Influence

Mechanics

The Revised Edition Background "Influence" is completely insufficient; it's designed for a version of the game where a character's adventures, rather than their social standing and rise to power in the city, are the focus. I prefer the Mind's Eye Theatre version from Laws of the Night, which offers a broadly diversified set of categories in which one can hold sway.
Part of the point of Influence, however, is that there's only so much to go around. In a city like Chicago with some well-established and very powerful vampires a lot of it has already been soaked up. That leaves the young kindred, the newest arrivals on the scene two choices. They can either tangle with someone who, for all they know, might be centuries older than them as they struggle to find their place in the night. Or they can pick up the scraps, the Influences no one seems to be wasting their time with, and try to make something impressive out of that patchwork quilt. Chicago has seen success stories from both methods (as well as failures).

Acquiring Influence

You can purchase dots of Influence at character creation but the cost is more than points. Since each type of Influence already has some number of kindred invested in it you'll either be stepping on toes (if it's heavily saturated with interested parties) or you have the opportunity to make new friends with those others who take an interest in an area that not many others have tapped into (those which are lightly saturated). The GM will tell you what friends or enemies you've made along the way as you begin your climb to power.
The better you define where your Influence comes from and how you leverage it, the easier your climb will be.  If, for example, you choose to pursue Finance Influence from an angle that no NPCs are currently exploiting, the ST may inform you that you don't make an enemy that time.
After creation, once game is running, you can file a downtime action to increase your Influence in a category.  You must specify which category, demonstrate what you did during game and/or during previous downtimes to earn that level of control, and what steps if any you've taken to mitigate blowback from NPCs who got there before you.  The ST will then tell you whether your Influence increases and, if it does, which kindred you bumped into along the way and whether it was a beneficial or ominous interaction.  If for whatever reason your Influence does not increase (you're not really there yet, someone is actively blocking you, etc.) you will not gain a new friend or enemy.

The Influence Web

Each of the Influence categories at game start along with notes on where they stand.

• Bureaucracy - Heavily occupied, each dot of this Influence beyond the 1st means an enemy you've acquired.
• Church - Almost completely untapped, picking up any dots here means meeting some interesting people.
• Finance - Those who are involved play for big stakes, each dot of this Influence beyond the 2nd means an enemy you've acquired.
• Health - Lots of big names involved, each dot of this Influence beyond the 2nd means an enemy you've acquired.
• High Society - Firmly and totally occupied, each dot of this Influence means an enemy and they're particularly nasty about it.
• Industry - A wide open playing field, lots of opportunities for new allies.
• Legal - Very few heavy hitters, a lot of casuals who might be intrigued by a new player in the game.
• Media - Multiple individuals with big agendas, each dot of this Influence beyond the 2nd means an enemy you've acquired.
• Occult - The people who take it seriously take it very seriously, each dot of this Influence beyond the 2nd means an enemy you've acquired.
• Police - Not one the Court likes people just screwing around with, each dot of this Influence beyond the 2nd means an enemy you've acquired.
• Political - Not as thoroughly saturated as people might think, each dot of this Influence beyond the 3rd means an enemy you've acquired.
• Street - Lots and lots of very concerted interest, each dot of this Influence beyond the 1st means an enemy you've acquired.
• Transportation - Very few taking it seriously, some might welcome a kindred who sees the potential.
• Underworld - Very full of very dangerous kindred, each dot of this Influence beyond the 1st means an enemy you've acquired.
• University - Strangely under-utilized, a place where the like-minded could be turned into allies.