Self-Determination

Question: You guys do not seem to care much about XP, and with the fatebond system you give out way more than the book recommends. Have you toyed around with the idea of dropping XP entirely?

We thought about it, but we dropped the idea early. XP serves a great function in Scion by representing learning in a concrete way, and while we don't think life is over for anyone who isn't getting it in the traditional D&D way, we also don't think the game's best served by abolishing it.

Scions are hybrid creatures, after all; they're half willful humanity and half Fateful divinity. While we have no problem with Fate spending some of their XP to reflect the second half of that equation, we also want the first half to be represented, and that means that the players themselves choosing where their character should go is an important part of character development as well. When they're budding young Heroes, fresh from humanity and mostly free agents who are not yet ensnared in the web of Fate, they spend all their own XP, determining their own courses; a they gain in Legend and Fate begins to gain hold of them the way it long ago did their divine parents, some of that XP begins being spent for them as a result of their influence on the world and the myths and legends that are growing up about them. It makes a good continuum to emphasize both that they're creatures with the free will do to what they want, and that as they get closer to godhood Fate has more and more of a role in shaping them.

We also considered abolishing XP at the god-level, when they've become beings that are now pretty much part and parcel of the tapestry of Fate, but we decided not to do that, either. Fighting Fate, while a difficult, often thankless or unsuccessful task, is still a big part of many cultures' myths and legends, and we didn't want to take away the players' ability to do that if they really wanted to. Still having XP to spend even when they're gods means that they can try to combat Fate when it tries to take something away that really matters to them, or continue buying something that Fate doesn't seem to think they need in defiance of what the world expects of them.

We actually really love XP in Scion - not because it's a sacred point value that we owe players, but because it's a great way to represent characters learning, growing and changing as they progress. The players spending all the XP wouldn't reflect the strength of Fate and mortal belief in their lives, and Fate spending all the XP wouldn't give them the free will and self-determination they need; the balance of the two hits the sweet spot where mechanics meet game themes and fuse perfectly.

So we're not planning on taking XP away completely any time soon. Spend that XP, players. Spend it like your godhood depends on it!