Boni and Mali

Boni or Mali applying to Attributes can come from some objects, circumstances or the use of magic; their effect is in most cases temporary. For instance:

• A beautiful attire or hairdress can lead to a Bonus in Look;
• A golden tooth can possibly grant a Bonus in Got a Nerve! but most surely also a Malus in Look;
• If you just come back from one month at sea without having washed yourself, very likely will your Look suffer from a Malus; you'll get a Malus in Strength if you are seriously sick.
• Voodoo phenomena can lead to Boni (or Mali) in an Atribute or more but, here also, generally only for a limited time. More occasionally, serious maledictions or powerful beneficial spells can lead to permanent effects.

Permanent Boni or Mali are applied in some other rare cases:

• A serious wound to a leg, for instance following a fall from the Crow's Nest of a great Sail Ship; in that case, one is of course first of all happy to still be alive, anyway it'll be a life with a gammy leg, hence with a Malus in Nimbleness.

Boni or Mali range from 1 to 5 points on one or more Attributes. However, those exceeding 3 points in the positive or negative are extremely rare. In applying a Bonus or a Malus, the limitations given in the rules for creating a Character do not apply anymore: with a Level of 8 in Look, if you obtain a Bonus of 4 for some (good!) reason, your Look Level will reach 12! Beware that such a condition is not necessarily easy to live with in any circumstance. It is also possible that an Attribute reaches null or even negative values, generally because of the Voodoo and in such a case, one would do well waiting to be returned to a better condition before going back to the front.