YOUR LOCAL HARPY PLAYER TALKS ABOUT STATUS

"KING HENRY IV: They say the bishop and Northumberland/Are fifty thousand strong.

WARWICK: It cannot be, my lord/Rumor doth double, like the voice and echo/The numbers of the fear'd. Please it your grace/To go to bed."

--- Henry IV, Part 2, Act III, Scene 1

1. What is Status?

Status is a measure of how you are regarded by the Vampire community.

2. What isn't Status?

Status isn't fair. Status isn't justice. Status has nothing to do with mortals. Status doesn't (really) have to do with power (sort of, see below). Status usually doesn't have anything to do with reality at all.

3. What's good about Status?

Status Traits can be used as Social Traits in any contest involving Vampires. Further, if you lose the contest, you don't lost the Status Traits, so they can be bidded with impunity! This makes them very powerful. According to the WW rules, in a 'believability' contest between two Vampires, Status is the only thing that is used. We have not used this in the past, but it might factor into your character's decisions.

4. What's bad about Status?

For one thing, it is very rarely accurate. Just because someone is Feared doesn't necessarily mean that you should fear them. Just because someone is Esteemed doesn't mean they're actually worthy of it. If you happen to be Cherished, it doesn't mean you really did anything to deserve it - the same if you are Feared...or if you aren't. For another, once a night, the Malkavians can ignore your Status (in a test. God only knows what Status means to them outside tests.

For another, it means that the public is thinking of you, good or bad. If your character likes (or has some compelling reason) to keep out of the spotlight, having Status is a bad sign. You don't want people to Cherish or Esteem or Fear you - you don't want them to notice you at all.

5. How do you get Status?

There are 3 ways:

A) Storyteller notices public opinion. This is extremely unlikely to happen. A lot of people are going to have to put on their event sheets that 'Bob Brujah is a badass.' before the Storytellers can legitimately say that Bob gets the Feared status trait.

B) Harpies. Harpies are harbingers, indicators and steer-ers of public opinion. By being conduits for gossip, innuendo, minor-to-trivial information, and barometers for how people really feel about things, Harpies are able to spread your Status around.

Example: Bob Brujah whoops ass on Gary Gangrel, Ned Nosferatu and Amy Assamite. All at once. Without mussing his pompadour. Gary tells his friends, one of whom happens to be in the circle of acquaintances of Tanya Toreador, local Harpy and snappy dresser. She promptly spreads the rumor that BB is one bad motha...(shut your mouth!)...the Harpy's only talkin' about Bob Brujah, CANYADIGGIT? Bob gets the status trait Feared.
C) Station. More below.

6. How's come the Prince and Seneschal get all this here Status - the Harpies didn't do that - we wouldn'ta let 'em!!

People with certain Station are assumed to possess a certain amount of political power. For instance, the Prince gets a fairly fat Status package when he assumes the position, because whether people will admit it or not, there's just something about a guy who can order Blood Hunts more or less with impunity. Same with Keepers of Elysium and Clan Elders - but since they have less political oomph, they have correspondingly less Status. Yes, they can lose this Status without losing their position - this will make them a very weak Seneschal, Keeper, Sheriff or Elder, ripe for the plucking. Yes, if they lose their Station, they lose their bonus Status. (The Status comes from the power.) This is why you will often see people with Station - and their opponents - wheedling Harpies out of a Status in either direction.

7. Can you lose Status in a game?

The answer, surprisingly, is no. Status is a long-term thing. It takes one downtime period for your Status to change in any way. If you piss off your clan elder, he can't just stand up in front of everyone and say 'Gary Gangrel has been a naughty puppy and all of us Gangrel don't hold him in much Esteem and neither should you.' The clan elder has to actually spread the rumor and put it on their event sheet for it to happen. This is something we have not emphasized a lot before and it may have been confusing. If you can change someone's Status, it's helpful to provide a 'cover rumor'. That is, what people will know about why someone's Status dropped or rose. ("He singlehandedly talked down that hunter so that we could drown him in the reservoir!" "He tried to stake the Prince but left his shoelaces untied and fell out the window and got run over by a bus.")

Cover rumors NEED NOT BE TRUE.

Hope this helps clear a few things up. I won't give you Dr. Craydon's Status strategy. I'll let you figure it out for yourself.

Jason
lets just say they could do an oprah show about it

Take me back to the newsletter page.

Take me back to the Old Pueblo By Night Page.

Jason Corley -- corleyj@chronic.lpl.arizona.edu