Character Creation

Step One: Calling Calling is a few words that describes your character. It helps you and your storyteller get a general understanding of your character concept, and how they might relate to the world.Step Two: Attributes

Attributes begin with a base of one dot, and you may distribute an additional 18 dots as you desire. Attributes may be raised to a maximum of 5 at Hero, 8 at Demigod, and 11 at God.

Step Three: Abilities

Abilities begin with a base of zero dots, and you may distribute an additional 30 dots as you desire. Abilities may be raised to a maximum of 5 at Hero, 8 at Demigod, and 11 at God.

Step Four: Specialties

Specialties represent subcategories and areas of expertise that exist in all abilities. For instance, the athletics ability includes such varied pursuits as gymnastics, weight lifting, or track and field. A character may have multiple specialties in a single ability, and adds a single success for each specialty that might apply. A doctor with a medicine specialty in both surgery and cardiac would gain two successes when performing heart surgery.

Associated Abilities

Each God passes on to their children divine talent in six relevant abilities. These are called Associated Abilities, and your character automatically gains one free specialty in each of these abilities at the beginning of the game. If your character has no mundane dots in an Associated Ability, she does not gain the specialty until she has at least one mundane dot.

Step Five: Birthrights

Birthrights are gifts given to Scions by their patron Gods, typically upon a Scion's visitation. A Scion character receives 5 birthright dots for free and may purchase more with her starting experience points, or through the course of the game during exceptionally legendary moments. Birthrights most often come in the form of Guides, Relics, and Retainers. Birthrights may be raised to a maximum of 5 at Hero, 8 at Demigod, and 11 at God.

As a general rule, a Hero may never have more than 20 dots of birthright of any kind. At Demigod this increases to 40, and at God this increases to 60. A storyteller may allow more birthrights to be involved in the story at her discretion but these are destined to be transient in nature.

Step Six: Epic Attributes & Purviews

Epic Attributes and Knacks are innate traits that manifest almost immediately after a Scion's Visitation, as the ichor in her blood empowers her with dramatic changes to her physiology. A Scion receives one free Knack with every dot purchased in an Epic Attribute, and additional Knacks may be purchased with experience points.

Purviews and Boons are supernatural powers granted to Scions by their divine parents. These differ from Epic Attributes and Knacks in that they aren't innate. To use a Boon, a Scion must possess a Relic that allows access to the Purview from which the Boon comes. A Scion receives one free Boon with every dot purchased in a Purview, and additional Boons may be purchased with experience points.

A Hero receives 10 power points to divide between Epic Attributes and Purviews as she wishes. Each dot in an Epic Attribute or Purview costs one power point, and must be purchased in order. During character creation you may buy up to the second dot of any Epic Attribute or Purview to encourage diversity. Once you have begun your adventures, any future purchases are limited to a maximum of your Legend - 1.

Associated Attributes & Purviews.

Every god has powerful and mythic associations ranging from incredible strength, canny wits, influence over the dead, or just making it rain. These are called Associated Attributes or Purviews, and as one of their children you inherit a portion of the ichor that runs through their veins. Once per game, you may activate a knack or boon from one of your Associated Attributes or Purviews and the base legend and willpower cost becomes free. You must still pay for any legend and willpower cost beyond the base.

Step Seven: Virtues

Virtues are beliefs of great importance to the various cultures of the world and the pantheons associated with them. You start with three virtues selected from your pantheon to represent the influence of your ichor, and one additional virtue from any source to represent your ego. Choose one of those virtues to start at 4 dots, a second to start at 3 dots, a third to start at 2 dots, and the remaining virtue to start at 1 dot.

The ichor in your body roars in defiance against those that make you abandon or betray these virtues. Whenever something forces you to act contrary to a virtue, you gain a bonus to MDV against that influence. You only benefit from the highest virtue that opposes the compulsion. Those that seek to manipulate you would be wise to learn your weaknesses first.

• Hero - Add 1/2 Virtue Rating as Successes to your MDV.

• Demigod - Add Virtue Rating as Successes to your MDV.

• God - Add Virtue Rating as Epic Successes to your MDV

Step Eight: Willpower

Willpower represents a character's strength of purpose and determination. This trait passively increases your resistance to mental assault, and may be spent to power certain Knacks and Boons. Your starting willpower begins at 5, but you gain an additional dot of willpower (up to a maximum of 10) for every dot of Virtue you purchase with experience points.

Step Nine: Health Levels

Nothing has changed with Health Levels.

