According to Scion's system, an Attribute score of 2 is the human average. That means that a Scion with 2 in an Attribute is about at the level of a normal human; if he has Intelligence 2, he probably graduated from high school or even college and can complete a crossword puzzle if he wants to, but has no grasp of high-level physics and doesn't speak more than a language or two. A Charisma score of 2 means he can make friends normally and people generally listen when he's talking about something they're interested in, but he can't snap an entire room full of people to attention and probably has to date someone for a bit before they might fall in love with him. A Strength score of 2 means he can move his couch and TV into a new apartment with the help of a friend, but he can't bench-press his own weight, and so on.
It looks a little counterintuitive for the 2 to be the average instead of the 3, but keep in mind that you're playing a Scion, not a normal human, so what's "average" for you quickly leaves what's average for humanity behind. Most Scions are generally above average in at least some areas just thanks to their divine blood, even if they haven't been Visited yet.
A useful chart, for those that like useful charts:
| Attribute Score | Approximate Skill Level | 1 | Poor. For physical stats, relatively frail, weak or slow. For social stats, generally ignorable, unnoticeable and unconvincing. For mental stats, dense, slow-witted and unobservant. |
| 2 | Average. For physical stats, can perform normal tasks. For social stats, can function in human society. For mental stats, able to grasp basic concepts and normal ideas easily. |
| 3 | Above average. For physical stats, athletic or physically fit. For social stats, noticeable, convincing and handsome. For mental stats, agile, bright and observant. |
| 4 | Exceptional. For physical stats, a bodybuilder, professional athlete or wilderness survivalist. For social stats, a powerful public speaker, famous model or successful politican. For mental stats, a genius scientist, professional guru or FBI profiler. |
| 5 | Absolute maximum human capability. For physical stats, Arnold Schwarzenegger/Anna Pavlova/Michael Phelps. For social stats, Brad Pitt/Adolf Hitler/Marilyn Monroe/Lord Varys. For mental stats, Albert Einstein/Sherlock Holmes/Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. |
Once you get to six regular dots, you've passed the point where even the most incredibly talented humans could compare to you and have moved on into the realm of the supernatural and the divine. And, of course, Epic Attributes speed that up; the usual rule of thumb is that a single success from Epic Attribute is equivalent to two dots of a regular Attribute, so someone with three regular Charisma and one Epic is already at the pinnacle any human could possibly achieve, and if they get a second Epic have left humanity in the dust just as if they had 7 regular dots.
Oh Marilyn, I always knew you had to be the offspring of the gods :P
ReplyDeleteI like useful charts.
ReplyDeleteAgreed sir.
DeleteAs a Side note, the ability level is very close in importance to the attribute. If you've never lifted a sword in your life, all the dexterity will only go so far. If you have zero command, that charisma becomes useless in many situations.
ReplyDeleteI cannot possibly disagree more. That is only true if you have 0 of a stat. As long as you have even one single, solitary dot of an Ability, you can apply your full Epic to your rolls. This means that in a fight between two Gods, one that has Epic Dexterity 9 and one that has Epic Dexterity 10, it doesn't matter if the Dex9 God has Melee 10 while the other has Melee 1. The extra 9 successes (equivalent to 18 dice) is going to blast that Melee 10 right out of the water.
DeleteAbilities are one of the most underpowered and pointless parts of Scion.
This is a long post talking about human potential in relation to attributes. And if you arent punishing people who only have one in something so that they can "get away with it" thats your own fault.
DeleteIf something is "underpowered and pointless" fix it.
Also Source, you're referring to combat stats only (admittedly a little more difficult to give bonuses to people else it becomes unfair)
DeleteBut if someone has alot in dots that apply to scenes you could grant bonus dice. Like say academics and occult to do research in an old Sage's private book collection to look for a specific incantation that will thwart "Big nasty titian cult #67"'s ritual.
The roll to research books is technically Intelligence +academics, but since the player invested alot in occult perhaps give them bonuses to show their knowledge around the arcane arts.
Get creative and you're players will feel the rewards are worth the xp sink!
(Also to note , you refer to a high powered game when you get into 9 and 10 epics, Abilities are worth TONS at hero and demigod!)
Cheers,
Alex
How do you punish people who only have 1 dot in an ability?
DeleteOur fatebind system usually takes those away eventually. Either you're good at something, or you arent. I also sometimes have skill checks that require a certain level of the ability to be able to even roll.
DeleteIt's also useful to highlight the deficiency - say, have an enemy with the same Epics but seven more dots of the ability come up against them, so that they still have a chance to succeed but their decision to min/max and ignore that ability is making them come out just a little behind on average.
DeleteThks for the info. I can now stat my characters at 2 to show there average ability in their medium and low attributes without feeling like I'm shorting them. I like even my physical characters to have at least a decent amount of intelligence so putting 2 into intelligence won't make me feel awkward now.
ReplyDeleteWell...for a scion a two is still not great. A lot of things that should be easy to grasp for most in the scion world will be FAR beyond the grasp of someone with only 2 intelligence. You'd be able to do stuff around humans, basic math for groceries etc, but much in the realm of scions and gods would be mind melting.
Deletewell that's what the upgrade is for. The level 2 mentals are fine for hero's, especially if it is for working in the purely mortal world. When they upgrade to demigod I'll pump up intelligence scores. My goal is to keep them what equates to average human intelligence in the human world at least in the human world. I have an intelligence primary already. Besides, Itzli doesn't seem to have any problem with her almost zero intelligence score.
ReplyDeleteOh, she has plenty of problems, but she gets by with a little help from her friends.
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