I am posting the Influence rules here. It costs one 'freebie' point per 'dot' of Influence in each Influence area. Influence Influence is the mechanism by which Kindred control the daily affairs of the innumerable hordes of kine for their often inscrutable reasons. It may take the form of contacts, allies or direct control of a mortal agency. In a practical sense, Influence can make almost any Kindred's life easier. It can be used to protect one's haven, hunting habits or illegal activities, not to mention the power it can levy against one's foes—or fellow Kindred. Characters may expend Influence Traits to accomplish goals relating to a specific aspect of mortal society. Many Influences, such as Street and Underworld, perform similar functions, but generally one will be more efficient at performing the task in question. Set by the Storyteller, the difficulty of a task equals the number of Traits that must be expended to accomplish the task, and can be subject to sudden change depending upon circumstance. The suggested guideline listed along with each area of Influence can change dramatically between chronicles or even between sessions. After all, you may not be the only Kindred attempting to Influence something. Sometimes a Narrator will require a challenge of some sort to represent the uncertainty or added difficulty involved when exercising Influence. Some uses of Influence may not actually cost Influence to use, but rather require that the Kindred simply possess a certain level of the Influence in question. To use Influence actively, you should explain to the Narrator what sort effect you wish to create. The Narrator then decides the Trait cost, the time involved (both real and in-game) and any tests required to achieve the Influence effect. Influence Traits used this way are temporarily considered to have been expended and are not recovered until the next session. The effects of using Influence can be instantaneous and brief, or slow to manifest and permanent, depending on the nature of the manipulation and the degree of power the character wields. Sometimes players will want to perform actions that do not seem to fall under any single Influence group, or which may require the use of multiple Influences. Say a Toreador Ancilla wants to open the premier nightclub in her city. Obviously, she will need Finance, but High Society and Media might be useful to stimulate interest and promote the club as something really spectacular. Furthermore, what if the area targeted for her venture is not zoned for clubs? Bureaucracy could be useful in changing zoning, not to mention in acquiring the proper licenses and permits. Therefore, in certain cases, a Storyteller may decide that two or more types of Influence are necessary to accomplish a goal. Not only is this more realistic, but it also encourages characters to interact more widely than they might have otherwise in order to obtain the Influence they need. Sometimes characters may wish to try to counter act the Influence of other characters. In such cases, it generally cost one Trait per Trait being countered. The Kindred willing to expend the most Influence Traits (assuming she has them to spend) achieves her goal; all Traits used in this sort of conflict are considered expended. An example would be if one Kindred was trying to get a story published in the newspaper as another was trying to squelch it. In practice, the use of Influence is never instantaneous and rarely expedient. While a character may be able to, say, condemn any building in the city, it will not be torn down that night. For sake of game flow, a Storyteller may allow trivial uses of Influence to only take half an hour. Major manipulations, on the other hand, can become the center of ongoing plots requiring several sessions to bring to fruition. The guidelines below by no means limit the number of Influence Traits that can be spent at one time or the degree of change a character may bring about. They are merely an advisory measure to help Storytellers adjudicate the costs of certain actions. Actions followed by an asterisk ( * ) below indicate that their effects can generally be accomplished without expending an Influence Trait. Time Limits Obviously, an unwise Kindred can find his Influences tied up in the hands of others for a long time if he is not careful. Bureaucracy The organizational aspects of local, state or even federal government fall within the character's sphere of control. She can bend and twist the tangle of rules and regulations that seem necessary to run our society as she sees fit. The character may have contacts or allies among government clerks, supervisors, utility workers, road crews, surveyors and numerous other civil servants. COST: DESIRED EFFECT: 1 Trace utility bills* 2 Fake a birth certificate or driver's license Disconnect a 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 Turn a single utility on a block on or off 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 and county level 6 Arrange a fixed audit of a person or business Church Even churches are not without politics and intrigue upon which an opportunistic Kindred may capitalize. Church Influence usually only applies to mainstream faiths, such as Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and the Islamic faith. Sometimes other practices fall under the Occult Influence. Contacts and allies affected by Church Influence include: ministers, bishops, priests, activists, evangelists, witch-hunters, nuns and various church attendees and assistants. COST: Desired 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 congregation members; Suspend lay members 3 Open or close a single church; Dip into the collection ($250) Find the average church-associated hunter Access to private information and archives