Is Rep gained from scores variable or is it purely a function of the Tier of the faction you are messing with? Could you gain +1 Rep for a particularly daring score, or -1 Rep for a particularly tame score?
Also, if you are trying to pin the score on someone else to reduce Heat gained and/or reduce faction Status lost, does that affect your Rep? Doesn’t gaining Rep from a score imply that everybody knows it was you who pulled it off?
Finally, what’s the fictional explanation for spending Rep to take additional downtime actions? The only thing I can think of is: you’re spending extra time between scores, so word of your exploits is beginning to fade. I think that’s a perfectly fine explanation, but I’m wondering what else people have come up with.
I really like the “If you nobody knows you’ve done it (no faction Status change) then nobody will acknowledge you (no Rep)”
I’ve used rep as a reward for critical successes during scores. While stealthing through the Red Sash base in order to plant an arcane item in Mylera’s office for the Lampblacks, the crew’s Lurk rolled a critical. I had him overhear a pair of guards discussing an upcoming raid against a Lampblack drug den as he slipped past them. After the score he relayed this information to Baszo and got +1 faction status and +1 rep as well.
I haven’t done it yet, but I would definitely consider a bonus to Rep earned for a particularly awesome heist.
While ‘Reputation’ suggests it’s outward-facing, mechanically it leads to an increase in effectiveness and size for the entire crew; so I would take it to apply to the crew’s increased morale leading to extra recruitment etc. I wouldn’t penalise the Rep earned from a job blamed on someone else or so quiet that no heat was accrued, because everyone who counts knows who was responsible
I could see an alternate approach to Rep that is based on the ‘nature of the operation’, like Cash and Heat. You could gain 0 Rep for an anonymous job, 1 Rep for a minor job, 4 Rep for an impressive job, +1 Rep for a high-profile or well-connected target, etc. You could think of it more like a reward for how well the PCs pulled off their operation, and to what degree it impresses the rest of the city.