About - Backgrounds

SIX BACKGROUNDS

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Behind every character is a Cult with thousands of people
who all have their own views and goals, wielding resources far beyond imagining and with its own dark secrets. The character can disregard all of this or use it, they can abandon the path or follow the river of hidden knowledge to the source and ultimately pull the strings at the center of the Cult. The six Backgrounds - Allies, Authority, Renown, Resources, Secrets, and Network - describe how far the character is along the path, what he can do within his Cult, and how charismatic he is outside the Cult. Every Background has a score between and (6), with (6) being the full potential of the respective Background within the Cult. You can raise Attributes and Skills during gameplay with Experience Points (see page 96, “Experience and Progression”), but Backgrounds can only be raised or lowered through the deeds and accomplishments of a character.

During character creation, every character starts with (4) points to assign to the six Backgrounds, however at this point none can rise above (3).

Backgrounds determine the rank within

the Cult together with Skills.

No raising with XP.

4 points during character creation;

no Background score above (3)

ALLIES

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A character with an Allies score has found some assistance within their own Cult. They may be colleagues, comrades, brothers in arms, or friends, but they all side with him when the time comes or the circumstances demand it. They don’t care about the character’s social position. Maybe the character has saved some of them from certain death, others he has impressed with his feats or brought over to his side through blackmail or extortion.

USE:

If the character meets members of his Cult, he might be able to recruit their help. The Allies score determines the number of allies, but also their rank. With a score of (5) or (6), you can get help from the highest ranking Cult members.

GAIN | LOSS:

Allies share the character’s views—but if he changes his moral or ethical disposition or turns his back on the Cult, the old ties will break. An alliance is always a give-and-take thing: allies will demand things from the character. If he does not help, his allies will turn their backs on him.

AUTHORITY

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The character is esteemed for his knowledge, experience, or strength of determination, but he does not have to be a moral compass. His influence stems from his social primacy within the Cult. The stronger his authority, the more likely other Cult members will see his words of advice as commands to follow.

USE:

Authority is used to bring other Cult members into line in social conflicts or to make them do something that they might not necessarily want to do on their own. Most often, it is used in conjunction with CHA+Leadership, CHA+Negotiation, and PSY+Domination.

GAIN | LOSS:

Authority may be sharp as a scalpel, but if the blade remains unused, it will rust. Only those who work proactively on their primacy will not be forced into a corner by other alphas. You'll have to compete with people of the same rank and rise above them to strengthen your authority.

RENOWN

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The character has gained some respect outside of the hierarchy. Inwardly and outwardly, he embodies the Cult’s ideals. He is charismatic, a blazing star in heaven.

USE:

Characters with a high Renown are paragons. In inns, people want to break their bread with them and freely offer them their aid. Renown does not demand anything, but it is very profitable.

GAIN | LOSS:

As opposed to Authority, Renown does not have to be proven. It is born in the minds of your fellows and grows into an idealized view of the character until he is considered an example for the purest and best ideas of the Cult. Only deviant actions or slander can damage Renown.

RESOURCES

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Everyone recognizes a Judge when he sees his coat, hat, and Judgment hammer, or the Spitalian in his neoprene suit and his Splayer.
They are insignia of membership, but also of influence and standing within the Cult. A simple Anabaptist Ascetic may not use a Spitfire in battle, that is a prerogative of the Furors. An Apocalyptic Battle Crow having a try at a Tarot flies too close to the sun.
The Resource score determines what the character can get from his Cult.

USE:

Every Cult object has a Resource value and a price (see Chapter 8, “Bazaar”). While the price is important for markets, the Resource value determines how the object can be acquired within the Cult.
If the object’s Resource value is lower than the character's Resource score, the character may simply take the object as their influence is high enough that they will simply be given it. If the character’s Resource score is equal to the object’s value, the same is true, but the character’s Resources are reduced by (1) as the character uses up some good will from their Cult.
Please note: not everything is available everywhere. The most valuable Cult artifacts, at Resources (5) to (6), can only be found in a Cult's headquarters.

GAIN | LOSS:

A gain in Resources often accompanies important missions or comes as a reward when a great feat of the character fills the arsenals. A high Resource score is always a sign of trust and appreciation. However, those who only enrich themselves from the arsenals by greedily hoarding treasures or wasting Cult resources will quickly turn the Cult against them. Their access to Resources will dwindle.

SECRETS

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The Anubian rites are only mumbo-jumbo to hide the truth from the eyes of the villagers. What kind of influence would they hold if everyone knew that?
Under Cathedral City, manuscripts detailing every step of Rebus, the Anabaptists' founder, are stored. They permit for other interpretations than the official ones everyone is taught these days.
In the Cluster, secrets centuries old simmer behind cascades of password barriers in crypto vaults. Those who penetrate to the depths of the Cults look behind the veneer of heroic deeds into the vortex of history, recognize the network of necessities. The Spitalian begins to learn the atrocities that Preservists’ have carried out, the Paler begins to understand Getrell’s Memetics and their impact on himself and his community. The Secrets score signifies how close the character has come to the truth about his Cult.

USE:

Those who know the Secrets can judge the true meaning of a decision from above. They know hidden or abandoned facilities (bonus on INS+Orienteering) and can start to guess the truth behind the legends surrounding the Cult (bonus on INT+Legends). They know passwords or the entrances to ancient doorways. However, illegal deeds of corrupt and influential Cultists, along with the deals they make, also fall under “Secrets” and can help to gain short time advantages in exchange for eternal enmities. A high Secrets score reveals shortcuts and promises additional information during the game.

GAIN | LOSS:

The truth is infectious and incurable. It lurks in forbidden places and rises from a dying man’s lips. If anyone were around to hear it, their ideas of the origin of the Cults or the true nature of certain events could be changed forever, as they gain a point of Secrets. However, those who use this secret knowledge recklessly risk their lives. A secret has no power if everyone knows it, and as such those who use the compromising knowledge and make it public can lose points of Secrets.

NETWORK

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The Cults are not hermetic enclosures. Beyond the control structures, rank hierarchies and ancient traditions, they fracture into groups of individuals. In the inns, Anabaptists drink with Scrappers, and Hellvetics laugh at the jokes of the Apocalyptics. People from different Cults know each other—and sometimes, they even help each other out, even if their Cults are publicly opposed. The Network Background is used to determine the contacts a given character has outside of their own Cult.

USE:

What is going on in the city? Where do I get a job? Who profits from this murder? Have you heard anything about a profitable field of ruins? A character with a functioning Network will be sure to find someone who can answer these questions.

GAIN | LOSS:

People prefer dealing with someone they know. Favors small and large, a strong, helping hand; ritualized companionship in inns, or simply a fistful of Chronicler Drafts: as if of its own volition, a Network grows around a friendly or fascinating person. For some, this is hard work. Brutal or unpredictable people can become socially outcast and thus lose access to parts of their Network.