Question: Whenever you get around to putting up new Titanrealms, which ones do you think they will be?
Well, we're not promising anything, but our tentative plan is most likely Maya, the Titanrealm of Illusion, and Emamu, the Titanrealm of Beasts. We want to get our version of the "core" pantheons' enemies up as soon as possible, which means the Devas and Anunna need representation!
Theoretically, though, any of the potential Titanrealms we talked about back here are possibilities. We won't commit to anything until we actually start on it, and for now we're way too busy trying to keep this raft of Industry and crafting rules we're trying to build afloat.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Boom!
Question: My player wants to use Industry to build a relic rocket launcher. What the hell kind of stats would that have?
We're still working on our Industry and relics revamp, so we aren't ready to slap you with a magic formula for building relics, rocket-filled or otherwise. But we can do just some general advice for handling this specific request!
Start with stats for a normal, basic rocket launcher, the kind any mortal with the right government or mob connections might be able to get hold of. Scion: Companion lists stats for a bazooka on page 269 that might be useful for a quick template, or you can come up with your own idea of what kind of range and damage it ought to have.
Once you're armed with that, talk to the player about what they want the rocket launcher to be able to do outside of a normal, non-relic weapon's capabilities. Does the player want it to deal more damage or splash in a larger radius? Never run out of rockets? Provide any passive bonuses to anything? Grant increased effectiveness at other powers when using it? Whatever it is, your player needs to have a clear idea of what it's supposed to do before you can set the relic cost or determine the difficulty involved in making it. If the player isn't sure what it's actually supposed to do besides being a relic, work together to provide suggestions, and if they suggest something too wacky and insane ("I want it to deal ten million dice of damage and instantly vaporize anyone not named Dave!" No.), be on hand to rein it in or explain why such a thing would be game-breaking or too many relic dots. If the Scion in question only has Industry, make sure to remind the player what things are and aren't possible with the boons provided; if they have CtE, there'll be much more flexibility in what it could potentially do and you may need to do more work to decide what its requirements and power levels are.
After you know what the player is trying to create, you could use the relic points system detailed in Companion starting on page 150 to determine how many dots the thing will end up being, which should in turn give you some idea of how difficult it will be for the Scion to produce it with Concept to Execution or Industry boons. If you don't like the Companion table or use different criteria for relic costs, roll with those instead, but you should have the basic tools needed to build your relic.
That's all we've really got for you, but hopefully it's somewhere to start, at least. Our advice past that point is to just make sure that the relic balances - either that it's in line with the relics already in the game for the other players, or that it represents enough of a significant investment of time, energy or both for the Scion building it that it's justified in being more powerful.
We're still working on our Industry and relics revamp, so we aren't ready to slap you with a magic formula for building relics, rocket-filled or otherwise. But we can do just some general advice for handling this specific request!
Start with stats for a normal, basic rocket launcher, the kind any mortal with the right government or mob connections might be able to get hold of. Scion: Companion lists stats for a bazooka on page 269 that might be useful for a quick template, or you can come up with your own idea of what kind of range and damage it ought to have.
Once you're armed with that, talk to the player about what they want the rocket launcher to be able to do outside of a normal, non-relic weapon's capabilities. Does the player want it to deal more damage or splash in a larger radius? Never run out of rockets? Provide any passive bonuses to anything? Grant increased effectiveness at other powers when using it? Whatever it is, your player needs to have a clear idea of what it's supposed to do before you can set the relic cost or determine the difficulty involved in making it. If the player isn't sure what it's actually supposed to do besides being a relic, work together to provide suggestions, and if they suggest something too wacky and insane ("I want it to deal ten million dice of damage and instantly vaporize anyone not named Dave!" No.), be on hand to rein it in or explain why such a thing would be game-breaking or too many relic dots. If the Scion in question only has Industry, make sure to remind the player what things are and aren't possible with the boons provided; if they have CtE, there'll be much more flexibility in what it could potentially do and you may need to do more work to decide what its requirements and power levels are.
