Reputation, Renown, and Relationships¶

This system governs how characters are perceived, remembered, and pressured by the world. It is intentionally slow-moving, contextual, and resistant to sudden extremes. Reputation reflects immediate pressure. Renown reflects lasting visibility. Relationships resist or redirect both.

This system is not intended to replace roleplay. It exists to support it.

Core Concepts¶

Reputation (Rep)¶

Reputation represents short- to mid-term social pressure. It is how a character is currently being treated by people who know of them, whether positively or negatively.

Reputation:

Shifts more frequently than Renown
Is context-sensitive
Accumulates consequences
Is bounded by the character's Renown

Reputation is always tracked within a range determined by Renown.

Renown¶

Renown represents how widely known a character is, for good or ill. It is slow to change and reflects lasting visibility, notoriety, or influence.

Renown:

Changes rarely
Applies broadly across regions and factions
Increases how much pressure a character can absorb
Does not directly impose behavior, but amplifies consequences

Renown ranges from –6 to +6.

Renown	Meaning
±1	Noticed
±2	Known
±3	Marked
±4	Influential
±5	Defining
±6	Legendary / Infamous

Values beyond ±6 should be represented through Tags, not higher numbers.

Reputation Limits¶

A character's Reputation is limited by their Renown.

Reputation Range

± (7 + Renown)

This ensures:

Characters with positive Renown can sustain more pressure
Characters with negative Renown have less margin for error
Reputation never collapses to zero capacity

Examples:

Renown	Reputation Range
+4	±11
0	±7
–3	±4
–6	±1

Reputation cannot exceed this range. When it reaches a limit, further pressure produces qualitative consequences instead of numeric change.

Tags¶

Tags are descriptive markers that define how a character is known.

Tags:

Are verbal, narrative cues
Are faction- or context-specific
Can be positive, negative, or mixed
Do not replace numbers, but guide interpretation

Examples:

"Trusted Performer"
"Imperial Liability"
"Verdanni Ally"
"Unpredictable"
"Quietly Protected"

Tags can be gained independently of Renown changes and may persist even as numbers fluctuate.

Relationships¶

Relationships represent personal or organizational bonds that can resist, redirect, or transform pressure. Relationships have Depth, tracked from 0 to 4.

Depth	Meaning
0	Known
1	Trusted
2	Proven
3	Bound
4	Defining

Depth reflects shared history, risk, and emotional investment.

Relationship Interaction with Reputation¶

When a Reputation effect would apply within a relationship's context:

Determine the Reputation change normally.
Reduce the effective impact by the Relationship's Depth.
Apply the result to Reputation, not Renown.

Relationships:

Reduce effective pressure
Do not erase Renown
Do not permanently cancel consequences
Can be overwhelmed if pressure grows large enough

A relationship does not protect against visibility. It protects against interpretation and response.

Converting Rep to Renown¶

Reputation acts as a buffer that converts into Renown over time. At the end of a scene, if Rep is at it's limit:

At it's upper limit, Renown increases by +1, and Rep resets to 0.
At it's lower limit, Renown decreases by −1, and Rep resets to 0.

Large or repeated actions may move Rep multiple steps at once, but Rep cannot exceed ±6 from a single action.

Renown represents what sticks once the dust settles. Renown should not change due to:

Single social rolls
Isolated conflicts
Private actions
One-off failures or successes

When Renown changes, consider adding or adjusting Tags.

Reputation at the Limits¶

When Reputation reaches its maximum or minimum:

Further pressure does not increase the number
Consequences become narrative and structural
Tags may intensify or harden
Factions may act independently of the character's wishes

This is not a failure state. It is a transition point.

Relationship Advancement and Effort¶

Relationships may advance naturally through play.

Additionally, at session end, a player may spend Effort to advance a relationship if:

They have 7 or more Effort
The advancement can be justified fictionally (on-screen or off-screen)
The GM agrees it fits the tone and circumstances

This is a tool for reinforcing bonds that matter, not the primary method of relationship growth.

GM Guidance¶

Favor slow accumulation over sudden shifts
Let Tags do narrative work before numbers change
Use Relationships to localize consequences
Allow Renown to create pressure, not certainty
Avoid omniscient classification or instant judgment

Cities are political organisms, not machines. Knowledge spreads unevenly. Power reacts slowly.

Design Note¶

This system is intentionally asymmetric.

Being known gives resilience, not safety.
Being loved does not erase history.
Being infamous does not mean being helpless.

Pressure should feel earned, layered, and playable.

Typical Reputation Shifts¶

These are examples, not hard rules.

Saving a child in public: +2 to +3 Rep
Preventing a public disaster: +4 to +5 Rep
Humiliating a rival publicly: +3 Rep
Killing an innocent with witnesses: −4 to −6 Rep
Exposing corruption with proof: +4 Rep
Being exposed as corrupt: −5 Rep

The GM should always consider who witnessed the act and who cares.

Geography and Effective Renown¶

Renown is not equally effective everywhere.

Distance¶

For every 100 miles from a character's home or primary base, treat Renown as 1 step closer to 0.

Borders¶

Being outside one's home country or cultural sphere reduces effective Renown by 1 additional step.
This stacks with distance penalties.

Home Ground¶

When acting within one's home base or headquarters, Renown is treated as 2 steps further from 0.

Effective Renown cannot exceed the character's actual Renown.

Renown in Intrigue Conflicts¶

Renown does not modify dice directly.

Instead, Renown provides passive Social Force in Intrigue Conflicts.

Effective Renown contributes Social Force equal to half its value, rounded down.
This force is always active and does not need to be spent.

Renown influences: - How seriously arguments are taken
- What outcomes are plausible
- How visible consequences become

Renown affects permanence, not success.

Reputation in Intrigue Conflicts¶

Reputation is spendable pressure.

During an Intrigue Conflict, Rep may be spent to: - Temporarily increase Social Force
- Escalate the stakes of a scene
- Push consequences into the public eye
- Force a response or commitment

Rep is about momentum, not certainty.
Spending Rep increases risk as much as reward.

Renown, Community, and Power¶

Renown interacts strongly with Community Gifts and Station Gifts.

Communities can project Renown beyond distance limits.
Titles and positions modify how Renown is interpreted.
Institutions remember longer than individuals.

A character's Renown often matters more than their personal presence.

Design Notes¶

Renown measures memory, not morality.
Reputation measures reaction, not influence.
Impact determines permanence, not success.
Renown shapes what changes are possible.
Reputation determines how fast those changes happen.

Renown is history forming in real time.