# Basic stats and mechanics

Three numbers follow you everywhere: **Respect**, **Energy**, and **Stress**. They decide what you can do, what it **costs**, and how **big** you are in the underworld.

## Respect — your name on the street

**Respect** is how much the city takes you seriously. You **earn** it by doing things in the world; you **lose** it when you mess up—or when someone else makes you look bad.

* **Higher respect** lines up with **higher criminal rank**: think of it as your **street cred** and **experience** rolled into one.
* Some **actions** and **items** stay **locked** until your respect is high enough. If something says you’re not ready, grind cleaner scores or safer loops until the bar moves.

***

## Energy — fuel for the day

**Energy** is what you spend to **take actions**. When you’re **out of energy**, you **can’t** start those actions until you get more.

* Your energy **refills on a 24-hour cycle**—plan your day so big pushes land when you’re topped off.
* **Items** can **restore energy**, but a lot of them **raise stress** at the same time. Quick fix now, tighter squeeze later.

Grow-ops and other modules list their own energy taps (for example watering and harvest on plants—see [**Energy**](/help/money-and-trade/energy.md) for that slice).

***

## Stress — when the pressure stacks

**Stress** is the hidden tax on going hard. The more stress you carry, the **more energy** every action **eats**.

Rough rules (so you know why the numbers jump):

* **Each point of stress** adds about **1%** to the **energy cost** of actions, with **rounding down** on that bump.
* In practice: **every 100 stress** will **double** the energy you would have paid at **zero stress**—so running **hot** gets expensive fast.

You can use **items** to **push energy up** and **other items** to **bring stress down**. Balancing **pick-me-ups** and **cool-downs** is how you keep grinding without locking yourself out.

***

## How the three play together

1. **Respect** — who you are; **gates** content and tracks your **rank**.
2. **Energy** — what you can do **right now**; refills **daily**, spent on actions.
3. **Stress** — **raises** the **energy** price of everything; **fed** by many “free energy” shortcuts, **cooled** by the right gear or downtime.

Lean on [**Drugs & supply**](/help/money-and-trade/drug-business.md) for one in-world example: some products **restore energy** but **add stress**; others **soothe stress** so your next moves stay affordable.


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