Does anyone have any cool rules (from published books or house rules) handling oaths in RPGs? Bonus for following your oath, and penalties for breaking it?

No.  Keeping or breaking an oath will have rewards/penalties entirely dependent on the specific situation.

Changeling: the Lost has an entire system for handling pledges of various kinds, but it's of course fairly specific to that game (and not related to D&D in any way) with the version used in second edition much more freeform and narrative then the one in first edition (which basically spelled out a series of factors with positive or negative costs which could be added to the pledge, for a total sum of zero).

5e D&D's Inspiration mechanic would be a way to handle it.

Quote from: Trond on October 15, 2023, 01:41:33 PM
Does anyone have any cool rules (from published books or house rules) handling oaths in RPGs? Bonus for following your oath, and penalties for breaking it?

What game are you planning to use this with? No sense in providing something that wouldn't make sense for the system you are playing.

Quote from: Exploderwizard on October 16, 2023, 05:52:22 PM

Quote from: Trond on October 15, 2023, 01:41:33 PM
Does anyone have any cool rules (from published books or house rules) handling oaths in RPGs? Bonus for following your oath, and penalties for breaking it?

What game are you planning to use this with? No sense in providing something that wouldn't make sense for the system you are playing.

Runequest first off.

I don't know about "mechanics" but it seems like a pretty straight forward thing.  If you violate an oath, then you get shunned by the person or group you made the oath to.  Any benefit received as a result of that oath would be rescinded as well.  Given the severity of the betrayal, it could also lead to an antagonistic and hostile relationship.

Quote from: BadApple on October 16, 2023, 07:51:56 PM
I don't know about "mechanics" but it seems like a pretty straight forward thing.  If you violate an oath, then you get shunned by the person or group you made the oath to.  Any benefit received as a result of that oath would be rescinded as well.  Given the severity of the betrayal, it could also lead to an antagonistic and hostile relationship.

You're forgetting the best parts: superstitions, gods and people's souls are often involved. Mythologically, it gets a bit more complicated or even spooky. Notice the double meaning of the word "to swear" (same in Norwegian BTW ("banne" means "swear" in both ways).

Quote from: Trond on October 16, 2023, 08:33:55 PM

Quote from: BadApple on October 16, 2023, 07:51:56 PM
I don't know about "mechanics" but it seems like a pretty straight forward thing.  If you violate an oath, then you get shunned by the person or group you made the oath to.  Any benefit received as a result of that oath would be rescinded as well.  Given the severity of the betrayal, it could also lead to an antagonistic and hostile relationship.

You're forgetting the best parts: superstitions, gods and people's souls are often involved. Mythologically, it gets a bit more complicated or even spooky. Notice the double meaning of the word "to swear" (same in Norwegian BTW ("banne" means "swear" in both ways).

Oh, I didn't forget.   

D&D players that play at my table are very careful with Clerics, Paladins, and Warlocks.  Gods and patrons are real and always watching.  Some gods have a sense of humor and others are very up tight.  Take an oath, I dare you.

One of my favorite PCs a player played in one of my campaigns was a Dwarven cleric that didn't take is job seriously.  His god took pains to correct him by using his own hammer to smack him in the head when he stepped out of line.  The player leaned into it and everyone at the table had a good time.

Next time I revisit Traveller I'm kicking around the idea of incorporating trustworthiness into Social Standing. High Soc characters can usually be trusted to pay their debts, return the ship, or whatever else, low Soc not so much.

Of course I'd need to make Soc more fluid, high Soc characters would take a hit every time they welshed on a debt or oath, but that's doable.

Quote from: Dave 2 on October 18, 2023, 09:39:12 PM
Next time I revisit Traveller I'm kicking around the idea of incorporating trustworthiness into Social Standing. High Soc characters can usually be trusted to pay their debts, return the ship, or whatever else, low Soc not so much.

Of course I'd need to make Soc more fluid, high Soc characters would take a hit every time they welshed on a debt or oath, but that's doable.

