Influence

Overview

Influence uses the categories from Laws of the Night (WW5013) 96-104, documented using +notes:

• Bureaucracy
• Church
• Finance
• Health
• High Society
• Industry
• Legal
• Media
• Occult
• Police
• Political
• Street
• Transportation
• Underworld
• University

PCs can +request to use Influence for the types of actions listed, based on a monthly cap. Example: A PC with Influence (Bureaucracy) 2 could pull strings to acquire one fake driver's license per month, or trace two utility bills per month.

Some actions may have broad long-term effects, e.g. a PC with Influence (Political) 4 gets the city council to alter the laws against vandalism. Staff will maintain a central list of such effects and take them into account when relevant.

Each PC may have a total of up to 5 dots in Influence, allocated to as many or few categories as desired (e.g. Underworld 5, or Underworld 3 + Media 2, but not Underworld 5 + Media 5; for that, you need two PCs working together).

• Existing dots cannot be reallocated, but can be abandoned (no XP refund, limit one per month per PC). Exceptions are at staff discretion, typically limited to initial grace period (within two weeks after approval) or OOC misunderstandings.

PCs can also allocate some of their Influence to various types of endeavors and modifiers, based on Dark Epics (WW5027) 64-69.

• These are evaluated in the order received.
• Each type of Influence is evaluated separately. One type cannot affect another type.
• Some actions require that you have a certain level of Influence. This does not mean you have to allocate an equal number of dots to that action; you can allocate one or more, depending on how important you consider it.
• "X counters Y" is treated like resisted successes (1:1) with X as the defender (wins ties). Neither one is used up, if they're involved in another conflict then they're re-evaluated at full strength. (Examples: A Block that was ineffective against a Boosted action can still be effective later against an insufficiently Boosted action. A Conceal can be effective against any number of Traces.)
• Contacts background can be used like Influence for a basic use (limited to gathering information), or a Follow, Trace, or Watch endeavor. They can be applied to any category, however other endeavors (e.g. Boost) require actual Influence in the relevant area. (Dark Epics 54)

Basic uses

'Basic use' refers to these direct actions listed in Laws of the Night. Other things may be +requested, staff will decide whether they fit the concept of the type and level of Influence being used.

