Invocation
A Reputation entry can enter the dice in four ways. The same entry supports all four. There is no separate burn pool. The rating itself is the resource.
The Four Paths
| Path | Initiator | Depletes? | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roll as skill | Player proposes; GM allows | No | The entry's rating substitutes for the skill rating in the dice pool. The character is leveraging fame as the means of action. |
| Roll as Risk | GM invokes | No | The entry's rating contributes to the Risk side of the dice pool. The audience recognizes the character in a way that complicates the scene. |
| Burn for cost | GM offers as "yes, but…" | Yes (−1) | The GM allows the ask only at the cost of the depletion. Player accepts or withdraws. |
| Burn for auto | Player elects | Yes (−1) | Skip the roll. The ask lands, scaled to the rating. The GM may still decline if the ask exceeds plausible reach. |
Two of the paths leverage Reputation without depleting it (rolling). Two of them cash it in (burning). At the table, the player and GM together decide which path is appropriate for any given moment.
Adjudication
The GM is the gatekeeper for all four paths. The mechanic does its work by enabling the conversation, not by adjudicating the outcome. For any path, the GM has three responses:
- Allow as proposed.
- Allow with a cost — typically a burn.
- Decline — the audience does not recognize the character, the ask exceeds the rating's reach, or the fiction does not support the connection.
A player can ask whether they can leverage their Reputation in a given moment; the GM can offer a cost; either side can step away from the proposal. None of this needs codification beyond what is already on the sheet.
Roll as Skill
When a player wants to use a Reputation entry as the means of action, they propose substituting it for the skill they would otherwise roll. The Ability stays whatever the situation calls for; only the skill rating is replaced.
Hanako has Renown: League 3. She wants to secure a meeting with a League senator she has never met personally. She would normally roll Presence + Influence: Persuasion, but proposes leveraging her standing instead. The GM agrees. Her public profile carries weight in this scene. She rolls Presence + Renown 3.
The Renown rating is not depleted; she is leveraging her name, not cashing it in.
Roll as Risk
When the GM judges that the audience recognizes the character in a way that complicates the scene, they may invoke the entry's rating as Risk. The character's fame becomes part of the difficulty.
Angus has Infamy: Underworld 4. He is trying to talk past a Terran customs officer using a forged manifest. He would normally roll Presence + Influence: Deception, with Risk set by the officer's training. The GM, deciding that the officer recognizes the type of man Angus is, invokes Angus's Infamy as additional Risk. The pool becomes Presence + Influence: Deception, with Risk increased by 4.
The Infamy rating is not depleted; the GM is reading the world's reaction to who Angus is.
Burn for Cost
When the GM offers a "yes, but…" response to a proposal, they may set the cost as a burn — −1 to the entry's rating. The player accepts the cost or withdraws.
Priya has Renown: League 3. She asks a League starbase quartermaster to expedite repairs on a ship that is not strictly authorized for League dock. The GM allows the favor, but at a cost: "Sure — but it costs you a point of Renown. Word will get around that you bent the rules." Priya accepts. Her Renown: League drops to 2.
Burn for Auto
When a player wants to guarantee a result rather than risk a roll, they may elect to burn a point of Reputation. The ask lands, scaled to the rating. The GM may decline if the ask exceeds plausible reach.
Venlyn has Renown: Diplomatic Corps 4. She needs an introduction to a Lyndri ambassador and cannot afford to roll badly. She elects to burn a point. The GM agrees the rating supports the ask. An introduction is well within the reach of someone of Venlyn's standing, and the meeting is arranged. Her Renown: Diplomatic Corps drops to 3.
The same player could not, with the same single point, commandeer a Diplomatic Corps frigate. The ask must be in scale with the rating; the GM uses the same allow / allow-with-cost / decline frame they apply to rolling.