Scion 2E: Onogoro-jima University

[AndyZ]

Disclaimer

A decent number of people already know that RL hasn’t been kind to me lately and I’ve had to ditch my last couple attempts at running.  I’m not honestly sure that this will go better, but things seem to be calming down and I’d like to try.  If nothing else, people whose time is more precious have been warned that I may have another freak issue pop up while I’m fighting the cancer. 

As of today, I’ve hit a notable medical milestone, so hopefully I’m set now, but I can’t promise it.

As a summary/overview, the plan for this game is for the players to create Origin-level freshmen for Onogoro-jima University.  It will start out more sandbox, give the players a chance to either know each other or disappear via the usual attrition, and then hopefully advance to Hero when we have a solid group together.

The Veil

Now, I’ve gotten to play Scion 2E and I won’t deny that it has some serious issues.  It also has quite a few interesting ideas - like Paths, Momentum, and flat XP costs - that I want to explore a little closer.

One of the major changes I’m considering making involves the setting.  Somehow you have this huge hodgepodge where all beliefs are true except the Abrahamic religions, yet the latter still feature in prominence.  Global warming will melt the icecaps and snow will be a thing of the past, yet fimbulwinter is the start of Ragnarok, three years of a horrifically cold and harsh winter, and it could come any day now.  How would a World where science and objective truth don’t really exist go through a Renaissance?

Having considered the matter and seen the failed way others have attempted it, I’m thinking about trying a simpler matter that’s worked well in other systems: The Veil.  With ordinary people who are not Fatebound, most (not all) who witness the supernatural will either dismiss or forget the event in order to retain their own belief system.  A Hero who summons up a ghost in the middle of a crowd will still draw the attention of at least a few ordinary individuals (enough to bring unwanted attention), but not from the entire crowd once everyone either forgets, attributes it to a metaphor, or whatever else.

As a clarification, the same witnesses put into similar situations would usually forget that they forgot, either not realizing that they would have acted differently or just forgetting the first situation as necessary.  It’s not a thing where people can deduce that they have memory gaps, but Fate offering a helping hand in keeping them from going mad by letting them believe what they want or fear.

(Angels and miracles presumably also occur, but so far outside the realm and purview of Scions as to be largely irrelevant to them.)

My question to players would be if they want The Veil set up.  You’d still have things like Nymphstagram, but most people would either think they’re fake, not realize the supernatural implications, or not know about it to begin with.  Please include your answer in your interest post.

Onogoro-jima University

Onogoro-jima Island can be found by going to Honolulu and taking the Fairwinds Ferry south for about an hour.  Although most of the island is untamed wilderness, the northeast corner has a private university right up on the beach, with electricity provided by the island’s central volcano.

For whatever reason, the island doesn’t show on Google Maps, and not everyone can find the website for the university or the ferry service.  However, the university has been known to reach out worldwide for students so long as they’re fluent in English and seem like a good fit, even offering scholarships when necessary. 

It’s not entirely clear what makes a student draw attention, but many a teacher across the World has recommended students.  Those in the know also recognize that the majority of students and faculty are mundane.

Now, all that comes across as rather vague; I’ll flesh it out more and add things that fit well with the PCs.  If you have a character that loves playing basketball, or swimming, or archery, then expect areas to be already set up to accommodate.

Assistant Wanted

I should also mention that I don’t know every Pantheon.  As might be expected, I know the Aesir, Netjer, and Theoi well, but I don’t know much of anything about the Orisha, Teotl and the Pantheons outside Hero, and only know bits about most of the others.  They’re not banned by any means, but if you’re really hoping for a focus on your particular mythos, make sure it’s one I know.

I’ve also never been good at “sharing” NPCs, but I’m going to try harder to do so for this particular game.  My initial ideas of trying to split them all into either Secondary PCs (SPCs) and Storyguide Characters (SGCs) seems like it’d be even more problematic.

Ultimately, one thing I’d love to have is an assistant, someone who wouldn’t need to know Scion 2E at all but knows lots of mythology and could help with NPCs.

Character Creation and House Rules

I always heavily house rule White Wolf/Onyx Path games I run, and this isn’t anywhere close to an exception.