Bureaucracy Trace utility bills 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) Fake a death certificate, passport, or green card Close a public school for a single day Shut down a minor business on a violation Initiate a phone tap Fake land deeds Initiate a department-wide investigation 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 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.) Identify higher church members Track regular church members Suspend lay members 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 Discredit or suspend high-level church members Manipulate regional branches of the church Organize major protests Access ancient church lore and knowledge
Finance 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 Trace an unsecured small account Raise capital to purchase a small business (single, small store) Purchase a large business (a few small branches or a single large store or service) Manipulate local banking (delay deposits, some credit rating alterations) Ruin a small business Control an aspect of city-wide banking (shut off ATM's, arrange a bank "holiday") Ruin a large business Purchase a major company	Health 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 Access some medical research records Have minor lab work done Get a copy of coroner's report Instigate minor quarantines Corrupt results of tests or inspections Alter medical records Acquire a body 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" Have special researches projects performed Have people institutionalized or released
High Society Learn what is trendy Obtain hard-to-get tickets for shows Learn about concerts, shows, or plays well before they are made public Track most celebrities and luminaries Be a local voice in the entertainment field "Borrow" idle cash from rich friends ($1,000) Crush promising careers Hobnob well above your station Minor celebrity status 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 Learn about industrial projects and movements Have minor projects performed Dip into union funds or embezzle petty cash ($500) Arrange small accidents of sabotage Organize minor strikes Appropriate machinery for a short time Close down a small plant Revitalize a small plant Manipulate large local industry
Legal Get free representation for minor cases Avoid bail for some charge Have minor charges dropped Manipulate legal procedures (minor wills and contracts, court dates) Access public or court funds ($250) Get representation in most court cases Issue subpoenas Tie up court cases Have most legal charges dropped Cancel or arrange parole Close down all but the most serious investigations Have deportation proceedings held against someone	Media Learn about breaking stories early Submit small articles (within reason) Suppress (but not stop) small articles or reports Get hold of investigative reporting information Initiate news investigations and reports Get project funding and waste it ($250) Ground stories and projects Broadcast fake stories (local only) Kill small local articles or reports completely
Occult Contact and make use of common occult groups and their practices Know some of the more visible occult figures Know and contact some of the more obscure occult figures Access resources for most rituals and rites Know the general vicinity of a certain supernatural entities and (possibly) contact them Access vital or rare material components Milk impressionable wannabe's for bucks ($250) Access occult tomes and writings Research a basic ritual from your sect Research an intermediate ritual from your sect House rule: Justify raising Lore (some race) from 0 to 1, or 1 to 2 Access minor magic items Unearth an advanced ritual from your sect House rule: Justify raising Lore (some race) from 0 to 2	Police Learn police procedures Hear police information and rumors Avoid traffic tickets Have license plates checked Avoid minor violations (first conviction) Get "inside information" Get copies of an investigation report Have police hassle, detain or harass someone Find bureau secrets Access confiscated weapons or contraband Have some serious charges dropped Start an investigation Get money, either from the evidence room or as an appropriation ($1,000) Institute major investigations Arrange setups Instigate bureau investigations Have officers fired
Political Minor lobbying Identify real platforms of politicians and parties Be in the know Meet small-time politicians Garner inside information on processes, laws and the like Use a slush fund or fund-raiser ($1,000) Sway or alter political projects (local parks, renovations, small construction) Enact minor legislation Dash careers of minor politicians Get your candidate in a minor office Enact encompassing legislature	Street Open an ear for the word on the street Identify most gangs and know their turfs and habits Live mostly without fear on the underside of society Access small-time contraband Get insight into other areas of Influence Arrange some services from street people or gangs Get pistols or uncommon melee weapons 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 Control a single medium-sized gang Arrange impressive protests by street people
Transportation Know what goes where, when and why Travel locally quickly and freely Track an unwary target if he uses public transportation Arrange passage safe (or at least concealed) from mundane threats (robbery, terrorism, sunlight, etc.) Seriously hamper an individual's ability to travel Avoid most supernatural dangers when traveling (such as Lupines) Shut down one form of transportation (bus lines, ships, planes, trains, etc.) temporarily Route money your way ($500) Reroute major modes of travel Smuggle with impunity	Underworld Locate minor contraband (knives, small-time drugs, petty gambling, scalped tickets) Obtain pistols, serious drugs, stolen cars Hire muscle to rough someone up Fence stolen loot Prove that crime pays (and score $1,000) Obtain a rifle, shotgun, or SMG Arrange a minor "hit" Meet someone in "the family" Make white-collar crime connections Hire a demolition man or firebug Supply local drug needs
University Know layout and policy of local schools Have access to low-level university resources Get records up to the high school level Know a contact or two with useful knowledge or Abilities Have minor access to facilities Fake high school records Obtain college records Call in faculty favors Cancel a class Fix grades Discredit a student Organize student protests and rallies Discredit faculty members Falsify an undergraduate degree

Endeavors

• Attack. Pick a target that you previously Traced. If you allocated more dots than they have dots, then they lose a dot.
• Block. Pick a basic use. For the next month, attempts to do that thing in the city fail unless accompanied by an equal/greater Boost. Multiple Blocks against the same basic use don't stack, only the largest one applies.
• Combine: For every two dots that you allocate, someone else can reuse one of their already-used dots for a basic use.
• Follow: Pick a target that you previously Traced. Learn about all their attempted uses of Influence within the next month.
• Growth: Not used. You can buy Influence as fast as you can accumulate XP.

• Trace: Requires one of the following:
  • You were successfully targeted with Attack, Block, or Combine
  • You previously succeeded at a Watch or Block
  • The target consents to your Trace
  • Someone else previously succeeded at a Trace and tells you what they found

Learn who performed the action and whether their Influence in the city exceeds yours.

Note: If someone shares their Trace, you still need to do your own Trace before you can follow up with an Attack or Follow.

• Watch: Pick a basic use that you could perform, or Attack, Block, Follow, Watch. Learn about all attempted uses of that action within the two weeks before or after. (If you pick Follow, you only learn about Follow attempts that target you.)

Modifiers

• Boost. Attach to a basic use. Counters Block.
• Conceal: Attach to a basic use. Counters Trace.
• Defend: Counters Attack for one month.
• Stealth: Attach to a basic use, Attack, Block, Follow, or Watch. Counters Follow and Watch.

Example

• Alice has Influence (Bureaucracy) 5. She allocates 4 to initiate a phone tap on Bob's business, and 1 to Conceal her actions. No one else attempts to use Influence in October, so it succeeds.
• Bob somehow finds out about the phone tap. If he allocates Influence (Bureaucracy) 2+ to Trace the attack, then he learns that Alice did it. If he allocates only 1, then he ties Alice's Conceal and learns nothing.