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Scion Second Edition - Early Access
Scion Second Edition - Early Access
Scion Second Edition - Early Access
Early Access
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3
Rolling in Scion .......................................................................................................................... 3
Summary ................................................................................................................................ 3
Dice Pools and Target Numbers ............................................................................................. 3
Tier ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Successes and Enhancements .............................................................................................. 4
Teamwork ........................................................................................................................... 5
Difficulty.................................................................................................................................. 6
Setting Difficulty .................................................................................................................. 6
Complications and Consolations............................................................................................. 7
Momentum .......................................................................................................................... 9
Stunts ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Action Types..........................................................................................................................12
Scale .....................................................................................................................................15
Feats of Scale ....................................................................................................................16
Action-Adventure ........................................................................................................................16
Attacking ...............................................................................................................................17
Resolving Damage.............................................................................................................19
Weapons and Armor..............................................................................................................21
Sample Weapons...............................................................................................................23
Paths ........................................................................................................................................25
Sample Characters ...................................................................................................................27
Rhiannon ...............................................................................................................................27
Virtues: Honor vs. Prowess ................................................................................................29
Brigid, Triple Goddess of Fire.............................................................................................30
Hassan ..................................................................................................................................30
Virtues: Audacity versus Fatalism ......................................................................................33
Loki, God of Trickery and Fire ............................................................................................33
Antagonists ...............................................................................................................................35
Archetypes ............................................................................................................................36
Archetype Listings..............................................................................................................37
The Bigger They Come: Heroic Antagonists ..........................................................................38
Heroic Archetypes..............................................................................................................39
Foe ....................................................................................................................................39
Rival...................................................................................................................................39
Nemesis .............................................................................................................................39
Titanspawn ........................................................................................................................40
Tension Pool .........................................................................................................................40
Spending Tension ..............................................................................................................41
Example Antagonists .............................................................................................................42
Amazon .............................................................................................................................42
Werewolf (Therianthrope) ..................................................................................................43
Troll....................................................................................................................................44
Daitengu (Bird People) .......................................................................................................45
Jötnar (Giants) ...................................................................................................................47
Hydra (Sea Monsters) ........................................................................................................48
Introduction
Developer: Neall Raemonn Price
Early Access Writers: Monica Speca, Charlie Raspin, Vera Vartanian
Welcome to the Early Access for Scion Second Edition! Please keep in mind that the following
text is taken from playtest files, and may evolve in response to late-stage playtest input. Thank
you, and please enjoy!
Rolling in Scion
Scion tells the stories of heroes and monsters, daredevils and gods. What would such tales be
without a little uncertainty? When characters take a risk or face a challenge, their players roll
dice to discover if they succeed.
Rolls are meant for significant or risky tasks, where failure could be interesting or it’s not
obvious that a character will succeed. Tasks which fall well within a character’s competency and
face no opposition or adverse conditions shouldn’t provoke a roll. Most people can drive to the
mall without an epic soundtrack booming behind them.
The Storyguide ultimately decides when a character should and shouldn’t roll.
Rolls in Scion follow the sequence below. This method of resolving dramatic action is used in
different ways throughout the game, but always remains basically intact.
Summary
1) Form a dice pool. This is a number of 10-sided dice equal to the sum of the most relevant
Attribute and Skill for the task at hand, chosen by the Storyguide.
2) Roll the character’s dice pool and check each die separately. Dice showing a number which
meets or exceeds the target number (usually 7) provide 1 success. Any dice that show a 10
provide 1 success and are rolled again. This rule is called 10-again.
3) If the character rolls at least one success, they benefit from Enhancements. These are
situations or advantages that provide additional, “free” successes. Add these to the total.
4) All tasks face a difficulty. If the total number of successes generated equals or exceeds the
difficulty, the task is completed flawlessly.
5) Any leftover successes are threshold successes. Spend them to apply Stunts that stretch the
victory further.
6) If the difficulty wasn’t overcome, the character completes the task with a Complication, or
meets failure but receives a Consolation that keeps the story moving.
Dice Pools and Target Numbers
A dice pool is a set of 10-sided dice that represents a character’s ability to tackle a given task,
and therefore their basic chance of success.
To form a dice pool, add the character’s most appropriate Attribute to their most appropriate
Skill. These are both character traits represented as numerical values, the higher the better.
Attributes are a character’s raw talents, such as physical strength or mental agility, while Skills
denote training and knowledge.
Example: Rostam needs to lift a fallen pillar off his bandmate. This is a task requiring both raw
strength (Might) and lifting technique (Athletics). Rostam has a Might rating of 3 and an
Athletics rating of 1, so his player assembles a pool of 4 dice.
When a dice pool is rolled, each individual die needs to meet or exceed a target number to
provide a success. A character’s target number depends on their tier, but the default is 7.
Tier
When we refer to tier, we’re speaking of a character’s relative power level within the
setting. This is reflected not only in access to powers and the Legend trait, but in target
numbers. Mortal, Origin- or Hero-tier characters must meet or exceed TN8 to get a
success; Demigods and Gods must roll at TN7. Storyguides, when using the antagonist
rules, be mindful of both Tier and Scale.
Regardless of the target number, if a 10 is rolled it provides 1 success, and is rolled again. This
continues until no dice show a 10. This is called the 10-again rule, and certain powers offer 9-
again, 8-again, etc.
Dice pools are almost never modified. Advantages and disadvantages are represented by other
means. This makes it easier to memorize common dice pools. Similarly, target numbers are
almost never modified except by a character’s tier.
If you divide a number in Scion and are left with a fraction, you should always round up. Some
exceptions exist, but unless they’re specifically noted, round up.
Successes and Enhancements
Successes are Scion’s “currency.” If a character achieves enough successes to meet or exceed the
difficulty of their task, they succeed perfectly at it. Spare successes are called threshold
successes, and are spent and pulling off impressive Stunts.
A character generates successes by rolling their dice pool and meeting the target number. If they
roll any successes at all, they also benefit from Enhancements. These are advantages, like having
the high ground in a fight, which provide additional successes equal to their rating. The higher an
Enhancement’s rating, the more useful and potent it is.
Example Enhancement
Giveaway Tell (1e) - You’ve spotted a guilty tic or some other personal clue
belonging to another character. Perhaps they scratch their nose, stammer, or
outright weep blood. Applies: Any roll to intuit the relevant character’s motives,
attitude or truthfulness.
No matter how many Enhancements apply to a task, they all generate successes. However,
Enhancements only benefit appropriate goals, and only if the character rolled at least one success
with their dice pool. It’s rare to have more than 3e to any one roll; additionally, no player may
have more than five points of Enhancements from all combined sources. The sole exception
to this is Scale; Enhancements from Scale differences may stack with other sources.
Example: Elizabeth’s pistol is loaded with Enhancement 1 explosive ammunition. If she rolls at
least one success when she tries to gun down a rakshasa, it grants her one extra success… but it
won’t help her vault a barricade.
Some effects allow a character to pass a roll. They still roll, but their Enhancements apply
regardless of whether they roll any successes. It is possible for someone to pass and still not
succeed, if their Enhancements don’t let them meet the difficulty.
Scale
One special form of Enhancement is Scale (pp. XX), which is a shorthand for the effects of
overwhelming size, speed, and so on. A fomorian giant receives an Enhancement when it’s
crushing a car like a paper cup, because it’s just that huge.
Equipment
Another common source of Enhancements is Equipment. Humans are tool users, whether they’re
hacking with a high-end computer or an enchanted battleaxe. More potent (and usually more
expensive) equipment offers a greater Enhancement, while shoddy or ill-maintained gear can
inflict a Complication instead. Some tasks require certain kinds of Equipment to even be
attempted. A character can’t fix a totalled car with hope and chewing gum. Well, a mortal can’t.
Teamwork
If one character helps another with a task, their teamwork is represented as an Enhancement. The
assistant rolls their own dice pool, and their team-mate receives an Enhancement equal to the
successes their dice generated. This dice pool does not need to be the same as their team-mate’s.
They may also enjoy the benefits of the assistant’s own Enhancements, but redundant
Enhancements (such as Equipment) do not stack. The Storyguide is ultimately the judge of when
it makes sense for an Enhancement to transfer, and when it makes sense for teamwork to be
possible at all. Crowding a safecracker won’t help her get to the treasure within any quicker.
Example: Marche tries to help Nikola in his engineering efforts, but she’s not an automobile
expert. Instead, she rolls her Might + Athletics pool to lift the car for easier access. Nikola
receives an Enhancement to his efforts equal to her rolled successes.
Enhancement Circumstance Equipment Example
Rating Example
1 Minor The interviewer’s in a Damn fine coffee.
good mood.
