Influence and Allies

The manipulation of mortal society is done through the Allies Merit, a kind of asset that is focused on a specific group of mortals. The Allies Merit is rated from one to five and must have a sub category, a list of which is provided below.

Using Influences and Allies
To use the Allies Merit the player must first choose the action to be taken. This action can be described in great detail, but should be capable of being stated in a single sentence. The player looks below for the action in the Influence Action List. All actions are divided into certain categories based on the sphere of influence that it effects or the sphere of influence that can perform the action. Next to each action is a number. This number represents both the difficulty to perform the action as well as the number of Action Counters that the action creates. Action Counters are tallied under the source Allies Merit that is used to accrue them. The player must possess an Allies Merit with a minimum of the action's number AND the corresponding sphere of influence. (i.e. Allies (Gangs): Street) Please note that some spheres of influence are capped within a given Allies Merit; this internal cap is used when that specific sphere of influence is used in conjunction with that merit.

When an Allies Merit is used to perform an action it accrues Action Counters. These counters determine the base penalty to performing actions through the use of that Allies Merit. When the number of Action Counters on a given Allies Merit exceeds the rating of that Allies Merit the merit faces a -1 penalty to all applications. Each additional incriment of the merit's rating causes an additional -1 penalty. (i.e. if a player accrues 11 Action Counters on a rating 5 Allies Merit that merit faces a -2 penalty on all further actions. Had those Action Counters been on a rating 2 Allies Merit the penalty would have been -5. For simplicity, round down.)

If an Allies Merit has a -5 (or higher) penalty due exclusively to Action Counters then the Allies are exhausted. The Allies can still be used, but any failed draws force the player to make an Allies Retention Draw. This is a single draw using the Allies Merit as the base, the only modifiers to which would be the difference of the penalty incurred by Action Counters reduced by 5 (i.e. if the penalty to Allies Merit draws is a -6 then the Allies Retention Draw suffers a -1 penalty). A success has no effect, but a failure means that the player permanantly loses a single dot from the Allies Merit (this can reduce the merit's rating to zero). The player will have to re-establish their foothold with that mortal group (Forever Unrest does not 'destroy' experience points, but the player will have to recover their Allies Merit by the rules set forth *here*). Other players snooping around that group may become aware of your falling out and seek to usurp your power. Once a draw results in a failure the number of accrued Action Counters on that Allies Merit does not change. Usually this results in an even higher penalty to draws using that merit. Action Counters on an Allies Merit that has been reduced to zero never erode and the player will have to work very hard to repair their negative status with that group. The remaining Action Counters on a given group contribute to that player's Infamy with that group and are treated as standard Infamy Counters.

Multiple Allies Merits accrue Action Counters independently. After a period of time passes (for the purposes of Forever Unrest this amount of time is one game day - about one real world week) the number of Action Counters that an Allies Merit has accrued are reduced by that Allies Merit's rating. If the Allies Merit in question was not used at all during that period of time then the number of Action Counters is reduced by twice the merit's rating. In addition, the character can go to additional lengths to reduce the number of Action Counters on a merit by performing actions to benefit merit in question. These actions are described below. The number of Action Counters on a given Allies Merit can not be less than zero.

Example:

 * Ronald wishes to perform a Street Influence 3 action. He decides to use his Allies Merit: Bloomfield Blood x4 to do so. He has not called upon the Bloomfield Blood in some time and he currently has no Action Counters on this merit. Using this merit will give Ronald 3 Action Counters towards his Allies Merit: Bloomfield Blood x4 but will not result in a penalty to his draw.

Example:

 * Later, Ronald seeks to perform a Police Influence 3 action. His only source of Police Influence is his Allies Merit: Macon City Police Department x5. Unfortunately, Allies Merit: Macon City Police Department x5 has seen a lot of use over the last couple of days and now has 23 Action Counters attached to it. This action will bring that total to 26 Action Counters which brings the penalty to -5. If Ronald fails this draw he will need to make an Allies Retention Draw with a base of 5 (the rating of the merit).