After you know what the player is trying to create, you could use the relic points system detailed in Companion starting on page 150 to determine how many dots the thing will end up being, which should in turn give you some idea of how difficult it will be for the Scion to produce it with Concept to Execution or Industry boons. If you don't like the Companion table or use different criteria for relic costs, roll with those instead, but you should have the basic tools needed to build your relic.
That's all we've really got for you, but hopefully it's somewhere to start, at least. Our advice past that point is to just make sure that the relic balances - either that it's in line with the relics already in the game for the other players, or that it represents enough of a significant investment of time, energy or both for the Scion building it that it's justified in being more powerful.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Spot the Difference
Question: Zeus has, in a number of myths displayed an impressive command of shapeshifting, even going so far as to impregnate Danae in the form of a shower of gold. Do you think it would be too much of a stretch to give him Illusion as associated? And if not, what are the criteria you look for while giving out this particular association? Most other purviews are fairly self-explanatory, but Illusion has always been a purview I have not been able to properly ascertain the applicability of.
You're not alone. Illusion is probably the most difficult purview to assign to a god of all of them, which shouldn't be too surprising. It is, after all, a set of powers dedicated to looking like you're doing other things, which makes it difficult to notice it happening without a really great degree in Shenanigans Studies.
To get the easier question out of the way, no, we wouldn't consider Illusion for Zeus. He does do quite a bit of shapechanging, but that's the only thing he ever does that could be interpreted as an Illusion power, and it's something even a Legend 5 Scion could probably do with Dreamcraft and a decent roll. Combined with the total lack of illusionist, trickster or dream imagery associated with Zeus, it's just not enough to justify saying that he has the Avatar of the purview.
As for deciding when a god should have Illusion, however, there's no really clear answer and it's sometimes just exceptionally difficult to figure out. Some gods do have Illusion, but others are good at mundane disguises, using Magic spells creatively, messing around with their Appearance or just really great liars. There are a few good hallmarks we look for, but in the end sometimes we just have to make a judgment call and keep refining it if we come up with new stories or information.
Some gods are very easy to identify as masters of illusion; Manannan mac Lir is a good example of this, since he not only shapechanges but also does things like laying permanent veils of invisibility over people to separate them and conjuring up false images of a phantom fleet to confound his enemies. For those gods who aren't actively conjuring up visions, those who perform a lot of different transformations are often candidates, particularly if they transform into various different kinds of things instead of only animals or only different images of people (Loki's a good example of this kind of illusion usage). Gods who manipulate dreams or visions in others, like Morpheus, for example, are also possible candidates for Illusion since they specialize in creating and manipulating unreality. Gods who obscure reality in some way and are called upon to do so on behalf of others are also possible illusionists, which is the case for Marishiten, who was called upon to obscure the movements of armies and confuse their enemies.
But these are all just indicators; some gods that do those things really aren't suitable candidates for Illusion, while others that don't still end up with the purview (like Brahma, who is lord of creation in a world where all things created are illusions). It's also important to consider what the god is the patron deity of, what his character is as a god and whether or not those things affect his eligibility for the purview. We consider tricksters to be more "likely" candidates for Illusion than some other kinds of gods, since bending reality and creating diversions is part of their character as gods, and similarly we might consider gods who are known as dreamweavers or shapeshifters before others. Conversely, gods who do things that might be illusions but who have characters completely opposite the idea - Zeus, for example, who represents divine order and doesn't have a trickstery bone in his body, falls under this category - are poor candidates for gods who can embody The Trickster in times of need.
But, of course, every trickster does not have Illusion, and every god with Illusion is not a trickster. In the end, it's a judgment call based on stories and epithets and divine personality, like all the other purviews, but since the purview is about uncertainty, confusion and misdirection by nature, it's correspondingly harder to pinpoint than something straightforward like Fire or Guardian.
