Reputation

Bard Initial Reputation

2d4 Roll	Index	Title
2	0	Unsung
3	1	Accepted
4	2	Known
5	3	Noted
6	4	Good standing
7	5	Liked
8	6	Well-known

Reputation Modifiers

Index	Title
0	Unsung
1	Accepted
2	Known
3	Noted
4	Good standing
5	Liked
6	Well-known
7	Admired
8	Prominent
9	Distinguished
10	Popular
11	Reputable
12	Honored
13	Celebrated
14	Illustrious
15	Eminent
16	Acclaimed
17	Prestigious
18	Famous/Infamous
19	Renowned
20	Revered

Reputation Modifiers

Last performance was
within the week	+1
over a week ago	0
over a month ago	-1
over 3 months ago	-2
over 6 months ago	-3
over 9 months ago	-4
over a year ago	-5
Each attempt to publicly influence reactions
that succeeds	+2
fails, but no reaction adjustment	-1
fails and worsens reactions	-3
Money spent on local appearance/reputation:
0% of income	-2
10% of income	0
25% of income	+1
50% of income	+2
75% of income	+3
90% of income	+4
Completed a local adventure	+1
Fulfilled a local quest	+2
Blamed for a violent crime	-2
Convicted of a violent crime	-5
DM's option	+/-5

Fame & Infamy

Fame Scale

Calmed a violent situation	+2
Made a hostile person look foolish	+1
Turned a crowd's mood against evil	+3
Prevented a crime from occuring	+2
Upheld a good person's reputation	+1
Upheld what's right vs. adversaries	+1

Infamy Scale

Blamed for a nonviolent crime	+1
Avoided imprisonment	+2
Escaped imprisonment	+3
Make town watch look foolish	+1
Created a political scandal	+3

Preceding Reputation

Distance from Base	Reputation Decline
1 town or 25 miles	-2
2 towns or 50 miles	-4
3 towns or 100 miles	-6
4 towns or 150 miles	-8
5 towns or 200 miles	-10
Farther	No Reputation

So how good is a bard's performance? It depends partly upon his skill and level, but most importantly, upon his reputation. The songs of a famous skald hailing from the icy north are met with great anticipation and acceptance. An infamous blade known for his many assassinations draws just as large a crowd to his daring performances of weaponry.

Reputation is an intangible aspect of any bard. As the bard travels the path of life, his reputation can grow into that of a great singing hero, it can be slandered so everyone thinks the bard is a cowardly oaf, or the bard's reputation can become an infamous cloak with which to frighten watchmen and thrill the crowds.

When you first generate your character, his reputation is based upon that of his family. From there, events and the way the bard is role-played continually adjust his reputation. Read on for the events that define a bard's reputation.

Following a Performer

A bard's reputation is a variable that can change in an instant. Furthermore, reputation varies from one village or town to the next. A bard's initial reputation applies to his home town only. This is the center of the bard's reputation.

Let's follow the development of the great Hanalacious's reputation. She put on her first public performance in Greyhawk City at the age of 16. First impressions are extremely important and vary uncontrollably depending upon the mood of the audience, season, local events, etc. After her first performance, Hana became a "noted" member of the entertaining class.

To determine Hana's initial reputation, the Bard's Initial Reputation table was consulted.

Hanalacious was pleased with her initial reputation, but she had aspirations of greatness. She looked upon those great bards who were her teachers, and she envied the reputations they had built for themselves. Some were popular, some were celebrated, a few were even acclaimed by the citizens of Greyhawk, but Hana wanted to attain a revered reputation for herself.

Reaching for a revered reputation would be a long and delicate process for Hanalacious. She would have to watch her every action and word, being careful to avoid entanglements with the law, yet helping those in need. Of course, all this would mean nothing if she didn't also put on frequent performances of her musical talents.

Hana made a list of all the things that could both help and hinder her climb to fame on the reputation ladder table.

Hanalacious realized that there are two types of reputable performers, both of whom draw large crowds: those who are famous and those who are infamous. The famous person is looked upon as a public hero, upholder of good, and a generally law-abiding citizen. The infamous performer is well known as a courser, a romantic thief who lives above the law and leads a high-paced, romantic life (e.g., Robin Hood).

Of course, Hana decided to walk the path to infamy, realizing that there is a huge gap between an infamous performer and a violent bully, ruthless thug, or evil villain.

