INFLUENCE QUESTION??

[zalen]

I will shortly be running my first b5 rpg game, and i anticipate that my players will find holes in the rules to get want they want, especially the INFLUENCE rules. I would like to know the answer to the following question:
Certain areas of influence allows ships to be given to players. But What EXACTLY does the TERMS, "USE OF", "ACCESS TO", "BORROW", Mean???.
Yes i know what borrow means, but for how long?.

I want proper rules to go with each term if possible!!.
EG: A Narn player wants use of a Narn frazi fighter INDEFINATELY, and does not want to have to pay for docking, resupply and repairs.
The player rolls and suceeds at the DC to get the USE OF a frazi but what about the extra's. My players will definately want to know things like that, and quite frankly so do i.

And not forgetting the bigger ships available on the influence table, Narn g'quan, sho'kar light scout, what about them and players requesting not only the stuff as per the example above but crew to pilot said larger vessels.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. And any house rules that other gm's have come up with would be greatly appreciated indeed.

 

[Mongoose Gar]

In all cases, the actual effects of Influence are up to the Games Master. Influence represents a character's ability to call in favours and use his position or rank, not what he's automatically entitled to.

In general, stuff like "use of" or "access to" means that the character gets to use that thing for one specific event or purpose. If you get access to, say, Psi Corps records, you're allowed to look up one particular event or file. If you get the use of a freighter, you can use it to bring one cargo from one planet to another. If you've got the use of a warship, then you could get it to, say, blockade a spaceport while you hunt for a criminal, or attack a particular pirate base.

Ships come with crews, but Influence doesn't mean that EarthForce flies a Hyperion out to you and drops it on your doorstep - it means that you put in a call to your friend the Admiral, and he arranged for the EAS Midas to divert from its patrol for a day or two to help you out.

EG: A Narn player wants use of a Narn frazi fighter INDEFINATELY, and does not want to have to pay for docking, resupply and repairs.
The player rolls and suceeds at the DC to get the USE OF a frazi but what about the extra's. My players will definately want to know things like that, and quite frankly so do i.

Ok, well, it's going to vary from character to character? Who is this Narn? What's his position?

A Narn military officer could requisition a Frazi fighter for a particular mission, but it would still be under the jurisdiction of the Narn military. Presumably, the military would cover his expenses, but his use of the fighter and any expenses would be restricted to activities the military approve of.

A Narn diplomat might be able to argue that he needs a Frazi as his personal transport, but the military would not pay his expenses - it's not a military matter.

In either case, "indefinitely" would come with restrictions. The officer gets the fighter, but only while doing missions approved by the military. The diplomat gets the fighter, but they might specify that he only use it as a transport - if he goes off hunting Shadows in it, and it gets destroyed, then he'll lose Influence with the military for having broken his agreement with them.

In ANY use of Influence, you're free to say "no" - just because your Narn has the pull with the Kha'Ri to get hold of a Frazi doesn't mean there's one available at the moment. There might not be a ship within range, or a corporation might have a cash flow crisis and be unable to loan you money. In general, though, the Games Master should say "no, but..." or "yes, but...".

"No, you can't have your own Frazi, but the Narn military recently captured a bunch of pirate delta-Vs. Untracable, unregistered, perfect for covert ops. Want one of those instead?"
"Yes, you can have your own Frazi, but you'll owe the general a big favour. He's got the mission on the Rim that he needs a team for... if you persuade the other PCs to go on it, he'll give you a fighter on indefinite loan."

 

[zalen]

Thanks gar this helps fantastically, what you are saying is "Yes but there are humungously long strings attached".

And thanks for the plot tips. Going into b5 gming after running so many star wars d20 games is extremely weird, i've just had to rewatch b5 (currently rewatched seasons 1 to 4). So i'm just getting my bearings.

Thanks again Gar.