Basically, Illusion is more of a headache than most purviews. There's no quick and easy absolute, just a set of guidelines and possibilities to come to with an open mind.
You're not alone. Illusion is probably the most difficult purview to assign to a god of all of them, which shouldn't be too surprising. It is, after all, a set of powers dedicated to looking like you're doing other things, which makes it difficult to notice it happening without a really great degree in Shenanigans Studies.
To get the easier question out of the way, no, we wouldn't consider Illusion for Zeus. He does do quite a bit of shapechanging, but that's the only thing he ever does that could be interpreted as an Illusion power, and it's something even a Legend 5 Scion could probably do with Dreamcraft and a decent roll. Combined with the total lack of illusionist, trickster or dream imagery associated with Zeus, it's just not enough to justify saying that he has the Avatar of the purview.
As for deciding when a god should have Illusion, however, there's no really clear answer and it's sometimes just exceptionally difficult to figure out. Some gods do have Illusion, but others are good at mundane disguises, using Magic spells creatively, messing around with their Appearance or just really great liars. There are a few good hallmarks we look for, but in the end sometimes we just have to make a judgment call and keep refining it if we come up with new stories or information.
Some gods are very easy to identify as masters of illusion; Manannan mac Lir is a good example of this, since he not only shapechanges but also does things like laying permanent veils of invisibility over people to separate them and conjuring up false images of a phantom fleet to confound his enemies. For those gods who aren't actively conjuring up visions, those who perform a lot of different transformations are often candidates, particularly if they transform into various different kinds of things instead of only animals or only different images of people (Loki's a good example of this kind of illusion usage). Gods who manipulate dreams or visions in others, like Morpheus, for example, are also possible candidates for Illusion since they specialize in creating and manipulating unreality. Gods who obscure reality in some way and are called upon to do so on behalf of others are also possible illusionists, which is the case for Marishiten, who was called upon to obscure the movements of armies and confuse their enemies.
But these are all just indicators; some gods that do those things really aren't suitable candidates for Illusion, while others that don't still end up with the purview (like Brahma, who is lord of creation in a world where all things created are illusions). It's also important to consider what the god is the patron deity of, what his character is as a god and whether or not those things affect his eligibility for the purview. We consider tricksters to be more "likely" candidates for Illusion than some other kinds of gods, since bending reality and creating diversions is part of their character as gods, and similarly we might consider gods who are known as dreamweavers or shapeshifters before others. Conversely, gods who do things that might be illusions but who have characters completely opposite the idea - Zeus, for example, who represents divine order and doesn't have a trickstery bone in his body, falls under this category - are poor candidates for gods who can embody The Trickster in times of need.
But, of course, every trickster does not have Illusion, and every god with Illusion is not a trickster. In the end, it's a judgment call based on stories and epithets and divine personality, like all the other purviews, but since the purview is about uncertainty, confusion and misdirection by nature, it's correspondingly harder to pinpoint than something straightforward like Fire or Guardian.
Basically, Illusion is more of a headache than most purviews. There's no quick and easy absolute, just a set of guidelines and possibilities to come to with an open mind.
Sticky Fingers
Question: Can you have a high Larceny score without having any kind of criminal record?
Yes, absolutely!
Larceny can be used in a lot of different ways for a lot of different purposes. The skill represents your understanding and skill when trying to crack safes, get through security systems, pick locks and case buildings and so on. Criminals often have Larceny, it's true, but so do those who fight them; a specialist in security, for example, must have a lot of Larceny in order to design things that can stop opportunistic criminals from trying to get past them, and most law enforcement officers and intelligence gatherers need a good amount of Larceny in order to go about their jobs. Magicians and other street performers who make a career out of escaping handcuffs or locked chests also probably have high Larceny scores. These are all career options that might lead to high Larceny scores with no criminal behavior that would end up on your record whatsoever.
