Crimson
A World of Darkness
Vampire Chronicle
Influences
Mortal society builds on institutions. As humans raise their cities, they form
gatherings of expertise that are manipulated by the Cainites hiding in their midst. If you have Influence, you can sway the direction of some areas of mortal society, pushing cities to grow as you direct. Your Influence can be used to strike indirectly at your foes while protecting your own assets, or to gain information and special resources.
Influence comes in many different areas. You must allocate Traits separately
to each Influence; thus, if you have Legal x 4, you could still have Police x3 independently but you would have to spend the Traits for each.
You cannot manage more Influence than the sum of your permanent Physical,
Social and Mental Traits combined. This limit counts against all of your
total Influence — your combined levels cannot exceed this total. After all, there
are only so many things you can do in a night.
When you exercise Influence, you expend temporary Influence Traits. The
tables for various Influence areas detail what you can do with a specific number of Traits. Performing an action requires a number of Traits equal to the level of the action; you must use three Traits to perform an action listed at the third level of an Influence chart, for instance. Thus, with high levels of Influence, you can perform many small actions, or a few significant ones.
Certain levels of Influence gift you with items, money or aides. Unlike the Resources Background, money and equipment garnered with Influence does not come automatically each month. If you want a steady income from Influence, you must direct your Influence in that direction continually, and this income does not come with any associated trappings of wealth (you’d have to buy a house and car
separately, for instance). Aides garnered with Influence generally help only for one specific task, and they usually only have the equivalent of one level of Ability in their area of skill — for more competent and readily available help, take Allies.
Most cities have only a set amount of Influence in various areas. For instance, Atlanta has a great deal of Transportation Influence, because it is a hub of travel, while Hollywood would have a lot of High Society and Media Influence. A Rust-Belt city where manufacturing and heavy industry has all but disappeared would have very little to no Industry Influence. Storytellers should map out the total amount of each type of Influence to be had in the city. Once all of the Influence of a given type is used up, the only way to get more is to use Influence to grow that area of society (making new projects or sponsoring investment), to destroy someone else’s Influence and thus free up those resources, or to acquire an adversary’s Influence in an area. Also, each city may have different reflections of the Influences listed here. A city with a thriving independent film community is going to have a different picture of Media or High Society than a city where the arts are being literally starved out due to budget cuts.
Each area of Influence has its own description. Elder vampires may possess truly far-reaching Influence, giving them the power to exert control beyond the levels included here.
Bureaucracy
You can manage various government agencies and bureaus. By dealing with social
programs and public servants, you can spin red tape, bypass rules and regulations or twist
bureaucratic regimentation to your advantage. Bureaucracy is useful in operating or shutting
down businesses, faking or acquiring permits and identification papers and manipulating
public utilities and facilities. Government clerks at the city and county level, utility workers,
road crews, surveyors and other civil servants are potential contacts or allies.
Cost Effect
1 Trace utility bills
2 Fake a birth certificate or driver’s license
Disconnect a single small residence’s utilities
Close a small road or park
Get public aid ($250)
3 Fake a death certificate, passport or green card
Close a public school for a single day
Shut down a minor business on a violation
4 Initiate a phone tap
Fake land deeds
Initiate a department-wide investigation
5 Start, stop or alter a city-wide program or policy
Shut down a big business on a violation
Rezone areas
Obliterate records of a person on a city or county level
Church
Though the modern church has arguably less control over temporal society than
it did in the Middle Ages, its policies still exert considerable influence over the direction
of politics and communities. Knowing the appropriate people allows insight into
many mainstream religions, such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Shinto
or Buddhism (fringe or alternative groups, such as Scientology, are considered Occult).
When you exercise Church Influence, you can change religious policy, affect the assignment
of clergy and access a variety of lore and resources. Contacts and allies affected
by Church Influence would include ministers, priests, bishops, Church-sponsored
witch-hunters, holy orders and various attendees and assistants.
Cost Effect
1 Identify most secular members of a given faith in the local area
Pass as a member of the clergy
Peruse general church records (baptism, marriage, burial, etc.)
