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Influences in the Wild West

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Influences in the Wild West Empty Influences in the Wild West

Post by Lena Sat Nov 01, 2014 2:26 pm

Influences in the Wild West

Bureaucracy

The organization aspects of local, state or even federal government are never far behing the advancing edges of the cities and they fall within the character's sphere of control. She can bend and twist the tangle of rules and regulation that seem necessary to run our society as she sees fit. The character may have contacts or allies among government clerks, surveying teams, road crews, surveyor and numerous other civil servants.

1. Trace a land deed; Alter minor paperwork
2. Fake a birth certificate or census form; Get public dispensation ($50)
3. Fake a death certificate; Close all schools in town for a single day; Shut down a minor business on a violation.
4. Fake land deeds; Tamper with serious paperwork; Institute minor false paperwork campaigns ("What's the new fangled cattle rancher's daughter tax!")
5. Start, stop or alter a city-wide program or policy; Shut down a big business on a violation; Redzone areas; Obliterate records of a person on a city and county level.
6. Change an area from "settled" to "frontier", or vice versa, in all official records.

Church

Even the wild lands of the Savage West have preachers tending to the flocks of the faithful who have traveled far from their homes, acting as spiritual guides and means of relief for the truly destitute. Not even churches are without politics and intrigue upon which an opportunistic person may capitalize, however, and the righteous passions of the faithful can often all too easily be twisted to less than pious endsby those who know how. Church Influence usually only applies to mainstream faiths; other practices somtimes fall under the Occult Influence. Contacts and allies affected by Church Influence include: ministers, priests, evangelists, witch-hunters, nuns, friars, and various church attendees and assistants.

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 members; Suspend lay members.
3. Open or close a single church; Find an average church-associated witch hunter; Dip into the collection plate ($25); Access the private information and archives of a church; Organize a vigil for a single event (funeral, protest, etc).
4. Discredit or suspend high-level members; Manipulate regional branches.
5. Organize major revivals; Access ancient church lore and knowledge.
6. Borrow or access church relics or sacred items.

Finance

Someone has to be on the other end of any good bank robbery, but there's more to money than having it stolen by men in masks. The world teems with the trappings of affluence and the notion of living high on the hog drives those in the grip of gold fever as they go west. Those with the Finance Influence speak the language of money and know where to find capital. They have a degree of access to banks, nationwide companies and the truly wealthy citizens of the world. Such characters also have a wide variety of servants to draw on, such as company presidents, bankers, investors, land barons, bank tellers, stock brokers and oan agents. Please not that in this day and age, however, most investors were quite exacting as to whom they lent money, much less authority; characters who are overly scruffy or have a drifter's air will seldom be trusted with the kind of privileges this influence represents.

1. Earn money; Learn about major transactions and financial events; Raise capital ($300); 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 (small general store or saloon).
3. Purchase a large business (a company store that services an entire town)
4. Manipulate local banking; Ruin a small business.
5. Foreclose on just about anything you can lay eyes on; Ruin a large business; Purchase a major company (mining concern, controlling share of a railroad).
6. Spark an economic trend; Build a small town.

Health

What few hospital resources exist in the Savage West are often over-worked, understaffed and plagued by the belief in quackery and other medical superstitions that many people still harbor. Furthermore, while most medicine is evolving towards the model the modern world is familiar with, some prominent doctors still honestly hold some amazingly strange notions to be matters of fact. However, medical science isn't nearly as primitive in this time as many people believe, and the dedication of the doctors and nurses who tend to the ill during times of cholera, typhoid and dysentery is nothing short of miraculous. Characters with this influence have access to the resources of this fledgling industry and those involved in it: doctors, nurses, volunteer caregivers, lay monks or nuns, orderlies, midwives, pharmacists and patients.

