System Reference for Friends and Fables – One Piece Setting
Bounties serve as both a mechanical tracker of player notoriety and a storytelling engine for escalating threats. They are not just numbers—they shape how the world reacts, who comes after the crew, and what opportunities open up.
When a player first enters the campaign, their bounty is determined by how visible, disruptive, or dangerous their early actions are.
Low-Key Characters (0 – 1,000 Berries):
Stay out of fights, avoid public chaos, and keep a low profile.
May have no bounty at all, or a token “wanted” notice.
Seen as petty criminals, if noticed at all.
Small-Time Trouble (5,000 – 10,000 Berries):
Engages in first significant fights (e.g., beating pirates, brawling with Marines).
Makes a public scene or disrupts an island’s peace.
Bounty posters may start circulating in a few towns.
High-Profile Debut (15,000 – 30,000 Berries):
Defeats a Marine officer or local pirate captain.
Destroys government property, terrorizes civilians, or otherwise draws major attention.
Posters printed across a region; names begin to spread among pirates and Marines alike.
The DM increases bounties based on story actions. Consider:
Scale of Violence: Number of casualties, size of battles, destruction caused.
Targets Defeated: Beating higher-ranked Marines or famous pirates spikes bounties.
Symbolic Acts: Burning flags, freeing slaves, raiding Marine bases, aiding revolutionaries.
Witnesses: If no one lives to tell the tale, the World Government may not update the bounty right away.
Publicity: If newspapers (e.g., World Economy News) catch wind, increases may be exaggerated.
Bounties should rise in waves, not increments, to create dramatic story beats.
Minor Jump: +1,000 to +5,000 Berries (small fights, roughing up guards).
Moderate Jump: +10,000 to +20,000 Berries (defeating captains, raiding ships).
Major Jump: +30,000 to +100,000+ Berries (destroying fleets, toppling islands, defeating Vice Admirals).
Use these tiers to quickly categorize how the world responds:
| Bounty Range | Player Status | World Reaction | DM Tools |
|----------------|------------------|------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| 0 – 1k | Unknown | Civilians ignore, Marines unconcerned | No posters |
| 5k – 10k | Local Nuisance | Local Marines pay attention | First poster issued |
| 15k – 30k | Rising Threat | Regional Marines, minor hunters | Posters on multiple islands |
| 50k – 100k | Regional Menace | Bounty hunters stalk, Commodores dispatched | Rumors spread across seas |
| 100k – 300k | Infamous Pirate | Vice Admirals intervene, CP9 interest | Global newspaper coverage |
| 300k – 500k | World Disruptor | Admirals mobilize, nations prepare | Crew compared to Warlords |
| 500k+ | Emperor-Tier | Yonko rivals, WG fears world shift | Entire fleets mobilize |
Hidden Bounty Updates: Sometimes raise the bounty off-screen; players discover it through posters, rumors, or Marine briefings.
Overblown Numbers: Newspapers may exaggerate for drama—sometimes higher than what players feel they earned.
Delayed Recognition: If no witnesses, bounty may update weeks later when news leaks.
Crew wide Posters: At higher levels, the entire crew may be given shared posters, or each gets an individual one.