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Scion: Legends of the Wild West - Scion: Legends of the Wild West - OOC Table Talk


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Scion: Legends of the Wild West

Pecos Bill's boots hit the packed dry earth and raised little puffs of dust from the parched soil. The wind whipped away the clink of his spurs and the whinny of the horse. He flipped the leather cord reigns over the hitching post and allowed the animal to drink; or it would have drunk had the trough not been bone dry. The little group of buildings barely had right to be called “town” and yet it went by the name of Ciudad del Río. Two streets meeting in an oversized town square around a dried up well, a dozen and a half buildings, and one saloon cum whorehouse. Something had dried up the well, the land, and everything else worth having within fifteen miles. That something was what Bill's pa called a sandwyrm, a titan spawn of the Titan Vritra.

Bill's footfalls on the boardwalk thudded hollowly as he moved toward the saloon's swinging doors. Inside it was darker, and moderately cooler as a result, if no less dry. A couple of emaciated rancheros sat with glasses of what looked like whiskey but was probably a passing excuse for water. The bartender was whipcord thin and bald as an armadillo with a bushy mustache that looked like it had been grown in reaction to the man's bare pate. The only other figure was sitting at the end of the bar with a slew of empty mugs, glasses, and bottles before him.

“Muchacho, more beer! More whiskey! I'm THIRSTY!!” The man at the end of the bar cried as the last drops of rotgut dripped out of the bottle he had inverted over his mouth. The hombre behind the bar twitched and pulled a bottle from the glass shelf behind him. He walked quickly down to the customer, his footsteps sounding like the scurrying of a mouse. Bill mused that, in a way, the man was.

Bill took a moment to focus, barely an act of effort, to tap into the ichor that flowed through his veins. The man at the end of the bar smelled like desiccated corpses and dry sand. Bill's rolling gait took him across the floorboards followed by the even clunk-chink of his boots and spurs. He bellied up just out of arms reach of the sandwyrm's host and took a close look as the thing drank down a quart of whiskey in a single draught and then beckoned for more from the proprietor.

The wyrm had burrowed into the human body it now wore through a bullet wound in the arm it seemed. There was a hole in the shirt that was surrounded by the dark rust of dried blood. Through the hole Bill saw the wound was healed over with scaly cracked flesh. The things lips were so dry and cracked they looked like wood from the Petrified Forest, and the rest of its face was dry, cracked, and peeling. It turned and looked at Bill, smiling, its thick swollen tongue lolled out of its mouth. “Ssssscion,” it hissed, “Leave here or...” BOOM!

Bill's left hand held the smoking gun across his torso. The cylinders glowed with the fires of Hade, which was appropriate given that they were filled with those very fires. The creature's head exploded in a cloud of dust as Bill stepped away from the bar. The dry husk of human seeming crumbled away leaving something awful behind. The revolver fired again as the angry sandwyrm lunged for the Hero …

*********************

The American west. The year is 1875; the Civil War is ten years ended and yet the wounds are still fresh. Six years ago the first Transcontinental Railroad was completed connecting California to the East Coast. Texas Longhorn cattle are quickly expanding into lands emptied by the Bison slaughter of the 1860s. With the cattle came the first of the cowboys. The Comstock Lode (silver) and the various California Gold rushes resulted in boomtowns up and down the Rockies while others would soon be started in the Dakota Territory, including the infamous Deadwood. The US military, and the nominal landowners and settlers were ever pushing into Indian Territory sparking the Apache and Navajo wars among other armed conflicts. Chinese immigration to California is in full swing bringing cheap labor for both rail and mine work. Rogues like Jesse James are at the height of their careers while others like Billy the Kid are just getting started, and who knows, some of them may well be Scions as well.

Outside the World: Most of the Titans remained within their prisons the Gods look down on the world and do what they can to guide their mortal charges without falling deeper into Fate’s skein. The Yankee Pantheon, young and brash and newly formed watches the United States push westward. Uncle Sam and Columbia thrill as their idea of Manifest Destiny results in a growing nation, unaware of the damage being wrought; the Pantheon of Great Spirits (the gods of the Native North Americans) are being weakened by the death and displacement of their peoples. Several gods have disappeared and are presumed dead or corrupted. The Titan Logismoi, the Titan of Corruption, has escaped his prison as a result of the weakening of the Pantheon of Great Spirits. The other Titans, imprisoned in the underworld, are slowly coming to wakefulness. Its only a matter of time before their own prisons begin to break and the Overworld erupts once more into war between the Titans and the Gods.

