Scion: Ragnarok

Game Master DM Ragnarok

Brothers will fight together
And become each other’s bane;
Sisters’ children
Their sib shall spoil.
Hard is the world,
Sensual sins grow huge.
There are ax-ages, sword-ages—
Shields are cleft in twain,—
There are wind-ages, wolf-ages,
Ere the world falls dead.

Gods are real. Zeus, Ra, Amateratsu and more besides. They fought their parents, the Titans; primordial forces that the Gods of every pantheon were born of. The Gods, in their youth, full of the power gained from the worship of mankind, overthrew their parents, imprisoning them in Tartarus.

Ages of the world have passed. The Dodekatheon, the Pesedjet, the Loa, the Azlanti and the Amatsukami are all great, in their own ways.

But the Aesir are the only ones that know the truth.

Loud blows Heimdal
His uplifted horn.
Odin speaks
With Mimer’s head.
The straight-standing ash
Ygdrasil quivers,
The old tree groans,
And the giant gets loose.

The sun grows dark,
The earth sinks into the sea,
The bright stars
From heaven vanish;
Fire rages,
Heat blazes,
And high flames play
’Gainst heaven itself

Odin crafted the world from the bones of Ymir, and the All-Father, indeed, all of Asgard, has known for millenia; their deaths will come. They have done all they can. They have forestalled the end of days through efforts that tired even the greatest of the Gods...

But they can forestall no longer.

Ragnarok comes. You, their children, are the newest warriors in what will be the most glorious battle ever fought...and perhaps the only chance for even a fraction of humanity to be saved.

SO!
This is my way of saying I'd like to run a Scion game. We will be using the Scion ruleset. If people don't have the books I can provide them via Dropbox.

In brief, you play the children of deities (and mortals; you have only one parent that is a deity). You start as heroes, fighting the dark Titans, and may eventually become Demigods and Gods.

I will only be accepting characters from the Norse pantheon. I am looking for between four to six players.

The Untouchable Opponent knack will not be used in the game.

Epic Perception will add bonus damage to firearms attacks the same way Epic Strength adds bonus damage to melee attacks.

Players will start with their Legend ratings at rank 3; the beginning of Ragnarok is a long prophesied time steeped in myth and legend.

I believe that's it on house rules.

Your characters will begin the game having already received their Visitations. We will play those out in a Prologue, so don't go over how you got your Relics or anything; that will happen in play.

Let me know if anyone has any questions! Recruitment will be open until I have enough characters that I like to run a game.

Finally, a Scion game :-)

I'm very interested. Would love to play a Scion of Odin.

... am I disqualified because I wrote part of the adventure?

Oh hell yes.

I've never thought that pre-knowledge of an Adventure Path should prevent someone from playing on through. If you'd like to play in it I shouldn't mind that at all. In fact, if you have any suggestions for the Campaign (because I feel like there's not really quite enough meat to get from Hero to Demigod to God without additional material, though I have several ideas for that already), I wouldn't mind hearing it!

I must have posted at just the right time too; pretty sure that's the fastest I've had people jump on in! :) Hooray fellow insomniacs!

Currently vacillating between scion of Thor or Heimdall.

I don’t have the books but definitely interested

I'll get the books up shortly.

Leaning toward Tyr or Ullr. Either someone in law enforcement (Tyr) or someone who is a serious biathlon competitor (Ullr).

I'll get the books up shortly.

Thank you.

Ullr would be interesting, he doesn't get a whole lot of "screen time" these days.

Dot.

While our Scion PCs come from the Norse Gods, their human parentage is not limited to Vikings, right?

I am looking at Japanese hedge fund manager Dagon Kira who happens to be one of Odin's many offspring. Like his divine father, he makes it his business to predict trends and to profit by them. His Japanese mother on the other hand instilled in him a desire for calm and serenity so far removed from the blood-soaked battlefields Dagon often walk in his dreams.

Like Odin, Dagon has only one eye, losing it early in childhood, when he was diagnosed with cancer in that orb. Growing up with one eye has given Dagon a different view of the world.

Oooh. I would love to dust off my son of Tyr detective. I've only ever tried Scion once, and it didn't get very far, but I love the game.

If Jesse Heinig is going to put in a Tyr lawman I may submit something else though. Maybe a child of Baldur

Consider me interested.

I’m interested, though I’ll also need access to the books.

Radavel- your Scions may have any mortal parentage you wish.

Oh- I will be using the optional rule to allow Jotunblut to work on animals as long as you have Boons in the Animal Purview. Jotunblut will only work on the same animal type as you have Boons for.

I will also offer a suggestion as a DM; the Prophecy and Magic purviews play a large role in this campaign. Having a character or two with dots in one or the other would not be a bad idea.

I've never played Scion, but it sure sounds interesting! Once I'm able to look into things, I'd definitely be interested in trying to get something together.

