Banes and Boons
Banes and boons are temporary or limited use effects or complications granted in the story for accomplishing something of note to the story. Banes are detrimental complications, curses, or penalties while boons are benefits, blessings, or bonuses. Banes and boons are often imposed in place or in addition to afflictions, conditions, or XP rewards. They can vary based on circumstances, and often have different conditions that must be met in order to remove them or use them. Some examples are listed here.
Boon Object: Some boons come in the form of objects you have to keep on your person to activate. They may require an action to use or require you to consume a magic item slot, but either way, they cost a surge to activate their effects.
Boon Burn: You can sacrifice a boon at any time to gain 1 temporary surge. Once sacrificed, it cannot be regained except through story interactions just like any bane or boon.
But I like this one...: Unless noted otherwise by a GM, you can burn 1 XP to keep a boon when you otherwise would lose it.
Example Banes and Boons
Anything But That: When you fail a save or a foe hits you with an attack during an action scene, you can expend this boon to automatically pass the save or cause the attack to miss. When you do so, you get disadvantage on all saving throws until you fail one that is not the result of self-harm or nonlethal effects. You can also activate this effect on an ally's behalf granting them the benefits but you still suffer the detriments.
Battle Scar: You have a brutal battle scar. Upon acquiring this boon, you must select one magic item slot. This is where you received the scar. The battle scar gives you +1 innate bonus to Constitution checks. If the item slot is not filled by a magic item or other boon, this bonus increases to +2, and also applies to saves and checks against Bleed, Fear, and Pain effects. You can have up to 3 battle scars, stacking their effects.
Blessing of the Wind God (Bag of Wind): A wind god has given you a bag of wind. You can open this bag to unleash up to 10-tier's worth of air spells. Opening the bag requires the same actions used to cast the spell. Each time you use it, you choose one air spell and cast it as if you knew the spell as an innate spell. Each time you do this, the total tier's worth of magic in the bag are reduced by the tier of the spell you used (minimum drop of 1). Once the remaining value is reduced to 0, this becomes just an ordinary bag and this boon is lost. Other versions of this boon from other types of entities exist such as Bags of Water or Fire.
Compelled: A new motivation is bestowed upon you in addition to your normal motivation. You must fulfill it to remove it. This is both a bane because of this compulsion but also a boon allowing you to have more than one motivation which you can gain surges and XP for fulfilling.
Curse of Solitude: You suffer disadvantage on saves against Emotion effects and any rolls made as part of using the Assist or Defend actions or a buff, harmless, or restoration effect on anyone other than yourself. Others suffer this penalty when trying to use any of these types of actions or effects on you. If someone who genuinely cares for you performs an act of affection, such as giving you a kiss, a hug, a gift, high five, etc. and you do not resist or insult them but politely accept the affection, this bane is lifted.
Cursed by Betrayal: An enemy (named NPC) who was once an ally blames you for their loss and you cannot shake the feelings of guilt or unease. Every time that enemy is mentioned in conversation or you are otherwise reminded of them (such as being in their presence or seeing their banner on the battlefield), you must make a Will save against DC10 + enemy's level + enemy's Charisma modifier or become demoralized for the remainder of the scene (or remainder of the day if this happens outside a scene). You normally only need do this once per short rest, but a foe can use two actions to invoke the enemy's name and reason they cursed you to force you to attempt this save again. You suffer a -4 penalty to this save if the foe that cursed you is present or if they are dead and cursed you with their final breath. Only by righting the wrong that caused the foe to curse you can this bane be lifted. "Righting a wrong" is defined based on how others feel about it, not your character's feelings such as making amends with the foe, or settling the debt with their next of kin, or achieving the dead foe's dream for them and in their honor. Sometimes, a heartfelt apology, show of humility, and honest commitment to do better are enough to win forgiveness as well.
Desperate Measures: While at 50% or lower on both HP and MP, you can expend this boon and immediately gain 1d6 temporary surges.
Doomed: You suffer disadvantage on saves and skill checks to avoid attacks (such as Acrobatics checks to avoid AOOs and Reflex saving throws) and attackers get advantage on attack rolls against you. If an attacker is a lower level than you, you also suffer a penalty to all DCs and opposed rolls against them equal to your level difference. A specific set of conditions to end this bane are given upon acquiring it, though your character may or may not know what they are. The GM will give you a hint that typically allows you to figure out what the conditions are to end this bane and may give you more hints each time this legitimately threatens your character's life and limb.
Final Breath: You know you will die soon, and have made peace with it. Upon death, you can say something with your final breath, and inflict a bane or grant a boon upon another character. You can use this effect only once. If you're ressurected, the bane or boon you created is lost as a result.
Flower Friend: While within a field of flowers or the Flower Dryad's territory, you gain the benefits of two of the following abilities of your choice: Camouflage, Hide in Plain Sight, Pace without Trace, Wind Stance, Lightning Stance. These abilities do not work against Flower Dryads or any creature with the fey, fungus, or plant type. You lose this boon if your Influence with the Flower Dryad ever drops or vanishes.
Homestead: You've made a base of operations a home. While resting in this particular place, you heal twice the normal amount of hit points and mana points. The target must be a large place and cannot be an item or inside an item that can be carried around easily. Visiting home should be a trek and a treat for your character.
Letting Go: During a moment of extreme duress, near death, or extreme risk, you can release or destroy another Boon you possess, permanently losing the Boon. Doing this immediately grants you 2d6 temporary surges and causes you to lose this boon as well.
Memento: You kept an object as a memento from an event that was important to you. So long as you keep this object on your person in an obvious spot, you can use an action and spend a surge to reminisce on how you got the memento and how it affected you. This can function as any emotion spell such as Calm Emotions, Rage, or Heroism, depending on the events but only targeting yourself.
Olive Branch: You can give an item of some sentimental or honorary value to someone and gain advantage on a single Diplomacy check with them. You can use this boon an infinite number of times, but only once per person and it only works if the item has some significance to the person you're giving it to.
Oracle's Curse: You gain an Oracle's Curse. If this is a bane, you only gain the detriments. If this is a boon, you gain the benefits and detriments as an Oracle with a level equal to your character level. This only lasts until the conditions of the curse are met. Both the bane and boon version have specific conditions which end their effects. For example, the Haunted boon could end if you ever willingly choose NOT to investigate a strange sound or odd coincidence.
Self-Sacrifice: You can expend this boon to gain the Combat Reflexes, Body Guard, and In Harm's Way feats for 1 round. You gain a temporary surge for each of these feats you already have.
Symbol of Hope: You've become a symbol of hope for certain people. When meeting these types of people, they are automatically one step friendlier than normal towards you. This doesn't stack with other effects that improve NPC attitudes.
Token of Thanks: You've been given a token of thanks by an NPC. As an action you can grab the token and reminisce on what you did to receive this thanks. Doing so grants you 2 temporary surges and removes this boon.
Trophy of Conquest: While equipped in a magic item slot, a trophy of conquest grants you a +2 circumstance bonus to Intimidate and Perform checks. You are also treated as having the Ability Focus feat for all Fear effects you use.
Wrath: You can fly into a rage as a 1st level barbarian. If you are already a barbarian, increase your effective Rage bonuses by 1 when you use this boon. You have a number of rounds of wrath equal to the level you were when you gained this boon. Once you've used all the rounds, this boon is lost.