Contribute to help us create and traditionally print Scion 2nd Edition Tabletop RPG's first two books and get them into stores!
Hi, Rose here. ^_^ I've got something big for you today: the full pantheon section for the Tuatha Dé Danann! This one's near and dear to several of us, and I'm proud to present author Meghan Fitzgerald's take on it.
Hi, everyone. ^_^ Rose here, with the next fiction installment.
---
When Eileen went out to collect the empty saucer of cream the next morning, she found a woman sitting on the back step. The newcomer was diminutive, bird-boned, and might have passed for human were it not for her eyes. No whites, just yellow edge-to-edge, with a feline slit for the pupil.
"Well met, daughter of the Dagda," she said, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a linen handkerchief.
"I. Uh." Fair Folk. She's one of the Fair Folk. Gran had said there was an etiquette to these sorts of interactions, but damned if she'd ever touched on what happened when one acknowledged your father the god. "Well… met?"
The fairy woman sniffed. "You may call me Lady Niamh."
"Lady Niamh. I'm Eileen." She'd never seen a cat roll its eyes before. Now she had a good idea how it might look. When in doubt, she figured, go into customer service mode. "How might I be of assistance?"
That did it. Sort of. Lady Niamh's mouth quirked up into what Eileen hoped was a smile. "I'm the one who can assist you. My silver harp was stolen a century ago. Bring it back to me, and I will show you how to return to your father's library."
Her heart leapt at the very thought of it, then plunged right back into her shoes. She doubted this was the sort of thing she could pull up in the card catalogue. "Where would I even go looking for it?"
"Put on your hiking boots, daughter of the Dagda."
Eileen blinked. Was some kind of fae magic about to happen? Were her ordinary shoes about to turn into some kind of Seven-League boots, to carry her to where the harp was hidden?
"There are fairy mounds in the Blue Hills. You have some walking to do."
***
She didn't tell Maura she was driving south of the city, let alone that she was going there in search of a fairy relic. Instead, she left a vaguely-worded note about having to go pick something up for a colleague, and fled before Maura woke up.
The day was overcast and warm, decent for hiking but not so perfect the trails were crowded. Eileen puzzled at a map of the trails, casting about for anything that might suggest the presence of the fair folk. What she wouldn't give to have Gran at her side, offering advice.
No Gran, though. No Gran, no Dagda, no Lady Niamh, not even Bev.
She set off at random, onto a path that led into the forest's canopy. It looked empty, no hikers ahead, and rose slowly into the hills. She had no idea whether it was fairy-like, but it had a pleasant view and an easy slope, and soon enough she found herself humming as she strolled. The parking lot vanished around a curve, and the woods closed around her.
Other hikers had left trail markers along the way. Eileen remembered some of them from a scouting badge she'd earned in elementary school: turn left, turn right, gone home.
Wait.
The "gone home" sign was usually a circle of rocks, with a single stone in the center. She turned around to peer at the one she'd just passed and swore. The path had given way from concrete to well-trodden dirt to mostly grass, some bare patches suggesting a trail. It was here, in a little clearing, where the circle lay.
The outer ring was composed of mushrooms, the flat-topped, misshapen sort that grew out this way. Fairy ring. She knew better than to step inside it — losing seven years to dancing with the fairies was a common feature of Gran's stories. Eileen skirted around it, giving it as wide a berth as she could and still stay on the path (wasn't that part of the stories, too? Never leave the path?). She was on the right trail.
Ten minutes further on and she heard the music. She'd always thought of harps as elegant, ethereal, the sort of music you heard in heaven, or what played in your head when you spotted your idol from afar. This was the opposite of that, like the catgut strings were, in fact, being removed from a still-living cat.
A copse of trees marked the path's end, and Eileen crept forward, peering through the thick branches to see who might be standing on the other side, torturing the harp.
Plunked down on a felled tree, the delicate silver harp gripped awkwardly in his gnarled fingers, was the most hideous man Eileen had ever seen.
Hi, folks, Rose here. ^_^ Neall did an interview with Keep on the Heathlands, which you can find here.
