Questions about Scion's Game

[Maewan]

Hello!
First, excuse my broken english, this is not my mother tongue, I didn't find a forum about RPG in global, so I hope I shall manage to be inderstood.

I already have played a few games before like Warhammer, D&D, Pathfinder, Cthulhu et others but, in one week it will be my first try in Scion. The game seems pretty good, specially the universe. So, I've read a part of books and, I finally affraid about something. Usually I play social character with magic or something, like a bard, so I can always be useful in fight. However, the Magic and Boons in this game seems to be not really done for fighting, so, my biggest question is, if I make a social character (with physical traits in third), shall I be usefull in fight? I thought that i can be a guner, with 4 points in Dexterity, but I don't know if it's a good thing or not.

Can you help me about this? ^^

Thanks you.

[Quertus]

short term, it should be fine. Long term, firearms lack epic damage. fortunately, bows use the same skill.

Social epics can be very powerful - some of them even in combat.

hope this helps.

[Berenger]

I think you will be fine. Just keep some things in mind:


1. Half of the "canon" party (Donnie Rhodes, Aaron Tigrillo and Brigitte de la Croix) have Strength oo, Dexterity ooo, Stamina oo plus either Melee oo or Marksmanship ooo. This makes them slightly inferior to the average member of a SWAT team, but pretty much relevant in most fights against mortals and lesser supernaturals. This somewhat depends on the story and power level your narrator aims for.

2. Some traits can significantly boost your offense (e.g. Arete: Marksmanship if you belong to the greek pantheon and it suits your concept). They are mostly used to take a warrior from "really dangerous" to "stupidly overpowered", but they can also take an otherwise normal person from "average" to "really dangerous".

3. Birthright weapons, allies and followers are a thing. Even if you are a total wimp, you can still ride into battle on the equivalent of a flying Game of Thrones direwolf, shoot bullets that make people fall in love with you or call upon a bunch of unfailingly loyal myrmidon bodyguards. There are options to link those allies to your birthright, so you can carry, conceal and summon when needed.

[Maewan]

Thanks a lot for your participation and your quickly answers, they help me a lot ^^

So I've seen the Snake's eye in Epic appearance and, yes it's seem good even in combat. Fort the Bow, I will need streng to for more dommage I purpose?

I'm not sure that I can take a greek pantheon. My GM would want to take the book's scenario and authorize to creating character but once scion by pantheon. So, if someone else take greek pantheon, do you have others advice to replace Arete?

Finally, I'm verry interresting about these "Love's Bullet". What is it? A boon? A relic's weapon? Or perhaps a epic's skill ability?

Thanks again for your help.

[GrayDeath]

You mean Donnies Pistols?

They are badly done relics, as are most guns. Massivley OP though, unlike the other one. ^^


First thing for Scion: think BIG. REAL BIG.
There are only 3 "Levels" if you like, and even while only a Hero you are already quite powerful.
Gods with amxxed Purviews/EA are ... another thing altogether.


You are no primary Fighter, but with a dot or 2 of Epic Attribute", even third-rate Scion Fighters crush Mortals and some other stuff easily.

And you dont WANT to be too good a fighter anyway, as social Character, after all thats what your friends play, no?


@ Snakes Eye: yep, quite good. But wh< would you need strength for it?
If you mean for damage in general: only in CC. And even then DEX is more important.

Scion is one of the Systems I DM`d the most, so once I am awake tomorrow I might be able to help you ind etail.

For that it would be good if you could write what you`d like to play fluffwise and mechanically (without inSystem Terms) so that I know what to look for.

[Maewan]

I didn't read the predefine, so I didn't know the Donnies' guns, thanks ^^

I know that I'm not done to be a verry good fighter, but I don't want to be to useless too ^^

For the strengh, I talked about Bow, like Quertus proposed as weapon ^^

I don't really need help again and I don't want a build or something like this, I prefer discover and learn by myself, I just wanted to take the good way with my character and you done this verry well, thank you again

[Quertus]

Thanks a lot for your participation and your quickly answers, they help me a lot ^^

So I've seen the Snake's eye in Epic appearance and, yes it's seem good even in combat. Fort the Bow, I will need streng to for more dommage I purpose?

I'm not sure that I can take a greek pantheon. My GM would want to take the book's scenario and authorize to creating character but once scion by pantheon. So, if someone else take greek pantheon, do you have others advice to replace Arete?

Finally, I'm verry interresting about these "Love's Bullet". What is it? A boon? A relic's weapon? Or perhaps a epic's skill ability?

Thanks again for your help.

I didn't read the predefine, so I didn't know the Donnies' guns, thanks ^^

I know that I'm not done to be a verry good fighter, but I don't want to be to useless too ^^

For the strengh, I talked about Bow, like Quertus proposed as weapon ^^

I don't really need help again and I don't want a build or something like this, I prefer discover and learn by myself, I just wanted to take the good way with my character and you done this verry well, thank you again

To be clear, you can start with a firearm, and it will work just fine at the start.

If, later, you find that your damage output is unacceptably poor, the marksmanship skill also covers bows. Bows can benefit from epic strength; firearms cannot.

But, as long as you find your damage output acceptable for your not primary combatant, you're not wasting anything sticking with firearms and bumping marksmanship.

And serpent's gaze is often better than your weapon anyway.

Donnie's guns have a cool, unique, and arguably overpowered ability. Thinking big, thinking cool, is part of the draw of scion. If you make your guns relics, give them some cool ability that will still be useful outside of combat.

As to an alternative to arete... The Japanese pantheon ability to awaken objects could help, I suppose. But epic dex is, in general, better than either, IMO. Just make the character you want to play, make it cool, have fun.

[Segev]

I suggest, if you're going social primary, either take Epic Dex (because Dex is the god-stat in Scion for combat), or take Epic Stamina (because the Knacks you can get there can let you take a hit, go down, and get back up again - which is surprisingly fun as a social character). I did the latter with my first Scion character, who was a son of Loki. He was the first, second, and fourth person to drop in nearly every combat, because he kept being one-hit KO'd and getting back up again.

[ArendK]

Scion is weird in that it really has troubles balancing itself with combat at higher levels. Social characters can contribute in combat easily with the "Command" skill.

The Japanese special purview can be a decent source of additional power in combat with the spirits being boost. Also great having a free power that lets you talk to any object.

[GrayDeath]

Scion is very well balanced - as long as you follow a "Style over Substance" approach.

If you go in like the usual 3.5 optimizer its laugheably easy to break the game . with just about any character at just about any "Level" of Power.


@ OP: most importantly remember: being mainly a Socializer has much less effect in a System as open as Scions than in a Classbased one.