Post/Author/DateTime	Post
fatal error 08-13-06, 05:36 PM	This is mostly derived from the Star Wars Roleplaying Game (3rd edition), which I find has one of the best interpretations of the Reputation system. Because this is meant for use in a city campaign, there are no ranges listed, though those always tend to be subjective and campaign setting based anyway. Reputation and Sympathy In a city as laced with intrigue and politic as Kalnath it can be vitally important to know whether a given person knows of you. Thus, characters adventuring in Kalnath gain reputation and sympathy scores depending on their actions. Both statistics are similar, but where reputation is general fame or infamy in the city, sympathy is a measure of one’s standing to the myriad of guilds in the city. Reputation A character’s possible fame, infamy, renown, glory and influence in the city of Kalnath are all represented in his Reputation score. Because famous people, even those know for their infamy, can usually get what they want out of ‘commoners’ easier than those without such renown, a character’s Reputation score acts as a bonus in social situations. A famous character automatically adds his Reputation score to all Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information and Perform checks, and half his Reputation score to all Intimidate checks. An Infamous character adds his full reputation score to Intimidate but only half his score to Diplomacy. A, famous or infamous, character also automatically subtracts his Reputation score from all disguise checks, since it’s easier to recognize a famous person. A successfully disguised character also gains no bonuses to social skills for his Reputation, since no one knows who he actually is. For example, Gilthros the bard has a Reputation score of +2. When he attempts to negotiate getting into the King’s Court as a musician to covertly investigate an assassination plot, he gains a +2 to his Diplomacy check because of his Reputation. Gaining Reputation A character can gain Reputation by performing high profile actions, whether it be dramatically saving the King’s life in a duel wit assassins in the King’s Court itself, or perhaps merely becoming head entertainer at the Feirwyn Estate. Obviously the former would be worth more Reputation, but both would probably award some, even if only one-half of a point. For example, Gilthros the bard has a Reputation score of +3 before concluding his latest adventure. However, his latest adventure ended with a daring duel of spells and swords around the balconies of the King’s Court, a spectacular rescue of the King indeed! Thus, Gilthros gains +1 to his Reputation score, bringing it to +4. Fame and Infamy The question of whether a person is viewed as famous or infamous is an important one for many encounters. Generally, whenever a character gains a point (or fraction of a point) of Reputation it is either Fame or Infamy. Whether a character is considered Famous or Infamous is determined by what the last point of Reputation he gained was. Public opinion sure can change quick! For example, Gilthros the bard is famous and has a Reputation score of +2. However, when Gilthros winds up alone with the corpse of a Cardhi Prince as the assassin vanishes into the streets, his public image is dragged through the mud in the following investigation. Though Gilthros justly avoids jail or execution, the people only remember the accusation, while he gains ½ point of Reputation, it is Infamy. And thus Gilthros is now considered Infamous until he does something to warrant the attention of the people again. Sympathy In Kalnath some of a character’s fame and influence is represented by his Reputation score. How well known he is and what he is known for can give him bonuses or penalties on skills like Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Intimidate, Perform and Disguise. Sympathy, on the other hand, determines how strongly affiliated a character is with a given guild. The high the Sympathy rating the more the character is trusted and the more aid that guild will offer him. Gaining Sympathy Normally, character gains a point of Sympathy whenever he completes an adventure, though modifying this rate of gain up or down won’t break anything. The player can apply that point of Sympathy to any of the factions with which she interacted positively during the adventure. Each player needs to keep track of his Sympathy bonuses for each faction with which he has Sympathy. Sympathy works the same as, and stacks with, Reputation. Whenever a character interacts with a member of a faction with which he has Sympathy and would normally get to add his Reputation bonus to a roll, he can also add his Sympathy bonus. For example, Haderon the smuggler has a Reputation bonus of +2. He has just completed his first Shadow Silk contract for the Thurizahd Family, and he gains a Sympathy point, He dealt positively with the Thurizahd Family, so he decides to apply this point of Sympathy to that faction. He can now add his +1 Sympathy bonus as well as his Reputation bonus to Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Intimidate and Perform checks when dealing with members or representatives of the Thurizahd Family. Haderon now has a +3 total bonus. Intimidate interacts differently with Reputation, and this difference applies to Sympathy as well. Characters with a bad reputation (such as characters with the Infamy feat) add the full Reputation bonus, and thus the full Sympathy bonus, to Intimidate checks. Characters who are not considered infamous only add half their combined reputation and Sympathy bonuses, rounded down. For example, Haderon tries to browbeat a Thurizahd clerk. But Haderon has a fairly good public image (he’s not infamous), so his combined reputation and Sympathy bonus of +3 is halved to +1.5, rounded down to +1. Haderon adds only a +1 to his Intimidate check against the clerk. Conflicting Sympathies Characters can develop Sympathy for more than one faction-and sometimes these Sympathies conflict. What happens when a character has, for example, Sympathies for both the Union of Free Masons and the Lords’ Alliance of Kalnath? When the DM judges that a conflict of interest exists-for example, the character is negotiating to buy masterfully crafted dwarven weapons from the Union of Free Masons, which may or may not be intended to be sold to the Lords’ Alliance-apply the appropriate Sympathy as a penalty. In effect, the difference between the two Sympathies is the total modifier. For example, Haderon has developed a good working relationship with both the Union of Free Masons and the Lords’ Alliance of Kalnath. He has a +2 Sympathy bonus for the Union, and a +4 Sympathy bonus for the Lords’ Alliance. When dealing with the Lords’ Alliance in matters involving the Union, he gains only a +2 (+4 Lords’ Alliance Sympathy, minus +2 Union Sympathy). Conversely, when dealing with the Union in matters involving the Lords’ Alliance. Haderon suffers a -2 penalty (+2 Union Sympathy, minus +4 Lords’ Alliance Sympathy). If Haderon were trying to use Intimidate, though, remember that the total bonus provided by his Reputation and Sympathy is halved (giving him a +1 bonus for dealing with the Lords’ Alliance, and a -1 penalty for dealing with the Union). Losing Sympathy Sympathy bonuses are not permanent, like Reputation bonuses are. Characters can lose Sympathy bonuses with a faction in two different ways: by overtly working against the faction, or by neglecting the faction. Betrayal When a character works against a faction with whom he has Sympathy, a the end of the adventure he automatically loses a point of Sympathy with that faction. For example, a character with Silk Coast Trade Guild Sympathy who hijacks a Silk Coast merchant ship during an adventure loses one point of Sympathy with the Silk Coast Trade Guild. This Sympathy loss is cumulative. A character who actively opposes a faction multiple times in the same adventure can lose multiple Sympathy points. Sympathy scores can never drop below zero, however. Neglect When a character stops working with a faction, the faction begins to lose interest in working with the character. Every time a character advances a level the player rolls a d20 for each faction and adds the character’s Sympathy score for that faction. The player does not roll for the highest-rated one. The character’s highest Sympathy score sets the DC. (If two or more scores are tied for highest, the player chooses which one sets the DC; the player must then roll for the others.) If the check fails, the character loses a point of Sympathy for that faction. Highest Sympathy Score: DC: 1-2 5 3-4 10 5 15 For example, after an adventure, Haderon adds a point to his Lords’ Alliance Sympathy score, and advances a level. He now has a +5 House Thurizahd Sympathy, a +4 Lords’ Alliance Sympathy, and a +2 Union of Free Masons Sympathy. His Thurizahd Sympathy score sets the DC for the checks at 15. He rolls 1d20 ad adds +4 for his Lords’ Alliance Sympathy, and gets a 12, for a total of 16-just enough. He repeats the process for his Union Sympathy, and gets a 7, for a total of 9.-short of what he needs. Haderon loses a point of Union Sympathy, but maintains his good relations with the Lords’ Alliance. Joining a Faction A character can officially join a faction or guild. Doing so usually requires the organization’s approval, and such approval often only follows a period of observation or a test of loyalty, though can vary by who is recruiting or being recruited. There may be a minimum Sympathy requirement as well. Joining a faction offers a number of advantages. For starters, the character gains 1 point of Sympathy for that faction. Also, he can take faction-specific feats and prestige classes. However, there is a down side. When a character joins a faction he loses 1 point of Sympathy from all other faction with which he has Sympathy. A character can also only join one faction at a time and must leave his current faction before joining a different one. Leaving a faction often has its own set of disadvantages.
ToxicWiz 08-13-06, 05:50 PM	looks good to me... sorry but i'm blank on improvements. well done! :)