2 Identify higher church members
Track regular church members
Suspend lay members
3 Open or close a single church
Find the average church-associated hunter
Dip into the collection plate ($250)
Access private information and archives of a church
4 Discredit or suspend high-level church members
Manipulate regional branches of the church
5 Organize major protests
Access ancient church lore and knowledge
Finance
Manipulating markets, stock reports and investments is a hobby of many Cainites,
especially those who use their knowledge to keep hidden wealth. Though your
actual available money is a function of your Resources, you can use Finance Influence
to start or smother businesses, crush or support banking institutions and alter
credit records. Clearly, such power over money is not to be trifled with — fortunes
are made and destroyed with this sort of pull. CEOs, bankers, stockbrokers, bank
tellers, yes-men, financiers and loan agents are found among such work.
Cost Effect
1 Learn about major transactions and financial events
Raise capital ($1,000)
Learn about general economic trends
Learn real motivations for many financial actions of others
2 Trace an unsecured small account
Raise capital to purchase a small business (single, small store)
3 Purchase a large business (a few small branches or a single large store or service)
4 Manipulate local banking (delay deposits, some credit rating alterations)
Ruin a small business
5 Control an aspect of city-wide banking (shut off ATMs, arrange a bank “holiday”)
Ruin a large business
Purchase a major company
Health
Some vampires rely on connections in the medical community to acquire blood.
Necromancers and practitioners of arcane arts may also require body parts or medical
data to further their studies. Furthermore, maintaining the Masquerade often calls for
alteration of medical records or faking of particular diseases; some Cainites even specialize
in the study of blood-borne ailments. All of these sorts of research and development
fall under the purview of Health Influence. Coroners, doctors, lab workers, therapists,
pharmacists and specialists are just a few of the folks found in this field.
Cost Effect
1 Access a person’s health records
Fake vaccination records and the like
Use public functions of health centers at your leisure
Get a single Blood Trait of mortal blood
2 Access some medical research records
Have minor lab work done
Get a copy of a coroner’s report
Instigate minor quarantines
3 Corrupt results of tests or inspections
Alter medical records
4 Acquire a body
Completely rewrite medical records
Abuse grants for personal use ($250)
Have minor medical research performed on a subject
Institute large-scale quarantines
Shut down businesses for “health code violations”
5 Have special research projects performed
Have people institutionalized or released
High Society
The glitterati at the top of society move in circles of wealth and elegance.
Many Kindred find such positions alluring, and they indulge in the passions of
the famous and wealthy. Access to famous actors, celebrities and the idle rich
grants a certain sway over fashion trends. Combined with Fame, a modicum of
High Society Influence turns a vampire into a debonair darling of the most exclusive
social circles. Among these circles, one finds dilettantes, artists of almost
any stripe, old money families, models, rock stars, sports figures and jetsetters.
Cost Effect
1 Learn what is trendy
Obtain hard-to-get tickets for shows
Learn about concerts, shows or plays well before they are made public
2 Track most celebrities and luminaries
Be a local voice in the entertainment field
“Borrow” idle cash from rich friends ($1,000)
3 Crush promising careers
Hobnob well above your station
4 Minor celebrity status
5 Get a brief appearance on a talk show that’s not about to be canceled
Ruin a new club, gallery, festival or other posh gathering
Industry
The grinding wheels of labor fuel the economies and markets of the world.
Machines, factories and blue-collar workers line up in endless drudgery, churning out
the staples of everyday living. Control over Industry Influence sways the formation of
unions, the movements of work projects, locations for factories and the product of
manufacturing concerns. Union workers, foremen, engineers, construction workers,
manual laborers and all manner of blue-collar workers exist among these ranks.
