Iiiiit's vlog time! Today we have those fancy new lights and I look less like a zombie, but I'm also on pain drugs so I sound a little bit more like a crazy person than usual. Trade-off. Next week I hope to be more functional, and of course John is here being a helpful rock of sanity.
Today's questions are on a bunch of topics including Titans, relics and politics, but they're all about the greater world of Scion at large. So here we go!
Question: In your games, I'm assuming that the gods are very much besieged on all sides by Titanrealms and Avatars aplenty, and the corebooks make a point of saying how Avatars have to stay in their realms most of the time to avoid being rebound. My question is, if the terrifying nature of the Titanrealms is what is preventing various pantheons from attacking them en masse, what is it that's preventing Avatars from doing the same to the gods? Do Overworlds (and Underworlds, I guess) have similar built-in defenses?
Question: Why do relics bite when not bound to you? There seem to be multiple myths where people take each others' weapons and use them, and I can't name any where that has actually damaged the person (without the involvement of a curse/geasa).
Question: How do you deal with gods that have unique powers that don't seem to fit in with any of the purviews? The best examples I can come up with are mostly from the Deva. For example, Shiva's "Destructo-Eye?" The guy opens his third eye and shit just blows up! How does one make that happen in Scion? For that matter, Shiva and Kali are both known for their destructive dances wherein they dance and the world just starts to fall apart. How do these things work in your system?
Question: How would you represent Diomedes in Scion, given how he's Mr. "I'm totally a mortal man but I'm so badass that I fuck up Scions and gods alike, and then Athena made me into a god when I died?" I mean, the dude got in a fight with *Ares* and kicked his ass!
Question: I've been doing some (admittedly small) amount of research into the Orisha. Is Courage really a valid Virtue for them? They certainly talk a big game, but most of their conflicts are tricks and pranks against each other rather than huge monsters (compare to the Theoi). At the same time, they seem to highly value Intellect. Particularly with Orunmila.
Question: Could the Olympic Games have been a Birthright? It may sound stupid, but you've discussed relic songs before, and your Birthright PDF has a Shinto shrine for the Kami. Could Zeus have gotten some cool bonuses when mortals dedicated their great victories in his honor?
Question: This might be a weird question, but what are the likely consequences (politically) when a Titan (and its Avatar) manages to overpower a pantheon?
Question: How do you guys feel about the idea of making Titanrealms a one-per-purview deal? Currently I'm having to choose between one realm per pantheon (where the realms don't match up to purviews, e.g. the Kami opposed by the realm of corruption) and one per purview (e.g. the kami are opposed by Izanami as a death titan but the realm itself is split between them and the K'uh), and I can't decide which I prefer. What do you think?
Question: So my game master is most likely planning to have my character's godly parent marry her away as part of inter-pantheon politics. I know how common a practice that has been through time; is that something you have dealt with before? I'd like to know more about how the gods use their children in the politics game now that it has expanded so much since the start of the war.
Question: So, among a handful of us, "Goddamnit, Stribog" has become a touch memetic. What the chuffing hell is he doing?
Oh, Stribog. I know the players hope you never change.
The new lights look good! :)
ReplyDeleteHmm...remember back when Artistry came out, and I suggested the concept of Relic Songs? Could Shiva and Kali have Relic Dances? Not that they would actually need it with both being the Void, but I'm curious.
I was just discussing Titanrealm oppositions and how far is too far when it comes to diluting Titanic concepts to create more Titanrealms to fit the 1v1 model. I totally get why you guys would want to move away from that model, but I have to admit I just love it too much, so I have been guilty of fudging things around a bit (by which I mean a lot) just to preserve it. Case in point, I split Death, Decay and Disease into three different Titanrealms for the K'uh, Kami and Orisha respectively.
Definitely a possibility
DeleteOn the subject of Relic Songs or Dances? How would that work? You somehow write the song/choreograph the dance and assign a particular APP Boon to it, or something?
DeleteAlso, how do you deal with the issue of someone ELSE singing your Relic Song, or mimicking the steps of your Relic Dance?
They would be inherent Relics, like the Ori features. Fate only recognizes them as bound to Shiva and Kali. Anybody else using them would just be singing and dancing,
DeleteIncidentally, Indian classical dance HAS the steps of Shiva and Kali's dances recorded. They are performed all the time. The world hasn't ended yet, so I think I can safely say that WHO is performing the dance is just as important as what is being performed.
Ah! I see!
DeleteThat makes sense. That's why they're called "Relic" Dances. Because they work like every other Relic.
So how do you think you'd go about creating a magical song or dance that creates a certain effect when performed by the God who created it? I'm looking through the Artistry Boons, and I'm not seeing how it would work.
The same way you'd design any other Relic, with the handy-dandy crafting rules http://www.gothambynight.com/scion/crafting.htm :)
DeleteMy real desire for Relic Performances was that I wanted Artistry Gods like Sarasvati and Apollo to create Relics that reflected their areas of influence. It just didn't seem fair to me that Gods like Vulcan and Ogun should have all the Relic making fun because they are Smith Gods. And the fact that Indian legendry is full of stuff like this didn't hurt :)
Your Vlog should be #63. Since Anne's still turning white, your camera is probably a bit sensitive to THAT much light. If you have room, move the lights back at least two meters from you guys while shooting. That'd be my advice if you were doing photography, but webcams are kinda touchy little buggers as far as I've found.
