Reputation in Syrik

By: Sage T. Young (SerNurp)

Based off of the Reputation System by Chris and Sithums

A character is more than simply their actions, it is their reputation that matters within the higher echelons of the world, their fame or infamy, their influence, and their prestige within the world around them that truly drives those around them to action. To reflect a character’s impact on the world each character is given a Prestige score. Additionally, each character has an Influence track for each region, faction, and faith that the player can collect and expend for political power within the given group.
Reputation itself is separated into two different categories Prestige, a measure of the characters overall renown, and Influence, a measure of the characters fame or infamy within a given group. These two aspects of Reputation are given in more detail below.

Influence

Influence is a measure of a characters standing within a given organization or region, often showing how the individual is viewed by the masses of the given faction. Like with wealth, Influence is a powerful motivator, for there is power in political influence, just as there is power in strength of arm, or weight of coin. More so, A character unknown by the masses is unlikely to attain the heights of their career, wallowing in the shadows, while other savvier individuals rise the ranks, that is not to say those in obscurity do not hold their own place, for every lord needs work done in the shadows.
Influence represents not only how the general public views a character, whether good with a positive influence score or ill with a negative influence score (for lawful/good groups, vice versa for chaotic/evil groups), but is also a resource that can be used to attain results that would otherwise be hindered if not outright blocked to the character. Influence is a complex affair, for a hero in one region may be a villain in another, as such Influence is broken up into sections, with each section governing the favor of a given Region, Faction, or Group within the world.
Generally, a positive Influence score within a region means you are viewed favorably there, while a negative score means you are viewed disdainfully, essentially fame or infamy. However, this is the opposite when it comes to criminal enterprises, villainous groups, hostile factions, and so on within that region; for such factions, a negative score is favorable in their eyes, while a positive score is disfavorable. For example, a Thieves Guild within the region of Elderia would provide positive benefits to a character with a negative Influence value in that faction.

Basics of Influence

• All characters begin with an Influence Score of 1 in their starting Region, unless otherwise noted. Certain Origins can increase a character's starting Influence Score, or adjust how they gather Influence through play.
• Influence is gained through action and deeds taken on behalf of a region or faction, and can be lost by ill deeds that oppose the ideals of the given region or faction.
• Influence is a resource that can be burnt for certain actions that can impact the world around the character, allowing the character to impact the world around them, or simply to use their influence to bypass otherwise harrowing situations.
• Influence has an inherent modifier tied to it that is used to determine a number of factors relating to the strength of their bond to the given region or faction, this is often used to determine whether or not the character has access to certain events, actions, or features, and how certain individuals would react to the character whether good or ill. A character’s Influence Modifier is 1/10th of the character’s Influence Score.
• Influence is capped out at a positive number of 100, or a negative of -100.

Influence Acquisition

Influence can be gained through a number of paths, though the easiest route in acquiring Influence is that of spending time garnering Influence within a chosen group through Downtime.

Influence through Downtime

Characters can garner Influence through the Downtime rules, see Downtime Activities for more information on this path.

Influence through Action

Certain actions taken by a character can positively or negatively impact the character’s Influence within a given group. Generally, breaking of laws or tenets within a given region or faction results in negative Influence gain, while completing tasks in service to-, or helping the people of the given region or faction results in positive Influence gain. The amount of Influence gained in this way is generally up to the GM based upon the severity of the action taken, but rough guidelines are given under the Laws and Punishments section for a given region, as well as below.

Example Regional Influential Actions

Action	Influence	Action	Influence
Banishment	-20	Refusing your liege lord	-3
Killing a helpless foe	-15	Overindulgence in food or drink	-2
Breaking an oath	-10	Refusing an honorable contest	-2
Convicted of a crime	-10	Slander a more influential character	-2
Taken prisoner	-10	Fulfilling an oath	2
Losing to an inferior opponent of the same social class	-6	Serving an influential individual	2
Caught with a dishonorable item	-5	Leading a regional force to victory	5
Escaping regional prison	-5	Saving the life of another at the risk of your own	5
Rash or improper social behavior	-5	Completing a great deed	See Deed
Taking a bribe as an officer of the region	-5	Completing an assigned task	See Deed
Accused of a crime	-4	Defeating monsters or other terrorizing threats of the region	Varies
Failing an assigned task	-3	Giving a valuable gift to an influential NPC	Varies
Murder of a family member	-3	Granting a favor to an influential NPC	Varies

Influence through Deeds

Certain milestones or missions that a character takes on and completes may provide Influence as a reward with the region or faction that offered the quest. These inherently grant an amount of Influence equal to the Tier of the given quest, or double that upon completion of an Influential mission, though exceptions do exist.