2 Notable You’ve been A doctor’s illicit
recommended for the pick-me-up.
job.
3 Significant You’re the Bleeding-edge
interviewer’s best stimulants.
friend.
4 Major You’re holding the Futuristic wired
interviewer hostage. reflexes.
5+ Extreme You psychically A sacred potion of
control the vitality.
interviewer.
Difficulty
Whenever a character has to roll to complete a task, they face the possibility of flaws and failure.
A daring leap across buildings ends with a fall several stories down. An investigation into the
origins of a strange monster leaves a detective deeply indebted to her sources. A bold bluff
crumples against the utter disinterest of the club bouncer, or gets a character inside with all the
wrong attention.
This possibility is represented by difficulty, a value equal to the number of successes needed to
flawlessly accomplish a task. If no difficulty is specified, it defaults to 1.
If a character fails to meet the difficulty of a task, the Storyguide offers their player an
appropriate Complication or Consolation. A Complication means that the character succeeds
anyway, but suffers unwanted drawbacks in the process. A Consolation means that the character
fails, but receives some unlooked-for opportunity as a result.
All tasks also have a basic difficulty. This defaults to 1, but is otherwise listed after the normal
difficulty in parentheses. If the character does not generate at least as many successes as the
basic difficulty, the Storyguide can only offer Consolations in the face of failure. In other words,
a character that does not roll at least one success cannot succeed, even with a Complication.
Setting Difficulty
When the difficulty of a task is not described in the text, the Storyguide sets it themselves and
makes players aware of how many successes they need. Difficulty should only be “hidden” for
tasks where it would give a secret away to players, such as a roll to detect a hidden enemy.
On average it takes a mortal about three dice to generate 1 success, so most tasks that actually
call for a roll only require a single success to complete. Even difficulty 1 represents an obstacle
that a professional with a dice pool of 4-5 may sometimes stumble at. An increase of just +1
difficulty requires an extra two or three dice for a character to overcome.
In some cases, difficulty is not set by the Storyguide, but fluctuates based on the ability of an
opposing character. This is called opposed difficulty, and is usually generated by successes on the
“defender’s” own roll. When it’s not clear who’s defending, the character with the lower success
total has their successes converted into difficulty for the other character.
In situations where it’s impossible to succeed, there’s no reason to set a difficulty. Just don’t roll.
[begin tabbed table]
Difficulty Rating Task Example
1 Minor Giving the slip to a chasing police officer.
2 Notable Evading co-ordinated pursuit from multiple trained officers.
3 Significant Outrunning a police car on foot.
4 Major Bolt from the charge of the Wild Hunt.
5+ Extreme Escape from the immediate grasp of a vengeful Fury.
[end tabbed table]
Complications and Consolations
Difficulty represents the obstacles in the way of a flawless finish. If a character cannot muster
enough successes to overcome the difficulty, they either suffer a Complication but complete their
task, or fail but receive a Consolation. The Storyguide makes the offer, and the player chooses.
A Note to Storyguides
You don’t have to create Complications on the fly to help your players’ characters. The
system is meant to fine-tune what fate they suffer when the dice don’t go their way -
success with a negative, or failure with a positive. Just declare Difficulties up-front based
on total circumstances. If things get wonky, feel free to toss the players Momentum and
call it a day.
Complications
If a character suffers a Complication, they succeed with a drawback; a “yes, but.” Most tasks
include one or more likely Complications for Storyguides to apply.
Example: Romani fails to meet the difficulty to clamber over a wall while fleeing the police.
Instead of letting him get caught, his player decides to accept a Complication. He makes it over
the wall, but the barbed wire at the top injures his leg, or tangles his coat as evidence.
Complications have a numerical value, which indicates how severe they are. A Complication’s
rating should be no higher than the difficulty it was associated with. Even if different
Complications could apply to the same roll, a character only ever suffers one when they partially
succeed. The Storyguide should usually choose the highest-rated.
When an effect such as a Stunt imposes a Complication on a roll, it increases that roll’s difficulty
(though not the basic difficulty) by an amount equal to the Complication’s value.
Example Complication
Crowd Cover (2c) - Your target is using bystanders as unwitting shields. It’s a
defense that relies on your conscience. Result: Your attack, made with a firearm,
also hits a random civilian near your target. It is resolved with the same number of
threshold successes.
If a player instead chooses to fail and receive a Consolation, they do not suffer a Complication.
However, this may be rendered a moot point by failure.
Example: If Romani doesn’t want his pursuers to get a good look at his appearance, he might
choose not to accept it as a Complication. However, if he chooses to fail and receive a
Consolation instead, they’ll catch him and discover what he looks like anyway.
[begin tabbed table]
Complication Value Severity Example: You get a favor from an official, but . . .
1 Trivial ...the official is mildly offended.
2 Notable ...the official deduces your true agenda.
3 Significant ...the official can blackmail you in future.
4 Major ...the official will forever despise you.
5+ Extreme ...the official prepared a magical oath to force you to return the favour.
[end tabbed table]
Consolations
If a player accepts a Consolation, they fail. Simply put, they don’t achieve whatever they were
hoping to. Their charm falls flat, they draw a blank, they swing and miss.
The specific results of failure depend on the context. A character who fails to pick a lock is just
going to have to find another way inside, and one whose argument goes unheard will need to find
a more receptive ear. On the other hand, anyone who fumbles a leap from a tall building faces a
terrifying fall and probable injury.
Failure is never just a dead end, however. In stories, failure always leads to something new, or
builds anticipation for the inevitable heroic comeback. The same is true in Scion, where the story
is moved forward through Consolations. This is a minor benefit that doesn’t exactly give the
character what they want, but advances the group’s interests somehow.
Fundamentally, Consolations exist to help Storyguides avoid simple dead ends. Failure doesn’t
end stories, it changes them. If characters fail to crack the code that would lead them to a city-
destroying titanic rite, the story turns to locating the one numerologist who can. If they can’t find
her, the story turns to tracking down the cultists directly using clues found at her wrecked home.
Fail at that, and they face a race against time while the ritual visibly gathers pace…
Of course, at some point failure should probably start a story about dealing with a destroyed city.
The Storyguide always needs to balance engaging Consolations with an actual sense of threat.
Common Consolations
Twist of Fate: Failure leads the character to another approach, through new information or sheer
coincidence. It isn’t exactly what they were hoping for, but it just might work…
Example: Zayd fails to pick a lock, but he overhears two guards complaining about a misplaced
keychain. He can try to track down that, instead.
Chance Meeting: Failure causes the character to meet someone who can offer help or
information… though perhaps at a price.
Example: Annie falls from a rooftop, but wakes up hours later, hidden from pursuit by an alley-
dwelling hag with her own motives.
Unlooked-For Advantage: Failure results in a circumstance that benefits a future action,
equivalent to 1e for the failing character or one of their comrades. This Enhancement can’t
benefit the same action that provided it except in frantic situations where the character is
expected to try again immediately, like attacking in combat.
Example: Marie fails to talk an asura into helping her, but makes a good impression on her
daughter, allowing her to more easily persuade the young demon princess down the line.
Momentum
Another common kind of Consolation is Momentum.
Momentum is heroic destiny at work, represented as a resource that players spend to help out
their characters. Characters are not themselves normally aware of Momentum, but instead put its
effects down to good luck or undaunted effort. Storyguide characters do not earn Momentum.
Each player character has their own stock of Momentum, which they must track individually.
This pool normally starts empty, and empties at the end of each Arc, but holds up to 12
Momentum at once. However, at the start of each new scene, the Momentum pool drops to 6,
unless the amount of points in the pool is less than 6.
Gaining Momentum
Failure: When a character fails, the Storyguide may offer them Momentum instead of a normal
Consolation. If they accept, they immediately receive 1 Momentum. If the roll dealt with their
Specialty (a specific area in a given Skill) they receive an additional 1 Momentum.
Botch: If the Storyguide sees an opportunity to make failure more awful (and interesting) than
usual, they may offer 3 Momentum instead. If the player accepts, their character suffers a
worsened failure called a botch. Botches can result in all sorts of awful consequences, but they
can’t remove the character from play for an extended period of time unless that would already be
a consequence of failure.
Example: Tamiko misses an attack, and her player decides to accept a botch. Instead of simply
passing through empty air, her blade outright slips from her grasp.
Condition: Characters also receive 1 Momentum whenever they suffer a failure or setback as a
result of a Condition. This stacks with any Momentum gained from failing. Conditions present a
character with a trial to be overcome with heroic impetus, such as lotus addiction, a prophesied
doom, or a broken limb.
Influence: Whenever a character allows a Storyguide character to manipulate them into a course
of action with an influence roll, they receive 1 Momentum. They also receive 1 Momentum
whenever the Storyguide chooses to ignore one of their own successful social actions.
