Notoriety and Exploits

For one of my games, I wanted to use the Exploit system. But I found it a bit lackluster and it fell by the wayside.
I also ran into an issue where I would occasionally find myself wondering if a character would know the PCs, and wanting some method of randomly determining that. I also find the "Obligation/Duty as Threshold" optional rules lackluster, and wanted to come up with something better.

So I decided to fix both problems at once today, and came up with mechanics suitable for many sorts of groups, not just Bounty Hunters. So, here it is and I hope you find it useful.

There are two categories:

The first is Notoriety and Reputation: How many people know you, and what they think of you.
This is all meant as a GM aid, and a GM is well within their rights to choose how much a given NPC knows of the PCs.

The second is more unique to the group: Exploits, Affiliation, and Blunders. These mark your players, providing bonuses and maluses, and influence how people react to them.
This overhaul is meant to expand the rules to serve multiple sorts of groups, not just Bounty Hunters, and to simplify it in some regards.

Any feedback and suggestions are more than welcome.

This is nice! Even without the mechanics, the categories are helpful GM guides for player's impact on the game world.

Uhm... what is the "Exploit system"?

9 minutes ago, micheldebruyn said:

Uhm... what is the "Exploit system"?

From No Disintegrations.

I like this idea. I have often wanted a quantified score for a given character/group as far as how well they are known and what that means. I generally use a faction system, but I think Notoriety/Exploits is a good way to have a unified index. If the PCs have bad faction (reputation etc) with the Hutts will that impact the way that the local Swoop Gang sees them? What about CorSec?

I really like the idea, and think this is something that the game should have.

I also really like what you wrote up P-47, and something related will likely make it into a game near me.

My biggest struggle with it is how far and fast should these things spread, and how impressive should your action be to get you noticed? In a galaxy of many Trillion or Quadrillion beings it should take something pretty impressive to get you noticed. As the movie said, ""There are eight million stories in the naked city." In Star Wars whatever you did, was probably done 8 million times that same day across the galaxy!

The PCs are intended to be special, but neither Obi-Won or Luke had heard of Han Solo or the Millennium Falcon, and within their subculture they were probably pretty well known. (And yes, P-47, you have a -40 modifier that relates, just having conversation!)

31 minutes ago, RickInVA said:

I really like the idea, and think this is something that the game should have.

I also really like what you wrote up P-47, and something related will likely make it into a game near me.

My biggest struggle with it is how far and fast should these things spread, and how impressive should your action be to get you noticed? In a galaxy of many Trillion or Quadrillion beings it should take something pretty impressive to get you noticed. As the movie said, ""There are eight million stories in the naked city." In Star Wars whatever you did, was probably done 8 million times that same day across the galaxy!

The PCs are intended to be special, but neither Obi-Won or Luke had heard of Han Solo or the Millennium Falcon, and within their subculture they were probably pretty well known. (And yes, P-47, you have a -40 modifier that relates, just having conversation!)

First I'll address your specific example:

On Han Solo, that would fall into the section on secrecy (or just a bad roll, since, as you mentioned, there are some pretty serious negatives involved).

As a smuggler, high notoriety would be a liability. He'd probably have enough Notoriety that someone with pretty good knowledge of the field has a decent chance to have heard of him, while someone without is unlikely to have ever come across his name (possibly with an adjusted notoriety below 0).

Now the general principle: Yes, this is a reasonable concern, but the system only works as intended if you allow the PCs to gain a decent amount of Notoriety. If they barely get above 10 over the course of a campaign spanning dozens of sessions in spite of their efforts, it's not going to be of much use.
This system isn't for everyone, or every style of game, it is intended for a game where the PCs are expected to become fairly notable, perhaps even as well-known as characters like Cade Bane or Boba Fett, though that is a way off.
As for the actions to gain that recognition, it is up to the GM. Like the Duty and Obligation systems, it is easily modifiable by the GM. Perhaps I should consider adding a section discussing ways to slow it down or alternate methods of handling it (such as no automatic Notoriety).

