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{{work|wppage=Scion (role-playing game)}}
{{Needs Disambiguation}}
[[File:Scion.jpg|frame|Meet the children of the gods, someday to be gods unto themselves.]]
'''''Scion''''' is a tabletop roleplaying game series by [[White Wolf]], though not one that takes place in either of that company's trademark [[The World of Darkness
Player characters are the offspring of such unions, making them technically demigods, though in game terms they are referred to as Scions. They grew up unaware of their nonhuman heritage, until one day they received a visitation from their divine parent, and were told the truth about their origins.
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Being a demigod sounds cool, but there is a catch: the Titans, ancient powerful entities, and your grandparents on the important side of the family, once vanquished and imprisoned by the gods, are breaking free, and a cosmic war has begun between the two. The characters must join the fight, and in the process grow in power until they too become gods in their own right.
Think of it as as ''[[
The rulebook includes six possible pantheons to choose from, using the time-tested White Wolf concept of [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits|making members of different groups team up into a motley crew]]. They are: the Pesedjet (Egyptian), Dodekatheon (Greek), Aesir (Norse), Amatsukami (Japanese), Atzlanti (Aztec), and Loa (Voodoo). Game extensions include the Tuatha De Danann (Irish), the Celestial Bureaucracy (Chinese), and the Devas (Hindu) from ''Scion: Companion'', as well as nationalistic pantheons of America and the Allies in the same sourcebook for running games during [[World War Two]], and it's implied that yet more pantheons exist as well (indeed, there's a PDF covering the Yazata, the Persian pantheon (''Yazata: The Persian Gods''), as well as a supplement not available in English detailing the Gaulish pantheon; several fan-made pantheons can be found on the net as well). There is also the Atlantean pantheon, although they are canonically dead after having been corrupted by the Titans; details on the actual Pantheon and their Cosmology are in ''Demigod'', while the Pantheon's original Virtues (Duty, Intellect, Order, Piety) and Purview (Scire) are in the Scion ''Companion''.
Not to be confused with the [[Scion (comics)|comic book]], the [[Tomb Raider]] artifact, the character from ''[[Worm]]'', or the Toyota car.
{{tropelist}}
* [[All Japanese Swords Are Katanas]]: Averted. One of the template characters is a daughter of Susano-o who fights with the legendary sword Kusanagi, which is ''not'' a katana.
* [[All
* [[Anti-Villain]]: Out of the six sample "evil" Scions, only two - [[Big Bad|Kane Taoka]] and [[Complete Monster|Seth Farrow]] - are truly nasty. Sly's a pawn, Orlandu's a victim of [[Love Makes You Evil]], Marie's just egotistical (and pulls a [[Heel Face Turn]] in ''God''), and Victor's just following orders (he ''is'' a soldier).
** ''God'' also offers another group of antagonists, the "Keepers of The World", the group of gods who pissed at their pantheons and want to seperate the mortal world from other realms. None of them are truly evil, and considering their background story, their goal is rather justified.
* [[Army of the Ages]]: The [
* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]: Vidar is described in ''Hero'' as "obsessive" "paranoid" and "methodical".
* [[Awesome but Practical]]: Most first level boons fall under this category, granting resistance to the boons that come after. Now this may sound like a dull roadblock skill, keep in mind Sky's Grace (Sky 1) allows the user to fall from ''any'' height and survive with no injury, Fire Immunity negates flame damage and Water Breathing is...well...[[Exactly What It Says
* [[Beethoven Was an Alien Spy]]: Hitler's Spear of Destiny was actually Odin's spear Gungnir, given him by [[Magnificent Bastard|Loki]] in the alternate setting set out in chapter six of Scion Companion. Lady Liberty, Br'er Rabbit, Uncle Sam, Robin Hood, Britannia, d'Artagnan, Baba Yaga and sundry others are all gods. The French, Russian and British ones work together out of the need to fight the Germans whereas the American ones are a different Pantheon.
* [[Boring but Practical]]: The Greek pantheon's purview of Arete just grants bonus dice instead of awesome abilities, but damn if those dice don't come in handy.
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*** Not to mention all the fan-produced writeups.
* [[Dark Is Evil]]: Soku-no-Kumi. However, it more embodies fear and concealment than actual light-absence darkness - even if you have powers that let you see in the dark, you ''still'' can't see in Soku-no-Kumi.
* [[Dark Is Not Evil]]: A given [[Player Character]] may be the child of one or the other death gods if the player so chooses, which will make him/her pretty dark, but not evil.