Example:

 * To boost the morale of his Allies Merit: Macon City Police Department x5 Ronald decides to host a Police Man's ball for the local police officers that have been working so hard to keep the streets safe. Ronald uses his entire Resources x4 to pay for the event. The number of Action Counters on Ronald's Allies Merit: Macon City Police Department x5 is reduced by 4 (his Resources x4).

Spheres of Influence
There are 16 major Spheres of Influence in Forever Unrest.

Ideologies
Ideological Influences are defined as any organization that an individual chooses to be a part of. Some choices, however, are made for an individual by virtue of their birth...

Church

 * 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 congregation members; Suspend lay members
 * 3) Open or close a single church; Dip into the collection ($250); Find the average church-associated hunter; Access to private information and archives of church
 * 4) Discredit or suspend higher-level members: Manipulate regional branches
 * 5) Organize major protests; Access ancient church lore
 * 6) Borrow or access church relics or sacred items
 * 7) Use the resources of a Diocese

Occult

 * 1) Contact and use common occult groups 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; Can access vital or very rare material components; Milk impressionable wannabes for bucks $250; Access occult tomes and writings "part of an alleged Testament of Longinus": Reserarch a Level One or Two Ritual
 * 4) Research an Level Three or Four Ritual
 * 5) Access minor magic items; Unearth a Level Five Ritual
 * 6) Research a new or unheard of ritual or rite from tomes or mentors

Politics

 * 1) Minor lobbying; Identify real platforms of politicians and parties; Be in the know
 * 2) Meet small time politicians; Have a forewarning of processes and laws; use a slush fund or fund raiser ($1000)
 * 3) Sway or alter political projects (local parks, renovations)
 * 4) Enact minor legislation; Dash careers of minor politicians
 * 5) Get your candidate in a minor office; Enact more encompassing legislature
 * 6) Block the passage of major bills; Suspend major laws temporarily; Use state bureaus or subcommittees
 * 7) Usurp countywide politics; Subvert, to a moderate degree, statewide powers
 * 8) Call out a local division of the National Guard; Declare a state of emergency in a region

Infrastructure
Infrastructure influences are defined as broad areas that are controlled or regulated by the government, both local and national. This includes most utilities such as electricity, water and trash as well as necessary public services such as health care, fire protection, public transportation and law enforcement.

Bureaucracy

 * 1) Trace utility bills
 * 2) Fake birth certificate or driver's licence; Disconnect a 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; Turn a single utility on a block on or off; 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; Obligation records of a person on a city and county level
 * 6) Arrange a fixed audit of a person or business

Health

 * 1) Access a person's health records; Use public functions of health centers at your leisure; Fake vaccination records and the like; Get a Blood Trait
 * 2) Access to some medical research records; Have minor lab work done; Get a copy of a coroner's report
 * 3) Instigate minor quarantines; Corrupt results of tests or inspections; Alter medical records
 * 4) Acquire a body; Completely rewrite medical records; Abuse grants for personal use ($250); Institute large scale quarantines; Shut down a business for "health code violations"
 * 5) Have special research projects perfromed; Have people institutionalized or released

Military
XXX

Police

 * 1) Learn police procedures; Police information and rumors; Avoid traffic tickets
 * 2) Have license plates checked; Avoid minor violations; Get 'inside' information
 * 3) Find bureau secrets; Get copies of an investigation report; have police hassle, detain or harass someone
 * 4) Access confiscated weapons or contraband; Start an investigation; Get money, either from evidence room or as an appropriation ($1000); Have some serious charges dropped
 * 5) Institute major investigations; Arrange setups; Instituted major investigations; Have officers fired
 * 6) Paralyze departments for a time; Close down an investigation