One important variable is the length of campaign. In my case, the campaign I specifically had in mind when making these rules is probably going to last somewhere in the realm of 30 sessions, with about as many jobs. So they are unlikely to gain more than ~80 or so Notoriety, which is about what I intended.

A few other notes:
The notoriety system could be limited to only people in your field.
It could be limited to an astrographical location or region.
You could scrap the 1 Notoriety per session rule, instead only awarding it when you deem appropriate.
Reputation does not have these same difficulties, as a client is likely to already know a lot about you. Even if you are little-known, a client may know your exploits via word of mouth and recommendation.

I observed that I was not entirely clear regarding the roll, though I imagine readers can deduce what was intended. I'll rewrite that section soon to make it more clear.

Edit: Have now adjusted the wording. I also added a clarification on the "+5 per" in the exploits section that it is to a maximum of +25.

@P-47 Thunderbolt

Very interesting, what do you feel are the benefits for such sytem over the GM just deciding before hand how well known they would be in a certain place or by a certain person?

A small concern for me, would this add more book keeping? I already feel maxed out with how much I record and prepare for my sessions.

Just now, CloudyLemonade92 said:

Very interesting, what do you feel are the benefits for such sytem over the GM just deciding before hand how well known they would be in a certain place or by a certain person?

A small concern for me, would this add more book keeping? I already feel maxed out with how much I record and prepare for my sessions.

It gives a metric or guideline for how well known they are, and also adds a certain amount of randomness. It also helps you not fall into the rut of everyone or no one recognizing the PCs, or dramatic swings between.

As for bookkeeping, I don't think it's that big a deal. It's a pretty simple thing to keep track of along with Obligation, Duty, or Morality* and requires very little in the way of mid-session activity or prep work. If you're deciding ahead of time for a particular NPC you plan for them to meet, you could roll the check ahead of time. If it's an NPC you came up with on the fly, you might roll in the session. If the PCs ask "Don't you know who we are?" That's a perfect time to roll.

Most of the time, it doesn't matter whether X NPC knows the PCs or not. Sometimes it's particularly plot important that they do or don't. This is for a gray area where it could go either way. It is also used for determining whether Exploits, Blunders, and Affiliation applies.

Those are the pieces that require the most bookkeeping, but even then not all that much. When determining the price of a job, I bake in the modifiers from the get-go to come up with my result. It may be an additional step for some, but I use the rules in No Disintegrations for determining the price of a job so it's not extra for me. Then it's just like a talent for the PCs "Add Boost to X" or "Add Setback to Y."

Notoriety and Reputation can still be used without the others, though.

The modifiers for the roll are the most complex part of the Notoriety system, but even then I don't think it's all that complicated. They are pretty bare-bones and can all fit on a single index card if you need a cheat sheet.

The system isn't for everyone, and would not match some styles. Some may not like stopping for 15 seconds for a roll, while others (like me) enjoy that. In a PbP, that distinction becomes utterly meaningless.

*Duty requires more bookkeeping and is more complex since you're dealing with individual PCs. Same with Morality. Obligation is less likely to require adjustment every session.

On 10/9/2020 at 9:52 PM, P-47 Thunderbolt said:

From No Disintegrations.

There is one big thing I would change about this.

I dislike on principle giving out extra powers to specific characters for 0 XP. When 5 players have 500 XP each, but two of them have a bunch of extra stuff because they have been playing the Exploit mini game, something is off. I would apply this

I feel strongly that this reputation mechanic and it's bonus powers should apply to the entire party and not just individual members of it.

3 hours ago, micheldebruyn said:

There is one big thing I would change about this.

I dislike on principle giving out extra powers to specific characters for 0 XP. When 5 players have 500 XP each, but two of them have a bunch of extra stuff because they have been playing the Exploit mini game, something is off. I would apply this

I feel strongly that this reputation mechanic and it's bonus powers should apply to the entire party and not just individual members of it.

It does.