Scion First Edition game

[Kish]

1) As recently discussed, I'm "ehhh" about most Scion Companion material.

2) Yes, please do ask about custom relics; I'm not generally opposed to them but I do want to consider the details.

3) Fatebinding is a serious consideration which mostly keeps the gods in the Overworld even when they're not actively fighting off a Titan siege, as per the default setting.

[Rokku]

I also think the Tuatha and the Shen are pretty cool, but that's not a dealbreaker.

Do you have a specific place in the USA in mind for the game? And are you going to build the beginning of the story around who the scions are, or do you have a story in mind, OR do you have one in mind and just want to surprise us with it? I just want as much context as I can possibly get for creating a character.

[Justanotherhero]

Character idea submission for approval:

Caras Froute a medical student with a happy family life including his still alive and well siblings and parents. Until he was visited by Hera and told that it was time to embrace his heritage and to learn how to keep secrets. She set him up in Las Vegas formally renounced him and he started living a stereotypical Dionysus Scion lifestyle. By pure coincidence or very much long planned design Osiris adopted him soon thereafter. By training and magic he is now a excellent liar that intends to rapidly adopt to his new divine existence. All the while trying to finish school,run the bar he inherited and maybe stay sane. Of course that works out best if no one from the Greek pantheon asks any question, and the dead stay dead.

[DeTess]

updated sheet, now with background

Spoiler: concept

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The character is an information broker, someone who engages with problems first and foremost using information and investigation, ranging from revealing crimes to blackmail to infiltration. Inspirations would be Sherlock Holmes, Arsène Lupin and Lelouch. The 'all according to plan' kind of person.

Spoiler: background/intro fiction

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Liliana Cypher looked up at the house, then double-checked the address to make sure she was in the right place. Mistletoe street 12, in the old part of town. The houses here where just a room or two short of being called mansions. The house in front of her didn’t look abandoned in any way, but there were no signs anyone was currently home either. And the address matched that in the will.

The will had reached her in the afternoon of the worst day of her life. She had just been kicked out of the police academy after attempting to expose a corruption scandal. She had foolishly believed the police where the defenders of justice, and that something like the bribery scandal she had uncovered would be dealt with quickly and harshly. Well, it was dealt with quickly, if you considered covering it up a form of handling it. And it had been made extremely clear to her that if she tried talking about what she’d seen and found with anyone, she’d disappear behind bars for a long, long time. She was angry, of course. Not so much at the injustice of it all but instead at her own stupidity. Of course the scandal went all the way to the top, and if she’d taken her time chasing down all the leads she’d have known. Instead she jumped the gun, eager to prove herself. And it had ended with her kicked out on the street.

It was then that she was approached by an elderly man in an expensive suit. He had introduced himself as a lawyer representing her father, Louis, in charge of executing his will. Liliana had been immediately suspicious, of course. Both her parents had died shortly after her birth, and lacking any other direct family, she had grown up in an orphanage. Yet despite her wariness, it all seemed to check out. There weren’t any outstanding fees she needed to pay first, or any other red flags, and the will consisted of a sizeable sum of money, and a house with everything in it. The money had been in her bank account by the end of the day, and so she found herself visiting the address she had been given the next day, key in hand.

With a sigh Liliana walked the few short steps to the front door, and inserted the key. The door unlocked without any trouble, and she entered the house. It was furnished in an old European style that radiated ‘old money’. Just about everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. Liliana slowly and carefully explored the house, starting on the ground floor and working her way up to the third floor. As she did, a slight feeling of wrong-ness crept up on her. The house looked like no one had been there for a year or two at least, yet there where little incongruities. Several books in the extensive library where oddly free of dust. There was a painting in the living room that had clearly been cleaned recently. The closet in the master bedroom had a wide variety of stylish clothes, all of which looked like they’d fit Liliana perfectly. The study was entirely dust-free, and there was a computer that looked cutting edge. She had tried booting it up, but the computer required a password she did not have. All indicators that someone had been here, maybe even lived here, a lot more recently than the day her parents had died.
Her search had also turned up a safe, hidden in the living room behind a painting of a man in a suit. The man had a sharp face and short black beard. His striking features a marked contrast with Liliana’s own plain features. The painting had looked a century old at least, and Liliana wondered if it had been an ancestor of hers. The will had not mentioned a code for the safe, yet by this point Liliana felt certain that someone had been guiding her to find it, so there must be some kind of clue to opening the safe.

She started with he dust-free books in the library. They were an eclectic bunch. A collection of detective stories, Machiavelli’s ‘the prince’, an English translation of the Poetic Edda and a travel guide to Scandinavia. It took Liliana about two hours to dig through them all. Each book had several passages underlined, or an apparent printing error page that contained a code. She was certain that whoever put this together thought themselves very clever. The books where the clues to an adventure that would take her across Europe to discover a series of numbers that would open the vault. Just a shame that their clues were obvious enough that after some quick internet searches she had already noted down three of the four numbers, 12, 15 and 11. And she didn’t particularly feel like waiting for the next winter solstice to travel to Norway to get the last number in the sequence. Instead, she went home to her apartment, picked up a case of tools, and then returned to the house.

It took her less than a minute crack the safe. She could easily hear the ticks of the code-wheel using a stetoscope, which made decoding the last number, 9, quite easy. In fact, she was mentally kicking herself for wasting as much time as she had on the books when she could have cracked the safe this way in 5 minutes at most.

Inside the safe were several items. A gun. A folder of pictures. And a slip of paper with the text ‘Th0rSux!’. The text on the paper appeared to be a password of sorts, and surely enough, it unlocked the upstairs computer. It opened to a desktop with a blank wallpaper and a single audiofile titled ‘play me’. She double clicked the file, and was rewarded with the sound of drum playing from the computer’s speakers, shortly followed by a piano. The music sounded faintly familiar, but Liliana didn’t recognize it.

“I’d been worried this would get tedious for a second, but you didn’t get distracted by that ridiculous scavenger hunt for too long.” A voice suddenly spoke up behind Liliana. She whirled around and found the man from the painting lounging in a comfortable chair behind her.

“Who the hell are you!?” A bunch more questions where already queued up in Liliana’s throat, such as why he was here, or what he wanted from her, but she started with the most important one.

“Well, that’s no way to greet your father, now is it, Liliana?” The man gave her a sly grin.

“You’re either lying, or a deadbeat. Neither is getting you in my good graces. Now answer the question.” Liliana bit back

The man’s grin didn’t waver. “Guilty as charged on the second count, I’m afraid. Though I didn’t really have much choice in the matter. One could say it was… an act of god.” A cigar appeared in the man’s hand, which was promptly lit by a lick of flame erupting from the man’s thumb.
Liliana closed her eyes, then let out a slow breath. She was not completely unfamiliar with the supernatural. She’d noticed little things. Little things about herself, and about her environment. Crows that stalked her for the first few years of her life. The way she could pick up any language after only hearing it spoken for a minute or so. The fire incident from which she had appeared entirely unscathed.

“Who are you?” She asked again. The moment she did so, the music looped and started from the beginning. But this time it wasn’t just the instrumentals, but the vocal track had been added in as well.

“Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste…”

The man’s grin became even wider. A name rose to Liliana’s lips. Just before she spoke it she managed to put a finals et of hints together. One of the books in the library, and the oddly close sequence of numbers for the safe. She spoke the name she had come to. The man smiled.

***

Liliana looked down at the ring she’d been given. It had a large ruby set in it, on which a rune was carved. Her mind was still reeling from what she’d learned, and the man… her father’s parting words to her still played around in her mind. “I might ask for a favor down the line, but don’t worry about that too much. For now, just don’t be boring.”

She'd been given the house, but more importantly, she'd been given information, in the form of the folder form the safe and files on the computer. Her father had also told her that people who owed him would be getting in contact with her soon, and would help her out however they could. The justice system had failed her, but now she had everything she needed to make and administer her own justice, or get her revenge. Either way, she would soon get to be very busy.

