Two new pathways for Scion Second Edition! Scion: Dragon and Scion: Masks of the Mythos
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Salutations, Squamous Scions!
It's Monday, and we we've got a Scion: Masks of the Mythos preview for you today! We're gonna take a look at two of the signature characters from the book, pre-built scions for you to use as "Ready-Made Characters" and dive right in to the story, or to use as examples when creating your own. We'll have the kickstarter draft version of Chapter 2: Character Creation available for backers to download on Friday!
Before we meet Leena and Isaiah we're gonna take a quick detour, though.
We've heard a few podcast interviews with some of the writers involved in Scion: Masks of the Mythos, but recently Eddy Webb had a chat with Masks of the Mythos developer Chris Spivey to discuss how the Mythos fits into the World of Scion, the morality and mechanics of Scion: Masks of the Mythos, the challenge in picking bits to include in the book and more!
Check out Episode 139 of the Onyx Pathcast - The Man behind the Mythos!
Masks of the Mythos characters come from all walks of life, with some embracing their abilities and others fearing the horror they see coming. The Mythos entities lurk in shadows, just out of sight, but their touch is eternal and with lasting implications. Some consider themselves chosen and others cursed; most never receive a Visitation or any guidance before their nature begins changing the world around them.
Some are raised to become heroes, other villains, but all walk their own path — or the illusion of one until their Old One parent requires a service.
Quote: “…”
Leena was born and raised in Athens, Greece. Her parents moved to Tampa, Florida when she was 17 and she choose not to move with them, staying instead with her aunt Phoebe, who ran a boat-tour company with her husband. Leena wasn’t particularly interested in marine life or boating, but Phoebe pushed to be able to join her on boat tours.
Leena was more interested in the tourists who made their way to the city and, of course, their money. What started as simple flirtations used to get someone to buy her a drink or an expensive gift turned into elaborate cons. She eventually met her match in Daraja Mohammad, an international art thief from Lagos. Daraja seduced Leena with her extravagant lifestyle and easygoing attitude. Leena lost sight of her own con as she became more entangled in Daraja’s illicit trade. Leena started using her aunt’s boating business to smuggle stolen art and artifacts between buyers and sellers. Daraja took Leena on whirlwind trips across the world, which often ended in Leena using her well-honed con-artist skills to steal important pieces.
Daraja had other motives, as she was deeply interested in the arcane and otherworldly. Her personal art collection included a surprising number of religious relics, such images of the Gods from various pantheons, and at least one magical Relic. Leena was unduly interested in Daraja’s personal collection, and the woman gifted her lover with a tiny marble bust of what appeared to be a Grecian boy with a crown of laurels. Leena treasured the gift and vigorously investigated its origins. She was surprised to find little to no information on the piece, including who the bust was supposed to represent. What her investigations did reveal was that this was not a lone piece, and at least a dozen others had shown up in the hands of collectors and fishers alike around the area.
Leena doesn’t know what compelled her to take her aunt’s boat out into the Mediterranean all alone that evening, or why she brought extra oxygen for her scuba gear. Maybe it was the dream of a lost city, or the pull of something deeper. She had been on the boat for a full three days before the dolphins came for her. Another six before the boat stopped moving of its own accord and she knew she must now dive. By the time she reached Albtraum’s underwater city, she should have run out of oxygen three times over and been crushed by the pressure in the depths. Instead, she swam into the glowing temple and came face to face with the horrid God. He clearly saw something in her that pleased him, because he immediately gave her a task back on land.
Description: Leena is a short, white woman with sun-kissed skin, luscious brown hair, brown eyes, and a Rubenesque figure. She often wears clinging dresses and pearl-studded jewelry, especially when on a job. She knows how to talk a person up and learn what they desire with only a few quick questions, then manipulate that person into doing whatever she wants.
Name: Leena Galanis
Defense: 2
Health: Bruised, Injured, Maimed, Taken Out
Quote: “I didn’t survive the war to become some flunky back home.”
Isaiah is an Arkhamite through and through. He was born four doors down from the Witch House, visited the shattered remains of Innsmouth with his federal-agent parents, and knows all the local legends and strangeness that surrounds the Miskatonic Hollow. He always wanted to be touched by the weirdness, to see beyond the world that treated him so harshly because of the color of his skin. His parents’ jobs provide a level of protection, but no Black person is safe from the rampant horrors of racism in any city, state, or country.
