Influence Guidelines

Guidelines to allies / influence levels with descriptions for use.

Influence Rules

Influences are a background that can be bought up to 5 dots with XP
Influences can be grown using the Growth action from below
- Influences can be grown above 5 dots
- Influences are limited to the maximum allowed in their city as set by that cities DST and oWoD VST's
You can have a number of Influences up to the combined amount of you Physical, Social, and Mental attributes
- This cap can be increased by 3 for every Influence Retainer purchased for 1xp
Influences are attached to a VSS
- Using an Influence in another city requires approval from the relevant ST
- Using an Influence from one VSS in another VSS usually halves the amount of Influence you have available, but is up to the appropriate ST.
- Fame allows for Influence to be used in another VSS without penalties
  - Fame 4 for Adjoining States, Fame 5 for the Entire Country.
  - Lower levels of Fame might offset some of the penalties with appropriate ST approval

Canberra Influence Rules

Things unique to Canberra when it comes to Influence

No influence can go above 7 dots
Influence refreshes at the start of every game
- Influence used during the course of a game must be noted in downtimes
- This means that influence used during a game cannot be used on that months downtime for actions like Growth

Influence Actions

Bureaucracy

Governmental and business offices, paper and electronics records, licences, utilities; the creation and cutting of red tape.

Trace Utility bills
Fake a birth certificate/driver's license; Disconnect a small residence; Close a small road/park; Get public aid ($500)
Fake a death certificate/passport/green-card; Close a school for a day; Shut down a small business on a minor violation
Initiate a phone tap; Fake land deeds; Initiate department wide investigation
Start/stop/alter city wide program/policy; Shut down big business on a violation; Rezone area's; Obliterate records of a person in a city area
Initiate a major public works program (a large park or office complex); Completely dominate all aspects of the city's bureaucracy within a city block; Prevent emergency services such as fire protection from responding to a major disaster
Stop, start, or alter a state or regional program or policy; Force an entire neighbourhood to build as you see fit; Collect taxes ($1,000)
Build or destroy small towns or suburbs; Control an entire city district; Rewrite policy on a state or regional level
Have a major building condemned and destroyed on short notice; Build monuments or stadiums
Completely control the mayor's office; Rebuild the city as you see fit

Church

The non-secular world; organised religion of all faiths.

Identify most secular members; 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/close a single church; Find average church hunter; Dip into collection plate ($500); Access private information and archives of a church
Discredit/suspend high level church members; Manipulate regional branches of a church
Organise major protests; Access ancient church lore/knowledge
Identify a church member with true faith; Stage a "miraculous" event that gains un-official approval from the church
Excommunicate a lay member of the church; Have a church marriage anulled/dissolved; Find an experienced church hunter
Pose as a Bishop/other major regional figure; Nominate a member of the clergy for elevation; Stage a "miracle" that gains official recognition from the church
Create/destroy a major cathedral/temple in your city; Exert minor influence of nationwide church policy; Have a member of the clergy excommunicated
Exert major influence over nationwide church policy; Discover secrets of the modern inquisition

Finance

All things monetary; banks, investment firms, brokers.

Learn about major transaction/financial events; Raise capital ($2,000); Learn general economic trends; Learn real motivations of transaction
Trace an unsecured small account; Raise capital to purchase a small business; Raise capital ($4,000)
Purchase a large business; Raise capital ($8,000)
Manipulate local banking (delay deposits, alter credit rating); Ruin a small business; Raise capital ($16,000)
Control an aspect of city wide banking (shut off ATM's, arrange bank holiday); Ruin a large business; Purchase a major company; Raise capital ($32,000)
Obliterate all savings and credit for one person (destroy one level of resources); Control the price of a minor commodity; Perform insider trading ($10,000)
Exert minor influence over local stock prices; Purchase a nationwide corporation
Control the price of a major commodity; Cause inflation/depression for a regional area
Siphon off all profits from a minor corporation ($100,000); Own a major nationwide corporation; Exert major influence of local stock prices
Create a local stock market crash; Influence nationwide economic trends; make someone an instant millionaire ($1,000,000)

Health

Hospitals, blood banks, doctors, pharmacies, morgues.

