Boon System

## The System of Boons & Prestation

##### **What are Boons and Prestation?**

There is only one true medium of exchange among Kindred– the barter of boons and prestation. When one Kindred does something for another Kindred, that service is a boon to the recipient. In Kindred culture, the recipient of a boon then have a legal obligation of repayment. The repayment of a debt, in services or goods, is called a prestation.

##### **Why do Kindred use Boons at all?**

(Almost) all Kindred may both grant boons and owe prestation (see Eligible Parties of a Transaction below). They do this for reasons similar to mortals – they want to engage in trade with something of value between one another in a world where money has no permanent meaning (even the value of gold and diamonds fluctuates) and actual goods are bulky and impractical for frequent exchanges. Only a Kindred standing in society have any meaningful value between undying predators.

##### **How does this impact the nature of Kindred society?**

The system of prestation ties together Kindred in an interlocking web of mutually reinforcing belief. This web of debts is the glue that holds the Kindred Society together. Every Kindred who is owed debts of prestation have a vested interest in preserving the value and faithful fulfillment of all prestation – to protect their own investment. Allowing another Kindred to renege on prestation is like allowing a friend to counterfeit money for his own use alone – your own money would eventually become worthless. Likewise, any Kindred seeking the services or efforts of another have an interest in preserving the value of all boons and prestation. In this way, boons and prestation are more than a currency unit in a Vampiric economy – they are hard wired into the deep social fabric of Kindred interactions.

## Terms of Exchange

Some of the most important traditional (and thus common) terms used for negotiating, recording, adjudicating and discussing transactions of boons and prestation are presented here. While precise use of these legal terms is not required for a transaction to be valid, the concepts behind them are sacrosanct in Kindred society.

##### **Debtor:**

The Kindred who receives the boon that begins a transaction is the Debtor. Debtors are expected to repay the debt by providing the Grantor with services or goods at some point in the future (prestation).

##### **Grantor:**

The Kindred who grants the boon that begins a transaction is the Grantor. The Grantor is entitled to call the debt of prestation due at some point in the future. When a debt of prestation is traded to another individual, they then become the Grantor, and the original Grantor loses any claim to that particular debt of prestation by the Debtor.

##### **Boon:**

The boon is what the Debtor asks of the Grantor (or what the Grantor offers). It may be a service, item or even the lack of an action. Asking a Kindred \*not\* to do something can be a boon, even though there is no physical service or good being provided. Kindred Society strictly forbids any grant of permission to violate the Tradition of Masquerade as a boon. No Harpy will honour a boon made under such terms if they have sense enough to fear repercussions.

##### **Prestation:**

This is what the Grantor of a boon requires of the Debtor to consider the boon fulfilled. Just about anything under the sun can be considered prestation based on the Denomination of the boon.  But remember; should someone refuse to comply, which they can, and you go to the Harpy about such dishonor, the nature of the request will be asked and there may be repercussions should it come to light that you asked someone to commit a crime; such as breaking the Masquerade or committing Diablerie. Any Grantor who demands such a thing under the auspices of a prestation may see his prestation nullified by the Harpy, his own Status diminished, and possibly further actions undertaken by the Prince.

## Denomination:

The Denomination of a boon and prestation pair is considered its “face value”. There are five Denominations: Trivial, Minor, Major, Blood and Life. The Denomination of the prestation must be proportionate to the Denomination of the boon given.

*Below are guidelines about the degree of service that is appropriate for boons and prestation:*

##### **Trivial**

– A one-time favour, e.g., acting as a security escort for an evening to dissuade would be attackers, aiding someone’s effort by use of a Discipline, or supporting someone’s political move at little political risk to oneself

##### **Minor**

– A longer favour that can last more than a single evening and probably entail some kind of real inconvenience, e.g., safe passage through and/or short term safe lodging in a hostile city, revealing crucial information, disposing of a threat with little risk to oneself

##### **Major**

– A great expenditure of time or resources, usually lasting for many game sessions, e.g., purchasing a nightclub to serve as a haven for the recipient

##### **Blood**

– A dangerous favour with high likelihood of mild or moderate injury, and a chance of serious injury or personal disaster, i.e., willingness to shed one’s own blood on behalf of the recipient (figuratively or concrete), e.g., helping the recipient to escape or avoid an impending attack by a pack of Lupines as quickly as possible

##### **Life**

– A favour so dangerous that the bestower actively risks his or her own life (figuratively or concretely) so that the recipient can live, even if the bestower doesn’t, e.g., charging into a fight against a clearly superior force of Lupines, a Prince sparing a newly released Neonate’s life after the Neonate has breached the Masquerade.