Still, he held on to hope and joined the army to serve his country, thinking he could make the world a better place. Isaiah fought in the war, earned medals, and returned home a hero. As he wandered the streets of Arkham, it seemed nothing had changed and had only gotten worse, as corrupt politicians gained more power. Isaiah wanted more and could feel the emptiness the army had left in him. He had seen things few others had, and a life in Arkham with one’s eyes truly open makes being mundane impossible.
Isaiah wanted power to change the order of things. He wanted power to set right what has always been wrong. He walked and longed for answers. He walked into a part of Arkham where he had never been before: a lonely house with a red door and an ethereal light oozing from under it. He could sense something saying “Welcome.” Isaiah understood he was at a moment of awakening. He could turn around and go back to the world as it was — or open the door. His hand trembled, but his resolve stirred him to turn the handle, and he walked inside the House Below the Hill into the undulating mass that is Yog-Shothoth.
He awoke the next morning stronger, more certain, and kissed by the Mythos. He was no longer just a veteran or a good person seeking a place in the word. He was a Scion. He was power. He was the Eye of the Storm of what is to come.
Description: Isaiah is a muscular, African-American man with a military bearing. He dresses in jeans, flannel shirts, and Converse. He appears perfectly serene and radiates an air of authority.
Name: Isaiah Baldwin
For those keeping track, we've just added our FOURTEENTH Stretch Goal achievement, adding the underwater home of the Deep Ones to the Masks of the Mythos Companion! We'll be back for another Mythos Day on Wednesday, when we'll take a look at Awareness and how it works with the Mythos.
Hello Heirs and Salutations Scions,
Today is not a Dragon Day nor is it a Mythos Day. Instead, we're going to have a Sunday Summary, looking at how far we've come and scanning the horizon for upcoming goals and opportunities.
The most exciting part of our first week happened almost immediately after we launched! Together, the Scion community came together and funded the continued development and production of two new paths in the stories of our Heroes. Scion: Dragon and Scion: Masks of the Mythos have been funded!
And that was just a part of the excitement from our first week!
Over the course of the campaign, we'll be releasing the entire draft manuscript for each book. Note that these texts still have a few rounds of development and editing to go through, but you can consider them mostly done - or at least far enough along that we're able to run the kickstarter and fine tune for our projected delivery date.
And speaking of fine-tuning, the Onyx Path team isn't only sharing the manuscript so you know what you're getting into - they also want your feedback!
FEEDBACK FORM: https://forms.gle/Bcc2KLUP6n5ep14eA
The Scion Second Edition creative team have been connecting digitally to spread the word about these projects! For more information on the thinking behind the creation of these books, plus some hints about things still to come, check these out:
If you wanna know how amazingly busy this past week has been, check out these Stretch Goal achievements. I kept posting three at a time so that I could try to keep ahead of the rolling bolder that we launched with this campaign. Honestly, it was a heck of a sprint, and we were crushing stretch goals as fast as we could come up with them.
Since this campaign is funding two different books, we've built our Stretch Goals along three different streams.
[DRAGON] At $40,000 funding – Scion: Dragon Companion – Creating Your Own Dragon Flight – Guidelines and systems for creating your own Dragon Flight will be created and released in a supplemental Scion: Dragon Companion PDF, which will be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Scion: Dragon PDF
[MYTHOS] At $45,000 funding – Scion: Masks of the Mythos Companion – Additional Mythos Creatures – A trio of additional adversaries will be created and released in a supplemental Scion: Masks of the Mythos Companion PDF, which will be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Scion: Masks of the Mythos PDF.
[ALL BACKERS] At $50,000 funding – New Add On: Scion: Dragon Reference Screen – We’ll create a Scion: Dragon Reference Screen with Scion: Dragon artwork on the outside, and useful Scion Second Edition charts and tables on the inside to make running the game a little easier. This can be added to any reward tier containing a hardcover book for only +$20.