Access a person's health records, fake vaccination records and the like, use public functions of health centres at your leisure, get a blood trait
Access some medical research records, have minor lab work done, get a copy of a coroner's report, instigate minor quarantines
Corrupt results of tests or inspections, alter medical records
Acquire a body, completely rewrite medical records, abuse grants ($500), have minor medical research performed on a subject, institute large scale quarantines, shut down business on health code violations
Have special research performed, have people institutionalised or released
Cause a major shortage of blood in an area, prevent ambulances from responding
Contaminate the whole blood supply of a minor hospital, locate supplies of minor infectious disease (flu)
Cause a major shortage of one type of medicine, perform major/illegal experimentation on a large number of patients, shut down a small hospital permanently
Contaminate the blood supply for an entire city, shut down a major hospital permanently, locate samples of major infectious disease (anthrax)
Shut down all medical care in a city for a day, direct genetic engineering projects

High Society

Culture and subculture, fame, fashion, trendsetting.

Learn what is trendy, obtain hard to get show tickets, learn about concerts/shows/plays before they're made public
Track most celebrities/luminaries, be a local voice in the entertainment field, borrow cash from rich friends ($2000)
Crush promising careers, hobnob well above your station
Minor celebrity status
Get a brief appearance on TV, ruin a new club/gallery/festival/etc
Own a small and influential gallery/theatre, give someone his or her 15 minutes of fame (create one level of fame for the session)
Bring a major travelling concert/play to the city, destroy the career of a minor celebrity (destroy a level of fame), appoint anyone as a member of the city's elite social circle
Make someone a minor celebrity (create one level of fame), become a major celebrity (grant yourself 2 levels of fame), own a large gallery/theatre in the city
Make someone a major celebrity (create two levels of fame), influence nationwide fashion trends
Destroy a major celebrity's career (destroy 2 levels of fame)

Industry

The business of making things; manufactures, factories, unions, trades.

Learn about industrial projects/movements
Have minor projects performed, dip into union funds or embezzle cash ($500), arrange small accidents or sabotage
Organise minor strikes, appropriate machinery for a short time
Close down or revitalise a small plant
Manipulate large local industry
Attract a major heavy industry to the area, illegally dump large amounts of toxic waste
Siphon off company profits ($5,000), eliminate/start a union in any company
Arrange a major ecological disaster, fatally sabotage a major construction project
Own a heavy industry/construction firm in the area, cause a major strike
Fatally sabotage an entire product of heavy industry/machinery, influence nationwide labour movements

Legal

Judges, lawyers, law firms, courtrooms.

Get free representation for minor cases
Avoid bail for some charges, have minor charges dropped
Manipulate legal procedures (wills/contracts/court dates), access public/court funds ($500), get representation in most major cases
Issue subpoenas, tie up court cases, have most charges dropped, cancel/arrange parole
Close down all but the most serious investigations, have deportation proceedings held against someone
Bring any investigation short of a grand jury to a halt, force a guilty verdict on a misdemeanour trial
Appoint a state judge, have a lawyer disbarred
Successfully sue anyone for major damages (destroy 1 level of resources), force guilty verdicts in felony trials
Control one of the members of the Supreme Court, appoint/fire the city's Attorney General
Force a guilty verdict on a major/sensational felony trial, rewrite local state laws as you want

Media

Local sources of news and advertising; newspapers, television, radio, magazines, internet.

Learn about breaking stories early, submit small articles
Suppress (but not stop) small articles/reports, get hold of investigative reporting information
Initiate news investigations/reports, get project funding and waste it ($500)
Ground stories/projects
Broadcast fake stories (local only), kill small articles/reports completely
Submit headline news successfully, cause a minor media outlet to begin an investigation
Destroy a minor newspaper/tv station, write small nationwide stories successfully, manufacture a major scandal (destroy one level of fame)
Cause a major media outlet to begin an investigation, kill nationwide stories before they hit the ground
Broadcast fake regional stories, destroy a major newspaper/tv station
Create a fake major national news story, create a news blackout over a whole city

Occult

Secret and fringe groups (cults), libraries, experts and shops specialising in the paranormal.

