Rank and Renown
Rank determines your available powers, as well as your relative status to others of your kind. Ranks are earned through Renown. Renown is earned by performing great deeds.
Renown
For simplicity’s sake, Dark Prospects assumes that in play and during downtime Shifter characters perform renown-worthy deeds. To represent this mechanically, while below the renown required for your next rank challenge, Shifter characters receive one renown at check in of each game. When you receive renown in this way, select the type of renown and write it on the renown tag.
Renown is also awarded during play by Spirit characters and some Shifter characters - this is called taking a Renown Action. Renown Actions add or remove one renown from a Shifter character, with some restrictions.
A Character may not earn more renown in one season than 150% of games played as that character (rounded down), and cannot earn less renown in one season than 50% of games played as that character (rounded up). A Player Character may not move a given character more than one renown from base, per season.
- E.g. Greta Galliard can award Shady Shifter a negative renown at game one. Greta may not take further renown actions toward Shady except to award a positive renown the following game, bringing Shady back to even. Greta may then grant Shady another negative renown at game 3, bringing Shady back to -1. But doing so means Greta is sacrificing her ability to impact any other character’s renown during those three games.
Galliard-types may take one renown action per game. Spirits may take one renown action per season, with a second action earned by playing 4 games in a season. STs may have NPCs take renown actions as appropriate. Actions may be saved up between games, but expire at the end of the season.
Actions are not secret - the character whose renown is impacted will know who caused the change. The type of renown gained or lost is designated by the character taking the renown action.
Actions performed during uptime require RP - whether a grand storytelling at a moot, a whisper campaign amongst the elders, or running off and tattling to Uktena, it requires active and appropriate participation. Performing a Systemic Ritual with the appropriate "May contribute to" indicator is automatically sufficient RP. Actions may be performed as a downtime - describe what you're doing to accomplish your goal.
Same-type vs Cross-type actions
The roleplay requirements for taking a rewnown action are significantly different depending on who the cahracter is you're taking the action on. Actions taken for characters of your own shifter type are straightforward: perhaps you're of sufficient authority you just declare it should be so. Cross-type actions require indirect methods and much greater in-character effort, such as locating and convincing a member of the appropriate type, or an NPC spirit, to perform the action on your behalf.
The mechanics for taking an action is the same regardless of shifter type: RP your actions then tell STs. All renown actions are reviewed then approved or declined by STs. If approved, STs will turn in a “renown checkout card”. STs may rule that the actions taken so far were insufficient and more roleplay is required.
Rank
Rank is gated by Rank Challenges, and is formalized by Rites. Each Rank requires a certain amount of Renown, and then completion of a Rank Challenge.
Challenges for Rank 1, 2, & 3 may be put forth by PCs without ST approval. Challenges for Ranks 4 and 5 must be approved by STs, whether issued by PCs or NPCs. Once a Rank Challenge is accepted, renown actions cannot lower someone below the threshold required for Challenge.
Renown is not automatically earned beyond Rank Challenge Threshold. A character must complete their challenge and rank up to gain additional renown this way.
Renown Actions can grant renown above the threshold, and above the threshold can interact as normal, both positive and negative.
- E.g. Shady Shifter has hit 7 renown, but is avoiding rank challenge. Shady will not auto-earn renown until he accepts and completes the challenge, or drops below the threshold. Greta Galliard gives Shady a negative renown, dropping him below the threshold. Next game, Shady will auto-earn a renown, putting him back at threshold and eligible for challenge. Once Shady accepts a challenge, no one can make him ineligible.
| Rank 1 | Rank 2 | Rank 3 | Rank 4 | Rank 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Werewolf | 3 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 24 |
| Fera | 3 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 27 |