*********************

What's the setting? Geographically … pretty much anywhere. The focus early on in the game will be the western half of the US, everything west of the Mississippi River as well as northern Mexico. Later the game could range far and wide however …

So? Char Gen ... as standard from the book? Yes, mostly. Except...

House Rules:
  • Epic Attributes - Require a bare minimum of 3 dots in the baseline Stat before you can purchase your 1st dot of Epic (I would prefer 4 but the signature PCs in the game have done it at 3)
  • Legend – All PCs start with Legend 3 at no cost but cannot purchase additional points of Legend with Bonus Points.
  • Bonus Points – remain at standard 15 during chargen
  • Gaining Legend - During play players will not be allowed to purchase Legend with Exp. Instead I will hand out Legend, free of cost, periodically when the group has earned it.
  • I want to be a Scion of ... See the below...
  • Allowed Pantheons and Gods:
    • All Pantheons in the books will be allowed with the exception of the Atlantean Pantheon.
    • The “modern” Pantheons presented in Part 6 of the Scion Companion contain some Gods who don’t yet exist in the time frame of this game, they are:
      • American: Rosie the Riveter, Pecos Bill (still a Scion at this time), and Paul Bunyan (likewise still a Scion at this point),
      • Soviet: The Citizen
      • A note: Br'er Rabbit is at this time not yet affiliated with the Yankee Pantheon and is known primarily as Coyote and/or Raven, a member of the broken Pantheon of Great Spirits. Replace Industry with Illusion as an associate Purview.
      • While there is no cannon Native American Pantheon(s) detailed I will consider player requests to custom made NA Gods as part of the broken Pantheon of Great Spirits.
  • Ethnicity: The gods are all whatever ethnicity their Pantheon was created by, as such unless you are an adopted scion you are going to be at least half of whatever ethnicity your parent is. Adoption is the only way around this and of course begs the question of why your true parent disowned you.
  • Likewise some ethnicities will be far rarer in the US in this time period than others. Players are advised to use this opportunity to come up with detailed backgrounds to justify their presence and/or their adoption by another Pantheon.
  • I want to play an old dude! Good for you, there are plenty of other games where you can go complain about dentures and healthcare. Scions are young and vital, visitation happens in the late teens maybe as late as 20. Since the PCs are all going to be Legend 3 that’ll give you some upward leeway, say between 18 and 30 or so…
  • Can I use Boon/Relic/Creature/etc. XYZ from Book ABC? At this time we will be using the following Scion Books: Hero, Demigod, God, Companion, and Ragnarök as resources for this game. For anything cribbed from a book other than the Hero core rules please reference the Book and Page where the entry can be found. This will help the ST stay sane.
  • Geasa ... cool! Hold up there bub. Members of the Tuatha Dé Dannan may NOT choose their own Bans when creating their geasa. The ST will find something appropriately mean for you. Yes I am a meany.
  • I want a birthright that allows me access to a Purview I don't yet have boons for ... is that ok? Yes and no. If the Birthright in question has multiple purviews and you will be using some but not all at char gen that is fine, if you are just buying a 1 dot relic with a future boon purchase in mind ... Well why would mommy or daddy give you something you couldn't use right now? See below ...
  • I want to reserve some of my Birthright dots for later is that ok? Yes. If you want to be able to have your PC gain a new birthright after some RP time you can reserve points at Char Gen and assuage some of the hoops that the ST will push you through to get a new birthright. This is also appropriate if you know at Char Gen that you will want a relic for a purview you will not start with any boons for...
  • Control and Athletics seem to have some overlap, what's the deal? They work as written. More specifically Control covers anything that isn’t you. Horses, wagons, bikes, steamships, rowboats, griffons, etc etc. If you are in doubt ASK ME.
  • How do Bonus Points work when buying Boons? OK Boons bought with BPs cost 5 (or 4 if favored) Bonus Points per dot. For General Purviews this means you take the value/rank of the boon and mutiply by the cost above. For Specialty Purviews and Pantheon Specific Purviews which must be bought in order the cost works just like a skill or attribute.
    Quote:
    Example: Bob wants the 3 dot War Boon. He has no other War boons and it is not one of his Parent's purviews. He pays 15 Bonus Points for that boon.
    Example: Kelly wants the 2 dot Animal Boon. Animal is a purview of her parent. It costs her 8 BPs to purchase.

