Elderscrolls Game Idea: Power Boons

[The Crazy Animal]

In the game series elderscrolls, at the character creation you pick a constellation representing your astrological sign and through out the game you are granted certain boons from that aspect. These celestrial boons take a few forms in the game and each has its own up sides and down sides.

Examples from elder scrolls:
The Apprentice: ? Gives 100 bonus points to your Magicka attribute, but also gives you a 100% Weakness to Magic too.
The Atronach: You don't regen Magicka over time. Instead of regening magicka points you have a 50% spell absorption that recharges your Magicka. The base Magicka point total is also increased by 150 points at the start of the game.
The Lady: This aspects blessing give a bonus of 10 points to both Willpower and Endurance attributes.
The Lord: Gives A power boon to regenerate up to 90 points of Health. However, it also gives you the Trollkin curse, a permanent 25% Weakness to Fire.
The Lover: This aspect gives a per use boon called Lover's Kiss that is usable once a day to paralyze an opponent for 10 seconds at the cost of 120 points of Fatigue.
The Mage: this aspect gives a max bonus of 50 points to your Magicka.
The Ritual: This aspect gives two boons, Mara's Gift usable once a day as a powerful Restore Health spell and the Blessed Word that harms undead targets.
The Serpent: This aspect gives a innate spell that causes a slow Dot poison, while simultaneously curing yourself and dispelling magic on yourself.
The Shadow: This aspect gives a boon called Moonshadow useable once a day to become Invisible for 60 seconds.
The Steed: This aspect grants a 20 point bonus to Speed attribute.
The Thief: This aspect grants a 10 point bonus to Agility, Speed, and Luck attributes.
The Tower: This aspect gave two usable boons the Tower Key power is a once a day open a locked door or locked container of Average lock level or less. and second The Tower Warden reflects five points of damage for 120 seconds once a day.

Altering the system to work for us.

I always kind of liked seeing how these effected game play and character creation, while we don't have the same stat set up as elderscrolls there are still plenty of ways to use a system like this in our game. I was thinking that a boon system might be an interesting way of rewarding players with things other then items/money/exp.

A boon would be an invisible/weightless item given to a player that would be both loyal and non-give-able. This boon could then be used like a special item using the syntax "use <item name>" The boons them selves being invisible would be displayed on a special boon list page similar to how spells are listed. From that list players could see a breif discription of the boon and its effects.

You have the following Boons:

? ? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ?? ? ?

Boon Name:	Given by:	Uses per day:
Mirthra's Blessing	Arch Bishop Daken	2
Creowin's Renewal	High Priestess Creowin	1
Rising Phoenix Birth-sign	Celestial Aspect	4

[HP=332/MA=128]:L Rising Phoenix Birth-sign
Rising Phoenix Birth-sign
By being born under the The Rising Phoenix Birth-sign this celestial aspects grants the boons user rapid restoration of their wounds for a brief period of time.
[HP=332/MA=128]:L Creowin's Renewal
Creowin's Renewal
Creowin's Renewal is a powerful boon bestowed by the high priestess herself to those who have answered her calls in times of great peril. Creowins renewal boon grants its user a powerful and quick healing.
[HP=332/MA=128]:L Mirthra's Blessing
Mirthra's Blessing
Mirthra's Blessing is a boon presented by the Arch Bishop Daken for service to his temple and god. This boon surrounds you with the holy aura of Mirthra for a brief period of time.
[HP=332/MA=128]:Use Mirthra's Blessing
You call out upon the boon of Mirthra's Blessing!
You feel the holy aura of Mirthra protecting you!

The type of boon effects that would be given would be similar to those given in MMUD as quest rewards such as the quest cloaks or by other per use magic items like jade amulet or winged sandals. However the spells being cast would be considered cast by deities or by the blessings of other powerful NPC and not the boon them-selves.

[El_Jefe]

that sounds nice!

Yes, that part of morrowind was really cool.  it changed your entire style of playing. very fun/interesting.  If you had race/boon/class that would be great.

Add to that good/evil/neutral
Add to that (possibly) Religious alignment/Ideaology and now you have really odd mixes.  Lots of rerolling in the beginning