Too much fun! I'm still loving the ideas and possibilities presented in Cyber-Scion and it's mechs as Divine Machines. We're *so close* to adding Cyber-Scion to our "DIY" Storyguide Screen reference PDF supplement, and I just wanna live in that World for a bunch of adventures.
At $32,000 in Funding - MYTHIC SHARDS REFERENCE GUIDE PDF - CYBER-SCION - A series of charts and information for a Storyguide to use while running a Cyber-Scion game will be added to the Reference Guide PDF. This PDF will automatically be added to the rewards list of all backers receiving the Scion: Mythic Shards PDF.
Add that on to the fact that I'm STILL thinking about After the End, and my recent rewatch of Furiousa and Fury Road have got me really vibing with that setting as well. And we've got some After The End suitable dice as a potential add on in our sights.
At $34,000 in Funding - NEW ADD ON - AFTER THE END-THEMED DICE SET - A dice set selected to represent After The End will be offered as an option Add On to all backers pledging to a reward tier that includes a hardcover copy of Scion: Mythic Shards. A drawstring bag with ten 10-sided dice in After the End colors can be added to your pledge for +$20 each.
But Mystic Shards contains a ton of great ideas, and we're gearing up for the next big section download coming on Tuesday. So I start to fall in love all over again with today's sneak peek preview.
Farewell to Heroes
Farewell to Heroes takes place in a version of the World that turned against Scions in the aftermath of disaster that mortals call the Herakles Incident. Those Scions who have not already been hunted down must stay hidden from mortal forces while still feeling the pull of Fate to realize their heroic destinies. They have to decide whether it’s worth risking their own lives to draw on their divine heritage to help others, because when they do, they set in motion powerful forces that will chase them to the ends of the World.
The Scions of this World live in a murky realm. Most of them are constantly on the move, struggling to survive and keeping their nature hidden. Their desperation leads to compromise: vulnerable to blackmail from people who discover who they really are, they find themselves caught up in dangerous schemes. It’s hard to trust anyone when you know they could turn you into the authorities just for existing, but sometimes, there’s no choice. Other times, it’s best not to ask too many questions about what the smuggler who can cross the border deals in, or what the mastermind behind a robbery plans to do with the money.
Still, the call to heroism whispers in the back of Scions’ thoughts, urging them to do what’s right.
New Player Options
Schemes
Eventually, every Scion in this World finds themself in situations where the only way to get what they need is to take it from someone else. Once TITAN has identified a potential target, it’s not only supernatural threats they monitor, but financial transactions, travel, and the whole range of activities that a global intelligence network can in our own world. In order to survive, a Hero must adapt to a new economy of barter and favors, and the people they deal with will want more than a blessing.
The sort of schemes in Farewell to Heroes are different from the Operations undertaken by Draconic Heirs (Scion: Dragon, p.183) in tone, even if they cover many of the same areas of espionage. Like the rest of the setting, they’re usually smaller in scale and pettier in motivation. That’s not to say they can’t be heroic — breaking another Scion out of prison, infiltrating a network to erase records, or righting a wrong done against an ally can all be virtuous acts — but for the most part, it’s the more common factors of greed, revenge, or desperation that drive them.
Planning and executing a scheme is a specific form of Complex Action that requires the successful completion of a number of Milestones to accomplish. The number of Milestones depends, as usual, on the complexity of the plan. The maximum number of failed Intervals — the Countdown — before the plan falls apart represents the amount of outside attention the characters can afford to attract before triggering a response from local authorities or TITAN. Using supernatural abilities during the scheme (especially Boons and Marvels, but also clearly superhuman Knacks when used in front of witnesses) reduces the Countdown before the literal or metaphorical alarm sounds.
When deciding to carry out a scheme, the first thing for the players and Storyguide to determine is the number of Milestones they need to succeed. The minimum is two: one to plan, one to carry out. There’s no maximum, but situations involving more than five Milestones should be reserved for the most audacious attempts, like breaking into TITAN headquarters in São Paolo.
