What are Boons? Because vampires are inherently selfish creatures they rarely do anything for each other for free, however money is not the commodity in which they trade, instead they use Boons to represent favors owed for services rendered. A Boon is an oath. It swears on your honor that you will do a favor for someone in return for something. If you give a Boon, and then later when someone tries to collect deny them, you are an “Oath breaker”. You are “untrustworthy”, and your Boons will become worthless. No one respects someone who ignores the Sanctity of the Boon. How are Boons Used? The Camarilla primarily uses such Boons, however independent clans dealing closely with the “Cammies” may choose to also accept boons. Boons are recorded by the Harpy, or Assistant Harpy, on the word of those who are in debt. For example if you were to owe a minor Boon to someone you would tell the Harpy: “Please note that I, Tatiana of Toreador, owe the Nosferatu Whip “Rags” a minor Boon.” If you do not wish to have Boons logged by the Harpy you may enter into a gentlemen’s agreement with the other party if they will accept a non logged Boon. However this is rarely done, because people tend to forget Boon debts. Boons are called in by those owed. For instance if you wish to “call in” a Boon you simply tell the person who did the Boon what you wish them to do, and then when they have done it you go directly to the Harpy and tell them that the debt is repaid. Examples of Boons Trivial Boons: One time favors. These do not last longer than an evening. Guarding a door, supporting a political maneuver, using your disciplines to aid another (Such as checking someone with auspex, or ordering another with dominate). Minor Boons: Are Boons that can last more than one evening, and are generally inconvenient. Giving information, allowing safe passage, ect. Major Boons: These Boons usually entail great expenditure of time and resources on the bestower’s part. The effects of this Boon can last many game sessions. Such as teaching Disciplines, or the higher levels of common Lores. (This includes teaching rare or unique Disciplines except Thaumaturgy and Necromancy which require Blood Boons at the very least to learn.) Blood Boons: Occur when the bestower places themselves in a life threatening or painful situation in order to help the receiver. Blood Boon means you are willing to shed Blood to repay this Boon. Life Boons: The rarest and most valuable of Boons this indicated that the bestower is willing to risk their immortal life so that the receiver may live. (NOTE: RISK, not just flat out give. You can’t have someone owe you a Life Boon and then later ask them to kill themselves to cash it in. That is just silly.) Boon’s cannot be renegotiated after they have been given without BOTH parties express consent. For instance: When Tatianna was a nobody she gave the Nosferatu Whip a minor boon, however now she is a seneschal and feels her minor boon was too generous. She would like “Rags” to accept ten Trivial Boons instead. Rags disagrees. He insists that a deal is a deal. Or Tatiana gave Rags a minor boon for gathering information on the Prince, however Rags was caught, but did not tell the Prince who had retained his services. Tatiana wisely decides to offer Rags a Major Boon for his kindness. Rags declines telling her it would appear suspicious, and further it was his own fault for getting caught. Tatiana now knows that Rags is an honorable creature, who she would like to deal with in the future, and Rags knows that Tatiana is a fair individual. If she hadn’t offered however things might not go so smoothly in the future. IF Tatiana had changed the Boon debt without asking she would have immediately given herself away and gained the Prince’s ire and made Rags gesture worthless. The book states that the level of the Boon is the value of it, and that a Major Boon, and a Minor Boon, are fair compensation for a Life Boon. That is total CRAP. I don’t buy it. It completely cheapens the entire boon system thereby making it worthless. And so I am changing the rule to a house rule for the duration of the game. New Rule is: 10 Trivial = 1 Minor 10 Minor = 1 Major 10 Major = 1 Blood 10 Blood = 1 Life Or a Life Boon is equal to: 10 Blood Boons or 100 Major Boons or 1000 Minor Boons or 10,000 Trivial Boons A true risk of a vampire’s life is easily worth a lifetime of servitude. However you cannot just decide that instead of a Life Boon you will take 10,000 trivial Boons. If given a Life Boon, a Life Boon is what you get, even if a Trivial Boon would be more useful at the time. For example. Tatiana owes the Prince a Life Boon. The Prince wishes to learn Auspex. This is no challenge for Tatiana and in no way would it cause her to lose her life. She is under no obligation to teach him anything. She is however a “savvy” negotiator and can see he does need a powerful teacher. She offers to exchange the Life Boon she owes him, for 9 Blood Boons and one Major Boon which he may immediately call upon for her to teach him Auspex. This is a Loss for the Prince. He knows the value of the Life Boon and sees clearly that he is not getting the full value out of this bargain. However is in need of a teacher at that moment and doesn’t have time to negotiate with someone else, nor does he wish to debt himself to anyone, therefore accepting Tatiana’s offer to exchange the Boon makes sense. Same thing, different party offers the exchange: The Prince needs a teacher for Auspex. Tatiana of Toreador owes him a Life Boon. He cannot see using this Boon any time soon and therefore he offers to exchange the Boon. He tells her he wishes to allow her to change her Life Boon for 10 Blood Boons. Tatiana seeing a chance to remove her Life Boon is suspicious but agrees. The Prince then immediately tells her he wishes to use one of his Blood Boons and that he wishes her to teach him Auspex. He knows he is at a loss, but has no time to negotiate further. Tatiana accepts gladly seeing this is the fast way out of debt without becoming permanently scared. Fin |
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