I strongly considered house ruling the dice to use the same target numbers as Exalted 2E and Scion 1E, but decided against it.  For one, Momentum is an important resource, and it helps to fail from time to time.  For another, you’re more than welcome to say why your character fails, which needn’t be at all your character’s fault.  For example, Beowulf lost the swimming contest to Breca not because he was weak, but because of the north wind and sea monsters.  There’s plenty of ways to come up with why Fate was picking on you.  That said, if you just want to do something epic without rolling, do, and don’t roll.

• Characters should be freshmen enrolled in Onogoro-jima University of at least 18 years of age.  The most common two ways of enrollment are either that a professor from your previous school recommended you, or else you got a mysterious letter reaching out to offer the opportunity.
• I’m accepting from all published content, but only Onyx Path published content.  As of this writing, Saints and Monsters just came out, and I’ll allow characters from it with the understanding that you get one and only one supernatural aspect.  Either you’re a Scion, Saint, Prophet, Denizen, Sorcerer, but you’re not more than one of these things,
  
  Like Scions, non-Scion characters don’t get seven dots of Birthrights/Paraphernalia or Purviews until Hero, and Scion Origin makes clear that Conditions don’t kick in until Denizens get their first point of Legend (meaning Hero).
• Likewise, Titanic Scions can be accepted, but (just like with a Trickster) don’t employ the Wangrod Defense.  You are responsible for having a character who won’t need to be expelled but also has a Titanic parent who will want to give you the Visitation.  Having the rare temptation to blow up the school on bad days is one thing if the character can resist their Destroyer nature; actually attempting it means your character isn’t a good fit for this game.  Similarly, you might want a Titanic Scion who wants to kill off a bunch of humans before they kill off the planet with climate change; I can run this kind of game if it’s wanted by the Band, but if the other players aren’t into it and it causes drama, I’m not going to demand that the other players follow with yours.
• I encourage characters to start out oblivious to their natures.  My personal belief is that it’s more fun, especially in sandbox, to discover your nature is unusual rather than know the whole time.  I know it’s not possible with every backstory, but it’s encouraged.
• Scions should pick a Calling that nobody else has picked yet; non-Scions should likewise pick something that hasn’t been chosen.  That gives 18 Callings on top of everything else.  If you want the same divine parent that someone else has and want a different Calling, you can ask the person who already picked, and they’re free to say no.
  
  If you’re not sure if a particular type of Denizen counts as separate enough, as a general rule, check if they have their own distinct list of powers.
• No Deeds.  I plan on just giving everyone the same XP, so ignore the XP chart.
• Because characters are freshmen, the Role Path is going to need to be changed/customized.  I’m more than happy to allow custom Paths, but please talk to me about your ideas therein and make sure we’re on the same page with them.
  
  As I figure it, Origin Path connections will be people outside Hawaii who live back home, with Role Path being Onogoro-jima University or Honolulu residents that your character will meet in game, but this isn’t set in stone.  You can make a request for a specific occupation and I’ll try to plan out NPCs to accommodate.
  
• No Favored Approach.  Just use 8/6/4.  I can’t find a purpose to Favored Approach, and it tends to push concepts where I’d rather readjust somewhere along the way.
• You automatically get a specialty when you get three points in a Skill, and you don’t have to pay XP for it.  I don’t get why this is set as a thing to begin with.  Are you supposed to be able to buy multiple?  I’ve never seen any characters with multiple specialties.  To play it safe, I’ll keep it at only one specialty and others can’t be bought until someone shows me evidence to the contrary, that it was meant to be allowed.
  
