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Although I haven't played Burning Wheel, I've talked about it with gamers, and am familiar with the "boon" type of reward for good roleplaying or other actions that make the game more fun. I call them "hero points" in the generic, non-game specific sense. As I've seen in various game systems, they generally let players modify task success (i.e., take bonuses on a roll), or in some games, even change determined results or otherwise dictate game happenings.
I think hero points are a great mechanic, and definitely plan to use them more in the future. In particular, as Radoslav notes, they're arguably a more fun reward for good roleplaying than are character points; they offer something that can be used here and now to make fun things happen in the game, rather than something that'll be used later in a post-game bit of character updating. More and more, I like the idea of predictable, steady character point advances that are equal for all players, mixed with much more varied and freely-awarded hero point awards that may differ greatly by player. It's fun to give out awards, and points that are made to be quickly consumed don't carry the downside of character inflation! (Likewise, it avoids the hard feelings that can happen among players when the permanent stuff – character points – is distributed unevenly.)
Somewhere I have a good list, cobbled from many sources, of possible ways a game can allow hero points to be used. Will have to find that and post.
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"Boons" as rewards
This is a reply to Radoslav's comment in this thread; I'm moving the discussion here where it fits better.
Although I haven't played Burning Wheel, I've talked about it with gamers, and am familiar with the "boon" type of reward for good roleplaying or other actions that make the game more fun. I call them "hero points" in the generic, non-game specific sense. As I've seen in various game systems, they generally let players modify task success (i.e., take bonuses on a roll), or in some games, even change determined results or otherwise dictate game happenings.
I think hero points are a great mechanic, and definitely plan to use them more in the future. In particular, as Radoslav notes, they're arguably a more fun reward for good roleplaying than are character points; they offer something that can be used here and now to make fun things happen in the game, rather than something that'll be used later in a post-game bit of character updating. More and more, I like the idea of predictable, steady character point advances that are equal for all players, mixed with much more varied and freely-awarded hero point awards that may differ greatly by player. It's fun to give out awards, and points that are made to be quickly consumed don't carry the downside of character inflation! (Likewise, it avoids the hard feelings that can happen among players when the permanent stuff – character points – is distributed unevenly.)
Somewhere I have a good list, cobbled from many sources, of possible ways a game can allow hero points to be used. Will have to find that and post.