Summary
Scion Second Edition, by Onyx Path Publishing, is a TTRPG where the players are the children of gods from real-world mythology. The game may sound likePercy Jacksonbut for older audiences, one big difference in world-building is that ordinary people know about the supernatural. After all, a fight with frost jotun isn’t exactly subtle, especially in the middle of the city. This makes the player character sort celebrities or superheroes
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Over time the total number ofpantheonsin the game has expanded to well over 15 with more on their way. These pantheons are based on real-life mythologies and are well-researched. What makes these pantheons unique from each other mechanically, is their virtues and extraordinary powers. Virtues are the morality of the gods, which informs role-playing, but when someone acts in spirit with that virtue, they can gain extra dice. The unique powers of each of the pantheons are usually rooted in their stories and belief systems. These can range from the ability to change fate to the power to steal souls.
10Netjer - Keeping The Cosmic Balance
The Egyptian Gods are one of the most popular mythologies in the modern day. While people usually don’t know their names, their animal heads on human bodies are a striking image that stays in the minds of people. The Virtues of the Netjer are Balance and Justice. Balance is keeping the cosmic balance of the universes known in Egyptian mythology as the ma’at. Justice is punishing those who go against the ma’at. While these two can be similar they are different enough to judge which actions would move the player to either extreme.
The idea of their unique preview is cooler in concept than the actual powers they give. In Egyptian myth, the soul is made up of five different parts and as children of the gods, the player character can manipulate these parts. Though the only current part that the player can control is the Ren, the true name of a person. Though despite this a player can still find these powers useful and fit them into any conceptfrom a magician child Isis, a trickster chosen of Set, or a created warrior of Horus.
9Yazata - Doing Good On Their Own Free Will
The Yazatas are the ancient gods of the Iranian region of the world. The gods are rooted in Zoroastrianism and this is reflected in the virtues of Honesty and Free Will. Honesty is less just being truthful but making sure that there is good in the world and that evil doesn’t happen. Though this comes into conflict with the Yazata want for free will. After all, forcing people to be good goes against someone’s free will. Every scion of the Yazata has a balance of these parts themselves and their parents often act as role models for how to act it out.
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This need for balance plays into the unique power that a scion gains for being part of the pantheon. This power requires the player to be in the middle between Honesty and Free Will to give them a bonus to any active, often better than the double dice one can get by going to the extreme. The power a player needs to buy is all about Honesty, with punishing oath breakers and asking questions to the GM which they have to answer truthfully.
8Teōtl - Blood Soaked Heroes
The Aztec Mythology is a repetition of being bloody. After all main sun god needs blood sacrifice to fight against the moon and stars. From blood-letting to human sacrifice the Aztec pantheon is undeniably bloody. The Virtues of the Teōtl are Hunger and Sacrifice. Hunger is a drive that makes the hero go for more heroic actions. These can consume them as they leave their party behind for their own glory, but sacrifice brings them back. A Child of the Aztecs knows when to sacrifice for the greater good. After all even thevillainous Tezcatlipoca sacrificedhis foot for the creation of the world.
The powers of the Aztecs are unsurprisingly based on sacrifice. It interacted with the sacrifice system of the game. InScion, both players and NPCs can sacrifice essential items, including body parts to gain more power. In fact, NPC can dedicate sacrifices to the player’s character. An Aztec Scion can change the bonus of gifts making it a much more desirable option in stressful situations.
7Shen - Paperwork And Demons
Most people know about the celestial bureaucracy from theadventures of the Monkey King. They are often depicted as a bureaucracy, wanting to stick to their laws. Though because of their hierarchy, even demons and monsters have salaries. Though their virtues don’t play into this theme but play into the broad religious belief of Yin and Yang. To be Yin allied a person is subtle, patient, and quiet. At best their sensitive and adaptable but at worse there cruel and ruthless. Yang on the other hand is the opposite, they are loud, energetic, and powerful. While they might be a hopeful and bright person they can also be angry and unflexible.
Tianming is the signature power of the Shen. It allows the young godling to ignore all the issues with a bureaucratic organization. They can magically promote their allies to give them bonuses on the heavenly job that they are given. They can also bring down heavenly red tape on any organization which dares get in their way.
6The Mythos - Tentacles And Madness
The mythos is one of the most modern pantheons, being that they are thegods from the Lovecraft mythos. Fitting such a strange pantheon they change how almost every system works. Alongside Legend, the rating of the player character’s powers, the Mythos has Awareness awhile, the awareness of the forbidden knowledge. Their calling, which is divine draw like a trickster and warriors have all been twisted to fit the theme of an unknowable pantheon. This changes the powers under such callings.