1. Access what health records a person may have; Fake most medical records and the like; Use public functions of health centers at your leisure.
2. Gain access to some medical research; Get a copy or a coroners report; Have mundane or routine injuries treated without leaving a trail.
3. Corrupt results of tests or inspections; Alter medical records; Have a person treated for highly complicated or suspicious wounds without raising an eyebrow (or leaving a record).
4. Acquire a body; Completely rewrite medical records; Abuse donations for personal use ($100); Have a special research projects performed; have people institutionalized or released; Fake a death certificate.

High Society

An clique of people exists, who, 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 talents. Among the ranks of the elite, one can find dilettantes, the "old money families", performers, artists of all sorts and trend setters.

1. Learn what is currently popular; Obtain tickets for any concert or performance; Learn about all 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" $300 as idle cash from rich friends.
3. Crush promising careers; Hobnob well above your station.
4. Minor celebrity status; Organize a social gala or town festival.
5. Ruin a new club, gallery, festival or other high society gathering; Grab a headline in a local paper.

Industry

The Savage West is slowly being tamed by the ambition of the settlers and the industries that follow them, and the sweat of countless laborers acts as the grease that keeps this great machine working. A character with the Industry Influence has some sway in directing this body of activity, from mining to construction and more. However, the control of the railroad industry does not fall under this Influence; that is the purview of the Railroad Influence. Industry is composed of workers, foremen, engineers, contractors, construction workers and manual laborers.

1. Learn about local industrial projects and movements; Know local workers and foremen personally.
2. Have minor projects performed; Dip into petty cash ($75); Arrange small accidents or sabotage on the job.
3. Organize a "worker's holiday" or minor strike; Appropriate machinery or equipment for a short time.
4. Close down a small factory; Revitalize a small factory.
5. Manipulate large local industry as you see fit.
6. Cut off production of a single resource or industry in a small region.

Larcenous

Even in the most cosmopolitan of ages, society has found certain needs and services too questionable to accept, or had members who believed their strength or cunning entitled them to whatever they could take from their fellow men. In every time, some organization arises among these various criminal enterprises to provide for such demands, regardless of the risks. Among this often ruthless and dangerous crowd are the likes of shady gunslingers, ethnic gangs, bookies, smugglers, bandits, fencers and launderers.

1. Locate small-time wickedness (knives, whores, bootleg liquor, petty gambling); Hear about any recent criminal captures, kills, kidnappings, or cattle rustling of note.
2. Obtain pistols; Hire muscle to rough someone up; Fence minor loot; Arrange for a crooked dealer at a card table of your choice.
3. Obtain a rifle, shotgun; Get the service of a sharpshooter with questionable morals; Prove that crime pays (and score $350); Round up a fair-size gang of outlaws for one task.
4. Put a mark on someone's head; Spread the criminal word far and wide; Find a corrupt law enforcement officer; Gain respect among city gangs or bandits in the wild, and have a word in almost all aspects of their operations; Get a hold of impressive weaponry (gatling guns, artillery).
5. Know an important Someone in the Big Family back East; Control one local criminal industry (prostitution, gambling, etc) with an iron fist.
6. Control or at least have the decisive say in almost all criminal activity within one small town.
7. Run criminal activity out of the county courthouse and have your own office to boot.

Law Enforcement

The Savage West is commonly seen as a wild, lawless place, devoid of the rules of civilization and hunting grounds for all manner of bandits and desperados. Into this storm comes a number of individuals who are dedicated to bringing order to the territories and protecting those they are appointed to defend. Often outnumbered and outgunned, these men and women rely on cool courage, quick wits, lightning reflexes and a keen knowledge of what the public considers "justice" to do their job. Of course, not all constables are immune to the sins they fight against, and a character with this Influence is able to manipulate traditions, connections, favors and other avenues to get lawmen both honorable and corrupt to perform special services for him. Behind the long shadow of the silver star one can find sheriffs, deputies, jailers, Texas Rangers and Marshals.

