Contacts

From Lunos

Contacts:

Contacts are a way of mechanically representing the people outside of other player characters that your character knows. While you may know many more people, spending experience on connections represents those people that you devote time and energy towards befriending and staying in contact with.

Ally – An ally is another character that considers you a friend. This can also represent a mentor. They may provide help when asked, but may also request favors from you. Rating increases the ally’s xp by 50 (they start at 150, so a four point ally is the equivalent of a starting character) per point. Availability determines how much free time the ally has to help you. Loyalty determines how close you and your ally are, allies with Loyalty lower than 3 are rare.

Followers – A group of commoners that follow you, either literally or metaphorically. This may represent a religious leader or the owner of a company. Rating determines the number of followers you have as follows: 1 = up to five followers, 2 = up to 10, 3 = up to 30, 4 = up to 100, 5 = up to 500. Availability determines how many other commitments your followers have. Loyalty determines why they follow you (Loyalty one followers may simply be employees, Loyalty five followers are fanatical disciples)..

Information – An information contact is a person or network of people that can provide you with information. Rating provides one field of expertise per point (so an information contact with a rating of one might be a security guard at a theater, capable of filling you in on the activities of that theater, while a rating five contact could represent the owner of newspaper). Availability determines how likely the contact is to have the required information. Loyalty determines how much the information will cost.

Employment – You have a job somewhere. Because you are an adventurer, this is normally not a standard 9-5 job, but rather a commission-based employment. Rating determines the level of resources you normally receive for a single job. Availability represents how often a job is available, but keep in mind that if you turn down most jobs offered to you they may become scarce. Loyalty determines how forgiving your employers are if you fail or turn down a job

Companion – Like a cross between an ally and a follower, a companion is someone of beyond normal capabilities who follows your character. Rating is as Ally but reduced by two, or is the rating of an animal companion. Availability determines how much trouble the Companion gets into if left alone. Loyalty is as Ally.

Influence – For reasons other than your skill or expertise (perhaps a good reputation or political power), a certain group of people listen to what you say. Rating determines how much influence you have (one would be a minor noble at a large court, five would be the guy that paid for the mayor’s last campaign). Availability determines the scope of your influence (one is a small town, five is a country). Loyalty determines how much work you need to do to maintain your influence.

Negative Contacts: these work just like normal connections, except that effects are negative and you gain xp for taking them.

Nemesis – Someone doesn’t like you. This is parallel to Ally in every way, including costs. Loyalty determines how much they dislike you and how focused they are.

Rival – You have a competitor in your field of expertise. Rating determines how powerful they are as it does for Ally. Availability determines how often they show up. Loyalty costs (not provides, as would be normal) xp and determines how friendly your competition is. Special: provided you by a Loyalty of at least three for each (and it is the same for both), it is possible to have the same person as a Rival and as a positive contact. In this case, they will not provide any help that is relevant to something you are competing about.

Enemies – You have angered a group of people, generally along the lines of a small town. This is the reverse of Followers.

Unlike other things, each point in a connection costs the same amount of experience.

Type Rating Avail. Loyalty

Ally 3 2 1

Followers 6 3 4

Employment 2 2 2

Influence 3 3 2

Companion 3 2 1

Information 2 3 2

Nemesis 3 2 1

Rival 2 2 2*

Enemies 6 3 4