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The unique power is called Arcane Calculus. It allows them to uncover great knowledge. With abilities that help to investigate mysteriously, receive madding visions, and force people to spill the truth. One last thing about the Mythos is that if a Child of God comes in contact with the powers sometimes their legend gets wrapped into becoming a god of the Mythos instead of their original pantheon. This adds a slightly creeping evil feeling to the whole pantheon.
5Aesir - Fighting Against Prophecy
Thanksto games likeGod of Warthe nuances of Norse Mythologyare at an all-time popularity. The Aesir isScion’s take on Norse mythology. The theme is clearly shown in their virtues of fatalism and audacity. Fatalism is the depression that a Norse God can fall into revealing that they can not stop fate, that no matter how people players save there are always going to be more monsters, and the fact that their pantheon is going to die. Audacity is knowing all that but fighting against it and clinging to the little bits of light in life.
The Wyrd is the unique power of the Norse and its innate power is that Scion is aware of their doomed fate. A prophecy of the character’s downfall whether it’s their death in Ragnarok or a personal tragedy. Though despite this the other powers are about predicting fate and controlling it. A Norse scion uses runes to predict the danger up ahead and uses threads to make fate on their side for said dangers.
4Teros - A Hidden Hypertech Island
Teros is a unique pantheon among allScion. Teros is a completely made-up pantheon based on Atlantis. The Teros first appeared in 1st edition as a group of gods who all had died mysteriously. InScion 2ethey hide their hyper-advanced society away from the world. They have a doomsday weapon that fires impossible math which unravels the universes. They have pod-born genetic super soldiers to fight the monster which attacks the island. Their virtues are Nostalgia and Vision. Nostalgia is what keeps the scions on the island, but Vision is what is making them restless to explore the World.
Their unique power unsurprisingly is related to technology. Their innate power allows them to understand mundane technology, repair it, and or break it easier. The active powers allow them to upgrade relics making them better as hypertech surrounds the device. The other one allows them to scan the world around them and allows the player to ask certain questions to the GM like what is that relics origin and history.
3Annuna - The Kings Of The World
This is thepantheon of Gilgamesh. The most popular god of this pantheon in the modern day is the major goddess Ishtar but the Annuna are filled with extreme personalities and powerful deities. The Annuna major theme is that of being kings, rulers of the world. Their virtues are authority and benefice. Authority is the divine hierarchy and the closer one is Anu, the ancient father of the pantheon, the more authority one has over gods and mortals. Benefice is trying to help mortals and those under them because that is the action of a righteous king.
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Their unique power is called Shuila, and it is all about rulership. Without spending anything mortal characters can not fight against the commands of the Scion. They can just take control of an organization if it does not seem to have a leader, and finally, they can record their deeds of heroic action on their body, making them even stronger at what that deed is associated with.
2Tengri - Riding Between Family and Friends
The Tengri are the pantheon of Mongols. The virtues of is Identity and Syncretism. Syncretism allows the Scion of Tengri to take ideals and rituals of other pantheons. Identity is keeping to whom the player is, their traditions and their family. Other than the easy of play of these virtues they are tied to real world history of Tengrism. With it long link to a nomadic people it has picked up many ideas for china and India but still has stayed it own.
There is one power of the tengri which stands above the others, Soul Ransom. It allows a tengri to take the soul form a person they have drawn the blood from. Having the soul of a character makes that character life just worse. If the target dies while still having the soul the Scion just gets to keep it, not allowing into past on to which ever after life. Though some other scions might mount a rescue for their family member or a friend. Though because of the tengri concept of the soul this does not make a target soulless.
1Theoi - And Along Came Zeus
Greek mythology is one of the most study of the modern area. Most people know the jokes about how everything is in Greek mythology is Zeus fault. While this might not be the total true the Greeks do have a hold of popular images of ancient gods. Their virtues are hubris and kinship which best be shown through the story of Odysseus. Just after he blinds the cyclops he calls out his name is an act of hubris dooming his crew. Through his kinship with the Greek god of messages, Hermes, he is able to succussed and get back home.
The power of the Greek God was changed drastically between editions. The new version lines up with mythology a lot more. It allows a character to transformers into creatures and thing based on their other universal powers like Sky and Beast. Of course It also allows general shape-shifting into different people or just changing how they looked. This gives Greek Scions a great degree of creativity and freedom for how they can use their powers.
