thestewards | influence

influence

SOCIAL POWER
You've just implied Queen Fayura's dress makes her look fat in front of her Consort. You had a stressful day and snapped, telling Councilwoman Rheea that she's a bitch. You're exhausted and you've just told a landen Guildmember very proud of their new idea that, no, perpetual motion machines aren't possible and they should just give up on their dreams.

In short: you're dead, and you know it.

Good thing you have some influence to spend and your reputation with NPCs to lean on.

By helping the people of Draega, you gain influence with the different factions trying to control the city and reputation with those who lead it. This social power can only be gained, never lost, so when you put yourself in a bad position you can always leverage that one time you did that thing for the person you've just insulted. You can remind the Consort of that time Fayura liked you so much she invited you to take tea with her. Don't let Councilwoman Rheea forget how you protected the Ebon Council from a landen attack a week ago! And, really just because a perpetual motion machine hasn't been invented yet doesn't mean that this Guildmember won't be the one to figure it out. With influence, you can gain access to the NPCs who call Draega home more easily, and you can ask them for favors they'll be more willing to fill.

While reputation is purely personal, influence doubles as a measure of a faction's support. The more influence the Strangers wield on behalf of the Ebon Council, the more power the Ebon Council has within the city.

INFLUENCE
Influence is the measure of political power a Stranger has with a given faction. The higher your influence is with a faction, the more likely you are to have an impact on them. For example, the Guilds wouldn't pay any attention to a character's opinion if she has only 1 influence with them, but they will put more weight on the opinion of someone with 8 influence.

Every month, the mods assess cumulative influence from the current and prior months. We use this to determine which faction has the most support in the city overall based on what your characters have been doing, the jobs they've taken, and who they have helped.

REPUTATION
Reputation indicates how much an NPC likes your character. It's similar to influence but rather than working on an entire organization or faction only works on a single person. You could have only 1 influence with Fayura's Court but have 5 Reputation with her because you've taken actions within the city that she approves of. In a conflict of opinion, if Fayura likes you, she may side with you over the opinions of her court if your reputation with her is high enough.

Reputation doesn't impact a faction's overall influence within the city. It is most often gained through interactions with the NPCs in logs or on the network. The NPCs all value and are motivated by different things. You receive reputation by acting in way the NPC approves of.

INFLUENCE AMONG THE FACTIONS

THE EBON COUNCIL
4%

FAYURA'S COURT
10%

THE GUILDS
12%

GAINING INFLUENCE AND REPUTATION
Word travels fast in Draega, be it by mouth, Far-caster, or psychic threads. Be a good neighbor and help the people of the city to gain influence with different factions. Sometimes, a clever solution to a complex problem will yield unexpected gains.

LEVELS OF INFLUENCE

Indifferent | 1–5
At this level, a faction doesn't know who you are or if they can trust you. They don't hate you, but they don't like you either. There are no perks at this level.
Friendly | 6–17
Characters who are Friendly with a faction have formed a basic relationship with the faction. The faction views you as a potential ally. At this level, you can:

► Come and go inside faction-owned buildings without suspicion
► Assume a passing relationship with any minor NPCs within the faction
► Expect better treatment from any NPC aligned with the faction

Respected | 18–32
Achieving Respected status with a faction means you have done them either many little services or a few larger ones. At this level, you can:

► Offer advice to the major NPCs and except to be heard
► Gain additional influence for every completed job
► Use some faction resources to accomplish your goals
► Expect to be recognized on the street by the cityfolk and receive discounts at businesses run by those involved with the faction
► Hold sway over groups of minor NPCs—meaning that if something goes down in the streets of Draega and you call for assistance, you will be answered

Favored | 33–40
When you're Favored by your faction, you have been welcomed into the top echelon. For all intents and purposes, you're treated like a Master by the Guilds, a Councilmember by the Ebon Council, and as First Circle by the Queen's Court. At this level, you receive all the perks of previous levels as well as:

► Nearly unfettered access to faction resources
► The ability to countermand Guild Masters, Councilmembers, and the First Circle*; in any kind of showdown your word will be obeyed
► All your purchases will be against the faction's accounts
► Access to faction secrets
► The ability to determine the faction's direction, meaning that if your character is aligned with the Guilds and wants to build a gundam, you'll be able to do that
► Burning the faction at this point will result in a loss of all influence with that faction, so double-cross wisely
*The First Circle is the list of minor NPCs within Fayura's Court. Your rank won't supersede that of the Master of the Guard, the Steward, or in the Consort.

