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Mythic Boons

Source Mythic Adventures pg. 132
Mythic boons are special rewards given for moments of dramatic achievement. Mythic PCs should repeatedly act in a heroic fashion, charging boldly into danger with confidence, and they should be rewarded for accomplishing such astonishing feats of daring, luck, and courage. Awarding mythic boons is one way for the GM to encourage the players to push their characters to their limits.

Granting a boon is simple: when the PCs accomplish an astounding feat of bravery, cunning, or luck, they should regain one use of their mythic power (but may not exceed their total uses). This can represent different things depending on the origin: the divine smiling upon the PCs, eldritch energy surging within, or even a character’s pride made manifest as actual power.

When rewarding boons, the GM should reward all the PCs involved in that moment and keep these rewards balanced across the whole group. For example, if a barbarian champion charges forward and slays a powerful villain with a lucky critical hit with his axe, you might reward the barbarian, but don’t neglect the rogue trickster flanking the villain with the barbarian and the bard marshal granting bonuses on the attack roll with his bardic performance as well. A character should get a boon no more than once per encounter, but the GM might waive this guideline in special circumstances.

Included below are example moments worthy of a boon. This is not an exhaustive list, as any situation can result in an extraordinary outcome. These should not be automatic; if a character is built to perform critical hits, he shouldn’t be rewarded every time he scores three or more in one combat, but only when he does so in extreme circumstances.

Many of these boons require the character to perform the task against a mythic foe, but a suitably challenging normal foe might qualify as well, as determined by the GM. Unless otherwise specified, these moments must take place within the same encounter— the indestructible boon moment doesn’t count if you survive two critical hits in one combat and one in the next, for instance.

Assassinate: With just a single melee or ranged attack, the character defeats a mythic creature that has its full hit point total.

Behind Me: The PCs defeat at least four or more creatures, but only one (or none) of the PCs takes any damage during the battle.

Bloodless Victory: The PCs defeat a mythic foe by dealing nonlethal damage only.

Calm Down: The character ends or prevents a combat against a mythic foe with a single skill check, most likely Diplomacy or Bluff.

Cling to Life: The character survives a single attack that deals massive damage to her (damage equal to or greater than half her maximum hit point total, minimum 50) and exceeds the DC of the subsequent Fortitude saving throw by 5 or more.

Close Call: The character defeats a creature that has him entangled, grappled, or swallowed whole. Counter Caster: The character counterspells three or more spells from a single enemy spellcaster.

Critical Chain: Without failing any attack rolls, the character scores three critical hits in a row.

Deadly Dance: In 1 round, the character provokes four or more attacks of opportunity, but none of them hit.

Death’s Door: The character confirms a critical hit against a mythic foe while at 0 or fewer hit points.

Deep Breath: The character defeats a mythic foe entirely while underwater, without the aid of any spells or abilities that allow the character to breathe.

Desperate Measures: The character starts a combat against a mythic foe without any uses of mythic power remaining (or confidence).

Distant Crit: The character scores a critical hit using a ranged weapon against a target who is in the maximum range increment for the weapon.

Final Gift: While at 0 hit points, the character uses a spell, item, or special ability to heal an ally instead of herself, causing her to fall unconscious and gain the dying condition.

First to Fall: The character defeats a mythic foe at the beginning of combat, before any other creature has a chance to act.

Indestructible: The character survives taking three critical hits.

Maneuver Display: The character successfully performs at least four different combat maneuvers.

Mass Obliteration: Using only one spell, the character defeats six or more creatures, ending the encounter.

Massive Attack: The character makes a single attack against a mythic creature that deals massive damage (equal to or greater than half its total hit points, minimum 50).

Massive Swing: The character deals damage to five or more creatures in a single round with melee or ranged attacks.

Master Healer: Using only a single spell, item, or ability, the character heals a dying creature to full hit points.

Mythic Challenge: In one day, the group defeats a number of mythic creatures with a combined total mythic tier equal to or greater than 3 × the highest mythic tier among the characters in the party.

Outrageous Lie: Using Bluff, the character convinces a creature of a nearly impossible lie (–20 modifier to the check).

Overkill: The character uses a catapult, ballista, or ram to deal massive damage to a mythic creature (equal to or greater than half the creature’s total hit points, minimum 50).

Performance Victory: The character uses bardic performance to inspire its allies for 8 or more rounds.

Pinpoint: The character makes three successful attacks against a creature that has total concealment from him.

Push On: The group overcomes six or more encounters without resting or regaining any abilities.

Resilient Caster: After sustaining a critical hit while casting a spell, the character succeeds at the concentration check and defeats a foe with that spell.

Return to Sender: The creature catches an arrow or other projectile from a ranged attack and uses it to make a successful hit on the attacker within 1 round.

Savant: The character succeeds at a skill check with a DC of 20 or higher when he rolled a natural 5 or lower.

School Display: The character casts at least one spell from each school of magic (not counting spells that are two or more levels below the highest level of spell he can cast).

Shield Ally: Using path abilities, the character prevents an ally from taking any damage from an attack at least three times.

Skill Supremacy: The character exceeds the DC of a skill check by 20 or more.

Solo Warrior: The character defeats a mythic creature without assistance from any allies, including animal companions, cohorts, etc.

Swift Doom: The character defeats a mythic creature with a single spell on the first round of combat, before it has a chance to act.

Swift Victory: The group defeats an encounter in a single round.

Tumbler: In 1 round, the character uses Acrobatics to move through the threatened areas of at least five foes without provoking any attacks of opportunity.

Undead Bane: With a single use of channel energy, the character defeats eight or more undead creatures or four or more mythic undead.

Unstoppable: The character suffers the effects of at least three of the following conditions at the same time while in combat with a mythic foe: blinded, confused, deafened, disabled, exhausted, frightened, nauseated, paralyzed, pinned, and stunned.

Wild Warrior: While using wild shape or some other polymorph effect, the character defeats a mythic foe.

Wrestler: The character reverses a grapple against a foe and pins that foe on the following turn.

Archives of Nethys

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Mythic Boons