Spending Momentum
Momentum may be spent whenever the player wants to add dice to any pool, one die per
Momentum point. Again, though, they may only keep a maximum of 6 Momentum (or less) in
their pool when going to the next scene. Anything more is discarded.
Dice Adding
A note to Storyguides: adding dice in Storypath is super rare. We don’t do it very often.
Stunts
Characters in Scion are rarely satisfied with mere success. They strive to exceed expectations, to
reach for perfection, and above all to show off. These are Stunts, which reward impressive
performances by letting characters spend their threshold successes to produce additional effects.
Usually, this takes the form of imposing a Complication on an enemy’s roll, or offering an
Enhancement to a friend. Perhaps a character clambers over a wall so swiftly that she has time to
confuse pursuit with a false trail, or create a handhold for someone behind her.
Applying Stunts
Stunts have to make sense for the task that they stem from, while some specific Stunts are only
available to rolls that used a particular dice pool, such as a special knock-out strike that relies on
a Might + Brawl roll. In the case of mixed actions, Stunts can be drawn from both of the relevant
dice pools, not just the one that was actually used.
Example: Elizabeth can’t use a Stunt for a Cunning + Marksmanship roll to offer an
Enhancement to diplomatic talks... unless, of course, the Jotunheim representative is particularly
impressed by amazing trick shots.
In some cases this level of mechanical detail isn’t necessary, so threshold successes just indicate
a general degree of success. 0 threshold successes is a barebones victory, 3 demonstrates
remarkable fortune or skill, and 5 is a sublime performance worthy of honour, fame, and millions
of Youtube views.
General Stunts
Stunts usually conform to one of three general templates, which scale with the threshold
successes spent on them. Others have unique effects that must be detailed in their own entries,
but these two general Stunts can be easily used, or serve as a baseline for Storyguides.
Complicate (threshold varies)
Kick obstacles into the path of an opponent. Set the building alight. Lay down covering fire. Ask
an awkward, compromising question. Result: A particular kind of action gains a Complication of
equal value to the number of spent threshold successes. This effect lasts until it is made
irrelevant or deliberately removed, such as when a fire is extinguished. It has no effect on the
basic difficulty of an action.
Enhance (threshold varies)
Spot for a sniper. Knock an enemy off-balance. Offer someone a boost up. Lay groundwork for a
publicity campaign. Result: Create an Enhancement that you or an ally can use. Each spent
threshold generates 1 rank of Enhancement, which can be used once and is available until the
end of the next round (or interval). The duration or usages can be increased by reducing its rank,
at the Storyguide’s discretion.
Other Modifiers
Some combinations of Enhancements, Stunts and Complications are bound up together, offering
downsides and upsides in a single package.
Conditions
Conditions represent an ongoing status affecting a character. They include things like injuries,
drunkenness, or divine blessings, and can be positive, negative, or some combination of the two.
Conditions provide a point of Momentum when they cause a character to fail or otherwise suffer
a significant setback.
Example: Jeanne shrouds herself in the aura of inevitable otherworldly judgement, which
provides an Enhancement to intimidating others. Unfortunately, she also faces an increased
difficulty for less confrontational social actions. If her presence causes an unfortunate freakout
in a terminal ward, she receives a point of Momentum.
Conditions include information on how to resolve them, removing their influence over the
character. This might be as simple as waiting for a hangover to fade, or as involved as seeking
out a sorcerer capable of removing a curse.
Example Condition
Blindness - You’re unable to see. This might be temporary, or a permanent problem
caused by injury, genetics, or a divine curse. Effects: You cannot succeed at any
task which requires vision, such as reading non-Braille writing. Other tasks that
would normally use sight instead use the lower of the normal dice pool or Cunning
+ Subterfuge, as you are forced to focus on your other senses.
Resolution: Medical treatment, if practical and applicable.
Fields
Another common example of “packaged” effects are Fields. These represent the effects of a
given environment, such as a maze’s winding passages, the amazing acoustics of an opera house,
or the volcanic fumes of Múspell. An area can provide Enhancements, impose Complications,
and even offer opportunities for Stunts.
A Field is not strictly defined by distance, but instead represents a single “place” with distinct
features. A cramped elevator is a single Field for a fight, but so are the miles of largely
featureless desert surrounding the hidden oasis of Zerzura. As such, Fields have nothing to do
with an effect’s Range.
Fields exist to shape space into convenient narrative blocks, just as Scenes do for time. They
provide much-needed context for the world characters operate in, whether the frustrations of a
gathered crowd offer an Enhancement to starting a riot, or rain slicking a rooftop adds a
Complication causing careless characters to slip and fall.
Example Field
Warehouse
A large building packed with crates that form cramped and featureless corridors beneath buzzing
lights.
Features: Cramped, Maze
Cramped (1c) - Tight tunnels, packed train carriages and dense rainforest are better suited to
knives than spears. This Complication applies to attacks made with Reach weapons. Result:
Your weapon becomes stuck or clatters unhelpfully off a surface. The distraction provides a 1e to
the next character who attacks you.
Maze (1e) - Without signage or landmarks, this place is an unnavigable rabbit warren. Prime
ambush territory for someone familiar with it. Applies: Any roll to ambush, surprise, or evade
another character. You must be familiar with the area, and your target must not. Maps and other
ways of easily navigating can substitute for familiarity.
The Storyguide should feel free to add new features to a Field as necessary. A character clad in
white should probably receive an Enhancement if they try to hide in an arctic landscape, even if
the Storyguide didn’t consider camouflage when setting the scene. Players can often suggest
such ideas, although the ultimate decision lies with the Storyguide.
Action Types
Whenever a character wants to accomplish a task, they’re taking an action.
Some actions require rolls, relate to particular traits, or have a mechanical effect. Others have no
risk of failure, or exist purely for the sake of roleplaying.
Whatever the case, these actions are divided into three types: reflexive, simple and complex.
Reflexive actions
Instinctual, instantaneous, and effortless, reflexive actions are minor moves that don’t interfere
with anything else a character wants to do. How many a character can perform at once (and when
they can perform them) is purely up to the Director’s common sense. Examples of reflexive
actions include walking, talking or glancing around.
Reflexive actions are the sorts of things characters do to set up more dramatic and interesting
actions. They don’t matter much on their own, but they’re necessary for tying together the
important parts of a scene. When a character ducks out of cover as they fire off a shot, or glances
around for a handhold to leap onto, they’re taking a reflexive action.
Since they don’t really occupy the attention of the character, the player, or the group, it’s very
rare to roll for a reflexive action.
Simple actions
Significant, straightforward, and self-contained, simple actions are core moves that occupy a
character’s attention and abilities for their duration. In a time-sensitive situation governed by
initiative, such as combat, a character takes only one simple action each turn. Examples include
attacking an enemy, hacking a computer, or sweet-talking a CEO.
Simple actions are the sorts of things that make up the building blocks of a scene, tied together
by more casual reflexive actions, and ultimately determine its outcome. They seize the attention
of the group, however briefly, and can have a dramatic effect on the story. As such, they often
(but not always) require rolls to resolve.
Mixed Action
One simple action can encompass multiple distinct movements; an attack might represent a
flurry of blows, while sneaking across a room could involve moving from cover to cover while
glancing around for guards. These are just parts of the same task, and are dealt with under the
umbrella of a single simple action.
If a character wants to split their attention between two distinct tasks in a single simple action, it
becomes a mixed action. These use the lower of the two relevant dice pools, and the player splits
their rolled successes between separate difficulties for each task. Enhancements apply as normal,
and can apply to both tasks.
Complex Actions
Elaborate, extended and engaging, complex actions are scenes in themselves, where the tension
is drawn out rather than immediately resolved. They are effectively numerous separate tasks,
abstracted into a much smaller set of rolls with a singular goal. Examples include street races,
criminal investigations, or forging a divine blade.
Complex actions are best used to represent situations that normally involve a lot of boring but
necessary work, or largely unchanged continuous effort. They serve the same purpose as a
montage in a movie, letting characters show off the “highlights” of whatever they’re working on
with each roll, while not forcing players to sit through hours of drawing out and crumpling up
blueprints.
A desperate chase could be swiftly resolved with a single roll as a simple action, or it could be
expanded with twists and turns into a complex action, using multiple rolls to lead to the chase’s
conclusion. These rolls are called intervals, each representing a stretch of focused activity.
Intervals
Intervals are resolved just like simple actions, with their own dice pools, difficulty, and so on.
The intervals for inventing a new device might include research and design, gathering materials,
construction and testing. Intervals in a car chase are based on geography, with winding streets
followed by an open highway.
A complex action is focused on a goal, not tied to a particular dice pool. Players are encouraged
to be creative, though the Storyguide may impose a Complication on alternative or indirect uses
of an interval.
