Influence:

by MagicRob Mon Nov 28, 2016 10:06 am

So, it bears clarifying, since literally every system of WoD handles Influence differently, each edition handles it differently, and there are SWEEPING changes from MET to Tabletop. So, here is the meat of what Influence does in D:tF, page 155

You can pull strings in mortal society to get things done or to get people to look the other way. Your influence may come from wealth, fame, political power, social connections, blackmail, religious fervor, supernatural power or some combination thereof. The greater your Influence rating is, the stronger and more far-reaching your influence is.
Exercising your influence usually requires a Social Attribute + Influence roll, although the storyteller may waive the roll for minor exercises such as getting a traffic ticket fixed. The storyteller sets the difficulty for an influence roll based on what you're trying to get done. Appropriate Abilities (such as Subterfuge) and Backgrounds (such as Allies, Contacts or Fame) may lower the difficulty. The fallen are generally cautious in exercising their influence, since obvious uses may attract the attention of the Earthbound and other Demons.
0- You've got no more influence than the average person on the street.
1- You can influence city politics and agencies.
2- You can influence state politics and agencies.
3- You can influence regional politics and agencies.
4- You can influence national politics and agencies.
5- You can influence international politics and agencies.

Please note that these are MORTAL systems. Some mortal systems (very few) have access to some supernatural things like lores or items, but very very few. When you buy Influence, you tell us the sort of flavor of Influence you have, but there's just one background and it's not limited to one thing. How you accomplish things is more important.

Read:
This is not a multi-tracked background. You won't have the MET 15 tracks to buy. You buy one background (which is among the hardest backgrounds to buy), and you move forward with that. When you want to accomplish something that's outside your usual method, the difficulty will be higher, that's all.