Resource Description
Allies Close friends and relatives that can be counted on for help
Artifact Unique and powerful items in your character’s possession
Contacts Network of associates that can be called on for items and information
Fame Reputation, notoriety, and influence due to your charac-ter’s popularity and exploits
Followers Faithful friends and retainers that accompany your character
Mentor A powerful patron, teacher, or protector who looks out for your character
Rank Rank and membership in a secret or exclusive organization
Refuge A safe and comfortable home, private retreat, or secret laboratory
Status Social status and income due to your character’s profes-sion or birthright
Wealth Income and assets, plus amount of money available to invest
Allies
Allies represent friends and family that your character can al-ways count on. They have their own lives though, so their assis-tance only be counted on up to a point. Still, they are more than happy to do favors for your character or back him up when he needs help. Allies often have useful skill as well as Talents and Resources of their own. The more times you purchase this Re-source, the more numerous and powerful your character’s Allies become.
Allies start out loyal to your character, making them easier for you to influence and harder for your enemies to sway (see Influence, p. 147). While you get to define the nature of your character’s relationship with his Allies, the Gamemaster ulti-mately controls these NPCs, and determines what they will or will not do. Abusing or taking advantage of your Allies will neg-atively affect their attitude toward your character, and if it comes to worst, they will even refuse to help your character when he most needs him. Getting back into their good graces may take an adventure or two!
Purchasing additional levels of this Resource gets your char-acter a new Ally, or improves an existing Ally.
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Level* Description Attribute Skills Talents/Resources 0 Simple 9 Points 5 Points 0 1 Moderate 12 Points 10 Points 1 2 Gifted 15 Points 15 Points 2 3 Influential 18 Points 20 Points 3 4 Powerful 21 Points 25 Points 4 5 Very Powerful 24 Points 30 Points 5
Artifact
Artifacts represent unique, powerful items or vehicles in your character’s possession. It can be something that she invented, in-herited, or had entrusted to her for safekeeping. It could also be something that she found or ran off with! Your character might not even be aware of the full potential of the artifact.
Artifacts come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and uses. A sim-ple Artifact might be a nutrition substitute, a pill that makes food intake no longer necessary for the person taking it. A more ad-vanced Artifact might be a handy astrogation calculator making navigation in space easier, or a heat ray which can be used as a weapon. Submarines fitted for deep sea explorations or a relic of ancient Martian technology represent some of the largest and most powerful Artifacts of all.
The more times you purchase this Resource, the bigger and more powerful the Artifact becomes or you might get another simple artifact. Of course, the usefulness of an artifact can vary between campaigns. For example, a gill mask might be of little use when travelling through the ether, but so is a rocket powered backpack on Venus. The final decision should therefore always be with the Gamemaster.
Level Example Description 0 Food pills, pocket batteries (a special item) 1 Narcotic gas, Space suit (a useful artifact) 2 Hertz-wave communicator, (a rare and highly useful
Infrared telescope artifact) 3 diving suit with in-built (incredibly useful
air conditioning artifact)
4 Air ship, Submarine (a one-of-a-kind and very powerful artifact) 5 Ether flyer, some High (a legendary and
extre-Martian Artifacts mely powerful artifact) Example: Alex wants for his character to obtain an Artifact 1, a modified rifle based on the design of the Lee-Metford-rifle.
This rifle is supposed to have a greater caliber and more preci-sion than the original weapon (The Gamemaster decides that the newly designed rifle gains a +1 Damage rating and its basic range is increased by 15 feet). Later, Alex wishes to extend the possibilities of ‘his’ Lee-Metford, so he buys another Artifact level. After consulting the Gamemaster, he decides to upgrade his weapon with the ‘Long Shot’ Talent to double its range by fitting a well-made Swiss scope. The useful Artifact has now be-come a rare and highly useful Artifact.
Contacts
Contacts represent your character’s network of acquaintances and associates. They are not particularly loyal to him and will only help if it is worth their while or clearly in their best interest.
