Chase O'Connor's page

Appearance:
Normally, Chase looks like a handsome young man of seventeen years. His hair is blonde and wavy, and he wears it long though he usually ties it behind his head in a ponytail. His eyes are pale blue and his features are very soft even for his age, despite his ever present tan. He is about 5’10’’ and rather lean and wiry, though he is doing his best to gain muscle.
When he switches to his more hideous form, Chase is still recognizably himself--at least, he is himself if he had drown. His skin takes on a slightly bluish sheen with great swatches of red and purple snaking their way up and down his extremities. His eyes milk over and his lips and eyelids turn bruise violet, and his hair seems to take on a life of its own as if he is partially suspended in water.

Personality:
Chase is rather shy and standoffish--his home life has caused him to adopt a starting stance of general dishonesty with most people he meets. When left to his own devices Chase’s thoughts tend to wander and he finds himself daydreaming--it can take a lot to get him back to reality, whatever that may be. Chase is rather blase about danger--he and his friends from school all had a reputation for egging each other on into doing stupider and stupider stunts, of which Chase was the most accomplished.

Backstory:
Chase’s mortal father was an Australian sailor and volunteer in the Coastal Patrol. Before Chase was born, while responding to an emergency call, he disappeared. His ship and its crew returned with the men that he had helped rescued and it was reported that he had been lost at sea.

In truth, Chase’s father had drowned at sea attempting during the rescue--but he had caught the eye of Ran, the giantess goddess of the ocean. She allowed him to spend a night in her chambers before dutifully giving his soul to the valkyrie that sought to claim him because of his heroic act. Her child by the union was Chase, who Ran left at an Adoption Services office in Brisbane. He was dutifully adopted by a religious family, the O’Bannons, who took him to their home in a small suburb of Brisbane. They decided not to tell Chase that he was adopted, judging that it would be best if he thought they were his real parents.

Though they never physically hurt him, Chase’s adopted family was intensely emotionally abusive. They were both devout Christians and as Chase grew his interests increasingly bothered them--he was more interested in drawing and daydreaming than religion and sports. The only hobby that he had that his parents tolerated was his surfing--though only barely, as his father felt that it was the sport of layabouts and good-for-nothings. Chase could spend the whole day on the water though, and as he grew older he did so more and more, increasingly cutting class to do so, which would send his parents into a rage. Eventually, his father forbid him from going to the beach, and insisted that Chase spend his afternoons at his auto repair shop. Chase did his best to get out of having to do this whenever he could--he had a knack for disappearing whenever he needed to, as it turned out.

And that was not the end of Chase’s home troubles. As he grew older he started to realize that he was gay--but he was smart enough to know not to tell his parents, since his father often complained of homosexuals ruining the country. His parents suspected that it was a possibility, however, and often warned him of the dangers--and when they found some of the drawings in his sketchbook they ransacked his ruin and forbid him from buying anymore paper--a rule he did his best to circumvent whenever possible, of course.

His whole life, Chase has been haunted by dreams--of beautiful women beneath the waves, of monsters made of fire and hatred, of ghostly hands smothering him in his bed--and as he got older these dreams seemed to start leaking into real life. His music teacher had blue skin and left a trail of water wherever she walked that no one seemed to notice. Little creatures made of mud were living under his neighbor’s garden. And the graveyard he walked by on the way home from school was increasingly populated with ghosts that he did his absolute best to ignore despite their best efforts to get his attention. The only time that he told anyone was once, when he told a boy who he thought was his friend. The boy told his parents, who told Chase’s parents--they nearly sent him to a psychiatric hospital until he was able to convince them that it had all been a lie, which still earned him a verbal thrashing that left him emotionally devastated.

But Chase’s greatest dream has been to escape. To escape his parents, to get as far away from them as he possibly could. He dreamed of going to the States and becoming a movie star--they seemed to love their Australians in Hollywood and in California he was sure he’d never meet someone who hated him for being gay ever again. As his eighteenth birthday approaches, Chase is almost ready to put his into action. He’s saved up a bit of money and has looked into contacts that could him to the States with relative ease--he’s ready to go, and trying his best to ignore the fact that his dreams continue to grow stronger every night.

