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affinity ranks;
✽ AFFINITY RANKS | ||||||||||
Areas of Repute Within Aifaran are some unofficial factions that represent some of the interests or aspects of the city life. These are not ICly recognized groups (that is, there are no guilds or formal organizations representing these areas that a character can approach ICly) in that they have no defined structure, but merely areas of general repute.
Upon application acceptance, each character will receive a randomized set of starter rankings totaling 20 points altogether, which are randomly distributed throughout all the factions using RNG when a character joins the game. This point cap will prevent anyone from being able to max out too many affinity factions at one time. OOCly, each faction has ranks from 1-5 (with 1 being the lowest, 5 the highest), with each rank producing multiple different types of interaction with that group throughout the month. Players can choose to have their characters experience one or more of these instances to happen, depending on what their rank standing is with that respective group. Characters will not be required to experience all instances for all factions in a given month. This Google Spreadsheet is kept current by the mods that can be viewed by the players at any time, so players will always have access to their various Affinity standings at a glance. EXAMPLE: CRIME Rank 1 • Slippery Fingers: You are targeted for pickpocketing on the street! • Get Trashed: Your property (home, work, etc) suffers vandalism. • Shakedown: Your preferred places of patronage are harassed for protection money. Rank 2 • Supply & Demand: You sense eyes on you frequently, and when looking to purchase your usual staples, you find them either out of stock or ridiculously marked up in price. If asked, the shopkeepers will avoid answering the questions, as if they've been intimidated into silence. Rank 3 • Swag Swap: You are targeted for a mugging, but you're offered a cheap set of crystal glasses in exchange for all you lose. • Insurance: You're offered an insurance policy against theft for the month, but if you don't pay up, you may be more heavily targeted. Rank 4 • Mistaken Identity: During what looks like it will be a mugging, the perpetrator seems to recognize you and breaks off the attempt. • Guardian Criminal: Alternatively, during what looks to be a mugging, ANOTHER mugger will intervene, successfully chasing the first offender away from you. Rank 5 • Sudden Windfall: An anonymous person mails you a package containing what is definitely stolen, but likely untraceable, money and luxury items, the contents of which are now yours to do with as you please! Affinity Rank Changes Each month as part of AC, players will be required to submit their rank changes, moving 4 points total per month in any combination of their choosing. An affinity cannot be ranked at 0 or over 5, and all the Affinity ranks must collectively total 20 points - so points being added to one rank must come from subtracting from another rank, etc. Part of the AC requirement is a (VERY) brief description of the character's behaviour that led to the fluctuations in affinity. EXAMPLE AC COMMENT: Character: Bugs Bunny AC Proof 1 (required): LINK AC Proof 2 (optional): LINK Allegiance Rank Changes: +2 Sci-Tech, -2 Faith Notes: Bugs offered to teach a class on network basics to some less-than-tech-savvy elders (+2 Sci-Tech) but flipped off some Ban Om devotees when they wouldn't take a hint (-2 Faith). Affinity FAQ What happens if my character gets randomized Affinity starting ranks that don't make sense? IE; my sweet cinnamon roll gets a high Crime ranking? That's half the fun! ICly, it's explained by characters arriving that don't have any background in the city yet. Since these aren't literal, recognized factions, it's a little bendable. Maybe they're going with a gut feeling. Maybe they just don't like your character's face. Who knows! These rankings aren't static either - they go up or down with each AC, depending on what you want for your character. What if I don't want to use any of the monthly instances for my faction rankings? You don’t really have to if there isn’t anything in there you’d want to play with. Or make up something (reasonably) within the parameters that would be better suited to your character. Why do I have to move Affinities rankings around every month? As your character interacts with the peoples of Khu Ioduan, they will naturally get along with some groups and people, but not others, just as in the real world. Adjusting Affinities rankings is based on how you think your character's choices have been viewed by the various factions in the city. There is no 'right' or 'wrong' standing with the factions, so don't worry about keeping a set number; every option has new opportunities! | ||||||||||
FEBRUARY 2019
JUSTICE
RANK 1
• Barroom Bystander: You're walking past one of the re-opened taverns when a fight erupts and spills out onto the street. While you have no idea who started the fight or why, or really any involvement at all, the Sentry aren't discerning about who they corral. Everyone found in the brawl is accosted and taken for questioning. You'll be released after spending a night in a cell and wading through some considerable bureaucratic nonsense.
