Influence- Elite and Underworld Actions
DESCRIPTION
Elite Actions
Level 1: A Friend in Need You’ve got a reputation for having lots of money and influence, so naturally people want to give you stuff for free. Or at least, they feel comfortable letting you borrow some of their stuff on occasion, as long as you say nice things about them. You can spend 1 influence action to “borrow” the resources of a wealthy friend, a corporation, or the government up to the maximum rental value of $1,000 per level of Elite influence you control. For example, you might want to borrow someone’s fancy yacht to host a party, a penthouse for a private meeting, or an art gallery to impress your sire for the evening.
Level 2: Gossip & Insider Trading Whispers swim like koi fish in the elegant pond of the upper crust, tracing the ebb and flow of high society. These are people in the know, and a few “useful tips” can make the difference between living on the cutting edge and being rendered obsolete. By spending 1 influence action, you gain information about any recent use of the Elite influence (within the last 3 months) that touches on your Elite specializations. You will discover the name of any mortal institutions or individuals that were involved, as well as how the actions were spent. However, you do not learn the identity of any character (or characters) responsible for that influence expenditure. You may use this knowledge to assault those influences with a targeted attack action. Storytellers may also choose to pass along information about local plots or unusual events within the area. Level 3: Bureaucratic Errors The workday’s hell when your 9-5 job is something more like 6-12: mountains of paperwork, power meetings over expensive dinners, handshake agreements, and knows-too-much nods. Don’t worry, I’m sure we can do something about that little problem of yours. You’d do the same for me...right? By expending 1 influence action, you manipulate the system, acquiring expensive (and mostly legal) favors. You can alter government paperwork, “modify” incident reports, detain a mortal on trumped-up charges, cause a major police effort to investigate a locale or individual, gain a legal (registered) weapon, acquire falsified identification or other paperwork, or otherwise use the system to your advantage.
Level 4: Smooth Over Trouble comes in all shapes and sizes, but cold, hard leverage clears up any problem. Hey, everybody’s got secrets. I’ll hide yours, if you hide mine. It’s just a favor between old friends. Right? By spending 1 influence action, you can smooth over inconvenient or embarrassing problems, making them disappear. Witnesses get paid off, news stories get squashed, alibis materialize, and Masquerade breaches simply disappear.
Level 5: No Party Crashers It’s a private party. Very exclusive. Unless you’re on the guest list, you just can’t get in. The upper crust take security very seriously, especially when it comes to things they’d rather keep secret. The guards won’t ask questions, and no paparazzi need apply. With the expenditure of 1 influence action, you can secure an area the size of a manor house or small office building. For one 24-hour period, you control all security protocols, the amount (or lack) of police response to the area, and general access within a half-mile radius of the site. Helicopters cannot fly over the area, nor can unknown persons pass through without the use of supernatural powers such as Obfuscate. With your go-ahead, the location can be made almost completely Masquerade-safe and protected from hostile incursions. Further, anyone using influence to cause trouble in the area must overcome a level 5 block (see the block targeted action description).
Level 6: Everything Has a Price Pulling strings, buying integrity, sabotaging innocent lives for a small advantage — those are just the breaks, kid. The world is divided into “haves” and “have-nots,” and you can guess which one I am... You can spend 1 influence action to manipulate the mortal world, acquiring a major favor that isn’t necessarily legal. Through your control over the wealthy and the powerful, you can arrange things like jail breaks, acquire a large amount of illegal drugs, plant a false news article (with evidence and witnesses to back it up), gain an illegal weapon (no serial number), or cause someone trouble on a personal scale.
Level 7: Private Collection Arranging a “private showing” of the world’s most coveted and protected items is no easy task. Fortunately, you know the right people to manipulate, and they’re more than willing to do as you say. By spending 1 influence action, you gain temporary access to a rare or unique item. For example, an artifact might disappear from a museum for a few days with no questions asked. If you lose, steal, or damage the object, your influence is reduced by 2 levels for the next four games or two months, whichever is longer. This action cannot be used to acquire items owned by player-characters, although it can be used to acquire items from important NPCs with the Storyteller’s permission.
Level 8: Pop Star Meltdown One minute, everything’s fine. The next, it’s like the whole world descended on this place, scratching at an itch and yelling for attention. It’s like a train wreck; they just can’t look away. Expending 1 influence action allows you to arrange for a city-wide incident. You can distract news agencies, focus philanthropic attention, or cause signifi cant disruption. You might persuade an influential businessman to sell a popular sports team, have the city planners construct an enormous statue, cause the police to go on strike, arrange for the health department to quarantine a large area, or any other such concentration of mortal attention.
Level 9: The Power Behind the Throne If you don’t do exactly as I say, the “pooled resources of the Brujah clan” won’t be enough to buy a doughnut in this town! Do you understand? By using 1 influence action, you arrange a situation with significant, long-term effects. You could choose the next mayor; cause nearly all of the city’s police to go off duty at the same time; prohibit fire departments or other emergency responders from answering a call; indelibly frame someone for a crime they didn’t commit; close down all major highways; have a rival’s home, haven, or office building demolished; or other such manipulation.
Level 10: Regional Influence Those with tremendous pull can shift culture and society on a wide scale, manipulating thousands of individuals through a chain of circumstance that begins and ends with their will. With this amount of influence, you can change the world in a significant and long-term manner. You can choose to have the results of your general influence actions applied to the entire region (typically a large state, a major territory, or small country). This ability has no effect on targeted actions.
