Boon & Bane System

 The Boon-Bane system is a character-driven and character-focused tabletop system that is as calculations- and rules-light as physically possible. The objective of the system is to create a story line that is constantly up in the air, always dynamic and always changing. It is heavy on player and GM improv, and is best played by people who get into seeing how far they can go with their characterization and with the story and setting.

The Boon-Bane system is exceedingly lightweight. There are not many different factors, there are no modifiers, there are no calculations. Three factors play into how your character does- your character’s occupation, a D20, and your own lobbying skill. If you can ham it big enough that the DM likes it, and you roll high enough based on the DM’s judgement involving the situation and your character’s abilities, you get it.

Adventures using the Boon-Bane system best work for one-shots or small campaigns, but hold well with a bit of extra balancing to run long campaigns. The setting of each campaign is strictly up to you, and the system has been used for a space opera, a game set in the 90’s, a civil war between celestial beings, a modern office setting, and many a high fantasy. The DM has full control over which races and classes they want to see in the game, and as this is the deciding factor in many actions, full control over what the setting and rules will be.

I recommend that the best party to DM with the Boon-Bane System is 4-9 players plus one DM for a short-term campaign, and 4-5 players plus one DM for a long-term campaign. This leads to an easy group to riff off of in role play and strategy, anything lower than 4 in my experience does not make for good roleplay. Higher numbers, however, are a shit ton to manage and balance, in both stats and playtime. If you want to play a higher numbered party for a long game, by all means do, but keep in mind that it takes a well-experienced DM to make it work. 

Boon-Bane Session Overview
A simplified version of a Boon-Bane game. Condensed rules. 

The Dungeon Master (DM) is going to design the setting and the world, deciding at this point if they want any restrictions on character races and classes, or if there will be any specific sets of races or classes they will offer the players. This is completely optional, and a large number of games may start out with the DM saying to the players, “Tell me what YOU want to make, and I’ll see if I can work it in.” It is also common, however, for games to start with the DM giving the players a certain list of classes or races to pick from, which fit into the game’s story.

The session opens with a brief descriptor of what happened last game, or of the opening setting: a way to integrate players into their character and into the setting, as we want to act as our character, not act as ourselves, using the character as a vessel. Also, it’s just polite, because people forget shit. The players will then begin acting, either by conversing with other players in-character (dictated by calling other players by their characters’ names, using character voices, or just by saying “I’m gonna say/ask/etc), or by, well, saying what they’re gonna do.

If the action requires a specific amount of strength, the DM will check the stamina of the player, and if the player is fighting, the DM will compare it to the stamina of the opponent. This is more of a guideline, and is not to be followed to a T, but the character with the higher stamina often has a slightly higher chance of winning the strength contest. If the action requires a specific skill, the DM will check the character sheet of said character. If nothing is found, the DM will ask the player WHY their character can do this. After the player attempts to convince the DM, the DM can either strike it down and move on, or can oblige, and the player will roll a D20 to act. (It is recommended you let players try things that they cannot actually succeeded in doing sometimes. So they can get a feel for what the character and DM limits are.)

On certain high-stakes rolls, or if the character being able to do what they want to is a stretch, the DM may offer to ask the player in question to make a choice of “above or below 10”- the DM will then roll a D20 (if the DM gets a 10 they reroll). If the player chooses above 10, and the roll is 11-20, the player succeeds. If the player chooses below 10, and the roll is 1-9, the player succeeds. I’m sure you get what happens if they don’t choose correctly.

All DMs are allowed to fudge rolls to fit the story, and players should be aware that DMs are allowed to do this. Rule of cool bypasses fudged rolls- if something is cool/inspiring/creative/tear jerking enough, it’s fair game to succeed even when most rolls would not. And so, the game plays on as a back-and-forth of bartering and lobbying between players and DM. Expect a lot of table talk and a LOT of arguing about the possibility of certain actions.

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Character Sheet
 

Name: (Character’s full name). XP: (Exp)

Race: (Character’s race.)						          Age: (Character’s age)

Occupation: (Character’s occupation or class)                         	              HP: (Always) 100/00

Society: (Is your character part of any specific group or organization?)                Money: (Money)

Other: (Notes to remember about your character.)

 

Stamina Level: (Strength of character on a scale of 1-10).

Special Skill: (One unique skill. With every level, this skill will get an upgrade.)

 

Boon: (One unique, and good, trait about your character.)

Bane: (One unique, and bad, trait about your character.)

 

Appearance: (What does your character look like?)

