Hey, everybody! It's vlog time, and this week is Greek Week! The kind where we talk about a bunch of Greek mythology stuff, not the kind with beer and toilet paper togas. (Although we could potentially do both. That would be a fun Saturday.)
Question: I read your blog about how the Theoi don't like anything that deviates from normal human physical perfection. So, then why do the Theoi have Gods with Animal associations? Wouldn't that mean that any Greek God with Animal would pretty much never use Animal Feature and/or Animal Form? Okay, maybe Aphrodite could get away with giving herself a pair of swan wings (since you mentioned that the Theoi don't mind wings) but if Ares gave himself ANY wolf feature, wouldn't that be kinda wrong to him?
Question: How do you guy treat Charon, as he is son of two Titans - a god, titanspawn, or even a Titan?
Question: When I was reading your post on how other pantheons laugh about the Greek/Romans small "swords", I realized that since different pantheons may have different standards of beauty, then how does having a high Apperance in one pantheon affect another who may have a different version of an ideal apperance?
Question: How might the Virtues of a Roman Scion differ from those of his or her Greek counterpart?
Question: Hera's Vengeance demands that she continue to punish Zeus' bastards forever. However, in some versions of the Heracles myth, Hera ritually adopts Heracles as her own son when he achieves apotheosis. Would that satisfy Hera's Vengeance toward him? Technically he isn't a bastard anymore. Hera has formally claimed him as her own son. Would she still need to fight her Vengeance around him? Would this option apply to other Scions of Zeus who manage to become gods?
Question: I know this will sound stupid, but what exactly is Tartarus?
Question: Valor is the Virtue of acting honorably, right? Does that mean Scions with Valor can't lie? Can't steal? Can't work undercover?
Please pardon the lack of question text in the video - the editor crashed on me so I had to rush it to make sure it go out on time.
Next week, more themes, plus the exact same faces and clothes you saw this week.
Do you guys think it would make sense to play Charon as a psychopomp titan representing the more traditional meaning of psychopomp, i.e. a figure who carries the souls of the dead to the underworld?
ReplyDeleteI don't see why not!
DeleteIn Greek myth what's he difference between the Fields of Punishment and Tartarus.
ReplyDeleteThe Fields of Punishment are for non-gods who act against them in particularly bad ways - mortals who commit unforgivable hubris or giants/nymphs that sin against a particular god. Tartarus is for the fellow deities - Titans and spawn of the gods themselves - who have committed unforgivable crimes. They're similar in their punishment vibe, but Tartarus is Super Super Jail, compared to the Fields just being Pretty Terrible Jail.
DeleteAdditionally, Tartarus is supposed to be the deepest and most awful part of Hades - sort of like its creepy sub-basement.
Aha! But there IS one way for a player to play a Scion of Zeus without having to deal with Hera's Vengeance.
ReplyDeleteYou guys even mentioned it once that if two Gods Avatar down and conceive a child in the World, that can count as a Scion conception as well. Thus? If Zeus and Hera Avatar down and have a kid? Congratulations, dude! You're the one and only Scion of Zeus who doesn't have to worry about Hera, because you're fully legit!
Heck, technically, you're a Scion who can expect help and support from both Zeus AND Hera. Sweet deal, huh?
Yep, if your ST allows gods to Avatar down and have Scion children, this is an option. Not every Storyteller does, though - some rule that all such children are still gods, so check with yours before you lovingly craft a ninety-page backstory around the idea. :)
DeleteOur group allows gods to avatar down and have children. In fact, it is pretty much the major way that two gods in a loving relationship have scions! In spite of those, our players seem to have more fun playing the bastards of Zeus than legit ones!
DeleteI've always been on the fence about this because I haven't heard a precedent in mythology of the children of two Gods being Scions. The closest I've heard are Lava and Kusha being pretty clearly Hero level Scions who are the children of Rama and Sita. But that's Avatara not "avataring down."
DeletePlus...not that Zeus and Hera don't ever "enjoy their marital bed" but Zeus is a born player and if he suddenly GETS PERMISSION to spread his mighty seed around I just can't see him devising a plan with Hera so their kid can be "legitimate"...when did Zeus ever care about that before, ever?
Not that somebody can't do that, and as Anne said a bit ago, every ST's interpretation of the Gods is valid...it just doesn't work for me.
Well, as playerific as Zeus is, he and Hera do love each other and have a strong marriage. It isn't (so much as many stories make it seem otherwise) that they hate each other constantly. Hera is admittedly bitter about the cheating, since she's the Goddess of Marital Fidelity, but they have some very nice love stories between them. The idea of them having a kid together isn't crazy, especially if Hera decides SHE wants a Scion.
DeleteOh it's not that I think it's crazy that Zeus and Hera wouldn't want a kid together, I just think if Zeus and Hera were to have a child then they'd probably just stay Gods and have a God. It's not like they haven't done it three times(?) before at least. Again, my main cringe at the Avatar thing isn't that it's out of character, just that it has no precedent in mythology.
DeletePlus I feel like it has the added bonus of making you a Super Special Snowflake instead of just your run of the mill Special Snowflake which makes me cringe even more. You're basically Disney's Hercules, and as much as I love that movie, he's definitely not a PC I'd like to have in one of my games.
The entire setting of the game has no precedent in mythology.
DeleteWhat about Scions of Zeus that are adopted scions? As far as Fate is concerned they are the child of Zeus, so does that still trigger Hera's Vengeance?
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily - Hera's Vengeance stems from the fact that biological children of Zeus are illegal creatures that are physical proof of her husband breaking his marriage vows. If he didn't break those vows and just adopted a kid, she wouldn't have that problem, and might even be glad to welcome in such a child. She's the patron of marriage and family, after all, so legitimate children, even from adoption, would be something for her to cherish.
DeleteBut there might also be circumstances in which an adopted child pissed her off as well - for example, if it was the child of someone Zeus had cheated on her with, even if it wasn't his child as well.