Renowned | 41+
You might as well be in charge. You're seen as the faction leader's second-in-command by the rest of the city and are treated with great respect. Nothing you do is seen as an action taken against the faction. You receive all perks from previous levels as well as:

► Complete access to faction resources
► Unquestioned loyalty from all minor NPCs and staunch support from major NPCs
► Burning the faction at this point will result in a loss of all influence with that faction, so double-cross wisely

LEVELS OF REPUTATION

Stranger | 1–5
The NPC knows you exist and has seen your face but has no other opinion about you.

Colleague | 6–10
You’ve made a bit of an impression on the NPC. As a Colleague, they treat you well and like someone with whom they work. They’ll listen to your opinions but probably won’t act on them.

Ally | 11–15
The NPC trusts you in social and political situations. You don’t know all their secrets, but they know they can rely on you to support them—and you can rely on them to support you. You don’t need to make appointments to see the NPC anymore and can expect they’ll set aside all but the most pressing matters to talk to you. They’ll still tell you mostly what they think you want to hear, but you’ll start to learn some of their more closely held beliefs.

Friend | 15–20
You’re friends. You have almost unlimited access to the NPC, and they are deeply invested in your well-being. They will strongly consider your opinion when making decisions and will share intimate details of their lives with you. While they may hold some things back, you can generally rely on what they’re saying as the truth.

Confidant | 21+
The NPC will lay down their life for you. Not only that, but they treat you like a member of their extended family. When you ask them questions, they will give you the entire story instead of only part of it, and they will not lie to you or mislead you. Except in crisis situations, the NPC will make time for you. In a crisis, the NPC will rely on you to help them out.

INFLUENCE JOBS
Follow the example comment structure below for how to submit your threads for influence. Jobs from previous months can be found in this Google doc.

PALATE CLEANSER
Since the Black Widow attack, the people of Draega have grown more afraid. Lady Abigail and Queen Fayura have asked you to weave cleansing web to absorb negative feelings and hang them around the city. The two witches have also asked you to weave trap webs as well, and have provided you with detailed instructions.
WRITE 5+ comments
GAIN 1 influence. You may gain this reward up to three times. +1 reputation with Fayura OR +1 reputation with Grejor. You may gain this reward once.

TRADE WARS
Mercenaries are harsh trade partners and the mercenary groups coming into the city to trade do not get along with each other. Keep the peace on the docks by diffusing (or finishing) fights and preventing sabotage between the gangs on different ships.
WRITE 5+ comments
GAIN 1 influence. You may gain this reward up to three times. +1 reputation with Allairavar if you are not a guard. +2 reputation with Allairavar if you are a guard. You may gain this reward once.

STREET RATS
You’ve learned from Esso how truly rough things are in the slums. While food is scarce everywhere in Draega, it’s scarcest in the slums. People are starving. Bring food to the slums, help repair homes, exterminate the plague-ridden verim crawling out of the sewers.
WRITE 5+ comments
GAIN 1 influence. You may gain this reward up to three times. +1 reputation with Verim. When you complete this mission, a slums resident will tell you a rumor. You may gain this reward once.

RUMOR HAS IT
With the warmer weather, ships make their way into Draegaís ports. Sailors bring warnings of the mercenary bands roaming the wilds: hunger makes them fearless and far more willing to attack. Help the sailors unload the supplies, and theyíll bring you yet more rumors over a drink.
WRITE 5+ comments
GAIN When you submit this thread, you may elect to ask any three questions about the city and receive responses as though the sailors are telling you rumors OR you may simply receive 2-3 random rumors.

BUILD YOUR OWN
If you've written a thread or have an idea for one you think deserves influence, either post the thread or the idea for mod review. For a thread already written, we'll let you know how much influence you'll receive. For an idea, we'll give you a minimum comment requirement and a reward.
WRITE Variable
GAIN Variable

► NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Fayura and Verim decided to get drunk on the grain alcohol instead of fixing the issue.

Fayura Nishell

My Grains

Rhus Bashe

charity is as charity does

dark knights

Peter Parker

charity is as charity does

PERCY JACKSON

charity is as charity does

hope's an ember

LEO VALDEZ

charity is as charity does

Haein Seo

charity is as charity does

ZITA HARRINGTON

EVENT: BUILD YOUR OWN.

Mary Crawley

Hit and Run

Piper McLean

TDM Threads

Sansa Stark

Terrible Two(hundreds)

CLARKE GRIFFIN

hope's an ember

Aithne

Build Your Own

Emil Västerström

Loren's Lament

DAYLIGHT VIS LORNLIT.

EVENT: BUILD YOUR OWN

Guts

Poisoned Gnature

Mordred

Event: Build Your Own

Mollymauk Tealeaf

DARK KNIGHTS

Wanda Maximoff

TDM - WICKED WEAVES

Takame Kesi

Palate Cleanser