Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Jioni! Open the Bifrost!

Question: Do you think that the Third Eye relic that you have in your Reliquary should be reserved for Deva Scions only, or would you allow a Scion from a pantheon into whose area Hindu influence has spread (the Celestial Bureaucracy, the Amatsukami and perhaps the Yazata) to have this relic?

Technically, anybody can get any relic. What's important is that it makes sense for them to have that relic; if it fits the theme, fine and dandy no matter where they came from, but if it has nothing to do with them and they just want its fancy powers, then no, they'll need to look elsewhere.

The third eye relic is definitely designed primarily for Scions of the Devas and Celestial Bureaucracy, who have the strongest beginning connection to that kind of imagery and power, but that doesn't mean they're the only ones who can get it. Buddhism has a long tradition of a spiritual third eye as well, so a Scion of the Amatsukami more associated with its Buddhist traditions than with Shinto would certainly also be a candidate. A Scion from another nearby pantheon might have grown up with related traditions and decided to make them part of his makeup as a demigod and god (we're seeing some interesting examples of that with young Yazata Scions and Islam lately, actually); Scions of nearby pantheons who have plausible connections to the concept could certainly lay claim to it as long as they cultivate it as part of their divine Legend.

And, if it becomes part of a Scion's divine legend, then it doesn't really matter where he or she came from; it's still a legitimate possibility. For example, if Geoff happened to decide he really liked being best friends with the Devas, and he went on a lot of missions for or with them, hung out with them and adopted much of their lifestyle and imagery, there'd be no reason he couldn't get a third eye when he became a god (or through play that made it happen), because as a deity he is associated with those ideas, despite being a Norse guy from Las Vegas. If, on the other hand, Woody just really wanted a third eye because he really liked its powers but generally didn't do anything with the Devas or have any legends that were similar in flavor, we would not give that to him; it would have nothing to do with anything he had done or represented as a god, so he shouldn't have it.

And that goes for Scions who are actually associated with the Devas, or even are Devas themselves; if they go out of their way to be part of some other culture's images or myths and refuse or ignore their own Hindu background most of the time, they're much more likely to get relics that reflect what they're actually doing, not what their parents do that they don't emulate. A Scion of the Devas who spends all her time doing stuff with the Pesedjet and isn't particularly invested in what her home pantheon is up to might be more likely to get Egyptian-flavored relics as a result of being more strongly attached to that foreign pantheon than she is to her own. Storytellers, when handing out relics, should always make sure they're appropriate to the Scion; at Hero and Demigod, it makes sense that most of their stuff will be related to the pantheon that is probably championing them, but when they've become gods and are building their own Legends, no longer locked into the mold of only what their home pantheon wants, what they actually do, represent and are worshiped for is more important than who their parent was.

We have a pretty even split for our god-level PCs, actually. Eztli and Folkwardr are hardcore hardliners for their own pantheons, picking up important relics that support that like a distinctly Aztec deathrealm or a thoroughly Norse magical well. Sowiljr and Jioni, on the other hand, have spent a lot more time and investment on other pantheons, which is why Sowiljr is halfway to having his own nahualli and Jioni is rocking a suspiciously familiar Heimdallesque horn.

Keep in mind, too, that while the third eye we have in the Reliquary has been carefully statted and balanced for a Hindu PC who is very Shiva-like, you can always move some of its powers and stats around to suit the character getting it. Not every person who gets a third eye is all about shooting laser beams out of it or raising the dead, so tailor those powers so that they fit the Scion getting them and/or the god granting them. (But you can still use the Reliquary's stats as a good guideline for how powerful to make your customized relic!)

So feel free to spread the relic love around to anyone who's earned it. A relic that is very thematically linked to a particular religion usually shouldn't be given out willy-nilly to those who have nothing to do with it, but if they've made that part of their Legend, then it makes perfect sense for your ocular-wannabe Scions to receive the gift of the third eye.

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