Influences:

Influences – What Good Are They?

This is a tough one for newly Embraced vampires to figure out, because it’s an area of almost infinite possibilities and it’s easy to be overwhelmed. Here are the usual areas of Influence offered by Laws of the Night, and suggestions of how players might use them against another character.

Bureaucracy

The organizational aspects of city governments fall within the character's sphere of control. She can bend and twist the tangle of rules and regulations that seem necessary to run our society as she sees fit. The character may have contacts or allies among the government clerks, supervisors, utility workers, road crews, surveyors and numerous other civil servants.

--Level 1 ~ Trace utility bills.

--Level 2 ~ Fake a birth certificate or driver's license, Disconnect a single small residence's utilities, close a small road or park. Get public Aid ($250)

--Level 3 ~ Fake a death certificate, passport or green card, close a public school for a single day, shut down minor business on a violation.

--Level 4 ~ Initiate a phone tap (on a residence or business), fake land deeds.

--Level 5 ~ Start, stop, or alter a city-wide program or policy, shut down a big business on a violation, rezone areas, obliterate records of a person on a city or country level.

--Level 6 ~ Arrange a fixed audit of a personal or business.

--Land can be rezoned. Your enemy is going to be inconvenienced – perhaps fatally so – when his haven is rezoned for a motorway onramp, or public playground. Make sure the bulldozers go in during the daytime.

--Most vampires keep a haven. If they own their property, you can look for property deeds bearing their name – particularly since some neonates aren’t savvy enough to think of holding their property under a false name.

--Some vampires own businesses. This means they must have business licenses on file with the city and a whole bunch of other paperwork besides. That paperwork will contain all sorts of useful information – from financial details, to their likely place of residence.

--A vampire who owns a business can be hobbled with all sorts of inconvenience – Board of Health visits, licensing boards, etc. Providing that one of your people is on that investigating team, who knows what you might learn during their visit? Or take it one step further, and shut your enemy down.

--Some kindred have gone to the trouble of feigning their own death, some haven’t. Have your contact at the city clerk’s office go look up death certificates and wills filed with probate. The next of kin and executor details can lead you to exploitable humans – with luck, they’ll be family members that your enemy cares about. Failing that, they still might have some useful information about your opponent’s weaknesses and habits.

--Many governmental departments are Bureaucratic rather than Political. If you want access to the DMV, the local zoning board, the IRS, that’s all Bureaucracy.

Church

Even churches are not without politics and intrigue upon which an opportunistic kindred may capitalize. Church influence usually only applies to the mainstream faiths, such as Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and the Islamic faith. Sometimes other practices fall under the occult influence. Contacts and allies affected by church influence include ministers, bishops, priests, activists, evangelists, witch-hunters and various church attendees and assistants.

--Level 1 ~ Identify most secular members of a given faith in the local area, pass     as a member of the clergy, pursue general church records (baptism, marriage, burial, etc).

--Level 2 ~ Identify higher church members, track regular church members, suspend lay members.

--Level 3 ~ Open or close a single church, find the average church-associated hunter, access private information and archives of a church. Dip into the collection ($250)

--Level 4 ~ Discredit or suspends high-level church members, manipulate regional branches of the church.

--Level 5 ~ Organize major protests, access ancient church lore and knowledge.

--Level 6 ~ Borrow or Access church relics or sacred items

--Level 7 ~ Use the resources of a Diocese

--If your game is set in a conservative area – suburbia, the bible belt, etc., a few well-placed words in the pastor’s ear can ruin your enemy’s reputation. Even in the 21^st Century, the neighbourhood church is a popular place to network. This is particularly effective against kindred who run a business that relies on human custom.

--Of course, a great way to stop a vampire cold is to tell the local churchmen that your enemy is running a Satanic cult. Or, if you don’t care about the risk to Masquerade, tell them the truth. Of course, the likelihood of that backfiring all over you is very, very high. Hunters rarely stop hunting when you want them to.

--The church pulpit is a handy soapbox for pushing political agendas. If you know your enemy is involved in the Underworld or some other seamy aspect of society, whip up the righteous indignation of the innocent kine. This indignation will likely evolve into heightened vigilance against lawbreakers, perhaps even a push for ‘law and order’ by the community – which can severely curtail your enemy’s income, ability and ambitions.