One last rule (sorry, keep remembering things); you may not buy Legend that would move you up to the next tier of power (Demigod/God) until I make it clear that you may do so. Those will be tied to story milestones, and you will be required to spend the Experience Points to level up. If you do not have the requisite points, you will go into "debt"; you may not spend more Experience Points until you have paid off what was necessary to get to the next tier.

@Joseph Stoltz- if you need books, PM me.

How do legend points work? I can’t seem to find them in the rulebook

You have a number of Legend points equal to your Legend score squared. You may use them to fuel powers or reroll failed rolls.

Legend Score also acts as sort of a cap on your powers. You may only have Epic Attrivutes or Boons at a maximum score of your Legend Score minus one,

All characters begin with Legend 3. You may spend seven Bonus Points during character creation to level that up to 4.

Interested!

I am a long time scion fan. Will have a hero ready soon.

Scion companion is okay, right?

I'm thinking a Scion of Heimdall. Starting XP?

Companion is just fine, as is material from Yazata if need be.

Starting XP is none. You will be receiving your Visitations as part of a prologue, so you're all fresh Scions; simply create Heroes as laid out in the Hero book. I do want a background for what your mortal life has been like, some instances of flashes of your godly power, and an idea of your character concept; one of the core tenets of the game is that the abilities on your sheet are, to a great degree, who you are...especially once we get to Demigod and God level. If your Epic Strength and Sky purviews are maxed out you will end up being a God of Strength and Storm...and, to an extent, I expect to see that reflected in your character. Solid, strong and stalwart, but perhaps with a temper that, when let loose, scours all before it until it is spent and calm once more.

Heimdall is rad :)

Okay. I have Dustin Reinhard ready to go. Included Appearance, Personality, Background and Statistics. The only real bit of divine power I have hinted at in the background is his history as a football star (And The Crowd Goes Wild knack) and having scars that didn't really mess up his appearance at all (Self-healing/Regeneration knacks).

Conceptually he's a bruiser, meant to be the physical backbone of a Band. As he gains in power I expect him to have competency in the Sky purview (and a few powers from Guardian eventually). But the character will be much more focused on Epic Attributes than Boons.

Looks like everything is in order, Dode.

I'm traveling this weekend and may not be able to have something ready until I'm back on Monday.

@Jesse- depending on what you're thinking I was toying with the idea of our characters having known each other as college athletes.

Take your time sir. Several people still have to learn the system after all :)

Also interested and would also need the books :-)

Damn. I was going to go as a scion of heimdall as well. Should i switch to tyr?

Here’s another who was thinking Heimdall or Tyr, lol. It’s goin bad there’s no Norse equivalent of Hephaestus available. I’ve always liked the “lame smith” trope.

@Ouachitonian- Wayland the Smith
Mythology more commonly identifies Wayland the Smith by his birth name, Volund. The youngest of three sons born to a Finnish king and an unidentified woman, Volund and his brothers Slagfinn and Egil were spirited away from Finland in early childhood and grew up unaware of their true parentage. That ignorance remains today. None of the three sons ever even learned the names of their parents, and while they were clearly Scions from an early age, no God or Goddess of the Aesir has ever come forward to claim them as offspring. For his own part, Volund has always suspected that his true father was either Hephaestus or the Forge God’s own Scion, Daedalus. Like Hephaestus, Volund was crippled for most of his life. Like Daedalus, Volund escaped a cruel captivity through the use of homemade wings.

Despite the mystery of their parentage, Volund and his brothers all bore signs of divinity. Each of the brothers was at one point married to a valkyrie until the three brides were recalled to Valhalla. Slagfinn and Egil left on an epic search for their missing brides, leaving Volund behind in case they should return. While Slagfinn disappeared from history, Egil became one of the World’s foremost archers, laying the foundation for the story of William Tell. In the meantime, Volund was captured by the evil King Nidung, who had Volund’s hamstrings severed and then imprisoned him on an island. By this point, Volund had already established himself as one of the preeminent smiths in the World, and Nidung wanted Volund to fashion magical wonders for himself and his family.

Eventually, with Egil’s help, Volund fashioned a set of wings and escaped his imprisonment after impregnating Nidung’s daughter with a Scion of his own. After leaving Nidung’s court, Volund made his way to the domain of the realm of the dwarf king Alfrig. Changing his name to Wayland to conceal his recent history, the Scion amazed the dwarves with his mastery of the smith, and he gained many friends and allies among them. His reputation spread to Asgard, and soon, Wayland the Smith worked his magic for the Aesir. Among other wonders provided for the Norse Gods, Wayland forged the great sword Gram, which Sigurd carried into battle against Fafnir.

Although fully a God and at least nominally an Aesir, Wayland continued to view himself as a human first and foremost. The mystery of his parentage kept him from being fully accepted by the Aesir and also made sure that the Smith God would remain ambivalent about the Gods even as he toiled on their behalf.

Associated Epic Attributes- Epic Stamina, Epic Intelligence, Epic Wits
Associated Purviews- Earth, Fire
Associated Abilities- Academics, Art, Craft, Melee, Occult, Science

I'm interested as well. As the boards know, I love playing godlings.

