Spending Influence
General
Influence in a Court can be wagered to earn more influence, by wagering on a competition, or by spreading gossip, as described in Earning Influence. In addition, it can be spent, or it can be lost. Influence can be spent on rendezvous, on favors, or on securing letters to attend future courts. Influence can be lost by failing badly in competition, committing a significant moral breech of one of the tenents of bushido (or the Yakuza 'code' for Yakuza courts), or at the end of court or after significant absences.
Rendezvous
A rendezvous is a role-played meeting between a PC or group of PCs and a specific NPC.
Favors
Favors are items or tasks that be requested of a Lord or their Advisors in a court in order to allow the PC to accomplish their mission.
Losing Influence
PCs and NPCs can lose influence for failing badly in competitions, behaving in a way that is below the standards expected of this court, or having bad gossip or falsehoods circulated about them.
Influence losses due to competition are described under Earning Influence.
If a PC is publicly caught in an incident that would cause an honor loss to the Lord of the Court if she were to commit that act, they will receive an Influence Loss equal to the amount of Honor the Lord would lose if they were to commit the breech. Note: It does not matter in this case what the character's personal honor is. Only the Lord's honor, clan priorities, and therefore the expectations of the Court, determines the effect of a social breech on Influence.
A breech of Courtesy, therefore, in a Crab military encampment, might have a very different response than a similar breech in a Phoenix High Court.
If the PC has committed an Honor Breech that causes a loss of Influence, the GM may allow the PC to make a public apology for the breech with a Courtesy/Etiquette roll of TN 30/4. If the apology is accepted, the Influence loss may be halved.
Honor Loss |
Influence Lost |
Trifling |
1 |
Mild |
Lord's Public Honor Rank |
Major |
Lord's Public Honor Rank X 2 |
Massive |
Lord's Public Honor Rank X 4 |
While PCs are expected to behave with Honor equal to and appropriate to the Court in which they are attending, they are not expected to have Glory equal to the Lord of such a Court. However, they are still expected to behave in accordance with their own reputation for Glory and failing to do so has a penalty in Influence.
Note: In addition to normal reasons for Glory Loss, if you are attending with a higher glory due to fame in a specific area (with a Famously Advantage, for example) failures in that specific area are particular harmful to one's Influence. Influence losses, whether in competition or in a glory-losing action, in that area are doubled.
If the PC has committed a Glory Breech that causes a loss of influence, the GM may allow the PC to present a Justification for their actions with a TN 30/4. If the justification is accepted, the loss may be halved.
Note: In addition to normal reasons for Glory Loss, if you are attending with a higher glory due to fame in a specific area (with a Famously Advantage, for example) failures in that specific area are particular harmful to one's Influence. Influence losses, whether in competition or in a glory-losing action, in that area are doubled.
If the PC has committed a Glory Breech that causes a loss of influence, the GM may allow the PC to present a Justification for their actions with a TN 30/4. If the justification is accepted, the loss may be halved.
Glory Loss |
Influence Loss |
Trivial |
1 |
Minor |
Samurai's Glory Rank |
Major |
Samurai's Glory Rank X 2 |
Massive |
Samurai's Glory Rank X 4 |
If Influence goes below -5, the PC may be thrown out of the court in disgrace.
If Influence goes to below -15, the GM may, optionally, have the Lord of the court demand the character's death: by seppuku (in most courts), by a hit (in a Yakuza gang), or by being fought and killed by a village sonchou.
Concluding Court
When a Court finishes or a PC leaves court for an length of time equal to or greater than the number of sequences they participated in the court, they lose the influence they have accumulated during the court. If they return to the same court again, they return with the same Influence they started the Court with.
Before the PCs depart they should spend any accumulated Influence on Favors to be used in the future. If they have influence left over, they can use that Influence to acquire Letters of Invitation for the next court, or Letters of Introduction to other Courts.
If Influence goes to below -15, the GM may, optionally, have the Lord of the court demand the character's death: by seppuku (in most courts), by a hit (in a Yakuza gang), or by being fought and killed by a village sonchou.
Concluding Court
When a Court finishes or a PC leaves court for an length of time equal to or greater than the number of sequences they participated in the court, they lose the influence they have accumulated during the court. If they return to the same court again, they return with the same Influence they started the Court with.
Before the PCs depart they should spend any accumulated Influence on Favors to be used in the future. If they have influence left over, they can use that Influence to acquire Letters of Invitation for the next court, or Letters of Introduction to other Courts.
