Scion (role-playing game)
Scion is a series of role-playing games published by White Wolf, Inc and Onyx Path Publishing. The first core rule book, Scion: Hero. was released on April 13, 2007. The second volume, Scion: Demigod, was released on September 12, 2007, and the third, Scion: God, was released on January 23, 2008. The Scion Companion began release in sections March 2008, as a PDF direct download. Scion: Ragnarok was released on January 21, 2009. A second edition was announced in August 2012,[1] changing the setting and also updating the system from the previous Storytelling System to the new Storypath system. This second edition was released for public purchase on June 5, 2019.
 Scion: Hero cover, featuring Eric Donner as drawn by Michael Komarck. | |
| Designer(s) | John Chambers (First Edition) Neall Raemonn Price (Second edition) Authors: Justin Achilli, Alan Alexander, Carl Bowen, Bill Bridges, Duncan Harris, Michael Lee, Peter Schaefer, James Stewert, and Andrew Watts (First Edition) Dale Andrade, Dave Brookshaw, Laura Dasnoit, Tanay Dutta, Danielle Lauzon, Meghan Fitzgerald, Kieron Gillen, Chris Handforth, Matthew Herron, James Mendez Hodes, Eloy Lasanta, Charlie Raspin, Lauren Roy, Allen Turner, Malcolm Sheppard, Monica Speca, Chris Spivey, Travis Stout, Geoffrey McVey, Vera Vartainian, P.A Vazquez, Ben Woerner, and Tara Zuber (Second Edition) |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | White Wolf Publishing |
| Publication date | April 2007 (First Edition) June 5, 2019 (Second Edition) |
| Genre(s) | Contemporary fantasy |
| System(s) | Storyteller (First Edition) Storypath (Second Edition) |
Setting
Scion is a role-playing game wherein players take on the roles of mortal descendants of gods tasked with working as the hands of their parents in the mortal world; while the first edition focused on a singular antagonist in the form of the recently escaped Titans (powerful, primordial embodiments of concepts such as water, chaos or light), the second edition does not automatically place this at the forefront.
The pantheons presented draw from mythology across the world, giving players the ability to associate their characters with any of the pantheons presented in the game. Portrayals of the gods differ between editions, ranging from a minor renaming (e.g. the Greek Gods no longer being listed as the "Dodekatheoi" but as simply the "Theoi") to full-fledged reimagining (The African Loa of first edition are now presented in their pre-syncretic forms as the Yoruban Orisha).
| Pantheon | First Edition | Second Edition |
|---|---|---|
| West African | Hero (First Edition Core) | Origin (Second Edition Core) |
| American Folklore | Companion | N/A |
| World War II Allied Nations | Companion | N/A |
| Atlantean | Demigod | N/A |
| Aztec | Hero (First Edition Core) | Origin (Second Edition Core) |
| Chinese | Companion | Origin (Second Edition Core) |
| Egyptian | Hero (First Edition Core) | Origin (Second Edition Core) |
| Gaulish | Écran du Conteur | N/A |
| Greek | Hero (First Edition Core) | Origin (Second Edition Core) |
| Indian | Companion | Origin (Second Edition Core) |
| Irish | Companion | Origin (Second Edition Core) |
| Japanese | Hero (First Edition Core) | Origin (Second Edition Core) |
| Norse | Hero (First Edition Core) | Origin (Second Edition Core) |
| Ojibwe | N/A | Origin (Second Edition Core) |
| Persian | Yazata: The Persian Gods | N/A |
Differences between editions
Scion changed drastically between its first and second editions. While the first edition presented an Earth effectively identical to the real one, the second presented instead a setting literally referred to as "The World,"[2] wherein Abrahamic faiths did not so completely overtake Europe, let alone the rest of the world. As such, other pantheons are still widely recognized and worshiped. Further, the existence of gods and other supernatural entities is sometimes presented as generally acknowledged as fact rather than faith, although rarely present in anyone's day-to-day life. The options of player characters has also greatly diversified, with supernatural entities such as Kitsune, Satyrs, and skin-changing Therianthropes, who may or may not claim patronage or descent from a higher power.
Even the Scions themselves have become more diverse: instead of being universally blood descendants of the gods, they may now include those who have been chosen by the god (gaining their favor either by an affinity of fate or a special bloodline), created whole cloth, or even an Incarnate Scion: a mortal guise of a deceased god in the world.
Furthermore, while the Titans still exist, the degree to which they are presented as antagonistic varies: the Greek Theoi regard them largely as dangerous foes who must be opposed, the Shen of China are more inclined to try to incorporate them into their hierarchy and give them a job and purpose within the Celestial Bureaucracy, and the Orisha explicitly don't believe in a significant metaphysical difference between what other gods call Titans and those selfsame other gods. The game explicitly intends for the presentation and relevance of antagonistic titans to be to adjustable to a given group's tastes.[3]
The writing team has also expressed the intention to introduce a new faction to the game by way of dragons[4], who are here presented as pre-human entities whose reign was brought to an end by the ascendance of the gods and humanity. Dragons, unlike gods, exist in hiding and work through Heirs. Similar to the Scions created by gods, Heirs are humans who have been imbued with a fragment of the Dragon's might, and who can ultimately embrace that power, shed their humanity, and join the ranks of their patron.
System
Scion uses a rules system similar to the Storyteller system made popular by the World of Darkness, but is not part of that setting. While the first edition of Scion modified the core system of Exalted: Second Edition, the new edition has a new core system related to it, but with an explicit design goal of being able to handle the entire range of the game (from mundane mortal humans all the way to full-fledged divinity) without breaking down. For more information, refer to the Storypath System section of the Storyteller system page.
Books
- Scion: Hero
- Scion: Demigod
- Scion: God
- Scion Companion
- Scion: Ragnarök
- Scion: Yazata: The Persian Gods
- Scion: Liberty Road (PDF only)
- Scion: Seeds of Tomorrow (PDF only)
- Scion: Wolfsheim (PDF only)
- Scion: Écran du Conteur (France only)
- Scion: Extras: Supplemental (Yet Can Be Somewhat Useful On Occasion) Scions
- Scion: Origins
- Scion: Hero (2nd Edition)
- Scion: Demigod (2nd Edition)(Announced)
- Scion: God (2nd Edition)(Announced)
- Scion: Dragon(Announced)
- Masks of the Mythos(Announced)
- Scion Ready-Made Characters)(Announced)
- Scion Jumpstart(Announced)
- Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World(Announced)
- Titanomachy(Announced)