Since I've attracted a good amount of interest, I'm going to set the cutoff for submission on Wednesday the 8th.

@Ouachitonian- Wayland the Smith

Mythology more commonly identifies Wayland the Smith by his birth name, Volund. The youngest of three sons born to a Finnish king and an unidentified woman, Volund and his brothers Slagfinn and Egil were spirited away from Finland in early childhood and grew up unaware of their true parentage. That ignorance remains today. None of the three sons ever even learned the names of their parents, and while they were clearly Scions from an early age, no God or Goddess of the Aesir has ever come forward to claim them as offspring. For his own part, Volund has always suspected that his true father was either Hephaestus or the Forge God’s own Scion, Daedalus. Like Hephaestus, Volund was crippled for most of his life. Like Daedalus, Volund escaped a cruel captivity through the use of homemade wings.

Despite the mystery of their parentage, Volund and his brothers all bore signs of divinity. Each of the brothers was at one point married to a valkyrie until the three brides were recalled to Valhalla. Slagfinn and Egil left on an epic search for their missing brides, leaving Volund behind in case they should return. While Slagfinn disappeared from history, Egil became one of the World’s foremost archers, laying the foundation for the story of William Tell. In the meantime, Volund was captured by the evil King Nidung, who had Volund’s hamstrings severed and then imprisoned him on an island. By this point, Volund had already established himself as one of the preeminent smiths in the World, and Nidung wanted Volund to fashion magical wonders for himself and his family.

Eventually, with Egil’s help, Volund fashioned a set of wings and escaped his imprisonment after impregnating Nidung’s daughter with a Scion of his own. After leaving Nidung’s court, Volund made his way to the domain of the realm of the dwarf king Alfrig. Changing his name to Wayland to conceal his recent history, the Scion amazed the dwarves with his mastery of the smith, and he gained many friends and allies among them....

I’ve only read through Hero so far, which book is that from? I know of Weyland from RL myth, of course, but since he wasn’t one of the Aesir presented in Hero, I didn’t think about him for this.

The (somewhat complete) stat block is listed in the God book (I think page 347? Something like that). It does not list associated abilities/epic attributes but I extrapolated what I think would be a fair list. If you like it feel free to use it :)

Ah. Starts on page 262 of God.

One rules question. Looking at animals and I see that some have both a Creature cost and a Relic cost.

Creature cost I understand.

What is Relic cost? It sort of looks like for the Relic cost I have a means of summoning the creature. But that seems INSANELY cost effective. 4 pts to have it as a creature, 1 point to be able to summon it. Admittedly the latter costs a Legend point but even so ...

They would be separate.

The creature itself would be (for example) a 4 Dot Creature. The ability to summon it would be a 1 dot Relic costing, as you said, one point of Legend.

Creatures are cool in the beginning but don't scale well. Taking the Animal Purview and Jotunblut can mitigate that substantially though.

Ok, I'll go with Ullr, to free up Tyr for someone else.

Rad! Get some froooooooost.

Yup. (Wrote that too.)

How do you regenerate legend?

There are several ways.

The most common is by performing a stunt; simply put, that's describing your actions in a particularly evocative way and having some interaction with the world/environment as a part of your action.

For doing so, I as the storyteller will award you bonus die. If it is a 2 or 3 die stunt, instead of gaining bonus die, you may instead regain Legend equal to the bonus die.

Your character also has certain Virtues. If you perform actions that resonate with your Virtues strongly, such as being notably courageous (if you have the Courage virtue), you may regain Legend.

Also, whenever we begin a new Story (basically whenever I decide we're moving into a new arc), your Legend pool is completely refilled.

Companion is just fine, as is material from Yazata if need be.

Starting XP is none. You will be receiving your Visitations as part of a prologue, so you're all fresh Scions; simply create Heroes as laid out in the Hero book. I do want a background for what your mortal life has been like, some instances of flashes of your godly power, and an idea of your character concept; one of the core tenets of the game is that the abilities on your sheet are, to a great degree, who you are...especially once we get to Demigod and God level. If your Epic Strength and Sky purviews are maxed out you will end up being a God of Strength and Storm...and, to an extent, I expect to see that reflected in your character. Solid, strong and stalwart, but perhaps with a temper that, when let loose, scours all before it until it is spent and calm once more.

Heimdall is rad :)

Yay! Yeah I like him. Okay so I asked about starting xp cause we were starting at legend 3 instead of 2, so I was curious.

GM, I read in page 47 of Scion: Ragnarok that you can use the loss of eye or a limb as a relic. Are you allowing this optional rule?

I am fine with you using Maiming to channel a Purview instead of having a Relic. However, that passage specifically calls out that Fate expects offerings that are symbolic and original. Odin already gave up his eye for knowledge; Tyr already lost his hand for justice.

That said, if you have an idea, I'm all for it!