It's also possible to be a criminal with lots of Larceny and just never have been caught. If you're so awesome at your burglaries or other shenanigans that police never catch you, then naturally you'll have no pre-existing criminal record. Granted, that's very difficult to do with modern forensics and information on the job, but if anyone can do it, it's a Scion-in-waiting. Things only go on your record if you get caught - and even then, if you happen to have parents or friends in high places, you might even get away with no criminal record even if you did get caught, if you've got enough hush-money or crooked friends to help you out.
It'll depend on what your character has done in her backstory and what she is and represents as a person, but there are plenty of ways to have a high Larceny score without having done hard time. Be creative and don't be afraid to ask the Storyteller for help if you're stumped on how to express your skills in your backstory.
Yes, absolutely!
Larceny can be used in a lot of different ways for a lot of different purposes. The skill represents your understanding and skill when trying to crack safes, get through security systems, pick locks and case buildings and so on. Criminals often have Larceny, it's true, but so do those who fight them; a specialist in security, for example, must have a lot of Larceny in order to design things that can stop opportunistic criminals from trying to get past them, and most law enforcement officers and intelligence gatherers need a good amount of Larceny in order to go about their jobs. Magicians and other street performers who make a career out of escaping handcuffs or locked chests also probably have high Larceny scores. These are all career options that might lead to high Larceny scores with no criminal behavior that would end up on your record whatsoever.
It's also possible to be a criminal with lots of Larceny and just never have been caught. If you're so awesome at your burglaries or other shenanigans that police never catch you, then naturally you'll have no pre-existing criminal record. Granted, that's very difficult to do with modern forensics and information on the job, but if anyone can do it, it's a Scion-in-waiting. Things only go on your record if you get caught - and even then, if you happen to have parents or friends in high places, you might even get away with no criminal record even if you did get caught, if you've got enough hush-money or crooked friends to help you out.
It'll depend on what your character has done in her backstory and what she is and represents as a person, but there are plenty of ways to have a high Larceny score without having done hard time. Be creative and don't be afraid to ask the Storyteller for help if you're stumped on how to express your skills in your backstory.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Next Celtic Pantheon, Please!
Question: Do you have any plans for doing a Welsh pantheon?
Actually, yes, someday! There's a long list of pantheons that we'd love to see add their gods to the Scion community, and the Welsh is one of them. If you'll look over to the right, you'll see that the Welsh pantheon is one of the options on the poll we're maintaining to decide what the next pantheon we work on will be, and though they're not in the lead, they're definitely making a strong showing.
The list on the poll is usually a pretty good indication of what pantheons we're interested in working on, but there are always some more and our excitement often changes as we read about a particular pantheon and get all enthusiastic about it. Today, I'm jonesing to work on the Inuit, Finnish or Hittite (hey, I can dream!) pantheons, but tomorrow, who knows?
Hey, let's take this opportunity to talk about pantheons that aren't in the game yet! We usually put up the pantheons we're considering adding on the poll, but which ones are you guys most interested in seeing? Are there any missing from the list that you just can't live without?
Actually, yes, someday! There's a long list of pantheons that we'd love to see add their gods to the Scion community, and the Welsh is one of them. If you'll look over to the right, you'll see that the Welsh pantheon is one of the options on the poll we're maintaining to decide what the next pantheon we work on will be, and though they're not in the lead, they're definitely making a strong showing.
The list on the poll is usually a pretty good indication of what pantheons we're interested in working on, but there are always some more and our excitement often changes as we read about a particular pantheon and get all enthusiastic about it. Today, I'm jonesing to work on the Inuit, Finnish or Hittite (hey, I can dream!) pantheons, but tomorrow, who knows?
Hey, let's take this opportunity to talk about pantheons that aren't in the game yet! We usually put up the pantheons we're considering adding on the poll, but which ones are you guys most interested in seeing? Are there any missing from the list that you just can't live without?