Spoiler: build

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calling: information broker
nature: architect
pantheon: Aesir
God: Eh, you know, It's not really that big of a deal who my father was? Don't worry about it, really. Just trust me, I'm your friend. (It's Loki)

attributes
strength: 2
dexterity: 3
stamina: 2
charisma: 3
manipulation: 5
appearance: 1
perception: 3
intelligence: 5
wits: 3

abilities
academics: 3
athletics: 1
awareness: 3
command: 3
control: (motorcycle): 1
empathy: 3
fortitude: 1
integrity: 3
investigation: 3
larceny: 2 (1 bonus point spent)
marksmanship: 2
occult: 3 (3 bonus points spent)
politics: 3 (1 bonus point spent)
stealth: 3
survival: 1

legend, boons, knacks and epic attributes
Legend: 3 (7 bonus points spent)
Fire immunity
magic 2 (ariadne's thread, bona fortuna)
epic perception 1: (perfect pitch)
epic intelligence: 2 (language mastery, multitasking knacks)
epic manipulation: 2 (overt order, instant hypnosis, implant memory) (3 bonus points spent)
epic wits: 2 (social chameleon, instant imvestigator)

birthright
relic: 2 (ring, provides fire and magic purviews)
followers: 3 (representing a ring of spies and informants)

virtues
courage: 2
endurance:4
expression: 2
loyalty: 1

I had a quick question about the virtues. Is there any way to swap around the starting ones? Though the set seems very appropriate for the Aesir as a whole, it's less so for Loki in particular. Particularly the last one, loyalty. I feel like vengeance or intellect would be better there.

[Kish]

And are you going to build the beginning of the story around who the scions are, or do you have a story in mind, OR do you have one in mind and just want to surprise us with it?
Mostly the first.

Character idea submission for approval:

Caras Froute a medical student with a happy family life including his still alive and well siblings and parents. Until he was visited by Hera and told that it was time to embrace his heritage and to learn how to keep secrets. She set him up in Las Vegas formally renounced him and he started living a stereotypical Dionysus Scion lifestyle. By pure coincidence or very much long planned design Osiris adopted him soon thereafter. By training and magic he is now a excellent liar that intends to rapidly adopt to his new divine existence. All the while trying to finish school,run the bar he inherited and maybe stay sane. Of course that works out best if no one from the Greek pantheon asks any question, and the dead stay dead.

Possible problem with what you have in mind there: In the eyes of Fate, game mechanics, and most of the gods, that makes him just Osiris' Scion. If that's not a problem for your concept, absolutely, go ahead.

I had a quick question about the virtues. Is there any way to swap around the starting ones? Though the set seems very appropriate for the Aesir as a whole, it's less so for Loki in particular. Particularly the last one, loyalty. I feel like vengeance or intellect would be better there.

You can switch out Virtues if you want. Mechanically, if you were to trade out Loyalty for Vengeance, you'll pay one less experience point if you learn a Boon from a Dodekatheon or Loa god. However, you'll pay one more experience point for every Boon you develop the normal way: Loki is still Aesir, even if he's usually the outlier in most Norse stories about the gods.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Brandon Flynne, "Brand" for short
Scion of Brigid (Tuatha de Danann)
Gallant Champion

"Once, I turned a blind eye to the suffering of innocents. Never. Again."

Spoiler: Description

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Red-haired and physically fit, Brand is otherwise utterly unremarkable and forgettable... until he starts to speak, or starts to fight. Then, people can't help but pay attention.

Brand is a brawler, and an extremely skilled one. His preferred combat strategy is to grapple at least one opponent, rendering them Inactive until they can wriggle free (not an easy feat).

Inspirations: Superhero Grace Choi, aka The Amazing Grace, from DC (specifically in the Vixen: NYC webcomic) is the main inspiration, as a half-Amazon former cage fighter. Next has to be Michael, Knight of the Sword, the heroic, kind, and heavily armored holy warrior from the Dresden Files.

Theme Song: Undefeated, by Skillet.

Spoiler: Story

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Brand is ashamed of his past. An orphan born lifetime of poverty, compounded by a variety of poor choices (the phrase "a fool and his money are soon parted" sums it up). He became so desperate that he turned to something dangerous, illegal, and filled to the brim with questionable ethics. He turned to cage fighting.

It was just supposed to be a one-time thing. Survive three rounds in the ring with the champion, and some of his debts would be forgiven. But nine rounds later, with the champion unconscious at his feet and the crowd screaming his name, Brand was hooked. He had finally found something he was good at, something that could actually make him money, something that could be an outlet for all his frustrations, something that made him feel powerful and in control. He was never giving this up.

He learned a lot, in the ring and outside of it. How to charm the crowd, keep them coming back for more. How to manipulate his opponents, feeling out their weaknesses and tricking them into slips. With the money he was making, he was even able to go back to school, learning even more. "Firebrand", as the announcers called him due to his shockingly red hair and berserker finishing moves, was more than a champion, he was a star. And so what if he was hurting people? They chose to be there, same as him. And when the suspicion itched in the back of his head, the suspicion that some of his opponents might not have known what they were getting into when the signed on, that some of them might not have had much of a choice, that some of them might not even have had a choice at all... he did his best to ignore it.

And finally, his mother Brigid could take it no more. The Tuatha take responsibility towards mortals very seriously, and what Brandon was doing flew in the face of their ideals. She appeared before him, and his initial rage at this mother he had never met crumbled as she showed him exactly the cost of his apathy: all the suffering, all the misery, and all the evil that he had turned a blind eye to.

Tears streaming from his eyes, Brand swore on his honor and his name that he would make amends, that he would atone, that he would never again turn a blind eye to the victims of injustice. In retrospect, if he had reacted in any other way, Brigid likely would have disowned him on the spot. Instead, she empowered him, giving him the tools he would need to defend and heal the weak.

With his skills, his ill-earned money, and his new powers, Brand tore down the fighting rings he had once worked for, getting the owners and many of the patrons arrested, draining their assets (with some help from the god Ogma), destroying the properties, and (most importantly) ensuring that as many of the victims as he could find were taken care of, connected with support organizations and given enough money to get them started on a new life. It's not enough for him... but it is an excellent start.

Now, his holy mother says she has another task for him, this time in America....

Found a form-fillable character sheet online. Doesn't seem to remain form-fillable in Google Drive, which is going to make updating it a little awkward, but here's the (hopefully) ready-to-start version of Brandon Flynne:
Brandon Flynne (0 XP)

Spoiler: Geasa

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Geas - Pronounced about halfway between "gesh" and "gish", and the plural is "geasa". It's a supernatural oath or duty, and the unique mechanic of the Tuatha. As long as you keep your geas, you reap mechanical benefits, but should you ever break it, those benefits turn to curses until you can atone (a lengthy and difficult process that can take many forms, but often involves taking and keeping another geas for a duration measuring months or years).

Brand is currently under two geasa, both courtesy of the Hero's Geas boon (the second dot of the pantheon-specific purview, Enech).

Redemption Geas - Taking Hero's Geas gives Brand the Legendary Geas. He regains Legend at double the normal rate, and also regains a free point of Legend whenever he upholds it in a way that makes his life harder or requires a sacrifice. The source is the Hero duty: he must defend the weak, and refusing to do so for any reason costs him a full dot of Legend until he spends a year and a day "on some protracted defense of the weak" (default atonement; others are possible).

Martial Master Geas - Ability Geas, giving Brandon a bonus to rolls with a specific Ability. In this case, the Ability is Brawl, but I'm not sure whether I should take it at the Token level (bonus dice) or the Potent level (bonus automatic successes). The source is the Skill duty; Brand must regularly raise one of Ogma's specified Abilities (Brawl for this, too) until it reaches 5 (already done), and then regularly train others in the ability (weekly). See the "Breakdown" section for the details on how Brand got this geas.

Question for the GM:
RAW, I think I get to choose whether I take my second geas at Token level or at Potent level. But while I'd prefer Potent level for the advantages that would give me, I'm worried it would be unbalanced. The bonus is pretty small at my 3 Legend (two bonus dice versus two bonus automatic successes), but it scales pretty quickly with Legend (e.g., at Legend 4 it will go up to 4 dice/successes). Which would you prefer I take?

Spoiler: Breakdown

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Calling is "Champion". A little nonspecific, but better than "Warrior", which is what it was a few minutes ago. This at least references both "champion fighter" and "champion of [cause]", hitting both his skill-set and his motivation to help the helpless.

Gallant is his nature. It was this or Penitent, and I prefer the idea that Brand is taking his motivation and pouring it into something positive.

Brigid, of the Tuatha de Danann. Brigid is the perfect goddess for this character concept, having the Epic Attributes perfect for a warrior, but also being a healer and a nurturer likely to be highly offended by Brandon's life-choices. Wanted to get some Water and Health boons, too, but there just weren't enough points to go around. Something for the future.

Attributes. Physical is my primary, Social is secondary, and Mental is tertiary. I rather like what his spread of stats says about him, actually. He's smart, but not perceptive or clever, which explains how he got taken advantage of so regularly. His time and training in the ring have taught him how to be charismatic and manipulative, working the crowd and his opponents both, but his Appearance is actually quite low; people underestimate him regularly. Gives me a little Richard Drakh vibes, actually (hopefully Brandon goes down a much better path than that arch-villain).