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Basics
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Chase O’Bannon, Scion of Ran
Calling: Tragedy-Haunted Surfer
Nature: Bravo
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Attributes
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Strength (3), Dexterity (4,3), Stamina (2)
Charisma (2), Manipulation (4,2), Appearance (5,2)
Perception (2), Intelligence (2), Wits (3)
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Abilities
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Academics
Animal Ken
Art (Drawing) ***
Athletics ***
Awareness *
Brawl ***
Command
Control
Craft (Automotive) ***
Empathy ***
Fortitude
Integrity
Investigation
Larceny ***
Marksmanship
Medicine
Melee ***
Occult
Politics
Presence ***
Science
Stealth ***
Survival
Thrown **
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Birthrights
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Relic (*) - Moonstone (Purview: Illusion)
Relic (**) - Ran’s Net (Purviews: Animal (Seabirds), Water)
Relic (**) - Queen Anne’s Revenge (Hasta, +1 Speed, +1L Damage)
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Boons
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The Stolen Face (Illusion **)
Animal Communication (Animal (Seabirds) *)
Water Control (Water **)
Epic Dexterity (***)
Epic Manipulation (**)
Epic Appearance (**)
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Knacks
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Lightning Sprinter
Fast as Thought
Roll With It
Serpent’s Gaze
Visage Great And Terrible
Overt Order
Instant Hypnosis
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Virtues
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Couragen ****
Endurance *
Expression ***
Loyalty *
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Misc
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Legend: 4
Willpower: 7
Legend points: 16
Bonus points: 7 Legend, 8 Boons

ANIMAL COMMUNICATION
(ANIMAL •)
Dice Pool: Intelligence + Animal Ken
Cost: None
The Scion can understand and make himself
understood by an animal as he speaks his native language
and the animal responds with its own postures, scents
and/or vocalizations. This Boon doesn’t make animals
smart, calm or loyal, but most are curious enough about
having a person address them that they’ll hear a Scion out
before defaulting to aggression, panic or indifference.

WATER CONTROL (WATER ••)
Dice Pool: Dexterity + Craft
Cost: 1 Legend
149
For a number of actions equal to the successes on
the activation roll, the Scion can exert limited physical
control of any water that is touching her. She can remotely
manipulate a hand-held object she can see in the water with
her full dice pool, although she can take no other physical
actions at the same time. She can stiffen the water beneath
her feet in order to walk on its surface. She can even have
the water push her along from all sides, allowing her to
take a full Move action while swimming, rather than half
(see p. 180 in Chapter Six). Alternatively, moving through
the water thus could increase her Dodge DV by an amount
equal to her Legend as long as she does nothing but dodge
incoming attacks. The Boon also allows such random
tricks as having the Scion instantly dry off by flinging all
water off her body or creating a water bridge so an aquatic
creature can swim from one container to another.
This Boon works only on liquid water, and a Scion can
affect five cubic yards of water at a time per dot of Legend
he has. (If she’s walking on water, she can affect one 30’ x
15’ rectangle on the surface per dot of Legend she has. The
affected area supports only her and anything she can carry
unaided.) Her command is not such, however, that she
can use water to restrain or inflict direct physical damage
against an opponent with a liquid shape of her creation.