[DRAGON] At $55,000 funding – Scion: Dragon Ready-Made Characters – A trio of pre-created Scion: Dragon characters will be created, ready for immediate play or to serve as examples, will be created and released in a supplemental Scion: Dragon Ready-Made Characters PDF, which will be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Scion: Dragon PDF
[MYTHOS] At $60,000 funding – Scion: Masks of the Mythos Companion – Great Old Ones – Two additional Great Old Ones from the Mythos pantheon will be included in the Scion: Masks of the Mythos Companion PDF.
[ALL BACKERS] At $65,000 funding – New Add On: Scion: Masks of the Mythos Reference Screen – We’ll create a Scion: Masks of the Mythos Reference Screen with Scion: Masks of the Mythos artwork on the outside, and useful Scion Second Edition charts and tables on the inside to make running the game a little easier. This can be added to any reward tier containing a hardcover book for only +$20.
[DRAGON] At $70,000 funding – Scion: Dragon Companion – The Bearers – A new Flight of dragons inspired by the mythologies of giant turtles, some of whom carry the world on their backs, will be added to the Scion: Dragon Companion PDF.
[MYTHOS] At $75,000 funding – Scion: Masks of the Mythos Companion – Legacy Characters – A trio of classic mythos signature characters will be detailed in the Scion: Masks of the Mythos Companion PDF.
[ALL BACKERS] At $80,000 funding – Scion: Dragon Backer T-Shirt – A Scion: Dragon-themed Kickstarter Backer shirt will be hosted on Onyx Path’s Redbubble store for a limited time. All backers will be notified when the shirt becomes available for purchase.
[DRAGON] At $86,321 funding – Scion: Dragon Ready-Made Characters II – A second trio of pre-created Scion: Dragon characters will be added to the Scion: Dragon Ready-Made Characters PDF.
[MYTHOS] At $93,647 funding – Scion: Masks of the Mythos Companion – New Fiction – New mind-bending moody tales of terror will be written and added to the Scion: Masks of the Mythos Companion PDF
[ALL BACKERS] At $96,891 funding – Scion: Masks of the Mythos Backer T-Shirt – A Scion: Masks of the Mythos-themed Kickstarter Backer shirt will be hosted on Onyx Path’s Redbubble store for a limited time. All backers will be notified when the shirt becomes available for purchase.
[DRAGON] At $106,480 funding – Scion: Dragon Companion – Greater Wyrms – Expanded rules on playing at higher Inheritance will be added to the Scion: Dragon Companion PDF.
That's... that's a lot. Thanks to everyone's support and enthusiasm, in this first week of the campaign we've not only funded the development and production of these books, but we've also added some new projects for the creative teams to work on!
The Scion: Dragon Companion PDF will automatically be added to the rewards list of everyone receiving Scion: Dragon as part of their rewards! And we're not done adding sections to this book yet! Let's keep building it!
The Scion: Dragon Ready-Made Characters PDF will automatically be added to the rewards list of everyone receiving Scion: Dragon as part of their rewards! And maybe there's an opportunity to expand this one again? Let's keep unlocking Stretch Goals and see...
The Scion: Masks of the Mythos Companion PDF will automatically be added to the rewards list of everyone receiving Scion: Masks of the Mythos as part of their rewards! And, with additional Stretch Goal achievements, we can probably unlock even more forbidden lore and dark secrets for this book!
Not only that, but we've added a couple new Add On options!
At this time, before either of the screens is developed, I can't tell you if the inside charts will have any differences. In fact, they may just be art-updated versions of the previous Scion Second Edition charts, since both of these books are based on the Origin/Hero rules. But don't quote me on that... if the developers think that charts need to be updated, they will be. That'll be determined as these projects progress along the development track.
BUT - I can for sure say that the artwork will reflect these new games, with Dragon art on the Scion: Dragon screen and Mythos art on the Scion: Masks of the Mythos screen. And, coming from someone who has multiple referee screens and switches them out based on the art, that's a good thing!
All-in-all, we've created the start of a pretty good dragon-sized horde of rewards for this campaign! And we've still got 25 days to add even more!
So... let's keep going!