## Precedents of Boons and Prestation

These precedents are considered the proper means of addressing prestation, to preserve the value and credibility of the entire system of exchange.

Although local domains may vary slightly in flavour, the elements of the precedents of Boons and Prestation listed below form the baseline of what characters should expect and what all Harpies are expected to know and follow:

##### **Eligible Parties of a Transaction:**

Only released Kindred may enter into the exchange of boons and prestation. Unreleased childer are considered the property of their sires and as such may not owe or be owed debts of prestation. If an unreleased childe performs an act on behalf of someone, the resulting prestation is owed to the sire, not the childe.

In addition, Ghouls, mortals, etc. may neither owe nor be owed debts of prestation, in the case of Ghouls any task they undertake for another Kindred may incur prestation owed to their Domitor. Any Kindred trying to flout this principle should expect the devastating scandal that any competent Harpy would deliver should someone come asking for judgement on an exchange of boon and prestation with a Ghoul or with one of the Kine (mortals).

##### **Reciprocity of Boon and Prestation:**

Each party in the exchange of boons and prestation must gain something. The first delivered part of the exchange is the boon. The delayed, or stored, part of the exchange is the prestation. (The words may occasionally vary, but the concepts are universal to all exchanges of this type.) The prestation is a promise of future repayment for the original boon.

##### **Trading of Prestation:**

The Grantor who is owed prestation have the power to “hold” or “sell/trade” the prestation.

For example: a Prince provides a feeding territory to an Ancilla – a Major Boon. Both parties “gained” something (see Reciprocity above). The Ancilla gained the boon of a feeding territory right away, and the Prince gained the future prestation in like value – a future repayment of services or goods equivalent in value to the feeding territory.

According to the precedent governing trading of prestation, the Prince can later choose to call it due himself or to trade the prestation to another Kindred. All that be required to the Granter is that they be informed their boon have been transferred to another.

A final note on Princes and boons as “tribute”: Some Princes might choose to demand boons from other Kindred in their domain for so called services, such as granting that Kindred Acknowledgement or Hospitality in the city. While this is perfectly legal – it’s still a choice whether to accept the debt of prestation for the Prince’s acknowledgement – a Prince who does this routinely, or without cause based on who is seeking acknowledgement, might expect other repercussions. Demanding prestation (especially in larger Denominations) should not be necessary for such banal matters, and the habit of doing so might be interpreted as a lack of faith in the Prince’s ability to enforce their own right of Domain, making the Prince look weak.

##### **Durability of Boons and Prestation:**

Boons are durable. If a Grantor of a boon passes the resulting prestation off to another, the new holder of the prestation is owed the same level of service from the Debtor as if the original Grantor were asking it of him. Prestation can even persist beyond the Final Death of a Kindred (see Death, Boons & Prestation below).

##### **Adjudication & Jurisdiction:**

Boons and prestation are the privileged domain of the Harpies. It is the Harpy who acts as the judge, jury and record keeper of any dispute, question, or tracking involving a boon or prestation. The Harpy’s decision on such matters is final. Although technically subject to the Prince’s review under the Tradition of Domain, few Princes are stupid enough to second guess or, even worse, countermand or prescribe the judgement of a Harpy on the disposition of a boon or prestation publicly. Few circumstances or deeds can lead as quickly to a Domain of Bad Standing or Declaration of Censure as a Prince who interferes in the realm of Harpies.

A Harpy can only adjudicate on issues relating to the granting or discharge of boons and prestation within their own domain of residence. When issues arise between two domains, the duty of the Harpies is to confer with their peers in the domains involved and come to a joint decision (though the words of Harpies of higher standing usually carry more weight than the opinions of Harpies of lower standing, a nuance that is only fitting for their office).

As a result, such disputes can be very impassioned when Harpies find themselves in disagreement about the disposition of a boon or prestation.

## Death, Boons & Prestation

**Killing those indebted to others:**

When one Kindred kills another, the killer becomes the new Debtor of any prestation that the victim owed at the time of Final Death. This preserves the value of the system of prestation.

##### **Capital Punishment:**

There is one exception to the general disposition of boons and prestation upon a Kindred death. All the prestation a Kindred owes as a Debtor are nullified when killed under the authority of a Prince. Likewise, the Kindred who successfully killed the condemned Kindred become the Grantor for any prestation that the deceased Kindred were owed.

This serves as an additional bounty to encourage the lawful pursuit of outlaws and criminals. It also serves as a check – Elders heavily invested in a Kindred will go to great lengths, including staking them to “cool off” for a decade or two, if they feel their actions might precipitate a Blood Hunt and nullify their investment in that Kindred.