Question: One of my players has a Shen Scion with Prophecy (your version), specifically using the I Ching as his method of divination. How should I handle it when he wants to throw some yarrow stalks and give someone a reading without actually activating a boon? Are mortal methods of divination completely bunk (or rather, only effective when a god somewhere is using Voice of Fate)? Or in these cases should I just tell the player to make up whatever results the reading gives and roll with it?
Ah, mortal magics! In this case, we would tell the Scion that he is not actually performing a real divination and thus will be making up whatever he tells to the mortal, with no binding effects on Fate itself. If he wants to really grant that person a true prophecy, he'll need to spend for a boon.
One of the things the Prophecy purview is meant to do is illustrate all the ways prophecies are actually performed, received and used, hopefully in a multi-cultural enough sense to be equally awesome for all Scions from different pantheons. Because of that, its boons represent the powers in the universe that actually grant foreknowledge, from seeing visions of the future personally to granting them to others. If they don't have Prophecy, they won't be able to have prophecies; and therefore anyone performing a divination, no matter how elaborate, without the Prophecy purview is actually just shooting in the dark. It's the same story as most other "mortal magics"; sure, humans have legends of wizards who can shoot fire from their hands, but in Scion, that means they have the Fire purview, and you don't have to try to come up with an alternate system for non-Fire fire powers.
However, that doesn't mean all of your Scion's I-Ching divinations will be bullshit. For one thing, he can do what accomplished fortune-tellers around the world do and give readings that are uncannily accurate based on his own ability to read the person he's divining for. If mortal prognosticators can make reasonably good guesses about a person's future based on their behavior and personality, Scions should be that much better at it, equipped with more mental acumen than the canniest of palm-readers even on their bad days. Another option is the ever-popular self-fulfilling prophecy, and your Scion can easily go out and make his prophecies come true by personally ensuring that they do. He could do that any number of ways, from using powers to encourage or force the person he's reading for to do whatever he predicts they will, or by going out and personally setting up whatever situation he has predicted, and so on. He can also simply lie and go on his merry way if he really wants to, too; apart from meddling supernatural people who might be able to see through him, most recipients of such divinations will believe in his predication and, one way or the other, probably decide at some point that it's come true. "My god - he said I'd rise in power and become king one day and here I am leading the Mardi Gras parade!" "My god - he said I'd rise in power and become king one day and here I am winning at King of the Mountain!" "My god - he said I'd rise in power and become king one day and here I am wearing a Burger King crown!" "Damn you, Prophecy!"
For you as the Storyteller, a non-paid-for divination is also a pretty great time for you to spring good old Minor Visions on him; after all, if he's going to sit down and start acting like he's prophesying, Fate might very well decide to oblige him. As always, it's up to you what Fate most wants to grant him a vision of and whether or not it actually has anything to do with the person being given a reading, but it's the perfect moment for that boon (and, since it's sometimes challenging for STs to remember to use Minor Visions as often as they should, gives you a nice reminder that it's an option whenever he does it). It's just like Fate to take an invitation when it sees one, and if he didn't want the headache, well, he's chosen the wrong career.
Other than that, though, we'd say that non-magical divinations are just that: non-magical. A Tarot card reading or entrail spread performed by a mortal can't have much, if any, bearing on reality in Scion: it would suddenly be the only magical thing mortals could randomly do without having purviews in a world where they aren't supposed to have any magical powers at all, and it would severely undercut the Prophecy purview itself if it were a set of shiny expensive powers that could be duplicated by any yutz with a bag of chicken bones or censer of incense. If you allow a Scion to perform real prophecies without using Prophecy, why not allow all Scions everywhere to do it for free every time, provided they have a dot of Occult and know how to draw the cards or toss the coins? For that matter, why can't all mortals everywhere do it for free all the time, thus eliminating uncertainty from life?
It sets a poor precedent, is what we're saying; non-Prophecy prophecies make the setting not make sense, and we hate it when the setting doesn't make sense. If you're running a game, as I know a few Storytellers out there are, in which mortal magicians are A Real Thing apart from divine powers and you've imported in powers from Mage: The Ascension or something, you may want to explore how some select mortals might be able to perform divinations, but even if that's the case, it shouldn't be something Scions are doing. You wouldn't let a Scion who didn't have Sun randomly glow when it's convenient, so you also shouldn't let Scions who aren't using Prophecy accurately foretell the future for free. Use those sexy Prophecy boons - that's what they're there for!
Just Want You Guys to Know: John failed at blogging again. Is he the worst blogger or what?
No comments:
Post a Comment