Elysium Nights Theater Influence Rules: v2.3 01/06/2004


Comments are welcome.
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Basics: Introduction; Concealment; In-game/Out-of-game Cost; Layaway Cards; Primary Influence Types; Repairing An Item; Time Cost; Links; Version Control.
Items: Ablative Armor; Persistent Armor; Defensive Traits; Firearms; Handguns; Rifles; Shotguns; Silencers Ammunition Brawl; Melee/Missle; Stakes; Mortal; Reinforcement; Other Items.
Other Activities: Uses for Media; Masquerade Breach Coverups; Diminishing Influence Attack; Haven Building and Attacking; Influence Investigation; Ritual Research; Business Units.

INTRODUCTION:
There are eight different types of influences: Corporate, Government, Herd, Industry, Occult, Street, Media and Underworld.
All characters start with 3 influences except Tremere, who start with 2, and Toreador, who start with 3 or 4. Influences may be purchased for 1 xp or freebie each.
All influence types may be used to build or attack havens, attack others' influences, or investigate characters or actions.
Corporate, Government, Herd, Industry, Occult, Street, Underworld, and Media (to a lesser extent) may be used to acquire items.
Herd may be used as sources of blood (normally 3 points of blood per herd, this amount may decrease if in-game events have broken or threaten the masquerade).
Occult may be used for research and development of new rituals.

CONCEALMENT:

IN-GAME/OUT OF GAME COST:
All item prices listed below are doubled when the player attempts to get the item during the game.

LAYAWAY CARDS:
All influence actions that are discrete events that are continued over several months (partially buying an item, researching a ritual) will be given out on "layaway cards". The layway card should be signed by an ST, dated, list the influences used, and list the task working toward. These cards can be given away or sold by the owning character. If the player loses the card, then that work is lost.

PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES:
Any of the five influence types not specified as a primary type is considered a secondary type. Herd and cash are secondary types for all items. If the primary type is "any", any of the five types and/or cash may be used. The total influence expenditure must be at least 50% primary influences.
Example: An item that costs 4 influences can be obtained by any of the following ways:

REPAIRING AN ITEM:
If an item is broken (such as armor that has all of its boxes marked or a melee weapon that had too much Potence used on it) or has reached its expiration date, it can no longer be used. The item may be restored to full working condition by spending half its original cost (using the original item's primary category). Any item may be repaired at any time (such as to refresh the item's expiration date before it expires or partially restore armor) but the repair costs the full amount.
Examples: A 3 trait, 2 wound gun is would cost 7 (15/2, round down) influences to repair. The same rifle with a silencer would cost 15 (15 for the original rifle + 15 for the silencer/2) to repair.

TIME COST:
If an influence expenditure (including use of herd) uses 10 or less influences, that task takes 10 minutes. Otherwise, the task takes 30 minutes. Reinforcement and ritual research can only be performed during downtime.

ABLATIVE ARMOR:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Street, Corporate.
Each point of armor is a box on the item card. For each hit received in combat, the victim may mark off a box to automatically ignore one wound level of damage. Exceptions: aggravated wounds, the first wound level of damage caused by a staking attempt, and the damage caused by Cauldron may not be soaked by ablative armor. Ablative armor does not regenerate after a scene - once a box is marked off, the ablative armor must be repaired before it is marked again. A character may only wear one armored item.

PERSISTANT ARMOR:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Government, Industry, Underworld.
Persistent Armor functions as Ablative Armor, but repairs all boxes at the end of each scene. Remember, a character may only wear one armored item. DEFENSIVE TRAITS:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Corporate, Street.
Defensive traits may be added to any armor for an additional cost per defensive trait. Defensive traits may be added to any type of armor by adding the influence cost of the defensive trait onto the original cost of the armor. Purely defensive trait armors are always blue cards. FIREARMS:
There are three types of firearms, shotguns, rifles and handguns. Shotguns have a range up to 8 paces, and are able to affect up to two targets in one round. The two targets must be next to each other within a 2 pace range. Rifles are able to affect one target from 8 paces up to 80 paces. Handguns have a range up to 20 paces. Shotguns are able to use plus trait ammunition. Rifles are able to use plus trait ammunition and armor piercing ammunition. Handguns may use plus wound ammunition and plus trait ammunition. Only special storyteller approved ammunition may violate the ammunition rules.

