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GM Guide: Reputation, Renown, and Intrigue

This page is a GM-facing reference for adjudicating social actions, reputation shifts, and lasting consequences.

Core Principle

Impact determines permanence, not success.

Success answers: Did it work right now?
Impact answers: What did this change about the world?

Step 1: Does This Action Create Reputation?

Ask: - Were there witnesses? - Will the story spread? - Does anyone with power or stake care?

If no, resolve it narratively and move on. The action may still matter fictionally.

If yes, consider what Tag captures the change. Adjust Reputation (positive or negative) in the relevant context.

Step 2: Does This Require an Intrigue Conflict?

Ask: - Are multiple parties invested? - Is there resistance, opposition, or real negotiation? - Could this escalate into broader consequences?

If no, apply the Reputation shift and move on.

If yes, run an Intrigue Conflict.

Step 3: What Changes?

After the action or conflict resolves, ask: - What Tags shift? - Does Renown change? (Only for significant, visible, pattern-establishing events) - What doors open or close? - Who reacts next? - What factions take interest?

Typical Reputation Shifts

These are examples, not hard rules. Always consider who witnessed the act and who cares.

  • Saving a child in public: positive shift
  • Preventing a public disaster: strong positive shift
  • Killing an innocent with witnesses: strong negative shift
  • Exposing corruption with proof: positive shift, likely a new Tag
  • Being exposed as corrupt: strong negative shift, likely a new Tag

When Renown Changes

Renown changes rarely. Single events don't move it.

Renown shifts when: - A pattern of behavior has become undeniable - A public turning point reshapes how a wide audience sees the character - An event is significant enough to enter collective memory

When Renown changes, always add or update a Tag.

Common GM Pitfalls

  • Don't give Reputation shifts for secret actions without witnesses.
  • Don't use Renown as a flat bonus to rolls.
  • Don't resolve major social change with a single unprepared roll.
  • Don't protect institutions from consequences without reason.

Let the world remember.