  Note that the rules don’t explicitly say you can use specialties with the skill to which they apply, but I’m allowing it, presuming that it’s just another mistake due to the incompetence of the writers.  (See page XX for plenty of other examples...or ask why I feel I need to house rule every single White Wolf/Onyx Path game.)
• Scent the Divine will not be allowed at Origin but will be given automatically for free at Hero.  This allows for a larger level of sandbox mystery in Origin and keeps Hero from being “I’m the only one with the Knack and need to post to tell everyone what we’re up against.”
• During Origin, all Momentum will be in a personal pool with a max of three and starting with one free point.  I expect Origin to be when we weed out the people who don’t stick around, and that’s the easiest way to do it.  At Hero, I’ll likely keep the pool max at Players*3 instead of Players*2 to encourage people to take Born to be Kings and because I’m not granting XP for emptying the pool.
• Rather than attempting to try to use the complicated story plans beyond scene, I intend to count sessions/acts as a single day, an episode as a week, an arc as a month, and a season as a year.  Series means the entire chronicle/game, as usual.  Origin actually suggests this, but I’m letting people use it as a firm timeline for Fatebindings and such.
• Knack Skills apparently also use Attributes by default.  This was cleared up in the FAQ in the forums.  Note that you’ll always use the sum of two pools from 1-5, meaning a max of 10 dice besides Momentum, so when it’s +Calling or a flat +2, you don’t use Attributes.  This isn’t so much a house rule as my giving a rules clarification I felt is extremely vague.
• Likewise, Archery has been confirmed as an Athletics skill because Sigrun from the “A Light Extinguished” QuickStart has the Archery specialty in Athletics.
• Ask me before rolling.  It can be very easy in this game to accrue a lot of Momentum just making pointless rolls I didn’t ask for.  If you want to do awesome stuff and you have lots of dots in the pertinent areas, just post doing the awesome stuff without a roll.
• Initiative will likewise not be rolled.  As tends to work well in Elliquiy, I’ll let everyone post in whatever order they manage, and then post for the NPCs either when all the PCs have gone or if I feel that the PCs still remaining are taking too long and haven’t given any sort of notice of what’s going on.
• Finally, I want to make clear that just because there’s things like climate change canonized in game isn’t an invitation to get into OOC political discussions.  Yes, I know the polar bear population is growing in the real world, but it’s shrinking in the World.  Regardless of what you believe out of game, in game, Onogoro-jima Island will probably be predominantly or wholly underwater within a decade or two.
  

If we get enough interest for one, I can set up a Discord, but I’d rather that people kept questions to me either in a specific channel or sent through Elliquiy.  Having people send me @ tags in #general means that I need to avoid reading anything in #general until I’m ready to answer questions, which can make me fall behind if I don’t want the @ to disappear and be forgotten.  Conversely, if anyone does not want a Discord channel, I won’t set one up since it’d deny some players information.

When posting interest, please include your Calling (or otherwise type of character) preference, thoughts about The Veil, and if you want a Discord channel.[/list]

[evilnerf]

I'm interested.  I've got an idea for a Scion of Zeus.  A woman by the name of JD.  Rock Climber, Thrill Seeker, and All Around Adventurer running around with her Lightning-powered Shotgun, breaking hearts and taking names.  Calling would be Leader. 

I have no strong opinion on the Veil, but I'm just fine with the Gold-style setting presented in the rulebooks.  Honestly whatever setting you're most comfortable.  I would like a Discord.

Also I have a couple of thoughts on some of your bullet points having run this system several times.  By no means consider anything I say as me insisting we do it this way.  I'm up for whatever. I just wanted to answer your questions:

-  Favored approach is honestly just a way of diversifying characters a little bit.  That way after character creation, player characters have an approach they lean into a little bit.  I'll probably still use the Favored Approach TBH, but given your numbers it all comes out the same.
-  With specialties, it's important to keep in mind that specialties do not apply on the skill they are purchased on.  For example, if you have Firearms 5 with a specialty in Pistols, you DO NOT get the +1 enhancement when you use Firearms.  However, you would, for example, get it if you were doing a Medicine Roll to do determine what caliber of bullet was used in the shooting.  With that in mind, there are very good reasons to have multiple specialties, since they would apply to a wider variety of things.
-  Similarly, Archery could be both a specialty of Athletics and say Firearms, because either way the specialty would not apply to the skill roll you were using.  Specialties are meant to be very open and fluid.
-  Role paths, similarly, are supposed to be wide open.  The ones presented in the book are just supposed to be examples.  Your role path, for example, "Football Team Captain" or "Mall Goth" and would be perfectly applicable to a college student.

[HairyHeretic]

I still haven't had a chance to properly try 2nd ed yet, so I'd be interested in giving this a go. Probably not my usual Monkey Prince, I don't like the 2nd ed PSP the Shen got. Taiyi was way more fun :)

I'll have a flick through the book and see what concept appeals to me. Possibly Tuatha, I'll want to get a look at their rules before making any firm choices.

[AndyZ]

I'm interested.  I've got an idea for a Scion of Zeus.  A woman by the name of JD.  Rock Climber, Thrill Seeker, and All Around Adventurer running around with her Lightning-powered Shotgun, breaking hearts and taking names.  Calling would be Leader. 