Example: Charlotte wants to brew a potion used by Baba Jaga. Rather than experimenting with
different herbal and pineal extracts with Reason + Science, she decides to spend an interval
trying to steal the recipe with Cunning + Subterfuge.
Milestones
Succeeding at an interval does not guarantee overall success. Instead, it means the character has
achieved a milestone in their task. Depending on the context, milestones can be thought of as
clues, breakthroughs, checkpoints, and so on. Once a character achieves a number of milestones
set by the task (like a difficulty), they succeed.
The distinction between difficulty and milestones is simple. If a character goes climbing, the
mountain’s height is the number of milestones they need, while the difficulty of each interval
represents the challenge offered by each stretch of climbing.
[begin tabbed table]
Milestones Investigation Complexity Project Scope Race Length
1 Straightforward Simple Dash
2 Awkward Involved Sprint
3 Confusing Ambitious Stretch
4 Obscured Brilliant Long-Distance
5+ Conspiracy Wondrous Marathon
[end tabbed table]
Failure
It is possible for a character to fail individual rolls without missing out on their overall aim. A
detective can mess up a lead without scuppering the entire investigation, and a racer can fall
behind without ultimately losing the race. Complications and Consolations are offered on
individual rolls as normal, but the final outcome depends on achieving the necessary milestones.
As a result, characters only truly fail if they hit the interval limit. This is the number of rolls that
can actually be made make to pursue milestones, before the complex action comes to an end.
Failing to achieve these milestones means total failure, with no opportunity to accept a
Complication.
A botch on a complex action often ends the action outright, sending a character's prototype up in
flames or allowing their quarry to escape. Alternatively, it might just cause them to miss out on
an interval while they douse flames or pull garbage from their hair.
Interval limit
While milestones represent the sheer extent of a complex action, the interval limit depends on the
time pressure the character is under, if any. As a result, the Storyguide should determine the
interval limit relative to the number of milestones the characters need.
[begin tabbed table]
Interval Limit Description Investigation Example
Milestones +0 Frantic A race to gather evidence before the killer bugs out.
Milestones +1 Rushed A murder that the brass wants solved or buried, quickly.
Milestones +2 Steady A case that’ll go cold if left too long.
Milestones +3 Comfortable A corruption investigation, kept top secret.
No limit Leisurely A forgotten crime, dredged up from the archives.
[end tabbed table]
A complex action’s intervals usually represent similar lengths of time, determined by the
Storyguide. A police chase might spend a half-minute on each frantic interval, while researching
a supernatural beast might use each roll to represent an hour of digging through archives,
contacting experts and examining unsightly stains.
Alternatively, the Storyguide might allow intervals to take as long as they need. It’s even
possible to let players play out individual scenes making up an interval, and just hand them a
milestone with no roll needed in response to a generally successful performance.
Teamwork and Contests
Multiple characters can collaborate on a complex action, pooling their efforts into pursuing the
same milestone. This means they make a single roll, using the normal rules for teamwork.
Alternatively, characters can work on different milestones simultaneously, rolling separately
during the same interval and potentially achieving multiple milestones as a result.
Example: Officers Jud and Nicky might interrogate a suspect together, allowing one of them to
roll Presence + Persuasion while the other rolls their own dice pool and adds the result as an
Enhancement. Alternatively, Jud might go to check on forensics with Reason + Intelligence while
Nicky asks the questions on her own.
If a complex action involves multiple opposed participants, it is a contest. The characters each
roll to reach the necessary number of milestones, and the character or group who reaches it first
is the winner. If no character achieves all their milestones before they hit the interval limit, the
one with the most milestones is the winner. Contests are governed by initiative, in order to
resolve Stunt-based sabotage and prevent draws.
An alternative to contests is competitions. These always have an interval limit, and the winner is
determined by which character or group achieves the most milestones within that limit.
Scale
Adventures in Scion span back-alley brawls and dragon-riding dogfights, often in the same story.
This can result in some serious mismatches: a Might 1 weakling will struggle against a Might 5
strongman, but neither of them could armwrestle a hulking titanspawn the size of a bus.
On the other hand, Scion is a game for exciting adventures where heroes overcome impossible
odds. Even if a raging hydra easily smashes buildings and faceless screaming crowds, we expect
our heroes to dart through the chaos, enjoy some much-needed luck, and face the monster on
more even ground.
Scale is a rule that exists to handle these extreme circumstances. It helps the Storyguide easily
represent entities or effects that operate on a level beyond normal humans, without discounting
important characters who can turn the tables.
Traits in Scale
No matter their size or other strange endowments, all characters in Scion use the same Attributes
and Skills. The ratings of these traits should be considered relative to the character’s Scale rank.
A Cornish giant may be massive, but if he’s scrawny compared to his peers he might still be just
Strength 2. His immense Size and Scale makes up the difference against smaller targets.
Scale Principles
Different kinds of Scale exist, each with their own unique quirks and rules. However, all Scales
share three basic principles:
Rank: Scales are measured in ranks, each indicating an order of magnitude. Characters in the
same Size rank might have different specific heights, but they operate on approximately the same
playing field. Rank 0 is always roughly human.
Enhancement: Scale adds an Enhancement equal to twice its rank to certain rolls. If the target of
that roll also has an Enhancement from the same Scale, subtract the smaller rank from the larger.
Scale Enhancements do not stack.
Overwhelming: Certain characters or objects are considered to be trivial targets. These face
more extreme effects when affected by something on a higher Scale, and can even be
overwhelmed entirely, without a roll.
[begin tabbed table]
Scale Rank Description Size Pace Enhancement
0 Standard Human Human 0
1 Formidable Elephant, Bus, Troll Horse, Centaur +2
2 Impressive Giant Squid, Roc Sedan, Cheetah, Atalanta +4
3 Awesome Blue Whale, Behemoth Sports Car, Falcon, Kamaitachi +6
4 Incredible Statue of Liberty Airliner, Garuda +8
5 Astonishing Typhon, Giant Buddha Fighter Jet, Solar Chariot +10
6 Godlike Manifest Primordial, Mountain Rocket, Dandu Morana +12
[end tabbed table]
It’s rare for a game to face situations beyond Scale 6. If it enters such territory, just make sure
that every new rank represents another order of magnitude.
Trivial Targets
Scale represents tremendous gulfs. A honking truck will smear a human flat, but a giant can pick
that truck up in one hand. Heroes (and villains) tend to survive such overwhelming onslaughts.
They’re significant targets, and suffer the described effects of Scale. Player characters, most
“named” Director characters, and plot-significant items are considered significant.
Trivial targets are less fortunate. These are nameless mooks, background scenery, and so on.
They lack such heroic impetus, and suffer more “realistic” effects from a difference in Scale.
When an effect meets a trivial target on a lower Scale, it automatically passes its roll. There’s no
lucky escape for a poor redshirt. In addition, the effect’s Scale Enhancement is doubled.
This ability to brush aside scenery and unimportant characters is the fundamental difference
between +1 Scale rank and a +2 Enhancement. A gun with +2e to damage hits a real hero just as
hard as an Scale 1 cannon, but the latter splatters extras and blows holes in walls with ease.
Despite its apparent benefits, Scale actually exists to restrict excessive effects and creatures to a
level that heroes can engage.
In cases greater than a one-rank difference in Scale, the Storyguide should feel free to just waive
the roll and allow the effect to achieve automatic and overwhelming success. The dice are meant
to be rolled when failure could be interesting, or the outcome’s in doubt. When the animated
Colossus of Rhodes stomps down on a group of Greek protesters, there’s no room for doubt.
Feats of Scale
Scion is a game of doing big things, so our protagonists have an innate ability to handle doing
things on a massive scale. Whether throwing a car, fighting an army, or wrestling a giant, a Scion
spends a point of Legend and adds [Legend/2, round up] in Scale to all Physical rolls for a round
(keep in mind, Scale is relative, so they’re now on even terms with that giant). Knacks or Boons
may deepen and modify this ability to achieve Feats of Scale, applying them to Social or Intrigue
situations or extending the amount of time and situations the rolls apply to.
Action-Adventure
Action-adventure is a critical part of any heroic scale game, covering the elements of physical
peril, violence and round by round action. This is the realm of fistfights with frost giants, fleeing
animated statues while riding on motorcycles, and solving an arcane puzzle-box that will
dominate humanity with seconds to spare. The following systems support those events.
Initiative
At the start of a combat encounter, roll initiative to determine who acts first. The players roll for
their individual characters and the Storyguide rolls for her characters. Groups of SG characters
with similar statistics may share an initiative roll, and with SG permission players sometimes roll
for SG characters as well.