Contact and make use of common occult groups/practices, know some of the more visible occult figures
Know some of the more obscure occult figures, access resources for most rituals/rites
Access vital/rare components, milk impressionable for cash ($500), access occult tomes and writings, research a basic ritual from your sect
Gain access to a medium sized cult following, can confirm the existence of other supernaturals, research an intermediate ritual from your sect
Know general vicinity of certain supernaturals and possibly contact them, research an advanced ritual from your sect, access minor magic items
Create your own basic ritual, found a local cult (grant one level of allies), learn truthful lore concerning lupines/changelings
Create our own intermediate ritual, access major magical items, learn truthful lore concerning wraiths/spirits
Create your own advanced ritual, found a regional cult (grant two levels of allies), locate and bring a specific hedge mage/medium to you
Access legendary magical items, locate and bring a specific lupine/changeling to you
Locate an entire copy of book of nod or true lair of a methuselah

Police

Law enforcement personnel, gaols, prisons, and police stations.

Learn police procedures, hear police information/rumours, avoid traffic tickets
Have license plates checked, avoid minor violations, get "inside information"
Get copies of investigation reports, have police hassle/detain/harass someone, find bureau secrets
Access confiscated weapons/contraband, have some serious charges dropped, start an investigation, get money from evidence room or as appropriation ($500)
Institute major investigations, arrange set-ups, instigate bureau investigations, have officers fired
Control one aspect of a large city precinct (homicide/dispatch), appropriate contraband or drugs from the evidence room
Call SWAT raids, have free access to police facilities, have the crime lab lose evidence
Completely control the police department of a suburb/small town, have people extradited across state lines
Have police chiefs fired
Complete control of a large city's police network

Political

Elected officials, politicians, mayors, city council, state offices, legislation.

Minor lobbying, identify real platforms of politicians/parties, be in the known
Meet small-time politicians, garner inside information on processes/laws/etc, use slush fund/fund raiser ($500)
Sway or alter political projects (local parks/construction/etc)
Enact minor legislation, dash careers of minor politicians
Get your candidate a minor office, enact encompassing legislation
Enact major legislation on the local level, get your candidate into a major office
Destroy a career of a major politician
Get your candidate into a major federal office, enact minor nationwide legislation
Embezzle taxpayer money ($10,000), engineer a major political scandal
Give major support to a national political candidate, propose major national legislation

Street

Homeless people, street gangs, un-organised crime.

Open an ear for the word on the street, identify most gangs and their turf/habits
Live mostly without fear of the underside of society, keep a contact in most aspects of street life, access small time contraband
Get insight into other areas of influence, arrange some services off street people/gangs, get pistols/uncommon melee weapons
Mobilise groups of homeless, pan-handle ($500), get hold of a rifle/smg/shotgun, have a word in almost all aspects of gang operations
Control a single medium sized gang, arrange protests by street people
Completely dominate all aspects of a housing/slum project, mark a specific person for harassment in down-town
Locate exotic weaponry (bombs/sniper rifle), start a small riot
Completely dominate all aspects of a down-town neighbourhood, control a large gang
Locate unique or customised weaponry, mark a specific person who enters down-town for death
Completely dominate all aspects of a down-town of a major city, start a major city wide riot

Transport

By land, lake, or air; cabs, buses, hire-cars, free-ways, tolls, trains, shipping, airports.