Abilities. A nice spread of combat, social, and utility. Ignoring Melee and Marksmanship also gives me the points for some fluff abilities, like Brand's hobby of glass-working and love of music. The last two points in Brawl were purchased with 4 Bonus Points.

Birthrights. First, a set of armor forged by Brigid herself, layered with Kevlar and ceramic plates to make it suitable for modern conflicts. Mechanically, this is Riot Gear with a +1 enhancement to Mobility. Visually, it looks more like the plate armor you'd see on a knight, with a swan motif. Second, a vial of water from Brigid's holy well in Kildare; this grants access to the Water and Health purviews. Last but certainly not least, a gift from Ogma: a tactical bracelet that grants access to the Guardian purview and, since preparation is so important to any battle, allows Brand to summon Brigid's armor onto himself (Birthright Connection; this still requires an action). And that's all 5 dots accounted for.

8 Epic Attributes (and 8 attendant Knacks), and two levels of Enech. Wish I had more points here, but hey that's what XP is for. 4 Bonus Points spent on Vigil Brand, which we get as if it were in a favored purview at the cost of Geas.

Martial Master Geas - The Hero's Geas boon allows Brand to purchase boons from another Tuathan god as though they were in one of Brigid's favored Purviews... at the cost of a Geas associated with that god. Brand has drawn the attention of Ogma, the Tuathan god of both strength and intelligence, overwhelming force and careful instruction... and the only god in the pantheon with an interest in Brand's chosen fighting style (Brawl), based on their favored Abilities and the Skill Geasa they offer. Brand's highly tactical but strength-based fighting style (grappling is all about battlefield control) drew Ogma's interest, and in addition to helping Brand formulate the strategies that took down the fighting rings in his backstory, he has offered Brand his blessing in exchange for spreading knowledge of this rare (to the Tuatha) fighting style. As long as Brand teaches somebody in Brawl at least once a week (though ideally he'd find a true apprentice) he upholds this geas. Betraying this geas both revokes access to Vigil Brand and reduces all future Brawl rolls by an amount equal to the bonus normally given (2 right now, and rolls reduced below 0 successes count as botches) until atonement is made (and also probably offends Ogma greatly).

Virtues: mostly into Intelligence, which might be another reason Ogma likes Brand.

Willpower is 7, which should be the same as everyone else's.

Bonus Points: Man I'd forgotten how expensive it was to bring your Legend up to 4. I really wanted to, but then I couldn't increase Brawl even once. So we spend 7 points on reaching Legend 3 (giving me 9 Legend Points), 4 on increasing Brawl from 3 to 5, and the last 4 on Vigil Brand.

There we go, I think that's everything!

EDIT: It was not everything. Had to make a few more passes to clean up some typos and do useful things like 'include a description of the character concept'.

EDIT 2: Had one too many points in my mental attributes (took one out of Int to restore balance). Link updated to new, hopefully correct now character sheet.

EDIT 3: Oh right, custom relics. Nothing too fancy here but I'll put 'em all in one place for review:

Spoiler: Custom Relics

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Haven't given any of these a proper name since they're all new relics; might give them fancy names as their story grows with Brand's Legend.

Goddess-Forged Armor (1 Item Enhancement) - If you're the child of a smith deity, and you don't have at least one piece of really top-notch gear, something has gone badly wrong. Riot Gear with a 1 Dot Enhancement to Mobility (so it's only -1 to my DVs and Speed instead of -2). I also picture it as looking more like plate armor than part of a police uniform, like Michael's suit of armor lined with Kevlar so it will stop both blades and bullets in the Dresden Files.

Kildare Holy Water Vial (2 Purviews) - Brigid has a sacred well to this very day in the city of Kildare. A vial of water from that to give access to the Water and Health purviews. Not actually using either of those yet, but someday.

Tactical Bracelet (1 Purview, 1 Birthright Connection) - This one is a gift from Ogma, who is all about strategy and tactics. The problem with armor is that it's bulky and highly visible; while you could walk around the city and get away with claiming you're on your way to a Ren Fair or Comicon, trying to enter a building unnoticed is going to be much harder. A Birthright Connection makes it much more practical, letting me summon it to myself with an action (I assume it gets summoned directly onto Brand, the same way a Guide or Follower summoned is immediately ready to rumble, but maybe not). It also gives access to the Guardian purview.

[Justanotherhero]

Possible problem with what you have in mind there: In the eyes of Fate, game mechanics, and most of the gods, that makes him just Osiris' Scion. If that's not a problem for your concept, absolutely, go ahead.

Not a problem at all. I am merely currently mentally playing with a Divine Spy with hidden family background vibe somewhat inspired by Spy x Family and that background fits the concept.

[josienoms]

Okay, so I know I said I was thinking a Norse scion before, but I’ve pivoted to a new idea.

A Scion of Sobek, who takes after dear old dad. In the same way that her father is the god of the Nile, she wants to become an important deity in the US by becoming goddess of the Mississippi. (Or another large river nearby wherever we end up starting)

[Cassus]

Would you believe it's been so many years since my last Scion that I thought the Tuatha were in Ragnarok?

Alright! I've got it narrowed down to three concepts in my head now (one each Loa, Amatsukami, and Atzlanti). And each of them wants a different custom Background, because those are fun. So! I've got a short bio/pitch for each; would you mind letting me know which is the best fit for your game and how you'd like to balance it, or whatever the next step is? If you'd prefer I wrote up the mechanics in more detail for you to critique, just ask! I've left them open-ended for now since I have no idea what power level the game will have and I'm more interested in the general "shape" of the Background, if that makes sense.

Also, you'll note there's no name for my scion in these. Naming people is honestly the hardest single part of chargen for me, so I'm putting that off as long as I can!

Spoiler: Hassan-i-Sabbah (narrative)

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Legends dating from the time of the Crusades describe a terrible old man who lived in a hidden mountain fortress, Alamut. An army of loyal, almost suicidal followers obeyed his every command, even throwing away their own lives to kill others. These Hassassins ("followers of Hassan") haunted the nightmares of crusader and moslem alike.

The Europeans claimed to know why his followers served him so faithfully. According to Marco Polo and others, he took young boys and men and carried them in a drugged sleep to his secret valley, where they awoke surrounded by beautiful women, verdant plant life, flowing water, and flowing wine. They spent some days here, their every whim catered to. Then they were drugged again and taken out to a sun-baked courtyard. Indeed, some accounts say that they were never in the valley to begin with; they were simply chained up in the courtyard and fed hashish (hence the derogatory term for them, "hashishans") and pretty stories and lived in the valley in their own minds.
Either way, the Old Man would tell his new "convert" that they were recently in Paradise, and he would send them there again instantly if they died while carrying out his commands (or if they succeeded and returned to Alamut). This produced a fanatic zeal which allowed his tiny fortress to dominate the region through naked fear.

The crusaders never managed to slay the Old Man, but their cunning rumors proved far more effective. Cut off from the faith of his followers, he withered. His legendary Paradise sank into the fog of terra incognita, and his fortress of Alamut became a ruin in the "real world." His name faded, though the memory of his Assassins provided enough support that the black shadow never truly died.

And then, he met a young, angry scion. Their encounter seemed pure chance, though Fate likely had a hand in uniting the forgotten "Lord" of assassins and the Hero who wanted to kill a god. A single ray of light pierced the darkness of True Alamut.
Hassan was the model of Eastern hospitality. He offered wise council, a tour of paradise, endless stories of the past, a seat in the shade... And over crystal dishes filled with exotic fruit, he talked about how much -more- he could do. How tired he was of sitting in the darkness of a castle that didn't exist any more, filled with riches that he couldn't spend in a thousand lifetimes, surrounded by the shades of fanatical followers.
Of course he wanted something in return. He wanted his name to be known again, known and feared by those who never died. So if the scion would promise to acknowledge Hassan when the Scion killed, when his dreams came true...

A bargain was struck. Hassan did his best to aid the boy's growth, and the boy did his best to restore Hassan's name.
Most recently, the scion convinced the Iranian government to begin rebuilding the castle of Alamut according to its original plan in its original mountainous location. As a tourist destination, of course.
Most recently, Hassan sent several of his followers out from Paradise and into the terrifying world of Switzerland-- and modern banking. Our scion is a wealthy man.

