Influences: What the Ratings Mean
Characters buy their starting influences with Background points or Free Traits, as outlined in the Revised Laws of the Night. Characters are limited to starting with an initial rating of 3 in any given influence although they can acquire more influence in the game, to an absolute maximum of 7 in any one influence. These rules will seem complex at first, because you aren't used to them. My best advice to you is to look over the list, and start trying to do things when the game begins, as this will help you figure the system out.
A character's rating in an influence allows the character a certain number of actions per week, to be refered to from here on as IA (Influence Actions). To calculate the number of IA that a character gets in an influence category, add all the natural numbers up to and including the character's rating in the influence. For instance, a rating of 3 gives a character 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 IA. A rating of 4 gives 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10 IA for the week in that influence category. Rating 5 = 15 IA, rating 6 = 21 IA, and rating 7 = 28 IA.

Influence Actions for a given week are to be turned in to Nathan (in person or via E-mail) NO LATER THAN 5 p.m. on the Tuesday PRIOR to the game in which they will take effect. If you turn in your IA at the game on Friday, the effects of those actions will be felt the following Friday. The earlier you turn in your actions, the better. Failing to turn in your actions by the deadline of 5 p.m. on Tuesday means that your normal number of IA will be lost for the week!!!

Using Influence

A character or group of characters may not invest more than 50 IA in total toward any one action.

A character may attempt any of the actions in the MET books (e.g., Laws of the Night p. 29-37 or Masquerade Second Edition p. 69-75) by informing the Storyteller tracking influences of the number of IA spent. Additionally, the character may attempt any of the following actions:

Expansion: These actions allow you to try and accrue more influence.
Acquire: Steal your neighbor's.
Growth: Try to create more of the pie for yourself.
Transfer: Give your friends what you have permanently.
Gain: Characters can spend 1 XP to gain the first influence trait of any category, with ST approval.

Preventive: These actions help protect your interests or hinder your neighbors.
Block: Hinder the actions of your opponent or growth in general
Protect: Protect your actions and assets from harm.
Conceal: Prevent others from discovering what you are up to. Cost is equal or greater than action taken.

Informative: These actions garner information about your influence area.
Trace: Discover who was behind an action and trace influences back to owner.
Rumors: Delve into what is going on in the outside world from your influence's slant.
Analyze: Find out what actions your neighbors are taking in general.

Transformative: These actions are used to increase the potency of other actions or permanently alter the state of influences.
Destroy: Attempt to permanently cripple your opposition.
Boost: Boost your influence for extra effect on another action.
Combine: Use your own influences in conjunction with the influences of others to increase the overall effect.
Loan: Give your influences for your neighbor to use.

The character may only gain one influence trait per week, whether through ACQUIRE, GROWTH, TRANSFER, or GAIN.

  EXPANSION:

• ACQUISITION
  Only the top most rating of a target's influence may be ACQUIRED. To ACQUIRE an influence rating from another target, the character must spend 1.5 times the number of unopposed IA as the target could have made with the influence. Thus, a character trying to ACQUIRE a target's Media 4 would have to spend (4 + 3 + 2 + 1) * 1.5 = 15 unopposed IA of ACQUIRING the target's Media. If the character had dedicated at least 15 unopposed IA to ACQUIRING the target's Media, then the target would drop from Media 4 to Media 3 and the ACQUIRING character would have twice the resultant level in IA banked for Media growth (in this case, 6 IA). These IA can be considered as banked growth, and the character may need to invest in GROWTH to raise the influence to the next level. As with GROWTH, ACQUISTION IA are banked. PROTECTION reduces your ACQUIRE IA by twice the amount of PROTECTION IA. If in the above Media example, the defending player placed 2 IA into PROTECTION, then the first week--to even begin to ACQUIRE the Media--the offensive player would have to use 5 IA (2 * 2 = 4, so 4 IA penalty) toward ACQUISITION; it would net her 1 ACQUISITION success out of 15 needed. The next week, she still needs to overcome the PROTECTION (if the defending player kept it up). For her to do it in one week she would need to invest 19 IA (4 + 15).
• GROWTH
  To create a new influence rating, a character must spend TWO TIMES as many unopposed IA of GROWTH as the new level of influence would allow. Thus, if a character with a 3 Media was trying to GROW to 4, that character would have to spend (1 + 2 + 3 + 4) * 2 = 20 IA to GROW to that new level of influence. Obviously, this will take more than one week, your Storyteller tracking influences banks the IA and when the bank exceeds the required level, the new influence is created. Level 5 and beyond must be roleplayed in game.
• TRANSFER
  TRANSFER IA allow one player to give another player their top level of influence. This translates as an automatic ACQUIRE just as if the receiving player had spent a successful amount of IA to ACQUIRE the top level of influence. The person who TRANSFERS must inform their Storyteller. This action costs the player TWICE the number of their highest level of influence in IA. Thus, to TRANSFER a Police influence of 3, the player must place (3) * 2 = 6 IA. This quick and effective means of transfer is offset by the fact that only the top level of influence may be transferred and only one level may be transferred per category, per week, per character.
   

