You’ve got friends in high places, low places, or places in between. Maybe you know folks within the local police force, the gang scene, or an organized-crime cartel. Each type of Tie – a

Merit that must be purchased separately for 3 points per group – reflects a culture in which your character has connections, goodwill, and a small amount of influence. These people are not your friends or servants (there are several Background Traits for that sort of relationship), but they might do the occasional favor for you.

In story terms, the Ties Merit grants your character certain connections. Game-wise, those connections lower the difficulty rolls in certain situations, depending upon what you’re trying to do:

• Fulfill a subtle request (pulling a license number, score some goodies, get an invite to some exclusive function, etc.): -2 difficulty

• Request a significant favor (plant a news story, spread a rumor, tamper with evidence, etc.): -1 difficulty

Your character must have some story-based reasons for those ties – membership in the group, family legacy, favors owed to him, and so forth – and will need to maintain them. Actions that could hurt his relationship with the group might destroy this Merit too. The Storyteller can deny certain types of Ties to player characters and has the final say about whether or not the connections will do what the character requests.

As mentioned above, different Ties must be purchased separately; each one costs 3 points. Potential Ties include: Local Police, Local Underworld, National Police, Organized Crime Cartel, Local Media Outlet, National Media Outlet, Black Market, Drug Trade, Hollywood, Interpol, Club Scene, Paparazzi, Local Journalism, Evangelical Community, Terrorism Underground, Counterterrorism Network, International Journalism, Corporations, and so forth.