Finance

The world teems with the trappings of affluence and the stones of the rich and famous. Kindred with Finance Influence speak the language of money and know where to find capital. They have a degree of access to banks, mega corporations, and the truly wealthy citizens of the world. Such characters also have a wide variety of servants to draw upon, such as CEOS, Bankers, corporate yes-men, financiers, bank tellers, stock brokers and loan agents.

--Level 1 ~ Learn about major transactions and financial events, learn about general economic trends, learn real motivations for many financial actions of others. Raise capital ($1,000)

--Level 2 ~ Trace an unsecured small accounts, raise capital to purchase a small business (single, small store).

--Level 3 ~ Purchase a large business (a few small branches, or a single large store or service).

--Level 4 ~ Manipulate local banking (delay deposits, some credit rating alterations), Ruin a small business.

--Level 5 ~ Control an aspect of city-wide banking (shut off ATM's, arrange a bank "holiday"), Ruin large businesses, purchase a major company.

--Level 6 ~ Spark an economic trend

--It’s possible that the details you obtain about your opponent’s bank account might lead to a brick wall – a secure PO Box, a remote ‘dead drop’ mailbox, etc. Now you need to get influence inside your opponent’s bank. Your opponent has a haven, and most likely has electricity, phone service, etc. Combine Finance Influence with Bureaucracy Influence (at your local utility company) and you can determine the service address – the place where the electricity is going, and the phone has been hooked up, not just the billing address. Dollars to donuts, you’ve found your opponent’s haven.

--Having an inside person at your opponent’s bank is extremely useful. You can find out who your opponent is writing cheques to, how much money they have at any given time, if they have a habit of always sending their ghoul to make a deposit every Monday night.

--Some vampires just can’t handle the IRS. Buy a contact within a large, commercial tax-prep house, or a CPA who has a reputation for discretion and doing the books for those with shady income sources. If your opponent is filing a tax return, you can get a lot of useful information off that paperwork. You can also have that paperwork altered to insure an audit they’ll never forget.

--Combined with a whack of Bureaucracy Influence (or Political, depending upon your ST) you can call forth an IRS audit of your opponent’s business, perhaps even freeze their bank accounts, which will greatly inconvenience them.

--General tip: Take precautions against the above strategies. Don’t write cheques unless you are planning to trace them. Never accept cheques, either. Ensure that all the details of your bank accounts lead to brick walls – secure PO boxes, false identities, etc. Use offshore banks that are on the Star system and large wads of cash whenever possible.

Health

In our modern world, a myriad of organizations and resources exists to deal with every mortal ache and ill, at least in theory. The network of health agencies, hospitals and medical groups is subject to exploitation by a kindred with health influence. Nurses, doctors, specialists, lab workers, therapists, counsellors and pharmacists are just a few of the workers with in the health field.

--Level 1 ~ Access a person's health records, fake vaccination records, use public functions of health centers at your leisure.

--Level 2 ~ Access some medical research records, have minor lab work done, get a copy of coroner's reports, instigate minor quarantines.

--Level 3 ~ Corrupt results of tests or inspections, alter medical records.

--Level 4 ~ Acquire a body, completely rewrite medical records, have minor medical research performed on a subject, shut down businesses for health code violations. Abuse grants for personal use ($250)

--Level 5 ~ Have special research projects performed, have people institutionalized or released, institute large scale quarantines.

--Ask your contact to collect data on 'anaemia clusters' in the area. Odds are, you've just found the preferred hunting grounds, and if a vampire's hunting, that means he's hungry. If he's hungry, that means he's vulnerable.

--Ventrue - and some other vampires - are picky eaters. Choking off their access to the blood bank can make them very tractable and willing to do whatever it is you need from them.

--Or you can be incredibly cold-hearted and start spiking bags of vitae which you know are destined for a vampire's coolers. Let's see how Ms. Settite likes it when she gets addicted to a drug.

--Ghouls, allies and contacts can suffer accidents - either genuine, or arranged by yourself. Wouldn't it be useful if it was your paramedics who got to them first?

--Want to make the pickings tough for the others? Organize a public health scare - call it swine flu, smallpox or whatever you like. No one will venture outside and those who aren't prepared (i.e., anyone not your ally) is going to be a in tough situation.

High Society

An elite clique of mortals exists that, by virtue of birth, possessions, talent or quirks of fate, hold themselves above the great unwashed masses. High Society allows the character to direct and use the energies and actions of the exceptional mass of mortals. Among their ranks one can find dilettantes, the old rich, movie and rock stars, artists of all sorts, wannabes, fashion models and trend setters.