 

Current Personal Goal: (Your character’s main motivation or goal.)

 

Head - (Item equipped to head. Start with nothing.)

Body - (Item equipped to body. Start with nothing.)

Legs - (Item equipped to legs. Start with nothing.)

Hands - (Item equipped to hands. Start with nothing.)

Footwear - (Item equipped to feet. Start with nothing.)

 

Inventory:

-List items like this.

-List items like this.

-Etc.

 

 

NOTES:

Anything you feel you want to remember when you’re playing. Doesn’t have to relate to your character. Can be fashioned in any way you want. 

Creating a Character
Making your Boon-Bane character has as little restriction as physically possible, but at the same time, a good amount of restriction. While many of the items on the character sheet are open-ended, you can ONLY answer to what is given on the character sheet, and nothing else, unless the DM asks you to add something else, or it comes with a boon/bane.

 

Race, Class and Society
 

Race: Your race is the species of your character- are they a human who grew up in the city? A tiefling with a background of crime? The ambassador of a secluded race of elf-like aliens? A cat-person? A human who ingested dangerous chemicals and is now part robot? Be creative!

 

Occupation: Your occupation is also known as your class- it does not have to be your character’s job, nor does it have to be their concentration, but it often is. Instead, it is simply your character’s current circumstances, and the main source of their abilities and knowledge. While your character could be an engineer, a pope, a security guard, or a thief, they could also be a king of rats, a closet weeaboo, a transfer student, or a football player. As long as you can think of a series of abilities, it’s fair game!

 

Your race and occupation will also depend on your DM’s given setting, but you will be able to work with the DM. As long as you approach them with ideas on how to make a custom race/occupation fit into the setting the DM has planned, the DM should be willing to work with you, if change it a tiny bit. If the DM makes a specific list of occupations they want you to stick with, though, stick with that. 

Society: This is entirely optional, and only use it if it plausibly fits with your character, as it is not necessary. Your DM may give you a list of societies to join before a game, or you may have your own from your backstory- whatever you want! Just work with the DM. Often, if you are in a society, it will influence what you know and what you are able to do both positively and negatively according to the DM. Basically your affiliation to certain group(s) in game.

 

HP & Stamina
 

HP: HP always starts at 100. 

Stamina Level: Your character’s general strength. While this is taken into account by a DM during combat and what would be a strength check in other games, it is more of a guideline than other items on the character sheet, and can be disregarded for a good/bad roll or for rule of cool.

1 stamina is very very weak, like a baby, 10 you could probably lift up a car. If a character goes above 10 there needs to be a reason for that. 5 is the strength of an average human; It can be increased by physically working out, as in having a job that needs a lot of labour, or running away from monsters all the time. It can also be lost be being inactive for long periods of time or maybe some kinda magic Witch stole your muscles. The possibilities are endless!

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Special Skills
 

As the boon-bane system forgoes spell lists, special abilities, and point buy systems, there had to be another way, a more lightweight and character-specific way to play magic and various abilities- this allows for a more customizable and unique character and experience. It is rare that you will have a campaign with the same race, occupation, special skill, boon and bane, allowing for a different game every time.

Compared to spell lists, you only get one special skill, but this special skill is treated like a skill tree- for every level you gain, you get to expand the ability in some way, as long as a majority of the other players, and the DM, see it as an expansion of your original skill. It is your choice whether your ability has restrictions, cooldowns, or special mechanics in terms of dice and rolling, but it is not necessary.

You may note that your character does not have a level, instead, all levels are in your Special Skill- this is because your Special Skill is the core of your character. It dictates their ability not only in battle, but in investigation and survival. Instead of your character leveling up, your Special Skill will level up, and you will be able to upgrade it like the aforementioned skill tree using these level ups.

Once you’ve considered what you want your first ability to be, you will need to consult your DM in all following level upgrades, but I recommend they go as follows:

   
 * 1) Reflect upon your first skill. For example, we will use Yule’s gadget engineering skill in this case- from here we can go a number of ways. We can spec her into a Macgyver-type character, where she will use items she scavenges to progressively make bigger and better items and strategies, or we could spec her into building robots, or into hacking- or, we could spec buffs to her robot arm entirely.
 * 2) Decide the way you want to go. I realized that I didn’t have the resourcefulness to pull the Macgyver off as I originally intended, so a few levels in, I began to instead spec into hacking and robot creation. Keep in mind you can follow various “skill trees,” like any good skill tree game (I still have some Macgyver abilities and some robot arm buffs), but you can only gain one ability with each level, so you need to choose wisely.
 * 3) Reflect upon tools that would have been useful in past games. What could your team use through the next few dungeons, or the next upcoming boss, or what scenarios can you see your teammates needing help in?
 * 4) Once you have an idea, talk to the DM about specifications and balance. Make sure, together, that the ability is not stronger than any other players, and that it will not dominate the game, and that the ability is not too weak in the upcoming games.

