The allies system is based on “uses”. Each use allows for a level of allies to be used. Uses amounts are designated by the type of Allies they are and what level.

Standard Allies [?]: 2 uses per level
Ascendant Allies [?]: 2 uses per level
Domain Allies [?]: 1 use per level
Retainers Allies [?]: 1 use per level

In general, a level of an allies Action designates how many uses it will take to roll for it. Thus, a level 2 Action with the Allies (Bureaucratic) type for “Handle code compliances” would cost 2 uses. But, more on that later.

Even the allies system has it’s limitations.

Standard Allies Restrictions at Character Creation
At creation, characters may only start with a maximum of three allies Types at a level of 1. Naturally, after creation you may raise your allies as normal.

Standard Allies Restrictions By Level
Level 1 Allies of a specific Type may have unlimited number of characters with the merit. Level 2 has a maximum of 4 characters with the merit. Level 3 has a maximum of 3 characters who may have the allies merit. Level 4 allows for only 2 characters with the merit type. Finally, Level 5 allows only 1 character to have the allies merit of that type.


Standard Allies Maximum Dots Restrictions
Characters may only purchase a number of Standard Allies Types equal to their Resolve rating x 5. Thus, a character with Resolve 2 may only purchase a number of 10 Standard Allies dots.

Most of the time, people will be rolling allies to do a specific Action from the lists. Here is the basic roll with common modifiers:

Roll: Manipulation + Persuasion + Allies Level
Action: Downtime, 1 Hour per Action
No willpower may be used on this roll.

Suggested Modifiers:
+1-5 – Status/Fame as appropriate
Variable – Extra Uses over the required amount will give +1 dice each.
Variable – Humanity Penalties apply as normal.
Variable – Characters attempting to roll for an Action that is above their level of allies are penalized by the level of the Action.
-2 – Attempting to use Standard Allies secretly (No other allies type may be used secretly)

The standard allies lists found here dictate a list of allies uses based on level and type. A Level of an Allies Action will also designate how many allies Uses it requires to attempt the roll for it. For instance, the level 4 Media Action “Kill major news reports.” would require 4 uses to be obtained before the standard allies roll can be made.

If a character has the uses, but not the Level of the allies action (gaining them from a Combine Action, or having enough Uses from a lesser level), they can still attempt the roll, however their pool has a dice penalty equal to the level of the Allies Action in question. For our example, if the person wishing to “Kill major news reports.” did not have Level 4, their dice pool would have a -4 penalty in addition to any other penalties.

The only way for Standard allies to be raised is to do a “Growth” use.

In order to purchase a level, you have to Growth a number of uses equal to that new level. For instance, if you have Level 1 in Allies (Street), you would need to spend 2 uses towards Growth before you could purchase Level 2.

Sometimes, characters don’t have enough uses to do what they want to do, or they have uses from Retainers, Domain or Ascendancy they’d like to use along with their Standard uses (or any combination thereof). That’s when a Combine comes into play. It should be noted that you may not Combine and attempt to use allies Secretly.

Defend is a pre-emptive use of allies to give yourself a bonus to any allies-based Defense rolls. Defends last for a full 30 days. When you utilize the Defend Action, any uses you place towards it count as +2 dice on Defense rolls later on in those 30 days. Thus, if you place 3 uses into Defend for Allies (Law & Enforcement), if you have to defend later in the month against an attack on your Law & Enforcement allies, you would have +6 dice.

There is an additional benefit to preemptively Defending your allies; if you score an exceptional success on your reflexive attack Defense roll, it acts as if it’s a five-success trace on the action that was an Attack on yours, automatically.

Defend Actions do not require being rolled.

Sometimes, you have to attack another’s influence. Perhaps you want dominance, or perhaps you want to be able to advance in a particular ally and someone’s blocking your way. Either way, there can be hundreds of reasons for the why; this is how you do it.

An attack may only be done once per week on a specific person’s specific allies. Thus, it is possible to attack multiple Types of the same person, but not multiple times on the same Type.

Attack Roll: Manipulation or Presence + Applicable Skill (below)
Defense Roll: Manipulation or Presence + Applicable Skill (below); Reflexive
No willpower may be used on these rolls.

