House Rules

House Rules

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New Pantheons

We have implemented two new pantheons that were released as SAS from White Wolf. Introducing the Atua, the Polynesian Pantheon and the Yazatas, the Persian Pantheon. These are all good for play now, following the usual rules.

Marksmanship

For Marksmanship damage rolls for Firearms only, Epic Perception autosuccesses apply, exactly like Epic Strength autosuccesses apply to Thrown, Melee, and Brawl. Bows use Epic Strength because the stronger you are, the more pull you can exert and the more force you can put into the shot. [Additional Marksmanship rules can be found in the Additional Rules section]

Health Purview

A Scion may utilize the Health Purview boons upon themselves.

Arete

For an ability with specializations (Science, Control, Art, Crafts, etc) when you purchase Arete, you purchase it once for the single ability in question rather than for every single specialization of the ability. Whenever you raise a specialization of the ability up to 3 (the minimum required to purchase Arete for an ability), your arete will then apply to that ability.

Example: Adam has Science_Chemistry 3, Science_Physics 1, and Arete Science 2. He may gain +2 dice (or a reroll) when rolling Science_Chemistry, but cannot use it for Science_Physics until he has raised it up to 3.

Hero Character Creation

When you choose your Epic Attributes and Boons from your initial ten-dot pool, you may purchase any Boon with a rating of 1-3 with a single dot. This means that it only takes 3 dots to max out a single purview at Hero level, like Epic Attributes, instead of the normal 6 dots it would take according to the book rules.

  • Please Note: You must select the boons in order, in order to take advantage of this. Meaning in order to purchase a second or third level boon for 1 point, you must have the boons before it first. So in order to have a third level boon you will have to spend three points total.

Reflexive Knacks

Knacks that affect only the person using it, Such as Body Armor and Untouchable Opponent, may be used reflexively, without penalty, by using the normal amount of Legend Points to activate the Knack as normal.

Demigod Purview Option

When a Scion reaches the Demigod level, the ichor infusing their bodies strengthens their connection to the divine powers they favor. Any Purview for which a Scion has the first three powers may be purchased as Epic Attributes from the 10-dot pool they receive with their template. This means that if you have all the Hero-level powers for a Purview, you may choose to restrict yourself to purchasing the Boons from that Purview sequentially and thus gain 1 Boon for each dot placed in that Purview when applying the Demigod or God template. This does not affect XP costs, nor the Purview's status as associated/unassociated. This is entirely optional, but a Purview thus designated must be bought sequentially from then on, and you may not buy Boons out of order from that Purview. Purviews for which you qualify but decline this option work as normal, and may be bought out of order, but do cost the normal template cost of dots equal to the Boon rating.

Pantheon-Specific Purviews are not eligible for this, as they are already house-ruled to be automatically purchased in this manner.

Character Creation

How to submit your sheet - Provides a few general tips and the correct formatting for submitting your sheet.
Index of Knacks - Full List of Knacks.
Index of Purviews - Full List of Purviews and Boons
Note: Most of the custom boons come from: www.gothambynight.com/scion Thanks Lambach!
Custom Knacks - Custom Knacks, ST approval required to add
Custom Boons - Custom Boons, ST approval required to add
Time Purview - The rare ability to influence time, like Magic, must be taken in order. Replaced by Stars purview
Relic Chart - Useful chart for Relic creation.
Equipment - Weapon and Armor charts from the books.

Storyteller Advice: Creative Uses of Powers (or: How the fuck do I do Awesome Things WITHOUT Epic Dex?)

This system while, it looks unbalanced in some regards, is actually pretty decent when pitting powers against each other. So, here's some ST advice on how to be a badass even if you don't have Epic Dex 1,000,000.

The Major Buffs

  • Epic Strength: Grappling only, slow, no defense, but good pure offense. Makes your DV 0 and takes 12 ticks to get any damage in, can be an eternity.
  • Arete: Good for Greeks. usually fairly cheap (I offer a flat -1 to costs if the ability they are buying Arete in is favored, nice but not unbalancing). You don't have to worry about pairing with an epic to do well, or paying any legend. Downside is it's bonus dice, not successes, and is pay per level.
  • Tsukumo-Gami 3: The Helpful Spirit: Good for Amatsukami. Your number of dice are not limited by an epic, and you only have to buy T-G to three to access it. OTOH, it's dice, not successes. You pay legend per dice. Having no epic charisma makes it only last so long, but the duration is days, so a down payment can often last a story. Limited use if you brawl, or use thrown with no returning weapon (i.e. the ninja with 1000 knives).
  • Ability Geas-Token and Ability Geas-Potent: Good for Tuatha, maybe too good (I pushed it up to Potent/Mortal). Like Arete, on all the time, unlike Arete, don't have to pay to update it. Offers dice or successes. Only have to pay anything about once a year. Downside is you have an Achilles heel which, if it happens once, can screw up your ability to use a given skill, possibly forever. Someone sneaks you some pork and now your down -22 successes on all your Melee rolls? Your fucked. Seriously boned. On the plus side, Tuatha with the right levels of Enech can put it on non-Tuatha, so not totally limited.
  • Animal 3: Animal Aspect: Good die adder for anyone. Pick a quick animal and go. Dice are not limited by expenditure like T-G, so rock. No need to update, buy animal 3, you may not even need 1 or 2, however, it is pay per attack, up front. If you over-invest, you have to stand there with your monster dice waiting for it to wear off and if you under-invest you may need to activate it again. If you don't have epic stamina it offers modest returns. Still can be nice.
  • Animal 3: Faunophagia: OK die adder, but terrible as written (I don't have the lower limit on it, making it like AA). Unless you alter it, it is a bit of trouble for a few dice. Still, can give you an Ability bonus if you cannot justify the Attribute you want for your animal.
  • War 4: Fury of War: This a good die adder, again, with good stamina. It can add to attack, damage, or intimidation rolls, and you're not paying per action as with animal. It is a limited pool though. Also, it takes 2 actions, 10 ticks, to activate/reactivate. That's a long time chewing on your shield and your dentist disapproves.
  • Fight With Your Head can really take the bite out of a foe's DV if you have Epic Intelligence.