I have no strong opinion on the Veil, but I'm just fine with the Gold-style setting presented in the rulebooks.  Honestly whatever setting you're most comfortable.  I would like a Discord.

Also I have a couple of thoughts on some of your bullet points having run this system several times.  By no means consider anything I say as me insisting we do it this way.  I'm up for whatever. I just wanted to answer your questions:

-  Favored approach is honestly just a way of diversifying characters a little bit.  That way after character creation, player characters have an approach they lean into a little bit.  I'll probably still use the Favored Approach TBH, but given your numbers it all comes out the same.
-  With specialties, it's important to keep in mind that specialties do not apply on the skill they are purchased on.  For example, if you have Firearms 5 with a specialty in Pistols, you DO NOT get the +1 enhancement when you use Firearms.  However, you would, for example, get it if you were doing a Medicine Roll to do determine what caliber of bullet was used in the shooting.  With that in mind, there are very good reasons to have multiple specialties, since they would apply to a wider variety of things.
-  Similarly, Archery could be both a specialty of Athletics and say Firearms, because either way the specialty would not apply to the skill roll you were using.  Specialties are meant to be very open and fluid.
-  Role paths, similarly, are supposed to be wide open.  The ones presented in the book are just supposed to be examples.  Your role path, for example, "Football Team Captain" or "Mall Goth" and would be perfectly applicable to a college student.

I did a search on the Skill Specialties writeup.  Sure enough, it never explicitly says that you can use the Enhancement in your own skill.

I’m going to chalk this up to the horrendous editing and writing that’s been shown throughout these books (Saints and Monsters is saturated with page XX references) and I’ll put in a house rule to that effect.

[evilnerf]

Yeah, it actually explicitly says you cannot use it in your skill. 

Page 59 of Scion Origin: The Skills listed here are intentionally broad categories, reflective of general character competence. However, once a character reaches three or more dots in a Skill they may choose a Specialty focus, writing it next to the Skill on their character sheet. A Warrior Scion may choose Close Combat (Greatswords), for example. A character receives +1 Enhancement on all rolls in other Skills that would involve that Specialty somehow, like identifying a greatsword. Failing a roll involving a Specialty grants 1 Momentum in addition to any Consolation

I'd cut them some slack on Saints and Monsters at least.  The copy that's out right now is the preview version.  They'll be updating DrivethruRPG with the final version after folks have submitted errata.

[AndyZ]

Yeah, don’t even get me started on the idea of errata being “Let the fans check through it and catch the obvious stuff, leaving plenty of other errors throughout the books.”

What I mean is, I’m inclined to think it was a mistake because it makes no sense to only be for other skills.  I’m also happy to house rule it to fix it, though I hope that doesn’t upset you as someone who plays a lot of this game.

[evilnerf]

It doesn't upset me as such.  I'm definitely down to play the game however you want to run it.  It's just not something I would do myself.  So far for me, the base rule of it only applying on other skills has worked pretty well.  Honestly, players hit the +3 Mundane Enhancement cap already pretty easily in my games (mainly via assist rolls) so it's not really necessary or useful to have another +1 mundane enhancement

[AndyZ]

It doesn't upset me as such.  I'm definitely down to play the game however you want to run it.  It's just not something I would do myself.  So far for me, the base rule of it only applying on other skills has worked pretty well.  Honestly, players hit the +3 Mundane Enhancement cap already pretty easily in my games (mainly via assist rolls) so it's not really necessary or useful to have another +1 mundane enhancement

Hilariously, page 223 of Hero has the Enhancement cap at 5.

I guess it’s supposed to be 3 at Origin and 5 at Hero.

But yeah, as you can tell, I have decent experience with other systems but only played in one game, plus attempting to run the QuickStart.