Hassan's influence is small. He leads only a single tiny village hidden in a Terra Incognito. But within that village his power is absolute, and he has all the wealth of Paradise at his fingertips. He's been out of touch for a while, but he's a treasure trove of historical information. And he really -does- just want the scion to spread his name around when he kills. Granted, he'd be happiest if his young friend killed regularly and spectacularly, but with a God as the ultimate goal he's willing to bide his time.
He won't make the same mistakes this time as he did last time, after all.

Spoiler: Hassan-i-Sabbah (mechanics)

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Guide *****
Mechanically, the Old Man of the Mountain would basically be a collection of points that could be allocated between Assassin followers, money, information, training, etc, probably with a mechanism to reset or refresh those points through suitably dramatic gestures that spread his name.

Spoiler: Gaze of the Garou (narrative)

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The Loup-Garou (also spelled Roux-ga-Roux, pronounced lu ga'ru) in Cajun mythology is a creature that shares many qualities with the werewolf, the witch, and the vampire. A Loup-Garou is a human who transforms into a great wolf which hunts humans and feeds on blood. If you meet a Loup-Garou's gaze or shed its blood, you yourself are cursed to become a Loup-Garou.
A witch can create a Loup-Garou by cursing another human with lycanthropy. After their transformation, though, Loup Garou often become witches themselves, flying through the skies on giant bats to strange ceremonies.
The original Loup-Garou was from France; she earned her curse by violating Lent seven years in a row. She was eventually brought over to the Americas by French traders, where she passed the curse of the Loup-Garou on to Cajun witches.
Present-day Loup-Garou originate from many causes-- some are cursed by witches, some are jilted lovers seeking revenge, some natural souls who protect the needy and deserving, and some are themselves witches who sacrificed their humanity to bring harm to others.
Regardless of the source, a Loup-Garou is a dangerous creature with much power (physical and spiritual) at its disposal.

On one of his early adventures, our scion encountered a ferocious Loup-Garou. He knew that killing it outright would cause him to inherit its curse, but he couldn't just leave it there. So, with the help of a local drummer (and the teensiest weensiest bit of divine backup), he lured the Loup-Garou to a ceremony where he caught its cursed gaze and captured it (the gaze, not the Garou) in a special book.
After tending to the wounds of the now curse-free human, he retreated into a cave in the swamps and invested the book with his own ichor, slowly and patiently changing the curse's very nature, claiming it as his own.
The end result was the Book of the Gaze. The Book can be used to make a contract between the Scion and another. The other expresses a strong desire and receives the power of the Loup-Garou to fulfill it. In return, while they are cursed they are totally subordinate to the Scion's will. After a time, the scion reclaims the curse and continues on alone.
The contract is not one-way. It establishes a bond between our hero and the new Garou based on that strong desire (anything from "I want to save my family" to "I want that man to pay" to "I want to know the truth" to "I want to live"). The Garou is much stronger and more tractable than others of its kind thanks to the Scion's "sponsorship." If our hero fails to fulfill the contract, however, the Garou's power is withdrawn and cannot be called on again for some time.
Additionally, just having the power of a Loup Garou at his disposal grants our hero access to the powers of the night-- Darkness and the Moon.

Spoiler: Gaze of the Garou (mechanics)

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Creature ***** The Loup-Garou
Relic *** Book of the Gaze (Birthright Connection and two purviews)

Basically, the relic establishes a contract a la the Servant Geas (yes, from Companion), with the target's contractual desire serving as my character's "Geas." Loup Garou basically becomes a "template" that's applied to the mortal he makes a contract with. I didn't want to lose my five-dot Birthright in the first battle; it has to stay around!
I'm not sure how to "stat it up," honestly. A five-dot creature is supposed to be really powerful, but I don't know what that means in game terms.

Spoiler: Net of Kuro-Shima (Narrative)

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A millennium ago, on a small island called Kuro-Shima, a fisherman one night was walking around to cast his nets. To his shock, he found a bay where the fish glowed in the darkness. Hurrying to the brightest point, he gleefully cast his net into the water.

However, when he drew the net back up, it was filled with rats upon rats upon rats! The rats fled into the darkness and infested the island. They ate everything-- the plants, the the other animals, the people, and even the houses, leaving the island a barren, rat-covered rock to this day. What a strange thing, said the fisherman, to find rats at the bottom of the sea!

Of course, the sea had nothing to do with it. Rats are not sea creatures; don't be silly!
Rather, the net caught the rays of light by which life was made. In the sea, they were sea-life; on the land, they were land-life. After it ruined the island, a god of many changes took the light-capturing net stored it away. Given the dire condition of the titanomachy, the net has been put back in circulation... with much, MUCH less light inside it this time.

Spoiler: Net of Kuro-Shima (Mechanics)

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Relic *****

The net of Kuro-Shima allows the wielder to "fish" in any body of water that is broad enough the other side can't be seen and deep enough the bottom is hidden in darkness. At a scaling cost in legend (capped by the wielder's current Legend rating) and in time/actions spent, it pulls out a mundane or mythical creature. These creatures serve for a single scene, largely following the Scion's directions, or complete a single specific task of any length ("Deliver this message," "Find the man who owns this hat," "Guard this Titan's prison," etc).
There's probably also a limit on how many creatures can exist at once from the net-- perhaps their total legend can't exceed the Scion's or some such.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Working on a backup character, in case Brandon gets vetoed for overuse of Companion material (or, you know, dies).

Alexandra Kouros is a daughter of Artemis (adopted from Apollo). She'll definitely have a focus on archery and perception (especially tracking), and I'll see if I can squeeze some Charisma/Appearance stuff in for positive social interaction. She grew up with Artemis' Hunters, and so knows a whole lot about hunting monsters, a moderate amount about the modern world, and absolutely nothing about relationships (all Hunters are under an oath of chastity, and most of them are also several times her age, asexual, or both). Which is why, of course, I'm giving her Mara Secare (a succubus-like shapeshifter from the approved Chapter 2 of Companion) as a Guide. The monster hunter, and the monster in hiding, each sure that their crush on the other is unrequited.

[Rokku]

Just a heads up, I'm still here but don't have a super-strong idea yet. I'm hoping what other people settle on will help point me in a direction.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Okay, backup character is now done. ...I could do some more story sections, but not today. Those can always be edited in later.

Alexandra Kouros, Scion of Artemis (Dodekatheon)
Calling: Naive Monster Hunter
Nature: Bravo

And her potentially loyal Guide:
Mara Secare (5 Dot Guide)
Calling: Succubus
Nature: Survivor (this is just flavor; I don't think guides actually get Natures)

The Character Sheet:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19K0...usp=drive_link
And Mara's stats are on Page 64 of Companion.

Spoiler: Character Concept

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Opposites. Whether they attract or repel, they make for interesting character dynamics.

In this case, we've got Alexandra, hunter of monsters, a physical powerhouse, quick of eye and thought, and fearlessly brave, but very naive, utterly guileless, and (to put it politely) not really used to having to think for herself. She's also almost completely clueless about relationships, having grown up among the Hunters, who have all sworn a vow of chastity and furthermore, are almost all several times Alexandra's age, asexual, or both. Among them, she pulled her weight as a camp helper when she was a kid, and an archer and driver once she was older.

Balancing and contrasting her is Mara Secare, a monster that has managed to escape from the damaged underworld. I've taken her mostly straight from the pages of Companion (Chapter 2, the section set aside as good-to-go): charismatic, beautiful, and highly knowledgeable, but not much of a fighter and rather intimidated by Scions. I've actually magnified that last trait in my story section, bringing her fear up to the levels of an anxiety disorder; she hides her true nature from Alexandra (and the rest of the Band once she meets them), terrified that if they knew what she was they would kill her for being a monster (she has, after all, lived her whole life in the Underworld; I imagine that basically all of the monsters there were killed by heroes or gods). Companion also notes that she may or may not have a hidden agenda.

Alexandra and Mara both have an enormous crush on each other. Neither of them realizes that the other feels the same way.

Spoiler: Story

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Alexandra and her twin brother Haris were born of the god Apollo. Unfortunately, their mortal mother died in the childbirth. Seeing in the two a parallel to himself and his sister, Apollo sent the daughter to his own twin Artemis for her to raise. Alexandra has mixed feelings about her father, but has stayed in contact with her brother and loves him dearly (even when he is being annoying).

However, now she feels the need to strike out on her own, to make her own story instead of living in the shadow of the Hunters, her mother (much as she loves her), and even her brother (who joined a Band of Scions last year and has been insufferably smug about it ever since). And it's been going great! Haris gave her a prophecy that said she would find her destiny in [starting town], USA, and she's been working her way across the country since. It'd be going faster if she'd been willing to ditch her car and attached camper and just fly to her destination, but where's the fun in that? Besides, she's got a small arsenal tucked away in the nooks and crannies of the camper (a handful of mundane weapons). The TSA doesn't look too kindly on that.

