promising careers
Hobnob well above your station
4 Minor celebrity status
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
1 Learn about industrial projects and movements
2 Have minor projects performed
Dip into union funds or embezzle petty cash ($500)
Arrange small accidents or sabotage
3 Organize minor strikes
Appropriate machinery for a short time
4 Close down a small plant
Revitalize a small plant
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
1 Get free representation for minor cases
2 Avoid bail for some charges
Have minor charges dropped
3 Manipulate legal procedures (minor wills and contracts, court dates)
Access public or court funds ($250)
Get representation in most court cases
4 Issue subpoenas
Tie up court cases
Have most legal charges dropped
Cancel or arrange parole
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
1 Learn about breaking stories early
Submit small articles (within reason)
2 Suppress small articles or reports
Get hold of investigative reporting information
3 Initiate news investigations and reports
Obtain project funding and squander it ($250)
Ground stories and projects
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
1 Contact and make use of common occult groups and their practices
Know some of the more visible occult figures
2 Know and contact some of the more obscure occult figures
Access resources for most rituals and rites
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
4 Research a common Intermediate ritual or rite
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
1 Learn police procedures
Hear police information and rumors
Avoid traffic tickets
2 Have license plates checked
Avoid minor violations (first conviction)
Get “inside information”
3 Get copies of an investigation report
Have police hassle, detain or harass someone
Find bureau secrets
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)
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
1 Minor lobbying
Identify the real platforms of politicians and their parties
Be in the know
2 Meet small-time politicians
Garner inside information on processes, laws and the like
Use a slush fund or fund-raiser ($1,000)
3 Sway or alter political projects (local parks, renovations, small construction)
4 Enact minor legislation
Dash careers of minor politicians
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
1 Open an ear for the word on the street
Identify most gangs and know their turf and habits
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
3 Get insight into other areas of Influence
Arrange some services from street people or gangs
Obtain pistols or uncommon melee weapons
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
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
1 Know what goes where, when and why
Travel locally quickly and freely
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.)
3 Seriously hamper an individual’s ability to travel
Avoid most supernatural dangers when traveling
4 Shut down one form of transportation (bus lines, ships, planes, trains, etc.)
temporarily
Route money your way ($500)
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
1 Locate minor contraband (knives, small-time drugs, petty gambling,
scalped tickets)
2 Obtain pistols, serious drugs, stolen cars
Hire muscle to rough someone up
Fence stolen loot
Prove that crime pays (and score $1,000)
3 Obtain a rifle, shotgun or SMG
Arrange a minor “hit”
Meet someone in “the Family”
4 Make white-collar crime connections
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
1 Know layout and policy of local schools
Have access to low-level university resources
Obtain records, up to the high school level
2 Know a contact or two with useful knowledge or Abilities
Have minor access to facilities
Fake high school records
Obtain college records
3 Call in faculty favors
Cancel a class
Fix grades
Discredit a student
4 Organize student protests and rallies
Discredit faculty members
5 Falsify an undergraduate degree
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
Block
Boost
Combine
Conceal
Defend
Follow
Growth
Stealth
Trace
Watch
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.