7pt Boon vs Guardian Angel

[Talvas]

Which is the better choice in the opionions of the esteemed players and STs of the forum?

And is the Elder merit Prestation Gifts any better than boon?

[Legendre]

1) I didn't know Boons went to 7. I thought they only went to 6. I may be mis-remembering. But let's assume that a 7 point boon is 16% cooler than a 6 point boon.

2) (Insert worn-out arguments about why Merits and Flaws are lame)

3) Guardian Angel, totally. You can always finagle yourself a boon through game play.

[Talvas]

1) I didn't know Boons went to 7. I thought they only went to 6. I may be mis-remembering. But let's assume that a 7 point boon is 16% cooler than a 6 point boon.

2) (Insert worn-out arguments about why Merits and Flaws are lame)

3) Guardian Angel, totally. You can always finagle yourself a boon through game play.

But why exactly, a 6 pt boon is huge. I could if I'm being told correctly, use it as leverage against the prince for positions, etc. And yes they only go to 6, my mistake haha.

What can the angel do exactly? Not to be a doubter, I just really want to make an informed decision.

Edit: also idk if my st will let me finagle such a high level boon. It is a struggle to fit my Gio into the smorgasboard of other supernaturals anyways. And yes, I dont like to load up on merits but i won it in a roll and im def gonna use it.

[Nosimplehiway]

The main difference is permanence. A Boon is something you own and spend, like cash. A properly managed merit is more like owning an investment fund which generates cash on a regular basis.

If you use the boon, it's gone. If you use a merit, it's still there.

(With some exceptions. I'm sure there are counter-examples. YMMV, etc.)

The only real upside to a Boon is that the details of the benefits it gives can be defined later, by expending the boon to acquire what is mechanically equivalent to a merit or background. In some ways, a boon is almost like banking your freebie points to be assigned later during gameplay. This flexibility can be useful for new players who may not know what the priorities are in the game, and therefore not know which merits to buy.

From a storyteller's perspective, boons are narratively useful to encourage interaction with featured npcs, but can require more work to manage.

[Talvas]

Thats what I'm trying to avoid too much extra work for the ST.. and I do feel like grabbing such a big boon is like a slap in the face. Especially since the Prince is a PC... the chat is pretty damn fun at times cuz of that fact though.

[Nosimplehiway]

Talvas

I don't know if I'd call taking Boons at chagen as a slap in the face. It's just the work of managing a boon economy roughly balances out the narrative gains of knowing which npcs the pc is likely to deal with. If the ST didn't want you to take Boons, they'll tell you.

For straight-up min-max usefulness, have you considered rather than taking 7pts of boons to one person, taking 1 pt boons from seven people... or some mix like that? Unless you are in a huge domain, this would mean most of the local kindred have a reason to treat you with a minimum of politeness.

Also, when choosing who owes you the boons, consider kindred you might have difficulty dealing with. So, for example, if you're a Ventrue working for the sheriff, take a boon from an anarch sympathizer. It will be more valuable than a boon from someone who might help you out anyway for free.

[The Dreamweaver]

I generally prefer nabbing merits that benefit the PC for a long time, infinitely if possible. I don't care if it's "lame", they're there for a reason and I gladly take flaws too, even if I don't get freebies for them because it adds to the character in any case.

Also, I agree with Nosimplehiway's post just above mine. Good advice. Several people owing you smaller favors could really help out in a variety of situations.

[Talvas]

The way things go on this chat, I think I am gonna take that Guardian Angel. It wasnt going to be on a new character but it might be now. Effin werewolves.

[Illithid]

A counter point, A boon can be leveraged instead of outright exchanged for lower level but continual use.

Owning a Life-boon on a status holder, like the Prince. Asking for little favours, aren't actually favours because of the weight of the boon. And you know they'll say yes.
Look at any media where someone swears their life to another - until it's considered discharged, they owe you everything.
Most recently, thinking of American Gods with Mad Sweeny and "Mr Wednesday" he has to do whatever Mr Wednesday asks until he finds a way to con the boon into being discharged.

[Talvas]

That's what I was thinking too. Make me sheriff, give me this streer corner, etc.

Now I'm lookin for something that can save me from these 3 werewolves, who are gonna hunt my path following Gio unto the ends of the earth, theyre other PCs haha. He might make it out alive but its not likely, if you want ill let you know how the scene turns out.