[evilnerf]

JD      

Concept: Tenacious Scion of Zeus
Genesis: Born
Paths: Born on the Mean Streets (Street Gangs, Mobsters), World Traveler (Hostels, Backpackers), Zeus' Bastard Daughter (Priests, Exes)
Skills: Athletics 3, Culture 1, Empathy 3, Firearms 5, Leadership 4, Integrity 1, Subterfuge 3, Survival 1
Specialties: Lead By Example, Seduction, Rock Climbing, Reading a Room
Attributes: Intellect 1, Cunning 2, Resolve 4, Might 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 5, Presence 4, Manipulation 3, Composure 3
Calling: Leader
Knacks:

Inspirational Aura

When you take charge of a group, roll Knack Skill. For every two successes rolled, reduce the Difficulty of all actions taken by the group you command by 1. You can inspire a number of people equal to her Leadership + Leader Calling, or can spend a point of Momentum to apply this to a much larger group, multiplying that number by 10 for each Momentum spent. The decrease in difficulty does not apply to you, though while you are inspiring others, you gain 2 Enhancement to apply to social rolls involving leadership, and any Stunts you may have gained from Knacks.

Virtues: Egoism & Kinship
Health: Bruised (x3), Insured, Maimed, Taken Out
Birthrights:

Thunderclap Shotgun (●●●●)

This SPAS-12 shotgun has a piece of a lightning bolt jammed in it's chamber.  This allows the shotgun to fire bolts of lightning rather then it's normal ammunition.  These lightning bolts fire over a wide area and shock a number of people.  When cocked, the parts of the shotgun all light up with bright electricity. 
tags: Firearm, Lethal, Loud, Ranged, Elemental, Brutal (+2 dot)
Knack:  Once per scene, the weapon can gain the "Shockwave" tag.  Using this ability requires it to be recharged by seeking out a storm and finding a lightning-bolt that has struck the earth.

At the height of her career as a swimsuit model and sex symbol, Betty Decarlo found herself romanced by a mystery suitor.  After a whirlwind date that can only be described as magical, she found herself pregnant and found her career derailed.  She never did find the man again, and instead raised her daughter on her own, much to the detriment to her career.

Her daughter Judith grew up far from the glitz of Hollywood.  After having her career decimated by the unexpected pregnancy, Betsy could barely manage to keep her daughter fed.  JD had to raise herself and find money for groceries some other way.  She often fell in with neighborhood toughs, but usually before long she found herself leading them.  It often came of great surprise to everyone to see hardened criminals looking for leadership from a middle-schooler.  It wasn't too long before she dropped out of school entirely, using her ill-gotten gains to support her spiraling mother and herself.

After her mother died of a drug overdose, JD couldn't stay in LA any longer.  She set out to make her own way in the world without knowing where to go.  Without the cushy position that most teenagers had she had to scrape by to survive.  Never-the-less, she thrived.  She had the resilience that few could boast of and could get herself anywhere with a little dogged determination.

The most climactic of these trips took her to the Isle of Naxos, where she climbed to the peak of a mountain, only to find herself in a sudden thunderstorm.  Lightning struck the peak, and she found herself drawn to the craggy mountaintop.  There, she found a lightning bolt, shattered into pieces on the ground.

When one of her trips led her to running into the Russian Mob, she slipped the broken pieces into a shotgun by pure instinct.  To her great surprise the pieces of lightning filled the shotgun with a heavenly power that she has yet to find an explanation for.  Now, each shot shoots lightning and claps thunder in a way she finds so very satisfying.

Most recently, she received an invitation to Onogoro-jima Island.  Not sure what to found there, she took a flight to Honolulu, hoping to get answers about her strange invitation and even stranger life.

[evilnerf]

Hilariously, page 223 of Hero has the Enhancement cap at 5.

I guess it’s supposed to be 3 at Origin and 5 at Hero.

But yeah, as you can tell, I have decent experience with other systems but only played in one game, plus attempting to run the QuickStart.

There are actually 2 different caps:  The enhancement from mundane sources caps at 3, the enhancement from mystical sources caps at 5 (So your enhancements cap out at 8 total).  Scale, however, counts as neither and doesn't count towards either cap.

[AndyZ]

There are actually 2 different caps:  The enhancement from mundane sources caps at 3, the enhancement from mystical sources caps at 5 (So your enhancements cap out at 8 total).  Scale, however, counts as neither and doesn't count towards either cap.

I’ll ask for a page number on that at your leisure.

JD looks good at a glance, but I’ll need to read over things.  Any plans for connections?

[evilnerf]

So when I went back to check.  I can't actually find that in the rules.  I think this is just one of those houserules that's kinda spread so wide that no one noticed it's not a real rule.