1. Learn the habits of the local law; Hear constabulary information and rumors.
2. Get a blind eye turned to minor violations; Have officers "check something out".
3. Get the latest on a current investigation; Have someone harassed or detained.
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 ($100); Gather a group of "concerned citizens"; Post fake "Wanted: Alive" or "Wanted: Dead or Alive" notices for a short time.
5. Institute major investigations; Arrange setups; Locate corrupt officers in a town; Have officers fired; Have someone run out of town (tarred and feathered optional).
6. Gather a large posse to hunt someone down; Gather officers from several counties away; Post fake "Wanted: Dead" notices (permanent).

Legal

Many a criminal has gone to the gallows claiming to have been railroaded by the system, but unbeknowst to even the most government-fearing individual, there are those who quietly tip the scales, even in the hallowed halls of justice, and the courts, law schools, law firms, and justice bureaus within them. However, character who use this Influence too openly flout the law and get away with it had best beware, as citizen' mobs will eventually organize to run habitual criminals out of town, or worse. Inhabiting the domain of this Influence are lawyers, judges, bailiffs, clerks and district attorneys.

1. Get free representation for minor cases; Know basic court procedures (but not theroy or practice).
2. Avoid bail for some charges; Have minor charges dropped.
3. Manipulate legal procedures (minor wills and contracts, court dates); Access public or court funds ($100); Get representation in most court cases; File minor lawsuit against someone without any real basis (this will most likely take some time and cost for them to sort out).
4. Tie up court cases; Have most legal charges dropped; File serious lawsuits without basis.
5. Close down all but the most serious of investigations.

Lowdown

While lured by promises of wealth, opportunity and wide open spaces, may of those who make the trip west find themselves unable to make it on their own for a variety of reasons. Herded into the ethnic ghettos of the cities as cheap labor or living lives of need in ramshackle houses on the frontier, ignored by their "betters," this whole part of society makes its own culture and lifestyle to deal with the harsh lot of life has dealt it. In the saloons and badlands you can find mountain men, the homeless, servants, prostitutes, poor families, petty criminals and the forgotten.

1. Have an ear open for the word on the street; Identify the gangs and know their neighborhoods or territory and habits; Find the general location of local mountain man.
2. Live mostly without fear on the underside of society; Keep a contact or two in most aspects of street life; Access minor stolen goods.
3. Often get insight on other areas of Influence, even if indirectly; Arrange some services from street people or gangs; Get hard to find personal weapons (imported guns, Spanish blades).
4. Mobilize groups of homeless or working poor; Panhandle or hold a "collection" ($25); Gain respect of one gang or bandit group, and thus go unmolested by them.
5. Agitate local street scene; Call a "whore's holiday" all across town (and thus typically get whatever else it is you're asking for, if anything, very quickly); Know someone in almost any town you go to.
6. Find out the hardest-to-find information there is to know about a topic of street life (the location of the hideout of the most wanted outlaw gang in the territory, or the possible location of a lost gold mine discovered by a local mountain man years ago).

Newspapers

The media serves as the eyes and ears of the world, and the power of newpapers to influence people and the decisions they make is impressive; by our modern standards, even the hardened people of the Savage West are still far more trusting when it comes to the press and their bias. Even to the illiterate, newspapers stories are often considered gospel, especially concerning matters of foreign relations or policy back East. While yellow journalists and dime novelists still proliferate, and rampant jingoism is the rule when it comes to covering public affairs, there are a few souls dedicated to bringing truth to the people about their world and the people who change it. This Influence measures a character's ability to abuse the machinery of newspapers (and to a lesser extent, telegraph reports) to guide or confuse public opinion, or even to break through barriers and print the truth when no one else wants to hear it.

1. Learn tomorrows' news today; Submit small articles (within reason).
2. Suppress (but not stop) small articles or reports; Get hold of investigative reporting information; Get the ear of local reporters.
3. Initiate news investigations and reports; Get your hands on the petty cash ($25); Access printing or telegraph resources; Censure a reporter indefinitely; Run a serialization of a work (your own or someone else's).
4. Print outrageously fake stories (local only); Publish a serious story criticizing a respected or important regional personality in a major newspaper; Access a famous reporter or "muckraker" back East.

