Rank

Cost:	-5 CP or 5 CP / level. See table below for specifics.
Description:	You were born into a family in a higher or lower tier on the social scale than the average person - or you moved into your current tier later.
Gameplay:	The GM determines the Rank the average PC holds at the beginning of the game. If you wish to begin the game at a lower rank, you get extra CP to spend during character creation. If you want to start at a higher rank, you pay for it with CP. A higher rank allows you to demand more rights and privileges than the ordinary person (or others may demand it for you or simply provide it without being asked). People are generally inclined to obey someone of a higher rank, even when they know the request is wrong, unethical, or illegal. When a person of higher rank demands something of a subordinate, if the other person does not want to satisfy the demand, both people must make a Will roll. The person who achieves the greater number of Ss gets their way, with the higher-ranking party winning ties. Your rank usually modifies your Will roll by giving you penalty dice if you have a very low rank or extra levels and/or bonus dice if you have high rank. See the table below for specifics.

If the GM determines that the order in question is contrary to one or more of your morals, goals, etc. (as represented by your Advantages or Disadvantages), you receive bonus dice on your Will roll in addition to any you already received based on your Rank. Those bonus dice equal 1/level or 1/10 CP spent or received. Some examples follow:

• You have Pacifism=3 and are ordered to beat someone up. You receive 3 bonus dice.
• You have a 20-point Allegiance to a group that you are ordered to spy on. You receive 2 bonus dice.
• You have a 60-point Duty to protect the Sheriff of Grand Isle, and are ordered to kill him. You receive 6 bonus dice.

Notes:

• The CP cost on this table assumes the usual scenario, in which the typical PC starts the game at rank 1. For games with a different average starting rank, adjust the CP costs upward or downward as appropriate. This cost movement does not affect the penalty dice, bonus dice, or extra levels awarded to each rank.
• Penalty dice are marked with a negative number in the Bonus Dice column of the table.

Level	Cost	Extra Dice	Bonus Dice		Level	Cost	Extra Levels	Bonus Dice
-1	-10	0	-2		8	35	5	1
0	-5	0	0		9	40	6	0
1	0	0	2		10	45	6	2
2	5	1	1		11	50	7	1
3	10	2	0		12	55	8	0
4	15	2	2		13	60	8	2
5	20	3	1		14	65	9	1
6	25	4	0		15	70	10	0
7	30	4	2		16	75	10	2

Count Firman (Rank=8, Will=4) orders Melvin, a common soldier (Rank=1, Will=6) in the Count's employ, to poison the Baron D'Illar, the Count's main court rival. Unbeknownst to the Count, the Baron is also a Contact (worth 20 CP) of Melvin's. Melvin obviously doesn't want to poison his contact, so both make a Will roll. The Count rolls 10 dice (4 for Will + 5 extra levels & 1 bonus die for his rank), and gets 7 Ss. Melvin also rolls 10 dice (6 for his Will + 2 bonus dice for his rank + 2 bonus dice for the situational modifier), and also gets 7 Ss. It's a tie, but since the higher-ranking person wins ties, the Count wins this battle and Melvin must try his best to poison his own Contact.