Active Influence System
From CNWiki
Influences on Carpe Noctem are not passive stats that you only use to rope in favors like calling cops off, or registering vehicles to dead people. The nature of a 24/7 game with lots of players creates the need for a cap on influences, so that not everyone can be say, a media mogul who controls all the TV stations in town. Unfortunately, what that creates is an old boys club where newer characters pretty much need to wait for old ones to die so they can get better influences. Our solution to this problem is by making Influences something dynamic, where you can gain and lose them in various ways, and will need to defend yourself periodically on attempts on your influences.
The way the system works is closed to the public, and encouraged as a roleplaying system. In other words, you will buy up your stats normally, until a Storyteller informs you that it is becoming increasingly difficult for you to pursue this line of influence. If you come up with new ways to gain influence in the area, the Storyteller may ask you to make various rolls based on your planned course of action. You could always try to figure out who is a factor in what influence using other influences, or by doing some good old fashioned investigation.
When your influences are in danger of being taken away for some various reasons, you will be notified by a Storyteller, and will be able to take any number of courses of actions based on your reaction to the news. You will never be brought in and told "Your police influence is going to go down unless you do something." We will always present it to you in terms of a scene, or something to encourage roleplay. Based on your character's decisions, we will ask you to make a series of rolls to determine if you're able to find the root of the problem, or at least clear up the symptoms of the problem and maintain your influences.
If this seems all very ambiguous, it's meant to be, influences are not an exact science. If you want to safeguard your influences, using them only when you need them, keeping on top of your contacts, and taking action that you know your character will be able to follow up with based on their sheet will make your life easier. (For instance - if you find your police influence is in trouble, don't try to investigate the problem if your investigation and perception scores suck, or try to beat some chump until he tells you what's going on if your combat skills are sub-par. Use the skillset your character was made with, and you'll be more successful.)