Milestones Examples 2 Break into a small bank or store, con a local figure, escape custody in a town 3 Break into a wealthy mansion, con a regional figure, rescue someone from moving vehicles 4 Break into a secured vault or museum, con a national figure, escape federal prison 5 Break into a TITAN office, con TITAN agents, escape TITAN prison
Because success depends on keeping reductions to the Countdown to a minimum, players will want to focus on the planning stage as much as possible and use it to build up a pool of Enhancements for the execution. Invoking an appropriate Path connection for aid gives 1 Enhancement without requiring any rolls, but because the World is less trusting of Scions than usual, it can come at a higher price: if the request puts the connection at serious risk or goes against their values, it still succeeds, but triggers the Path Suspended Condition (Scion: Origin, p.101) until the end of the scheme or until the character does something to set matters right with them. This applies even if the scheme takes multiple sessions to complete, unlike the usual consequences of the Condition.
It's up to the player invoking the Path to explain how the connection will help, and at what stage of the plan. It can take the form of information (guard schedules, types of locks, drink preferences), physical activity (briefly shutting down power, distracting a guard, holding a door open), or equipment (custodian’s uniform, company car, party invitation), and adds its Enhancement to rolls where it would reasonably apply.
If players want to play out part of the planning stage by having their characters gather information or other resources themselves, they run the risk of making a failed roll in the scene (and decreasing the Countdown) but gain the advantage of being able to turn any threshold successes into an Enhancement during the execution stage, up to 3 Enhancement. Invoking a Path to get an I.D. card is safer, but plying a security guard with drinks could mean getting not only a card, but an entire uniform and a solid excuse for why the guard is missing on the night of a heist.
Countdown
Countdown represents the number of failed Intervals that players can accumulate before triggering a large-scale response or otherwise failing an entire scheme. It begins at 7 — the number of Milestones needed, and is reduced by 1 for each failed Interval. That does not mean each failed roll, but only if the outcome of a scene as a whole could be considered a failure. For example: failing to gain vital information from a target after a lengthy persuasion attempt; allowing any of a group of guards to summon reinforcements, unless the reinforcements are also subdued; or being unable to hack the security of a TITAN office’s computer network. So long as an attempt succeeds by the end of the scene, it doesn’t reduce the Countdown.
In addition, Countdown can be decreased or increased by any of the following: Display a character’s Omen (Scion: Hero, p.188), -1 Perform a Feat of Scale, -1 Perform a visibly supernatural action in public, -1 Use a Boon or Marvel near detection wards, -1 Gain 3 Momentum when Momentum pool is empty, -1 Spend 3 Momentum, +1 Start of a new session, +1
The Countdown increase at the start of a new session only applies if the characters aren’t already in the midst of a scheme (e.g., the previous session didn’t end with one of them dangling on a rope over a museum exhibit while security is approaching). So long as they can spend at least a scene engaged in more innocent activities, it rises during the cooling-off period, although it cannot exceed the base Countdown for the difficulty of the task. For this reason, it’s generally a good idea to spread the planning and execution of particularly risky schemes over a several sessions or even an entire arc and focus on other plans until it’s safe to proceed.
At Countdown 0, the Scions have failed in their scheme and must escape the scene immediately. This usually means triggering a further Complex Action using the chase rules (Scion: Origin, p. 73), with contested rolls between the Scions and their pursuers and requiring one lap fewer to succeed than the number of Milestones needed for the original plan. The nature of the pursuit is up to the Storyguide: the higher the number of Milestones, the more dangerous it is, ranging from a few local police cars or bodyguards at lower levels to teams of TITAN agents at the upper end.
New Fatebindings
Traditional film noir involves two character tropes that appear frequently enough to be representative of the genre, but are often outdated: specifically, the femme fatale and damsel in distress. In Farewell to Heroes, variations of these take the form of Fatebindings, but in a way as to apply to a much wider range of Storyguide characters.
Innocent
Typically young and naïve, the Innocent turns to a Scion because they recognize some inherent goodness in them and trust them to find a solution to their problems. On their own, they act as a beacon of hope despite the cynicism of the World, encouraging the Scion to display their own heroism.
Invoke: In the face of adversity, the Innocent taps into the Scion’s hidden reserves of strength. The Scion’s player can choose one of the following results:
Immediately heal one of their own Bruised Injury Conditions.
Ignore an Injured Condition for the rest of the scene.
Add Momentum equal to half the Fatebinding’s strength to a separate pool that empties at the end of the scene and is only available to the Scion.
Compel: The Innocent’s trusting nature tends to land them in trouble. The Scion gains 1 Legend while the Innocent gains the Imperiled Condition. The nature of the peril is not necessarily life-threatening; kidnapping and blackmail are just as likely.