Experience

Nobody starts as a blank slate, and your character may have had memorable adventures before or after their visitation. A Scion starts with 45 experience points during character creation that may be spent at any time during the process to improve various traits. The expenditure for increasing traits at character creation and during the story is outlined below:

Ability = 3

Birthrights = 3

Specialty = 3

Attribute = 6

Boon = 6

Knack = 6

Willpower = 6 (replace lost willpower)

Epic Attribute = (New Level * 2) + 4

Purview = (New Level * 2) + 4

Virtue = (New Level * 2)

Spending Experience

Players may spend experience at any time they wish; this includes exploding with previously untapped powers in the middle of combat or a stressful situation. Constant struggle pushes most Scions to win in the face of incredible adversity, and to overcome impossible odds. This is reflexive and has saved more than one Scion from impending death.

Advancement

When the storyteller awards Legend 5, your character becomes a Demigod. More than half of the blood that runs through your veins has become ichor, and you discover the limits of your body and mind falling away like leaves in an autumn landscape. You gain the following free bonuses to represent your sudden surge of power and excellence:

• 9 additional Attribute Points.

• 10 additional Power Points.

• 45 additional Experience Points.

• 5 additional Birthright Points.

When the storyteller awards Legend 9, your character experiences apotheosis into a God. Apotheosis can cause dramatic changes to your physical appearance, as your body matches your new divine ideal. You might emerge as a mythical combination of man and beast, a hollow person full of burning fire, or something completely inhuman. This transformation is permanent unless you possess knacks and boons that can change your appearance later. Once your character has finished apotheosis, every last trace of what made you physically human has been replaced with a body driven by divine ichor and metaphysics.

You gain the following free bonuses to represent your sudden surge of power and excellence:

• 9 additional Attribute Points.

• 10 additional Power Points.

• 45 additional Experience Points.

• 5 additional Birthright Points.

Traits

Attributes

A Hero cannot have an Attribute rated higher than 5 until she achieves Legend 5. A Demigod cannot have an Attribute rated higher than 8 until she achieves Legend 9. A God cannot have an Attribute rated higher than 11. Otherwise, nothing else has changed regarding Attributes.

Abilities

A Hero cannot have an Ability rated higher than 5 until she achieves Legend 5. A Demigod cannot have an Ability rated higher than 8 until she achieves Legend 9. A God cannot have an Ability rated higher than 11.

Science has been merged into Academics, and Craft has been merged into Art. Specialties have been replaced by a new mechanic (see above), so Art and Control are no longer split up into many categories.

Nature

Nature no longer exists. Not only was Nature fundamentally unbalanced, but many people would forget or ignore their Nature entirely. This is mostly just a sacred cow left over from Exalted and oWoD which serves no meaningful purpose in Scion. Willpower is too easy to replenish in other ways, and characters are going to be more dynamic than a static Nature.

Legend

Legend is the measure of a Scion or other supernatural beings spiritual puissance. Legend is rated from 1 to 12. A mortal is defined as any living creature with a Legend rating of 1. Even the meekest of people or animals have some small part to tell in the tapestry of fate. Scions start the game with Legend 2, and this trait can only be raised through the course of your adventure when awarded by the Storyteller.

Using Legend

Re-rolling an Action: Scions can make small nudges to the coincidences that happen around them. Whenever you make a dice roll you are unhappy with, you may reflexively spend one point of legend to make a second roll and take the higher of the two results.

Using powerful Boons or Knacks: Many boons and knacks are so potent that they must be activated by spending points from a Scion's legend pool.

Legendary Deeds

The Scion may stretch probability to ensure some measure of success in any action she takes. Once per game a character may reflexively add automatic successes equal to their Legend Rating to any single roll or derived value.

Fate will arrange some kind of minor narrative victory for the Scion even if the action fails. This is their moment of glory! A legendary attack might crack the armor of an opponent to reduce their DV against future attacks. A legendary attempt to convince someone might make them reconsider, and offer an opportunity for you to prove yourself. A legendary investigation might reveal an overlooked clue that leads you to someone who is willing to offer information… for a price.

Stunts

Stunt rewards are given by the Storyteller at a thematically appropriate time: accomplishing an important goal, preparing to charge into battle, or finishing a scene. Every character in the band gains an equal amount determined by the storyteller, and based upon the overall quality and creativity of every action so far during the scene. Stunt rewards will generally be in the range of (Permanent Legend + 4), but a storyteller should feel free to award more or less depending on how descriptive, clever, or legendary the players are being.

When the storyteller offers this reward, each player may choose to exchange 1 Stunt for 1 Legend point, or 2 Stunt for 1 Willpower point in any combination they desire.