Renown
& Reputation
As your character proceeds in their
adventuring
career, they may do well, and may even become famous for it. To represent
the effects of this fame, Legends
uses rules for renown
and reputation.
Respectively, these represent just how well-known you are, and what you
are known for.
Renown & reputation are used to
determine the outcomes of many social
actions, as well as the effects of some Appeal
Abilities. Depending on the GM's preferences, they may track all
characters' renown & reputation, or they may have you track
your
own.
Individuals &
Groups
You
and the other
PCs will typically have the same renown & reputation, since you
adventure together and partake in the same quests and great deeds.
However, renown & reputation is technically tracked on
an individual basis,
which may become relevant if your party members
include NPCs with different backstories, or PCs coming out of
retirement from previous campaigns. You always use your own individual
renown and reputation when resolving any rules; it is not overridden by
the majority reputation of the group. However, if you adventure with a
group for any length of time - certainly if you gain further renown
with that group - all members tend to merge into the same reputation
type. Keep an eye on your friends, as their actions may affect your reputation as well!
Renown is not changed by joining or
leaving a group.
You will not lose renown by accepting a less-famous member into your
party, nor will you gain it if you team up with a more-renowned
individual.
Renown
Renown represents
how well-known and frequently talked-about you and your deeds are in
Lur-Asko.
Unless they devote themselves to secrecy, few adventuring parties that
achieve success can avoid fame, and it's seldom beneficial for them to
avoid it. Keep in mind, however, that renown does not describe what
kind of
fame or infamy you have - those considerations are covered by
reputation rules instead.
Gaining Renown
Your
renown begins at 0, and you gain
points of renown by doing great deeds outside of secrecy - that is,
they can be witnessed or made public in some credible way. Frequently,
these are the same events that generate large amounts of XP for some or all members of the
party. In
most circumstances, you will gain an amount of renown equal to 1/10 of
your XP daily reward, delayed to whatever time the deeds you gained XP
for can be made known. For days when PCs earned significantly
different amounts of XP, the larger amount will likely be used to
determine renown gains for each party member. The renown gain may be
higher for deeds which are greatly publicized and relevant to the
public, and likewise lower for more obscure acts. As with XP, the GM
always has the final decision of how much renown to award.
Notably, renown is not gained for amounts of XP that
you fail to actually gain due to minimum reward rules. This reflects
the reality of how it is easier to gain basic notoriety than it is to
continually exceed the fame of other well-known figures.
Renown can also be gained through
certain Appeal Abilities.
It technically has no maximum.
Losing Renown
During
a campaign, renown can only be lost due to slander.
Between campaigns, renown will decay at a rate of 4 per
season, to a minimum of 1/25 of your XP Net Worth;
Lur-Asko simply shifts its focus to currently-active adventurers,
though you may not disappear from the public consciousness entirely if you gained enough
renown.
The minimum of 1/25 your XP Net Worth applies only
to losses from between-campaign decay, and renown can still be reduced
below this value by slander. Renown can never be less than 0.
Nobles, guild leaders, celebrities, or other NPCs
who gain their fame by means other than adventuring may have an amount
of renown that does not decay with time, or decays more slowly. Of
course, they are not normally able to make rapid gains in renown as
adventurers can.
Geographical Renown
Your renown is only completely effective
in a region
where you are known to operate. Wander too far from your sphere of
influence, and you will find yourself less famous until you can prove
yourself. Word travels more slowly between regions, and even slower
between realms.
For the purposes of renown rules in Lur-Asko, a region is defined
as a single city, together with all villages and settlements
to which that city is closest. Whenever
you gain any amount of renown, your renown becomes fully effective
throughout your current region. If you go to a new region, your renown
is considered to be 5 lower than it actually is
(to a minimum of
0). If you go to an entirely new realm in which you have not yet gained
renown, the effect is 10 lower instead of 5. When you are able to gain
any amount of renown in your new region, these penalties are entirely removed;
once you gain the people's attention, news of your exploits in other
areas tends to enter the conversation.
If your renown decays to 0 between
campaigns, the
rules above are reset; you must start over and treat all
regions
as new regions.
The Gelid Isles, Myrabilis, and Unhartaren are considered to be their
own renown regions, despite the latter two not including a major city.
Renown Between Travelers
Travelers tend to pick up rumors and
apply
information from their current environment, regardless of where they
are actually from. When a renowned character/party meets you and your
fellow PCs, they apply their renown according to whatever region you
are both currently in. That is, if they have gained renown in your
current region, they count their full renown for the purpose of any
social actions or Appeal Abilities used against you. The same rules
apply for your party versus theirs, and for all traveling characters in
general.
Concealing Renown
If you (and the rest of your party) are able to conceal your identity
with Stealth Abilities or otherwise prevent people from recognizing
you, your renown is temporarily considered to be 0. Obviously, you will
not gain renown from any deeds done with your identity concealed.
