Scion

[Myshlaevsky]

Does anyone feel up to giving me a rundown on the Scion system? A friend and I were bouncing some ideas around for a specific kind of game and they suggested that the Scion system would work well for it. I have no clue how this particular game works and wouldn't mind having a general idea of what I'm getting into before I purchase it.

[JeenLeen]

I haven't played it myself, but you can get some of the mechanics at Game Geeks off youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-67I9KgBi8

The guy has a few reviews of some of the Scion games, but this one seems a good intro. "Hero" is the 'lowest' power setting and good for introductory games, from what I gathered.

[Myshlaevsky]

I haven't played it myself, but you can get some of the mechanics at Game Geeks off youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-67I9KgBi8

The guy has a few reviews of some of the Scion games, but this one seems a good intro. "Hero" is the 'lowest' power setting and good for introductory games, from what I gathered.

Thanks for that. I'll check it out.

[Kylarra]

I'll do one better and link you to the quickstart (http://www.white-wolf.com/downloads.php?category_id=115) download available on the WW site.

[sonofzeal]

In before someone gently reminds us it's spelled with a "P" and links us to the SRD. =P


In all seriousness though, what are your personal thoughts on the system? What would make me want to switch to it? Or switch way from it?

[Temet Nosce]

Well... It looks like I may be the only one here familiar with it, and I'm only slightly so (and purely with the Hero rules). Personally, I don't like it. It's awkward to read flavor wise (standard for White Wolf... I love their ideas but trying to read their prologues is painful), and the mechanics for making your character more than mortal feel well... Not so much the way the concept would say. Boons/Birthrights in particular annoyed me with their emphasize on relatively weak and narrowly focused tricks and that they were tied to an item you had to keep with you. What it came down to, was that after building a character it didn't feel very... heroic mechanically (much less child of the gods style).

It's a good concept, but the book left me less than enthused. I wouldn't join another game of it. I'd suggest modifying the Nobilis system or Amer Diceless instead. Possibly even FUDGE/FATE3.

[Tamburlaine]

I've played it a few times. It's, in essence, a creative idea badly executed: the rules are passable, but easily get very unbalanced for characters any more powerful than the very basic level.

I'd suggest using Legends Walk instead.

[Myshlaevsky]

Well... It looks like I may be the only one here familiar with it, and I'm only slightly so (and purely with the Hero rules). Personally, I don't like it. It's awkward to read flavor wise (standard for White Wolf... I love their ideas but trying to read their prologues is painful), and the mechanics for making your character more than mortal feel well... Not so much the way the concept would say. Boons/Birthrights in particular annoyed me with their emphasize on relatively weak and narrowly focused tricks and that they were tied to an item you had to keep with you. What it came down to, was that after building a character it didn't feel very... heroic mechanically (much less child of the gods style).

It's a good concept, but the book left me less than enthused. I wouldn't join another game of it. I'd suggest modifying the Nobilis system or Amber Diceless instead. Possibly even FUDGE/FATE3.

Having limited powers tied into items or gear is quite appropriate for what I'm thinking of at the moment, to be honest. I won't be using this system for a tradition Scion game if I do decide on it.

Edit: I think Nobilis is too different (& powerful, perhaps) to be used for what I intend. I will look at Amber Diceless and Legend Walk if I can, however, and see if they offer a better alternative.

[Temet Nosce]

Having limited powers tied into items or gear is quite appropriate for what I'm thinking of at the moment, to be honest. I won't be using this system for a tradition Scion game if I do decide on it.

Edit: I think Nobilis is too different (& powerful, perhaps) to be used for what I intend. I will look at Amer Diceless and Legend Walk if I can, however, and see if they offer a better alternative.

Perhaps it'd help if you explained what you were looking for? If you aren't intending to use the system for what it was designed for, well it might work... but I don't know.

Still, with the mention of powers tied to items I'll mention Amber Diceless again. I like its rules for that kind of thing better... As far as Nobilis, yeah you'd have to change it but the basic system it runs on is extremely light and wouldn't be hard to change to play the kind of thing Scion is supposed to do (but may not be appropriate, as you aren't playing a Scion style game?)

[Myshlaevsky]

Perhaps it'd help if you explained what you were looking for? If you aren't intending to use the system for what it was designed for, well it might work... but I don't know.

Still, with the mention of powers tied to items I'll mention Amber Diceless again. I like its rules for that kind of thing better... As far as Nobilis, yeah you'd have to change it but the basic system it runs on is extremely light and wouldn't be hard to change to play the kind of thing Scion is supposed to do (but may not be appropriate, as you aren't playing a Scion style game?)

It's a mythic space game, with a kind of manifest destiny attitude. Space is out there, it's huge, it's yours for the taking. The tech available is not as classy or powerful as you'd expect in an advanced scifi game, but it still makes you superhuman.

[Jerthanis]

The strong suit of white-wolf games lies solidly in their flavor and settings, and if you're not using them, using just their mechanics is kind of a waste.

The combat system uses an initiative system reminiscent of Final Fantasy style Active Time Battle timers, where after each person acts, a certain amount of time passes before they can act again, related to their speed.

To my knowledge, nothing really makes good use of this in Scion. In Exalted, where the system was first used, there is some logic and strategy that arises out of the system, but I didn't find any powers or combat strategies in Scion that actually make any use of the system that wouldn't work just as easily in a more traditional turn based system.

If you wanted to run a space mythic game, you might want to add powers to a space game before you tried to add space to a mythic game. Just my suggestion.

[Myshlaevsky]

The strong suit of white-wolf games lies solidly in their flavor and settings, and if you're not using them, using just their mechanics is kind of a waste.

The combat system uses an initiative system reminiscent of Final Fantasy style Active Time Battle timers, where after each person acts, a certain amount of time passes before they can act again, related to their speed.

To my knowledge, nothing really makes good use of this in Scion. In Exalted, where the system was first used, there is some logic and strategy that arises out of the system, but I didn't find any powers or combat strategies in Scion that actually make any use of the system that wouldn't work just as easily in a more traditional turn based system.

If you wanted to run a space mythic game, you might want to add powers to a space game before you tried to add space to a mythic game. Just my suggestion.

Yeah, I appreciate it. As I say, this was suggested by a friend. It's not something I have knowledge of and so my ability to equate it with the game in mind is not so hot.