Effects of Influence

Influence has a number of effects that can adjust how the influential character is treated by characters within the world, as well as more mechanical effects such the ability to burn influence to achieve more established results, such as spending influence to bypass a pair of guards at a castle gate. Influence is not spent until approved.
Influence burnt in this way cannot be spent if the Influence would reduce the character’s Influence to a number lower than 0, unless otherwise noted. A character with a negative Influence, cannot burn Influence, unless otherwise noted. A character’s Influence modifier may adjust how others view them, providing a bonus or penalty based upon the character’s Influence Modifier on any relevant social actions that the character takes, at GM discretion.

Example Influential Actions

• Establish a Meeting (30): A character can spend influence to treat with an influential NPC within the world under the given region or faction that the influence is tied to. This bypasses any need for checks or the like while in-game, simply allowing access to the individual, so long as other means would not deny this action. While out of session, this can be used to create an Event with such an individual.
• Establish an Event or Quest (50): A character can spend influence to formulate, prepare, and establish an event, or quest created by the character or their allies within the region or faction. This bypasses any need for checks or the like while in-game, simply using the characters influence to pay for this activity, so long as other means would not deny this action. This is generally only done so while out of session. When establishing an Event or Quest that you wish to be the Event Runner or Quest Giver of, you must provide the rewards for the event/quest. You are able to provide up to half of the Influence you spent as a reward to those who complete your Quest, or 1/10th of the Influence you spent as a reward to those who complete your Event. You are able to provide up to your Tier in Prestige if you spend Prestige as a part of this action. You must spend double the amount of Prestige that you grant when granting Prestige in this way.
• Placing a Bounty on a Character (varies): A character can place a bounty on another character, so long as they have the funds to pay for the bounty and the influence to spare for the desired bounty level.
• Paying off a Bounty (varies): A character can pay-off their bounty through the use of Influence and coin, based upon the bounty level they have on their person. Generally, this action is only available to those of a higher social caste, or those with underworld connections, at GM discretion.
• Posting on a regional Notice Board (varies): A character can spend 20gp to send out a notice to a region's news channel, allowing all others in the region to have attained IC information about this notice, assuming they read notices. For every 1 Influence and 10 gp you can send your post to an additional region. When posting a notice in this way, inform a member of that region's staff of your expenditure via the #Player-Trading channel. They will take your notice and post it on your behalf.
• Trigger an Event or Quest (50): A character can spend influence to influence the acquisition of an event or quest created by Staff tied to the character's current region or any faction they are in. This bypasses any need for checks or the like while in-game, simply using the characters influence to pay for this activation, so long as other means would not deny this action. This is generally only done so while out of session. When triggering an event or quest, the price will vary based on the subject of the quest and whether it is Prestige or not. Additionally, all events and quests are subject to GM discretion.

Structure Access

A character can spend 1% of the building's build cost in influence to to gain access to a Library or similar structure of Average quality for purposes of Downtime Actions. You can convert 1 Influence to 25GP up to a maximum of 80% of the Influence cost. Example: For access to an arcane lab, you must pay a minimum of 6 Influence, but you may substitute up to 600gp for the remaining 24 Influence cost.
After payment, a character's access to a non-player structure they do not own only lasts until the conclusion of the next Upkeep (the Time Period in which upkeep is paid), and is not indefinite. If you gained temporary access to a structure during an Upkeep Period, you must pay the upkeep costs during the next Upkeep. Failing to do so incurs debt, and prevents you from renewing access to that type of structure until paid. For structure build costs, see here.
When gaining access to a structure, whether on your own for use in a Downtime Submission or as a result of an RP interaction, please document it in Player Trading using the following format. The Economy Department tag has been shortened for ease of auto-completion:

Economy
Gaining access to [STRUCTURE] in [Region] [City]
Influence Paid (Minimum 20%): ### Type
Money Paid: $$$

Prestige

Prestige is both a blessing and a curse, for many obscurity is preferred, while for others the fame and glory of prestige is all they desire. Prestige, unlike Influence, holds not only sway within influential circles, but also a change in the character's very being. Prestige is gained primarily through great acts of heroism or vile villainy, and through inner growth as one’s soul strengthens through the experiences they have encountered.

Basics of Prestige

• All characters begin with a Prestige Score of 0, unless otherwise noted. Certain Origins can increase a characters starting Prestige Score.
• Prestige is gained through great acts or foul deeds of great impact. Additionally, Prestige is gained through leveling up as an individual, as given by the chart below.
• Prestige itself is both a static statistic that unlocks abilities and features for the character, but it is also a resource that can be burnt for certain long-lasting actions that can impact the world around the character, allowing the character to truly change the world.
• Prestige has an inherent modifier tied to it that is used to determine a number of factors, such as the character's soul’s ability to grow, the power and effects of Prestige Classes, and similar effects. A character’s Prestige Modifier is 1/10th of the character’s Prestige Score.

Prestige Acquisition

Prestige can be gained through a number of paths, though the easiest route in acquiring Prestige is that of leveling up through completion of Milestones and the garnering of Experience.

Prestige from Levels

A character naturally gains Prestige as they attain levels within the world, however, while a character naturally gains Prestige through play, they are also limited on the amount of Prestige they can attain based upon their Level.

Level	Prestige Gain	Prestige Cap	Level	Prestige Gain	Prestige Cap
1st	0	10	11th	+3	30
2nd	0	10	12th	0	30
3rd	+1	10	13th	+3	40
4th	0	10	14th	0	40
5th	+1	20	15th	+4	40
6th	0	20	16th	0	40
7th	+2	20	17th	+4	50
8th	0	20	18th	0	50
9th	+2	30	19th	0	50
10th	0	30	20th	+5	50

Prestige through Glory

Certain creatures may inherently be prestigious, such creatures upon defeat grant the party that defeated the creature Prestige based upon the Tier of Play of the given creature, up to the player’s Prestige cap; however, gaining Prestige in this way is limited, in that each time that you defeat such a creature, defeating another creature of the same subtype and CR or lesser CR provides a lesser effect, reducing the Prestige reward by 1 per additional time they are defeated. For example, if a group of five characters took on an Adult Red Dragon for the first time, an inherently prestigious creature of T2, and win the battle, each participant would gain 2 Prestige, up to their cap; however, if they later seek out another Adult Dragon of any scale, and win this battle, they would instead gain only 1 Prestige each, one lower than the base. Lastly, if the same group seeks out a third or yet more Adult Dragons of any scale, such a creature would provide no Prestige reward, for it is clear that this group can handle such creatures, and thus it is no longer a prestigious act.

Prestige through Milestone

Certain milestones or missions that a character partakes in may be inherently Prestigious, whenever a character would complete such a milestone successfully, they gain a point of Prestige; additionally, whenever a character would complete a Prestige Mission, they gain an amount of Prestige equal to the Tier of the given mission. For example, a party of five partake in a T3 Prestige Mission with an optional objective marked as Prestige, they choose to take on this challenge and do so successfully, upon completion of this milestone, in addition to the Experience gained, each character gains 1 Prestige, up to their cap. Finally, when completing this Prestige Mission, each member gains 3 Prestige, up to their cap.

Effects of Prestige

Prestige has a number of effects that can adjust how they are treated by characters within the world, as well as more mechanical effects such as unlocked Training options or other Downtime options being unlocked, the ability to take Prestige Classes, or even unlocking of grand accomplishments such as the unlocking of a Class, an Origin, or a Region within the world, or perhaps something more personal, such as the Establishment of a Kingdom under the characters control. Prestige is not spent until approved.