Soon, your Special Skill will be upgraded and ready!

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Boon & Bane
It is not just a Special Skill that will differentiate your character and your playstyle from the crowd, but the Boon and Bane as well. The Boon and Bane are extra characteristics that can come into effect in the game- the Boon a positive characteristic, the Bane a negative and equal characteristic.

BOON - One unique and personal, positive characteristic of your character.

BANE - One unique and personal, negative characteristic of your character. Must

hold the same weight as your boon.

 

The Boon and Bane can be passive or active, can be supernatural characteristics or just talents or quirks- it boils down to what you want to play. I personally recommend that your boon and bane are connected in some way, but this is not necessary. Some more examples are “can do sick kick flips / but has crippling social anxiety,” and “can learn a random secret from the target through touch / but has disadvantage on keeping secrets of her own.” or “Can turn invisible at will / Can only speak by whispering creepily in your ear.”

While they do not have to reflect character, it’s encouraged that they do, to flesh out your character as much as possible. The boon and bane cannot be updated and improved upon like the Special Skills, and will follow you for the rest of the game, like a ghost of character believably. Make sure you like them! 

Getting On With the Game
Finally, after making your character, you can start playing! This is less of an overview, as there was before, and more of a detailed look into running and playing a game with the Boon-Bane System.

 

Bringing it to the Table
Most games using the Boon-Bane System are developed with improv and group storytelling in mind, but a DM still must bring a few things to the table-  
 * 1) A prepared setting, campaign and goal- the standard campaign fare. No maps are required, as this system is largely theatre of the mind, but maps can help in longer or more confusing dungeons.
 * 2) A D20 app or website. Most DM rolls should be kept secret, as fudging is encouraged.
 * 3) A willingness to work with your players, but at the same time…
 * 4) Limits. It is easy to lose balance of the game if you let the players do whatever they want for fun, if you plan to hold a longer game.

As for the players, it is recommended that they bring the following-  
 * 1) A filled out character sheet, and a willingness to share it with the DM (you don’t have to show the rest of your group, though.)
 * 2) At least a vague outline of a backstory, and a willingness to share it with the GM (not required, but recommended as this is a character-based story and character arcs are a fun part of that!)
 * 3) A D20, or a D20 app/website. It doesn’t matter as much for you.
 * 4) A good attitude! Please try to work with the rest of your team- nobody likes a mean teammate.

Combat
Honestly, I almost forgot combat as I was writing this ruleset down- even though it’s a huge part of any TTRPG.

 

Combat will be started when the DM asks the players to roll initiative. Upon this request, every player will roll a D20, and the turn order of all characters in combat will be ranked from highest to lowest. A character’s turn will include one action and one movement if necessary, and characters will be able to attempt to deflect enemy attacks.

A winning stamina will give you advantage on physical attacks and dodges, but not much else. If your character does not have an action, do not stall, simply pass and the DM will come back to you for an action at the end of the turn order (after the person with the lowest initiative has gone).

When a character hits 0 HP, they are incapacitated, and will have 3 death saving rolls- roll above a 10 2 out of 3 rolls to go to 1 HP- but, on a second incapacitation, they will die without assistance from other party members, and the DM reserves the right to kill your character if they keep going around and acting stupid. Combat with this system is about as forgiving or as damning as the DM who is running the game is- it is entirely up to them how strong the enemies are, and how easy death is to find.

 

Experience, and How It Works
EXP can work in 3 ways. (Or however you want. I am not your Mom).

       
 * 1) Create an ever growing set amount of experience to level up. Ya know, lvl 1 is worth 100, lvl 2 is 200, lvl 3 is 400, etc… This works well if you're putting down pre-made enemies/if enemies are the only way you choose to give your players experience. You can of course grant them experience based off the rule of cool or well done role playing interactions.
 * 1) Only after beating boss/clearing the area do you give experience. These will make your players level up more slowly, but it will be right after important events which can make it feel more earned. This also means you have to do less math/don’t count on players to keep track of XP. (The preferred method)
 * 1) Fuck it. Tbh I forgot about experience in most of the games I played. Usually if your players ask to level up/seem stuck/are complaining about being under leveled. Level them up, this will also be rewarding to them and look very well timed on your part.