By extension, would that mean that a low SOC PC could improve his stat through being honest and dependable?

Blood Oaths in the game, Earthdawn, are usually sworn for a year-and-a-day after which it can be renewed. You can swear to Blood Peace, Blood Promise, and Blood Sworn (from less powerful to most powerful).

In general, you take damage (a "blood wound") when you make the Oath. If you keep it, the wound can be healed and the scar turns gold/silver. Depending on the degree of the oath, you take more or less damage. Similarly, a blood oath usually buffs the character in some way, from a minor improvement to the ability to take damage (Blood Peace) to improving attributes and abilities permanently (Blood Sworn).

Break a Blood Oath, and the damage is permanent unless you use magical healing. If successful, the scar remains but the damage is healed.

For extra funkiness, people with the right magical abilities can read the reason for the scar... (It's not stated, but I would imagine that is also present in your aura/Pattern/soul, too.)

Quote from: Dave 2 on October 18, 2023, 09:39:12 PM
Next time I revisit Traveller I'm kicking around the idea of incorporating trustworthiness into Social Standing. High Soc characters can usually be trusted to pay their debts, return the ship, or whatever else, low Soc not so much.

Of course I'd need to make Soc more fluid, high Soc characters would take a hit every time they welshed on a debt or oath, but that's doable.

If I may, I think that might fail the "smell test" of comparison to the real world. I would suggest that confusing having the means to repay debts, for example, translates over to the willingness to pay those debts. Indeed, the having the means might also give advantages to those that wish to engage in shenanigans and not pay debts.

Of course, it's an RPG--if it works for you and yours and you have fun? That's the only explanation necessary.

In fantasy there are many versions of fiction in which some beings (fae) are simply incapable of breaking oaths.  And from what I've read of ancient history, in many cultures breaking an oath was simply unthinkable.  Folks would die for an oath's sake.  Assuming this is the approach you want, it's really more of a cultural thing and not something easily played by people with a modern mindset.  I don't think social ramifications or disfavor from supernatural being is enough to produce the desired effect.  My only promising thought so far for a mechanic is to have breaking an oath result in some kind of permanent psychic damage, like SAN for CoC, with serious consequences.  It fits in that if someone is of such a culture, then breaking an oath indicates that they have something seriously wrong with their mind.

Quote from: Kage2020 on October 18, 2023, 11:42:43 PM

If I may, I think that might fail the "smell test" of comparison to the real world. I would suggest that confusing having the means to repay debts, for example, translates over to the willingness to pay those debts. Indeed, the having the means might also give advantages to those that wish to engage in shenanigans and not pay debts.

Of course, it's an RPG--if it works for you and yours and you have fun? That's the only explanation necessary.

Sci-fi can also mean reputational economies, not necessarily cash based ones. Eclipse Phase, for example, has a pretty nice (and extensive) section about traditional, reputational and transitional economies and how they interact with each other. Long story short, if in reputational economies you have the means to honor a debt (meaning: you're asked to perform a service as payment for a service you received earlier) and you don't do it your Rep score takes a plunge. Do it one time too much and you're cut off from everything until reparations are made.

Quote from: Mishihari on October 19, 2023, 12:55:44 AM
In fantasy there are many versions of fiction in which some beings (fae) are simply incapable of breaking oaths.  And from what I've read of ancient history, in many cultures breaking an oath was simply unthinkable.  Folks would die for an oath's sake.  Assuming this is the approach you want, it's really more of a cultural thing and not something easily played by people with a modern mindset.  I don't think social ramifications or disfavor from supernatural being is enough to produce the desired effect.  My only promising thought so far for a mechanic is to have breaking an oath result in some kind of permanent psychic damage, like SAN for CoC, with serious consequences.  It fits in that if someone is of such a culture, then breaking an oath indicates that they have something seriously wrong with their mind.

What used to be the "greatest" currency was honor, and some RPGs do have this as a mechanic. Being seen as dishonorable was the worst. If you broke an oath you lost honor, but it probably happened more often than the stories reflect, because stories were there to teach lessons.