RANK 2
• Fill Out These Forms: Your property has gone missing, either during the storm or by theft afterwards. When you go to report the loss in the hopes of recovering it eventually, you are handed a truly ridiculous stack of forms to complete. A hand cramp is likely in your future.
• Sketchy Lawyer: A slick-looking kedan approaches you with an offer - they can get you out of any legal bind you need (subject to terms and conditions, of course), and would you like a business card? Whether you take it or not, the kedan keeps popping up, either in person or in posters and ads in many of the places you visit this month.
RANK 3
• Folktale Flummox: Being under the influence of fairy tales doesn't make breaking the law any less illegal. Whether or not you're still playing out a tale, the Sentry will come to issue a citation. If you contest it, you could probably get it dropped and removed from your record, but the judicial system is going to be pretty backed up for a while.
• Kel'ghau Crackdown: The Sentry increases crackdowns on black market goods this month in an effort to prevent the storm from creating a vacuum of opportunity. You or one of your preferred places of patronage are subject to inspection. It ultimately proves fruitless (or does it? Your choice!), but it takes up hours and is both boring and stressful.
RANK 4
• Careful Preparation: Dreamfolk can come and go at any moment, and when they leave possessions behind it can sometimes be hard to know what to do with them. A warm and legal-savvy Bresilykian approaches you to offer free services in creating a Dreaming Will.
RANK 5
• Thanks for the Help: Your efforts to assist the Sentry and city officials in storm recovery have been noticed. Do you need a job? There's one in the offering, with either the Sentry or as part of the city government depending on your preference. Or, if you're already employed by them, you'll get a bit of a salary bump and maybe a promotion in a few months! Paperwork is a bit backed up with disaster cleanup.
CRIME
RANK 1
• You Came To The Wrong Neighborhood: Looks like you’re out of luck, or really lost - you’ve stumbled into gang territory and it’s pretty obvious. And you’re gonna have to move fast before you get made as an easy mark.
• Deal Gone Wrong: Through no fault of your own, the business you’re in - tea house, restaurant, store, whichever - was the site of a black market deal which has suddenly gone awry. There are voices raised in anger, and weapons drawn, and someone’s going to be injured...if they’re lucky."
RANK 2
• Oh God, Youths!: Aww, look at the kids! Wait. Wait, that’s not so cute...you’re swarmed by a group of street kids, and they nab about half the money you’re carrying, and/or something small of import. If you chase them down, though, prepare to look like the bad guy. They’re just kids!
RANK 3
• Unearned Reputation: You find a gold piece where the face on the coin has been carved into an elegant skull, and a strange symbol on the back. When you are targeted by a pickpocket, they later return your entire purse and apologize in person before fleeing in terror.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: You managed to break up a lovers quarrel in the park, but now there’s a Kin’nal who is utterly smitten with their ‘saviour’. Unfortunately for you, your subtle hints and body language are not universal and they keep misinterpreting your signals. A flat ‘no’ should do the trick. Unless you’re into this kind of thing.
RANK 4
• Early Warning: Someone slips a note under your door, warning you to stay away from a certain shop tomorrow. Later, you learn it was the site of an armed robbery.
RANK 5
• Justice Really IS Blind: You commit a small crime, and realize too late that a member of the Sentry is nearby. However, they don’t react, and merely look the other way - literally. You’ve got a pass, this time at least.
FAITH
RANK 1
• Banned Om: If you try to take a coach to the turtle's head this month, you find it rather hard to book passage even though no one else is having this problem. It seems someone at the Ban Om may have decided they don't want you visiting.
• Begone!: At least one of the faith groups has identified you as some sort of harbinger, an antithesis to their beliefs, and corners you for a cleansing ritual.
RANK 2
• Cronch That Energy: You did something to annoy an Inan, and it’s decided to make you its personal buffet. You’re exhausted for the next week as it stalks you and eats up energy until it decides the slight has been accounted for. Trying to chase it off or attack it will just give it more of a grudge to hold. Might as well just grin and bear it.
