Influence Lesson One: Take Over the World From the Shadows

This is the first of a series of articles about the influence system. Using your influences wise can make you very powerful.

The higher your influence rating, the more actions you can do in a month. At the beginning of a month, you gain your influence rating squared in actions. [Note: The exception to this is level 1, in which you refresh 2 actions, instead of one.]
Each of these actions can be spent to achieve results in game. The first three basic actions are Grow, Watch, Conceal.

If you have Street x3, you have access to 9 action points every month. [Influence Level squared]. You can take any action listed under that influences at your current level or below.

GROW
In order to advance your influences, you have to grow them. A banker takes time to get business partners. A gang banger needs to increase his reputation before people will listen to him. Growing simulates your character making those contacts and friends in the city. Sometimes, the storytellers will gain bonus growth actions based on character’s actions. Several characters received a bonus politics growth when their candidate was elected to office recently.

With Street x3, you have access to 9 action points every month. To grow to Street x4 requires 18 growth actions.

WATCH
Do you want to know what everyone else in your influence category is doing? Maybe there is someone breaking the masquerade and you want to know about it? Or want to know where someone’s new haven is being built? Watch helps you learn everything that everyone else is doing.

CONCEAL
Do you want to hide your evil? Then you need to spend points on Conceal. Each point of Conceal that you spend is an extra level of protection against people watching you. Each action must be concealed separately.

Example:
Dokktor Funktastic has Street x3, which gives him 9 actions.
He decides he is going to do the following:

Dokktor Funtastic:
7 points on Grow. [Assuming that his actions succeeds, he will be 11 growth points from his goal of 18 to achieve level 4.]

1 point on Conceal [This will conceal the above action. Only players that have spent for a 2 point watch will be able notice this action.]

1 point on Watch [This will alert him to any unconcealed actions in the Street Influence. If another character has spent 1 point or more on a Conceal that action will be hidden. Ties go to the Conceal. However, this is a way to find out what every one else is doing and to later screw with them.]

Next Lesson: Trace and Destroy Your Enemies While Protecting Yourself