Boons

The System of Boons & Prestation

What are Boons and Prestation?
There is only one true medium of exchange among Cainites the barter of boons and prestation. When one
Cainite does something for another Cainite, that service is a boon to the recipient. In Cainite culture, the
recipient of a boon then has a legal obligation of repayment. The repayment of a debt, in services or goods, is
called a prestation.

Why do Cainites use Boons at all?

(Almost) all Cainites 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 exchange in trade 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 Cainites standing in society has any
meaningful value between undying predators.

How does this impact the nature of Cainite society?

The system of prestation ties together Cainites in an interlocking web of mutually reinforcing belief. This web of
debts is the glue that holds the Cainite Society together. Every Cainite who is owed debts of prestation has a
vested interest in preserving the value and faithful fulfillment of all prestation to protect their own investment.
Allowing another Cainites 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 Cainite seeking the services or
efforts of another has 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 Cainite 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 Cainite society.

Debtor:
The Cainite 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 Cainite 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 Cainite *not* to do something can be a boon, even though there is no physical
service or good being provided. Cainite 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 he has 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
someones effort by use of a Discipline, or supporting someones 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 ones 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 doesnt, e.g., charging into a fight against a clearly superior force of
Lupines, a Prince sparing a newly released Neonates 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 Cainites 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 Cainite may incur prestation owed to their Domitor. Any Cainite 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 has 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 Cainite. All that be required to the Granter is that they be informed their boon
has been transferred to another.
A final note on Princes and boons as tribute: Some Princes might choose to demand boons from other Cainite
in their domain for so called services, such as granting that Cainite Acknowledgement or Hospitality in the city.
While this is perfectly legal its still a choice whether to accept the debt of prestation for the Princes
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 Princes 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 Cainite (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 Harpys decision on such
matters is final. Although technically subject to the Princes 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 publically. 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 Cainite 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 Cainites death. All the
prestation a Cainite owes as a Debtor are nullified when killed under the authority of a Prince. Likewise, the
Cainite who successfully killed the condemned Kindred become the Grantor for any prestation that the
deceased Cainite 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 Cainite 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 Cainite
.