ALLIES INTO GOLD
What is the measure of a friend? What worth can be placed, not on a human being generally, but on human contact, of the ability to people to interact on a social level? A demon with this Exploit can shift what that human contact represents, changing a relationship that exists purely on the "exchange of information" level (Contacts) to one that brings in revenue (Resources), or one that induces the other party to level physical aid to the demon (Allies or even Retainer). This Exploit is riskier to a demon's Cover than most. The compromise roll for Allies Into Gold suffers a negative modifier equal to the number of dots in Merits the demon is shifting.
Example Prerequisites: Fungible Knowledge, Trust No One
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Socialize + Primum
Action: Extended (target number = number of dots being shifted; one roll/hour)
Cost: 1 Aether
Roll Results
Dramatic Failure: The demon loses access to the Merit dots she intended to shift for the rest of the day. If the demon approaches the people these dots represent, in any Cover, the people have no idea who she is.
Failure: The demon must either abandon the attempt or accept a Condition, as described onp. 115.
Success: The demon can shift some of her Social Merits. The player decides how many dots to shift when the Exploit is activated; even if the player winds up with more successes than required, she can only shift that many dots. The player chooses what Merit those dots now represent. Allies Into Gold can only turn Social Merits into other Social Merits, so it is possible to turn a True Friend into Resources (that True Friend comes into some money, which he then imparts to the character), Allies into Contacts (the organization suffers a blow to its personnel and is unable to help the character with anything but research), Staff into Retainer (most of the Staff goes on strike, leaving behind only a dedicated employee) and so forth. These alterations are permanent — if the character wants to shift her Merits back, she must use this power again.
Exceptional Success: The player may select one of the options from p. 313, or can choose to sacrifice a dot of Social Merits for one Experience.