Occasionally, a character will want to adjust their Reputation - either new up-and-coming runners will want to quickly make a name for themselves, or experienced runners will want to "disappear" back into the shadows. Either way, the mechanics work the same.

In-character, the process involves hitting up all the local dives, hang-outs, and Matrix boards and chatting people up - inserting rumors, countering opinions, and the like. Mechanically, character makes an extended Charisma + Con (1 Hour) test, with a threshold of the character's Notoriety. If successful, one aspect of reputation (Street Cred, Notoriety, or Public Awareness) may be raised or lowered by one. The Face character must choose which aspect is being modified, and in which direction. If a Glitch occurs during this process, one additional aspect will modified at random, as rumors and feelings get twisted in the public's mind. If a Critical Glitch occurs, the attempt has its opposite intended effect. A character's reputation may not be modified more than [Edge] times per month, without all further rolls incurring an automatic Glitch effect, as the sheer amount of rumor and counter-rumor gets distorted in a massive game of "Telephone".

Modifiers (all modifiers are cumulative):
+1: Telling the truth (or mostly the truth), and there were witnesses
+2: Telling the truth (or mostly the truth), to people who were there
-1: Telling tall tales or outright lies, and there were witnesses
-2: Telling tall tales or outright lies (or mostly the truth), to people who were there
-2: Attempting to modify someone else's Reputation
-2: Attempting to modify the Reputation of someone you don't know well (a Contact or a fellow runner)


What do you think, Sirs?

I think it should be a fluid thing. Making it a set roll means that a social monster can just roll over and over and make his rep whatever he wants it to be. And really, it should be harder to modify your own rep than anyone else's. If you have any sort of rep, people will figure out that the person spreading the word is you eventually, and that will send your good name straight into the shitter.

I think that to modify your own reputation, you must first get a contact who has the connections to make that happen. Then you have to pay him or do him a favor. And only some contacts will do it. I'm sure that many fixers and such will refuse to mess with reputation, since rep is all there is in the shadows, it's sacred. People live and die by their rep, and it seems like there would be few crimes as serious as spreading false street cred. It's the whole honor among thieves thing. Faking a rep would probably be right up there with calling the cops on a fellow runner IMO.

That's frowned upon? Heck, I've built a character that that was his entire M.O.

Well, that sounds good...


for me to poop on!



j/k, that's just my thoughts on the matter. I don't think I have any text in the books that says you have to play my way. I just think faking rep is one of the very few things that would be considered wrong in the very amoral shadows.

It should have a karma cost, to prevent the aforementioned social-monster abuse.

Or an inherant "Character loses 1 Karma Award in Adventure for every Baby Eaten."

That makes sense, too. Something like, 1 karma per attempt, regardless of success or failure?

That would work, because nobody would be enough of a goober to spend their karma just for one attempt to change their rep by a single point

I really like game-state changing abilities like these. Can you think up any for Negotiate, Etiquette, or Intimidate that are along the same lines.. improving the face and his group's situation? Like, maybe etiquette could be used to gain passage through hostile areas? Just a thought.