Nonetheless, having a network of contacts enables your
charac-ter to call on them to find out information or useful items. Tak-ing this Resource gives your character contacts in a particular sphere of influence such as academia, the criminal underworld, or the police. Any time that your character seeks equipment or information from someone within his area of interest, you re-ceive a bonus on a related Skill roll. For every two levels you can also purchase one Bonus resource.
Buying this Resource more than once gives your character a new sphere of influence or increases his pull with his current contacts.
Level Example Bonus
0 Rogue +1 Bonus die
1 Bandit +2 Bonus dice
2 Conman +2 Bonus dice and 1 Bonus Resource 3 Gang leader +4 Bonus dice and 1 Bonus Resource 4 Racketeer +4 Bonus dice and 2 Bonus Resources 5 Don +8 Bonus dice and 2 Bonus Resources Example: Alice’s character investigates the theft of an im-portant object from a museum. He has Contact 2 in the under-ground and therefore gets two Bonus dice when talking to crim-inals. Furthermore, he can purchase a Bonus resource through his contacts. The Gamemaster agrees for Alice’s character to gain a temporary Ally 1 by collecting a favor of someone who owes him. From now on, he is assisted by a gang member named Vincent who helps him searching for the stolen goods.
Fame (Basic Resource)
Fame is a measure of your character’s reputation and notoriety.
It also represents how well known her name and face is. Being recognized as a celebrity has its benefits: people will often do special favors for your character just because she’s famous. On the other hand, being famous can have its downside—it is hard to keep a low profile when your profile is easily recognizable.
Your character may be an actress, daredevil, or criminal.
When someone recognizes your character, you receive a bonus to all social rolls related to that person. For every two levels purchased in Fame you can also get a Bonus Resource from one of your admirers.
Buying this Resource more than once increases your charac-ter’s fame and reputation.
Your character can also have Negative Fame, representing his infamy and bad reputation, for example a deserter, rookie, or a wanted criminal. Characters with negative fame suffer penal-ties on related Skill rolls, and if recognized, can get into serious trouble.
Level Example Bonus
−3 wanted criminal −4 penalty
−2 well-known petty criminal −2 penalty
−1 unreliable deserter −1 penalty 0 average person none 1 local celebrity +1 Bonus die 2 Member of Town Council +2 Bonus dice
3 respected actor +2 Bonus dice and 1 Bonus resource 4 National hero +4 Bonus dice and 1 Bonus resource 5 world-renowned star +6 Bonus dice and 2 Bonus resources
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Example: Cathy’s character is an actress at the beginning of a brilliant career, giving dazzling performances at some of Lon-don’s best theatres. To make her character even more famous, Cathy buys her an additional level to give her a total of Fame 3.
As a consequence, her reputation spreads beyond the limits of the capital, and people come from across the country just to see her on stage. Whenever she is recognized, Cathy gets two Bonus dice for all social Skill rolls, and she can also use her notoriety to obtain a temporary Bonus Resource. Cathy chooses Wealth 1 – after so many years spent as a pennyless actress, the tills are finally ringing.
Followers
Followers represent your character’s faithful friends, retainers, and animal companions. Followers are not always very skilled or influential, but they are fiercely loyal and will accompany your character wherever he goes. Followers are tremendously helpful and will take care of everyday tasks, but your character is responsible for paying their expenses while they are working for him.
Followers start out loyal to your character, making them eas-ier for you to influence and harder for your enemies to sway (see Influence, p. 147). While you get to define the nature of your character’s relationship with his Followers, the Gamemaster ul-timately controls these NPCs, and determines what they will or will not do. Abusing or taking advantage of Followers will neg-atively affect their attitude toward your character. Buying this Resource more than once either increases the number of Follow-ers your character has, or improves their experience level. You can gain two inexperienced Followers, one skilled Follower, or improve two Followers each time you purchase this Resource.