--Level 1 ~ Learn what is trendy, obtain hard-to-get tickets for shows, learn about concerts or plays well before they are made public.

--Level 2 ~ Track most celebrities or luminaries, Be a local voice in the entertainment field. "Borrow" ($1,000) as idle cash from rich friends.

--Level 3 ~ Crush promising careers, hobnob well above your station.

--Level 4 ~ Minor celebrity status.

--Level 5 ~ Get a brief appearance on a talk show that's not about to be cancelled, ruin a new club, gallery, festival or other posh gathering.

--Know that Ms. Toreador owns a club? Set the glitterati to trashing it for no good reason. Public opinion can be a bitch like that. This is particularly effective if combined with Media Influence.

--If you’re feeling particularly nasty, introduce the latest (damaging) designer drug to the club-set, distributing it through Ms. Toreador’s favourite hangouts. If you’re feeling vicious, let it circulate for a few weeks to spike her herd, then tip off the local Drug Squad and have the place closed down. Twist the knife with Media Influence to give the story maximum coverage.

--Exposure can be dangerous for kindred, as it puts strain on their personal Masquerade. Rather than trashing Mr. Ventrue, the Venture Capitalist, have the beautiful people suddenly decide that he is the bachelor of the moment, and simply the best catch for any bright young thing. Mr. Ventrue won’t be able to turn around without bumping into a husband hunter, or being featured in the society column – and you’ll have constrained his movements nicely. Maybe you’ll get really lucky and push the poor fellow into a Frenzy.

Industry

The dark world of the Gothic-Punk is built by pumping and grinding machinery and the toil of endless labourers. A character with industry influence has her ashen fingers in this pie. Industry is composed of union workers, foreman, engineers, contractors, construction works and manual labourers.

--Level 1 ~ Learn about industrial projects and movements.

--Level 2 ~ Have minor projects performed, arrange small accidents or sabotage. Dip into union funds or embezzle petty cash ($500)

--Level 3 ~ Organize minor strikes, appropriate machinery for a short time.

--Level 4 ~ Close down a small plant, revitalize a small plant.

--Level 5 ~ Manipulate a large local industry.

--Level 6 ~ Cut off production of a single resource in a small region

--Find out which areas of industry interest your opponents. You have a choice between moving into those same areas and crushing them with old fashioned capitalist competition, or quietly introducing people under your control into your enemy’s corporations and destroying them from within. One determined accountant with embezzlement on her mind can do a lot of damage.

--Choose your own areas of interest carefully. If you are a mobster-Ventrue, owning a share in a car-wrecking yard will probably be far more useful than a partial share in an investment bank.

--Certain industries can be used to investigate the affairs of your rivals. A data-backup/recovery/destruction company can be very useful, if you’ve got some patient ghouls who don’t mind sorting through bins of papers or vast hard-drives. Similarly, buying in to a custodial/maid-service can get your ghouls into places that might otherwise be barred to them.

--A PR company can be a useful tool against corporate-minded Ventrue and social Toreador – use such companies to unleash negative publicity and whispering campaigns against your target.

--General tip: If you are going to own any sort of business, use a well-shielded ghoul as the actual owner of the company – lest you fall prey to uses of Bureaucracy as suggested, above.

Legal

The kindred's presence is even present in the hallowed halls of justice and the courts, law schools, law firms and justice bureaus with in them. In habiting these halls are lawyers, judges, bailiffs, clerks, CPS, QCs and barristers.

--Level 1 ~ Get free representation for minor cases.

--Level 2 ~ Avoid bail for some charges, have minor charges dropped.

--Level 3 ~ Manipulate legal procedures (minor wills and contracts, court dates), Access public or court funds ($250) Get good representation in court cases.

--Level 4 ~ Issue subpoenas, tie up court cases, make most legal charges dropped, cancel or arrange parole.

--Level 5 ~ Close down all but the most serious investigations, have deportation proceedings held against someone.

--If your opponent is active in the underworld, get some influence in the Crown Prosecution Service’s office, and persuade them to target whatever area is going to tread on your opponent’s toes.

--Similarly, pay off a debt – or buy a potential ally – by getting an overeager prosecutor to back off, or settle for a plea bargain.

--A judge in the pocket is very useful for providing search-warrants and arrest-warrants on a moment’s notice, as well as denying bail to whoever you’ve rounded up with your Police Influence.