of church 4 Discredit or suspend higher-level members Manipulate regional branches 5 Organize major protests; Access ancient church lore 6 Borrow or access church relics or sacred items 7 Use the resources of a Diocese Finance The world teems with the trappings of affluence and the stones of the rich and famous. Kindred with the Finance Influence speak this language of money and know where to find capital. They ha ve a degree of access to banks, megacorporations and the truly wealthy citizens of the world. Such characters also have a wide variety of servants to draw upon, such as CEOs, bankers, corporate yes-men, financiers, bank tellers, stock brokers and loan agents . COST: Desired Effect: 1 Earn money; learn about major transactions and financial events Raise capital ($1,000); Learn about general economic trends* Learn real motivations for many financial actions of o thers 2 Trace an unsecured small account Raise capital to purchase a small business 3 Purchase a large business 4 Manipulate local banking (delay deposits, credit alterations) Ruin a small business 5 Control an aspect of citywide banking (shut off ATMs) Ruin a large business; Purchase a major company 6 Spark an economic trend Health: In our modem world, a myriad of organizations and resources exists to deal with every mortal ache an ill, at least in theory. The network of health agencies, hospitals, asylums and medical groups is subject to exploitation by a Kindred with Health Influence. Nurses, doctors, specialists, lab workers, therapists, counselors and pharmacists are just a few of the workers within the health field. COST: Desired Effect: 1 Access a person's health records* Use public functions of health centers at your leisure Fake vaccination records and the like; Get a Blood Point 2 Access to some medical research records Have minor lab work done; Get a copy of coroner's report 3 Instigate minor quarantines Corrupt results of tests or inspections; Alter medical records 4 Acquire a body; Completely rewrite medical records Abuse grants for personal use ($250) Institute large scale quarantines Shut down businesses for "health code violations" 5 Have special research projects performed Have people institutionalized or released High Society An elite clique of mortals exists that, by virtue of birth, possessions, talent or quirks of fate, hold themselves above the great unwashed masses. High Society allows the character to direct and use the energies and actions of this exceptional mass of mortals. Among their ranks, one can find dilettantes, the old rich, movie and rock stars, artists of all sorts, wannabes, fashion models and trend setters. COST DESIRED EFFECT 1 Learn what is trendy * Learn about concerts, shows or plays well before the public * Obtain hard-to-get tickets for shows 2 Track most celebrities and luminaries Be a local voice in the entertainment field "Borrow" $1,000 as idle cash from rich friends 3 Crush promising careers Hobnob well above your station * 4 Minor celebrity status 5 Appear on a talk show that's not about to be canceled Ruin a new club, gallery, festival or other high society gathering Industry The dark world of the Gothic-Punk milieu is built by pumping and grinding machinery and the toil of endless laborers . A character with the Industry Influence has her ashen fingers in this pie. Industry is composed of union workers, foremen, engineers, contractors, construction workers and manual laborers. Cost Desired Effect : 1 Learn about industrial projects and movements * 2 Have minor projects performed; Arrange small "accidents" Dip into union funds or embezzle petty cash ($500) 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 6 Cut off production of a single resource in a small region Legal The Kindred presence is even present in the hallowed halls of justice and the courts, law schools, law firms and justice bureaus within them. Inhabiting these halls are lawyers, judges, bailiffs, clerks, DAs and attorneys. Cost Desired Effect 1 Get free representation for small cases 2 Avoid bail for some charges; Have minor charges dropped 3 Manipulate legal procedures (small wills, minor contracts, cour t dates) Access public or court funds ($250); Get good representation 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 The media ser ves as the eyes and ears of the world. While few in this day and age doubt that the news is not corrupted, many would be surprised at who closes these eyes and covers these ears from time to time. The media entity is composed of station directions, editors, reporters, anchors, camera people, photographers and radio personalities COST DESIRED 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 Get project funding and waste it ($250) Access media production resources; Ground stories and projects 4 Broadcast fake stories (local only) Occult Most people are curious about the supernatural world and the various groups and beliefs that make up the occult world but few consider it anything but a hoax a diversion or a curiosity. They could not be farther from the truth. This Influence more than any other hits the Kindred close to home and could very well bring humanity to its senses about just who and what shares this world with them Among the occult community are cult leaders alternative religious groups charlatans would be occultists and New Agers COST DESIRED EFFECT 1 Contact and use common occult groups practices Know some of the more visible occult figures 2 Know and contact some of the more obscure Occult figures Access resources for most rituals and rites 3 Know the general vicinity of certain supernatural entities and possibly contact them Can access vital or very rare material components Milk impressionable wannabes for bucks $250 Access occult tomes and writings “part of an