Q) How much Enhancement can I have at one time?
A) While this is not mentioned under the Storypath rules section, page 105 of Scion: Origin clarifies that Enhancement cannot stack above 5, from either a single source or multiple sources. However, Storyguides are heav- ily encouraged to be judicious in allowing Enhancements greater than 3 at any one time from multiple sources. One can only have so many blessings, headwinds, and good fortune at any one time before it becomes  uperfluous. Scale explicitly allows for Enhancement above 5, as an exception. If Zeus punches you, you’re going to feel it

This usually interpreted to mean "Mundane is always a single source, and mystical is always a single source".  But I'll admit it's extremely unclear, so go whatever you like best. 

[AndyZ]

My reading is that +5 is the cap, but that it wants to encourage you not to let players reach +4 or +5 unless they have something truly astonishing going on.

The hard part about this is: where do you draw the line?  Even without the +1 that a specialty will grant in games that allow them for the skills (and can probably be easily min-maxed if people put the effort in, like using Athletics for Archery but getting 3 dots in Firearms to give you an Archery spec), you'll still have people ramp up Enhancements rather quick.  A pistol or shotgun give +2 just because they have both Ranged and Firearms, and most weapons have +1 unless you have a bow with the Far tag.

I can definitely see clamping down on Enhancement stunts from where I've seen someone roll 14s with lucky dice and then want to use them all, but even then, it might be more fun to allow it with a ridiculous roll.  "Yeah, would you believe Smaug has a spot on his left that's as bare as a snail out of its shell?  Seriously!  Go tell somebody who can shoot him there."

It's something I'll have to think about and will depend on circumstances, but a Lover who keeps making googly eyes at the monster during a fight and leaving the Warrior to set up a ridiculous hit isn't a bad thing, but becomes pointless if the Lover can only do +1 or +2 more Enhancement because of the cap.  Then again, it could be split among multiple people who all can take advantage of the googly eyes.

Now, regarding JD:

My first request will be to have folks give more info as they come up with Paths.  It's not a huge deal, but it'll help me come up with other things, as you see below.  You 100% know what you're doing so I'm less concerned with yours, but in fairness, I have to call you out likewise or else everyone will just post just like you did.

The Elemental tag may be a wise call for the shotgun instead of Brutal.  It's in Saints and Monsters, page 95.

I also want to ask where the rules are for attacking multiple enemies.  Is this for when you hit multiple Mooks as per the Bubblegum rule in 145 Origin?  I'm good with that if so, but checking to see if it's also elsewhere.

Now, as far as your Origin Path, I had an idea for an NPC that you can approve, nix entirely, or suggest alterations.  As per my writing style, I'm writing it as a definite, but that's just because it'll look silly continuing with "she could have" or "maybe this happened;" you have full veto power if you don't like this.

While JD was still less than a year on the streets from leaving her dead mom, I imagine that she met up with a man Damien who helped deal with many of the horrid complexities of the road.  Neither was interested in giving their life story, nor asking the other, but Damien's seemed rather obvious since his lower torso was missing and someone had apparently made him a motorcycle he could use to ride around on instead of legs.  The little academic training she's received, like if she's able to read and do basic math, came thanks to him, no doubt as well as firearms.  Mostly, though, they just traveled, with the motorcycle able to carry them both from city to city.

I can't imagine he was truly much of a mentor figure, but perhaps an older brother, and for everything he did to help him out like taking out several members of the Peacock Gang that were hassling her (each of which sported ridiculous tie-dye mohawks), she helped organize homeless camps, and later, dealing with weirdos who wanted to steal Damien's motorcycle gas cap.  Eventually, the road parted ways when she had enough money saved up to fly to Europe, and he suggested that she hit Greece.

There's been little contact between them, except that when she got the letter for Onogoro-jima University, it had a handwritten note from Damien: "Tell Sergeant Rebecca Jameson we're even."  Plus the cell number for his latest burner phone.

[AndyZ]

I still haven't had a chance to properly try 2nd ed yet, so I'd be interested in giving this a go. Probably not my usual Monkey Prince, I don't like the 2nd ed PSP the Shen got. Taiyi was way more fun :)

I'll have a flick through the book and see what concept appeals to me. Possibly Tuatha, I'll want to get a look at their rules before making any firm choices.

