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I decided to pick up Scion: Hero for both the premise and to get a glimpse of Exalted 2nd Edition's Storyteller system, the engine that Scion: Hero's rules are based upon. The idea of using real-world mythology in a game appealed to me. One of the big attractions of an earlier game from White Wolf, Vampire: The Masquerade, was for the real-world mythology that was subtly woven into the setting. A game that drags this out into the open wasn't to be missed.
Scion: Hero is promoted as a game where the characters are urged to find their destiny as newly-revealed children of the gods. The gods referred to are any and every god that has been mentioned in any one of the cultures found around the world: six pantheons are included in the book with a total of 56 gods to choose as your character's divine parent. The background is that the Titans has escaped the place the gods had imprisoned them and are fighting the gods. Creatures created by the Titans, called Titanspawn, are infesting the world undertaking various nefarious schemes that undoubtedly are not for the good of mankind and, as a child of the gods, your character, willingly or not, will be required to fight or otherwise defeat them...
from the outside
The book itself has a very striking cover by Michael Kormarck with one of the signature characters, a son of Thor (Norse god of Thunder), brandishing a large hand gun made, in part, from a piece of Mjolnir. It is quite thick, having 336 pages between the covers. The picture wraps right around to the back cover which is decorated with 6 icons each representing one of the six pantheons included inside (more on those later).
between the covers
The book is divided into 2 sections: Book One - Player and Book Two - Storyteller. Both sections have a total of 12 chapters excluding the introduction and opening fiction.
The book opens with a long piece of fiction that serves as an introduction to the setting. It details the start of life as a Scion (child of the gods) of one Eric Donner, son of Thor (yes, the guy on the cover) and his initial adventures following his Visitation (where a god or an agent of the god reveals to a person that they are a Scion and they are armed with powers and items to help them to deal with what is to come). This is really required reading as there is only sparse information on the setting elements elsewhere in the book. The reader gets introduced to the basics of the setting as Eric Donner discovers his true parentage and goes on to foil the plot of an ice giant to wake Jörmungandr.
...for the players...
Then comes the introduction (complete with a small Lexicon of terms, a common inclusion found in White Wolf games) before we get into the meat of the game: the first chapter titled Pantheon. This first chapter details the six Pantheons and 56 gods that are included in the book. Also at the end of each Pantheon is the character sheet of a signature character, one for each pantheon. This chapter is in color unlike the majority of the book. Each Pantheon has a brief introduction followed by a listing of some of the gods and the powers and abilities they favor. The six Pantheons; Norse, Egyptian, Japanese, Aztec, Greek and Voodoo, includes some of the more familiar or major gods e.g. Odin, Thor, Zeus, Amaterasu, Quetzalcoatl, etc.
The next four chapters; Hero, Traits, Epic Attributes and Knacks, and Boons and Birthrights cover the information required to create a character. The first two, Hero and Traits cover ground familiar to players of White Wolf games and details character creation and what each of the traits that make up a character means. The next two cover the supernatural powers a character has at his or her disposal. Epic Attributes and Knacks (both the title of the chapter and the name for the abilities detailed) appears to have been converted from White Wolf's out of print games Adventure and Aberrant. Boons and Birthrights, on the other hand, appear to me to be unique to Scion: Hero - Boons being the powers of the gods broken down into Purviews and Birthrights, more specifically Relics, the items a Scion uses to wield these powers. There are three other Birthright: Creature, Guide and Follower - each more effective if tied somehow to a Relic. The Relic rules are simple and effective. They allow a person to build almost any item found in myth and legend and the book supplies a small list of Relics for each of the 6 pantheons included.
Once you've read these four chapters you'll find out that there are a few things missing from a typical Storyteller character creation process. White Wolf has simplified the game in that a character does not have to stat out things such as Resources and other such mundane background details of the character. Instead they've left it to the Player to decide these things due to them not being the focus of the game, rather the deeds performed by the character using the various powers and Birthrights.
Unfortunately all is not rosy with the rules. Missing are rules for throwing objects (ranges, damage) and a few of the Purviews are not clear in how they are used. But these are minor issues and are easily remedied with a little work. Some errata has already been released so no doubt any issues with the rules will eventually be cleared up.
Chapter six and seven cover the Rules (determining success and failure of actions with the roll of dice and other such minutiae) and Combat. The last chapter in the Player section covers advancement of the character. For people familiar with Exalted 2nd Edition, the Combat section has some differences. In particular the application of damage has been modified likely due to the presence of Epic Attributes and Automatic Successes. Automatic Successes are the big difference in the system between Exalted and Scion. Where Exalted has dice adders (where more dice are added to the dice pool) Scion has Automatic Successes. This both reduces the number of dice rolled and somewhat changes the odds of success.
...for the storyteller...
The Storyteller section of the book is both smaller and has sections that can be ignored. I am, of course, referring to the campaign included with the game "The Long Road to Heaven". This was the last section of the game I read due to being more interested in the game (system and setting) rather than a campaign. Also one of the most interesting inclusions here is the section on Fate and Fatebinding. Fate plays a large part in the lives of Scions, their parents and the overall setting. Fate is the force that drove the gods from the World in fear of being bound into predestined roles, and it can bind mortals and places, if but briefly, to a Scion who openly displays their powers. Using this can help drive the story in interesting directions and this disadvantage helps to explain why Scions may decide to keep a low profile.
The last chapter covers various Antagonists. I got the feeling that, in comparison to other White Wolf games, this is actually quite a large antagonist section . It includes mortals, Titanspawn, a signature Band of enemy Scions and other mythic and supernatural creatures (some of which can be taken as Birthrights; Followers, Creature or Guides - dot values for the Birthright attribute have been assigned to those available).
in summary
Scion: Hero was promoted as a game you can pick up and immediately play. To enable this 6 signature characters and a campiagn have been included. This led me to believe that this is an attempt at creating an entry level game, although no other indication has been given in the game that this is so. If this is indeed the case then Scion: Hero would be a good game to start roleplaying with. By excluding Backgrounds and Merits, staples in other White Wolf games, and with the Stunt mechanic from Exalted a Player is encouraged to act rather than dwell on the details of everyday living. The opening fiction gives a good look at how a Scion game can be run: that is with a good dose of myth interwoven with a modern story.
The biggest selling point of the game to me is the setting. Its not Exalted Modern as many Exalted fans no doubt are desiring, but it is the next best thing. Although there isn't a separate setting section the opening fiction, the Pantheon section and Antagonists give you enough information to start running the game and not feel confused.
I am very happy with my purchase despite the issues that do exist with the rules. I would have preferred a detailed setting section rather than a campaign but I must admit that I am lazy due to all the information I am likely to require being freely available on the internet. I am definitely going to pick up the last two books of the series (Scion being a 3 book game).
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