alleged Book of Nod” Research a Basic Ritual 4 Research an Intermediate Ritual 5 Access minor magic items Unearth an Advanced Ritual 6 Research a new or unheard of ritual or rite from tomes or mentors Police To protect and ser vers is a popular motto among the chosen enforcers of the laws But these days even those ignorant of Kindred have reason to doubt the laws ability to enact justice . Perhaps they should wonder whom the law defends whom it serves and why . The Police Influence encompasses the likes of beat cops ,desk jockeys, prison guards, special divisions ( such as SWAT and homicide), de tectives and various clerical positions. Cost Desired Effect 1 Learn police procedures * Police information and rumors* Avoid traffic tickets 2 Have license plates checked* Avoid minor violations Get Inside informational 3 Find bureau secrets* Get copies of an investigation report Have police hassles detain or harass someone 4 Access confiscated weapons or contraband Start an investigation Get money, either from evidence room or as an appropriation ($1,000) Have some serious charges dropped 5 Institute major investigations; Arrange setups Instigate bureau investigations; Have officers fired 6 Paralyze departments for a time; Close down an investigation Politics It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If this is so, the movers and shakers among the Kindred should be quite taken by the artful and cut-throat antics of their mortal counterparts in the field of politics. Some of these individuals include statesmen, pollsters, activists, party members, lobbyists, candidates and the politicians themselves. Cost Desired Effect 1 Minor lobbying Identify real platforms of politicians and parties * Be in the know * 2 Meet small time politicians; Have a forewarning of processes, and laws Use a slush fund or fund raiser ($1,000) 3 Sway or alter political projects (local parks, renovations) 4 Enact minor legislation; Dash careers of minor politicians 5 Get your candidate in a minor office Enact more encompassing legislature 6 Block the passage of major bills; Suspend major laws temporarily Use state bureaus or subcommittees 7 Usurp countywide politics Subvert, to a moderate degree, statewide powers 8 Call out a local division of the National Guard Declare a state of emergency in a region Street Disenchanted, disenfranchised and ignored by their "betters," an undercurrent of humanity has made its own culture and lifestyle to deal with the harsh lot life has dealt them. In the dark alleys and slums reside gang members, the homeless, street performers, petty criminals, prostitutes and the forgotten. Cost: Desired Effect 1 Has an ear open 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 Often gets insight on other areas of influence Arrange some services from street people or gangs Get pistols or uncommon melee weapons 4 Mobilize groups of homeless; Panhandle $250 Can have a word in almost all aspects of gang operations Get hold of a shotgun, rifle or SMG 5 Control a single medium-sized gang Transportation The world is in constant motion, its prosperity relying heavily on the fact that people and productions fly, float or roll to and from every corner of the planet. Without the means to perform this monumental task, our "small" world quickly returns to a daunting orb with large, isolated stretches. The forces that keep this circulation in motion include: cab and bus drivers, pilots, air traffic controllers, travel firms, sea cap tains, conductors, border guards and untold others. Cost: Desired Effect 1 A wizard at what goes where, when and why Can travel locally quickly and freely * 2 Can track an unwary target if they use public transportation Arrange passage safe from mundane threats (sunlight, etc.) 3 Seriously hamper an individual's ability to travel Avoid most supernatural dangers when tra veling 4 Temporarily shut down one form of mass transit. Route money your way ($500) 5 Reroute major modes of tra vel; Smuggle with impunity 6 Extend control to nearby areas 7 Isolate small or remote regions for a short period Underworld Even in the most cosmopolitan of ages, society has found certain needs and services too questionable to accept, and in every age , some organized effort has stepped in to provide for this demand regardless of the risks. Among this often ruthless and dangerous crowd are the likes of hitmen, Mafia, Yakuza, bookies, fencers and launderers. Cost: Desired Effect 1 Locate minor contraband (knives, small-time drugs, etc.) 2 Obtain pistols, serious drugs, stolen cars, etc. Hire muscle to rough someone up Fence minor loot; Prove that crime pays (and score $1,000) 3 Obtain rifle, shotgun or SMG; Arrange a minor "boost" 4 White-collar crime connections 5 Arrange gangland assassinations; Hire a hitman or firebug Supply local drug needs University [ ? ] In an age where the quest for learning and knowledge begins in schools, colleges and universities, information becomes currency. University Influence represents a certain degree of control and perhaps involvement in these institutions. Within this sphere of Influence, one will find the teachers, professors, deans, students of all ages and levels, Greek orders and many young and impressionable minds. Cost: Desired Effect 1 Know layout and policy of local schools * Access to low level university resources Get records up to the high school level 2 Know a contact or two with useful knowledge or skills Minor access to facilities; Fake high school records Obtain college records 3 Faculty favors; Cancel a class; Fix grades Discredit a student 4 Organize student protests and rallies Discredit faculty members Acquire money through a grant ($1,000) 5 Falsify an undergraduate deg ree 6 Arrange major projects Alter curriculum institution-wide Free run of facilities