A character’s initiative pool is equal to Cunning + the character’s best Combat Skill. This pool
represents a character’s martial acumen and mental presence in the fight. Tally the total number
of successes that each of the involved characters roll and rank them from highest to lowest.
Results generated by player characters become PC slots; results generated by SGCs become SGC
slots. This is the initiative roster.
Players choose which of them gets to take the first PC slot, then that player decides who gets to
go next, and so on. Similarly, the Storyguide determines which order her characters act in. In the
event of a tie between Storyguide and player, favor the player. In a tie between players, either
roll off, or favor whoever has the higher Cunning.
Action Types
In a fight, there are three action types you can take: Reflexive, Simple, and Mixed. Reflexive
actions are done automatically and often do not require any kind of roll. When they do, they are
exempt from being part of a Mixed action. All Knacks are reflexive unless stated otherwise.
Simple actions cover anything that would require your full attention to do: such as stabbing an
ice golem in the heart or clinging to the back of a runaway clockwork monster. When you want
to cling to a monster and stab it, that’s a Mixed action. Mixed actions use the lower of the two
involved pools and split the successes achieved between the two actions.
Vera, playing Sigrun, is trying to keep her balance on a soaring winged beast while also trying
to stab it through the heart. Her Dexterity+Athletics is 4 and her Might+Close Combat is 6, so
she must use the lower pool. She gets 2 successes. The creature has a Defense of 2, so she must
choose between falling off the monster or missing the attack.
Defending
Defense is equal to 1+([highest of your Resistance attributes/2]). It does not ablate against
multiple attacks in succession. You have the option to use a Simple action to go Defensive. This
adds +2 to your Defense rating, but may not be included as part of a Mixed action. An enemy’s
Defense rating is the Difficulty you must exceed in order to successfully attack. Ties favor the
Defender.
Attacking
In order to put the hurt on someone, you must be able to reach them. You can attack within the
range of your weapon, as limited by the listed Tags. When you have selected a valid target, you
make the Attack roll, using Close Combat, Firearms, or Athletics. Close Combat attacks are
made with Might, and cover using melee weapons or unarmed strikes. Firearms and Athletics
(for thrown weapons or archery) attacks alternate Attributes based on Range. Usage of Activate
Tactical Feature can add Enhancement or Difficulty to your Attack action.
Range Modifiers
Close: Might - at this range you are fighting for control over your ranged weapon, though
if you can bring it to bear, you may still harm your opponent.
Short: Might or Dexterity
Medium: Dexterity or Cunning
Long: Cunning
Extreme: Reason
Firing Out of Range: Sometimes you need to shoot an opponent who is just too far away. For
each range band beyond the maximum range of the weapon, add +1 Difficulty to the roll.
Range Table
Range Description Estimated Combat Weapons
Distance Attribute
Close In range to trade 0 to 2 meters Might Unarmed
blows blunt combat, melee
objects and weapons, pistol
blades, or
grapple and
strike unarmed.
Short Close-quarter Out of reach—3 Dexterity Thrown, pistol,
battle distance to 30 meters rifle, bow
for reflexive
shooting and
thrown weapons.
Medium Range to aim 31 to 100 meters Cunning Thrown, pistol,
and shoot with a rifle, bow
firearm or bow.
Maximum
modern pistol
range.
Long Range to plan Over 100 meters Composure Rifle, some
and execute long to maximum bows, light
range sniping effective range artillery
and special (standard is 1000
weapon attacks meters)
(compensating
for wind, etc.).
Extreme Range of heavy By weapon Reason or dice Missiles, naval
military (typically 1000+ pool of guidance railguns, heavy
weapons—must meters to system artillery
compensate for weapon
curvature of the maximum—
Earth, speed of 10000 meters or
light delays. more)
Out of Range Beyond Beyond N/A N/A
maximum maximum
weapon range. weapon range.
Grappling
To grapple a target, make a standard Close Combat attack against their Defense. In place of
taking levels of Stress, however, the target then gains the Grappled Condition.
Grappled: A grappled target must succeed on a Dexterity or Might + Close Combat vs
grappler’s Defense roll before they are able to take any Movement action. While grappling, both
parties may attempt to move each other, by making opposed Athletics rolls. Ties favor the
initiator of the grapple.
Throwing
To throw a person or an object into someone else, you must first be able to lift it, requiring a
Might+Athletics roll, or to put a wiggling, living target into a grapple. Once lifted, the object or
person can be thrown as if it had the tags Thrown, Pushing. It is Storyguide discretion whether or
not a thrown object is Lethal or Bashing, or if it might inflict the Stun tag as well. If throwing a
living person, the Stress dealt to the target is also dealt to the person being thrown. In the event
of throwing a car, or a pillar from a temple to Zeus, this is then a Feat of Scale and the thrown
object also gains the Shockwave tag.
Resolving Damage
The number of successes above Defense + any armor rating is taken as Stress. When your
Vitality track (equal to Stamina) fills, you are Taken Out. You can avoid accumulating Stress by
instead taking an Injury Complication with a rating equal to the amount of Stress you would
have taken. Injury Complications are Conditions that inflict a suitable Complication (which
cannot be bought off) and that can only be resolved by time or healing abilities. Damage to your
Vitality track is not ablative. This means that if you suffer 3 Stress, you mark your third Vitality
box, and do not touch the first two. Additional Stress after this must be split between Injury
Complications and further Stress. As above, a full Vitality track leads to being Taken Out.
Injury Levels
All characters have -1, -2, -2 and -4 Injury boxes. -1s resolve after a scene or if an ally succeeds
on a roll to clear it; -2s clear after a subsequent session dedicated to solving it (i.e. a hospital
stay) or extensive off-screen care, and represent significant injuries; -4s are functionally identical
to -2s but require a stabilization roll, as they represent potentially mortal injury.
Taken Out
When you’ve been Taken Out, this does not necessarily mean that your hard-earned character is
killed outright, but you can no longer actively participate in the fight. Enemies of a Tier lesser
than the player’s characters cannot kill a Scion. It is up to the Storyguide and the themes and
tone of your campaign to determine whether or not a character’s equals or betters can take them
out permanently.
If you face an extreme amount of Stress or Injury Complications, you can opt to Concede. In this
case, you voluntarily are removed from the fight. Do not take any additional points of Stress or
Injury Complications and gain a point of Momentum.
Attack Resolution
1. Declare your target or targets
2. Make the attack roll
3. Determine if the attack is successful (number of successes exceed the target’s Defense)
4. Successes above Defense + Armor are taken as points of Stress or Injury Complications.
Surprise Attacks
When you want to get the drop on an enemy and maximize the element of surprise, you must set
up an ambush. Against a single target, roll Dexterity or Reason + Subterfuge vs a difficulty of
the target’s (Composure/2). Ties favor the player character. Against a group, roll against the
highest rating among the group of enemies. Bandmates generally should not be surprise attacking
each other, but in the event of intra-party strife, the roll is the same, with ties favoring the
defender.
On a success, the ambushing character or characters have a full round to act against their
opponents before initiative is rolled as normal and the enemies join the fight. Stealth cannot be
re-established in a fight without the aid of Knacks or Boons.
Movement
Sometimes the target you want to attack is not within range, or sometimes you just need to get
the hell out of dodge.
Move: You move 1 Range band. This is reflexive. If an opponent is fighting you at close range,
you may need to Disengage. You may reflexively Move once per round. If you wish to cross
more than one Range band and are not engaged, roll Dexterity or Might + Athletics.
Rush: You charge one Range band towards an opponent, which you may do after making a
reflexive Move action. Some opponents welcome being attacked at close range, but others would
rather you didn’t get close. If an opponent wishes to keep you at a distance, make reflexive,
contested Dexterity or Might+Athletics rolls. Ties favor the Rushing character.
Disengage: You pull one Range band away from an attacker. If they relent, you do this
reflexively. If they do not, make reflexive, contested Dexterity or Might+Athletics vs
Might+Close Combat rolls. If you fail, you must remain engaged with your opponent. This
action can be taken if you have already used your reflexive Move. Ties favor the Disengaging
character. Extras do not ever prevent a character from disengaging.
Rise from Prone: Some abilities or environmental effects may cause you to fall down. Getting
up from being knocked over is a reflexive action requiring no roll. However, if an opponent is
engaging you in close range, they may make this difficult. If the opponent chooses to threaten
your rise, any attacks you make on the same action after getting up are considered Mixed actions,
using the lower of your Dexterity or Might+Athletics and your relevant combat pool.
