FRIENDS

The character has people they can call upon for information or help. They may have reliable friends who can help them out (maybe they know someone who has some political pull or is well respected in the community), contacts within an institution (do they know someone who works in UNIT, Torchwood or even the White House?), or someone who can supply information (a shady guy who keeps finding out things that the public aren’t meant to know). Friends can be either a Minor or a Major Trait, depending upon how informative or helpful the friend in question is! The trait will not replace investigating something yourself. After all, where’s the fun if you get other people to do all the sneaking around and research for you? However, these friends are a great source of information on the background of a place or person that may otherwise take a while to uncover, while your character is busy doing something else. This can also be an excellent source of fresh and new adventures as the friend tips you off when something is happening.

Effect

As a Minor Trait, they know someone who knows someone – a ‘friend of a friend’, but the source (and their information) is usually reliable. It may be that they know a friend who works in the local newspaper or council office who hears things as they’re reported and can steer the character in the direction of strange events. As a Major Trait, the person in the know is far more reliable, the information is accurate, or their contact may be leaking information from somewhere like UNIT or may even be someone of some power like Winston Churchill or the Queen of England!

Their contact may be putting themselves at risk to get the information to the character, but it’s unlikely to be discovered. It should be noted that away from their home planet, unless their Friends are time and space travellers, this trait cannot be used where the friends cannot help them.