Mortal and Magical
Question: What's your opinion of historical figures who were deified or hailed as children of gods? Were the pharaohs all Scions? Alexander a son of Zeus/Amun, Antinous a son of Dionysus/Osiris? Or all just mortals caught up in the politics of ancient religion?
This question is like a perennial flower - it keeps blooming over and over as time goes by. Here's a handy link to the last time we talked about it!
Short answer: whatever you want, really. Probably most of them weren't actually gods or Scions, but any one you want to be could be, and those who aren't are probably just mortals using the idea of deification for their own ends.
This question is like a perennial flower - it keeps blooming over and over as time goes by. Here's a handy link to the last time we talked about it!
Short answer: whatever you want, really. Probably most of them weren't actually gods or Scions, but any one you want to be could be, and those who aren't are probably just mortals using the idea of deification for their own ends.
Horus of the Ages
Question: What is the difference between Horus the Elder and Horus the Younger? Is it another case of religious beliefs changing over time?
Indeed it is, but, as with most Egyptian religious evolutions, it's long and complicated and full of neat little developments.
Horus the Elder is so called because he's both an older god - one of the oldest in Egyptian mythology, in fact - and because he's of an older generation than his younger counterpart. While we're used to the neat symmetry of couples in Egyptian mythological genealogy, Horus the Elder was originally one of the youngest generation of the Ennead, a sibling of Isis, Osiris, Nephthys and Set. This Horus is the one who is the more primordial, powerfully cosmic deity; he is the representative of the sky and firmament, which are contained in his great wingspan and fill with air from the wind of his wingbeats, and the speckles of his feathers are stars while his eyes are the sun and the moon. His conflict with Set is one of warring brothers, representing opposing forces such as the day sky against the sky of the night, or the god of air against the god of storms. The two of them also represent upper and lower Egypt, and they are often shown eventually reconciling and uniting the kingdom between them. Because he's a cosmic and powerful figure, on par with his brothers Osiris and Set, he was often associated with the oldest gods of the pantheon, particularly Hathor (sometimes said to be either his mother or wife) or Ra, with whom he was syncretized as the sun in the sky.
So Horus the Elder is a really fucking big deal, and his cults were no joke. Horus the Younger is also a big deal, but for different reasons; he's the royal son of Isis and Osiris, the heir to the united halves of Egypt and a god of war, cleverness and rulership. This version of Horus, when not out doing king things, is actually often represented as an infant or child, linking him as the heir of Osiris and Isis and emphasizing his youth when compared to his parents' generation. He was the special patron of the pharaohs and the power that ensured their victory in war, and his conflicts with Set are not the symbolic and representative variety of the elder Horus but direct struggles with his uncle for the throne of the gods and the disposition of the kingdoms. He, too, represents the kingdom of Upper Egypt as opposed to Set as Lower Egypt, but their fight does not end in reconciliation and balance but in the triumph of Horus over his enemy and unification through conquest. It's likely that Horus the Younger was originally another god entirely, but that he was syncretized with Horus the Elder over time until that original god's name was forgotten.
Translating hieroglyphs is always a journey, even now, but there's some linguistic evidence that originally even their names were different. Horus the Elder was actually named something similar to "Harwer", while Horus the Younger might have been closer to "Harsiese". Over the many centuries of the Egyptian religion, Horus the Younger slowly absorbed the attributes and stories of Horus the Elder until they were no longer unentanglable in most cases, and Horus the Elder became a faded and outdated cult figure with little presence of his own. By the New Kingdom, there was effectively only one important Horus, and he's the one we all know about - Horus the Younger, son of Osiris and heir of the Ennead, wearing the moon and sun eyes of his older and largely forgotten forbear.