Cost Effect
1 Learn about industrial projects and movements
2 Have minor projects performed
Dip into union funds or embezzle petty cash ($500)
Arrange small accidents or sabotage
3 Organize minor strikes
Appropriate machinery for a short time
4 Close down a small plant
Revitalize a small plant
5 Manipulate large local industry
Legal
Since many of the operations that Cainites undertake are at least marginally illegal,
a good amount of sway over judges and lawyers is indispensable. Those Kindred
who dabble in law often pull strings in the courts to make sure that the questionable
practices of Cainite society go unnoticed and unpunished. Of course, a little Legal
Influence is also excellent for harassing an enemy’s assets, too. Such Influence ranges
from law schools and firms, to lawyers, judges, DAs, clerks and public defenders.
Cost Effect
1 Get free representation for minor cases
2 Avoid bail for some charge
Have minor charges dropped
3 Manipulate legal procedures (minor wills and contracts, court dates)
Access public or court funds ($250)
Get representation in most court cases
4 Issue subpoenas
Tie up court cases
Have most legal charges dropped
Cancel or arrange parole
5 Close down all but the most serious investigations
Have deportation proceedings held against someone
Media
Directing media attention away from vampire activities is a key component of
the Masquerade. Putting specific emphasis on certain events can place an enemy in
an uncomfortable spotlight or discredit a rival. With Media, you can crush or alter
news stories, control the operations of news stations and reporters and sway public
opinion, with DJs, editors of all varieties, reporters, cameramen, photographers
and broadcasters at your disposal. At Storyteller discretion, Media Influence may
also allow access to the more technical areas of television, radio or movies.
Cost Effect
1 Learn about breaking stories early
Submit small articles (within reason)
2 Suppress (but not stop) small articles or reports
Get hold of investigative reporting information
3 Initiate news investigations and reports
4 Get project funding and waste it ($250)
Ground stories and projects
5 Broadcast fake stories (local only)
Kill small local articles or reports completely
Occult
The hidden world of the supernatural teems with secrets, conspiracies and unusual
factions. Obviously, a vampire is aware that there are strange things out there by dint
of his very existence (after all, if vampires exist…), but hard knowledge of such things
is a function of Abilities. By using Occult Influence, you can dig up information to
improve your knowledge, get inside the occult community and find rare components
for magical rituals. Even parts of the elusive Book of Nod are available to those with
the right connections. Cult leaders, alternative religious groups, charlatans, occultists,
New Agers and a few more dangerous elements can be found here.
Cost Effect
1 Contact and make use of common occult groups and their practices
Know some of the more visible occult figures
2 Know and contact some of themore obscure occult figures
Access resources for most rituals and rites
3 Know the general vicinity of certain supernatural
entities and (possibly) contact them
Access vital or rare material components
Milk impressionable wannabes for bucks ($250)
Access occult tomes and writings
Research a Basic ritual from your sect
4 Research an Intermediate ritual from your sect
5 Access minor magic items
Unearth an Advanced ritual from your sect
Police
“To protect and serve” is the motto of the police, but these days, Kindred and kine alike
may have cause to wonder who is being protected and served. That said, Police Influence
can be very handy to assist with the Masquerade, to protect one’s holdings or to raid the
assets of another. After all, attitude won’t save the anarchs whose haven is the target of a
daylight raid. Police of all ranks, detectives, clerical staff, dispatchers, prison guards, special
divisions (such as SWAT or homicide) and local highway patrol make up these ranks.
Cost Effect
1 Learn police procedures
Hear police information and rumors
Avoid traffic tickets
2 Have license plates checked
Avoid minor violations (first conviction)
Get “inside information”
3 Get copies of an investigation report
Have police hassle, detain or harass someone
Find bureau secrets
4 Access confiscated weapons or contraband
Have some serious charges dropped
Start an investigation
Get money, either from the evidence room or as an appropriation ($1,000)
5 Institute major investigations
Arrange setups
Instigate bureau investigations
Have officers fired
Political
Deal-making is second nature to most vampires, so they can get along very well
with other bloodsuckers — that is, politicians. Altering party platforms, controlling local
elections, changing appointed offices and calling in favors all falls under the purview of
Political Influence. Well-timed blackmail, bribery, spin doctoring or any sundry tricks are
stock in trade on both sides of this fence. Some of the likely contacts and allies include
pollsters, lobbyists, activists, party members, spin doctors and politicians from rural
zoning committees to the mayors of major cities or Congressional representatives.