Effects of Renown
The most important effects of renown are generally its impact on
social actions and Appeal Abilities. The GM may also use your renown to
determine people's reactions to you:
-At
0 renown, you
are unknown to the average person. In their eyes
you are effectively interchangeable with anyone else similar to you.
None of your past deeds are familiar to them.
-Between
1-7 renown,
the average person is only vaguely familiar with who you are. The GM
may roll a d8 on your renown to determine if a specific person knows
any details about you.
-At 8 renown,
the average person knows who you are. You
are probably noticed, but not frequently talked about. They have only
the most basic familiarity with your deeds, and will respond with
friendliness, suspicion, hostility, or mild curiosity (according to your
reputation).
-At
15 renown,
the average person knows a good story about you. You are the
subject of local discussion, but do not dominate it. They know the main
points of your deeds, and will respond accordingly. The authorities of
the area will likely keep a close eye on you (for negative
reputations), or officially acknowledge you (for positive reputations).
-At 30 renown,
the average person instantly recognizes you and probably knows several
stories about you. You are
a frequent topic in local discussion. They know even the small
details of many of your deeds. The authorities of the area will
"strongly encourage" you to leave their region (for negative
reputations), or officially honor you (for positive reputations).
Reputation
Reputation
determines what your amount of renown actually means to those who have
heard about you. Your renown may give people incentive to fear you
and/or trust you, and both are useful to you in different
ways.
Unlike renown, reputation is not
quantified in an amount of
points. Instead, reputation
is divided into 6 types, each one a summary of the beliefs people have
about you.
Whereas renown is fairly
constant and varies only if you go to a new
region, reputation rules are very subjective, and are considered
separately for different people who observe you.
For example, you might
have a Barbaric reputation with an invading enemy army, but a
Benevolent reputation with the townsfolk you are defending from them.
It's up to the GM to determine what reputation type you have with NPCs,
but generally speaking, you will have a single reputation with the
commoners of an entire renown region. Your reputation with your current
region has significant impacts on how your renown can be leveraged via social actions, and it is closely guarded by any wise and
self-respecting adventuring party.
NPCs also have a reputation type with your party. This
is appropriately decided in-character, as your character's thoughts are
up to you. Still, remember to keep your PC's opinions reasonable; if
you are constantly changing what you consider an NPC's reputation type
to be simply to avoid the worst consequences from their social actions,
this is a gross violation of the rule against metagaming. Until you
know more about a newly-met NPC, defaulting to the majority reputation
they have in your current renown region is likely appropriate, unless
there are special circumstances of philosophy or faction.
Reputation
Types
Benevolent
You are perceived as trustworthy, and
people have
reason to believe they will benefit from your actions. They do not fear
you, even if you are powerful, because they believe you act in their
best interests.
This is the best reputation if your primary goal is to gain trust and
influence others in a positive way.
Examples:
-Charitable and heroic adventurers
-Most fellow soldiers on the same side in
a war
-Most parties within the same faction
Audacious
You are perceived as generally
trustworthy, and people
have reason to believe they will benefit from your actions. However,
they also fear that your actions may have negative consequences for
them as well.
This is the best reputation if you generally want to influence others
and gain trust, but still want to be able to throw your weight around
on occasion.
Examples:
-Most city nobles
-Good-hearted, but assertive or reckless
adventurers
Impersonal
You are perceived as neither a threat nor
particularly
helpful. People may be aware of your renowned deeds, but have no reason
to believe your future deeds will notably affect them.
This reputation is the least able to be leveraged for beneficial
effects, although it protects your renown from outside slander; it's
difficult to motivate people to question your fame when the matter
doesn't make any personal difference to them.
Examples:
-Accomplished merchants
-Adventurers who mainly do independent
quests for personal profit
-Many non-adventuring celebrities
Comical
You are perceived as only famous
due to dumb
luck. People believe you are incompetent or silly, and have no reason
to either fear or rely on you.
This is generally the least desirable reputation - it has all the
weaknesses of Impersonal, without the strengths. The one silver lining
is that people love humor, and a talented Bard can leverage this
reputation for future renown.
Examples:
-Previously accomplished adventurers who
have recently become bunglers
-People who are believed to owe their
success to someone else
Oppressive
You are perceived as a threat, and people
have reason
to fear that your actions will harm them. However, there is some
element of trust as well - perhaps they know you can be treated with or
assuaged, or perhaps they know it's in your interests to look out for
them in some way.
This is the best reputation if your primary goal is to coerce others
through intimidation, and are powerful or crafty enough to avoid
retaliation.
Examples:
-Tyrannical rulers
-Most bandits and pirates
-Enemy soldiers known to give quarter
Barbaric
You are perceived as a threat, and people
have reason
to fear that your actions will harm them. They do not trust you, and
they think you cannot be reliably placated in any way.
This is the best reputation if your only social goal is to cause fear.
It can be counterproductive if you actually want to coerce things out
of people.
Examples:
-Adlet raiders in Skreti
-Enemy soldiers known to take no prisoners
-Murderhobos