[MYTHOS] At $111,936 funding – Scion: Masks of the Mythos Companion – Y’ha-nthlei – The underwater home of the Deep Ones off the coast of Devil’s Reef will be detailed and added to the Scion: Masks of the Mythos Companion PDF.
[ALL BACKERS] At $117,749 funding – Scion: Dragon Digital Wallpaper – Dress up your monitor with an epic scene from Scion: Dragon. This will be added to the rewards list for all backers.
We've got a lot of great stuff lined up this week.
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will be our Mythos Days, where we'll meet some of the signature characters for this book, learn about Awareness, and get the next section of our manuscript preview for Scion: Masks of the Mythos as our regular Friday download.
Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday will be our Dragon Days, with the first half of our Flights chapter coming in Tuesday's manuscript preview, plus the next part of Lauren Roy's dragon fiction, and a glimpse of The Lóng (who will be included in the second half of the Flights manuscript download coming in February).
So, huge thanks to everyone for your support! And let's all celebrate these massive accomplishments so early in our campaign! Everyone already knew Scion fans were great, but it's nice to prove it again and again!
And let's keep up the enthusiasm and excitement and see if we can't add another flight of Stretch Goals to our rewards over the next week or two!
Hello Heirs!
We had a nice tasty intro to Scion: Dragon with the first manuscript preview on our launch day (Check out Update #2 if you haven't already!). Since it's a Saturday Dragon Day, let's see if we can't squeeze a serpentine sneak peek into the weekend...
Before we fly into that, though, I've got another podcast discussion for you to check out! Wanna hear a while trio of writers talk about working on Scion: Dragon? Check out episode 3x19 of the Bonus XP Podcast, where Rai and Monica check in with occasional cohost Danielle Lauzon to discuss their work on Scion: Dragon! Listen here: BXP 3 X 19 - Scion: Dragon discussion
Mythologically speaking, Dragons are singular creatures, making their lairs in remote areas and protecting villages or terrorizing them in equal measure. The truth is that Dragons are highly social but choose to live singularly. The idea of community meant something completely different to Dragons before the Gods restructured The World, when they could gather freely without fear from humanity or irate Gods. Now they find community and security in Flights, in which Dragons know no matter how remote their lair, or how distant their cousins, they have a support system in place. They might not call upon their Flight for much other than transactional exchanges or gossip, but when an enterprising dragon slayer comes knocking, he finds the weight of a Flight behind his supposed prey.
When the Gods created pantheons, Dragons grouped into Flights in direct response. As the Gods changed the truth of The World around them through their Fatebindings, Dragons realized that trying to weather such changes alone would meet a swift end. At that time, Flights formed along geographical lines with those Dragons closest to one another banding together for safety. Of course, ego and mindset also played a role, with Dragons finding those of like mind to call friend. Some of the earliest Flights formed well before anyone called a Dragon a monster, but not before the first few died.
Flights do not follow a cultural zeitgeist of belief systems the way Gods have patterned belief in pantheons. Instead, Dragons share methodologies and goals with their Flightmates, and while they may be wildly different in every other aspect, they certainly have one another’s backs.
Protection isn’t the only reason Flights formed, but it is the foremost. Dragons may have become paranoid creatures living in hiding, but they are still curious by nature. Flights also offer an interesting distraction, a group of likeminded individuals with which to brainstorm, and a list of powerful allies all working toward similar goals. That doesn’t stop some notoriously vicious Dragons from sacrificing their Flightmates in the name of personal goals. Most agree such activity is counter-productive, even as they put measures in place to protect themselves from their brethren.
Any atmosphere of camaraderie disappears between Flights. While ostensibly all Dragons seek to bring down the pantheons and restore The World to their rule, the details of how and when to go about such an endeavor has no agreement. Flights have varying goals that often come to cross purposes with one another, and while the loss of any Dragon in this day and age is a sad affair, sometimes people just get in your way.
Flight or Dragon
Unlike Scions, Heirs have little information on Dragons when they set out on their journey. This game focuses on self-discovery, and part of that can certainly be learning who your draconic ancestor is as you go. When choosing a draconic ancestor, it’s perfectly okay to only select the Flight you like the best and leave discovering the Dragon patron to gameplay.