RANK 3
• Pricey Divination: A fortune-teller in the street says they saw you in a vision, and he has life-changing information for you. It'll cost you a crescent rhinn, about $20, though.
• Visit-The-Infidel-With-Explanatory-Pamphlets: A representative of a faith group approaches you and tries to engage you in enthusiastic conversation, in the hopes to secure a promise of attendance at a gathering or interest you in joining the flock. If you shake them off, they'll pop up again on several other days in an attempt to persuade you.
RANK 4
• Luck Be A Lady Tonight: The fortune spirits seem to be with you! You just found some rhinn in your pocket that you swear wasn’t there before, and you’re looking up. Just after that, when you walk by a spirit house, it rattles a little bit...but that’s probably nothing, right?
RANK 5
• Gifts From The Great Turtle: A care package of your favorite treats (some of which are from your home and can't be found in Aifaran) is left at your door without a 'from' address, and features a curiously decorated tag: a feather on one side, and a turtle on the other.
COMMERCE
RANK 1
• Instead of Chair Package Contained Munga: Remember that food you ordered delivered? It's very spiky and kind of cranky. Also, alive. There's obviously been some kind of mix up here, but where? The delivery person seems just as perplexed as you are.
• Loanshark: A shady business-person recognizes that you're new around here, and tries to hook you on a loan with extremely unfavorable terms.
RANK 2
• Third Hand’s Third Hand Store: You wander into a dingy-looking store - mistakenly or on purpose, that's up to you! - that sells knick knacks, junk, and other random items. Whether you find an item you like or not, the owner refuses to let you leave until you buy something.
• Rosemary and Thyme: A friendly acquaintance of yours among the native neighbors asked you to help them find something, but everywhere you ask, people stare at you like you're joking, or laugh politely. It's going to take some length of runaround before someone gently tells you it's an impossible item in their culture.
RANK 3
• If You're Good to Mama…: Someone you've met a couple of times before offers to pull some strings and get you a job. It's… actually a pretty good job. There's got to be a catch.
(There's a catch. In exchange, they're going to want you to very occasionally look the other way so they can supply their contacts in the Kel'ghau. Worth it? Up to you…)
• Limited-Time Offer: You get a coupon to reduce the price of a meal or other purchase, but it's going to expire in the next week.
RANK 4
• ONE THOUSANDTH VISITOR: No, really. The proprietor's been counting. Your arms are packed full of store-branded goodies and you're sent off like a walking billboard with way more than you came for. At least you didn't have to pay for it all! Now where are you going to put it.
RANK 5
• Presents from Home: Looks like someone thought you might be homesick. You get home to a present on your doorstep, with a note inside explaining that it was brought back from an expedition and they've heard you talking about your homeworld and they're pretty sure this is from there? The art piece inside is in a familiar-ish style, anyway, so if it's not from your world it's from somewhere close by. There's probably people who'd pay a lot for it if you don't want it...
ARTS
RANK 1
• A River of Colour: :You purchased some rather pricey pigments, but unfortunately they were knocked from your hands and washed away by the floodwaters. Not all is lost though - you managed to get a shot of it and the post on the XaXa network has gone viral. You may have just started a new tradition...
• Tangled in the Red String of Fate: The Tine Commemoration knots are usually fairly simple, so how did you screw up so bad that you've somehow tied yourself to your chair…?
RANK 2
• Murphy’s Law: If you were thinking of some DIY construction or crafts to help with repairs, you’ve certainly had better ideas in the past. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong. Warped wood, dry clay, busted tools -it’s the thought that counts..
RANK 3
• Soak Up The Sea: One of the drowned buildings had a significant amount of privately owned art, worth quite a lot of money. You've been promised a handsome fee to recover and restore whatever you can for the owner. The problem is that the building is still under guard by the Sentry.
• The Eye of the Beholder: The Dreaming just dumped a famous piece of art from your world right into your lap. This thing is worth millions if not outright priceless. Though if you go to get it appraised, you’re told it may be worth a maybe a cobalt or so.
RANK 4
• Can You Knot: It's been a rough couple of months but sitting with a group to create the decorative knots for the Tine Commemoration has made it feel as though all burdens have lifted from your shoulders.
