Fame Benefit
–40 ... Character becomes a vil- lainous NPC under the GM’s control
–39 to –30 .... Reward –29 to –20 .... Connection
–19 to –10 .... +1 to Intimidation and Streetwise rolls
–9 to +9 ... None. The character is unknown to the world at large. 10-19 ... +1 Charisma 20-29 ... Connection 30-39 ... Reward 40-49 ... Minor Enemy 50-59 ... +2 Charisma 60-69 ... Followers 70-79 ... Connection 80-89 ... Major Enemy 90-99 ... Sidekick 100 ... +4 Charisma
A character only benefits from the bonuses of Fame or Infamy—not both.
Example: Peg Leg Dave finally reaches 30 Fame. He now has +1 Cha- risma, a Connection, and a Reward. He doesn’t gain the +1 Intimidation Infamous characters have, however.
Charisma or Skill Bonuses
Famous characters, those with a positive Fame, increase their ability to get things done merely by asking, and so receive a bonus to Charisma. Charisma Bonuses are not cumulative. Infamous characters, on the other hand, get things done by making threats, and receive bonuses to Intimidation and Streetwise.
If your Fame (or Infamy) drops below a level where you gained a bonus to Charisma or to skills, you lose the bonuses. When your Fame rises again, you get them back.
Using your Fame against equally famous people rarely works. They’re not beholden to you in the same way commoners are. Check the Fame of the character and his target. The character gains the appropriate bonus. However, if his opponent has a bonus to either Charisma or Intimidation, this acts as a penalty against the character.
NPCs should never make Persuasion rolls to convince a player character to do some- thing. That should always be roleplayed.
Example: Count Leo de Plume (Fame 27), a player character, is trying to persuade the pirate Captain One-Eyed Hans (Fame –16) to work for him. Leo gets +1 Charisma for his Fame, but suffers –1 because Hans has an Intimidation bonus. Hans is not impressed by the Count’s social position.
Had Leo been trying to persuade Captain LePlante (Fame 50) to assist him, he would actually suffer an over- all –1 Charisma penalty.
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Connection
People like to be associated with the rich and famous. When a hero gains Connections, he must pick a specific group, as per the Edge of the same name. The Connection should be appropriate to the character’s background. For instance, while a group of merchants may back a renowned privateer, they’re unlikely to back a known pirate or smuggler.
Should the character’s Fame ever drop below the level at which he gained the specific Connection, the Connection severs ties with the hero and he loses this benefit. If his Fame rises again, he may pick a new Connection (which can be the same group he previously lost). Alternately, a hero may trade a Fame Connection (not Infamy) for automatic membership in a fencing academy (see page 107).
Example: John “Nine Toes” Lewis increases his Infamy to –20, which gets him a Connection. Lewis picks a group of pirates as his Connection.
Later, Lewis’ Fame drops to –18. As this is below the threshold for the Con- nection, the pirates abandon Lewis, claiming he has “gone soft.”
With some hard buccaneering, Lewis gets his Fame back to –20. He could retake the Connections to represent his original pirate band, or he could take a new group. Were Lewis Famous, he could join an academy instead.
Enemy
This works as per the Hindrance of the same name. The GM should determine who the enemy is and what his grudge is against the character. It might be simple jealousy, or maybe the hero did something to upset his enemy on his climb to fame and fortune.
It doesn’t matter if the hero’s Fame drops below the level at which he gained his foe, his Enemy doesn’t give up his vendetta.
Should the hero gain a Major Enemy while his Minor Enemy is still at large, the foe simply steps up his campaign against the character. Otherwise, the hero gains a new enemy.
Followers
Heroes often acquire dedicated servants, a devoted crew, or others who voluntarily follow the hero on his adventures.
Five followers join the hero’s band. Any casualties are not automatically replaced. So long as the hero has the Fame necessary to gain this benefit, he may trade a Rank advancement opportunity to gain five more followers.
The followers must fed, and generally want a piece of whatever loot, treasure, or other rewards the hero acquires. Otherwise, they are completely dedicated to their idol and risk their lives for him under any normal conditions. In general, they won’t knowingly throw their lives away, but those who have been with the hero for a few years might.
Followers don’t automatically leave if a character’s Fame drops, but they might begin to grumble, refuse orders, and eventually mutiny.
Followers generally come with only basic equipment depending on their particular background (pirates have a cutlass for exam- ple). The hero must purchase any additional equipment for his Followers himself.
Reward
The hero receives some sort of reward for his activities. A Famous hero might receive money from the governor, a small plot of land, a medal, a minor title, or maybe even his own ship. The GM should make sure this fits the character’s backstory and deeds.
Sidekick
The hero gains a Novice Rank sidekick. The sidekick is a Wild Card, gains experience as usual, and has abilities that complement or mimic his hero’s.
In general, the player controls his sidekick just like any other allied character. Of course, the sidekick may occasionally cause trouble (by getting captured, running into danger when he’s not supposed to, etc.). The player should be prepared for his “Edge” to occa- sionally become a “Hindrance.”
If the sidekick dies, the character may trade an advancement to replace him, so long as he has the necessary Fame, of course.