** Well not necessarily evil. However since many of the gods are not especially kind (as a rule), and the concept appeals to many players who wish to play an evil character, evil Scions of a Death God are not uncommon. And if both general disposition of the player and general disposition of the character fail to make a Death God evil, it's not totally unlikely that Fate will try to force a god to become evil. It's also worth noting that you can become an actual God of Darkness, who may or may not be evil.
** It's also worth noting that the majority of evil crap that happens in the official setting is not instigated by Death Gods, but by Trickster Gods (particularly Loki) and the Titans (who are just as likely to be examples of [[Light Is Not Good]]).
* [[Depleted Phlebotinum Shells]]: Certain boons (specifically Fire 4: Flamin' Bullets, Sky 6: Levin Fury, and Sun 4: Flare Missile) allow a player to use the elements themselves as projectiles for ranged weapons. In addition, relic weapons can be supernaturally enhanced (with increased accuracy, responsiveness, and stopping power).
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** About the only major exception is Miclantecuhtli of the Aztlanti, who is pretty much a [[Jerkass]] -- ''Hero'' describes him as "suffering a permanent case of schadenfreude". Then again, with the possible exceptions of Quetzalcoatl and Tlazolteotl, none of the Aztlanti are really portrayed in a flattering light. This extends to the Scions; of the three official examples, one is a psychotic self-mutilator, one is a male-to-female transsexual who uses the flayed skin of a woman to change sexes, and the other, after ascending to godhood, is pretty much disgusted with his own pantheon.
* [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good]]: Greater Titans are so unable to comprehend ''anything'' - least of all why their children, the Gods, are so interested in saving the World - that they had to create avatars to even start getting it. And the avatars ''still'' don't understand all of it.
* [[Evil Virtues]]: ''Almost'' literally named. Unlike the other gods and Scions, who have Virtues such as Honor, Expression, Duty, etc., titanspawn and the Titans have Dark Virtues - Ambition, Malice, Rapacity, and Zealotry.
* [[Finger
* [[Five-Bad Band]]: The Shinsengumi, at first.
** [[Big Bad]]: [[Corrupt Corporate Executive|Kane]] [[Yakuza|Taoka]], who is technically himself the Dragon to [[Dark Is Evil|Mikaboshi]].
** [[The Dragon]]: [[Complete Monster|Seth]] [[Cain and Abel|Farrow]], explicitly described as Kane’s right-hand man.
** [[Evil Genius]]: [[Manipulative Bastard|Sylvester]] [[The Barnum|Guiler]], a con man through and through.
** [[The Brute]]: Victor Fingers, Scion of Ares. What more need be said?
** [[Dark Chick]]: [[Dark Magical Girl|Orlanda]] [[Love Makes You Evil|Elliot]] and [[Femme Fatale|Marie]] [[Rich Bitch|Glapion]] both fit this in spades.
*** Is not a perfect example though: They're stated outright to be mostly [[Worthy Opponent
** The Keepers of The World fit here as well.
*** [[Big Bad]]: Imhotep, the mastermind behind the Great Working.
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*** [[Dark Chick]]: Himiko, a chief financial backer for the group.
*** [[Sixth Ranger]]: [[The Atoner|Hernán Cortés]], only Imhotep know about his part in the group.
* [[Five-Man Band]]: The Band actually fits this very well...
** [[The Hero]]: [[Cowboy Cop|Horace]] [[You Killed My Father|Farrow]], the [[Eyepatch of Power|one-eyed]] son of Horus
** [[The Lancer]]: [[Perky Goth|Bridgette]] [[Dark Is Not Evil|de la Croix]], the mortician daughter of [[Dem Bones|Baron Samedi]]
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* [[God Is Evil]]: The closest thing to the Abrahamic [[God]] to be found in the setting is Akhetaten, the Titan of Light, and it would appear that anything genuinely good to be found in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions stems from ''misinterpretation'' of his attempts to rule everything, although it can be implied that he is trying to fill this role as Angels are a recent development, created well after even Islam was.
* [[A God Is You]]: Once you reach Legend 9.
* [[
* [[Good Is Not Nice]]: The Aztláni are described this way in the introduction to their section in the core book:
{{quote|
* [[Hollywood Voodoo]]: The line takes great pains to avert it as far as the Loa are presented. Sure, there's a bit on Baron Samedi and
* [[Homosexual Reproduction]]: The sample Scion of Kali, Annie X, is revealed to have been created when Kali took on a male form and impregnated her mortal mother. This was the first and last time the possibility Gods could do that was raised in the setting.
