Editing Genius The Transgression/Chapter Four:Special Rules and Systems (section)

=== Dirty Work: ===

While many beholden come from scientific fields, others are recruited from the police, the military, or special forces. Some geniuses even train their beholden in these fields in order to guard their laboratories and strike out against their enemies. This is represented by Beholden Prowess, which is purchased as part of the Beholden Merit.

Sometimes a genius does not want to get her hands dirty, or she lacks relevant training for some kind of field work. In this case, she may be able to send her beholden to do her dirty work.

Dirty work can be anything from a meet-and-greet to theft to assassination. If it's not dangerous, there's no need to roll, but most dirty work is dangerous and requires a dirty work check (with a starting number of dice equal to the beholdens' Prowess) to succeed.

Difficult actions or actions against difficult targets incur a penalty set by the Storyteller. The Storyteller should use the following guidelines based on the power and security level of the target.

* Regular citizen: +1
* Armed forces veteran, beat cop, security guard, paranoid or security-minded person: No modifier
* Person with combat and awareness training, such as a detective, soldier, or security specialist, or minor public figure like a local celebrity: -1
* Highly competent person such as special forces or wealthy or moderately influential person such as a selectman: -2
* City- or state-level figure such as a mayor, crime boss, head of a major corporation, or state senator: -3
* A national or international figure such as a senator, billionaire or president: -4
* Opposing Beholden: Equal to Beholden Prowess.
* Orphan wonder: Equal to rank
* Genius: Equal to Inspiration

The differing size of the two groups is also important:
* Beholden outnumber target by 50%: +1
* Beholden outnumber target by 2:1: +2
* Beholden outnumber target by 3:1: +3
* Beholden outnumber target by 4:1: +4
* Beholden outnumbered by target by 50%: -1
* Beholden outnumbered by target by 1:2: -2
* Beholden outnumbered by target by 1:3: -3
* Beholden outnumbered by target by 1:4: -4

The beholden also suffer a penalty based on how complicated or dangerous the activity to perform is.

* Surveillance: 0
* Harrying Attack or "Sending a Message": -1
* Theft: -2
* Destruction or property, demobilizing, or serious inconvenience: -3
* Military-style Strike: -3
* Assassination: -4
* Kidnapping: -5

Add the penalties together. So, if beholden are sent to steal from (-2) the police (-2) that outnumber them by 50% (-1) the total penalty is -5.

A group of beholden can be used for dirty work a number of times per chapter equal to their Number.

The Storyteller can adjust this modifier to any degree based on specific circumstances, or even outright refuse certain attempts at dirty work that would derail the story or avoid dramatic conflict. The Storyteller should usually refuse any attempt to kill or capture a genius with an Inspiration equal to or greater than that of the character assigning the dirty work, or other metanormal creatures of similar power, but any disruptive or disinteresting act is subject to veto. On the other hand, the Storyteller should encourage the use of dirty work to simplify the collaborative's own missions or to support their actions.

Once the penalty is determined (and if the dirty work is not rejected out of hand), the genius can spend Mania to increase the roll. The genius can spend a number of Mania points equal to her maximum per-turn expenditure on outfitting, briefing, and enhancing the beholden. Once that's done, roll the dice.

''Dramatic Failure:'' The beholden fail spectacularly and gruesomely. The genius permanently loses a dot in either Beholden Number or Beholden Prowess (the genius' choice) as his troops are massacred. Dirty work cannot be attempted for the rest of the chapter.

''Failure:'' The beholden fail to achieve their goals. Casualties and disruptions are light, but incur a cumulative -1 penalty per failure. This penalty resets at the end of the chapter.

''Success:'' The beholden do something right. The goal is accomplished.

''Exceptional Success:'' Not only is the goal accomplished, but it doesn't count toward the maximum number of dirty work uses during the chapter. Further, the morale boost wipes away any cumulative penalties.

''Suggested Modifiers:'' Instructions are unclear or ambiguous (-1), beholden are unfamiliar with task (-1), task is outside beholden's talent suite (-2), beholden are specialized for the operation (+1), more than half of the beholden are equipped with wonders relevant to the operation (bonus equals rank of lowest-ranking wonder), beholden must operate publicly (-2)

==== Summary Execution: ====

Murdering beholden can improve their performance after a failure. This permanently reduces Beholden Number by one, but removes all accumulated penalties in that chapter and prevents new ones from accruing for the rest of the chapter. Further, the genius can roll Presence + Intimidation before all future dirty work checks until the end of the chapter; successes are added to the dirty work dice pool. Summary execution for incompetence is at least an Obligation-4 transgression.