Level* Max. Number of Followers
0 1
1 2
2 4
3 8
4 10
Level* Attribute Skill Talents/Resources
0 9 Points 5 Points 0
* Instead of improving one Follower you can also purchase sev-eral low level Followers. When buying this Resource you must choose whether to purchase an additional Follower or to en-hance the Attribute and Skill levels of your existing ones.
Example: Michael decides that his character should have Follower 1, which he defines as being two loyal dogs (each one level 0) that he rescued from some risky situation. However, they are not that powerful (having only 9 Attribute points and 5 Skill points), and he fears that something might happen to them. He decides then to buy another Follower level, and either get two additional dogs or enhance the ratings of the existing ones. In this case, each dog would have a total of 12 Attribute points and 10 Skill points as well as one Talent or one Resource.
Mentor
A Mentor represents your character’s patron, teacher, or protec-tor. He is often a powerful and influential person who is con-nected to your character in some important way. He might be a blood relative, a senior member of the same organization, or a mysterious stranger who shows up to provide much-needed in-formation. Although there is a lot that a Mentor can do for your character, loyalty is not a given; your character will occasionally have to complete tasks to stay in his good graces.
A Mentor acts in the background and considers it the charac-ter’s job to face the dangers and hazards of the outside world so that he does not have to. A Mentor’s help might still be of great use, as he can offer education, training, or financial support. He does not even have to be present to do so. He can forward infor-mation to your character by mail, telegram, through a riddle, or even a dream or a flashback.
A Mentor can provide Bonus dice to certain Skill rolls (to do so, a Mentor must possess the related Skill on level 4+, see Teamwork p. 151), provided that your character is able to refer to the Mentor’s help in a given situation.
Furthermore, for every two levels purchased, a character can borrow a Talent or a Resource from his Mentor. However, he simply cannot choose any Talent or Resource as he is limited to that that his Mentor possesses.
A Mentor will help your character, but his reasons for doing so may be a complete mystery. While you get to define the na-ture of your character’s relationship with her Mentor, the Gam-emaster ultimately controls this NPC and decides exactly what he wants and what he is willing to do for you. Harassing your Mentor or taking him for granted will negatively affect his atti-tude toward your character, and then he might let your character down when he most needs him.
Buying this Resource more than once increases the Men-tor’s power and influence, or gives your character an additional Mentor.
Level Attributes Skills Talents/Resources Bonus 0 12 Points 10 Points 1 +1 Bonus die
Example: Mark’s character has a Mentor 2, a respected and skilled doctor. One of Mark’s comrades was badly injured in battle. Luckily, one of these modern telephones is available to him so he can call his Mentor. Under the doctor’s calm oral in-structions he starts treating his friend’s wounds, receiving 2 Bo-nus dice for his Medicine roll. Since his Mentor has a profound knowledge in treating the particular type of injuries, he can also rely on his Mentor’s ‘Lifesaver’ Talent which significantly facil-itates the treatment.
Rank
Rank represents your character’s military rank or membership in an exclusive (or secret) organization, for example the Army,
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the National Geographic Society, or the Catholic Church. Your character has more authority when dealing with other members of his organization, and may be eligible to receive aid or re-sources. He might even be able to give orders to junior members of the same organization, just as he has to obey the orders of those above him.
Holding a position of authority grants your character respect even from those outside his organization. You receive a bonus on social Skill rolls anytime your character wields his authority or acts in the name of his organization. Official members of an organization can also requisition other Resources. For each two levels of Rank your character has, he can either temporarily ac-quire another Resource or boost one he already has (subject to Gamemaster approval). This temporary boost lasts until the req-uisitioned Resources are returned to the organization, at which point new Resources may be requisitioned.
While a high rank comes with many a privilege, abusing his authority, squandering resources, or breaking rules might result in your character being demoted or discharged from his organization.
Buying this Resource more than once gives your character more power, influence, and a higher rank in his organization, or grants him the membership in another organization.