    Example: Theo, a Scion of Thor, wants to have Jotunblut 3, but he did not allocate any dots to it already. He pays 4 BPS for rank 1, 4 BPS more for rank 2, and 4 BPs more for rank 3. The total cost would be 12 BPs.
  • Do the bonus dice from Arete or Geasa for the Athletics ability apply to DV? I'm going to rule that they do not. My logic being that DV is not rolled and Arete/Geasa grants bonus dice, re-rolls, or auto sux to Ability Rolls. If anybody locates and can provide an official answer to that question (either supporting or supplanting my ruling) we will abide by said Official answer.
  • Detecting Other Legendary Beings We will not be using the optional sidebar on page 57 of the Scion Companion. Either buy it as a knack or find out when somebody beats you down with a covered wagon.
  • OK I built my PC and wrote my background, now what? Once you are ready to submit please send the character to the Ouroboros as a PM with the subject [sCION] {Character Name}. Include and accounting of your bonus point Spends as well please. I will review and feedback to you.


My mommy says I can't play big boy/girl games. Is this a big boy/girl game? Yes, Scions fight hard and play hard.

I'm a touch confused about X, what should I do? You can ask your fellow players, the ST, or check WW's official FAQ found HERE.

A few useful references:
Scion Quick-Reference Information
Comprehensive List of Knacks
Comprehensive List of Purviews

What of racism and sexism?
While people will still be racist and sexist I don't intent to play it as heavily and I do intend that in this game characters (both PC and NPC) can change people's impressions of them through their deeds and actions. A Scion (or mortal) who happens to be black (or Chinese, or native, or whatever) will be treated according to their deeds. For the PCs this means that the higher your legend you better received you will be (unless your legend includes a penchant for destroying everything in your path).

What kinds of media has influenced the game?

What kind of posting pace is intended? As a ST I intend to update the main thread as often as needed, I expect that will be 2 to 3 times a week normally, more often during combats and based on player activity. I ask that players be prepared to post to the main threads every 2 days or so in order to keep things going but I understand that this isn't always possible. The exception to this is Combat where you will be given a 24 of 48 hour window to post when your turn comes up. In fictions with other players the participants should set their own speed/posting frequency.

So I've got this relic, and it's awesome ...

Yeah relics are awesome, as are followers, and even creatures and guides to an extent. Putting them down on paper is one thing but give me more, give me something to make them pop out as part of your PCs legend, or part of the greater legend of his pantheon.

Example:
Bob submits a PC names Hercules, he has relic armor that is a lion's pelt. That's all he gives up for detail. Its kind flat and boring, nothing about that says that its legendary or myth worthy.

Example 2: Bob submits a PC names Hercules, he has relic armor that is a nemean lion's pelt. Maybe he even says that its nearly impossible to cut. Better that the above but still not something fully myth-worthy.

Example 3: Bob submits a PC names Hercules, he has relic armor that is a nemean lion's pelt. He goes on to explain that his PC was tasked with killing the beastie but found that its hide couldn't be cut so he hand to wrestle it down to the ground and choke the life out of it. Once he did his father (ZEUS) removed the skin and gave it to Hercules as armor, knowing that it could never be cut. ... That is LEGEND. That's the kind of detail, in only a couple of sentances that makes a relic pop off the page.

Example 4: Tim sumbits a character (Maerlyn) who has a book that gives the Magic, Mystery, and Prophecy Purviews. *yawn*

Example 5: Tim's character Maerlyn is given a tome of power by his mother Brittania. The book lays open the secrets of Fate as recorded by over 1000 years of mystics and wizards since the British Isles were first settled. AWESOME. Even though this relic was just given/gifted to Tim's PC it has a sense of history and Legend of its own, its no longer just some book, its a tome with the work of generations of magic users and prophets.