HANDGUNS:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Industry, Corporate.
Handguns may affect one target up to 20 paces. Handguns may be silenced for a double in the cost of the handgun. Handguns may use plus wound ammunition and plus trait ammunition.

RIFLES:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Government, Underworld.
Rifles may affect one target from 8 to 80 paces. Rifles may be silenced for a double in the cost of the rifle. Rifles are able to use plus trait ammunition and armor piercing ammunition. SHOTGUNS:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Street, Underworld.
Shotguns have a range up to 8 paces, and are able to affect up to two targets in one round. The two targets must be next to each other within a 2 pace range. Shotguns may not be silenced. Shotguns are able to use plus trait ammunition. SILENCERS:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Government, Underworld.
Silencers are permanently affixed to a gun (that is, the STs write 'silencer' on the gun card and sign it again). They cannot be detached from the gun once affixed. Certain gun types cannot be silenced: most commonly these are shotguns, although special-case items may be found. AMMUNITION:
There are three types of ammunition, armor piercing, plus trait and plus wound. Each type may only be used in conjunction with the type of firearm that accepts that type of ammunition. Ammunition is bought in clips of five bullets. Ammunition types may stack by adding the amount for both ammunitions together. All ammunition clips are blue cards. An ammunition clip, when bought, will be bought for a specific type of firearm and the clip card will have the type of firearm it is bought for written on the card. Ammunition bought for one type of firearm will not work in another firearm type.

ARMOR PIERCING AMMUNITION:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Industry, Underworld.
Armor Piercing ammunition causes the wounds inflicted by a firearm to ignore the wound reduction of armor.

PLUS TRAIT AMMUNITION:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Street, Corporate.
Plus trait ammunition the bid of a firearm attack. PLUS WOUND AMMUNITION:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Government, Industry.
Use of plus wound ammunition negates the silencer on a firearm. TRANQUILIZER AMMUNITION:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Corporate, Underworld.
Vampires, ghouls and other enlightened creatures are not affected by tranquilizer ammunition. Tranquilizer ammunition may only be used in handguns or rifles. Successful firearms attack allows a simple test to render the target unconscious, attacker wins on ties. BRAWL WEAPONS:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Street, Government.
Brawl weapons simply allow a way for Brawlers to increase their attack and defense bids. MELEE/MISSLE WEAPONS:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Corporate, Street, Industry, Occult.
Melee weapons other than stakes can also be used as missle weapons. STAKES:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Corporate, Street, Industry, Occult.
All stakes are blue cards. Stakes cannot be reinforced. MORTAL NON-LETHAL WEAPONS:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Government, Underworld.
This weapon class allows successful melee attacks to test to be able incapacitate a mortal. On a successful melee attack, the attacker gets a simple/static test (depending on the weapon, see below) to render the victim unconscious. Vampires, ghouls and other enlightened creatures are not affected by these weapons. These weapons are all blue cards. REINFORCEMENT:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Industry, Underworld.
Reinforcement Levels: To use Potence 1b, 2a or 3a, a weapon must be reinforced, regardless of wound levels. OTHER ITEMS:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: See "USES FOR MEDIA". USES FOR MEDIA:
Media is the primary influence for: deactivating cell phones and pagers, voice activated tape recorders, video cameras, small video cameras, rumor mongering, large Masquerade cover ups, influencing herd or feeding when effectiveness is diminished and influences other influence types when effectiveness is diminished, or the ability to diminish feeding or other influence types.

MASQUERADE BREACH COVERUPS:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: See Below. The storytellers will determine what constitutes a miniature, minor, major or massive Masquerade Breech.

DIMINISHING INFLUENCE ATTACK:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Any. HAVEN BUILDING AND ATTACKING:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Any.
For haven information, see the Links section.

INFLUENCE INVESTIGATION:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPES: Any.

RITUAL RESEARCH:
PRIMARY INFLUENCE TYPE: Occult. BUSINESS UNITS:
As a downtime action, a character may spend 15 influences of any one type and $5000 to create a business unit. A business unit (hereafter BU) may be purchased with a layaway card. BU's may be used as influences both at the game and during downtime (except as per exceptions, see below). Exceptions: BU's do not add to hiding or searching for havens, do not count towards a hundred point cap, can be transferred permanently. BU's are also able to create business units, but must be of the same type. LINKS: VERSION CONTROL: