BoM/TWS Message Forum

Let's see. If I were Will, given that he's currently wearing Kim's mask, I think my first move is to replace Marc Garner. He sits at an important nexus between the good sports guys and the AP set. He could probably influence Kelsey if he has the inclination too, without being under her domination and risking her "displeasure" like most of the people in her set seem to, and he also has ins with the wrestling team, the lacrosse team, and the good element of the football team. Kim seems good at group politics, and I think that she would be able to recognize how much influence Marc could wield if he was inclined to.

Then I would put myself back under Chelsea's mask to get her take on things for the next 3 impersonation. Kim is very well connected, but I'd say Chelsea has a better mind for direct manipulation. I think the next step is to replace Charles Hartlein, who moves in areas of the school that Kim and Chelsea don't, and he's the one of the biggest gossipmongers of the school. He has a lot of influence among the underground of the school, and he seems to know a lot about what goes on. The artsy and bohemian type tends to center around him, Andrea, and Karl Hennepin to a large degree, and Hartlein is the most practically useful of them. Chelsea has replaced him before when trying to control the school, so I say it fits. He also has money, which is a boon.

After that, I probably replace Catherine Muskov. Muskov seems to have a lot of soft power over the groups that don't associate with Chelsea or Kelsey. She's a large independent power center in the school, and bringing her under control has the potential to give a large degree of influence in areas that will would be lacking after replacing Kim, Chelsea, Charles, and Marc, and she has ties with Eastman as well, in the off chance I'd want to do something about that.

The final choice is tough, but I'd go with Stephanie Wyatt, to secure the girl's sports teams. Stephanie could be a key piece in controlling not only the girl's basketball team, but also securing the girl's soccer team. With the influence of the people under my control at this point, I don't think it would be all that hard for their collective influence to allow Hannah to prevail against Anita. Stephanie suddenly putting her support behind Hannah could sway the neutrals in her favor, because a lot of the girls on both teams either respect or fear Stephanie. Not to mention the influence Catherine, Hartlein, Kim and Chelsea could bring to that fight. And seeing as Hannah's boyfriend is under my control, there's no need to replace her.

So to sum things up, I'm in control of Chelsea, Kim, Marc, Charles, Catherine, and Stephanie. This gives me significant influence over the cheerleader squad, the AP set, the good male sports teams, the bohemian and creative crowd, the girl's soccer team, the girl's basketball team, the girl's track team, Kim's broad social contacts, and Catherine's social circle. That leaves the men's basketball team, the baseball team, the volleyball team, the swim team, the softball team, and the bad part of the football team out of direct influence, but I don't think it would be very difficult to convince any junior partners or assistants to replace somebody on those teams and correct that in the future. The basketball team is successful, but its full of assholes who can't really move things in the school in ways that don't involve punching people, which has uses of its own, but its not a priority at the moment. Erik Carstairs and his set would be useful considering they run security at the warehouse, but that's a bit beyond the scope of what I'm trying to do right now. The baseball team, softball team, volleyball team, and swim team don't much seem to be massive centers of influence in the school, and while getting a golem or two in those circles would be neat, that can be left to any prospective junior partners instead of under me directly. I think these 6 give the broadest amount on influence.