Dude what's your point?
My point is that relics should never be just a couple of dots and a 3 word description. Do yourself, myself, and the other potential players a favor and put a little effort into your relics (and you followers, etc). It'll help to establish a sense of both depth of character and a sense of wonder.
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Originally Posted By: Dawn, OOC
Question: is this setting going to be realistic as far as treatment of women and minorities, or will those be relaxed (as I believe Deadlands does)?

Closer to Deadlands. While people will still be racist and sexist I don't intent to play it as heavily and I do intend that in this game characters (both PC and NPC) can change people's impressions of them through their deeds and actions. A Scion (or mortal) who happens to be black (or Chinese, or native, or whatever) will be treated according to their deeds. For the PCs this means that the higher your legend you better received you will be (unless your legend includes a penchant for destroying everything in your path).

What kinds of media has influenced the game?

What kind of posting pace is intended? As a ST I intend to update the main thread as often as needed, I expect that will be 2 to 3 times a week normally, more often during combats and based on player activity. I ask that players be prepared to post to the main threads every 2 days or so in order to keep things going but I understand that this isn't always possible. The exception to this is Combat where you will be given a 24 of 48 hour window to post when your turn comes up. In fictions with other players the participants should set their own speed/posting frequency.
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character sheet template ...

Birth Name:

Nick Names:

Aliases:

Calling:

Known Relatives:

Nature:

Age:

Gender:

Ethnic Background:

Nationality:

Height:

Weight:

Eye Color:

Hair Color:

Handedness:

Distinguishing Marks:

Appearance:

Personality:

Interests:

History:

Pantheon:

Patron:

Virtues:

Physical: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina

Epic-Physical:

Knacks:

Mental: Perception, Intelligence, Wits

Epic-Mental:

Knacks:

Social: Charisma, Manipulation, Appearance

Epic-Social:

Knacks:

Abilities: Academics, Animal Ken, Art, Athletics, Awareness, Brawl, Command, Control, Craft, Empathy, Fortitude, Integrity, Investigation, Larceny, Marksmanship, Medicine, Melee, Occult, Politics, Presence, Science, Stealth, Survival, Thrown

Birthrights:

Boons:

Join Battle

Attacks:

Soak

Stamina:

Epic-Stamina:

Armor:

Total:

Health Levels:

Dodge DV:

Willpower:

Legend:

Legend Points:

Misc. Equipment:

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A note for you all as you start working on your PCs.

Submitting a character doesn't guarantee a spot. I'm going to take the characters that are well written and interesting. It behooves you to spend time making a balanced and interesting character with a detailed and interesting background with lots of potential plot hooks.

Edit: I forgot to mention that my reason to stating the above is because I don't yet have a start date in mind for the game so there's no reason to rush and every reason to put the time in.

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So I've got this relic, and it's awesome ...

Yeah relics are awesome, as are followers, and even creatures and guides to an extent. Putting them down on paper is one thing but give me more, give me something to make them pop out as part of your PCs legend, or part of the greater legend of his pantheon.

Example:

Bob submits a PC names Hercules, he has relic armor that is a lion's pelt. That's all he gives up for detail. Its kind flat and boring, nothing about that says that its legendary or myth worthy.

Example 2: Bob submits a PC names Hercules, he has relic armor that is a nemean lion's pelt. Maybe he even says that its nearly impossible to cut. Better that the above but still not something fully myth-worthy.

Example 3: Bob submits a PC names Hercules, he has relic armor that is a nemean lion's pelt. He goes on to explain that his PC was tasked with killing the beastie but found that its hide couldn't be cut so he hand to wrestle it down to the ground and choke the life out of it. Once he did his father (ZEUS) removed the skin and gave it to Hercules as armor, knowing that it could never be cut. ... That is LEGEND. That's the kind of detail, in only a couple of sentances that makes a relic pop off the page.

Example 4: Tim sumbits a character (Maerlyn) who has a book that gives the Magic, Mystery, and Prophecy Purviews. *yawn*

Example 5: Tim's character Maerlyn is given a tome of power by his mother Brittania. The book lays open the secrets of Fate as recorded by over 1000 years of mystics and wizards since the British Isles were first settled. AWESOME. Even though this relic was just given/gifted to Tim's PC it has a sense of history and Legend of its own, its no longer just some book, its a tome with the work of generations of magic users and prophets.

Dude what's your point?