Occult

Most people are curious about the supernatural world and the various groups and beliefs tht make up the occult subculture, but few consider it anything but a tall tale, superstitious nonsense or branch of science of science waiting to be explored. This could not be further from the truth. Occult Influence, more than any other, hits Kindred close to home and could very well bring humanity to it's senses about just who and what shares this world with them. The occult community contains cult leaders, alternative religious groups, charlatans, would-be occultists and spiritualists.

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 the more obscure occult figures; Access resources for most rituals; Attend local occult ceremony without causing a stir.
3. Know the general vicinity of certain supernatural entities (Garou, fae, mages, mummies, wraiths etc.) and possibly contact them; Can find vital or very rare material components; Milk impressionable wannabes for bucks ($50); Access occult tomes and writings; Research a basic ritual (Tremere only)
4. Research an Intermediate Ritual (Tremere only); Separate truth from folklore.
5. Access minor magic items; Unearth an advanced ritual (Tremere only).
6. Research a new or unheard of ritual (Tremere only) from tomes or mentors.

Politics

The political process in the Savage West is a far cry from the spin doctors and constant opinion polls that plague modern politics, but the familiar game of good ol' boys, fat cats and who knows who is still in full swing. In other words, it's politics as usual, and in the impassioned politics of the westward movement many are willing to lay down their lives instead of simply their opinions. Some of these individuals include statesmen, pollsters, activists, party faithful, lobbyists, candidates and politicians themselves.

1. Minor lobbying; Identify real platforms of politicians and parties; Be in the know.
2. Meet small-time politicians; Have a forewarning of processes, laws and the like; Use rally of the faithful or other fundraisers for your own gain ($300).
3. Sway or alter political projects (local parks, renovations, small constructions).
4. Enact minor legislation; Dash careers of minor politicians.
5. Get your candidate in a minor office; Enact encompassion legislature in one particular field.
6. Block the passage of major bills; Suspend major laws temporarily; Use state bureaus or subcommittees to your own advantage at will.
7. Unsurp county-wide politics; Subvert statewide powers, at least to a moderate degree.
8. Call out the cavalry; Declare a state of emergency on a region.

Railroad

The coming of the iron horse was a contentious moment in the history of the Savage West, as it brought the supplies that the ever-expanding network of cities and towns needed in order to push westward, but it also spelled the end of the ancient territories that the native populations had counted as their homes. Regardless of what history's judgement will be, however, the influence the railroad industry wields is indisputable, and characters with this influence can control this critical lifeline. While technically this influence falls in the domain of Industry and Transportation, it's such an important influence by itself and such a different industry from any other known in the Savage west that Railroad Influence is considered it's own trait, although it can certainly be paired with those to be used to greater effect, especially Transportation. All sorts of people fall under the purview of the railroad industry: engineers, switch men, porters, conductors, railroad executives and freight loaders.

1. Know train schedules and destinations; Learn about a mundane cargo; Hop a free ride on a local route.
2. Delay a train for a short time (maximum 2 days); Have a passenger kicked off a train; Learn the real plans for local railroad expansion; Have cargo inspected.
3. Use a network of bribed officials to offload cargo or smuggle at will; Have a voice in one particular branch of a railroad company; Bar a person from passage on one entire line; Ensure safe passage from mundane hazards for one trip.
4. Begin a new route for an existing track; Dip into railroad bounty ($250); switch the tracks on trains at a whim; Ensure travel protected from (most) supernatural dangers for one trip.
5. Exploit railroad rules and policies to exert complete control over one train for one trip, including destination and the disposition of all passengers and cargo onboard.
6. Have a say in appointing (or desposing) a railroad company president; Dominate local railroad affairs.
7. Obtain funding and permits to begin an entirely new line.