DO NOT OVER LEVEL YOUR PLAYERS.

 

Typical I give each character a Max of 10 levels in their Skill. Levels 9-10 are usually god like powers, lvl 10 especially should be an end game ability. If they reach this to fast you will be in Dragon Ball situation of ever increasingly ridiculous fights. The DM may be god, but so is your player at this point.

 

Tips On Playing
 

If you enjoy a more challenging, yet freeing game, the Boon-Bane system is for you to play. It’s… not gonna lie, it’s a bit of a task, but it’s a rewarding one- it’s like beating a tough video game. While you are constantly at the mercy of the DM, it’s often your own hubris that got you in the situation you’re in- you may hate them, but the key to doing well is to remind yourself that you put yourself in this situation. You may face some things that seem impossible, but the rule of cool is your best friend, and you have no clue how amazing it feels to learn exactly how badass you can be with a bit of creativity.

 

It’s something that sticks with you.

   
 * 1) Be willing to roleplay and get involved in a story.

While you will not have 100% of the spotlight 100% of the time, this is a story-focused game and most of the plot comes from doing what your character would do. Fuck decisions up! Make bad people! Make things worse, if it’s in character! Just make sure you have a good reason for doing what you’re doing. Don’t be awful just to be awful.

   
 * 1) Come up with a personal goal.

Having something on your own to work towards throughout the game really gives you some extra steps and fun interactions with the world around you. One of our players aims to “become a god” in every game, leading to fun side-quests as the world breaks around him. It’s exciting, it’s unexpected, and it spices shit up.

 
 * 1) Have a good power balance!

This is inherent with boon/bane but don’t forget that you can implement different personality types. If they’re OP, make them stupid or angry. If they’re weak, make them smart or charming.

   
 * 1) Be creative!

This game is about storytelling- but not only that, it’s about a challenge. The DM has a lot of power, and often you WILL be winning fights not through character stats, but through what seems like the coolest or best narrative outcome. Keep this in mind as you play- what would be a cool way to end this? What would get others’ emotions up? Play with the story, play with your characters, and play with the setting. If you think something would make sense, argue for it, even if mechanically, it’s not a possibility. It’s always good to try!

 

Tips On DM’ing

 

Using the system correctly is not possible. Do Not try to use it correctly. Ignore these rules, ignore your rules, ignore God's rules. I made this system stream-of-consciousness over the course of several campaigns when I was 16. It is functionally a trust fall. I DMed via 10% planning, 10% poor planning, and 80% sadism. If you can do better than that than your golden, if you do worse, that's also fine probably.

   
 * 1) Listen to your players

This is the most important part of any campaign, but here it should be the thing that drives every single aspect of the game.

Ask your players what arcs they want next, who they want to fight, what they want to achieve, etc. I let my players pick the final boss of an area and the whole game most of them.

 

This makes them very hype to keep playing and achieve their goals. You are just the facilitator of their dreams. You are also a bitch (most likely) and the God of this world, make sure you get some of your dreams in there too.

   
 * 1) Make shit up and Make it Weird.

Did your male player just turn into a bird? Make them lay an egg that hatches into a non-bid child. You can give whatever reason you like for this event, but what matters here is that you have thrown your players wildly off their rhythm. It’s also really funny to watch the barbarian drug addict of your party try to become a Dad.

   
 * 1) Sub-Plots

Keep detailed track of all your players back stories and NPCs. Always have some back burner adventure going on that you can throw at your players. This can be any kind of adventure including just a rest arc where stuff happens, but no one as at risk of dying.

The only thing worse than dying is playing boring D&D. The fear of death in general should be a semi-constant threat throughout the whole campaign, but you need a carrot as well as stick.

   
 * 1) Don’t Forget Anyone

Give every player their due time and try to keep everyone at the level of importance they want. Some people want to play support and some people want to be the main character. They should mostly find the balance themselves, but try to make sure now gets left behind and don’t be afraid to knock some asshole down a peg if they get too big for their britches.

 
 * 1) Give it to them.

Dead Serious. At the end of the day give your players Everything they want. All of it. They should suffer greatly for, more than it is worth, but they should always get it. They should always feel as though they are in this situation because of stuff THEY did. It is always their fault, weather for better or worse. This will make whatever bull shit they went through worth it 100% of the time.