Suggested Modifiers (Attacker): +1-5 – Status/Fame as appropriate Variable – Extra Uses over the initial one amount will give +1 dice each. Variable – Humanity Penalties apply as normal. -2 – Attempting to use Standard Allies secretly (No other allies type may be used secretly)

Suggested Modifiers (Defender): +1-5 – Status/Fame as appropriate Variable – Preemptive uses placed in the Defend Action give +2 dice per use. Variable – Extra Uses utilized give +1 dice each (these do not get the benefit of the Defend Action) Variable – Humanity Penalties apply as normal.

Applicable Skills:
Atlanta Society – Socialize; Bureaucratic – Politics; Church – Academics; Computers – Computers; Financial – Academics or Politics; Health – Medicine or Science; Law & Enforcement – Politics or Streetwise; Media – Socialize; Occult – Occult; Street – Streetwise; Transportation – Politics or Streetwise; University – Academics

A successful attack on an individual causes a 1 dot loss of that particular Allies Type and any uses that were used to Growth towards any level. Furthermore, the character may not attempt to “buy-in” to that ally if they’re forced out completely of that Type for a full two weeks.

The Block Action, in it’s simplest explanation, is what can be used to try and stop individuals from performing a particular Action. Blocks can be used to roadblock at any time, assuming you meet the requirements for it.

A Block can be placed on most Actions, and the amount of Uses placed into the Block determines it’s strength.


Things to Remember:

• To Block a Standard Action, the blocker must have that level in that particular Allies Type.
• Blocks are not rolled, thus they may not be done secretly.
• Blocks are not discriminate; once an individual blocks everyone is subjected to the Block, even the blocker.
• The following Actions may not be Blocked: Attack, Block (duh), Combine and Defend. Other Actions may be blocked as normal, but you must be specific in what you are blocking; you would have to Block Trace: Atlanta Society Growth. You could not just Block Trace or Block Trace Atlanta Society.
• Blocks last for two weeks.

In order to get “around” a Block, a number of uses must first be used for the Block Action, and then the normal uses for whatever action is being used must be used. A Storyteller will not tell you how large a Block is – the Read Block Action (see “Investigative Actions” section) will. Furthermore, if you attempt to utilize a use which has been blocked and do not fill both the Block Action’s required amount and the Level’s required actions, all uses will be lost.

Each of the following Actions below are considered an “Investigative Action,” which just means that they’re utilized when a character wishes to know a certain kind of information. Unless otherwise noted, each of these Actions are considered a Level 1 use.

Check Hold
This type of action allows an individual to check on a singular character’s influence in a specific Allies Type. A normal success will give generic information: “Less Than, Equal or Greater Than your influence”. An exceptional success will give their specific allies level.

Check Type
This type of action allows an individual to check a Level of a specific Allies Type to see if any character(s) have Allies there. This only shows Standard Allies. A regular success will give general information “Level 2 in Media has three people with Allies there,” while an exceptional success will give more specific information “Kenneth, Kyle and Watts have Level 2 in Media Allies”. A Check Type roll is penalized by a number of dice equal to the Level being checked. A Check Type roll is considered a Level 2 use.

Follow
A follow will allow you to gain knowledge of a singular character’s influence in a specific Allies Type each time they use it for one full week. On a regular success you will not gain any extra information on their Actions, only what generic Action they wished to take, but on an exceptional success, you will gain any additional detailed information included with the Action.


Read Block
It's possible to get a gauge of how strong a Block is on a particular thing by using this. This allows you to find out the information on how strong a block is (ie. how many points are used on the block) for usage as IC-knowledge. Notably, this does not get rid of the Block you're reading.

Trace
You can trace an Allies Action which you know has occurred, in-character. A Trace does not reverse any damage, but it can give insight as to whom is behind a particular Action. A regular success will, in general, give you the individual(s) responsible for a particular action, however, if an Action was done secretly, you will need to have an exceptional success to find out that information. A Trace roll is penalized by the number of Uses that were placed into the Action being traced (thus an Action where extra Uses were utilized are more difficult to Trace).

Watch
A Watch Action can be placed on any type of Allies Actions. Watches last for one week and give certain information when tripped. A regular success on a Watch will allow the character to gain knowledge of who is performing that particular Action when they do it, except in the case of a secret use (in which case they just find out it was done). An exceptional success on a Watch roll will give the identity of the individual(s) who triggered the Action, even if it were secret, as well as any additional information and details available. A Watch roll is penalized by the normal of Uses that would normally be used to perform that Action.