Stolen Face (illusion ••)
Dice Pool: Manipulation + Presence
Cost: 1 Willpower + 1 Legend
Tricksters in myth often take on someone else’s
appearance, generally to further a special plot or to bring
humiliation to a rival. This Boon makes such a disguise
supernaturally believable. The trickster simply dons a
cursory disguise—a piece of clothing, a fake wig, a mask or
some make-up—and the power of Illusion does the rest.
If the Scion tries to impersonate a particular person,
the dice roll gains a +2 bonus if the Scion carries some item
the emulated individual owned. A sample of the subject’s
hair, skin or nails raises the bonus to +5. (Having body
sample and an object, or having multiple objects, does
not give multiple bonuses.) The Scion’s player rolls to set
the Boon’s success level when it’s activated. Anyone who
deliberately tries to see through the disguise must best the
Scion’s total successes with a (Perception + Awareness)
roll. Having only a brief, momentary interaction imposes
a -2 penalty on the observer’s roll. A lengthy interaction
(lasting several minutes) when the observer knows the
emulated subject well grants a +2 bonus. If the observer
scores more successes than the trickster, the observer
realizes that the Scion is not who she seems to be, though
the true identity of the disguised Scion remains unclear
unless the disguise is actually removed.
Stolen Face doesn’t prevent people from suspecting
that the Scion might not be who she seems if she does
something wildly out of character. A Scion disguised as
Ronald Reagan who breaks into a bank, paints the vault
red and flies away on camera will probably not be mistaken
for the dead president in question. Mortal onlookers
certainly won’t figure out who it really was, though, or how
she managed to do such a convincing Reagan imitation!
A Scion can also use Stolen Face to create a false
identity of her own invention. Such a false identity can be
as rudimentary as an anonymous old man, as Odin advised
Sigurd on how to deal with the dragon Fafnir, or as elaborate
as a whole second life as a reporter at a major metropolitan
newspaper. Mortal onlookers tend to overlook flaws in such
false identities. Even most Scions remain unsuspecting of
such a deception unless they specifically think there’s an
imposter around or someone has a secret identity.
Regardless of the successes scored, some element of
the disguise always leaves a hint of the Scion’s true nature.
A Scion disguised as Ronald Reagan might still appear to
wear sneakers that clash with his presidential suit. A Scion
pretending to be Artemis might forget to change her eye
color to match. A relic might retain its true appearance.
Such omissions usually go overlooked unless the disguise
is penetrated, in which case it’s generally the first thing
that the viewer spots—such as the propensity for watchful
onlookers to notice the hastily concealed tail of a kitsune
who’s masquerading as a human woman.
Stolen Face remains in effect for an entire scene;
spending a Willpower point extends the illusion to another
scene. Anyone who fails to penetrate the disguise during
that time cannot try again. If one person sees through the
illusion, he need merely perform some action to expose the
fraud—yank off the wig, smear the make-up—and everyone
else instantly sees through it as well.

Visage Great and Terrible
Scions of Hel are almost always awesomely hideous,
while Scions of Aphrodite are generally phenomenally
attractive. With this Knack, though, a Scion can have
the best of both worlds. Once a Scion chooses this
Knack, she can shift her Epic Appearance from hideous
to beautiful at will. The player simply expends the
requisite Legend cost and the Scion’s mien transforms. In
either form, she is still recognizable as herself; she cannot
use this Knack to change her appearance, unless she also
has a Knack like Detail Variation from p. 71 of Scion:
God. However, she can change from an elegant, refined
woman to a vengeful, nerve-wracking hag in the blink of
an eye. Once she transforms thusly, her range of available
Epic Appearance Knacks shifts as appropriate. While
beautiful, then, the Scion can invoke all of her known
Epic Appearance Knacks that rely on great beauty; while
hideous, she can invoke any of her Epic Appearance
Knacks that require a monstrous countenance.
Once a Scion learns this Knack, she can freely
purchase any Epic Appearance Knack that would
normally require incredible beauty or incredible
monstrosity. She can only use the Knacks appropriate to
the form that she currently bears, though.
Activating this Knack costs three points of Legend.
The Scion remains in her switched state until she
decides to activate the Knack again. (Indeed, both of
them are her “natural” state; she simply has the ability
to swap between them as desired.)

Serpent’s Gaze
When the Scion spends a point of Legend, the person
whom she’s trying to affect locks eyes with her and is
unable to look away. For combat purposes, the victim is
rendered Inactive until the Scion breaks eye contact. The
Scion can still act, but she must take a second action in
order to do so, maintaining eye contact as a diceless action.
(As a result, she suffers a -2 penalty for any other action
she takes.) This Knack works equally well whether the
Scion’s Epic Appearance involves beauty or its opposite.

Overt Order
Sometimes, the direct method is more effective than
the cleverest of intricate schemes. With this Knack, a
Scion barks out a command that the target must obey.
Doing so costs one Willpower, and the command must
be one the Scion can give and the victim can perform
in a single action. “Freeze!” is acceptable, as is, “Don’t
shoot!” or, “Shoot him!” Ordering someone to go home
and shoot his wife won’t work because doing so would
take longer than a single action.
A victim of this Knack can interpret the command
loosely to make it not directly suicidal, but not if all
he’s trying to do is keep out of trouble. For example, if
a victim draws a gun and the Scion commands him to
shoot himself, the victim can shoot himself in the hand
or the foot rather than blowing his own brains out. Same
thing goes if a Scion uses this Knack at a seedy pool
hall to command a smarmy drug dealer to pick a fight
with a burly ex-con at the next table. The dealer might
reasonably believe that the ex-con could kill him, but he
still can’t weasel out of the command. He doesn’t have to
walk up and take a swing at the guy, but he still has to do
something, such as singing out a racial slur or throwing a
beer bottle at the guy’s girlfriend. The dealer can cheese it
immediately, but he’s still got to pick the fight first.

