Standing

Standing works much like Characteristic Modifiers, except that it has either a + or - and represents the specific relationship that a NPC or Faction has with a specific player character.

How They Work

If a Faction and NPC both have a Standing towards a character, the NPC's Standing overrides the Factions.
For example, if the players are known heretics of the Brotherhood they might have a -8 with them. However, before they went rogue, they became close with the Bishop of Neulich so they have a +3 Standing with her. When dealing with normal Brotherhood members, they would use the -8 but, when dealing with the Bishop of Neulich, they use the +3 instead.

So, convincing someone you have a positive Standing with is much easier.

Changing Standing

Players can change their Standing through propaganda, of course, but they can also change their Standing through action.
By doing a number of uninterrupted good deeds equal to the absolute value of their Current Standing + 1 in a row, they can increase it by 1.
Likewise, by doing a number of uninterrupted bad deeds equal to the absolute value of their Current Standing + 1 in a row, they can lower it by 1.
This is true on both the NPC- and Faction-scale, although you should default to the Faction-scale whenever possible.
Some deeds can count for me - killing a cardinal, for example, would quickly land you on the Brotherhood's shitlist - so treat this as a rule of thumb, with it being easier to anger people than earn their trust.

Noting Increments

Since it's likely that you'll need to keep track, you can do so via X.Y notation. So, if the players have a Standing of 3 and have done 2 good deeds since they last increased their Standing, you can note it as 3.2. When they do the third, it simply becomes 4.