Little Liber: More on Favours

"Folks used to trust one another, that's how I remember it, at least.

Well, perhaps not trust each other, but they at least trusted a person's word when it came to money or obligation. There was a time when all someone was was their word.

Now, mind you, this was far from warranted. There have always been those willing, ready, and capable of bending the truth, and breaking promises. The saddest part is, they are almost always the ones with the purse strings.

Perhaps that's why we're in this mess. Not because we stopped trusting each other, but because we kept getting burned."

Little Liber: More on Favours

The following Little Liber entry expands on the rules for Favours found on Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4^th Edition, page 198. I love these rules, because they offer something — specifically, something narrative — above and beyond mere money as a form of currency. However, the rules as presented in the book don’t really work both ways, so that’s where I’m taking them for now.

Additionally, Dwarfs view their word as more sacred than perhaps any of the other Species, so there is an additional special rule for them…

Favours as Rewards

In lieu of, or in addition to, receiving a monetary reward for completing a job for an NPC or group of NPCs, a Character can receive a Favour. A Favour counts as the equivalent monetary value of the NPC’s Social Status:

• ×1 for Minor Favours,
• ×3 for Major Favours,
• and ×10 for Significant Favours.

Additionally, for every Status Tier the NPC is above the recipient, the Favour’s worth is ×2, as having a high-profile figure ‘owing you one’ is a bigger deal than a nobody…

GMs are discouraged from having their NPCs refuse to pay out on a Favour owed — otherwise, Players will grow to mistrust Favours, and won’t accept them. However, Favours shouldn’t be blindly paid out, and an NPC should still have autonomy in deciding if they will go through with whatever is requested of them. Compromise might be needed between the two Characters, when a Favour is called in.

Also note that Dwarfs are far less likely to grant open ended Favours in this way, and will usually put stipulations on a Favour (E.g. A Major Favour pertaining to an honourable, non-violent act; a Minor Favour pertaining to introducing a Character to someone else; etc.)

Example: Hans the Hustler (Brass 1) performs a job for Katerine “The Baron” Eule, a Crime Lord (Silver 5) in Ubersreik. Instead of paying Hans a load of cash — 2 whole Gold Crowns — she instead pays him 10 Shillings, and now owes him a Major Favour (worth 30 Shillings (Silver 5 × 3 (Major) × 2 (Silver Status over Brass)), or 1.5 GC). Hans, who doesn’t have a bank account, due to his poor Status, and fearful he will lose the hard-earned cash, takes the Favour instead. 10 Shillings is still a windfall for him, and having the Baron owe him a Major Favour could be majorly profitable!

Bartering Favours

Favours may also be bartered (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4^th Edition, page 291) in exchange for goods, with a Favour being worth the same value as above. However, several points need to be true for the Favour to be accepted in lieu of money:

• The Character must be a trusted individual,
• The Character must reasonably be expected to be contactable, and to stay put, until it is called in,
• The NPC is not otherwise destitute and in need of money.

Favours owed to a Character can also be bartered between parties, so long as the Character who owes the Favour knows the new recipient, and vice versa, and is disposed to help them. This form of Favour trading is rather common, especially among the upper classes.

Breaking a Favour in this way reduces Status by a further −1 on top of the normal penalty for oath-breakers, due to the fact that most folk in the Old World care more about money than they do honour.

Example: Hans comes down with a nasty infection, and visits Doktor Krupp at the Ubersreik Physicians’ Guild. He can barely afford the Doktor’s rates (5 Shillings for a check-up (perhaps he should have taken the full load of money from the Baron!)) so instead offers a Favour… except that his own Favours are nearly worthless, because he is only Brass 1, and a known Hustler! If he can provide some form of collateral, he could offer up 2 Major Favours worth a total of 1 Shilling, so that he only has to pay 4 Shillings for the work.

That’s All, Folks!

That’s all for today, friends! I hope you try out this addition to the Favour economy. Let me know in the comments if you give it a whirl, and how it works out!