Know what goes where/when/why, travel locally quickly and freely
Track an unwary target if he uses public transport, arrange safe passage (or concealed) from mundane threats
Seriously hamper an individual's ability to travel, avoid most supernatural dangers when travelling
Shut down one form of transportation temporarily, route money your way ($1000)
Reroute major modes of travel, smuggle with impunity
Bar a person from entering or leaving the city by public transport, attract a major transportation outlet to your city
Halt all public transport and cargo shipping to a small town, siphon off profits from transport firm ($5000)
Bar a specific type of cargo from entering/leaving the city, isolate a small town from any form of transportation
Cause a major transportation disaster, destroy a major transportation outlet, completely dominate one aspect of regional transportation (trucking/shipping/air)
Prevent anyone from leaving/entering a city by all forms of transportation, bar all cargo from entering/leaving a major city

Underworld

Organised crime; prostitution, arms, gambling, fraud, extortion, auto theft.

Locate minor contraband
Obtain pistols/serious drugs/stolen cars, hire muscle to rough someone up, fence stolen loot, prove that crime pays ($2000)
Obtain rifle/shotgun/smg, arrange a minor hit, meet someone in the family
Make white collar crime connections
Arrange gangland assassinations, hire demolition man/firebug, supply local drug needs
Locate exotic weaponry (bombs/sniper rifle), contract a professional hit
Launder money ($5000), supply the drug needs of a large city
Control the head of a small crime family, locate unique or customised weaponry
Put a price on anyone's head, start a mob war
Control the head of a large crime family, stage a public assassination/terrorist act/shooting spree (and get away with it)

University

Higher education, schools, universities, research, professors, lecturers, students.

Know layout/policy of local schools, access low level university resources, get up-to high school records
Know a contact or two with useful knowledge/abilities, have minor access to facilities, fake high school records, obtain college records
Call in faculty favours, cancel a class, fix grades, discredit a student
Organise student protests/rallies, discredit faculty members
Falsify an undergraduate degree
Falsify a graduate degree, create a college class of your choice, discredit the head of a college department
Falsify a Ph.D, know a contact or two with high levels of ability or esoteric knowledge, discredit the dean of a college
Appoint the dean of a college, funnel university fund your way ($1000)
Direct an entire university department to research a specific problem, have a research assistant attached to your service indefinitely (grant one level of allies)
Destroy/discredit an entire college

Generic Influence Actions

These actions can be performed with any influence

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 endeavour. 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. (Addendum note. Any Influence bought with XP grows back at 1 dot per month after being lost).

Block: You can use your Influence to prevent Influence endeavours from taking place for that month.
Any action from the other source books may be blocked, provided that your Influence level is at least equal to the endeavour’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 endeavour during that month; anyone attempting the Blocked action in the city will not succeed unless they have added enough levels of Boost to the endeavour.
Multiple Blocks against the same endeavour type are not cumulative in effect. If more than one Block is put in place on the same endeavour, use only the highest level when calculating the success of those attempting the endeavour.

Boost: Boost is simply a term used to describe spending additional unneeded Influence Traits to perform an endeavour, 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 endeavour in that month.

Combine: Combine allows you to aid the Influence endeavour of another character.
No action on the Mind’s Eye Theatre source book 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 endeavour.
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 endeavour in any given month, including all actions spent for modifications such as Combine.

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.

Defend: You use the Defend endeavour when you fear that someone is going to Attack your Influence.
To employ this special endeavour, assign a number of Traits as the level of the defence. 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.

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 endeavour. The Follow endeavor will reveal all activities performed by the targeted Influence, less any activities hidden with an equal or higher level of Stealth.

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 endeavours, 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.

Stealth: Stealth is added to endeavours to counter the use of Follow and Watch.
If the number of Traits spent to add Stealth to an endeavour equals or exceeds the level of the Follow or Watch, the endeavour remains undetected. Stealth can be applied to any of the actions on the charts, as well as to Attack, Block, Follow, Growth or Watch.

Trace: You can use this endeavour 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 endeavours with the use of Watch, by stopping one of the target’s endeavours with a Block, or by having one your own endeavours 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.

Watch: You use Watch when you want to notice a certain Influence action in a city from the chart listed in the source books.
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 endeavours: Attack, Block, Follow (only those targeted at you), Growth and Watch.