• BLOCK
  BLOCK IA prevent everyone from taking specific actions, such as those listed in Laws of the Night or Masquerade 2nd edition. It reduces all actions of the type specified by the amount of IA invested in BLOCK. Example: Clarice invests 3 IA of BLOCK. She needs to specify a specific action or specific effect like RUMORS. She specifies Getting Blood Traits. Now anyone that week attempting to get blood has three IA subtracted from their action. If it is less than what is needed to achieve the effect is spent, then the effect fails. If more than one player is investing in the same BLOCK, the effect of the highest BLOCK is spent. BLOCK is very powerful but must be specific.
• PROTECT
  PROTECT IA maintain your assets. It prevents other players from DESTROYING or ACQUIRING your influences. It protects all influence of that type. So placing 2 IA on PROTECTION in your Media influence PROTECTS all of your Media, but does nothing to PROTECT your Health. Players whose influences are between levels 1-2 are automatically covered by the small-fry clause. This clause states that since they are so small, they have an automatic two points of PROTECTION.
• CONCEAL
  CONCEAL IA prevent actions like TRACE and ANALYZE. The minimum IA cost for a CONCEAL is that of the action being CONCEALED. So CONCEALING a four-point action (like acquiring an SMG with Underworld) costs a minimum of four IA devoted to CONCEAL as well as the four IA to merely do the action. CONCEAL beats TRACE and ANALYZE if it is of a value greater than or equal to the TRACE or ANALYZE. CONCEALING your actions may prevent them from popping up as RUMORS.
   

• TRACE
  TRACE IA are specific actions used to hunt down another player's influence within a single category. You must TRACE a player's influence before you can ACQUIRE or DESTROY it. The character must spend the number of unopposed IA as the target could have made with the influence. The larger the influence of the player you are TRACING the more it takes. If a player that you were TRACING had Health 4, it would require 10 unopposed IA to map their little influence empire. This is not exact, but it gives you an idea of their influence. Once another player's influence has been TRACED, it is easier to ANALYZE that player's actions. To lose a TRACE is up to the Storyteller's discretion.
• ANALYZE
  ANALYZE IA give information about what in general is occurring within a single category. TRACE is about a specific player's influence and ANALYZE is about all of the players' actions. This is a general expenditure against everyone. You learn details first concerning yourself, such as if someone is TRACING you or trying to ACQUIRE your influences. You must beat the amount of any CONCEAL IA with your ANALYZE to notice those actions. It is, in general, easiest to learn about bigger actions than smaller ones. You may specify your ANALYZE to narrow down what you wish to know. This will give you greater effect depending on your Storyteller.
   

• DESTRUCTION
  Only the top most rating of a character's influence may be DESTROYED. To DESTROY an influence rating from a target, a character must spend an equivalent number of unopposed IA as the target's influence rating allowed the target to take. Thus, DESTROYING a Health 4 Influence would require (1 + 2 + 3 + 4) = 10 unopposed IA. Unlike, GROWTH and ACQUISITION, DESTRUCTION IA are not banked; it must all be done in one week. If the influence is PROTECTED, you must have more IA than twice the added PROTECTION and influence rating. You may not know that influence is PROTECTED. That requires ANALYZE. If the Storyteller decides it is appropriate to the context, a target that has barely fended off a character's DESTRUCTION attempt may be penalized in the coming week. So it is very easy to defend against DESTRUCTION, but hard to prevent ACQUISITION or GROWTH.
• BOOST
  BOOST puts extra effort into an action. This is only for actions listed in Laws of the Night or Masquerade 2nd edition. It is to make sure the action succeeds. It may also be necessary to achieve an action outside your local sphere of control or overcome BLOCKS or PROTECTS.
• COMBINE
  COMBINE is used when two or more players use their influences together in order to achieve a common goal. Working similar to BOOST, the players declare the primary action and how many COMBINED IA are being applied to that action. For individuals COMBINING their influences beyond the first player, there is a five-IA penalty cost. COMBINING does not reveal influences between players.
• LOAN
  LOAN splits your influences. When LOANING another player your influences, only half of the normal amount of IA you would have are available to the temporary owner (rounded down). However, you are effectively LOANING the entire influence, and thus may not use any actions in that influence category. Thus, if Sandra Setite were to LOAN her Media 4 (10 IA) to Tina Toreador, Tina would only be able to utilize 5 IA (10/2 = 5). In addition, this gives an automatic TRACE from the LOANER to the recipient. In our above example, Sandra would have a TRACE on Tina's LOANED Media influences.