Bribery (sage ability)

Bribery is an amateur-status sage ability in the study of Coercion, permitting the character to assess an individual's greed, caution and circumstances, revealing the appropriate amount of money, goods or other payment that persons will require before agreeing to perform a desired service, act, compliance, cooperation, concession or breach of duty. Those most susceptible to bribery are commonly non-leveled persons of little means, whose need for money outweighs their attachment to duty, law or principle. Such persons may compromise themselves once a sufficient payment is plainly within reach.

As persons become attached to an office, patron, guild, temple, army, noble household or other authority they sincerely support, however, the cost of bribing them rises. Likewise, persons with two or more experience levels, and therefore income, reputation and prospects of their own, require substantially greater payment before they will risk their position.

Guidelines

There are far too many possibilities, and far too many different kinds of persons, for any concise rule formula to cover all contingencies and possibilities. Bribery depends upon the circumstances, character, station, fears, loyalties, present needs and private ambitions of the individual being approached. Therefore, it falls upon the dungeon master to behave responsibly, and yet in a manner that fits with their perception of their game world, when deciding whether or not a particular individual encountered by the player or the player's character may be susceptible to bribes at all. It should not be assumed that every person is available for purchase. Bribes can open doors, but there are doors, and people, which cannot be bribed. A person may refuse because of rank, loyalty, fear, belief, self-interest, family obligation, social standing, religious conviction, institutional trust, or because the consequences of accepting payment would be greater than anything the payment could repair.

It is a fair rule to assume that any person in the game setting who is greater than fourth level has every reason to avoid risking their status, their position, the benefits they receive, perhaps even their family and their social commitments, for the sake of a one-time bribe or even a bribe that is offered on a regular basis. Such persons have usually acquired enough income, reputation, protection, allies and prospects that ordinary corruption becomes irrational. They have too much to lose, and often too little to gain. It is therefore perfectly fair for any DM, at any time, to state outright to the player wishing to offer the bribe that no, that person over there has every characteristic that they cannot be bribed. The player will have to find another way. This is simply a limitation that occurs within a rational system, recognizing that while bribes can open doors, there are doors and people that cannot be bribed.

This is particularly true in a world where there are fewer choices and opportunities for social advance, as occurred and existed in the 16th and 17th centuries historically. A person who has obtained a secure place within a household, guild, temple, military command, court, town office or noble service may treat that place as the foundation of their life. To betray it for payment may mean the loss of livelihood, shelter, marriage prospects, legal protection, reputation and family security. In such a world, the bribe must be judged against the whole structure of the person's survival, not merely against their immediate desire for money.

Formula for Bribery

When determining the bribe required for an individual, the DM should begin with the subject's ordinary starting capital, using the nearest progenitor profession as a guide. This amount represents the value of money to that person, measured against their station, trade, expectations and ordinary means.

This base amount is then adjusted according to the subject's security and position. A non-levelled, unattached commoner, labourer or some such uses the base amount without increase. A non-levelled but skilled person should require twice the base amount. A person attached to a guild, church, court, military body, noble household, civic office or other institution should require three times the base amount, even if that person is non-levelled. A levelled person of 2nd or 3rd level should require twice or thrice this base amount.

For example, Roshan is a 2nd level mage working in an armourer's guild as an alchemist. The base price for a bribe to a 1st level alchemist is that given under progenitor: 4d10 x5 gold pieces — to make this simpler, we roll that out and get a base of 85 g.p.; because he works for an institution, this is multiplied by three: 255 g.p.; and because he is 2nd level, this is doubled to 510 g.p. Obviously, this is a lot of coin; whatever is asked, it had better be very important. After all, imagine Azad, a simple servant in the same guild; he is not levelled, yet also in an important place; his base g.p. for being a labourer is 17; this is tripled to 51 g.p., with no further adjustments — and yet Azad might know exactly what Roshan knows. The character wishing to bribe others should be careful not to assume to much where it comes to obtaining information.

Persons above 4th level may be declared unbribable at the DM's discretion, unless special circumstances exist. Such persons have usually acquired enough status, income, reputation, allies and obligations that a bribe offers too little reward for the danger it creates. The amount obtained is the subject's required price before agreeing to perform the act being purchased. This price should then be further adjusted according to the seriousness of that act, since looking away from a small irregularity and betraying a lord are not comparable risks.

Adjustments for Severity of Breach

Once the individual's base required price has been determined from starting capital, education, level and institutional attachment, that amount is adjusted according to the severity of the breach being purchased. The greater the betrayal, danger or compromise demanded of the individual, the greater the increase to the bribe.

Minor breaches require no increase to the calculated price. This includes overlooking a small irregularity, giving ordinary information, delaying a message, ignoring a harmless trespass, permitting a brief conversation, or failing to notice something that can be dismissed as carelessness.

Serious breaches require the price to be doubled, tripled or increased as much as fivefold, according to the DM's judgement. This includes allowing armed persons to pass, revealing confidential information, falsifying a minor record, concealing evidence, misdirecting a patrol, giving access to a restricted place or betraying an employer in a limited way.

Ruinous breaches require the price to be multiplied tenfold or more, if the individual can be bribed at all. This includes freeing a prisoner, betraying a lord, altering a legal judgement, committing sacrilege, exposing family members to punishment, endangering a household, giving aid to enemies in wartime or taking part in treason, murder or other crimes from which the individual may never recover.

The severity of the breach is measured by what the individual stands to lose if discovered, not by what the player characters hope to gain. A servant who opens a pantry door commits a minor breach; the same servant who opens the lord's private chamber may commit a serious breach; the same servant who opens the postern gate during a siege may commit a ruinous breach.

Broad Descriptions of Persons

As a guideline for placing bribed persons, the following is offered.

Non-levelled, poor, unattached persons. Use the base value as-is, or less if the person is desperate, indebted, hungry or socially exposed. These are labourers, porters, rat catchers, hermits, trappers, servants, beggars, casual guards, drovers, team hands and most likely any role that does not appear upon the progenitor's page. Included roles are the hermit at 1d10, trapper at 3d10, rat catcher at 3d10, labourer at 4d10 and porter at 5d10, which suggests the lower range for persons with little protection or capital.

Non-levelled but skilled persons. Increase the base because the person has a trade, equipment, clients or prospects. This includes carpenters, masons, miners, blacksmiths, armourers, weavers, tanners, potters, glaziers, jewellers and similar trades. Their bribe price should rise because the person has a place in the economy and therefore more to lose. The dexterity and constitution tables give many such craft examples, often with multiplied capital once the trade becomes more valuable.

Literate or educated persons. Literacy is not just a skill; it creates access to records, offices, books, accounts, courts, temples and patrons. Scribes, tutors, librarians, lawyers, physicians, priests, professors, bookbinders, papermakers, forgers, bankers and political advisors all carry some form of educational or documentary power. The progenitor's page repeatedly marks read & write as a benefit attached to these higher-trust roles.

Institutional persons.: These increase the base substantially, even if the person is non-levelled. This covers anyone whose security depends on belonging to a guild, church, court, military body, noble household, civic office, monastery, university, trading company or similar establishment. A non-levelled court servant may still cost more than an independent craftsman because the servant is protected, watched, known and dependent upon reputation. The page includes stewards, curates, priests, sinecures, toll keepers, guild masters, squires, knights, crusaders, marshals, nobility and royalty as obvious institutional or status-bound examples.