For Scion, this gives us the usual Egyptian god conundrum: is there one Horus or two, and how much of his syncretization should be used when deciding what these gods are like and what they do? Are there two Horuses, one older, more powerful and remote, and the other younger and wily, ruling the pantheon? Is there only one, and has he changed over time or are these merely two cults with differing opinions on what Horus is all about? You can see from our current page on him that we're running Horus the Younger as having some of the associations of his older iteration, but whether or not that means there was only one of him or that the younger one just happened to become Fatebound to some of the elder's qualities remains to be seen.
Personally, I really like the idea of an old, crusty Horus the Elder hanging out somewhere, grousing with his brothers about kids these days and their uppity ideas about the sky and the sun.
Indeed it is, but, as with most Egyptian religious evolutions, it's long and complicated and full of neat little developments.
Horus the Elder is so called because he's both an older god - one of the oldest in Egyptian mythology, in fact - and because he's of an older generation than his younger counterpart. While we're used to the neat symmetry of couples in Egyptian mythological genealogy, Horus the Elder was originally one of the youngest generation of the Ennead, a sibling of Isis, Osiris, Nephthys and Set. This Horus is the one who is the more primordial, powerfully cosmic deity; he is the representative of the sky and firmament, which are contained in his great wingspan and fill with air from the wind of his wingbeats, and the speckles of his feathers are stars while his eyes are the sun and the moon. His conflict with Set is one of warring brothers, representing opposing forces such as the day sky against the sky of the night, or the god of air against the god of storms. The two of them also represent upper and lower Egypt, and they are often shown eventually reconciling and uniting the kingdom between them. Because he's a cosmic and powerful figure, on par with his brothers Osiris and Set, he was often associated with the oldest gods of the pantheon, particularly Hathor (sometimes said to be either his mother or wife) or Ra, with whom he was syncretized as the sun in the sky.
So Horus the Elder is a really fucking big deal, and his cults were no joke. Horus the Younger is also a big deal, but for different reasons; he's the royal son of Isis and Osiris, the heir to the united halves of Egypt and a god of war, cleverness and rulership. This version of Horus, when not out doing king things, is actually often represented as an infant or child, linking him as the heir of Osiris and Isis and emphasizing his youth when compared to his parents' generation. He was the special patron of the pharaohs and the power that ensured their victory in war, and his conflicts with Set are not the symbolic and representative variety of the elder Horus but direct struggles with his uncle for the throne of the gods and the disposition of the kingdoms. He, too, represents the kingdom of Upper Egypt as opposed to Set as Lower Egypt, but their fight does not end in reconciliation and balance but in the triumph of Horus over his enemy and unification through conquest. It's likely that Horus the Younger was originally another god entirely, but that he was syncretized with Horus the Elder over time until that original god's name was forgotten.
Translating hieroglyphs is always a journey, even now, but there's some linguistic evidence that originally even their names were different. Horus the Elder was actually named something similar to "Harwer", while Horus the Younger might have been closer to "Harsiese". Over the many centuries of the Egyptian religion, Horus the Younger slowly absorbed the attributes and stories of Horus the Elder until they were no longer unentanglable in most cases, and Horus the Elder became a faded and outdated cult figure with little presence of his own. By the New Kingdom, there was effectively only one important Horus, and he's the one we all know about - Horus the Younger, son of Osiris and heir of the Ennead, wearing the moon and sun eyes of his older and largely forgotten forbear.
For Scion, this gives us the usual Egyptian god conundrum: is there one Horus or two, and how much of his syncretization should be used when deciding what these gods are like and what they do? Are there two Horuses, one older, more powerful and remote, and the other younger and wily, ruling the pantheon? Is there only one, and has he changed over time or are these merely two cults with differing opinions on what Horus is all about? You can see from our current page on him that we're running Horus the Younger as having some of the associations of his older iteration, but whether or not that means there was only one of him or that the younger one just happened to become Fatebound to some of the elder's qualities remains to be seen.
Personally, I really like the idea of an old, crusty Horus the Elder hanging out somewhere, grousing with his brothers about kids these days and their uppity ideas about the sky and the sun.
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