Scholarly

While it's common perception that most people in the Savage West were ignorant folks, a surprising number of them did in fact receive at least some schooling and at least a touch of letters during their lifetime. The local school teacher is a respected person in a community, and the education young people receive often carries a strong moral and religious content as well, making this the largest time in people's lives they are indoctrinated with impressions and values. Whether formal or simply understood, apprenticeships to manual craftsmen from farmers to blacksmiths also provides a significant degree of education in the Savage West. And while universities are still primarily a feature of the East, many bright and intellectually dedicated souls join the westward expansion, either conducting research or hoping to found new places of higher learning on their own. A character with this Influence can manipulate the education process and those involved in it to suit her desires. Note that, as with the Finance Influence, a character who hopes to have contacts beyond the local level had best put forth at least the appearance of respectability, as the higher levels of education are much more discriminating about who they accept and associate with than in the modern age. In this class of Influence, one finds teachers, professors, students of all ages and levels, Jesuits, traveling scholars, members of Greek orders, and many young and impressionable minds.

1. Know the location and general level of education offered in local schools; Access the local school marm (for information, you dirty dog); Learn the true level of schooling any given citizen has had.
2. Know a craftsman or scholar with useful knowledge or skills to teach (especially to an individual in most circumstances (regardless of the truth of this perception).
3. Have a student expelled; Keep a student who should be expelled; Keep a student who should be expelled in school; Have "connections" to a university (guaranteed acceptance); Access the resources of a local craftsman in a "learning" capacity; Control what is taught at local schools.
4. Establish your own school; Discredit a local authority on a particular subject; Find the location of material to research a given topic; Attract a scholar in a particular field to come to the area under some pretext.
5. Produce a fake university degree; Contact an eminent scholar; Use university labs and libraries freely (where appropriate); Abuse money from a generous grant ($500).
6. Arrange your own class at a university or school house; Discredit a professor; Cancel a class (completely or temporarily).
7. Found a university (keeping it from being laughed at is a function of faculty, resources, reputation and dedication); Control all education in a large county.

Transportation

The Savage West is a vast place, and without transportation systems to keep it all going, many cities would die out and territories remain unsettled for a long time to come. From stagecoach lines to clipper ships to local stables, you have your hand in getting people and things from place to place, and one word from you can stop shipments or smuggle goods with impunity. In an era so dependent on getting goods to and from their markets before spoilage or theft occurs, this is indeed a great power to wield, albeit usually a subtle one. As the railroad industry is still new, tightly controlled and fiercely set against being at the mercy of any other type of transportation, this Influence does not give actual control over railroad once they reach the rails or the railroad industry itself (that is the domain of the Railroad Influence); however, it does give one broad-reaching powers over every other type of transportation in the Savage West, and thus the potential to make railroad men very uncomfortable if exercised properly. This is also the type of influence that most ordinary people still use and associate with, which can give a character some added benefits as opposed to the rather insular Railroad powers. Of course, combining these two influences can make for quite a profitable alliance, and allow a character to get nearly anywhere or ship nearly anything with a minimum number of hassles. Keeping these sysems working are coach and team drivers, sea captains, wagon train leaders, pony express riders, conductors, border guards and untold others.

1. Have a hand in what goes where, when and why; Can travel locally quickly and freely by a variety of means; Know prominent local trails, rails and shipping routes.
2. Can track an unwary target if he uses anything but his own horse (and even then if you can find the right stable); Arrange a passage safe (or at least concealed) from mundane threats (robbery, kidnapping, etc).
3. Seriously hamper an individual's ability to travel or ship goods; Avoid most supernatural dangers when traveling (such as Garou and Hunters).
4. Temporarily shut down one form of transportation (wagon trains, ships, stage coaches, ect. This does not include Railroads); Deny a railroad line one cargo for a short time; Route money your way ($100).
5. Reroute major modes of travel; Smuggle with impunity.
6. Extend your control to nearby areas.
7. Isolate small or remote regions for a short period.

Lena
Lena
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Posts : 54
Join date : 2014-10-30
Age : 39

https://silverspur.rpg-board.net

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