Again, Hana made a list of those actions that gained a person the reputation of being infamous as opposed to those that gained a person fame.

For a bard trying to become infamous, performing acts on the infamy list improve the chances for building his reputation, while performing acts on the fame scale decrease these chances. The opposite is true for a bard who is attempting to become famous.

A bard's reputation is adjusted only in two situations: when he increases in level, and when he puts on a significant public performance (in which case it is checked just as the performance begins).

A d20 is rolled and any modifiers from the preceding three tables are applied to it only if their total is negative (if the net total modifier ends up being positive, it is simply ignored). If the result of the d20, adjusted by a possible negative modifier, is greater than or equal to the bard's current reputation, then the reputation increases one category. If the net result is a negative number, the bard's reputation is lowered by this amount (thus a net result of -3 would lower the bard's reputation by three places on the Reputation Ladder table). If the roll falls in between, nothing happens. However, no matter what, a natural roll of 20 always increases the bard's reputation by 1 and a natural roll of 1 always decreases it by at least 1 (more if there are negative modifiers). No matter what the roll, all reputation modifiers reset afterward, and the bard once again has a net 0 adjustment.

Eventually, Hanalacious became infamously acclaimed (16) in Greyhawk City, but she felt stilted by performing for the same crowd over and over again. What she wanted was a fresh audience; one that had heard of her infamous reputation, but that hadn't been to any of her performances. Thus, she contacted the bard college, known as the Society of the Silver Lute, in the nearby town of Hardby. She had several of the college's members advertise that the Infamous Hanalacious would soon be performing for the public.

Two weeks later, Hana arrived in Hardby. She was pleased to note that her reputation had somewhat preceded her. She wasn't acclaimed (16) like she was in Greyhawk City, but she was treated as an illustrious (14) personality. Of course, the distance from her established Greyhawk City base was responsible for the slight decline. The Reputation Ladder table shows the decline in reputation as a bard moves away from his base, where he has an established reputation.

Local Reputation

As noted earlier, a bard's initial reputation applies to his home town only. This reputation increases and decreases based upon reputation modifiers. Furthermore, the decision whether to become infamous or famous must be made. This selection determines how certain events affect the bard's reputation.

When a bard enters another village, town, or city, his reputation should be determined for that area. This is done by consulting the Preceding Reputation table. The bard's closest established reputation is used as a base. An established reputation is defined as a place in which the bard has put on some form of entertainment performance. The closest established reputation is then adjusted by distance.

For example, if the nearest established reputation is two towns away, the bard's local reputation is four levels lower. If the bard wishes to establish a local reputation, he simply puts on a public performance or series of performances (spread out over no more than a year's time). Each performance costs the bard 100 gp per 1,000 citizens in the town (i.e., 1 silver piece per person). The bard then becomes an established performer in the community.

Once a reputation is established, it is never again influenced by other established reputations. Thus, after Hanalacious's big performance in Hardby, her reputation in Greyhawk City has no impact upon her reputation in Hardby. She thus has an independent, established reputation in both cities. Hana's player should write down the two city names and note Hana's reputation next to each name.

Benefits of a Good Reputation

Reputation is treated much like a special proficiency, although no proficiency slots are (or can be) spent on it. When a situation arises in which the bard's reputation should be considered, 1d20 is rolled-this is called a reputation check. Any roll equal to or less than the bard's reputation level is considered a success. However, no such roll should ever replace role-playing. In fact, the bard player should role-play any situation before a reputation check is made. The Dungeon Master should then assign an adjustment to the reputation check based upon the role-playing.

If a bard is attempting to alter encounter reactions (i.e., influence reactions or some similar ability), a successful reputation check indicates that the bard can adjust the reactions by two levels instead of the typical one.

A reputation can be used as an invisible key. A successful reputation check can get a bard into private parties or functions even when the bard isn't on the guest registry. A reputable bard will also find it easy to get a seat at the most prominent banquet hall in town, even if there is a long line and the bard failed to make a reservation.

Dealing with prominent public figures is also easier with a good reputation. A city's mayor is more likely to invite a reputable person to dinner than a commoner. Reputation can also be used to help smooth out deals, such as the price required to rent the public theater for a weekend's performance.

Many other uses of reputation exist and should be adjudicated by the Dungeon Master.

[Complete Bard's Handbook]