We saw already that one component of Fame was the result of summing up the Skill Levels of the Character by Skill Groups and then as a whole. But that first component is deemed to become relatively small as the Characters live their lives and acquire Experience.

The component which is linked to Experience depends more on the actions which our Pirate friends will undertake, on their relative difficulty and, last but not least, on their being public, which we call « Publicity »: did people - and how many did? - witnessed the action and will they tell about it and whom? As much as it spreads this will affect the Fame of the Pirate. Furthermore, Fame can influence its own evolution…

Basic evolution of Fame with Experience

Fame can evolve as soon as a Character obtains a Success or a Failure to an action using a given Skill. An action can consist of a succession of several Rolls. One considers then the totality of those Rolls as a unique occasion to increase one's Fame.

The « Experience » component of Fame will be affected in the Group of the related Skill, which will in turn sum up in the overall Fame of the Character.

If the action was related to testing only a raw Attribute, only the overall Fame will be affected, hence the figure in the « Experience & Fame » box, without the change being reflected in any of the Skill Groups specifically.

The basic evolution of Fame through Experience follows the next table:

Degree of Success / Failure Success Failure
Normal +2 +1
Critical +4 +3

That basic evolution is modified by other parameters, described in this section, which work as as many multiplicators. Thus, according to these various parameters, Fame can be affected from like nothing to… a lot!

In the case of several Rolls for a single action, the Game Master must decide what he or she considers as being a Critical Success or Failure. Use a whit of sense, dear friend Game Master!

Effects of « Publicity »

The basic potential evolution of Fame is modified as indicated in the below list, in function of the « Publicity » of the considered action:

  • « Private » Action: if the action is done without witness or only among the other Player Characters of the group and that its results are not visible or attributable to its author by others, whatever the Success or Failure of the action, the basic evolution is reduced to 0. In other terms, if one stays back alone or only in the friends' circle, the actions are not public enough to let Fame evolve (x 0).
  • « Sub-Local » Publicity: if the action is realised in the presence of some witnesses, like in an animated tavern, or if the results of the action are visible and attributable to its author, the basic evolution is applied straight (x 1).
  • « Local » Publicity: if the situation of the previous point is amplified to the level of an entire town (One can imgine the public place of the town on an execution day), the basic evolution is doubled (x 2).
  • « Regional » Publicity: if the situation of the previous point is further amplified at the level of an Archipelago or a Country – A situation in which it is significantly more difficult to find oneself only by chance! – the basic evolution is quadrupled (x 4).
  • « World-Wide » Publicity: if the actions of the Character have consequences which reach the entire World, the basic evolution is octupled (x 8). At such a level we find probably the decision of Captain Lamarck to leave on the waters of the Great Outward Stream… And this is the legend which did all the rest in the following!

Effects of the « Perceived Difficulty » of the actions by the public

The effect the « Perceived Difficulty » are described in the following table:

Action perceived as: Success Failure
Piece of cake! / 4 x 4
Quite easy / 2 x 2
Quite difficult x 1 x 1
Very difficult x 2 / 2
Unthinkable! x 4 / 4

Effects of the Character's Fame Level

The Level of Fame for a given action is computed by the maximum between the number of Skulls of the « Experience & Fame » box and the number of Skulls of the Group in which is the used Skill for the action.

If the action does not involve a Skill but only a raw Attribute, one considers then only the number of Skulls of the « Experience & Fame » box.

If a Speciality of the « Better-Off Ridiculed Than Hanged » Group corresponds also to the taken action, then the Skulled associated to the « Better-Off Ridiculed Than Hanged » Group are substracted from the total, the minimum being zero.

Fame Level Success Failure
Zero Skull / 2 / 4
One Skull x 1 / 2
Two Skulls x 2 x 1
Three Skulls x 1 x 2
Four Skulls / 2 x 4

The pattern followed by the modificators expresses two things:

  • When the Character is not or just a little known, his acts are less perceived but the Success tends to make him or her more visible while a Failure tends to not draw any particular attention. In both of those cases, Fame evolves rather slowly.
  • When the Character becomes famous, rumours are messed about, which is called « lady lafey » in the Curry-Bean creole language… This is in this way that the « public » acts of the Character are closely looked at and commented in length in the bars or homes and that the tiniest mistake or weakness can become fatal for Fame… By chance, heroes at the height of their glory are also stronger and more experienced, so they have less chance to have an obvious weak moment… At least we hope if for our friends Pirates!

Gains and Losses of Fame

If the preceding computations result in a non-integer variation of Fame, one rounds it mathematically – I see some already making nasty faces! For instance: 0.5 becomes 1; 0.25 becomes zéro, etc.

As one can see, even in the case of a Failure, Fame grows: indeed, to get ridiculed is also a way to get a name… in a sort of way! Is that to say that, not only people remember the worse almost as well as or even better than the better, but, upon taht, that they won't forget no thing? Obviously, that is not so and Fame will wane sooner or later… time spares nothing, bring a handkerchief!

For a given Skill Group, if one year passes and no single point of Fame is gained, one point is removed from the Fame total from Experience in that Group (in that case, the Fame overall total must also be modified). The minimum value is, of course, zero. The discerning reader will have understood that, to significantly loose Fame, one has actually to have retired from the world or even… to be dead! And that is really so: acquired Fame need few maintenance. It can, however, change a lot in terms of contents depending on the tides of Success of Failure.

To be more specific, the preceeding rule has to be observed with regard to the actual Fame Level of the Character in the concerned Skill Group and to the Publicity of the Actions: if one already achieved a Fame Level of one Skull, one should obtain Fame from an Action of Publicity at Sub-Local level at least once in the year to not loose any Fame in the concerned Group; with a Level of two Skulls, from an Action at Local Publicity level at least once in the year; with three Skulls, from at least an Action of Regional Publicity, etc.

In a general manner, it is up to the Game Master to rule the cases when Fame is gained from a Failure, according to the situation itself and to common sense (or also at his or her will)… In such cases should always be considered the option to share the gained Fame points between the concerned Group and the « Better-Off Ridiculed Than Hanged » Group, or even to allocate them all to the latter; that should especially be the selected option when a Specialty in « Better-Off Ridiculed Than Hanged » was involved. Also, the Game Master should ask himself the question whether to create or not a new Specialty in « Better-Off Ridiculed Than Hanged » in the case when Fame is gained on a Critical Failure. In that case, the Specialty has to be specified and it receives a basis Level of zero, which will almost for sure be increased at the next opportunity!

At last, if the action did not relate to a Skill but only to raw Attributes, the Game Master will apply the previous discussion to the overall « Experience & Fame » box of the Character and to the « Better-Off Ridiculed Than Hanged » Group. Note also that if the Character experiences no gain of Fame during a whole year in either of those two items - which, let us admit, has a very low likelihood in the case of the Total Fame - Fame stemming from Experience will be reduced by one point in the respective Group, zero being the minimum.

Two important remarks and we have finished with the topic:

  • The discerning reader will have thus understood that, rather quickly in the course of the Game, the Fame total of the « Experience & Fame » box is not anymore the sum of its Group components since it can evolve on its own. However, all modifications of Fame in any of the Skill Groups is mirrored in the overall Fame total.
  • Note again that nothing of all that has anything to do with the Skill Level component of Fame; that one always depends on the Skill and Specialty Levels as already described otherwise. It is only with the death of a Character that that part of Fame will be affected by that which is described here above but you will easily admit that it isn't that much of interest for our Friends the Players!
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