This is a very complicated case, Crokus. You know, a lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's. And, uh, lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Davis' head. Luckily I'm adhering to a pretty strict drug regimen to keep my mind, you know, limber.
Connections
| Description | Entity | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Friend | Pourrir | |||
Attributes
Merits
Contacts (CoD p50, 2 dots)
Law Enforcement, Local Elite
Contacts provide your character with information. Each dot in this Merit represents a sphere or organization with which the character can garner information. For example, a character with Contacts ••• might have Bloggers, Drug Dealers, and Financial Speculators for connections. Contacts do not provide services, only information. This may be face-to-face, via email, by telephone, or even by séance in some strange instances.
Garnering information via Contacts requires a Manipulation + Social Skill roll, depending on the method the character uses, and the relationship between the characters. The Storyteller should give a bonus or penalty, dependent on how relevant the information is to that particular Contact, whether accessing the information is dangerous, and if the character has maintained good relations or done favors for the Contact. These modifiers should range from -3 to +3 in most cases. If successful, the Contact provides the information.
One use of a Contact is to dig dirt on another character. A Contact can find another character’s Social Merits, and any relevant Conditions (Embarrassing Secret is a prime example.)
A character can have more than five Contacts, but the Merit’s rating is limited to five, for the purposes of Allies blocking.
Contacts provide your character with information. Each dot in this Merit represents a sphere or organization with which the character can garner information. For example, a character with Contacts ••• might have Bloggers, Drug Dealers, and Financial Speculators for connections. Contacts do not provide services, only information. This may be face-to-face, via email, by telephone, or even by séance in some strange instances.
Garnering information via Contacts requires a Manipulation + Social Skill roll, depending on the method the character uses, and the relationship between the characters. The Storyteller should give a bonus or penalty, dependent on how relevant the information is to that particular Contact, whether accessing the information is dangerous, and if the character has maintained good relations or done favors for the Contact. These modifiers should range from -3 to +3 in most cases. If successful, the Contact provides the information.
One use of a Contact is to dig dirt on another character. A Contact can find another character’s Social Merits, and any relevant Conditions (Embarrassing Secret is a prime example.)
A character can have more than five Contacts, but the Merit’s rating is limited to five, for the purposes of Allies blocking.
Fixer (CoD p51)
Your character is people that knows people. She can not only get in touch with the right people to do a job, but she can get them at the best possible prices. When hir- ing a service (see p. 100), reduce the Availability score of the service by one dot.
Resources (CoD p53, 2 dots)
This Merit reflects your character’s disposable in- come. She might live in an upscale condo, but if her income is tied up in the mortgage and child support payments, she might have little money to throw around. Characters are as- sumed to have basic necessities without Resources.
The dot rating determines the relative amount of dispos- able funding the character has available, depending on your particular chronicle’s setting. The same amount of money means completely different things in a game set in Silicon Valley compared to one set in the Detroit slums. One dot is a little spending money here and there. Two is a comfortable, middle class wage. Three is a nicer, upper middle class life. Four is moderately wealthy. Five is filthy rich.
Every item has an Availability rating. Once per chapter, your character can procure an item at her Resources level or lower, without issue. An item one Availability above her Resources reduces her effective Resources by one dot for a full month, since she has to rapidly liquidate funds. She can procure items two Availability below her Resources without limit (within reason). For example, a character with Resources •••• can procure as many Availability •• disposable cellphones as she needs.
The dot rating determines the relative amount of dispos- able funding the character has available, depending on your particular chronicle’s setting. The same amount of money means completely different things in a game set in Silicon Valley compared to one set in the Detroit slums. One dot is a little spending money here and there. Two is a comfortable, middle class wage. Three is a nicer, upper middle class life. Four is moderately wealthy. Five is filthy rich.
Every item has an Availability rating. Once per chapter, your character can procure an item at her Resources level or lower, without issue. An item one Availability above her Resources reduces her effective Resources by one dot for a full month, since she has to rapidly liquidate funds. She can procure items two Availability below her Resources without limit (within reason). For example, a character with Resources •••• can procure as many Availability •• disposable cellphones as she needs.
Status (CoD p54, 3 dots)
Law Enforcement
Your character has standing, membership, author- ity, control over, or respect from a group or organization. This can reflect official standing, or merely informal respect. No matter the source, your character enjoys certain privileges within that structure.
Each instance of this Merit reflects standing in a differ- ent group or organization. Your character may have Status (The Luck Gang) •••, Status (Drag Racing Circuit) ••, and Status (Police) •. Each affords its own unique benefits. As you increase dot ratings, your character rises in prominence in the relevant group.
Status only allows advantages within the confines of the group reflected in the Merit. Status (Organized Crime) won’t help if your character wants an official concealed carry firearms permit, for example.
Status provides a number of advantages:
First, your character can apply her Status to any Social roll with those over which she has authority or sway.
Second, she has access to group facilities, resources, and funding. Depending on the group, this could be limited by red tape and requisitioning processes. It’s also dependent on the resources the particular group has available.
Third, she has pull. If she knows a character’s Mentor, Resources, Retainer, Contacts, or Allies, she can block their usage. Once per chapter, she can stop a single Merit from being used, if it’s of a lower dot rating than her Status, and if it makes sense for her organization to obstruct that type of person’s behavior. In our Organized Crime example, if your character knows that the chief of police has Contacts (Criminal Informant), you may opt to block usage by threat- ening the informant into silence.
Drawback: Status requires upkeep, and often regular du- ties. If these duties are not upheld, the Status may be lost. The dots will not be accessible until the character re-establishes her standing. In our Organized Crime example, your character may be expected to pay protection money, offer tribute to a higher authority, or undertake felonious activities.
Your character has standing, membership, author- ity, control over, or respect from a group or organization. This can reflect official standing, or merely informal respect. No matter the source, your character enjoys certain privileges within that structure.
Each instance of this Merit reflects standing in a differ- ent group or organization. Your character may have Status (The Luck Gang) •••, Status (Drag Racing Circuit) ••, and Status (Police) •. Each affords its own unique benefits. As you increase dot ratings, your character rises in prominence in the relevant group.
Status only allows advantages within the confines of the group reflected in the Merit. Status (Organized Crime) won’t help if your character wants an official concealed carry firearms permit, for example.
Status provides a number of advantages:
First, your character can apply her Status to any Social roll with those over which she has authority or sway.
Second, she has access to group facilities, resources, and funding. Depending on the group, this could be limited by red tape and requisitioning processes. It’s also dependent on the resources the particular group has available.
Third, she has pull. If she knows a character’s Mentor, Resources, Retainer, Contacts, or Allies, she can block their usage. Once per chapter, she can stop a single Merit from being used, if it’s of a lower dot rating than her Status, and if it makes sense for her organization to obstruct that type of person’s behavior. In our Organized Crime example, if your character knows that the chief of police has Contacts (Criminal Informant), you may opt to block usage by threat- ening the informant into silence.
Drawback: Status requires upkeep, and often regular du- ties. If these duties are not upheld, the Status may be lost. The dots will not be accessible until the character re-establishes her standing. In our Organized Crime example, your character may be expected to pay protection money, offer tribute to a higher authority, or undertake felonious activities.
Striking Looks (CoD p54, 1 dots)
Your character is stunning, alarming, command- ing, repulsive, threatening, charming, or otherwise worthy of attention. Determine how your character looks and how people react to that. For one dot, your character gets a +1 bo- nus on any Social rolls that would be influenced by his looks. For two dots, the benefit increases to +2. Depending on the particulars, this might influence Expression, Intimidation, Persuasion, Subterfuge, or other rolls.