Allies are earned through hardship, loyalty, service, reputation, and trust.
An ally is not a resource.
An ally is a living person with their own:
Ambitions
Fears
Loyalties
Obligations
They help because the bond matters, because your interests align, or because they believe the risk is worth taking.
Break that trust, and the bond weakens.
Break it badly enough, and the bond ends.
Most relationships begin as Friends.
Trust grows through:
Kept promises
Shared danger
Protection of their interests
Honesty and reliability
Service to a common cause
Loyalty is built over time.
It is not won with a single roll.
When asking an ally for meaningful aid, roll only if the outcome is uncertain.
If the request is simple, reasonable, and clearly within the bond, no roll is needed.
If the request violates the ally’s values, duties, or survival, no roll may be enough.
When a roll is needed, use:
d20 + CHA modifier
A relevant Skill, Background, Ancestry, Order, or Life Event may grant a Boon if it meaningfully supports the request.
The ally’s tier sets the DC.
Tier | DC | Trust | What They Offer | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Friend | 10 | Positive regard | Rumors, small favors, basic hospitality | Will not risk life, livelihood, family, or status |
Companion | 8 | Proven bond | Reliable aid, moderate risk, travel, shared danger | Expects loyalty in return |
Confidant | 6 | Deep trust | Secrets, dangerous aid, action on your behalf, meaningful risk | Has limits, but they are high |
A Boon may apply when the request aligns with the ally’s interests, oaths, faith, order, debts, or past promises.
A Bane may apply when the request is dangerous, costly, shameful, suspicious, or against their obligations.
A Friend thinks well of you.
A Friend may:
Share rumors or limited information
Offer small favors
Provide hospitality when possible
Speak well of you to others
A Friend will not risk their life, livelihood, family, or standing without stronger cause.
They will not join dangerous ventures simply because they like you.
A Companion has a proven bond.
A Companion may:
Share reliable information
Take moderate personal risks
Travel with you for a time
Join a quest if interests align
Stand beside you when the danger is reasonable
A Companion expects loyalty in return.
Neglect, betrayal, or reckless demands may reduce them to a Friend, or worse.
A Confidant is rare and hard-won.
A Confidant may:
Share sensitive or dangerous knowledge
Risk reputation, wealth, or personal safety
Act on your behalf in your absence
Defend you at meaningful cost
Keep secrets that would harm them if revealed
Even a Confidant has limits.
Those limits are high, but they exist.
Allies are not fixed.
Their loyalty may shift if:
Their interests are threatened
Their trust is betrayed
Their circumstances change
The characters keep or break promises
The ally suffers because of the relationship
A rival offers something stronger
The characters act against the ally’s values, kin, faith, or order
The Referee may raise or lower an ally’s tier based on the fiction.
No roll is needed when the fiction is clear.
Orders shape trust, duty, and first impressions.
Members of the same Order usually begin as Friends, unless there is reason otherwise.
Shared oaths create trust, but not blind loyalty.
Rival Orders may begin Guarded, Opposed, or Hostile, depending on history and circumstance.
Within an Order:
Trust is easier to earn
Initial disposition may improve
A relevant request may gain a Boon
Some aid may be expected as duty
If a character is cast out, exiled, disgraced, or declared oathbreaker:
Friends may become Guarded
Companions may demand explanation
Confidants may be forced to choose sides
Allies within the Order may turn distant
Former allies may become enemies
Loyalty is expected.
And tested.
Allies are living people, not assets.
Use allies to:
Reflect the world
Create support and tension
Reinforce consequences
Show reputation in motion
Make past choices matter
Allies have lives beyond the party.
They may ask for help, bring trouble, refuse danger, make mistakes, or need rescue.
The world moves even when the characters are elsewhere.
Allies help because the bond matters.
A roll may decide hesitation.
The fiction decides loyalty.