Scion RPG
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Basic Information

In the Scion RPG, player characters are the half-mortal children of the gods. This game from White Wolf Publishing that is set in a supernaturally-themed version of the modern day, but not the World Of Darkness shared by many of their other RPGs.

In Scion's version of reality, All Myths Are Real, though the game draws most heavily from Greek Mythology. Aztec, Egyptian, Norse, Japanese and Voodoo Mythologies are also heavy influences, but the main plot point of the setting involves the Titanomachy, when the Titans were overthrown by the Gods and locked away in Tartarus. Within the setting, the Titans have recently escaped, and a new war rages in the Heavens. As children of the gods, the PCs are drawn into this war.

The game involves a fair amount of "crossing the streams" in pursuit of that All Myths Are Real idiom. Interpretatio Graeca and Mayincatec both rear their heads, blending and conflating similar mythologies into each other more or less seamlessly. Syncretism and Bisociation are perfectly in keeping with the theme and setting. Other mythologies also factor into the setting, and the Scion Companion sourcebook provides for the PCs to be Scions of the Chinese, Hindu, and Irish pantheons.

In addition, since the game is set in modern day, the myths feature some updates. In particular, the Chimera created by Ixion have many technological aspects, such as Centaurs who are half-Harley Davidson instead of half-Horse. The Scion Companion supplement also includes rules for nationalistic modern pantheons for use in a campaign set during World War Two instead the current era.

The game is noteworthy for its very steep power curve. Starting characters are similar in power to starting characters in any World Of Darkness game, being about in line with the heroes of most action or spy movie, with some minor supernatural powers. Before the campaign is over though, players can reasonably expect genuine Apotheosis transforming their characters into actual gods. Likewise, the game starts on earth, but extends into the underworld and then the heavens. A short and sweet summary of the power level in the late campaign would be "Zeus vs Cthulhu".

The three main books of the system are organized along that exponential power curve. You can play starting characters using just the first book, Scion: Hero, but need it plus two more books (Demigod and God) to play at the higher-levels of PC power.

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See Also

Sources

Bibliography
1. RPG: Scion: Hero, Scion: Demigod, Scion: God, and the Scion Companion, all by White Wolf Publishing. At least one more source book exists for the setting, that being Scion: Ragnarok, but I don't own a copy, so it's not detailed in the above entry. As you can imagine from the name, Scion: Ragnarok is about the end of the world, Norse style.
2. RPG: Apparently there's a second edition now, that starts with Scion: Origin before Scion: Hero.

One of the major influences on the RPG is the book American Gods by Niel Gaiman.

Game and Story Use

  • This is a very fun setting, with a seemingly endless cast of NPCs that your players are already familiar with.
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