SYSTEM
Underworld Influence
Level 1: Free Travel Robberies, muggings, drug deals: some parts of town are simply too dangerous to walk through without friends. You can spend 1 influence action to freely travel through any part of the city without being harassed by gangs or the criminal element. As a bonus, law enforcement will generally look the other way, giving you relatively safe and unmonitored passage through the slums. Level 2: Word on the Street Whispers flow through the gutters and churn in the streets, keeping tabs on the goings-on of the common man. Secrets thought to be hidden, shredded by circumstance, can be rediscovered with some invisible tape and a little patience. If you know who to ask, you can always get a useful answer. By spending 1 influence action, you gain information about any recent use of the Underworld influence that touches on your Underworld specializations. You will discover the name of any mortal institutions or individuals that were involved, as well as how the actions were spent. However, you do not learn the identity of any character (or characters) responsible for that influence expenditure. You may use this knowledge to assault those influences with a targeted attack action. Storytellers may also choose to pass along information about local plots or unusual events within the area.
Level 3: Illegal Favors Nobody pays attention to the scum that drifts in the shadows, and even fewer people care when things go wrong or break the law — as long as nobody gets caught. If you need something done, you know just the people to do it. You can spend 1 influence action to manipulate the mortal world, acquiring a major favor that isn’t necessarily legal. Through your control over the wealthy and the powerful, you can arrange things like jail breaks, acquire a large amount of illegal drugs, plant a false news article (with evidence and witnesses to back it up), gain an illegal weapon (no serial number), or cause someone trouble on a personal scale.
Level 4: Airing Dirty Laundry Folks love reality television. They’ll stick to it like glue, even as their stomachs churn. There are plenty of idiots, ingrates, and incompetents who will do anything for attention; the trick is knowing which piece of meat to throw in front of the dogs. Expending 1 influence action allows you to arrange for a city-wide incident. You can distract news agencies, provoke civil rights marches, and cause signifi cant disruption. You might persuade a major mafia leader or gang head to start a war against rivals; cause a series of unexplained arsons; convince corrupt officials to shut down area-wide utilities; re-appropriate vaccinations, donated blood, or other medical supplies from the needy; assassinate a Stock NPC (rated 4 or less); or any other sort of shady affairs.
Level 5: Lockdown Gangs control territories, mafia dons claim cities, and even the homeless maintain areas where common citizens fear to tread. You know who “owns” what in the shadows of the city, and you can make deals to ensure that certain areas are under a complete protection. With the expenditure of 1 influence action, you can secure an area the size of a large warehouse or small offi ce building. For one 24-hour period, you control all security protocols, the amount (or lack) of police response to the area, and general access within a half-mile radius of the site. Helicopters cannot fly over the area, nor can unknown persons pass through without the use of supernatural powers such as Obfuscate. With your go-ahead, the location can be made almost completely Masquerade-safe and protected from hostile incursions. Further, anyone using influence to cause trouble in the area must overcome a overcome a level 5 block (see the block targeted action description).
Level 6: Pulling Strings Through a combination of cunning manipulation and suave business acumen, you can gain expensive favors and moderate benefits. You’ve heard the expression “friends in low places,” right? Well…you’re that friend. With the expenditure of 1 influence action, you manipulate the system, acquiring expensive (and mostly legal) favors. You can make sure money flows in the right direction, sway a city council vote, target a major police effort to investigate a locale or individual, gain a legal (registered) weapon, arrange raves and major urban events and festivals, or otherwise use the system to your advantage.
Level 7: Look the Other Way Survival in the city means knowing when to stay the hell out of things that aren’t your business. You’ve got people trained not to ask questions and not to volunteer information when the authorities come sniffi ng at their doors. By spending 1 influence actions you can smooth over inconvenient or embarrassing problems, making them disappear. Witnesses get paid off, news stories get squashed, alibis materialize, and Masquerade breaches simply disappear.
Level 8: Want. Take. Have. There’s always a hole in security systems: a person willing to take a bribe or look the other way. You know the right palms to grease and the right blackmail to use to open doors. It’s not hard for you to get what you want, even at someone else’s expense. By spending 1 influence action, you gain access to a rare or unique item. For example, an artifact might disappear from a museum for a few days with no questions asked. You may lose, steal, or damage the object, with no detriment to your influence — although such misappropriations may gain the unwanted attention of authorities. This action cannot be used to acquire items owned by player-characters, although it can be used to acquire items from important NPCs with the Storyteller’s permission.
Level 9: An Offer You Can’t Refuse Look, pally, this situation goes a whole lot deeper than you can imagine. You got a nice unlife, great childer, plenty of rank and status. Are you sure you want to cock all that up by messing with me? By using 1 influence action, you arrange a situation with significant, long-term effects. You could make prostitution or gambling legal in your state (or repeal such a law), discredit religious leaders with scandal, create widespread riots, indelibly frame someone for a crime they didn’t commit, move jobs or corporate headquarters overseas, fix the outcome of major collegiate-level athletic events, or other such manipulation.
Level 10: Regional Influence Those with tremendous pull can shift culture and society on a wide scale, manipulating thousands of individuals through a chain of circumstance that begins and ends with their will. With this amount of influence, you can change the world in a significant and long-term manner. You may choose to have the results of your general influence actions applied to the entire region (typically a large state, a major territory, or small country). This ability has no effect on targeted actions.
SOURCE BOOK
MET - VTM - Core Book
Vampire the Masquerade