Vampire society runs on Boons. Money is not truly valuable to Kindred, especially considering that not only can vampires live forever, but the value of money can increase but also decrease over time. In addition to that, money can disappear in the blink of an eye (should some cunning rival manage to steal it all), and it can be incredibly hard to keep mortals from realising something is amiss when the one person appears to have more wealth than should be possible, or has had the same bank account for two centuries. So Boons are the currency of the Kindred, for Boons do not fluctuate in value.
Boons do reflect mechanically on social interactions between the one who owes the debt and the one who is owed. The rating of the Boon acts as a penalty to the social dicepools of the indebted party toward the one they owe the Boon to. So if Vampire A owes Vampire B a Major Boon, then Vampire A suffers a -3 penalty to her social dicepools against Vampire B. However, once the Boon is paid off, the penalty no longer applies.
Trivial Boons (1pt)
A small boon like this doesn’t mean that the person who did you the favor inconvenienced himself while helping you, just that he helped you. He might trade information and demand a boon. A trivial boon is paid off with one action, and never requires anything of that character again. It requires that the player use a discipline on the other’s behalf, or that he votes on his behalf, or perhaps that he supplies a piece of information. If a person chooses not to repay the boon when he could do so, he can usually get away with it, but the harpies or Prince might use this as an excuse to destroy his status in such a case.
Minor Boons (2pt)
If another person inconveniences himself on your behalf, giving up part of a limited resource, then a minor boon is appropriate. A minor boon is still generally paid off with one action. While the boon is held, the one who owes should be polite and not insult the other in public, but that doesn’t mean he has to agree with him. Where with a trivial boon one can choose not to repay and only risking status, when someone comes to collect a minor boon, you’d better pay. A minor boon could be paid by allowing someone to use your haven for a long period of time, or by guaranteeing their safety in a domain you already control. A minor boon can be paid off by instructing another in a discipline which is common, like Celerity, Potence, or Fortitude.
Major Boons (3pt)
A major boon is owed when the person sacrificed greatly of his time or resources, and subjected himself to a certain amount of risk. A boon can be repaid by teaching the other hidden lore or how to perform a clan discipline. (Thaumaturgy, Protean, and Quietus count as a blood boon, unless the person owing the boon is willing to repay his debt in that manner.) At this level you must support any political action the possessor of the boon desires, even against your own clan, but this negates the debt.
Blood Boons (4pt)
A blood boon is only appropriate when the collector of the boon risked his assets or friends for you, or put himself at some direct risk at losing his existence. A blood boon is a truly terrible debt, which might not ever be repaid. While it is owed, you may never vote against the owner’s interests, you may never speak directly against him, and you must teach him when he requests it. (And if he demands your political support he will get it. If giving such support actually endangers your life in a real way, the debt is now paid.) If he demands dark clan secrets, like Thaumaturgy, teaching him such negates the debt. If you risk your existence to save the owner of the boon, the debt is cancelled.
Life Boons (5pt)
A life boon may only be claimed if the claimer of the boon truly laid his very existence on the line. Fighting clearly inferior opponents does not count. The possessor may demand anything that he likes, anything. This debt is only repaid by saving the life of he who owes the boon. He may demand anything short of that and get it, and you still owe him. There's also the possibility of being freed of the Boon if the one you owe absolves it, but how many Kindred are going to throw away a Life Boon?
Repaying your Boons
So, you owe someone a Boon. They've been merrily chugging along, leaving you to your business and not really being a pain in the ass. And then, you get a phone call. "Mister Doe, time to repay your debt." And you happen to be in the middle of something important when you get a request which will inconvenience you. It really grinds your gears - this prick couldn't have picked a more convenient time, or asked you for some other payment which wasn't a pain in your ass?
Well, you got into the debt, so… tough shit. Banks don't let you choose to delay your repayments when its time, and Kindred are even less forgiving. Furthermore, vampires aren't in the business of caring about your feelings or what is precious to you - they have their goals and agendas, and they will do what they can to advance them. If it means calling in the Major you owe by demanding ownership of your favoured Ghoul, then you gotta hand over the Ghoul. If it means teaching that Ventrue some of your Thaumaturgy, then "my Regent will stake me for giving away Clan secrets" isn't a legitimate excuse to get out of paying your Blood Boon. And consider what happens if you refuse to obey the one you owe a Life Boon to…
Just remember: a debt to one of the Kindred is one-hundred times worse than one owed to the bank if you try to get out of your obligations.
Harpies, the Chancellor, and Transferring Boons
So, say you end up owing somebody, and they demand a Minor Boon or a Major and you don't think the service you did is worth that level of debt. You can take it to the Harpies and get their say on it. Is it worth that much? They're the best folks to ask. But, Harpies are experts at telling the difference between genuine concern and someone who's just having a sniffle because they didn't get a discount on their debt. And if there's one thing they love doing to folks who try to make a Boon worth less, and that's making it worth more - and their word is generally more respected than yours on Boon value. So if you end up owing a Blood Boon to someone and you try to make it sound like a Minor by crying to the Harpies, then you might end up with everybody thinking you owe a Life Boon. Don't be cocky.
On the other hand, you could be the one the Boon is owed to. In Braaxas, who do you go to? The Chancellor, considering that the Court is big enough to warrant someone whose whole job is to keep meticulous records of Boon debts. You go to the Chancellor, you present the Boons, and if you're lucky and you've racked up a few of the same value from the same person the Chancellor may even give you the option to combine those Boons and upgrade them to a single Boon of the next level up. The rule is that three Boons are equal to one Boon of the next level up, so if you are owed three Minors by one individual you can turn them into one Major. Of course, there's also the fact that Boons mean nothing if they're not publicly declared, so the Harpies are still necessary in this process.
Another good thing you can do with Boons? Transferring them. Say you want to give someone a gift to get more in their good graces, or you want to pay off your Minor by giving the person you owe the Minor that is owed to you by someone else, or god forbid you need to owe some bag of dicks and you've got an outstanding debt owed to you by another member of the Court… you can transfer those Boons to someone else. However, just like any other Boon, the transferred one must be publically declared. Without the public declaration of the Boon transfer, that Boon is still owed to you, not the person who you want it to be owed to.