RANK 5
• A Silver Lining: You've been given a rare gift by an Erol'an merchant - a type of silver paint used in Tide Writings. Truly a beautiful thing to behold, and will certainly be wonderful to use in your own calligraphy.
SCI-TECH
RANK 1
• Water Damage: Your yimo got rather wet recently, either in the storm or during the recovery efforts, and now it's not working. At all. It's dead, Jim. When you go to the Opara Core for a replacement, every single person there is harried and looks exhausted, and there is a long line for replacement yimos. Apparently, you aren't the only one with a yimo brick, and they don't have enough staff or stock to meet the demand right now. You can try waiting for a few hours, or you could come back in a few weeks.
• Slime Mold Invasion: One of the places your frequent, such as your home or job, is still damp from the storm, and a strange, seaweed-like mold has decided to take up residence on the walls. It's a bugger to get rid of, and in the meantime the place smells like a fish market.
RANK 2
• Cord Capture: Whether you're participating in Tine's Commemoration or simply passing by one of the knot-tying events, you trip and somehow end up improbably, ridiculously, comically tangled up in a length of cord. It's to the point that you can't actually walk or move your arms, you're so wrapped up. An engineer wants to study those unique knots, so you may have to wait a bit.
RANK 3
• Jury-Rigged: Repairs are ongoing at one of the places you frequent, but they're a little… improvised. With such a demand for engineers, carpenters, electricians, and more, someone has decided to take things into their own hands. The table does in fact function as a table, even if the joints look suspect. There are materials used in ways that they really oughtn't be all over the place. Nothing's caught on fire yet, you're assured. Everything is mostly working. Just be careful of splinters.
RANK 4
• Hydroponic Bounty: You must look like you enjoy plants, because a woman who oversees hydroponic farming and research has just recruited you to test one of her new in-home units. You can eat what you grow and even keep the setup as long as you give her occasional updates; she'll be disappointed if you say no, but she understands if you have a black thumb.
• Power Up: Your residence or one of the places you frequent not only has power restored this month, but it's gotten some free upgrades to the wiring! That'll keep things more stable moving forward, not to mention safer in the case of any emergencies.
RANK 5
• Macgyver Miracle: Whether you're a complete tyro or an engineering expert, you definitely only have a vague idea of this piece of tech you've been tasked with working on. Somehow, using completely improbable parts and techniques, you finish the project. The Opara Core wants you to consult with them regularly now, and someone jokingly wishes you could donate your brain to science rather than go back to your homeworld.
METAPHYSICS
RANK 1
• Night Myth: You get strange looks and people avoiding you in the street. When you finally manage to get one of the avoidant parties to explain, you learn that you bear a passable resemblance to one of the past Dreamfolk who became known as a Night Demon - an abuser of magical power who brought misfortune.
• Guinea Pig: If you touched a magic tree, researchers at the Aisling Tower have made it explicit that they'd love to conduct some tests. While they can't force you to do anything, they can certainly be very annoying about hounding you for any possible details and/or side effects.
RANK 2
• ...And this is Jackass: The plan was to investigate some of the post-storm oddities such as the trees or drowned buildings and post the ;results' to the XaXa. Fortunately, the Sentry cottoned on to your nonsense and now you're spending the night in the clinker. It's for your own good.
RANK 3
• Deja Vu: A fluctuation in the Dreaming has you reliving a moment out of your past, repeatedly. It is, fortunately, only a moment, and the loop only lasts a few minutes tops. It's no less disconcerting.
• Friendly Foxes: Something about your abilities has attracted a small pack of wild Inan to you. The fact they feed off energy makes accomplishing any sort of magic work nigh impossible, but they’re enjoying the treat and it’s awfully cute the way the gambole around your legs.
RANK 4
• Woven Words: A kindly little old lady teaches you a special knot for the Tine Commemoration wherein you weave your very voice into the cords, that it might always reach the person you give it to. Oddly enough, it works.
RANK 5
• Storage Wars: Apparently some version of yourself has been through Aifaran before, some 25 years ago, and left quite a bit of stuff in storage. Congratulations! You are now in possession of a storage containment unit that contains quite a bit of ‘your’ stuff, including some antiques that will sell for a pretty price.