I forgot to post for this, but very understandable if you don't like the PSP.  I also already know your thoughts on Discord and the Veil idea.  Regarding the Tuatha, Lugh always looked like fun, but I haven't tried him yet.  (The Tuatha are another I need to read up on in detail and never have, but then, I'm not really sure where to begin with them.)

[HairyHeretic]

Going to try and come with something new for 2nd ed. Right now thinking son of Manannan Mac Lir. Navy Brat for the origin Path, but finding it hard to come up with more til more of the character comes together for me.

[AndyZ]

I encourage you to read up on Paths in Scion Origin and how they work.  Note that you can customize them, but, especially with the Role Path, I'll want to talk things out with you and make sure I know what you're planning.

The cool thing about Paths is that, not only do they more or less give suggestions for the character's equipment, but they also provide things like contacts and the like.  The Origin Paths have Military Brat as an option; maybe your mom is a Lieutenant or something, and you can call her up for if things go crazy.

[HairyHeretic]

Yeah, I'm still trying to get something to come together yet for me :)

I do have a 2nd ed version of my Monkey Prince written up that I may fall back on if this one doesn't come together properly. It would need a bit of tweaking to fit this game though.

[evilnerf]

However you want to handle enhancement is a-okay by me.

- Elemental Tag sounds like a good call. I'll probably keep the Brutal tag, and I'll drop the purview. I will think on what to do with that last point there.
-  Damien sounds interesting enough, but how about it was less of a traveling companion and more of a fence and sometimes ally biker during her rougher years.  He would buy the DVD players she ripped off and gave her tips here and there.  I'd prefer it if he kept his true nature secret perhaps with a glamour, and every time she met him, he just looked like he was riding a bike.  I do like the idea that he gave her the money she needed to travel to Europe and start her world travels.
-  As far as the Enhancement.  I figured it would apply whenever she attacked multiple people in one round.  Either as a mixed action using a split dice pool, or if she was targeting a mob of people.  It would not apply though, if she attacked one enemy multiple times.

[evilnerf]

Yeah, I'm still trying to get something to come together yet for me :)

I do have a 2nd ed version of my Monkey Prince written up that I may fall back on if this one doesn't come together properly. It would need a bit of tweaking to fit this game though.

If you need a hand, HH, feel free to hit me up on discord.  I think we're both in the Scion discord.

[AndyZ]

Yeah, I'm still trying to get something to come together yet for me :)

I do have a 2nd ed version of my Monkey Prince written up that I may fall back on if this one doesn't come together properly. It would need a bit of tweaking to fit this game though.

If all else fails and you want to play the character during Origin, then swap to someone else that gets introduced to the Band when Hero hits, I can try to set something like that up.  The big point of having the Origin is for attrition for how so many players just vanish, which, I know your track record and am less worried about that with you.

However you want to handle enhancement is a-okay by me.

- Elemental Tag sounds like a good call. I'll probably keep the Brutal tag, and I'll drop the purview. I will think on what to do with that last point there.

Since Purview is less important until Hero, it does seem fair to let you leave one point banked on it, buy the fifth point at Hero when it makes a difference, and use the other six at your choice.  Sort of like layaway.  ("It was really a five-dot Relic all along!  I could just only ever use three of the dots...")

-  Damien sounds interesting enough, but how about it was less of a traveling companion and more of a fence and sometimes ally biker during her rougher years.  He would buy the DVD players she ripped off and gave her tips here and there.  I'd prefer it if he kept his true nature secret perhaps with a glamour, and every time she met him, he just looked like he was riding a bike.  I do like the idea that he gave her the money she needed to travel to Europe and start her world travels.

Works for me, and more than happy to keep the nature secret.  I came up with the suggestion of how "obviously" his body was mangled and someone made him a substitute, but then, with Intellect 1 and Cunning 2, she either may well not notice, not think about it too hard, or, yeah, just assume a guy on a bike.  As a fence, he might have also just been behind a counter a decent amount of the time.

-  As far as the Enhancement.  I figured it would apply whenever she attacked multiple people in one round.  Either as a mixed action using a split dice pool, or if she was targeting a mob of people.  It would not apply though, if she attacked one enemy multiple times.

Unfortunately, some rules are so freaking buried that they're easy to miss.  It took me over a year to find this one, and then I forgot its precise wording.