Likewise, it’s perfectly okay to select a Dragon you want to be your character’s Dragon, and then learn about them more through play. Either way, the actions you take in game and the mysteries you uncover define your character’s Handler more than anything we print in this book.
Laying Low
When Dragons went into hiding, they used a variety of methods to cover their tracks. Some joined pantheons, some closed off Terra Incognitae to The World, some settled into Strange Places, and some used their magic to transform into human form and lived among people. They stopped creating children to live in The World, but they didn’t stop interacting with it. Dragons just changed their tactics. Instead of letting people know they were around, they took on different — lesser — forms and started playing the long game. From that time forward, they have been setting plans into motion, subtly moving pieces in The World and consolidating what power they can get their claws on. During the early years, this was just a defense mechanism used to keep out sight and out of the minds of Gods who would lump them in with Titans during the first Titanomachy. Later, it was power for power’s sake. And now, they hope to shift the odds in their own favor, undermining both the Gods and the Titans in the hope that they will come out on top.
Mantles of Divinity
Dragons are not inherently divine, though some are certainly divine beings. When the Gods were making pantheons, Fate changed some Dragons associated to them. These Dragons became Gods and Titans on their own, their stories rewritten to fit a new narrative. K’uk’ulkan became the Feathered Serpent and Ryūjin became Áo Guǎng. They still remembered a time before, when they were just a Dragon, but they were willing to accept these new divine mantles from their friends. When Flights formed, some of these Dragons left their Godly mantles behind, while other clung to them for safety.
Other Dragons, seeing the writing on the wall, asked to join pantheons, and the Gods granted them mantles as long as they filled specific roles. Dragons cannot make or adopt divine mantles, meaning they are at the mercy of the Gods if they want to reach divinity. A few are willing to accept whatever role a pantheon wants to put them in, though many wonder what benefit a Titan mantle gives them if they are being treated the same anyway. Jörmungandr chafes at his Titan mantle, but accepts it if it means the Æsir underestimate him. No matter if a Dragon has a divine mantle and spends all her time there, she is still a Dragon. Which leads to situations in which a Dragon may find herself fulfilling both the role of a Dragon within her Flight, and as a member of a pantheon, either as a God or a Titan — in rare cases both.
Dragons do not have mantles of Dragonhood. Once a Dragon dies, she does not leave a mantle behind for someone to step into. Instead, her memories and experiences enter the collective memory that all Dragons share to await reincarnation. No one will become that Dragon unless one of her reincarnated Heirs accepts all her memories and is reborn as the Dragon once more.
Memory and Deed
Dragons share a collective memory, a web of memories, experiences, and stories from the beginning of time that all Dragons and their Heirs can access. Flights collate memories of their members, giving greater emphasis in the collective memory to their own Flightmates than to other Dragons. That isn’t to say that Witz’ can’t tap into Bašmu’s memories, but more that he’s unlikely to want to over say K’uk’ulkan’s memories.
Remembering everything that has ever happened is a big task, and few Dragons rarely care to tap into the whole of the collective memory at once. This selectiveness means that their Heirs end up with a biased view of the memories as well. Flight by far defines the collective memory that an Heir experiences over anything else. While an Heir may experience her particular Handler’s memories, she is going to be influenced by the Flight’s drives and memories regularly. These hold the roadmap to their ultimate goals, plans, and drives, and these are the most important memories that any Dragon shares with his Heir.
Individual memories are the meat of how Dragons communicate with their Heirs. Memory Deeds are how an Heir pursues the specific agenda her Handler has set her on and how she fulfills the Flight’s desires. Each Dragon has a set of memory triggers, events or actions that may occur that will trigger an intense memory in her Heir. It’s how she knows her Heir is on the right track, and how an Heir knows what her Handler wants of her.
Within each Flight, you’ll find a description of the kinds of memories an Heir may have associated with the Flight itself. You’ll also find specific memory triggers for each individual Dragon. Read these as prompts, or suggestions of the kinds of things that could trigger a Memory Condition to start a character on a Memory Deed.
Tomorrow isn't a Dragon or Mythos specific day. Instead, we're going to take a look at the many many stretch goals we've unlocked so far, review where we are, and see what we've got coming up. It'll be our first Squamous Sunday Summary! Talk to you then!
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.