Mechanical Effects

• Create a Custom Origin(20): A character can spend 20 of their Prestige Score to design a custom Origin that can then be taken as an option for characters within the world. The Origin must go through the Balance Team for approval before it is released.
• Create a Custom Faction (10): A character can spend 10 of their Prestige Score to design a custom Faction of Rank 1 that they can lead or otherwise control, that other players can then join and work with or against. The Faction must go through the Balance Team for approval before it is released.
• Establish a Custom Kingdom (30): A character can spend 30 of their Prestige Score to design a custom Kingdom or Realm that they can lead or otherwise control, that other players can then join and work with or against, if this kingdom is to be placed in a region already occupied, the region's govenrment must give approval (ie making your character nobility and granting the land, or a civil war will occur if approved). A new realm created in this way begins with two Custom Origins tied to it. The Kingdom must go through the Balance Team for approval before it is released.
• Establish an Inheritance (10+): A character can spend 10 or more of their Prestige Score to assign a number of items or properties equal to their Prestige Modifier of the expended Prestige as inheritance of their heir, family, group, or otherwise faction. Such items or properties are given to the indicated group when this character is retired and the new character or group enters play.
• For example, if a character with 30 Prestige were to expend 20 of their Prestige to establish an inheritance, they could mark their Magical Longsword and their Castle property as Inheritance of their Heir. When this character retires, their Heir then gains access to these two items, assuming they are accessible at time of retirement, they are given directly to the Heir who can use them as they deem fit. An heir or group who inherits such items does not necessarily need to be the player's next character, it can be another player’s character or even a group, subject to DM discretion based on meta reasoning.

• Prestige Class: A character with a Prestige Score of 1 or higher is able to take levels within a Prestige class. Certain Prestige Classes may be locked behind a Prestige Modifier of a certain threshold, in such cases the character must have a Prestige Modifier equal to or higher than the classes indicated modifier to take levels or feats in that class.

• Reputation: A character’s Prestige Modifier is applied to any social checks to influence other characters of a lower Prestige score than themselves, the bonus given is equal to the difference in Prestige Modifier between the given characters.
• For example, if a character with a Prestige of 30 (+3), attempts to Persuade a lord with a Prestige of 16 (+1), the character would gain a +2 bonus on their Persuasion check against the lord; however, if the lord has a Prestige score of 30 (+3), no benefit would be acquired. Additionally, should the opposing lords Prestige be higher than the characters, the opposing Lord receives a bonus on their counter check or DC equal to the difference in their Prestige modifier.

• Training: A character’s Prestige Modifier is considered for a variety of Training options under the Training Rules.
• Unlock a locked Class (20): A character can spend 20 of their Prestige Score to unlock a currently locked custom Class, this class can then be taken as an option for characters within the world. Upon release the character that unlocked the class can immediately rebuild as many of their class levels into the unlocked class as they wish.
• Create a new Class (30): A character can spend 30 of their Prestige Score to design a custom Class that can then be taken as an option for characters within the world. The Class must go through the Balance Team for approval before it is released. Upon release the character that unlocked the class can immediately rebuild as many of their class levels into the unlocked class as they wish.
• Unlock a locked Species (15): A character can spend 15 of their Prestige Score to unlock a currently locked species that can then be taken as an option for characters within the world.
• Create a new Species (30): A character can spend 30 of their Prestige Score to design a custom Species that can then be taken as an option for characters within the world. The Species must go through the Balance Team for approval before it is released.
• Unlock a new Region (Varies): A character can spend their Prestige Score to unlock a currently locked region, opening it up for the greater living world. The cost of unlocking a region early is equal to 20 Prestige, with an additional 10 Prestige if the region is not adjacent to another unlocked region, and additional 30 Prestige if it is off planet.

Nom De Plumes

If a character successfully uses the Disguise Kit or illusion magic to mask their identity, activities performed in the disguise do not affect their Reputation, Influence or Prestige for good or ill, instead it impacts the disguise as if they were their own individual.