Take Cover: Placing yourself behind protective cover in the heat of fire requires a simple
Dexterity + Athletics roll. Cover is either light, heavy, or full. Light cover protects a significant
portion of the character’s body, such as a marble balcony railing, or leaning around a pillar in a
temple. This grants +1 Defense. Heavy cover protects almost all of the character, leaving only
scant parts of her exposed. Examples include firing at a character crouched behind the hood of a
car or through a slit in an armored door. This grants +1 Defense and +1 Armor. Full cover
blocks line of sight entirely, but is otherwise functionally identical to heavy cover. A character
with full cover cannot normally be targeted by ranged attacks.
Withdraw: Discretion is the better part of valor, and sometimes the superior choice is to turn tail
and run. If necessary, you first disengage, and then make Dexterity or Might+Athletics to
continue to cross Range bands, as stated in the Move action. If enemies choose to pursue you, the
action is then contested, and treated as additional disengaging.
Difficult and Dangerous Terrain
Dangerous Terrain is a landscape feature that could cause the character harm, such as pools of
acid or walls of flame. A character can pass through these, but in doing so takes a Complication.
If she does not wish to be set on fire by walking through said wall of flame, the character instead
can roll Athletics to cross or otherwise evade such Complications, buying off their ratings.
Difficult Terrain covers features such as slippery mud, loose stones, the rotten floor of an
abandoned building, etc - anything that makes passage hard, but not necessarily harmful. When
on difficult terrain, the default move action is no longer reflexive and characters must roll their
Dexterity + Athletics whenever they wish to move 1 range band. All other movement actions are
done so at +1 difficulty.
Light Melee
Knife: Concealable, Lethal, Melee, Thrown
Sword: Lethal, Melee, Versatile
Staff: Bashing, Concealable, Melee, Reach, Stun
Knuckledusters: Bashing, Concealable, Melee, Stun, Worn
Heavy Melee
Great Sword: Brutal, Lethal, Melee, Two-Handed, Unconcealable
Hammer: Brutal, Bashing, Melee, Pushing
Axe: Lethal, Melee, Piercing
Spear: Lethal, Melee, Reach, Thrown
Firearms
Pistol: Concealable, Firearm, Lethal, Piercing, Ranged
Shotgun: Firearm, Lethal, Loud, Ranged
Sniper Rifle: Firearm, Lethal, Long Range, Piercing
With Sigyn, he had godly sons. With Angrboða, he was the father of monsters – Fenrir, the great
wolf, Jörmungandr, the world serpent, and Hel, the Goddess of Death. When Logi, the true god
of fire bested Loki in an eating contest (by burning the contents, including the platter, as he ate)
Loki called him a cheater. He eventually tricked Logi into consuming himself – and so, the
trickster god took up the mantle of God of Fire, going so far as to stealing Logi’s wife, Glöð, as
well.
In modern day, Loki is a handsome charming man or a beautiful imposing woman. No matter the
gender, Loki always has a devilish smile. Careful, sometimes cowardly, this God is the sly and
ever crafty undercover agent, the politician that oozes charisma, the seductress that can
manipulate any sex to kneel at her feet. Passionate, with a belly full of fire, Loki will achieve any
goal he sets his mind to – and worse, he will do anything to twist fate to his whim. His Scions
find his lessons are without prejudice. He will place them upon anyone at any time and they must
endure his fickle nature. Once they have earned his loyalty, he will remain to guide them for as
long as they serve his needs.
Representation vs Mechanics
The Antagonist system is designed to simplify complex beings (and stories about
them) for the sake of ease and modularity for the Storyguide. An unfortunate side-
effect of this is that we cannot give lengthy and detailed descriptions of each
individual being. As a result, every example provided is both extremely short and
mechanically interchangeable with similar (but ultimately very different) beings
from other traditions. We encourage Storyguides and players alike to look beyond
what little we’re able to provide in the space we have when designing characters,
and not to take what we’ve written as unvarnished truth. What follows is a system
suitable for behind-the-scenes use only: players should never find themselves
equating a troll with an oni, even if both are troublesome giants.
Archetypes
The four base Archetypes for Scion: Origins are, in ascending order of difficulty, Mook,
Professional, Villain, and Monster. All Archetypes have a common set of Traits that enable them
to act for whatever purpose they need, as defined by the Storyguide. Example Antagonists (p.
XX) will also have a short description and roleplaying hints attached.
Drive: This section is for the Storyguide to give a motivation to her Antagonist characters. For
Mooks and some Professionals, that’ll probably be something on the order of “Collect my
paycheck from the boss” or “Make it out of this situation alive,” but for detailed Professionals,
Villains, and Monsters the Drive is more important, since they occupy commensurately more
space in the story, and may even be driving the plot behind the scenes.
Primary Action Pool: This pool represents those actions that the Antagonist exists to perform,
rolls that they will make assuming they get to perform their primary function in the story. A gun-
toting mercenary will almost certainly have a high pool for Shooting and Tactics, for example.
Actions should be listed generally, rather than trying to map them to an Attribute + Skill pool—
when player character powers refer to specific dice pools built on such combinations, use the
closest applicable action the Antagonist possesses. Enhancements granted by Qualities or Edges
should apply to one of these general descriptions of actions. No more than two or three actions
should be listed—if they’re that good at that many things, consider promoting them to the next
Archetype up!
Secondary Action Pool: This pool represents actions that, while important to the Antagonist, are
not central to their function in the story—but if it does come up, it would be reasonable for the
Antagonist to be good at it. The aforementioned mercenary probably has a decent ability for
Survival and Athletics, and perhaps a few other actions. The Secondary Action Pool is your last
chance to make an Antagonist competent at something, so if you’re waffling, err on the side of
including it here.
Desperation Action Pool: This is the pool that all other actions default to, the pool for actions
that the Antagonist probably has no business attempting but needs to anyway. The
aforementioned mercenary would probably roll his Desperation pool if he were in a situation
requiring him to explain in detail ancient Mesopotamian religious law, for example.
Stress: This is the number of Stress Boxes the Archetype comes with by default.
Defense: This is the base Defense of the Archetype.
Initiative: This is the Initiative Pool of the Archetype.
Extras: Some Archetypes come with certain Knacks or other Traits naturally by default, and
those Knacks will be listed here.
Professionals are a cut above the common enemy. They may have a name, but more than that,
they have a distinctive style. They’re the main interest points in fights—the heavily armored
enemy, the enemy with a mystical glowing sword, the enemy with a rocket launcher. They’re
unlikely to show up for more than a single fight, so they have to get all their awesomeness out in
one go.
Primary Pool: 7
Secondary Pool: 5
Desperation Pool: 3
Stress: 2
Defense: 2
Initiative: 5
Extras: A Cut Above (+1 Enhancement, Storyguide’s choice)
Villains are the centerpieces of big fights. As such, they usually have lackeys, consisting of
Mooks and maybe a Professional or two. Villains should definitely have names and detailed
motivations, as they’re the movers and shakers behind plots. They’re also tougher than one might
think—the better to make an escape and menace the player characters again!
Primary Pool: 10
Secondary Pool: 8
Desperation Pool: 5
Stress: 4
Defense: 3
Initiative: 7
Extras: Get Out of Jail Free (As long as the Villain dies offscreen or in questionable
circumstances, she can later reveal herself to have miraculously survived. This costs 1 Tension.
Cooldown: One Arc)
Monsters are the big guns at the level of Scion: Origins. All three of the previous Archetypes
are explicitly normal—and the Monster is explicitly abnormal. It is something magical,
something legendary, something bigger than any one mortal can deal with. A Monster is meant
to take on an entire band and be a significant threat to it. It may or may not have lesser enemies
aiding it, but it’s more than capable of taking punishment all on its own.
Primary Pool: 13
Secondary Pool: 10
Desperation Pool: 5
Stress: 8
Defense: 4
Initiative: 9
Extras: Some Monsters may make use of the Segments or Size rules—at the Mortal Tier,
however, few Monsters should have more than 2 segments, or be more than Size 2, or 3 if the
player characters are loaded for bear. Any more than that risks becoming something entirely
beyond their ability to deal with.
Taking Action
When Antagonists take a Basic Action, they use the dice pool that best represents
such an action. If they are taking a Mixed Action, they use the lowest dice pool
applicable. If they do not have such a skill listed in their Primary or Secondary
Pools—for example, an accountant attempting to operate a fighter jet while doing
taxes—the Desperation pool is used.
Rival
The first real challenge for a Scion comes from their fellows—or from those roughly equivalent
in mythic power, be they divine or mortal, flesh or spirit. These enemies will be forces to be
reckoned with, and far more flexible than their mortal counterparts.
Primary Pool: 9
Secondary Pool: 7
Desperation Pool: 5
Stress: 3
Defense: 3
Initiative: 6
Extras: Second Wind
Nemesis
A player character will likely defeat an Antagonist with the Rival Archetype—that much is
given. The Nemesis, on the other hand, exists for a real challenge, for an opponent who is at the
very least the equal of any one of your player characters. They, too, may be Scions, or even the
weakest and rawest of Demigods, and they are not likely to go down easily.