--General tip: Don’t confuse Legal Influence with Police Influence.

Media

The media serves as the eyes and ears of the world. While few in this day and age doubt that the news is not corrupted many would be surprised at who closes these eyes and covers those years from time to time. The media entity is composed of station directors, editors, reporters, anchors, camera people, photographers and radio personalities.

--Level 1 ~ Learn about breaking stories early, submit small articles (within reason).

--Level 2 ~ Suppress (but not stop) small articles or reports, get hold of investigative reporting information.

--Level 3 ~ Initiate news investigations and reports, ground stories and projects. Get project Funding and waste it ($250)

--Media is most effective when used in combination with other Influences – particularly Police and High Society.

--Investigative journalists might jump on the chance to ferret out whatever Mr. Ventrue is really up to at his venture capital bank. Furthermore, investigative journalists have a policy of never naming their sources. Just to be on the safe side, use an intermediary or false identity when tipping off your media contact.

--Gossip and society columns are ripe for planting with misinformation, because they function on rumour and innuendo, anyway. Trash Ms. Toreador’s newest album, Mr. Ventrue’s charity fund-raiser or Mr. Settite’s latest club with just a phone call and a few column inches.

--If you’re looking to ruin a Toreador, a well placed bribe to the local critics will go a long way.

Occult

Most people are curious about the supernatural world and the various groups and beliefs that make up the occult world but few consider it anything but a hoax, a diversion or a curiosity. They could not be further from the truth. This influence more then any other hits the kindred close to home and could very well bring humanity to it's sense about just who and what shares the world with them. Among the Occult community are cult leaders, alterative religious groups, Charlatans, would be occultists and New Agers.

--Level 1 ~ Contact and use common occult groups practices, know some of the more visible occult figures

--Level 2 ~ Know and contact some of the more obscure occult figures. Access resources for most rituals and rites.

--Level 3 ~ Keep the general vicinity of certain supernatural entities and possibility contact them. Can access vital or very rare material components. Milk impressionable wannabes for bucks ($250). Access occult tomes and writings (part of an alleged book of nod..). Research a basic ritual. (Levels 1-2)

--Level 4 ~ Research an Intermediate Ritual. (Levels 3-4

--Level 5 ~ Access minor magic items. Unearth an Advanced Ritual (5-6)

--Level 6 ~ Research a new or unheard of ritual or rite from Tomes or mentors.

--Vampires love taking advantage of the stupid, credulous and gullible. Ask your contact to keep their eyes open for news of 'Satanic' cults. Some kindred will even go as far as risking the Masquerade with public blood-drinking as part of their theatrics. Send your contact out to learn as much as possible, and then send that information to the Prince / the media / your enemy's enemy, etc.

--Vampires can be a superstitious bunch. When days of religious significant - Christian, pagan, what have you - are coming up, some kindred will be wanting to stock up on ritual items and tools. If they pay with a credit card or check, pair that information up with your Finance contact, and you're well on your way to unravelling their haven and financial details. Even if they pay cash, you'll have learned potentially valuable information about your enemy's beliefs. Beliefs can be manipulated, you see...

--Use your contacts to manipulate supernatural beliefs whenever possible. If you happen to know that the Toreador Primogen firmly believes in astrology, perhaps it will be to your advantage to scare him into his haven for a few days with an ominous chart you've had drawn up as a 'gift'. If that Malkavian swears by Nostradamus, maybe it's time for a 'lost' prophecy to be found and offered for sale? Bogus occult items can do a lot of mischief, in the right hands.

Police

To protect and serve is a popular motto among the chosen enforcers of laws. But these days even those ignorant of kindred have reason to doubt the laws ability to enact justice. Perhaps they should wonder whom the law defends, whom it serves, and why. The police influence encompasses the likes of beat cops, desk jockeys, prison guards, special divisions (such as SWAT, Drug Squad, Vice and homicide,) detectives and various clerical positions.

--Level 1 ~ Learn police procedures, hear police information and rumours, avoid traffic tickets.

--Level 2 ~ Have license plates checked, avoid minor violations (first conviction), get "inside information."

--Level 3 ~ Get copies of an investigation report, have police hassle, detain or harass someone, find bureau secrets.

