Influence System

Influence System Basics

This system is designed to allow players to utilize certain stats to influence the world around them and to gather information, take actions, defend territory, or a number of other actions in the world.

The system below will explain how to utilize each background in the system, but the basic idea of this influence system is twofold. You have personal influence that you can leverage to do things in the areas you possess that influence and potentially aid your personal efforts in those areas. You also can act through your agents and assets like retainers, contacts, allies, and spies to influence the world.

Purchasing Influence

The Influence background in this system is not one background but it is allocated across 14 Areas of Influence (see Areas of Influence below). Each dot can be purchased at x2 cost and goes from 1-5.

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The following rules apply to Areas of Influence:

1. A player can have no more Areas of Influence backgrounds than their Influence Background score.
2. All Areas of Influence are capped at Level 3. Levels 4 and 5 require staff approval and likely will require significant effort on the part of the player to acquire that level of control over an area.
3. Those number of players who will have Level 4 and 5 influences will be limited.

The following are the Areas of Influence that exist on the game:

Academic – Influence within universities, schools, and scholarly institutions. Useful for accessing restricted knowledge, archives, and research facilities, or leveraging bureaucrats and professors to further your goals in intellectual circles.

Underworld – Control over criminal elements and illicit activities. Enables smuggling, forgery, theft, and access to the black market. Can be used to orchestrate crimes or gain favors from criminals and gangs.

Business & Industry – Power in the corporate and industrial sectors. Allows for manipulating markets, accessing prototypes or corporate research, managing hostile takeovers, or leveraging business assets and infrastructure.

Law Enforcement – Ties to local police or federal agencies. Can be used to launch investigations, suppress evidence, arrest individuals, or place people under surveillance. While potent, it's risky—law enforcement can investigate its own.

Legal – Influence within the legal system. Offers access to skilled attorneys, court proceedings, contracts, and confidential case files. Can also be used to entangle rivals in lawsuits, injunctions, or bureaucratic red tape.

Media – Control over newspapers, magazines, and broadcast journalism. Useful for planting or suppressing stories, conducting investigations, or swaying public opinion through coverage, interviews, and exposés.

Medical – Ties to hospitals, doctors, and healthcare institutions. Grants access to treatment, drugs, medical records, and research labs. Can also be used to suppress medical findings or run discreet tests and procedures.

Transportation – Power over the movement of goods and people by road, rail, air, or sea. Can arrange fast or discreet travel, intercept or erase shipments, and track others’ movements with access to transport records and logistics.

High Society – Social standing among the wealthy and influential. Opens doors to exclusive events, powerful individuals, and philanthropic circles. This influence can grease wheels in other areas through charm, favors, and connections.

Arts & Community – Influence in local neighborhoods, small businesses, and the arts scene. Useful for gathering local support, spreading ideas, organizing cultural events, and connecting with musicians, performers, and activists.

Government – Authority within city-level government, including the mayor’s office, council, and municipal services. Can push policies, redirect city services, issue permits, or interfere with utilities and infrastructure.

Religion – Ties to religious communities and faith leaders. Can rally congregations, spread ideology, or tap spiritual leaders for support or pressure. Religious institutions also house unique knowledge and hold sway over many lives.

Occult – Connections in esoteric circles, cults, and fringe researchers. Grants access to hidden lore, rare books, supernatural rumors, and obscure groups. Risky for supernatural beings, as these communities often sense the uncanny.

Technology – Influence in emerging fields of computers and electronics. Offers access to skilled hackers, engineers, and R&D. Can uncover digital secrets, sabotage rivals, or push forward new tech breakthroughs.