Without even receiving her Visitation yet, she's slain monsters, rescued innocents, helped with a forest fire, and last but certainly not least, rescued Mara from the pack of Titanspawn she'd managed to enrage.

Mara loves being in the World instead of the Underworld. A physical body, able to eat and run and drink and kiss... it's everything she ever dreamed it could be. There's a price, of course. She has to drain a little bit of life in order to replenish her Legend and keep pulling the tricks that let her be so successful. Just a little sip (mechanically, one level of bashing damage), delivered by kiss (or more intimate contact); a mortal will be fully recovered by the next day, and probably never even realize it happened.

It turns out, at least one Titanspawn will absolutely realize it happened. And will be spiteful enough to call his entire pack to hunt her down. She fled, but they found her and surely would have killed her, had Alexandra not intervened and driven them off. Mara thought she was done for... but the monster hunter patched up her wounds, took her to the hospital, and guarded her room in case the Titanspawn came back. Mara realized that Alexandra had no idea that she was a monster herself, and when Alex offered to take her along as she travelled to the next town, against her better judgment, Mara agreed. She told herself it was just for safety, until she was sure she'd lost the Titanspawn pack, but one night turned into two, turned into weeks, turned into over two months. She enjoyed the company of this reckless Scion companion, she loved travelling the country seeing and trying new things, she even found herself liking helping the innocents they came across, tending their wounds, getting them to safety, and smoothing all the ruffled feathers that came after an incident. But now, she and Alex are on the outskirts of the town her brother foretold. Travelling with just one Scion, Mara has survived the dangers and kept her secret hidden, but a whole Band of Scions is a different beast completely. The time has come for her to leave...

Spoiler: Part 1 - Mara

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I had to leave. I’d been kidding myself, courting danger of the worst kind, to stay this long in the first place. Me and a Scion? A monster and a monster hunter? She’d hate me, probably kill me, if she ever figured it out. And yes, I could probably keep that from happening for months, maybe even years, and yes, she was cute… distractingly cute, and brave, and funny, and she made me feel little butterflies, and her smile lit up the room and dared the World to do its worst… but that was the real problem, wasn’t it? Because the World, and Fate, and especially the Titanspawn had always been all too happy to take a Scion up on that kind of dare. And maybe, just maybe, Alex could take it. But I couldn’t, and I’d be the one trapped in the crossfire.

So I packed up my things – my toothbrush, my trail snacks, my sleeping bag, and the knife she’d given me – and I walked out of our camp. She asked where I was going, didn’t even need to look up from the cooking pot to notice, and I lied and told her I was going to buy some more supplies. I don’t know if she believed me (who brings a sleeping bag shopping?), but she let me go without comment. Because she trusts me. Gods and Titans I hate my life sometimes… but it’s still better than the alternative.

I’d made it no more than a few miles from camp when I noticed the lady. Sitting there, not ten feet from my nose, roasting some small creature over a portable stove in the middle of the field. Impossible that I wouldn’t have seen her sooner, impossible that I was somehow 20ft off the road I’d been walking… and impossible that a mere human could command the kind of presence this woman had. She wasn’t even looking at me, and I still felt like an ant under a microscope, or perhaps a seal noticing a polar bear. My heart stopped in my chest.

Now she looked up at me, and smiled. A shark’s smile, fierce and wild and utterly devoid of mercy.

“Hello, little monster” she said, in a voice like a still forest. “Do you know who I am?”

She was all my nightmares made manifest. But one doesn’t leave a horror such as this waiting for an answer. I opened my mouth and realized it was dry, dry as chalk, as dry as bone dust.

“Yes,” I managed to croak. I wracked my brain, trying frantically to find a way to make it out of this in one piece. Hell, I’d settle for alive.

“And you know what I can do?”

“Y-yes,” I forced out again.

“Good,” she purred. “So stop wondering if you could make it over that log and into the woods before I severed your hamstring. You couldn’t, and it wouldn’t help you anyways. Have a seat by my fire. Share my meal.”

“Y-yes… Lady Artemis.”

What do you do when you’re face to face with the goddess of monster hunters? Simple enough. Whatever she wants. And pray. I sat down on the far side of the little cooking device, so similar to the one her daughter used.

“Are you here to –” oh, it hurt to say “– bring me back to the Underworld?”

“No,” she chuckled, and my heart finally shuddered back into motion. “What a cute turn of phrase. I can see why Alexandra likes you.”

Of course. By offering to share her meal she was extending the guest laws onto me. The Greek gods take those very seriously. I hastily took a piece of the thing on the fire and crammed it into my mouth; better safe than sorry. Rabbit? Deer? I couldn’t tell. Just because she wasn’t going to kill me now, though, didn’t mean she wouldn’t later. There probably wasn’t a single being in existence more qualified to find me again and send me back among the Dead.

“I confess,” she continued, “that when I first heard of you, first learned that there was a new kind of monster and that it might be stalking my daughter – no, don’t interrupt, I already know you haven’t touched her, that’s why you yet breathe – why, my first inclination was to hunt you down, skin you, and wear you as a hat.”

I was sure it was bad manners to throw up in front of a goddess, so I strained as hard as I could to keep the terror from dragging the one bite I’d had back out. My body shook from the effort.

“But that would make me a poor mother. No matter how I disprove of you, you are her newest pet, and I’ll respect that.”

Suddenly she was right behind me, laying her hand on my shoulder, speaking softly into my ear.

“Of course, should a pet fail to properly behave – if it were to bite its master, or fail to carry its weight, or even just run away… well then, it would be less of a pet, and more of a liability. Wouldn’t it?” She paused, and the pressure of a thousand years, of mastery, of her godhood threated to crush me like the wayward gnat I was compared to her, crush me until there was nothing left at all of the little thing that called itself Mara Secare. “Do we understand one another?”

I couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe, so I jerked my head up and down in frantic nods and prayed that would be enough for her.

And just like that the pressure was gone. Artemis was, not just a girl, never just a girl, but as she was before, no longer a horrible gateway of power that just happened to look like a woman. She was back on the far side of the fire, gnawing on the legbone of whatever other unfortunate little beast had caught her eye tonight.

She set the bone aside, stood up, and walked around the fire to me.

“Good.” She patted the top of my head; a pet that had performed up to expectations this time. “Then I must away. My time in the World is finite, and Alexandra still needs her Visitation.”

Yesterday, the revelation that Alex accomplished what she had as barely more than a mortal would have shocked me. Today, it was just another pebble in the landslide. The goddess was gone, and I was back on the road. I turned around and staggered back towards my friend’s camp.

I managed to compose myself a little before I reached the camp. Well, at least outwardly, I hope. Alex, practically glowing with life and fresh power, was saying something to me, but I couldn’t process it, couldn’t really think at all, so I made some excuse to go to bed early. I can’t even remember how I made it to the camper, but I woke wrapped up in my sleeping bag, Alex snoring in the seat across from me.

I took stock. If I stayed with Alex, I would probably be killed by Titanspawn, or by her Band, or by Alex herself, because she apparently didn’t love me, didn’t think of me as anything but a pet. But a threat was the only kind of promise a being as powerful as Lady Artemis absolutely must keep. If I left Alex, I had no doubt the goddess would find me and kill me… and that was if I was very lucky; the Dodekatheon was infamous for their ‘poetic’ punishments. Easy choice. I’d stay.

I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe again.

Spoiler: Part 2 – Alexandra

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I felt powerful. So very powerful. My nerves were on fire, my muscles felt like coiled steel, and my eyes were so sharp my vision was getting blurry. I didn’t even think that made sense, but it was true.

I thought Mom would be mad at me for running away, but she seemed… not happy, but understanding that it was time for me to find my own way.

I already had the camper I’d gotten for my last birthday, and the variety of weapons I had ‘borrowed’ from the Hunters, so she asked me what else I would like. I told her I wanted something to protect people, and she gave me a bulletproof vest with some odd patterning on it. She also gave me something she called the ‘Apollo Medallion’ or something like that. It doesn’t look like one of his, though. It looks and feels like a weird chunk of metal and plastic. I’ll have to ask Mara about it when she gets back, she knows all sorts of stuff like that.

Mara! Smart, strong, beautiful Mara! Tonight, with this confidence flowing through my veins, I was finally going to do it. I was going to ask her out, I wasn’t going to chicken out again!

