Backgrounds And How They Work...

Below are the Backgrounds used in Hollow Bridge ReVamped. Each one is further explained below for functionality.

Allies
You have the contact details of someone appropriately influential and powerful to the number of dots you possess. You can contact them at any time. In order to make use of an Ally, you must roll Manipulation+Allies against a difficulty of 7. Success on the roll indicates that you have coerced the Ally into doing what you want them to do. Failure means they aren't going to stick their neck out on this occasion. A botch will cause them to rethink their association with you, resulting in a decrease of the background. Don't forget, they'll also want something in return for their assistance.

Contacts
Just like Allies, you can call on your Contacts at any time. However, Contacts won't do anything for you without you offering them something first. Once you've made your offer, roll Manipulation+Contacts against a difficulty of 7. The same scale as Allies applies to this roll.

Fame
You're famous and, depending on how famous, may have difficulty with going out in public without fans wanting a moment of your time. The Fame Background is truly a double-edged sword in that regard, but it does make Hunting easier by reducing your difficulties by its rating, to a minimum of 3.

Generation
Just how potent is your blood? Generation provides you with the ability to store/spend more vitae, as well as immunity to Dominate attempts from those of inferior potency. The only way to improve your Generation is to succumb to the temptation to commit Diablerie, one of the gravest sins among Kindred. Diaberie cannot be performed accidentally in Hollow Bridge ReVamped, as it is no longer a contest of physical strength (as written in the core rules), but a contest of wills. If you are ever in a position where you make an attempt, it will be covered on a case-by-case basis.

Herd
Herd is covered here.

Influence
There are two methods that can be applied using Influence. They differ slightly in how they work mechanically. The first use is referred to as Direct, the second is referred to as Indirect, and they work in the following manner:

Direct - Roll = Manipulation+Influence - diff 6
As it's name suggests, Direct use of Influence involves a character becoming personally involved with the situation by making a telephone call, writing a letter/email, sending a text message, or any other method of communication that originates with the character, except for those mentioned below in Indirect.

Benefits
The character is directly applying their influence, so the difficulty is reduced.

Hindrances
Due to the direct nature, a botch will have a serious negative effect, which could include loss of Influence, or public exposure.

Indirect - Roll = Wits+Influence - diff 8
Indirect use of Influence involves going through a third party, such as an Ally, Contact, or Retainer. Needless to say, the request still comes from the character, but applying it via one of the avenues mentioned can make it appear more subtle.

Benefits
Tracing the use back to the character is more difficult due to third party involvement.

Hindrances
Because of the "non-personal" nature, the difficulty is increased.

Mentor
A Kindred of more experience looks out for you and may help you in social or political situations, or even with learning more about the powers of the blood. If used for social or political assistance, you may add your Mentor Background to such a dice roll, provided they are present and that you have obtained their permission to do so. When learning new disciplines, you may also add your Mentor Background to your dice pool, thus improving your chances to learn quickly. However, you must still drink their blood to learn a discipline.

Resources
Without question, you have an allowance per month equivalent to your dots. However, if you wish to make a big purchase, you may attempt to push your financial assets a little, which requires a Wits+Resources roll against a difficulty of 8. If you succeed, you may improve your Resources by 1 "for that month" as you shuffle your assets around. Failing the roll means you can do improve your Resources at the cost of reducing them for the following month. A botch indicates that you've pushed to far and suffer a permanent reduction afterward.

Retainers
You have a number of "loyal" servants/assistants. If you desire, they can be ghouled humans or animals, or they could be people that you pay well. The only way to alter this background is through roleplay, whether for good or ill. Also, don't forget that how you treat your retainers will affect how loyal they are to you.

Status
Status is quite an important part of kindred society, allowing you to manipulate certain situations that may arise in the court. More on that in a moment, first you need to know how you can get Status.

Status can be gained, or lost, in a number of ways, the most common being:

The Prince may give your character an appointment, or revoke a previously awarded appointment, as a Court Officer (Seneschal, Keeper of the Elysium, Primogen etc.)

The Prince can award, or strip, Status to another Kindred by succeeding at their own Status roll. If you are on the receiving end of the attempt, you may not contest it, but others can on your behalf, so make sure to cultivate those boons.

Harpies can award, or strip, Status to another Kindred by succeeding at their own Status roll. Any Kindred may contest with their own Status. This can be done only once a night (in-game) and must be done within a gathering of Kindred.

Kindred may use their Status to combat other Kindred, including the Prince and Harpies, in their social attempts or politiking.

Using Status
The dice pool to reflect the use of Status is Charisma+Status when attempting to award Status or agree with a Status action attempted by another character, or Manipulation+Status when attempting to strip Status or oppose a Status action attempted by another character. The difficulty is always 8.

This may only be done within court, or within a gathering of kindred. The attempt must also have some appropriate comment from the character as to why the roll is happening. Be wary of doing this, as it means that your character is publicly announcing their intentions and may suffer retribution from opposing parties.

Example - Status Award (Uncontested): Aaron Goodson wishes to express his gratitude to someone who has aided the Camarilla presence in the city. He announces to the Court that, without the assistance of the target, a grave loss would have been suffered. He rolls his Charisma+Status and scores 3 successes. Nobody contests, so the target receives +1 Status.

Example - Status Award (Contested): Aaron Goodson wishes to express his gratitude to someone who has aided the Camarilla presence in the city. He announces to the Court that, without the assistance of the target, a grave loss would have been suffered. He rolls his Charisma+Status and scores 3 successes. On this occasion, however, two of the Primogen announce that the "golden boy" has repeatedly violated Domain in the process. They both roll their Manipulation+Status, and achieve 4 successes, which means the Prince is left with finding some other method to reward said Kindred, and two possibly trouble Primogen to deal with.

Example - Status Strip (Uncontested): Aaron Goodson sees that someone has knowingly risked a violation of The Masquerade time and again, so he decides to teach them a lesson by announcing to the Court that they will have restricted feeding privileges for the next month. He rolls Manipulation+Status and scores 4 successes. Nobody comes to the defence of the target on this occasion, so the target loses 1 Status.

Example - Status Strip (Contested): Aaron Goodson sees that someone has knowingly risked a violation of The Masquerade time and again, so he decides to teach them a lesson by announcing to the Court that they will have restricted feeding privileges for the next month. He rolls Manipulation+Status and scores 4 successes. However, this time, the target has a couple of people who owe him boons, which he's cashed in. They both roll their Manipulation+Status, reminding the Court that the individual has assisted in the destruction of several Sabbat Packs on the Prince's order, and score 5 successes between them. The Prince's attempt fails, but he won't forget the two who over-ruled him.