Resolve: Some Innocents maintain their hopefulness throughout their Fatebinding, while others learn from the experience to become more worldly. The Scion’s player chooses one of the following results:
The Innocent discovers their own power. For the duration of the scene, treat them as a Follower of a level equal to the Fatebinding’s strength, with an archetype of the player’s choosing. At the end of the scene, the Scion completes a Deed, and the Innocent becomes a Balm, Boon Companion, or Paramour of equal strength.
The Innocent sacrifices themselves to negate any source of damage that would result in the Scion being Crippled or Taken out. If the source of the damage would injure others in the area as well, they are also protected. The Scion accepts a failure Deed and the Innocent is removed from play permanently.
Lure
Sometimes an ally, sometimes an enemy, the Lure draws a character further into the plot by offering them what they need along the way. Some Lures are aware their motivations are selfish, even cruel, and still manipulate others for their own purposes. Others act as they do because they can’t see any other way out of a predicament, they find themselves in; they may hate themselves for it and have genuine feelings for the target of their deceit, but they still carry on.
Invoke: The Lure intercedes to help the Scion along their current path, brushing aside obstacles and rallying them to victory. For the rest of the scene, ignore a single Complication with a level up to the Fatebinding’s strength, including those resulting from Injury Conditions.
Compel: The Lure subtly sabotages the Scion’s efforts without revealing their betrayal. Gain 1 Legend but add Tension to the pool equal to the Fatebinding’s strength.
Resolve: The outcome of a relationship with a Lure is never certain, but always dramatic. Either they have a change of heart and try to make up for their past actions by sacrificing themselves or they reveal their manipulative nature. The Scion’s player chooses one of the following results:
The Lure gives themself up so that the Scion can advance a scheme. Increasing the Countdown by 1 (2 if the Fatebinding strength is 4 or 5), accept a failure Deed for the appropriate Calling, and remove the Lure from play permanently. Resolving the Fatebinding outside of a scheme means that the Lure sacrifices themselves to prevent imminent, lethal danger — throwing themselves in the way of bullets or setting off a trap intended for the Scion — instead of increasing Countdown.
The Lure gloats over their betrayal before escaping, but in doing so, encourages the Scion to succeed even more. Decrease the Countdown by 1 (2 if the Fatebinding strength is 4 or 5), but gain Enhancement on all actions for the rest of the scene equal to the Fatebinding strength. Convert the Fatebinding into a Rival, Nemesis, or Traitor of equal strength and remove them from play for the rest of the episode. Resolving the Fatebinding outside of a scheme fills the Tension pool to its maximum instead of decreasing the Countdown.
OK, yeah, I'm gonna dig Farewell to Heroes too! Can there be too much awesomeness in one book?
And, of course, can turn the dial up to 11 and add even more?
At $35,000 in Funding - ADDITIONAL MYTHIC SHARD - A sixth Mythic Shard setting for Scion second edition will be added to the Scion: Mythic Shards PDF and hardcover book. The theme for this additional Shard will be decided by Backer vote!
That's right! If we manage to achieve $35,000 in Funding, the developers and writers will come up with a SIXTH SHARD to add to the Scion: Mythic Shards book. The theme of the new shard will be decided with a Backer Poll. Your options for a new shard, should we achieve this Stretch Goal target:
Aquatic Adventures: An Atlantis meets Waterworld and pirate-themed shard. Dive into the depths to recover lost relics or awaken the slumbering Earth Gods to create new lands.
Lost Time: Rules for playing a battle for the stability of all realities as Scions slip through the different shards and semi shards trying to thwart a usurper's plan to invade another reality. Sliders and Doctor Who style adventures with a group of Scions who are selected to be reality police.
Journey to the Wild West: Journey to the West, but it's set in the Wild West. Wuxia cowboys!
The poll for backers to vote on their favorite will run until NOON Eastern Time the DAY AFTER we achieve this Stretch Goal. Again, we'll be voting now, but this shard will only be added to the development list and added to the eventual Scion: Mythic Shards book if we unlock this Stretch Goal at $35,000 in Funding!
So Vote! And then spread the word to all of your gaming friends and friendly gamers!
And look for the next shard coming our way on July 30, when backers will get the full draft of the next chapter!