And I thought I heard her now. Her footsteps sounded like she was still on the road, which put her dozens of yards away. Incredible how far I could hear now, but no! Focus! I couldn’t screw this up again!

As she got closer, I screwed my eyes shut. I needed less distractions from my super-vision. And Mara herself was probably the biggest distraction. Her face, and especially her eyes, had a nasty tendency to make my brain melt and dribble out of my mouth instead of the suave and clever things I had actually planned to say.

I heard her walk into the camp. I stood up, eyes still closed, walked calmly towards her, and promptly tripped over a tree root. I recovered almost instantly, but I could feel my face turning a deep red, the embarrassed blood rushing in my ears. Gotta keep going, I had to do this.

“Mara, I’ve been thinking, and maybe this is just the rush from getting my Visitation–” no, don’t say that you idiot! “–but I’ve been thinking, thinking about you–” better, I should focus on her, tell her what I liked about her “–and how you’re smart and determined and beautiful, maybe the most interesting girl I’ve ever known–” gods I hoped this didn’t sound too cheesy, maybe I should dial it back a bit “–and not just because I’ve lived most of my life with the Hunters and they’re all ace or kids or actually hundreds of years old or my brother, who’s not a Hunter, but–” abort! Abort! “–and would you, would you, would you–” SPIT IT OUT “–m-maybe like to go out with me?”

Oh my gods, I needed to breathe. I inhaled desperately, then realized it had been a few seconds and Mara still hadn’t responded. I cracked one eye open to peak at her reaction.

She looked pale, and she was trembling slightly. I could even hear her pulse pounding rapidly. Something was wrong.

“Mara, are you okay? You don’t have to answer, not if you don’t want to–”

“S-sorry, Alex, I don’t think I’m feeling so good. I think – I think I’m going to go to bed.”

Mara was having a panic attack.

Before I could even consider how to help her through this, or whether it was my fault, she started to slump, and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Fast as thought, I was supporting her in my arms.

She blinked up at me. “Alex? Please don’t go, it’s not safe.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. Let’s get you to bed.”

We didn’t have a shock blanket, heck I didn’t even know if those helped with panic attacks, but I wrapped her up in her sleeping bag as best I could. I sat down in the seat across from her bed in the camper.

Now I had all the time in the world to wonder if it was my fault. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid, and selfish, too. Mara was clearly still dealing with the trauma of that Titanspawn attack. She’d been doing so much better this last month, so much that… that what? That I’d thought I should add to her stress all over again by demanding to know whether she’d date me?! My brother was right, I really was the dullest arrow in the quiver.

What to do next? I definitely couldn’t leave, or drop Mara off somewhere, not like this. There wasn’t anything for me to kill to make this problem go away. Fight, flee… what else was there? I wasn’t used to hunting alone like this, to having to think everything through myself. I had no idea what it would take to help Mara.

But I would find out.

“I’ll protect you, Mara. Even if you don’t love me like I love you, even if you never will, I’ll find a way to make you feel safe.

“I swear it.”

Incidentally, if you have any thoughts/criticisms/opinions on that story section, I'd love to hear them! Really, whether it's "I hate your depiction of anxiety" or "This section felt too corny for me to take it seriously" or "You missed a comma here" or anything in between.

Side Note: Mara has tried to come clean to Alex about being a monster. However, Alex misunderstood and now believes that Mara is an escaped human soul. Mara gave up on the idea of correcting her after a few more comments from the Scion to the effect of "the only good monster is a dead monster". For her part, Alex has not yet put together that the reason Mara gets so nervous when monsters are discussed is not PTSD, but rather the enthusiastic gleam in her eyes that Alex gets at the thought of fighting and killing monsters.

Spoiler: Inspirations & Theme Songs

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Main influence was definitely 'Red' and Raine from the webcomic Twokinds. The brash warrior and the mage with a secret she's desperately trying to hide, which of course eventually comes out and forces 'Red' (his name is still unknown to the readers) to reevaluate all his preconceptions and ultimately grow as a person. Meanwhile being open with others lets Raine grow as well, gaining the confidence to finally start embracing her magic. Also, 'Red' is a dumbass just like Alex.

Alexandra's theme song is Eye of the Storm, by Aviators.

Mara's theme song is Little White Lies, by Voltaire. I prefer (and linked) the acoustic version.

Spoiler: Artemis

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First things first, I didn't read carefully enough when reading through Artemis' entry, and so missed that Scion changed her from asexual (literally one of 4 beings so asexual that Aphrodite has zero influence over them) to lesbian. Oops. The story and background I wrote work better with Artemis as ace, but if that's not in the cards, so be it.

Next, why is she being such a ***** to Mara? Ultimately, that's up to the GM, but here's my headcanon. A lot of her myths feature Artemis overreacting (at least by modern standards) to an offense or an attack against her or her loved ones, though forum rules prevent me from discussing those precedents further. My theory is that her treatment of Mara stems from this same source; on some level, maybe not even consciously, she sees Mara as a threat to her relationship with her daughter, and is reacting with extreme hostility, a classic overprotective parent whose child is dating for the first time, but cranked up to godly proportions. But on the other hand, maybe Artemis knows something about Mara that I don't (and Companion is quite explicit that the player doesn't necessarily know everything there is to know about the succubus).

Also, I think I get what they were going for when the designers gave her Health; her and Apollo's arrows are symbolic of disease, appearing from out of the blue to maim and slay. But I wish they'd given her War to represent archery, or Guardian to represent her protection of women, or Fertility, to represent her connection to nature. Ah, well, now I'm done griping.

Spoiler: Points Breakdown

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Attributes:
Physical is Primary, Mental is Secondary, Social is Tertiary. Need Dexterity for Accuracy, Strength for both Athletics and damage (the main advantage of not using a gun is getting to add STR), and a little Stamina because every character needs that (plus it would be weird for a character who grew up rough and wild to be completely fragile). The other two categories are a bit more interesting, each having a stat that I completely dumped. Having a 1 in Manipulation plays into the idea that Alexandra is naive. The 1 in Intelligence is a) because I find it funny, much like how I find it funny that Brandon can barely perceive the broad side of a barn, and b) because it justifies her having realized neither that Mara isn't human nor that she's in love with Alex (despite her phenomenal Perception). She can pick up all the pieces, she's just not able to assemble them into the correct big picture.

Abilities (3 bonus points spent):
Mostly the expected stuff for an outdoorsy Physical Scion here. The only oddities are that Alexandra has Control (in cars and trucks) instead of melee skills like Melee or Brawl. That's because she doesn't have the HP or defenses to thrive in melee, but I also see it as a reflection of Artemis being overprotective; she's fine with her daughter learning to shoot from afar and to drive the getaway vehicle, but doesn't want her to be throwing down at a range where the monsters can hit back, and this influenced the training Alexandra received. 2 bonus points spent on Marksmanship, one on Empathy.

Birthrights (5 bonus points spent):
3 regular points and 4 bonus points to purchase Mara as a 5 Dot Guide, ouch. Apollo's Necklace is a relic that I adore from Companion, and that in part inspired this character in the first place, granting Moon and a unique 1 Dot power to inspire awe in others (Alex has no idea that this thing is from the Apollo landing craft and has literally been to the Moon and back; maybe Mara or one of her fellow Scions can clue her in). And one more bonus point for a bulletproof vest that grants Guardian. Maybe I should say that this is a remnant of the hide of Callista, or one of Artemis' other famous followers. I've very specifically not taken the Hunters or her Scion brother Haris as Birthrights, because she's trying to forge her own path and doesn't intend to call on either of them until she's proven herself (i.e., I might spend some points to buy them once we reach Demigod).

Advantages:
The one dot powers from Moon and Guardian, and the two dot boon from Moon as well. The other 6 points went to Epic Attributes. Incidentally, I was pleasantly surprised by how perfect the Moon purview is for Alexandra, giving useful perception, stealth, and defensive abilities at low Legend, but with higher Boons also giving the ability to cure mental illnesses, something that should be obviously attractive to our lover-girl.

Legend (7 bonus points spent):
Up to Legend 3.

Mundane Gear:
I've assumed several more pieces of mundane gear than I did for Brand. Some weapons ranged weapons (she mainly uses a crossbow, because I probably overvalue Piercing, but what Hunter would be complete without a few bows as backup weapons), some back-up melee weapons (an axe for chopping firewood and potentially monsters, a knife that she can wear on her without drawing suspicion), a camper trailer to store it all in and live in while travelling cross-country, and a car to pull the camper. Honestly, I'm giving serious thought to sacrificing a bonus point in Marksmanship to turn the car or camper into a Relic of some sort.