** Actually, ''Scion: God'' introduced the Epic Appearance Knack Undeniable Resemblance, which lets a [[Gender Bender|character switch genders]] while retaining full functionality and fertility.
* [[Humongous Mecha]]: The Collossi. Also the "true form" of Surtr's fortress in Muspelheim.
* [[Jerkass Gods]]: Given the base material, it's not surprising Scion has a lot of
** The Atzlanti are the only pantheon to still require human sacrifices, to the point that their pantheon purview is fuelled best by it. The Aztec Death God is also the biggest jerk of all the canonical death gods, even compared to Hel or The Morrigan.
* [[Light Is Not Good]]: Akhetaten, full stop.
* [[A Load of Bull]]: The Minotaurs are a [[One-Gender Race]] of humanoid bulls likely to be encountered as opponents (and, possibly, followers) of demigods. It turns out that, in the Scionverse, the Cretan Bull actually '''raped''' first Pasiphaë and then any Cretan woman it could find after emerging from the sea, as none of the Cretans would even dare to try and corral it for fear of Poseidon's wrath. Poseidon made no effort to stop it; they were saved from its rampages only when Heracles came and took the Cretan Bull as his Seventh Labour.
* [[Lonely
* [[Lovecraft Lite]]: Very much so. The closest things to truly unknowable beings (the Greater Titans) aren't truly malevolent (hell, a possible ending to ''Ragnarok'' involves convincing Muspelheim that it's in his best interests to only burn away the toxic parts of the Earth), and much of the theme involves taking the "chaotic, dark power" and either kicking it across the room or turning into something useful.
* [[The Lost Woods]]: The Dark Woods is literally the embodiment of this trope, an archetypal forest in the Overworld that's only real defining geography is "lost".
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* [[Mayincatec]]: The Aztec pantheon is included.
* [[Meaningful Name]]: Scions tend to have these, as Fate likes to make their origins clear.
* [[Mission
* [[Mood Whiplash]]: The [[Incredibly Lame Pun|painful puns]] of the characters names and backgrounds don't really mix well with the gritty setting and storyline.
* [[Mother of a Thousand Young]]: Gaia and Kamimusuhi.
* [[Mythology Upgrade]]: Isn't it amusing how advanced technology can improve already deadly Nemeans? Examples include Centaurs as half-human and half-Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Scylla has machines replace its monster heads and Surtr's main fortress in Muspelheim can transform into a [[Humongous Mecha]].
* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]]: The main villain is named Kane? His right-hand man is named ''Seth''?! His con man associate is named '''Sly Guiler'''?!? [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|His girlfriend is named]] '''[[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|ORLANDA]]'''?!?!?
* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: Kill Surtr? Congratulations, now fire is completely uncontrollable! Kill Gaia? Watch the World wither and die! Kill Aten? Hope you like ''eternal, endless night!'' Okay, the series never gets specific (with one exception - the Ice Age ended with Ymir's death - which doesn't sound too bad...except it became [[The Great Flood]]), but there's a ''reason'' the Gods [[Sealed Evil in
* [[No Honour Among Thieves]]: Two Titans have serious internal conflict amongst their Avatars. Every avatar of Muspelheim except Prometheus will turn against Surtr, once he fulfills his role in Ragnarok. In Drowned Road, Ran will attack Mami Wata once their plan to drown the Earth is complete. Nu, meanwhile, is hiding, waiting for its opportunity to strike at other avatars.
* [[No Such Thing
* [[Order Versus Chaos]]: Explicitly defined as part of the core rules-normal Virtues define a code of behavior, while the Titanic Dark Virtues are [[Social Darwinist|raw survivalism, with a side of selfishness]].
* [[Our Monsters Are Different]]: Pretty much all of the attached subtropes can be found in Scion to one degree or another, with various monsters showing different levels of alteration from their mythological origins. Different kinds of [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampires]] range from [[Horror Hunger|heart-eating]], [[Bat Out of Hell|bat-like]] Camazotz through to [[Lookslike Orlock|bald-headed, pointy-eared]] Vrykolakas. [[Our Werebeasts Are Different|Therianthropy]] consists of a three-stage infection which sees a were-beast gain greater control over their transformations in exchange for becoming increasingly enslaved to the Titans. [[Our Monsters Are Weird|Numerous other examples]] abound.
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** It is implemented in the rules too. If you are around a person who is Fate Bound to you, you get bonus dice if you act in the way they expect you to act and penalties if you defy their expectations. So if several people watching are convinced that you are a sociopath and are going to murder the mentally disturbed hostage taker rather than talk him down and get him medical treatment, that may soon become your only viable option!