Once initiative is rolled, the round begins. When it is a character’s turn to act, they can take either one simple or one mixed action, though they may only attack once per turn. Reflexive actions can be taken at any time, even if it’s not your character’s turn.

Now, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade mentions an Enhancement towards trivial foes.  As I imagine it, and the writeup on Trivial from Hero 237 seems to bear me out, that'd be Mooks in Origin, Foes in Hero, Paragons in Demigod, and whatever they'd call them in the God book, all of which would go splat in accordance with the Bubblegum rule.  It's very easy to see lining up a lightning blast and taking out several minions at once.  Would you be interested in going that route for the Enhancement?

[evilnerf]

Well, I definitely think JD would have noticed if someone was half motorcycle.  I just think it works better for her backstory if she doesn't know his true nature yet.  I think its easy enough to say that it's some kind of glamour or something that kept her from noticing.

The Green Dragon Crescent Blade is an entirely different vibe then what I'm going for.  The Shockwave tag hits everyone in a zone, basically allowing you to clear a battlefield.  It's much more powerful then what I'm going for.  I specifically avoided that tag cause it's not the vibe I'm going for.  I'm going for more of wide-spread Shotgun cone effect, mixed with a bit of Electricity arcing.  So its better then most weapons at attacking multiple enemies, but not something that instantly clears rooms.

I paid for the Enhancement of +1 for a specific effect.  This specific effect in this case being, "When used against multiple targets" rather then the Crescent blades effect of "Against trivial targets"

[Crensler]

I am expressing interest, because I forgot to earlier when Andy gave me the link >w<

[AndyZ]

Well, I definitely think JD would have noticed if someone was half motorcycle.  I just think it works better for her backstory if she doesn't know his true nature yet.  I think its easy enough to say that it's some kind of glamour or something that kept her from noticing.

The Green Dragon Crescent Blade is an entirely different vibe then what I'm going for.  The Shockwave tag hits everyone in a zone, basically allowing you to clear a battlefield.  It's much more powerful then what I'm going for.  I specifically avoided that tag cause it's not the vibe I'm going for.  I'm going for more of wide-spread Shotgun cone effect, mixed with a bit of Electricity arcing.  So its better then most weapons at attacking multiple enemies, but not something that instantly clears rooms.

I paid for the Enhancement of +1 for a specific effect.  This specific effect in this case being, "When used against multiple targets" rather then the Crescent blades effect of "Against trivial targets"

I can just throw in a glamour.

What I mean regarding the trivial is that you can only attack once a round, except for the aforementioned Bubblegum rule where you blast a whole bunch of trivial targets at once.  I wasn't suggesting to take the entire Relic, just that that particular Enhancement might be the closest to what you're going for.

I am expressing interest, because I forgot to earlier when Andy gave me the link >w<

Heya.  Happens.

Unfortunately, it's looking like we don't really have enough for a decent game, but that happens too.

[evilnerf]

What I mean regarding the trivial is that you can only attack once a round, except for the aforementioned Bubblegum rule where you blast a whole bunch of trivial targets at once.  I wasn't suggesting to take the entire Relic, just that that particular Enhancement might be the closest to what you're going for.

The Shockwave against Trivial effect is not at all what I'm going for.  (and is frankly more expensive in points then I spent) for the two enhancement.

That enhancement is not a knack at all.  It is an enhancement per the Enhancement rules of assigning a relic:

• Enhancements: A one-dot Relic can have a situational +1 Enhancement that only applies to certain types of rolls. A two-dot Relic can have a general +1 Enhancement that applies all the time. Add one dot to the Relic’s rating for each situational Enhancement you add. Add two dots for each general Enhancement you add. General Enhancements can’t exceed +3, and situational ones can’t exceed +4.

A more similar Relic would actually be Tyrfling on page 220 of hero. 

Tyrfing (•••••)
Purview: Passion (Spite)
Motif: Relentless bringer of perfect destruction.
Enhancement: 1 general, or 2 when used to damage or destroy objects

In this case, though, I gain two enhancement when attacking multiple enemies.

If you want to houserule something where it also wipes out trivial targets for free with no additional cost, feel free, but that's not really the direction I'm going with the item in flavor or intention.

[Crensler]

Heya.  Happens.

Unfortunately, it's looking like we don't really have enough for a decent game, but that happens too.

Awww, bummer :c