And now, since we've gotten a number of requests to show non-human creatures...
---
Neall:
Hello again! Here’s yet another preview. This time, we’re showing off a Path - the Kitsune’s Origin-level.
Paths allow you to ground yourself in the World and the setting. They also come with permissions, or the ability to take supernatural powers as Knacks. If your own Path resembles a Path within the setting, you’ll get a permission to take powers from those other Paths. A powerful woman warrior of the Æsir sworn to Odin has permissions to take from the Valkyrie Path, while a Scion of Inari gains access to the Kitsune Path, enabling them to select Knacks and otherwise benefit from the Path. A Scion of Inari could select Knacks from the Kitsune list, even if they don’t have the Liminal or Trickster Callings.
Of course I love you, dear. By the way, could you spare a few thousand for me to go shopping? I know you like me to look my best.
The World is full of such fabulous experiences, and you want to enjoy them all. Of course, your means are limited — at least, until you find someone you can charm or con into indulging your whims. You may care for her in your own way, but in the end, she's just one more experience. She's no more than a fine meal, a bottle of wine, or a weekend at Monte Carlo: something soon to become a pleasant memory.
You don't like to be reminded that you're a fox who turns into a person rather than the other way around. You keep your tail hidden as best you can, but it's harder as the centuries go on and you grow more and more of them. You’re devoted, but when you're discovered (and you always are, eventually), you cast aside your current toy and move on. There are always more out there.
Relationships: members of exclusive clubs, former lovers, casino managers
Edges:
Asset Skills: Persuasion, Subterfuge
Origin Knacks:
Hi, folks. Rose here. ^_^
Having passed $205,000, we can add the Yazata (Persian) pantheon to the Scion Companion PDF. Everyone who pledges for a reward tier including PDFs of Scion: Origin and Scion: Hero will receive this PDF.
Up next, at $210,000, we will add another story to the Scion Fiction Anthology. Backers who pledge for any reward tier including PDFs of Origin and Hero will receive this PDF/ePub.
After that, at $225,000, we will work with our friends at Earplay to create a Scion Interactive Audio Drama, which will combine high-quality audio fiction from the world of Scion with a kind of choose your own adventure solo gaming experience. More details about Earplay, what they do and how they do it, can be found in Update #14. Backers who pledged for a reward tier containing the PDFs of Origin and Hero will receive this game for free on their Earplay accounts and on their devices.
We've got more previews coming soon! Thank you for your support. :)
Hi, Rose here. ^_^ I've got another preview from Neall.
----
Neall:
Hello again, everyone!
Our next preview is of some of the Knacks in the game. Knacks are powerful, but (usually) not overly supernatural powers that key off the Callings, the mythic and archetypal associations of the Scions themselves - your Warriors, your Sages, your Lovers. Many Knacks key off one another, allowing Scions who invest in these Knacks to become highly adept at their chosen Calling. We’ve chosen three Hunter Knacks to show how this keying-off works. Enjoy!
At the Mortal level, Hunter knacks improve your ability to pursue and track a target and avoid detection when on the hunt. Immortal Hunter knacks make you impossible to flee, and grant you power over beasts.
Apex Predator: Choose an enemy to be your quarry. When you pursue your quarry, gain +1 Enhancement to all rolls made against the target (including attack rolls) until the end of the session or until you catch them, whichever comes first.
Keen-Eyed Predator: Gain +1 Enhancement to all perception-based rolls. When you hunt your quarry, this bonus increases to +2.
Supernal Hunter: While pursuing a target, you do not face any increase in Difficulty to track down your target, even if he were to take flight, hide in a body of water, or attempt to disappear into the back alleys of a crowded city. You always have some idea of where your target has gone, and you gain +1 Enhancement to keep up with him. When you hunt your quarry, add another +1 Enhancement.
Sidebar: The Digital Predator
Like Creator Knacks, Hunter Knacks do not need a literal stalked target. Figurative hunting -- be it chasing down a malevolent kami in construction plans or pursuing a black hat hacker through a mainframe -- allows you to use Hunter Knacks. So long as there is opposition, it’s sufficient for Hunters to pursue.