--Level 4 ~ Access confiscated weapons or contraband, have some serious charges dropped, start an investigation. Get money, either from evidence room or as an appropriation ($1,000)

--Level 5 ~ Institute major investigations, arrange set-ups, institute bureau investigations, have officers fired.

--Level 6 ~ Paralyze departments for a time, close down an investigation .

--Use prowling beat-cops to harass your enemy’s ghouls. Or if you’re feeling particularly brave, arrest the vampire himself. Beware, though, as putting a vampire in a holding cell is often a short cut to frenzy and a threat to the Masquerade. Mind you, if that’s what you want to happen…

--Having a friendly cop on the scene is better than a friendly witness. So what if your patsy says he wasn’t breaking the law at the time of his arrest – who do you think the jury is going to believe?

--A cop in the evidence room is useful. If you’re setting up someone to take a fall, you can plant evidence. It’s also a handy source of cash and drugs to be used in other schemes.

--Once you get a search warrant on your enemy’s haven from your Legal influence, having a couple of friendly cops doing the search can make things a lot easier when they find that ‘dead’ body and it combusts when the bedroom curtains are opened.

--Got the number of that nice Lexus your opponent drives? Have your cop run it through the DMV database. If the car is registered, you’ll have an address to investigate. Them make your opponent’s life difficult by reporting that car as stolen.

--Given the occasional deadly nature of feeding, it’s always useful to have a friend in the homicide department. Even if that exsanguinated body was left by the local Sabbat, won’t your Brujah enemy be shocked when it’s his picture that is circulated as wanted for the crime?

Political

It is said that intimidation is the sincerest form of flattery. If this is so, the movers and shakers among the kindred should be quiet taken by the artful and cut-throat antics of their mortal counterparts in the field of politics. Some of these individuals include statesmen, pollsters, activists, party members, lobbyists, candidates and the politicians themselves.

--Level 1 ~ Minor lobbying, identify real platforms of politicians and parties, be in the know.

--Level 2 ~ Meet small-time politicians, garner inside information on processes, laws, and the like. Use a slush fund, or fund raiser ($1,000)

--Level 3 ~ Sway or alter political projects (local parks, renovations, small constructions)

--Level 4 ~ Enact minor legislation, dash careers of minor politicians.

--Level 5 ~ Get your candidate in a minor office, enact encompassing legislature.

--Level 6 ~ Block the passage of major bills, suspend major laws temporarily. Use state bureaus or subcommittees.

--Level 7 ~ Usurp countrywide politics; Subvert, to a moderate degree, state-wide politics.

--Level 8 ~ Call out a local division of the National Guard. Declare a state of emergency in a region.

Street

Disenchanted, disenfranchised and ignored by their "betters," an undercurrent of humanity has made it's own culture and lifestyle to deal with the harsh lot life has dealt them. In the dark alleys and slums reside gang members, the homeless, street performers, petty criminals, prostitutes and the forgotten.

--Level 1 ~ Open an ear for the word on the street, identify most gangs and know their turfs and habits.

--Level 2 ~ Live mostly without fear on the underside of society, keep a contact or two in most aspects of street life, access small-time contraband.

--Level 3 ~ Get insight into other areas of Influence, arrange some services from street people or gangs, get pistols or uncommon melee weapons.

--Level 4 ~ Mobilize groups of homeless, get hold of a shotgun, rifle or SMG, have a word in almost all aspects of gang operations. Panhandle ($250)

--Level 5 ~ Control a single medium-sized gang, arrange impressive protests by street people.

--Street people see a lot of things, and will share it for a relatively cheap price – cash in hand, usually. A handy way to find a vampire’s preferred hunting grounds is to pay off the local bunch of Baker Street Irregulars to keep an eye out for a fellow matching a certain description.

--Street people can be affordably bribed, too. Want to put Mr. Ventrue at the scene of a massive Sabbat get-together? Give that hooker a couple hundred dollars, and she’ll say anything you want her to.

--Want to break the heart of a Ventrue who is big in real estate? Encourage your Street contacts to move into Mr. Ventrue’s prime territory and bring down the property values with a bit of applied vandalism and theft.

--Street often crosses over with Underworld – particularly in the matter of drug dealing. Cultivate your gangster contacts, and you might well discover something about your opponent’s closely-held Underworld influence.

Transportation

The world is in constant motion, it's prosperity relying heavily on the fact that people and productions fly, float, or roll to and from every corner of the planet. Without the means to perform this monumental task, our "small" world quickly returns to being a daunting orb with large, isolated stretches. The forces that keep this circulation in motion include cab and bus drivers, pilots, air traffic controllers, travel firms, sea captains, conductors, border guards and untold others...