Transportation

 * 1) A wizard at what goes where, when and why; Can travel locally, quickly and for free
 * 2) Can track an unwary target if they use public transportation; Arrange passage safe from mundane threats (sunlight, etc.)
 * 3) Seriously hamper an individual's ability to travel; Avoid most supernatural dangers when traveling
 * 4) Temporarily shut down one form of mass transit; Route money your way ($500)
 * 5) Reroute major modes of travel; Smuggle with impunity
 * 6) Extend control to nearby areas
 * 7) Isolate small or remote regions for a short period

Social Status
Social Influences are defined as lifestyles arrived at by individuals due to circumstances of birth, choices made in life and the sometimes cruel machinations of fate.

Academia

 * 1) Know the layour and policy of local schools; Access to low level university resources; Get records up to the high school level
 * 2) Know a contact or two with usefule knowledge or skills; Minor access to facilities; Fake high school records; Obtain college records
 * 3) Faculty favors; cancel a class; Fix grades; Discredit a student
 * 4) Organize student protests and rallies; Discredit faculty members; Acquire money through a grant ($1000)
 * 5) Falsify an undergraduate degree
 * 6) Arrange major projects; Alter curriculum institution-wide; Free run of facilities

High Society

 * 1) Learn what is trendy; Learn about concerts, shows or plays well before the public; Obtain hard-to-get tickets for shows
 * 2) Track most celebrities and luminaries; Be a local voice in the entertainment field; "Borrow" $1000 as idle cash from rich friends
 * 3) Crush promising careers; Hobnob well above your station
 * 4) Minor celebrity status
 * 5) Appear on a talk show that's not about to be canceled; Ruin a new club, gallery, festival or other high society gathering

Street

 * 1) Has an ear open for the word on the street; Identify most gangs and know their turfs and habits
 * 2) Live mostly without fear on the underside of society; Keep a contact of two in most aspects of street life; Access small time contraband
 * 3) Often get insight on other areas of influence; Arrange some services from street people or gangs; Get pistols or uncommon melee weapons
 * 4) Mobilize groups of homeless; Panhandle $250; Can have a word in almost all aspects of gang operations; Get hold of a shotgun, rifle or SMG
 * 5) Control a single medium-sized gang

Underworld

 * 1) Locate minor contraband (knives, small-time drugs, etc.)
 * 2) Obtain pistols, serious drugs, stolen cars, etc.; Hire muscle to rough someone up; Fence minor loot; Prove that crime pays (and score $1000)
 * 3) Obtain rifle, shotgun or SMG; Arrange a minor "boost"
 * 4) White-collar crime connections
 * 5) Arrange gangland assassinations; Hire a hitman or firebug; Supply local drug needs

Economy
Economic Influences are defined as business entities that drive the local, regional and national economy.

Finance

 * 1) Earn money; learn about major transactions and financial events; Raise capital ($1000); 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
 * 3) Purchase a large business
 * 4) Manipulate local banking (delay deposits, credit alterations); Ruin a small business
 * 5) Control an aspect of city wide banking (shut off ATMs); Ruin a large business; Purchase a major company
 * 6) Spark an economic trend

Industry

 * 1) Learn about industrial projects and movements
 * 2) Have minor projects performed; Arrange small "accidents"; Dip into union funds or embezzle petty cash ($500)
 * 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
 * 6) Cut off production of a single resource in a small region

Legal

 * 1) Get free representation for small cases
 * 2) Avoid bail for some charges; Have minor charges dropped
 * 3) Manipulate legal procedures (small will, minor contracts, court dates); Access public or court funds ($250); Get good representation
 * 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 held against someone

Media

 * 1) Learn about breaking sotries early; submit small articles (within reason)
 * 2) Suppress (but not stop) small articles or reports; Get hold of investigative reporting information
 * 3) Initiative news investigations and reports; Get project funding and waste it ($250); Access media production resources; Ground stories and projects
 * 4) Broadcast fake stories (local only)