ReplyDeleteWas one of the upshots of today that y'all are alright with there being Pantheons that do not have a specific Titanrealm devoted to their murderation, but rather draw enemies from several different Titanrealms?
With Khameleyon, Stribog is likely very good at making the PCs also not as mad at him, if he shares Virtues with them. Just a touch extra than other Epic Manipulation gods.
ReplyDeleteHe's such a stinker.
DeleteCould a mortal become a god-level birthright follower and count as a god? I know they would stop being a mortal the moment they are chosen to become a birthright tied to a Scion's legend, but that seems like a good way to explain the whole mortal-to-god thing.
ReplyDeleteIn one of our games, a PC (Scion of Hades) has his brought-back-from-the-dead wife as a follower, who was a mortal but after coming back to life is now 2 Legend behind the Scion (it's a long story, but he essentially 'earned' her back after we saved Hades from collapsing into Tartarus late in our Demigod careers).
We're just hitting Legend 9 ourselves, but assuming we eventually get to Legend 11, she would be Legend 9 herself... just throwing ideas out there.
She could just be a god, instead of becoming a God. I mean, nymphs were regarded as gods in ancient Greece too, weren't they? As in the nymph of a particular pond is the goddess of that pond, without being a God as defined by Scion. Hell, tonnes of lesser immortals were worshipped the world over. This doesn't make them Gods in Scion's parlance, but it does make them gods in the eyes of the ancient cultures. The Creator could probably remake Diomedes' body into that of a lesser immortal.
DeleteOr maybe, saying he became a god is Greek shorthand for saying Athena used The Sentinel to make him immortal?
Could definitely be a god level birthright(legend 9) but wouldnt be an actual god.
DeleteReminds me of my own campaign. My Bogovi player, a Scion of Veles, has the ghost of a sorcerer's apprentice (Follower) bound to his massive human skin-bound Relic grimoire (she tried and failed to use it after her master, a previous owner of the book, was killed). If he survives that long, at Legend 11, she will be Legend 9, and technically (if not actually) a minor goddess at this point. He also plans to marry her at some point. He just needs to find a new body for her first...
DeleteHey, the guy who asked the marriage question here. I see the point about it being an intra-pahtheon thing most of the time to improve own social status, but couldn't it also very well be a common way to handle relationships in inter-pantheon politics? I mean, it's been such a normal thing in old noble families and such.
ReplyDeleteMy character specifically is a daughter of Hera. Might Hera not use her daughter as a way to mend old greek relations like to the Egyptians as a "sorry for what Rome did, please let's be friends again", or as a way to lessen the Nementodevos' wrath? The Theoi has had interaction with a lot of the pantheons near the mediterranian, wouldn't it make sense as to improve alliances in the political part of the war?
I would say yes. To all your examples.
DeleteInter-Pantheon marriages have been very rare for the longest time because the gods weren't very active in before the Titans broke out. There wasn't much incentive to do a lot of intermarriage.
Now? When stronger alliances need to be formed to fight the Titans? NOW? When the Theoi might just really NEED to convince the Nemetondevos to let bygones be bygones, instead of constantly worrying that the Nemetondevos might stab them in the back at the worst possible time? No, the current state of affairs means that the Pantheons should be pulling out EVERY tool at their disposal for improving their odds of beating the Titans.
I don't know how much the Theoi really need to apologize for what Rome did. They didn't actually DO much to the Netjer or their worship. Hell, the Romans adopted Isis in a BIG way. They spread her worship all over the known World. As far away as Britannia, I do believe. The core books make a much bigger deal about the Greece/Egypt rivalry than they probably should have. The Egyptians were allowed to keep on worshipping their gods under Roman rule. Isis, at least, spread farther than ever before. I don't think the Netjer have THAT much reason to hold a grudge.
Nevertheless, a few political marriages between these Pantheons would make a VERY strong alliance indeed. It's still perfectly viable, I just don't know how much "apologizing" needs to play into it.
The Nemetondevos? Like I said, the Theoi really COULD benefit from forging better relations with them. The only thing I'D be worried about if I were Zeus, is ensuring the safety of the Theoi component of the marriage. I'd be a little worried that the Nemetondevos might kill him/her or hold him/her as a hostage to demand something from the Theoi.
It's still worth pursuing, but I would advise caution.
No, I think you're quite right. Given the current circumstances, I could definitely see the Pantheons being more willing to at least CONSIDER intermarriage in order to foster a stronger, more unified front in the war against the Titans.
You know who the Theoi really need to patch up with? The Elohim.
DeleteThe Nemetondevos are almost a nonentity in divine (and for that matter, Titanic circles. Orgos no longer exists, all but one of them is sub-Legend 12, and most importantly, Fate hates them; the greatest force in Scion is personally pissed with the lot of them.
The Elohim, on the other hand, are still strong and vibrant, and have much to offer in a political alliance. Just don't let Anat meet Adonai at the party, she'll make the Red Wedding look tame.
Yes. We didnt say it couldnt happen, just that it would/should be rare. Your example is a good rare example.
DeleteI don't envy the people trying to patch that terrible mess together. Vengeance on all sides.
DeleteAh! I see!
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense. That's why they're called "Relic" Dances. Because they work like every other Relic.
So how do you think you'd go about creating a magical song or dance that creates a certain effect when performed by the God who created it? I'm looking through the Artistry Boons, and I'm not seeing how it would work.
...Well at least Vesna isn't trying to marry Geoff?
ReplyDeleteNope. Pizamar is totally trying to jump his bones, though. His life is never a dull moment.
Delete