--Level 1 ~ Know what goes where, when and why, travel locally quickly and freely.

--Level 2 ~ Track an unwary target if he uses public transportation, arrange passage safe (or at least concealed) from mundane threats (robbery, terrorism, sunlight, etc).

--Level 3 ~ Seriously hamper an individual's ability to travel, avoid most supernatural dangers when travelling (such as lupines).

--Level 4 ~ Shut down one form of transportation (bus lines, ships, planes, trains, etc).

--Level 5 ~ Reroute major modes of travel, smuggle with impunity.

--Level 6 ~ Extend control to near by areas

--Level 7 ~ Isolate small or remote regions for a short period.

--Vampires have to get in and out of town, somehow, and many of them are nervous of commercial transit. Buy interest in a freight company and have them keep their eyes open for unusual, nocturnal jobs – particularly those that involve picking up a very small amount of cargo.

--Some vampires are commercial moguls – buying and selling vast amounts of goods through their own little trade-empires. Put the Teamsters boss in your pocket and organize a strike and you’ve just crippled Mr. Mogul. If the goods aren’t being shipped, he isn’t getting revenue.

--An air-traffic control union boss can similarly hamper a mass exodus from a territory with a wildcat strike.

--It’s always handy to know a guy with a boat when it comes time to dump bodies (if you live near an ocean, that is)

--Combine Transportation and Bureaucracy and make a friend in Customs and Excise or regular security at the big airport in town. It’s their job to check bags, boxes and even coffins that are being shipped hither and yon.

Underworld

Even in the most cosmopolitan of ages, society has found certain needs and services too questionable to accept and in every age, some organized effort has stepped in to provide for this demand regardless of the risks. Among this often ruthless and dangerous crowd are the likes of hit-men, mafia, Yakuza, bookies, fencers and launderers.

--Level 1 ~ Locate minor contraband (knives, small-time drugs, petty gambling, scalped tickets).

--Level 2 ~ Obtain pistols, serious drugs, stolen cars, hire muscle to rough someone up, fence stolen loot (and prove that crime pay, $1,000)

--Level 3 ~ Obtain a rifle, shotgun or SMG, arrange a minor "hit", meet someone in "the family".

--Level 4 ~ Make white collar crime connection.

--Level 5 ~ Arrange gangland assassinations, hire a demolition man or firebug, supply local drug needs.

--At the most basic ham-fisted level, you can use Underworld to acquire a squad of hit men to take down your opponent. They’ll likely be slaughtered in the process, but better them than you, right?

--If you know your enemy has interest in the Underworld, also, you might benefit by a nice little gang war. Of course, you want to make sure that your side is well-supplied and well-informed enough to win, but if you pull it off, you’ve destroyed an enemy’s holdings and increased your own.

--Underworld contacts are very useful for making people – ghouls, other Influences – disappear. Use them as needed, and pay them well.

--Underneath every hoodlum is a stool pigeon waiting to be found. Use your enemy’s contacts against him, with deft application of Police Influence, or your own persuasive talents.

University

In an age where the quest for learning and knowledge begins in schools, college and universities, information becomes currency. University influence represents a certain degree of control and perhaps involvement in these institutions. Within this sphere of influence, one will find the teachers, professors, deans, students of all ages and levels, Greek orders and many young and impressionable minds.

--Level 1 ~ Know layout and policy of local schools, have access to low-level university resources, get records up to the high school level.

--Level 2 ~ Know a contact or two with useful Knowledge or Abilities, have minor access to facilities, fake high school records, obtain college records.

--Level 3 ~ Call in faculty favours, cancel a class, fix grades, discredit a student.

--Level 4 ~ Organize student protests and rallies, discredit faculty members. Acquire money through a grant ($1,000)

--Level 5 ~ Falsify an undergraduate degree.

--Level 6 ~ Arrange major projects. Alter Curriculum institution-wide. Free run of the facilities.

--Tremere and other (traditionally) nerdy kindred tend to collect academic degrees like bottle caps. Some of them even lecture at local universities – more for the access to lush young humans than out of any desire to improve the human race. Get a contact in the administration of your local college or university and see if your opponent is on the payroll. Payroll information includes useful tidbits like back account information and addresses, which can be used against an enemy.