Cost Effect
1 Minor lobbying
Identify real platforms of politicians and parties
Be in the know
2 Meet small-time politicians
Garner inside information on processes, laws and the like
Use a slush fund or fund-raiser ($1,000)
3 Sway or alter political projects (local parks, renovations, small construction)
4 Enact minor legislation
Dash careers of minor politicians
5 Get your candidate in a minor office
Enact encompassing legislature
Street
Ignored and often spat on by their “betters,” those in the dark alleys and slums have
created their own culture to deal with life and any outsiders who might come calling.
When calling on Street Influence, you use your connections on the underside of the city
to find the homeless, gang members of all sorts, street buskers, petty criminals, prostitutes,
residents of the slums or barrios, and fringe elements of so-called “deviant” cultures.
Cost Effect
1 Open an ear for the word on the street
Identify most gangs and know their turfs and habits
2 Live mostly without fear on the underside of society
Keep a contact or two in most aspects of street life
Access small-time contraband
3 Get insight into other areas of Influence
Arrange some services from street people or gangs
Get pistols or uncommon melee weapons
4 Mobilize groups of homeless
Panhandle or hold a “collection” ($250)
Get hold of a shotgun, rifle or SMG
Have a word in almost all aspects of gang operations
5 Control a single medium-sized gang
Arrange impressive protests by street people
Transportation
Most Cainites make their havens in defensible parts of cities. Traveling across
the wilderness is difficult, with the problems of daylight and marauding Lupines.
Without this Influence, the vampiric world shrinks into islands of “civilization” with
dangerous wastelands in between. Getting access to special supplies and services can
also take a measure of Transportation. All these things can be controlled with a bit of
sway over truckers, harbors, railroads, airports, taxis, border guards, pilots and untold
hundreds, as well as more mundane aspects like shipping and travel arrangements.
Cost Effect
1 Know what goes where, when and why
Travel locally quickly and freely
2 Track an unwary target if he uses public transportation
Arrange passage safe (or at least concealed) from
mundane threats (robbery, terrorism, sunlight, etc.)
3 Seriously hamper an individual’s ability to travel
Avoid most supernatural dangers when traveling
(such as Lupines)
4 Shut down one form of transportation (bus lines, ships, planes, trains, etc.) temporarily
Route money your way ($500)
5 Reroute major modes of travel
Smuggle with impunity
Underworld
The world of crime offers lucrative possibilities to strong-willed or subtle leaders.
Guns, money, drugs and vice — such delicious pastimes can be led by anyone talented
or simply vicious enough to take them. Underworld Influence lets you call on such
favors for all manner of illegal dealings, and its ranks are filled by the Mafia, La Cosa
Nostra, drug dealers, bookies, Yakuza, tongs, hitmen, fences and criminal gangs.
Cost Effect
1 Locate minor contraband (knives, small-time drugs,
petty gambling, scalped tickets)
2 Obtain pistols, serious drugs, stolen cars
Hire muscle to rough someone up
Fence stolen loot
Prove that crime pays (and score $1,000)
3 Obtain a rifle, shotgun or SMG
Arrange a minor “hit”
Meet someone in “the Family”
4 Make white-collar crime connections
5 Arrange gangland assassinations
Hire a demolition man or firebug
Supply local drug needs
University
Institutions of learning and research are the purview of the University Influence.
Access to the halls of learning can help you with any number of resources, from
ancient languages to research assistance to many impressionable young minds. School
boards, students from kindergarten through college, graduate students, professors,
teachers, deans, Greek orders and a variety of staff fill the ivy-covered halls.
Cost Effect
1 Know layout and policy of local schools
Have access to low-level university resources
Get records up to the high school level
2 Know a contact or two with useful knowledge or Abilities
Have minor access to facilities
Fake high school records
Obtain college records
3 Call in faculty favors
Cancel a class
Fix grades
Discredit a student
4 Organize student protests and rallies
Discredit faculty members
5 Falsify an undergraduate degree