Level Example Bonus 0 Sergeant +1 Bonus Die 1 Lieutenant +2 Bonus Dice
2 Captain +2 Bonus Dice and 1 Bonus Resource 3 Major +4 Bonus Dice and 1 Bonus Resource 4 Colonel +4 Bonus Dice and 2 Bonus Resources 5 General +8 Bonus Dice and 2 Bonus Resources
Example: As a deacon in the Catholic Church, Mark’s char-acter has Rank 0. After he has gone on several adventures, Mark decides that his character is now ready to take his vows and become a priest. He buys Rank 1 which means that whenever he acts as an official representative of the Church, he receives a +2 Bonus on all social Skill rolls.
Some time later, he buys another level to represent his ele-vation to the position of Dean. He gets an additional +2 Bonus he acts as an official representative of the Church, and can now also requisition Bonus Resources. Since his character is about to spend a lot of time with lay people, he chooses as his Bonus Resources Status 1. His status as a priest will now grant him a +2 Bonus even when he is not on an official mission in the name of the Church.
Refuge
Refuge represents your character’s home, private retreat, or se-cret laboratory. She either owns it free and clear or shares it with other members of her organization. Whatever the circumstances, this is a place where she feels safe and productive. When taking a Refuge you can choose one of the following specialties (deter-mine when you buy this Resource):
Equipment: Special equipment grants each character within the Refuge a Bonus for a particular Skill (determine when you choose this specialty).
Size: With greater size a refuge either is more spacious on the inside or comes with a very large estate. Without this extra, the refuge is the size of a small apartment or a large workshop.
Security: If your refuge is well protected, every character try-ing to intrude or spy on it will suffer a penalty on his Skill rolls.
For each two level of Refuge your character has, your char-acter can also purchase a Bonus Resource related to his refuge.
For example, he could get a butler to join him on his travels, or an artifact in accordance to his workshop’s trade.
Taking this Resource more than once increases your charac-ter’s refuge, or gives him another one. With the Gamemascharac-ter’s approval, characters can pool their Resources together into a larger and more impressive Refuge. In this case, each character has limited ownership and access to the location.
A Negative Resource means that your character lives in modest surroundings or is even homeless. A poor home is ill-se-cured, giving intruders a Bonus on their Skill rolls when trying to break in.
Level Equipment Size Security
−2 none homeless no security
Example: Mary’s character has Refuge 2 with the specialty Size, so he owns a respectable villa. Her character is the only owner of the villa and he does not have to worry about mort-gage payments or the like. In the course of his first adventures he makes some enemies and now fears that someone will try to break into his villa and seek revenge. For this reason, Mary buys another Refuge level with the specialty Size, granting her a Bonus Resource. At first, she thinks about placing watchmen or dogs into her villa, but then decides otherwise for she does not want to take care of another character. Instead, she chooses Refuge 1 with Security as her Bonus Resource, representing her character equipping her villa with security systems, changing the locks, and removing the construction plans of the building which were previously freely available.
Status
Status represents your character’s social status. This can result from success within a respected profession – for example, doc-tors, lawyers, and professors – being a member of a wealthy aristocratic family, or working for infamous organizations like the mafia or underworld. In any case, your character’s position grants him respect, and he can impress his fellow people and sometimes even make them do him a special favor. Any time that your character’s social status or reputation applies to a situ-ation, you receive a bonus to any related social rolls. For every two levels of Status your character has, he can purchase a Bonus Resource related to his friends and relations. Buying this Re-source more than once grants your character additional respect and social opportunities.
If your character is of low social status, for example from a working class family or even a member of a minority, such as gypsy or a disliked nationality (which will vary from country to country), he suffers a penalty on all social skills when interact-ing with people of another class or nationality.
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Level Example Bonus
−2 Minority −2 penalty
−1 Working class −1 penalty 0 Middle class none
1 Lord +1 Bonus
2 Baron +2 Bonus
3 Earl +2 Bonus and 1 Bonus Resource 4 Marquis +4 Bonus and 1 Bonus Resource 5 Duke +6 Bonus and 2 Bonus Resources
Example: Steven’s character is a gangster in newly
Example: Steven’s character is a gangster in newly