Connection

**Cost:** 1CP per rank

You have made a contact in a sector of society that can be of great assistance in your heroic career. As compared to an Ally or a Personal Assistant, Connections are **a source of aid and information, but they will balk if abused and sometimes require something in return for their services**. Unlike Ally or Personal Assistants, Connections feel no emotional link to you. Each Connection should be a person, but doesn’t need to be a fully-fleshed character. He or she is just “a friend at the DA’s office,” “this guy I know at the Ministry of Defence,” or “a woman who knows a man who has a cousin at the Pentagon.” Depending on the circumstances, a Connection can even be a small group of people, like a street gang or “the folks down in R&D at Megacorp Industries.” Connections can provide information in two areas. They offer their services for **free once per adventure**, and must be paid, cajoled, or promised favours for further services.

From the follow list, **you may pick one primary and one secondary** area of knowledge.

* art/history
* government
* the law/legal history
* law enforcement
* local history/popular culture
* the military
* science/technology

When you build your Connection, **come up with a rational for his/her primary and secondary areas**. A lab tech working on a government project will know about science/technology, but also hears things about the government. A professor of history knows art/history, but also has his ear to the ground about local/history and pop culture.

Possible connections can be from a lot of different places, organizations, or communities such as (but not limited to) **law enforcement** (PD, FBI, RCMP, Interpol), **government** (local, regional, national, international), **media** (newspaper, radio, TV, internet), the **army, religious** institutions (local temple, church hierarchy), **business** (local chamber of commerce, multinational conglomerate), **sub-cultures** (sports, fashion, TV/movies, books, cars), **local communities** (neighbourhood watch, the gay community, an ethnic community), or even **organized crime** (street gangs, Syndicate, Yakuza, Mafia, Triad).

Bad things can happen to Connections. In the event that a Connection disappears, is incapacitated, or is killed, a new one will replace him or her, but not immediately. Relationships like this take time to develop, often several weeks or months, and require active effort on your part, especially if the old one *died*. You will go without your Connection for 1 session, though you can speed up the process in-game through role-playing (i.e., Diplomacy), bribery/favours, or even threats, if appropriate (Intimidation). It does not cost extra CPs.

You can have multiple Connections, but you must purchase them separately.

**Rank 1 (1CP):** A minor Connection grants a **+4 bonus to Diplomacy checks to Gather Information** that are relevant to the Connection’s area of expertise.

**Rank 2 (2CP):** A medium Connection grants a **+8 bonus to Diplomacy checks to Gather Information** that are relevant to the Connection’s area of expertise.

**Rank 3 (3CP):** A major Connection grants a **+12 bonus to Diplomacy checks to Gather Information** that are relevant to the Connection’s area of expertise.