[Santiago]

1 - It is late
2 - This is getting longer than I thought
3 - There will be more. Probably two, maybe three more pieices. They will be on RPing Prestation, Reneging of Debt and Out of Game Management of Boons
4 - There is no four. Only TheWeaselKing

Principles of Favour Trading
Now that we have covered the basics it is time to get into application. The first thing you need to do is ensure you have something worthwhile to buy or sell. This means advertising. Yes, I am serious. Not full page ads or TV and radio spots but by letting people know what you can do or what you know. Word of mouth or demonstration of ability is usually the best options.

Buying and Selling Favours
Demonstration is probably the easiest option though it is often hard to arrange a demonstration. Generally you just need to be willing to act when the situation arises to show what you have to offer. If another kindred frenzies, take them down physically or talking them out of it are great ways to show your ability as a combatant or skills as a diplomat. Arrange to talk to your ghouls in a foreign language is a great opportunity to let people see you can speak different languages. In all of these situations people can physically see what you can do. In other instances you need to set things in motion and let people know what you have done. This is easily accomplished if you have domain but if you can arrange to get someone a pistol when they need one – or better yet get rid of a dirty one – people will remember that you did that.

Word of mouth is the pay for a good demonstration. People will remember a good demonstration in the same way you and I will remember a good commercial or brand. It will stick with the other players and they will start to turn to you when they need something done in your realm of expertise later on. When you first start down this road you may need to spread the word yourself but eventually, over enough time and assuming you follow through on your deals, your reputation will be spread for you.

Besides advertising what you can do, be sure you listen for people complaining about situations affecting their characters. These are opportunities to offer your services and, if they accept, garner some prestation. Even if you can not help them directly there maybe people who owe favours already. This may allow you to upgrade your boon. Even if you are simply trading on major boon for another it maybe more powerful kindred who owes you as the boon you called in was a weaker one. Do not miss the chances to upgrade.

Negotiating Limitations
With clearly defined boon values, the negotiation is often of terms and conditions of the favour being done instead of the size of the boon. These are basic limiters like the conditions in a bank loan for a mortal. They tend to be quick and easy to take care of with common restrictions being that the boon will not be used to harm the granter or that the favour can not be passed off to a specific person at a later date. One or two limiters should not affect the boon value but a large number of complicated limitations very well could change the size of the boon in either direction depending on who is asking for what. Use common sense and, when that fails, ask for either in game or out game mediation depending on whether the disagreement is in game or out of game.

Cashing in Boons
The whole fun of having boons owed is cashing them in. But like all currency, you want to get the most bang for it. So here are some simple rules.

1.When cashing in a favour make sure that the person is actually capable of doing what you are going to ask. In the above example of having one person do a favour for another, more powerful character it does you no good asking for something that they can not provide. If they can't you look stupid. Though this has no direct, mechanical effects it does strain your credibility this hurting your reputation. Since all vampires really have is their reputation don't go around harming yours.

2.Make sure you are not overpaying. Understand what the boon is actually worth. Hell, try to low ball them if you can.

3.Don't sound desperate. When you sound desperate prices go up. Characters may develop sudden hindrances that they simply can not be pulled away from easily that will delay them acting on your request. State what needs to be done politely but firmly. If it needs to be done more quickly ask them to take care of it as quick as possible. Just don't beg.

4.If you really are desperate don't be afraid to overpay if it is really worth it. In the long run it will probably be cheaper. Just don't ignore point three.

5.Lie. Embellish. Hook-wink. Call it what you will but reveal no more than you have to get what you want.

Giving the Devil His Due
Of course, the flip site to the boon game is having to payback the debt you owe. It will come up and there isn't a lot you can do about it. But like there are rules to calling in your boons there are rules, tips and tricks to ease the pain of paying them back.

1.Have someone else pay it back. If someone lower down on the totem pole can do what is being asked of you and they already owe you a favour call it in. You get to pay off a bigger debt with no effort and little currency.
2.Don't be afraid to sub-contract. This is especially true if y paying back the favour directly will leave you vulnerable. A debt owned to a weaker kindred is better than one owed to a more powerful one. Keep this in mind when trading.

3.Operate at your speed. This does not mean do not work on paying back the debt but if you have the option of using less resources immediately but increasing the time they are ties up that is likely the best option. It leaves you flexibility to adjust to anything unforeseen thus lowering your exposure to risk.

4.If time is of the essence, do whatever you can to do the work as quick as possible. Again, this is a way to reduce your exposure to risk when you do not have the option of moving slow and being guarded.

5.If you sense desperation, exploit it. In the right situation even a trivial act maybe major favour. Keep that and make sure you get as much value for your effort as possible

None of these concepts are earth shatteringly new. Businessmen have been doing stuff like this for years. But as a player you need to keep aware of these very simple principles. They will make the difference between succeeding and failing.

This post has been edited by Santiago: 15 June 2006 - 04:24 AM