Spoiler: Custom Relics

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Just the one, a bulletproof vest that grants access to the Guardian purview. The Apollo's Necklace and Mara Secare are straight out of the books (specifically, chapter 2 of Companion).

[Justanotherhero]

Julian Eldridge - Mazaces Seresu
Scion of Osiris.


Rules are done I think. Background is roughly done although I might rewrite some sections to improve understandability.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...Dv5SujaUQ/edit

Lifestyle I am thinking something along the lines of Batman but supernaturally backed up in the sense that:
By day: Student, business „owner“ aka front for the family to move money out of the Overworld into our world.
By night : Scion of Osiris and Guardian of the Dead.

[Justanotherhero]

Considering the Location :

As a starting point Julian would definitely fit in anywhere with a coast and a university. Preference given to warm places. I was thinking:

-Tampa , Florida
- New Orleans, Loisiana
- San Diego, California
- Savannah , Georgia

Something like that.

@Kish any favorites from your side?
@Group if we have other ideas I can make it work.

[Riya_WhiteFang]

Hi! I’m Riya, and I’m new around here. Are you guys still looking for players, ’cause I’d love to join.
I’ve never played Scion before, but it seems pretty interesting, and I think I can pick it up.

[Kish]

Absolutely. Recruitment will close on the 17th.

I haven't missed the other questions, and I'll be addressing them shortly.

Alright! I've got it narrowed down to three concepts in my head now (one each Loa, Amatsukami, and Atzlanti). [...][/spoiler]

The net would fit best of those.

Brandon Flynne, "Brand" for short

All look good.

Okay, backup character is now done. ...I could do some more story sections, but not today. Those can always be edited in later.

Looks good.

Considering the Location :

As a starting point Julian would definitely fit in anywhere with a coast and a university. Preference given to warm places. I was thinking:

-Tampa , Florida
- New Orleans, Loisiana
- San Diego, California
- Savannah , Georgia

Something like that.

@Kish any favorites from your side?
@Group if we have other ideas I can make it work.

Any of those would work.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Hi! I’m Riya, and I’m new around here. Are you guys still looking for players, ’cause I’d love to join.
I’ve never played Scion before, but it seems pretty interesting, and I think I can pick it up.

Scion's a lot of fun, even if you don't know the rules! Man, the rules that my group completely screwed up in our first campaign... and our second... and my third with a different group....

[Justanotherhero]

@Kish Did you want the group to know each other?

I have an idea for facilitating introductions:

Would anyone be interested in being on Osiris's list of known Scions?

I am contemplating a slight revision where, instead of experiencing the full, magnificent tour of the Underworld and Overworld after Julian's Visitation, Osiris appears and announces:

"Our Underworld is burning. Our Overworld is incredibly dangerous for you to navigate alone. Do not venture there without protection. I must depart for war. Take these contacts and this address. Stay alive as long as possible, banish a few shades if you can, and when time allows, we will meet again."

If other players are interested, you could be included in the list of contacts provided?

[DeTess]

Liliana would have some fame in whichever town you'd start in as a private detective. She would probably not make it too obvious she's a Scion though, at least not on a first meeting.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

@Kish Did you want the group to know each other?

I have an idea for facilitating introductions:

Would anyone be interested in being on Osiris's list of known Scions?

I am contemplating a slight revision where, instead of experiencing the full, magnificent tour of the Underworld and Overworld after Julian's Visitation, Osiris appears and announces:

"Our Underworld is burning. Our Overworld is incredibly dangerous for you to navigate alone. Do not venture there without protection. I must depart for war. Take these contacts and this address. Stay alive as long as possible, banish a few shades if you can, and when time allows, we will meet again."

If other players are interested, you could be included in the list of contacts provided?

Alexandra would almost certainly be on the list of known Scions, having been formally disowned and then adopted over ten years ago (transferring her from Apollo to Artemis); plenty of time for that bit of gossip to make its way to the other pantheons. That she's left the Hunters and travelled to America to make her own path may or may not be known (it's been several months at this point), and Mara should be a completely unknown factor, as a monster that's not associated with any pantheon, is fresh out of the Underworld, and on top of all that is also in disguise.

Brandon probably isn't on the list, but I wouldn't be surprised if Brigid had 'called ahead' as a courtesy, to either Julian or Osiris, letting them know that a warrior of the Tuatha was on his way to help.

Probably going to go with Brandon as my first character, incidentally. I adore Alex and Mara, but let's save piloting two characters at once for when I'm not quite so rusty.

[Justanotherhero]

Liliana would have some fame in whichever town you'd start in as a private detective. She would probably not make it too obvious she's a Scion though, at least not on a first meeting.

Are you willing to deal with semi obvious weirdos for money? Julian ist a part of a group that pays people to investigate ghost stories. Since he was tasked to capture some of the shades that escaped during the Titans Break Out but Investigation ist not his thing.

Brandon probably isn't on the list, but I wouldn't be surprised if Brigid had 'called ahead' as a courtesy, to either Julian or Osiris, letting them know that a warrior of the Tuatha was on his way to help.

Since Julian is on his way to hunt shades and he is not capable of seeing ghosts help is very much appreciated.

[DeTess]

Are you willing to deal with semi obvious weirdos for money? Julian ist a part of a group that pays people to investigate ghost stories. Since he was tasked to capture some of the shades that escaped during the Titans Break Out but Investigation ist not his thing.

Provided Julian makes a fairly convincing case for the ghost stories, yes, definitely.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Speaking of character interactions, would anyone's character be interested in learning martial arts/self defense? Brandon has to teach someone in the Brawl ability at least once a week, or his geas inverts itself (which would be very, very bad for him). I could probably fulfill that by hosting or guest-starring in classes for NPCs (Brandon already has a license for this, albeit one from Ireland, so he'd probably need to do some paperwork), but teaching a PC would probably be a little more interesting narratively.

[DeTess]

Speaking of character interactions, would anyone's character be interested in learning martial arts/self defense? Brandon has to teach someone in the Brawl ability at least once a week, or his geas inverts itself (which would be very, very bad for him). I could probably fulfill that by hosting or guest-starring in classes for NPCs (Brandon already has a license for this, albeit one from Ireland, so he'd probably need to do some paperwork), but teaching a PC would probably be a little more interesting narratively.

If no one else has a stronger reason for this, Liliana would be game. Having at least some unarmed self-defence tricks up her sleeve couldn't hurt.

[Kish]

Characters submitted so far:

Benoojian	Meztli "Max" Adams	Social Justice Warrior	Atzlanti	Tezcatlipoca
Cassus	Anthony Leopoldo Baldwin	Antiquarian	Amatsukami	Tsuki-Yomi
DeTess	Liliana Cypher	Information Broker	Aesir	Loki
Justanotherhero	Julian Eldridge	Ghost Hunter	Pesedjet	Osiris
Kaworu	Mateusz Śląski	Friendly Astrophysicist	Pesedjet	Horus
PoeticallyPsyco	Brandon Flynne	Champion	Tuatha de Danann	Brigid

I'll be closing recruitment on Saturday (though I may extend it, if there are still only three completed submissions; I'm hoping for at least four players).

[Cassus]

Alright, let's try this application thing! I didn't see an official sheet format, but let me know if you have a preference.

Feedback welcome (from ST and also players)-- it's been a LONG time since I played Scion.

(Made some edits 2/16 after reading the other sheets)

Spoiler: Anthony Leopoldo Baldwin Background/Personality

Show

Anthony is, or was, an antiquarian of some little skill, content to work steadily away in his perfectable world of dusty eggshells, tiny figurines, and old books. His life moved in a steady, easy routine-- two simple meals each day, two new entries in the shop's log each hour, too-eager customers when he finished his work. He always greeted new arrivals in his tiny shop with hot tea, a gentle smile, and a (perfectly ordinary) chipped teacup.
The most exciting thing that ever happened in his life was the time when some young punk mistook his store for a pawnshop and burst in demanding money. Baldwin drove the girl off with a pretended gun and a real cellphone.
After that, he expanded his routine to include a brief practice session with an old man in the park and a few minutes spent caring for his new pistol. He tried to settle back into his perfect life, but unfortunately he kept meeting all of these new people...

His father isn't entirely sure what to make of the polite middle-aged gentleman with his dusty suit, fragile limbs, and delicate fingers. It wasn't until he tasted some of Anthony's tea that the moon deity decided that this really was his son.