My point is that relics should never be just a couple of dots and a 3 word description. Do yourself, myself, and the other potential players a favor and put a little effort into your relics (and you followers, etc). It'll help to establish a sense of both depth of character and a sense of wonder.

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Originally Posted By: Ouroboros
So I've got this relic, and it's awesome ...

Yeah relics are awesome, as are followers, and even creatures and guides to an extent. Putting them down on paper is one thing but give me more, give me something to make them pop out as part of your PCs legend, or part of the greater legend of his pantheon.



Name's Kentucky Smith...Have me a darn tootin' Whip O' Dooom! (that's with 3 'o's don't ya know). Just shimmied itself on over to the shoppe one day...said, 'Ken-Tucky! You are thee finest specimen of man to ever walk this fair chunk of land. I would be wholly honored if you would do me the pleasure of waving me about in sheer joy!'

Course, I said, 'Why thank you, you leather-bound piece of fun. Wouldn't dream of it any other way.'

And so I did.
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Luke Njorling, but most folks call me Lucky Luke. 'Course, the ones that ain't so polite generally call me "Don't let him get away!"

Oh, and don't pay the raven here no mind. He likes to mutter off-color words now and then.

*quork* ...Ass-tard!

...Yeah. I dunno who he's been talkin' to, but their momma needs to raise 'em better. Or mebbe just spank 'em harder.

Still, character finished and cleared by the almighty Ouroboros. Look forward to seein' y'all.

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Originally Posted By: Vinny
Name's Kentucky Smith...Have me a darn tootin' Whip O' Dooom! (that's with 3 'o's don't ya know). Just shimmied itself on over to the shoppe one day...said, 'Ken-Tucky! You are thee finest specimen of man to ever walk this fair chunk of land. I would be wholly honored if you would do me the pleasure of waving me about in sheer joy!'

Course, I said, 'Why thank you, you leather-bound piece of fun. Wouldn't dream of it any other way.'

And so I did.


*roflcopters*
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Originally Posted By: Vinny
That's one fine bird.


Why, thank you sir. He's a good sort of bird. Don't crap on my shoulder, which is more than most folks can say about him.

Git the tar an' feathers!

...

Honestly, I don't know where he picks up these phrases.
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Originally Posted By: Luke Njorling
Still, character finished and cleared by the almighty Ouroboros. Look forward to seein' y'all.

Hold up there pard'. Cause y'see I ain't done ak-cepted any o' all y'all just yit. Here's the dilly. I'm a gonna accept any and all o' dem dere sub-missions from now till I reckon right 'round the 3rd o' March. I'll do ma' best t' keep up wit all y'all in checkin' sheets an' feedin' back an' such. Some time 'tween the 3rd an' the 7th I reckon I'll pop you all who I'm gonna take on as players a little pee-em. Then I reckon to start this ol' stampede on 'round the 8th. Ifn you gut questions I reckon I'll do darn near my best ta' answer 'um.
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A note on skills: A few skills require that you select a specialty with which the skill applies. These skills are Art, Control, Craft, and Science. You'll need to buy these skills multiple times if you wish to cover multiple angles; i.e. Control (Horses) 3 and Control (Stagecoaches) 1, or Art (Painting) 2 and Art (Sculpting) 2, etc ... I've noticed this on more than one of sheets submitted thus far so I thought I'd pop you all a line.
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Resisting Epic Socials A slight adjustment to the rules found in Hero (pg 184). When resisting social attempts from Heroes the usual 1 WP will ignore the effect of a failed resistance roll for 1 scene. The cost to resist goes to 2 WP against Demigod level Epic socials, and 3WP against God level Epic socials.
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submission date:

When I set the submission date I had intended it to be two weeks from when I set up this thread. I failed to remember that February is a short short month. As a result I am pushing the cutoff out to 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time on March 5th. Any characters that reach my inbox with a PM timestamped after that will be summarily ignored.

I'll do my reviews build up the band from those PCs I think will work best and things will proceed from there.

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Originally Posted By: Kentucky Cooper
When ya decide to take that to the Gods...you make sure to be givin' me a holla first, please sir? I don't wanna be standin' too close now.

Though I'll stick around for dinner, I do like me a nice roasted snake.


Come see the violence inherent in the system!
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