i had a thought about references. There's a literacy skill. What if that acted as your contacts equivalent? Case in point: Playtest 3 with Ross had a spot where Literacy was rolled to help provide other medical options.
So here's the idea. A more literate character will have more books on them. A character that needs a success on something that a book can provide, they spend a bounty to represent the book being there.
Good idea! Unfortunately, Medieval people weren't generally in the habit of carrying books around with them -- with the exception of small breviaries and prayer books by wealthy folks. But I've actually already implemented something similar, with Literacy being equivalent to Research. You roll Literacy not just to read stuff, but to have already read something related to the situation in the past.
As for References: Caleb gave me a great idea when we playtested at Moon City Con. References become Intercessors. Instead of calling up a Reference, you say a prayer to a saint. Then their intercession helps you succeed! Whether you attribute that to actual divine intervention or a psychological placebo effect, that's up to you. But either way, you're gonna need to make a donation in their honor next time you can, to thank them for their help. So it's the exact same mechanic as References with no changes except the name.
