Showing posts with label Sun Chariot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sun Chariot. Show all posts

Friday, May 10, 2013

Fast Cars

Question: Regarding the Chariot Boons: Can a Scion stunt them as something other than chariots? An Egyptian Scion especially seems more likely to use a solar barque, not a chariot. Or something decidedly more modern, like a lunar limo? Also, could Water have a n equivalent Water Chariot Boon?

Yes to the first part, no to the second!

Scions can absolutely use their Sun Chariot or Moon Chariot boons to create vehicles other than the classic two-wheeled contraptions! While the idea of the sun or moon god rolling across the sky in a vehicle of some kind is widespread in various mythologies, it's not always the classical Greco-Roman chariot. Gods like Resheph, Surya, Chandra, Helios, Selene, Apollo and Artemis use chariots, but Ra shepherds the sun on his solar barque, Belenos and the Dagda are most often shown with a giant solar wheel and Dagr and Nott directly ride the horses of day and night. Chariots are the most common form of solar and lunar transportation in Indo-European myth, but they're only the majority, not the rule, and a Scion who hails from another culture or simply wants her moon ride to be that much more awesome can decide on any appropriate vehicle she chooses.

It's worth noting that cultures outside of Europe do the sun-chariot thing much more rarely; Mesoamerican myths almost always involve a god directly carrying the sun on his back or arms while running across the sky, while Asian myths often claim the sun moves on its own, usually out of fear of a sun god who keeps it in line. These are also totally valid sun-god archetypes, but they're a little harder to make tick with the Sun Chariot boon; our advice is to let a Scion stunt whatever makes sense for them as long as they don't start bending the rules of what the boon can actually mechanically do, and don't ruin anyone's fun if they want to go against type a little by starting a new vehicular trend or being very creative about what a "vehicle" really constitutes.

Actually, of our major solar and lunar PC gods, neither has chosen to use the classical chariot. Sowiljr's vehicle of choice is a massive Viking longboat made of golden light, rocking grimacing bear-heads to ornament its prow, and Zwazo Fou Fou's lunar conveyance was a shimmering silvery fanboat straight from the bayous of his youth. We look forward to more celestial characters getting powerful enough to pimp their own rides; it's a fantastic place for a Scion to really customize his own image.

As for the possibility of some kind of Water Chariot, however, that answer is no. While solar and lunar chariots are a major theme that stretches across many mythologies, there's no corresponding proliferation of watery chariots in the same way. We could easily name ten to twenty solar or lunar gods rocking out some form of the chariot, but water vehicles are nowhere near as common, and furthermore the few that are out there aren't tied to a major concept in their purview the same way. Sun and Moon get chariots because the sun or moon god needing to physically carry the celestial lights across the sky is a major mythological theme; Water isn't doing anything similar, and instead has boons tailored to what it does and represents in various mythologies.

You may be thinking of Poseidon and the other Greek sea-deities, and they do indeed have badass chariots, but you should also remember that every god in Greek mythology has their own chariot, pretty much, and it's more likely that they're relic vehicles and status symbols than that every god has some weird custom boon for charioteering. Poseidon's just happens to be suited for the ocean because that's where he does most of his hanging out.

However, if you really want an awesome watery chariot and don't have any Birthrights points to spare, you could totally shape normal waves into the image of a chariot or other vehicle using Water Mastery or similar boons; as long as you keep it rolling around with you, you can get the effect of a water chariot with no need for an extra boon. Plus, you'll be able to unform and reshape it into anything you want with the wave of your hand - let's see the celestial gods try that!