** This is a major plot point in ''Ragnarok''-sparing Hod (Baldur's accidental killer) ''really'' derails the prophecy (he trades his life for Baldur's, Loki is never imprisoned, Thokk is revealed to be {{spoiler|Baldur's [[Yandere]] wife}}..). And that's only ''one'' of the things that can be done; it's quite possible to kill Garm before he gets Tyr (which is actually rather easy for a God, he being a Demigod-level adversary), or convince Fenris to sit out the battle in return for allowing him to live in [[Lost Woods|the Dark Forest]].
* [[Sealed Evil in
* [[Separated
* [[Semi
* [[Shout
** Title of a sidebar in the first game's included story: "What's in the Egg?" First line of the article: [[Se7en|"Gwyneth Paltrow's head!]] Just kidding."
** In the first included story, one task (assigned by Aphrodite) is to bring a strained couple to love...any sort. The default assumption is that they'll split up, but crafty players can rekindle their love for each other. The paragraph discussing this ends with ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|"In your face, space coyote!"]]''
** [[The Mighty Thor|"I thought Thor was a blond."]]
** Freyr bears a striking resemblence to [[Hercules: The Legendary Journeys|Kevin Sorbo]].
** Athena could easily stand in for a [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|certain Chosen One]].
* [[Sliding Scale of Turn Realism]]: Action by Action.
* [[Stephen Ulysses Perhero]]: Seems to be a common quality of the Scions. Sometimes it's subtle (Brigitte de la Croix, Scion from Baron Samedi, takes her name from Maman Brigitte, the Baron's wife, and her father's love of the crossroads). Other times... it's not (Horace Farrow, Scion of Horus, pronounced ''exactly'' the way you think it is).
* [[Take That]]: In ''Ragnarok'', the game discusses alternate ways to cue Fimbulwinter rather than the default meteor strike. The title of the sidebar is "But ''[[Armageddon]]'' Sucked".
** Only Demigods with Epic Stamina are capable of surviving by drinking virtually any liquid and treating it as water, "even such distasteful liquids as gasoline, blood, pine-scented disinfectant or [[Take That|diet cola]]."
* [[The End of the World
* [[The Gods Must Be Lazy]]: They do tend to leave their children to sort things out on their own.
** And justified, it's stated in the God book the Gods have their hands full holding the Titans at bay in the Overworld and just performing the Visitations for their new Scions is both risky because the Gods have to power down and become weaker to enter the World without incurring Fate's unwanted and undivided attention making them vulnerable to Titanspawn and takes them away from the main front of the war that is implied not to be going well.
* [[Timey-Wimey Ball]]: As the Greater Titan of Time-but not of ''causality''-Zuvran ''is'' this trope. Places under his influence become temporally screwy themselves (an example adventure features the Scions encountering Coyote...as he was in the Wild West, and he quickly realizes he shouldn't be there as if that's nothing strange).
* [[To Hell and Back]]
* [[
* [[Trickster God]]: Loki, Baron Samedi, Hermes and Susano-o are in there, what do you expect?
** *Ahem* And Odin.
** As if that weren't enough, ''God'' adds '''Coyote'''.
*** And the Scion Companion adds Manannan mac Lir, Nezha, [[Journey to
* [[True Companions]]: A Band can be these. The signature-character "protagonist" Band in the core trilogy seems to
* [[Two
** Hel is described that way in several Norse Eddas.
*** Most of the time. They were all agreeing upon that half her body was dead. Now, there was argument if the split was vertical, leaving her left side dead, or horizontal, leaving her dead from the waist down.
* [[Values Dissonance]]: In-universe, it's noted that gods of one pantheon often don't get on with another pantheon because of their very different views of the world (the highly law and discipline-focused Pesedjet or Amatsukami compared to the wilder, more chaotic Aesir or Tuatha, for example). Even individual gods can have values dissonance from their fellows depending on how they prioritize their Virtues.
** The best example is the Atzlanti; whereas even the many other pantheons who practiced animal sacrifice have given it up, the Aztec gods still
* [[Weaponized Landmark]]: Some believe the Statue Of Liberty, Christ the Redeemer and other large statues could be a giant war automaton if the right key is found. The statue of Vulcan in Birmingham, Alabama is ''confirmed'' to be one, but the key's still missing.
* [[Weirdness Magnet]]: Thanks to Fate, a Scion's life is never boring.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Tabletop Games]]
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