Primary Pool: 11
Secondary Pool: 9
Desperation Pool: 6
Stress: 5
Defense: 4
Initiative: 9
Extras: Mystic Arsenal (if appropriate)
Titanspawn
Sometimes, the gods descend, and all hell breaks loose. Sometimes, a terrible beast slips its
bonds and charges headlong into the World, ravening and furious at its captivity. Sometimes,
something terrible just shows up. That’s what the Titanspawn Archetype is for. Like the Monster
Archetype in Scion: Origins, the Titanspawn is intended to be a more-or-less solo fight, because
it can easily take on an entire band and still pose a serious threat. Such an Antagonist need not be
a literal Titanspawn—after all, Titans and Gods have far more in common than they’d want their
children to know.
Primary Pool: 15
Secondary Pool: 11
Desperation Pool: 7
Stress: 10
Defense: 4
Initiative: 10
Extras: Apocalyptic Presence; Most Titanspawn will make use of Segment or Size rules.
A Higher Calling
For the purposes of fulfilling Quality and Knack prerequisites, any Archetype of a
higher tier suffices. For example, a Rival could take Villain-or-higher Qualities or
Knacks, reflecting her greater station in the scheme of things. Such Qualities and
Knacks may be slightly underpowered compared to Qualities and Knacks of her
proper tier, but this can be used to adjust the difficulty of any given encounter
downward, if so desired.
Tension Pool
Players have Momentum, representing the juggernaut of their characters’ narrative and mythic
potential. The opposing force, the one that makes life interesting for the player characters, is
Tension. Tension is a pool of points at the Storyguide’s disposal, which may be spent in several
ways to make Antagonists a little tougher than they otherwise would be. This allows the
Storyguide to fine-tune challenge, with a cost-incentive to not overdo it. Players should always
know the Tension Pool total—seeing a giant pile of counters is a good way to keep them tense,
after all. Base Tension is equal to the number of players + the average Legend of the group, and
refreshes every arc.
In addition to Base Tension, points are added to the Tension Pool whenever a player character
overcomes a Complication or suffers a Calling Crisis. This keeps the pool topped up according to
the relative drama of the session.
Spending Tension
Spending Tension points is always instantaneous, taking place outside narrative time. In effect,
the situation is retconned slightly—the new foe was always that strong, he was just holding back,
etc. Tension use should never result in major inconsistencies (at least, not unless powerful magic
is involved), but it’s relatively easy to explain away any use of it.
Archetype Promotion
Archetype Promotion is what it sounds like; remove the Antagonist’s Archetype and replace it
with the next higher up; Mook to Professional, Professional to Villain, and Villain to Monster,
for example. This makes the Antagonist much more competent, with larger dice pools, Stress
tracks, and base Enhancements. Archetype Promotion costs 3 Tension.
Adding Qualities
Adding a Quality to an Antagonist is a less overwhelming change, but still represents a
significant boost in ability, since Qualities are permanently active. Adding a Quality costs 2
Tension.
Adding Knacks
Adding a Knack to an Antagonist is far more granular and situational than adding a Quality. Any
Knacks added with Tension consider their Cooldowns refreshed, meaning they’re ready to use.
Adding a Knack costs 1 Tension.
Action Interrupt
The Initiative Roster is set, with Player Character slots and Storyguide Character slots. Using
Action Interrupt, however, allows the Storyguide to insert a new slot into the Roster for a single
round, which may be used for any Antagonist (even Antagonists who have already acted in the
round). The new slot disappears at the end of the round. Action Interrupts cost 2 Tension.
Defense Boost
Storyguides are advised to kill their darlings (or, at least, to let the players do so), but sometimes
it’s not quite time for them to go just yet. Spending Tension on a Defense Boost raises an
Antagonist’s Defense by 1 per Tension spent, to a maximum of the number of players, for one
round.
Instant Cooldown
All Knacks have Cooldowns, conditions that must be fulfilled before the Knack can be used
again. For 1 Tension, the Storyguide may instantly refresh a single Knack for a single
Antagonist.
Power Cost
Some Capacities and Knacks have Tension costs associated with them. In such cases, follow the
rules described in those Capacities and Knacks for spending Tension.
Example Antagonists
The following Antagonists are meant to serve as samples, illustrating how the system can be
used to build mundane or supernatural beings. They should not be taken as gospel or the only
available options; we encourage Storyguides to build their own and get a feel for the system if
they can, but feel free to use these in a pinch.
Amazon
Amazons are a tribe of warrior women who, in antiquity, dwelt on the fringes of the Eurasian
Steppe near the Black Sea, living apart from men. Related distantly to the Scythians, they are
well accustomed to fighting from horseback, and favor both spears and archery. Though a few
Amazons still live according to the ancient pastoral lifestyle, far more members of the tribe have
emigrated to the cities, where they retain their warrior ethos even as they adapt to a modern way
of life. To maintain their numbers, they either pursue men for the purposes of conceiving or, if
such is not their preference, adopt women from outside the tribe. Most Amazons will happily
take anyone who both identifies as a woman and can hold her own in a fight—the training they’ll
put her through will more than make up for any lingering weakness from her origins. Amazons
are extremely family oriented, living together in sprawling clans, and it’s a rare Amazon who
doesn’t, at need, have sisters to back her up in a scrap.
Archetype: Professional
Qualities: Super Soldier
Drive: To best whatever champions may assail her!
Primary Pool (8): Combat, Feats of Strength (+1 Close-Quarters Combat, +1 Archery)
Secondary Pool (5): Equestrianism, Survival
Desperation Pool: 3
Stress: 4
Defense: 2
Armor: 1
Initiative: 5
Super Soldier
Many cultures have oral legends of men and women who were, by their very nature,
superior combatants in every way. Sometimes, this was the result of training or
lineage; other times, divine guidance or blessing. In any case, a Super Soldier is an
extremely dangerous foe, and likely to be a master of whatever techniques she has
devoted herself to. She receives a +1 Enhancement to any Combat Ability, +1
Armor, and +2 Stress.
Werewolf (Therianthrope)
Stories of shapeshifting humans can be found across the world—beasts that wear the faces of
humans, or vice versa. Some are cursed, compelled to commit monstrous deeds; while others are
respected as semi-sacred guardians, following ancient practices handed down from generation to
generation. In the modern World, these practices and curses alike continue to be passed down—
to spread across the world, thanks to the advent of globalism. Those who suffer from curses tend
to dwell on the fringes of society or engineer containment solutions for themselves, fearing that a
surveillance society would doom them for a single slip-up: after all, most Western nations still
have lycanthropy laws on the books, even if they haven’t been enforced in decades.
Archetype: Villain
Qualities: Natural Weapon (Claws, Teeth; only when transformed), Imperfect Disguise, Super
Soldier (only when transformed), Vulnerability (silver)
Knacks: Shapeshifter
Drive: Pass on this terrible curse!
Primary Pool (10): Close Combat (+3 Enhancement), Hunting
Secondary Pool (8): Stealth, Athletics
Desperation Pool: 5
Stress: 6
Defense: 3
Armor: 1
Initiative: 7
Natural Weapon
Some beings are possessed of natural weaponry, such as claws, teeth, armored tails,
horns, and so on. Such weapons cannot be disarmed without a (likely very
gruesome) stunt.
Imperfect Disguise
The Antagonist may be able to hide most of her supernatural qualities, but
something still shows. This results in a distinguishing feature that may give them
away, be it behavioral or physical—huldrefolk have a tail, for example. Spotting
the feature and correctly identifying it requires a difficulty 2 Occult roll.
Shapeshifter
The character is able to transform into the shape of a certain animal, chosen by the
Storyguide when this Knack is assigned. The transformation is perfect and
undetectable through any means save magic. The Antagonist’s pools do not change
when this Knack is used. However, if her form has a certain method of travel, such
as flying or swimming while breathing underwater, she may use those.
Additionally, she has access to whatever natural weapons her new form may have,
including teeth, claws, and even venom. Animals larger than humans add a single
Stress Box; smaller animals subtract one.
Duration: One Scene.
Cooldown: End of Scene.
Troll
Enormous, hairy, and terrified of the sun whose touch turns them to stone, mortals across
Northern Europe have known for eons that trolls are to be avoided and feared, passing on stories
of trolls hurling mortals into chasms, keeping them as slaves in their dark cave dwellings, or
even devouring them whole—supposedly, trolls can smell the blood of Christians, but this has
never been validated by scientific study. Accounts differ as to troll intelligence; some are
renowned as metalworkers and herbalists, others described as only semi-aware brutes. Only in
relatively recent times have mortals been able to push trolls back from civilized settlements,
using church bells to make noise, disturbing the trolls’ natural habitats. Norway in particular is
known for setting aside vast tracts of mountains and plateaus as troll preserves, while carefully
monitoring the borders for any trolls who might try to migrate down into the valleys—
Jotunheimen National Park is perhaps the best known of these.
