Influence and Profit Factor

Starting Influence: 25 +/- background modifiers.
Represents: Personal wealth, stipend, connections, “walking-around money.”
Source: Salaries from the Inquisition, Rogue Trader house stipends, noble allowances, cult dues, regiment pay, etc.
Scope: Can cover individual gear, bribes, transport, accommodations, minor black market buys.
Acquisition Use:
- Can substitute for Profit Factor when making an Acquisition Test.
- But burning Influence (permanent expenditure) may only acquire items of Very Rare or more common availability.
- Influence cannot be permanently spent to buy unique artifacts, archeotech, or strategic assets.
Narrative Level:
- Influence deals with meso-scale economy: guild contacts, petty smugglers, quartermasters, minor factorums.
- Each character may try Acquisition through their Influence once per Game Session.
- Is used when characters interact with individuals selling goods or providing favors.

If a character fails an Influence Test, they do not automatically lose Influence points.
Instead, the GM decides if the failure has consequences — usually if the request was extravagant, conspicuous, or repeated.
Minor Failure → You simply fail to obtain the item; no loss of Influence.
Severe Failure (3+ Degrees) → May impose a temporary penalty to Influence (–10 on further Acquisition Tests until the end of the session) which stacks with other temporary penalties.
Repeated Failures or Critical Failure→ If penalty stacks higher than current influence or 00 is thrown on Influence check it triggers permanent loss (–1 Influence), representing burned contacts, wasted bribes, or cost of arrangements.

Represents: The dynasty’s macro-economic wealth — investments, trade contracts, resource rights, shipyards, tithe agreements.
Source: Rogue Trader warrants, Merchant Guild charters, Forge World contracts, Ecclesiarchy holdings, or Inquisitorial purse mandates.
Scope: Can cover system-wide trade, rare archeotech, hiring mercenary regiments, purchasing ships or manufactoria.
Acquisition Use:
- Used for dynasty-scale or mandate-scale requests.
- Can be burned (permanently lowered) to secure unique, singular, or priceless items (e.g., relics, entire fleets, forge rights).
Variants:
- Tithe Factor: Ecclesiarchy or Administratum’s measure of Imperial tithes and resource tribute.
- Power Factor: Political/military leverage within Mechanicus power blocs (Mechanicus Sects, Fabricator-generals of Forge Worlds, Lords of Mars).
Narrative Level:
- Profit Factor deals with macro-scale economy: planetary tithes, sector trade routes, military contracts.
- Acquisition through Profit Factor can be done only once per Game Session.

Influence as Subset of Profit Factor: An individual’s Influence is ultimately derived from a higher authority’s Profit Factor, but is fungible on a smaller scale.
Crossover Rule: A characters may use Influence instead of Profit Factor when requisitioning equipment, but acquisitions capped at Near Unique.
Profit Factor in Personal Scale: Profit Factor may not be used directly for personal purchases unless the dynasty/the authority specifically commits its resources (which takes time, bureaucracy, and attention). Exchange 1 profit Factor to 10 points of Influence.
Burning Resources:
- Burning Influence = permanent loss Influence to automatically succeed Influence or Acquisition check → capped at Very Rare.
- Burning Profit Factor = permanent loss of dynasty-scale assets to automatically succeed an Acquisition check→ can purchase anything, even unique items, but lowers long-term dynasty power.

Related article: Imperial Monetary System