Status and Reputation
Within a Camarilla court, there are layers of intrigue, status and reputation. While Status is gained from interaction with court officials, carrying out great deeds and the claiming of positions, Reputation is much more ephemeral and transitory. Status, especially abiding Status, changes slowly, if at all. However, one can lose or gain Reputation in a single evening.
Reputation is a measure of how the members of the court perceive your character, based entirely on who your character is and what they do. To hold a Reputation, your character must be an Accepted member of the Camarilla. Reputation carries with you between courts however it does not transfer to that new court. Your character holds the Reputation of the court in which they are a permanent resident.
Example: Barnabas the Malkavian is a resident of the court of Bath, and has a reputation in that court of Revered. He visits the Bristol court during his downtime actions and is introduced to the Bristol Prince as “Barnabas of Clan Malkavian, Revered in the Court of Bath.”
Reputation is calculated by the Storytellers and Master Harpy and comprise of several factors:
- Who your character is (Age, Generation)
- How they are perceived in the court (Camarilla Title i.e. Primogen, Prince)
- Their behaviour within society (fulfilling Prestation, owing boons)
- What they do (downtime actions)
- The views of the Harpies
Who your character is -
Age and Generation provide points towards towards Reputation, to represent the way that the Camarilla view older and more powerful Vampires positively.
How they are perceived in the court -
Holding titles provides points to Reputation. Each title provides points, if your character holds multiple titles (i.e. Sheriff and Scourge) then they receive points for each.
Their behaviour within society -
Prestation and Boons are the currency of the Camarilla and the way that your character interacts with this system influences their Reputation. Points are given for both owning Boons and for fulfilling Prestation. These points are awarded per Boon / Prestation fulfilled and therefore can contribute very high numbers towards your Reputation.
What they do -
Downtime Reputation is a single figure based on how your character’s downtime is perceived by others in the Court. Carrying out downtime in secret without any members of the court knowing about it therefore does not award Reputation (although it can obviously have a variety of other benefits for your character). Conversely, carrying out a public downtime which reflects poorly on your character can lose points. The ST decide how many points are awarded from your characters downtime actions and their decision is final.
The views of the Harpies -
The Harpies of the Court can make or break a Kindred. In Bath Camarilla, this is partly represented by their influence on the Reputation system. After each game, Harpies can Praise or Scorn a character, with Praise providing points and Scorn removing them. Lesser Harpies can Praise up to three Kindred and Scorn up to three Kindred each downtime. The Master Harpy can Praise up to five Kindred and Scorn up to five Kindred, and their Praise / Scorn are worth more points. Harpies can Praise or Scorn any member of the court, including the Prince and each other. Praise and Scorn are always treated as public downtime actions, therefore can impact on the Harpy’s own reputation depending on how it is perceived by the court.
The Reputation system
Reputation is calculated before each session, with an Out Of Character document called “The Greasy Pole” being added to your downtime return in your G Drive. You can bring this document to the game, it is treated the same as your character sheet in that it is a purely Out Of Character document used to aid your memory. The Greasy Pole lists every Accepted member of the court of Bath with their current (at session start) Reputation represented with one of ten levels. Characters can only hold one Reputation at a time.
Loathed
Scorned
Unwanted
Tolerated - essentially, neutral
Approved
Well Regarded
Respected
Favoured
Revered
When your character concept is approved, the ST team will calculate your starting Reputation, based on your Age, Generation and any court Titles you begin with. As such, you will find after your first session that your reputation changes considerably once the other factors are added to your score.
Increasing / decreasing Reputation
As part of the Downtime return, your character’s Reputation changes are calculated by the ST team. In order to change Reputation, your score must meet one of the following conditions
- To increase to a new level of Reputation, your new score must be twice the amount of your current score
- To decrease to a new level, your new score must be less that half the amount of your current score
- If your new score is equal to, or less than twice / more than half of your current score, your Reputation remains unchanged.
Example: Maggs is known as an Approved member of the court of Bath. After the downtime calculation of her score, it is clear that she has earned twice her current number of Reputation points. She begins the next session as a Well Regarded member of the court of Bath.
Example: Malice is known as a Tolerated member of the court of Bath. However, after the downtime calculation of his score, he has earned less than half of his current score. He begins the next session as an Unwanted member of the court of Bath, and must earn twice his new score in order to return to Tolerated.
As you can see from the examples, whilst climbing the Greasy pole is very hard, slipping down is frighteningly easy.
Effects of Reputation
Reputation (at least the levels above Blood Hunted) is primarily intended to influence roleplay. It does not give you bonuses or penalties to checks, nor does it prevent you from accessing Status or Boons. It is designed to be complementary to the MET Status system, rather than replacing it.
Some examples of how to use the Reputation system in your roleplay are below. These are by no means prescriptive, and the ST’s encourage you to approach your roleplay creatively. If you have any questions regarding the Reputation system, speak with the ST team.
Positive Reputation -
Alphonse the Well Regarded Malkavian has decided he wants to offer a Boon to the notoriously difficult Toreador Primogen, Lily. He approaches and suggests that he assist her in setting up her next Salon, since he has connections with a travelling circus. Lily considers the offer. She knows that Alphonse has no Status traits at present and that he is a member of the “lower” clans, however he is Well Regarded in the court. As such, she decides to accept a Trivial Boon from him.
Negative Reputation -
Jonathon, the Toreador Elder, hears a rumour that Lily is planning a Salon which will probably attract the attention of the Harpies and perhaps even the Primogen of the Clan. Unfortunately, despite his age, he has made some errors recently and is currently Unwanted, therefore Lily chooses not to send him an invitation. He tries to convince the lesser Harpies to intervene for him by offering a minor Boon, which the Harpy refuses. At the next session, he realises that the Harpy has Scorned him and his reputation has suffered even more.
Restoring Reputation -
In order to restore his Reputation, Jonathan begins to take steps over the next few sessions. He offers Boons freely and completes prestation whenever it is asked. He supports the Harpies openly and when a chance comes to carry out some minor tasksfor the Toreador Primogen, he takes them (carried out in his downtime). The Lesser Harpies begin to praise him and he gains Reputation from his downtime actions. The other members of the court notice that he has changed his attitude and begin to accept offers of help from him more readily. After several sessions, his Reputation in the court returns to Tolerated.