The Relationship
Are you the clan whipping boy, or their fearless leader? Do people expect you to negotiate with the pirates, or don't they trust you to fertilize the crops?
To be influential in your clan will cost you points from your experience pool. The more you spend, the better you can guide your clan down the path you want. On the flip side, they will expect you to do more for them.
Your influence could represent many things. You could be an elected leader, or the biggest bully. You could be good at manipulating clansmen, or just popular for your great fireside stories. How you describe your influence will effect what you need to do to advance it.
Influence can go up and down over the course of the game; you can earn renown on adventures to make them like you more, but if you let the clan business fall to pieces while gallivanting off saving the world they're more likely to harangue you than to praise you when you get back.
How it works
The point cost for each level of influence is below. Note you can also take a negative influence. This gives you more experience points to spend elsewhere, but will have negative repercussions.
| Rank | Cost | What you can expect from them | What they expect from you |
|---|---|---|---|
| -3 | -6 | They would rather you died | They regularly send you on suicide missions |
| -2 | -3 | They actively oppose what you want | They still ask an awful lot of you |
| -1 | -1 | They consider you owe them a favour | They expect you to fulfill it |
| 0 | 0 | Minor help from a few family members | You are expected to be the visual front for the clan in most things |
| 1 | 2 | You have a few members close to you who will help you out. | Your name is known about the clan as someone who can get the job done. |
| 2 | 5 | You can normally find people to help you out | You are a respected member of the clan, the leader(s) often come to you for advice |
| 3 | 9 | You can get your clan to follow your orders. | You lead your clan, they look to you for advice and guidance |
Getting them to help you
Getting your families help is very important in the broken worlds, as you'll need help for most tasks.
Unskilled labour is required to build cathedrals, manpower is required for the more complex magic rituals, and that brand new trebuchet you've just invented needs man power to mass produce. Even more personal taks will need someone to pack your lunch for you, and help you check over your equipment.
Alternatively you might need to clear out a nest of attack badgers living in your basement, and even though you don't have the skill to remove them yourself, at a pinch you can probably find someone with the skills somewhere in your clan.
| Rank | What you can expect from your clan |
|---|---|
| -3 | Your clan hate you and will actively work against you. In practical terms this means 1 action a turn will be a little less successful than it otherwise would have been. |
| -2 | Your clan dislike you enough that they won't help you out, but they won't actively disrupt you. |
| -1 | You clan are mildly ill disposed to you, and will only help you out if you put time into persuading them. |
| 0 | You can get another individual to help you out. |
| 1 | You can get a small group of unskilled members (Skill level 0, just manpower). |
| 2 | You can get a large group of unskilled members, or a single trained professional (Skill level 1). |
| 3 | You can get a group of trained members to help you out. |
What your Clan expect from you.
This is all about what your clan wants you to do you to do. These are either the kinds of tasks given to you by your superiors, or the leadership you're expected to offer. Below are examples of how your influence can change through your ability/neglect of the tasks given to you by your clan. If your clan is built on a specifically different society feel free to discuss another mechanic for changing influence.
| Rank | Improving your standing | Lowering your standing |
|---|---|---|
| -3 | Your clan will frequently set you impossible tasks, but if you can find someone to help you accomplish it, your clan may acknowledge your existence. | N/A |
| -2 | They set you tasks that you could accomplish with significant effort, again this will improve how they view you | Ignore their request frequently and you will lose the little favour they have. |
| -1 | May ask you occasionally to do tasks that require your specific skills, doing this chore for them will improve your standing. | Do something that disgraces the clan. |
| 0 | Make yourself stand out in the eyes of the leaders, showing your capable of more important tasks. | Do something to lower the reputation of the clan, in the society as a whole. |
| 1 | Increase you clans influence somehow, or make yourself indispensable to the clan. | Damage the clan’s image in some way. |
| 2 | You need to bring something invaluable to the clan, either large amounts of wealth, unprecedented magical ability or great leadership. | The clan expects you to fulfil your responsibilities. If you let your bit fall into disrepair then you will lose respect. |
| 3 | N/A | Your Standing is closely associated with the success of the clan as a whole. If the clan falls on hard times they will be looking to you for explanations |