The Minor Buffs

  • Magic 2: Bona Fortuna: Die adder, but only adds up to 1/2 willpower to a single roll. Consider making it 1/2 willpower/willpower/legend or willpower whichever is higher at different states. Cheap (only takes 2 dots, not 3) and can add to a lot of rolls for the cost, but the half willpower sucks. Still, for a lower stamina character, it can edge out AA as adder of choice.
  • Animal 6: Animal Feature: You can add up to your legend in dice to certain rolls based on feature, but lets face it, you want a fucking bird head. That's cool. Least you get something besides a bird head. Oh, wings, I guess.
  • Enech 4: Body and Spirit: Can add dice to your rolls based on Virtues. Like Bona Fortuna, this is a bit low but also an edge, and lasts a scene for cheap. Also keeps you from losing your powers because you did not offer the serial rapist tea when he came by your house. If you have epic charisma 4, you can boost every roll you make and get your legend back and then some just to boot. But lets face it, it is low. Still, you need it to get Assumption of the Land and the ability to do your best dracula impression anyway.
  • Enech 5: Bard's Tongue: Can add dice up to Presence for a scene. Neatly, you can add dice to like 4 abilities when you use it if you roll high enough. Good if you're Tuatha and want extra dice, but realize that lover's geas means you have to hit on Hera when you meet her. And Artemis. Still a relatively low number. Stacks with B+S though.

The Buffs That Keep on Giving.

  • Magic 2: Trading Fates: This lets you, for free, slap a whole mess of dice on an ally. If you have epic Wits, this can pile pretty high. Unfortunately, only for one action, and you gotta pay the tallyman. still, stunt it and its at least one legend back, and you can make a one two punch with Evil Eye and/or Illwind Curse to buff an ally every other action while cursing foes.
  • Enech 4: Body and Soul: You can buff allies with this, only up to their virtues though, and only certain virtues. So for combat it can be hit and miss, but slightly useful to high courage allies. I bet they wont say no to the willpower and legend returns though. scene long.
  • Enech 5: Bard's Tongue : again, buff others up to your Presence, just like yourself. Small bonus compared to a well built character with TF, but good. A Tuatha with Enech can lay Ability geasa, if the others don't mind the whole being depowered because they did not challenge Tyr to a duel thing.

What Can Completely Trump High Dex Characters (or: How You Can Social-Fuck Someone Up)

  • Overt Order can take away an opponents DV for one action. that is sometimes all it takes
  • Hard Sell: as above, writ large.
  • Serpent's Gaze is good for taking out DV.
  • Compelling Presence: as above, writ large.
  • Grappling removes their DV. Have one person grapple and have a jamboree. Note this is deadly effective when done by Giants.
  • Sun 3: Heavenly Flare can briefly paralyze a group also. (Maia and Preethi are DANGEROUS with this)
  • Not paralysis, but Chill the Blood (Frost 6) can drop Dexterity through the floor. This lowers epic Dex in time.
  • An unexpected attack from stealth can give a DV 0 shot. This is easiest done with high epic dex, but Arete Stealth makes that less required, or Moon 3.
  • Natural Camouflage (Fertility 4) - Can we say stealth attacks from the bushes that give your target DDV 0? Yes we can.

Why Fluff Powers (Fertility, Sky, etc.) Are Awesome

  • Cloud Shaper - Let's say you're trapped and need people to find you. Shape the clouds to say something like: HELP I AM HERE or SURRENDER DOROTHY just to be a bitch :P
  • Fertility boons - Again, do the same thing with Cloud Shaper
  • Math Genius - You're in a labyrinth. You can calculate all the flipping ways to get out of a labyrinth in an hour or so. Yes, you are awesome.
  • Language Mastery - You're in another country/realm/whatevs. You learn the language nearly instantly. Very useful
  • Well-Read Virgin - You can apply epic attributes bonuses even WITHOUT a dot in the ability.

Experience Table

Trait Increase Cost(uses current rating)
Attribute rating x 4
Ability favored by divine parent (rating x 2) – 1
Ability rating x 2
Virtue rating x 3
Willpower rating x 2
Legend rating x 8
Epic Attribute (associated with divine parent) rating x 4
Epic Attribute (not associated with divine parent) rating x 5
Pantheon-Specific Purview rating x 4
Special Purview (associated with divine parent) rating x 4
Special Purview (not associated with divine parent) rating x 5
New Trait Cost (uses new rating)
Ability 3
Epic Attribute (associated with divine parent) 8
Epic Attribute (not associated with divine parent) 10
Knack 5
All-Purpose Purview Boon (associated with divine parent) rating x 4
All-Purpose Purview Boon (not associated with divine parent) rating x 5
Pantheon-Specific Purview 3
Special Purview (associated with divine parent) 3
Special Purview (not associated with divine parent) 4
Spell (Magic associated with divine parent) rating x 4
Spell (Magic not associated with divine parent) rating x 5

Additional Useful Rules (Borrowed from Exalted, Vampire and other White Wolf books)

Additional Rules

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