Note: The Traits listed here are for the less intelligent sort of troll, i.e., the sort that player
characters are far more likely to get into a scrap with.
Archetype: Monster
Qualities: Heavily Armored, Sure-Footed, Vulnerability (Sunlight), Vulnerability (Church
Bells)
Knacks: Seeing Red
Drive: Grind their bones to make your bread.
Primary Pool (13): Smash n’ Bash, Feats of Strength,
Secondary Pool (10): Climbing, Throwing Rocks, Survival
Desperation Pool: 5
Stress: 8
Defense: 4
Armor: 0
Initiative: 9
Heavily Armored
When the Antagonist takes Stress, shift the Stress one box to the left, unless that
box is already filled. Stress dealt directly to the leftmost Stress box is nullified.
Sure Footed
Difficult Terrain doesn’t affect the movement of this Antagonist.
Vulnerability
Choose a source of damage—for example, fire, salt, silver, etc. When the
Antagonist takes any damage from this source, fill in the Stress box that would
normally be marked, as well as the Stress box to its right (or, if this is already full
or non-existent, its left).
Seeing Red
The Antagonist may enter a frenzied state, during which they feel no pain and are
largely incapable of doing anything but attacking the nearest target. This adds a
general +1 Enhancement to Close Combat rolls, and allows the Antagonist to ignore
the effects of Injury Complications for the duration of the effect.
Duration: A number of turns equal to the number of player characters.
Cooldown: The Antagonist takes a new Injury Complication.
By Divine Right
Prerequisites: Nemesis or higher Archetype
The Antagonist is a leader or ruler, perhaps of Worldly sect or nation, perhaps from
Terra Incognita. In any case, she has tremendous resources to draw upon—if she
needs something, she has it, unless it’s one of a kind and already claimed or plot-
important. In addition, such a ruler is never alone, but accompanied by bodyguards
(who may remain hidden until needed)—two Rivals and three Foes, whose design
is at Storyguide discretion. For 1 Tension, the Antagonist may reveal that she has
cut a deal that places the player characters at a disadvantage in the present situation.
Flight
This Antagonist ignores any Difficult or Dangerous Terrain, unless that Terrain
represents atmospheric conditions. Additionally, if this Antagonist chooses to
Disengage vertically, she cannot be followed unless the pursuer has some means of
matching her, such as flight or superhuman leaping abilities.
Mystic Arsenal
Prerequisite: Rival or higher Archetype
The Antagonist is experienced with mythic forces, wielding them like the finest and
most sophisticated of weapons. She likely possesses a Relic—if not, she has some
other form of signature weapon or item that greatly empowers her. Any actions
undertaken with this item receive a +2 Enhancement, and if the Storyguide spends
1 Tension, she may raise that to +4 for a single action. Choose a Purview—when
wielding the item, she may channel it to create marvels at the cost of 1 Tension.
(Play fair—if the player characters defeat the Antagonist and take her stuff, they
get a totally cool Relic or other mystical object. No takebacks. Of course, that
doesn’t mean the Antagonist’s friends won’t try…)
Weather Tyrant
Prerequisites: Nemesis Archetype
The Antagonist can alter the weather, generating dangerous conditions. While in
many cases this effect is narrative in scope, in combat it often results in Difficult or
Dangerous Terrain, or may inflict Conditions on player characters per the
Storyguide’s discretion.
Cooldown: One Session
Possession
The Antagonist is capable of taking over another person’s mind, effectively
wearing their body like a glove. If the Antagonist’s body vanishes or they must
physically enter the target to use this power, they must be exorcised by an
appropriate ritual or Marvel. If the Antagonist’s body remains, add a temporary
Vulnerability (True Body), representing its defenselessness as the Antagonist
controls another.
Duration: One Scene
Cooldown: End of Scene; or, the Antagonist is exorcised.
I Have Friends
Permissions: Villain or higher Archetype
The Antagonist summons a number of Mook Archetype Antagonists to aid them in
combat.
Cooldown: A number of rounds equal to the number of player characters in the
fight.
Jötnar (Giants)
The giants who dwell in Jötunheim, cast there of old by the Æsir, are as many and varied as the
mortals who dwell in the World. Some are lovely, inspiring jealousy or drunken attempts at
seduction; others are hideous, bearing claws or other features not best suited to the human form.
However they appear, all are enormous, ranging from a dozen feet to several stories tall—some
few grow even larger, echoing Ymir, the giant whose corpse formed the World itself, but none
have yet equaled his stature. Not all Jötnar are at odds with the Æsir, more than one of whom are
descended from the giants—Loki is one. The Jötnar who dwell in Muspelheim, fire giants ruled
by Surtr, will rise up and set the World aflame when Ragnarok comes.
Archetype: Nemesis
Qualities: Apocalyptic Presence, Collateral Damage, Mystic Arsenal, Second Wind
Knacks: Back Off, World Shaking
Drive: Wreak havoc!
Primary Pool (11): Smashing Attacks, Feats of Strength
Secondary Pool (9): Endurance, Temperature Tolerance (cold or hot, depending on origin)
Desperation Pool: 6
Stress: 5
Defense: 5
Armor: 0
Initiative: 9
Extras: Jötnar are usually Size 2-3, but some impressive individuals may be larger—consider
building them as Titanspawn.
Apocalyptic Presence
Prerequisite: Rival or higher Archetype
The Antagonist is something deeply otherworldly—there is no way it can pass itself
off as a something mundane, let alone mortal. It is terrifying and wondrous to
behold, an awesome-in-the-literal-sense revelation that leaves even the most
stalwart of mortals utterly befuddled. Only beings with a Legend rating (or those
doing so from a great distance, where proper apprehension of the Antagonist is
impossible) may oppose or attack the Antagonist.
Collateral Damage
Prerequisites: Rival or higher Archetype
Apply whatever Stress the Antagonist deals to anyone within Close Range of the
target, as though all of her attacks possessed the Shockwave tag. This includes
structures, vehicles, or anything else that is not wholly indestructible. The
Storyguide may spend 1 Tension to utterly annihilate any object using such an
attack, and are encouraged to give florid descriptions of the aftermath.
Second Wind
Prerequisite: Rival or higher Archetype.
The Antagonist has hidden reserves of energy she can call on at a moment’s notice,
refreshing her and giving her the will to continue even against staggering odds. If
all of the Antagonist’s Stress boxes are filled save the rightmost one, the Storyguide
may spend 1 Tension to clear her entire Stress track. When she does so, the
Antagonist receives a +2 Enhancement to be assigned at the Storyguide’s
discretion, which persists until the end of the scene or until the Antagonist is
defeated. Second Wind may only be used once per scene.
Back Off
The Antagonist knocks the target back two Range bands.
Cooldown: The Antagonist closes to Close Range with an opponent; or 3 turns.
World Shaking
The Antagonist is able to disrupt the ground, transforming it into Difficult Terrain.
She may center the disturbance anywhere within her line of sight. This is not a
subtle Knack: using it significantly damages the ground and any nearby structures.
Cooldown: End of Scene
Regeneration
Prerequisites: Nemesis or higher Archetype
The Antagonist heals one Stress box per round, starting from the left and moving
right. Antagonists with this Capacity must also take the Vulnerability Capacity
(Scion: Origins, p. XX). Stress from the defined source is not regenerated, but must
be recovered at the natural rate.
Toxic
The Antagonist is poisonous or venomous. Choose a vector for the toxin (touch,
consumption, fluid transfer, aerosol, etc), and select from the list of Toxins (p. XX).
Aerosol toxins require the target to be within Close Range of the point of origin.
All others require either a successful attack roll or a roll to trick the target into
exposure.
Under Pressure
The Antagonist may use this Knack if she attacked by two or more characters in a
single round (inflicting Stress is not required). She receives +2 Defense against the
second attack, and against all other attacks that round. In the next round, the
Antagonist receives a +3 Enhancement to her Primary combat pool.
Duration: One round
Cooldown: The Antagonist is not attacked at all for one round.
Spray n’ Pray
The Antagonist makes a single attack roll, subtracting three dice. If successful, the
attack is applied not only to the intended target, but to any other potential targets
within Close Range of the intended target. The attack exhausts the weapon’s
magazine, if it has one.
Cooldown: The Antagonist takes a turn to reload his weapon—even if the weapon
is not mechanical, such as a dragon’s flaming breath, this waiting period is still
required.