I've come up with a relatively simple way of running groups and organizations in play, and I'd like to hear your feedback. [size=20]The Basics[/size] A [b]Group[/b] can represent any accumulation of Transhumans working more-or-less coherently towards specific goals, whether it is a hypercorp, an autonomist collective, a research institute or a religious cult. It may have Rep values in Reputation Networks just like player characters, including the ability to gain or lose them during play. However, it has no skill values of its own. The [b]Magnitude[/b] of a Group is a very coarse-grained value representing its overall power and influence. Simply put, each additional point of Magnitude means that the Group is ten times more powerful and influential, so a Group with Magnitude 2 is one hundred times more powerful than a Group with Magnitude 0, the lowest possible value (which represents a Group that has next to no power independent of its small number of members). The [b]Size[/b] of a Group is a more fine-grained measure of its power. It has a value ranging from 0 to 99. Should it reach a Size of 100 or more, it gains one point of Magnitude but loses 100 points from its Size. If Size drops to less than 0, it will lose one point of Magnitude but gain 100 Size points - unless it was already at Magnitude 0, in which case the Groups simply ceases functioning. The [b]Steering Committee[/b] are the Transhumans who have effective control over the policy and activities of the Group, irrespective of actual titles. For simplicity's sake, in case of PC-controlled Groups the members of the Steering Committee are all the PCs who are members of the Group. [size=20]Using Favors[/size] For each Reputation Network the Group is a part of, the Group has the usual number of favors depending on its Reputation Score. As the Group itself does not have any skills, the members of the Steering Committee can use their own relevant Networking skills to gain favors for the group. It should be emphasized that these favors are gained and expended for the group [i]as a whole[/i] and not for the individual member of the Steering Committee. While Steering Committee members can certainly try to abuse Group favors for their own convenience and profit if the other members let them, if they discovered both they and the Group as a whole should suffer serious Rep losses. Larger Groups have an easier time getting stuff they want. To represent this, for [i]each[/i] point of Magnitude the player making the Networking skill roll can choose the following: - Get [i]ten[/i] times as much as normal. - Reduce the Favor level by one, down to Trivial. Note: This does [i]not[/i] reduce the Timeframe, but it [i]does[/i] reduce the Refresh Rate. These two effects can be combined. For instance, if a Magnitude 2 Group wishes to acquire Exalt biomorphs, it could reduce the Favor level from Expensive to High, and then get ten Exalt morphs instead of one - though it would still take 3 days to get them instead of one day. In addition to burning Rep to improve the Networking skill roll to acquire the favor, the Group can also burn Size points. Each Size point burned gives +1 to the Networking roll. [b]Note:[/b] Game masters are encouraged to come up with favors with higher levels than 5 (Scarce/Expensive), for those Groups that wish to acquire their own spacecraft or even habitats. [size=20]Gaining and Losing Size[/size] Size can be gained and lost in adventures, just like Reputation (and in similar amounts). The GM should encourage the players to come up with their own schemes on how to enlarge and expand their Group - these make often excellent fodder for adventures. Members of the Steering Committee can also burn Group Reputation in order to attempt increasing the Size of the group. This is a Task Action with a timeframe of one month. First, they choose a variable number of Rep points from a particular reputation network the Group is a member of. This loss of Rep may represent an attempt at a hostile takeover, neglecting long-time customers in favor of a critical project, or attempting to outmaneuver a rival for critical resources or research grants. The players should be descriptive in this - again, this might make for excellent adventure fodder in the long run. After choosing the amount, they roll against a skill appropriate to both the reputation network and whatever scheme they are attempting (the GM's word is final on what skill is appropriate). They suffer a penalty equal to -20 times the Magnitude of the Group (larger Groups have a more difficult time of expanding). As an exception to the normal limits on modifiers, this [i]can[/i] exceed a penalty of -60 (which is why leaders of large Groups tend to have the best assistants that money can buy and take extra time on the Task Action to further decrease the modifier...). On an [i]ordinary success[/i], they lose the amount of Rep they have gambled, but gain an equal amount of Size. On a [i]critical success[/i], they get the same amount of Size but their Rep is not burned. On an [i]ordinary failure[/i], they lose the amount of Rep they have gambled, but do not gain any Size. On a [i]critical failure[/i], they lose the amount of Rep they have gambled and [i]lose[/i] an equal amount of Size.