PERSONALITY

Anthony Leopoldo Baldwin was perfectly content to live his antiquarian's life in a narrow orbit defined by tiny figurines, faceless collectors, simple meals, complex teas, unfailing politeness, and the well-worn steps of his shop.
The fact that he's now officially the son of a deity hasn't changed that in any way. But now he's not -allowed- to live that life. Some days it feels like the whole universe is one big conspiracy to keep him from living that life. So instead he's trying to perfect his -new- life. It'll take a while, but he's got time.
Now he trains and studies with the same relentless dedication that he used to apply to attaching tiny slivers of nearly-transparent resin. He rarely expresses strong emotion, since strong emotions cause people to make bad decisions. He rarely lies, to himself or others, because lies cause people to make bad decisions.
He does enjoy a quiet chat with an ancient relic. The changes to his world weren't -all- for the worse.

Spoiler: Anthony's sheet

Show

God : Tsuki-yomi
Calling : Antiquarian
Nature : Perfectionist
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ATTRIBUTES (0 BP)
[X] = favoured

[ ]Strength : 2 (1) [X]Charisma : 5 (1) [ ]Perception : 3 (-)
[ ]Dexterity: 5 (2) [ ]Manipulation: 1 (1) [ ]Intelligence: 5 (1)
[ ]Stamina : 2 (1) [ ]Appearance : 1 (-) [ ]Wits : 3 (1)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABILITIES (0 BP)
[X] = favoured

[X]Academics : 1
[ ]Animal Ken : -
[ ]Art
: Pottery 1
: -
[ ]Athletics : 3
[X]Awareness : 3
[ ]Brawl : -
[ ]Command : 1
[ ]Control
: -
: -
[ ]Craft
: Woodworking 1
: -
[X]Empathy : 1
[ ]Fortitude : 1
[ ]Integrity : 3
[X]Investigation : 3
[ ]Larceny : -
[X]Marksmanship : 1
[ ]Medicine : -
[ ]Melee : 3
[ ]Occult : 3
[X]Politics : 1
[ ]Presence : 3
[ ]Science
: -
: -
[ ]Stealth : 1
[ ]Survival : -
[ ]Thrown : -

Languages: English, Japanese, Chinese (Han dialect), American Sign Language, German, Hindi

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ADVANTAGES (11 BP)

Virtues Willpower: 9/9 Legend: 3
Name: Duty 2 Legend Points: 9/9
Name: Endurance 2
Name: Intellect 4
Name: Valor 1

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
KNACKS (0 BP)

Strength
Holy Rampage (You’re good at breaking objects)

Dexterity
Photographic Penmanship (Spend legend and WP to reproduce material with photographic accuracy)
Untouchable Opponent (1L to add Epic Dex successes as dodge DV bonus for a scene)

Stamina
Body Armor (1L to generate [legend] armor with -1 mobility penalty, stack with other armor)

Charisma
Charmer: You can spend a Legend point to suppress negative emotions directed at you for one scene.

Manipulation
Takes One to Know One: You can tell when you hear a lie.

Intelligence
Language Mastery (Intuitively hear/speak any language; reading and writing is harder)

Wits
Psychic Profiler (Intuit a lot by sight; intuit more with a brief conversation)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOONS/SPELLS (0 BP)

Darkness
Night Eyes (*)

Mystery (*)


Favored: Moon, Darkness, Psychopomp, Tsukumo-Gami
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXPERIENCE
Total: 0 Total Spent: 0

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BIRTHRIGHTS (4 BP)

Bone Tea Bowl (***)
"Well, some things can only be addressed by killing someone. It's from someone dear to me. It will help keep your tea warm when you work."
A white bowl. Grants access to the Moon and Darkness purview, emulates Death Senses

Crescent Knife (***)
"Self-defense is important, too; staying alive is one of your duties."
A white blade. Use the stats of a Spatha, -2 speed, adds Legend to all (Dexterity+Melee) rolls

Beads of Yellow Wood (***)
This is an odd one. Tsukuyomi probably intended for Anthony to briefly meet the often-travelling Guanyin on neutral ground, impress her with his diplomacy and concern for mortals, and learn a few secrets about the nature of reality that-- though they'd never admit it-- the Amatsukami just don't really understand. A minor boon and a minor tie to China. That's not what happened, though.
Instead, when Tsukuyomi tried to slightly relax threads of Fate around Anthony to bring him into contact with the pantheon across the Yellow Sea... Anthony met the Yellow Emperor. The old-before-his-time scion unknowingly met and entered into a vicious, protracted argument with Huang Di during a random layover.
By the time they parted, Huang Di had, without revealing his name, given Anthony a crash course on the interconnectedness of reality and a small bracelet made of thick wooden beads. The two continued to meet, Huang Di using various guises to chide the scion for his physical and intellectual frailty. Much to Tsukuyomi's dismay, an enormous amount of Anthony's divine potential was actually shaped by the Yellow Emperor rather than his own father.
A bracelet of timeworn, yellowed wooden beads. Grants access the Mystery Purview, emulates Wind's Freedom
[[In this case, the "divine potential" refers to the fact that more than half of Anthony's boon/epic attribute points were spent on Huangdi's favored traits. Oddly, I didn't plan it that way.]]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQUIPMENT OF NOTE

More than two hundred ancient pottery figurines. Three tea sets-- one ordinary, one in good condition, and one yellowed eggshell. A small library dedicated to these materials. A shop with a manual cash register and an excellent computer imaging setup. A serviceable car.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BONUS POINTS (15)
Attributes/Epic Attributes: -
Abilities: -
Advantages: +1 Legend, +2 Willpower(11)
Knacks/Boons/Spells: -
Birthrights: +4 Birthright (4)

Player	Character	Concept	Pantheon	Parent	Status
DeTess	Liliana Cypher	Information Broker	Aesir	Loki	Complete
Justanotherhero	Julian Eldridge	?	Pesedjet	Osiris	Missing one point in each Attribute category (possible WoD assumptions here?)
PoeticallyPsyco	Brandon Flynne	Champion	Tuatha de Danann	Brigid	Complete
Cassus	Anthony Leopoldo Baldwin	Antiquarian	Amatsukami	Tsuki-Yomi	Complete?

[Justanotherhero]

Concept wise I would describe him as a Ghost Hunter/Biomedical Engineering student.

One point in each attribute and 8/6/4 to spend or am I wrong in that regard?

I will gladly spend 9/7/5 if it is allowed.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Oh hey, found a pretty good picture for Brandon, aka Firebrand. Long red hair, fire theme, heavy armor; heck, it even has a swan motif (Brigid's sacred animal). Granted, Brand doesn't actually have any fire powers yet, and he doesn't wear makeup, and his name isn't Angela, but for such a specific aesthetic this is pretty spot-on as a picture.

Actually, I could totally see Brand wearing that makeup/war paint in the fighting ring, too (anything to make his face a little more memorable).

Spoiler

Show

[Kish]

Anthony Leopoldo Baldwin

Looks mostly good. One problem:

Boon and Epic Attribute point breakdown:
Epic Dexterity 3: 3 points
Epic Charisma 1: 1 point
Tsukumo-Gami 3: 3 points
Smoking Mirror: 1 point
Tidal Interference: 2 points
Phase Cloak: 3 points

...equals 13. All-Purpose Purview Boons are bought independently and cost more than Pantheon or Special Purviews. So if you want to spend three points on the Moon Purview, it would be either Phase Cloak, or Smoking Mirror and Tidal Interference, not all three.

Concept wise I would describe him as a Ghost Hunter/Biomedical Engineering student.

One point in each attribute and 8/6/4 to spend or am I wrong in that regard?

I will gladly spend 9/7/5 if it is allowed.

I find the sheet's presentation a little confusing, I'm afraid. If I'm now reading correctly that the intent is Stamina 5 and Charisma 4, it's correct as is.

Oh hey, found a pretty good picture for Brandon, aka Firebrand. Long red hair, fire theme, heavy armor; heck, the even has a swan motif (Brigid's sacred animal). Granted, Brand doesn't actually have any fire powers yet, and he doesn't wear makeup, and his name isn't Angela, but for such a narrow character concept this is pretty spot-on as a picture.

Actually, I could totally see Brand wearing that makeup/war paint in the fighting ring, too (anything to make his face a little more memorable).

Cool.

[Justanotherhero]

I find the sheet's presentation a little confusing, I'm afraid. If I'm now reading correctly that the intent is Stamina 5 and Charisma 4, it's correct as is.

I could have structured that better my mistake.

With spending Bonus Points I will reach that yes:

Bonus Points :
Order +1 - 3
willpower 9 -2
Willpower 10 -2
Stamina 5 -4
Cha 4: -4