The Burning Seed

Question: What level of Legend and associated powers would you give the Hindu god Murugan/Skanda/Kartikeya?

Last time we were messing around with the Devas, I made a valiant effort to get this guy onto the playable roster. I didn't succeed, mostly due to the problems involved with him being a massively big deal in some parts of India and southern Asia and eclipsed by folks like Shiva in others and John generally being a hardass about new gods and their assocations, but we're well aware of him and his awesomeness. If you're running a Deva-heavy chronicle, he should definitely be involved!

Skanda (using the Puranic name because we are old school like that) definitely has War associated; he is all about the wars, from being the general of the gods to waging successful campaigns against the asuras to being referred to by Krishna as "that guy who's the best at wars". He's not just a badass in his own right, but a leader of armies and military dominator of the countryside. War is the quickest, easiest and most perfect association for him.

Past that point, things get a little more hazy. Epic Dexterity is a definite possibility, based on the story of his lightning-swift triple circumvention of the world (but, alas, not quite as swift as Ganesha's elephantine brains!); so is Epic Appearance, as Skanda is the god of eternal youth and beauty and is often praised for his appearance and elegance in hymns and Puranic descriptions. You might also be able to swing Epic Charisma, thanks to his enduringly ancient but still very popular cult and the descriptions of his parents' immediate and abiding affection whenever they look at him.

But after that, things start to deteriorate down to things that Skanda is associated with only sort of - the kinds of things that he probably has several boons or dots of Epics in, but not the Avatars/Ultimates. He turns up with his peacock a lot, but as it's his vahana that's no different from any other Hindu god, and he doesn't actually do anything with peacocks other than ride one. He was conceived from seed (either Agni's or Shiva's) that was too hot to be touched and some old paintings depict him breathing fire, but he's lost those associations so thoroughly that no story in which he really does anything with flame survives (that we know of, anyway - if we're wrong, shoot us the myths!). He's famous for sexual prowess, both his own and his father's, and once tunneled through a mountain to get to his foes, but is that enough for him to have the same level of Epic Stamina or Strength as a Thor or Huitzilopochtli? He tends to turn women into trees when they come too close to his grove, but is he really a god of Fertility or Magic, or does he have just enough boons to be a dick to people?

Skanda's weird because his enduring popularity in southern India and neighboring Asian states definitely makes him look good, but the curious withering of his cults in northern India down to mere footnotes is bewildering to manage from a Legend level perspective. We would say that he's definitely at least Legend 10, and lean toward War and Epic Appearance as his associations; if you want to bump him up a little, he could make Legend 11 and add Epic Charisma to his bag of tricks. We wouldn't feel great about giving him anything else, unfortunately.

But that doesn't mean you can't use him in games - go forth and war god to your hearts' content, and make your own judgment calls about what he might and might not be capable of. If there's one guy the Devas want in their corner during the war against the Titans, it's their asura-smiting war-leader.