Lightning Sprinter
The Scion is a lightning bolt on two legs, zooming
past in a blur, trailing leaves or grit or loose debris from
the ground he’s already covered. This Knack doubles
the amount of distance he can cover in a Dash action,
after calculating the new Dash distance based on his
Epic Dexterity. What’s more, it negates the movement
penalties a character should accrue for dashing through
water or mud that is from between ankle- to shoulderheight
in depth as long as A.) the character began his
Dash action on terrain with no such penalty, and B.)
the character continues to perform consecutive Dash
actions. As long as he keeps dashing, his feet skim the
surface of the water or muck like a skipping stone. If he
should slow down or stop, however, he sinks into the
sucking terrain to suffer the normal penalties.
Activating this Knack costs one point of Legend.

fast as thought
Prerequisite Knack: Lightning Sprinter (see Scion:
Hero, p. 127)
A Scion who possesses this Knack becomes
extraordinarily fleet of foot. She can outrun nearly
anything that lacks divinely empowered speed and
has a good chance of winning most races against such
opponents as well. This Knack doubles the distance
she can cover in a Dash action, after calculating
the bonus for Epic Dexterity and the prerequisite
Knack. Her long term running speed is similarly
increased, allowing her to cross large distances on
foot quickly.
In addition, the Scion’s prodigious speed enables
her to defy gravity for short periods. She can run across
short gaps, up steep inclines and even over low walls
without pause. With this knack, a Scion can traverse
any incline of less than 60 degrees for any distance and
travel up a wall or across a gap of (Legend x 5) feet. She
must already be running to traverse these obstacles. If
she should slow down or stop, she falls or otherwise
cannot scale the wall or pass the obstacle. Activating
this Knack costs one point of Legend, and its effects
last one scene.

Instant Hypnosis
Prerequisite Knack: Overt Order (Scion: Hero, p. 131)
With a moment of eye contact and the expenditure of
a Willpower point, the Scion instantly plunges a mortal
into a hypnotic trance. Attempting to hypnotize a fellow
Scion of lesser or equal (Willpower + Legend) requires
not only a Willpower expenditure but a (Manipulation +
Command + Legend) roll contested against the victim’s
(Willpower + Integrity + Legend). Scions cannot instantly
hypnotize fellow Scions of higher (Willpower + Legend).
Should he successfully hypnotize a victim, the Scion
can implant one hidden command that the victim must
obey at the time of the Scion’s choosing. The command
must be something that the victim can accomplish in
one scene, and the trigger condition that compels him
to attempt it must occur within a number of months
equal to the Scion’s Legend. The Scion can give as
specifi c an order as he pleases, and a mortal cannot
interpret it in any way other than the spirit in which
it was intended. A fellow Scion can interpret it loosely
to his own advantage, as per Overt Order, but doing so
costs him a point of Willpower.
The victim remains unaware of the ticking time
bomb in his subconscious, but he does have a chance
to resist it when the trigger condition occurs. At the
moment when he has been commanded to perform
the action in question, the victim’s player may make a
(Wits + Integrity) roll. (This roll cannot be modifi ed by
a Scion’s Epic Wits or an Integrity Arete.) If the roll
garners more successes than the hypnotist Scion has
dots of Legend, the compulsion is broken. If the lastminute
resistance roll fails, the victim must attempt to
do as he was commanded. Whether he succeeds or fails,
the compulsion ends after he makes the attempt, and he
has no memory of what could possibly have convinced
him to do as he did

Roll With It
The character’s body is so lithe and supple or so
unnaturally malleable that she can bend like the
greenest reed and rarely ever break. In Step Six of
attack resolution (see Scion: Hero, p. 194), the
player can spend one point of Legend and add a
value equal to her dots in Epic Dexterity to any soak
value she has that is above zero. That way, even if
she can’t get entirely out of the way of an attack, she
can dissipate some of the force behind the blow and
mitigate some of the damage.