In this post we’re stepping it up a notch and showing the Specialists, members who will do as much for your faction as you will.
Specialists
Specialists are members that take an active role in leading your faction in a specific manner. They aren’t the rulers of your faction, but they certainly are head and shoulders above the rest, and they have a certain set of skills that can guide your faction in specific direction.
Before you can get Specialists, however, you need to get some Specialist Quarters. These are base acquisitions that you can purchase with your faction’s Wealth Skill, and we covered it when we did Base Building. This is because a Specialist isn’t a lone wolf that goes about things in his own way; he needs the support and infrastructure of the faction in order to get his job done. The Specialist Quarters become the office, workshop, design space, classroom, whatever the Specialist needs in order to carry out his duties.
One Specialist Quarters is only good for one Specialist. They don’t bunk up and they don’t share offices. However, once you have a Specialist Quarters, you can choose any Specialist you want; and you can have as many Specialist Quarters as you can afford, and you can also have more than one Specialist of a given type (eg two Quartermasters).
Types of Specialists
Specialists come in 3 flavours: Managers, Mentors, and Minders. Managers are tied into the Faction Skills and they make sure your faction is performing as best as it can. Mentors are tied into the Faction Specialisations and they boost the performance of a specific Spec. Minders are the miscellaneous pile that takes care of the faction in one way, shape or form.
Managers
Getting a Manager on board will immediately make your life easier and your faction better. Each Manager will either raise or decrease a Skill’s Level (depending if it’s good or bad), and this will happen during every Upkeep (in between sessions). So if you have a Quartermaster and you’re lucky, your faction’s Might Level can increase every session like clockwork.
Quartermaster: During Upkeep, GM rolls 1d100. If the result is less than 60, the faction’s Might Level is increased by the first digit of the result (1-9 being a 0). If result is 90 or greater, the Level is decreased by 1.
Lobbyist: During Upkeep, GM rolls 1d100. If the result is less than 60, the faction’s Notoriety Level is decreased by the first digit of the result (1-9 being a 0). If result is 90 or greater, the Level is increased by 1.
Spokesman: During Upkeep, GM rolls 1d100. If the result is less than 60, the faction’s Reputation Level is increased by the first digit of the result (1-9 being a 0). If result is 90 or greater, the Level is decreased by 1.
Sergeant : During Upkeep, GM rolls 1d100. If the result is less than 60, the faction’s Treachery Level is decreased by the first digit of the result (1-9 being a 0). If result is 90 or greater, the Level is increased by 1.
Shopkeep: During Upkeep, GM rolls 1d100. If the result is less than 60, the faction’s Wealth Level is increased by the first digit of the result (1-9 being a 0). If result is 90 or greater, the Level is decreased by 1.
Mentors
Each Mentor is attached to a specific Specialisation, and they allow the players to spend their own Sigils on the faction members Skill Checks as if the players were rolling themselves. This gives the faction a safety net, and gives the players some control over their faction’s destiny.
Coach: Players can spend Sigils to reroll or give a +25 bonus to faction members’ Athletics Skill Checks
Enforcer: Players can spend Sigils to reroll or give a +25 bonus to faction members’ Coercion Skill Checks
Instructor: Players can spend Sigils to reroll or give a +25 bonus to faction members’ Combat Skill Checks
Tradesman: Players can spend Sigils to reroll or give a +25 bonus to faction members’ Craft Skill Checks
Chauffeur: Players can spend Sigils to reroll or give a +25 bonus to faction members’ Drive Skill Checks
Tutor: Players can spend Sigils to reroll or give a +25 bonus to faction members’ Mental Skill Checks
Diplomat: Players can spend Sigils to reroll or give a +25 bonus to faction members’ Negotiate Skill Checks
Lookout: Players can spend Sigils to reroll or give a +25 bonus to faction members’ Perception Skill Checks
Sage: Players can spend Sigils to reroll or give a +25 bonus to faction members’ Special Skill Checks
Scout: Players can spend Sigils to reroll or give a +25 bonus to faction members’ Stealth Skill Checks
Minders
Each Minder does something unique, but each one is geared towards making up for a weakness in the faction. Whether that is actually going out to find recruits, getting missions, or even reducing the costs of base acquisitions. They are the unsung heroes of the faction, but without them, the faction definitely isn’t doing as well as it could.
Recruiter: During Upkeep, GM rolls 1d100. If the result is greater than the faction’s Might Level, a prospect is recruited.
Liaison: During Upkeep, GM rolls a Reputation Skill Check. If successful, Liaison brings a job opportunity to faction during the next session.
Taskmaster: Handles all faction member missions, and missions gain a +10 bonus to the Skill Check.
Architect: Reduce the cost of a base acquisition by 1, to a minimum of 1.
Physician: Spend a Sigil to reduce the severity of a Might Wound by one step.
Treasurer: Spend a Sigil to reduce the severity of a Wealth Wound by one step.
Bouncer: Spend a Sigil to reroll either the Strength or Flaw of a prospect.
The Righteous Prophets.
Back when we did Base Building, the Prophets didn’t have any money left over to buy Specialist Quarters, so unfortunately for them, they won’t start the game off with any. In saying that, when they do have enough Wealth do get a Specialist, the first one they are going to lay their hands on is a Physician. It’s dangerous work that they do, and they need all hands on deck all the time. They don’t have the luxury of waiting for members to recover, so a household Physician will get them back on their feet in no time.
And that’s it for the Specialists. Tell us what specialists you want to get and how you want to use them; and if you have ideas for more Specialists, we’d love to hear them.
Next time we’ll show you Faction Advancement and how to level up your faction.
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