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Since Time Immemorial, Mankind and the Gods of Antiquity Have Held an Uneasy Relationship. Plague, Famine, Natural Disaster-Thei

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Since Time Immemorial, Mankind and the Gods of Antiquity Have Held an Uneasy Relationship. Plague, Famine, Natural Disaster-Thei Since time immemorial, mankind and the gods of antiquity have held an uneasy relationship. Plague, famine, natural disaster-their displeasure has been remembered in myth and legend for aeons. What is often less well recorded is the magnitude of their battle against the Titans, their progenitors and ancient foes. Whether the roiling bones of the earth or the frosted breath of ancient winter, each Titan in its greater aspect was a concept born at the beginning of all existence incarnated as a plane of existence driven by the urge to self-propagate limitlessly. More force of nature than sentient being, each Titan boasted a handful of avatars personifying certain overriding facets-each a powerful being on par with the greatest of gods, but similarly warped by their progenitor’s primal urges. In due time, the gods retreated from the world. With the advent of human civilisation came chains of Fate that threatened to set pantheons against each other, or through faith change them beyond all recognition. Safe in the Overworld, a plane of limitless potential from which all divine life springs, only seldomly do the gods now visit mankind in mortal guise. All that has changed with a single event: The escape of the Titans. Sundering their prison in the Underworld and damaging the realms of the dead, the Titans have reentered the Overworld for revenge and the reclamation of their rule. As war breaks out in the heavens, the Titans have begun seeding the world with their spawn. But the gods, compulsive meddlers themselves, have a recourse for such things. Heracles. Onamuji. Sigurd. Many are those sired by the gods, but it takes a formal visitation from a deity to awaken their nascent powers. And now, you have an opportunity to be among the lucky few-for the war goes poorly enough for the heavens above, that increasingly gods resort to siring new children with mortals in order to create new worthy champions to their causes. Bound by fate, blessed and cursed by the expected duties of your pantheon as it guards against both its rivals and the encroaching Titans, like them you will come define and be defined by the legend of yourself as it resounds the age. For such is the fate of a Scion (1st edition) You have ten years to discover where destiny begins and inheritance ends. Take 1000 Choice Points (CP) and embrace life among the divine. You may be any human age or gender. You may start anywhere, in any nation of the modern world. Origins Each of these origins includes a specific background that may be considered a true Drop-In origin. Scion: Born from the gods, whether out of love, caprice or necessity, it is your destiny to contend against the offspring of the Titans as well as the machinations of rival pantheons. Though little may differ about you to the average man on the street for now, the divine ichor awakened by your parents’ visitation leaves you capable of great strength, wisdom and charm beyond mortals-usually with a tendency to favour the approach which your parent favoured, but not always. Beyond that, you have the capacity to use the divine power of Purviews: The fundamental forces that define the world, exercised when Zeus casts a thunderbolt or Balder lightens up the world with his natural charm. For like the gods, you can channel the power of Legend: A measure of your mythic weight and divine glory that shapes the very fabric of reality. Long-lived and healthy as you are by mortal standards, it is by advancing your Legend that you can one day attain the true eternal nature of the gods by replacing your physical body entirely with divine ichor. The glory of larger-than-life deeds and setting an example virtuous in the eyes of your pantheon restores your Legend while gradually advancing your apotheosis, which can in turn be used to fuel your miracles-and while heroic feats are required to truly improve your attunement to divine forces, the pool of divine glory from which you can draw from at a certain stage of advancement also gradually refills over time-refilling Later you will have the opportunity to determine the degree to which triumph and achievement have brought out the legacy of your divine blood, but know that if Fate doesn’t send adventure your way, the gods will. While much differs between the many pantheons of the world, all expect a certain degree of participation in the war against the Titans. The following are among the most influential pantheons still active in the war, from which you can choose freely to be descended from a member of. Your starting age is 1. The Pesedjet: Among the oldest, if not necessarily the wisest, of the pantheons are those who claim a legacy that goes back over 7000 years, and a legend entwined with the banks of the Nile river. From Atum-Re (or as he became known as since Isis conned him out of his true name, Ra) whose barque marks the travel of the suns, to Anubis who serves as judge of the Underworld every Egyptian deity is deeply concerned with ma’at: A form of cosmic justice expressed through social order. Scions of the Pesedjet are often expected to express similar dedication and dispassionate enforcement of the order the Pesedjet uphold, though of course in a position of authority and respect commensurate with being their parent’s hand in the mortal world. It is imperative to the Pesedjet that everyone must know his or her place, and each post must be filled with the right person. The Pesedjet’s greatest strength is their experience with imposing long-lasting order in a chaotic world. Their greatest weakness is commitment to stability at any cost, preferring minimally disruptive solutions and trusting in old patterns to maintain the status quo. 2. The Dodekatheon: For such a well-known pantheon, the gods of Olympus have had a murky slew of origins since they became prominent among the Greeks 4000 years ago, yet continued evolving as a pantheon for several millennia after. In one area are they united: A yearning, and appreciation for personal excellence in service to humanity known as Arete. It is as important, in the Dodekatheon’s eyes, for most humans to know their place as it is for some to rise above their stations and create new patterns of individuality within mankind as a community. But do not be mistaken-the pursuit of excellence for them can and has led to complacency, caprice and arrogance as much as it has diligence-encompassing Ares’ bloodlust and Aphrodite’s fickle whims, as well as Athena’s impartial wisdom and Hades’ diligence. The most recently favoured Scions of this pantheon are invested with tremendous trust and the belief they can truly change the world, even as history and mythology have given many examples of those who succumbed to ruin and damnation. The Dodekatheon’s greatest strength is its willingness to rise to the challenge, exalting human and divine endeavour against the Titans’ machinations. It’s greatest weakness is the crippling hubris many of its members suffer, truly believing they can win out against the inevitability of Fate. 3. The Aesir: They come from the land of the ice and snow. The Aesir are, at once grimly steadfast in their ordained roles come Ragnarok, but also passionate and expressive. The Aesir promote communal stability as a hedge against the harshness of the world, yet also emphasise personal rights and individual honour-going so far as to seek justice for a single person, in defiance of family and nation. Boisterous and warlike, the Aesir salute their own Scions’ quests to seek improvement and justice in life even as they hope their children can help avert Ragnarok: The prophesised ending of the nine worlds that compose their divine realm. The Aesir’s greatest strength is its combination of independence and tribal loyalty, with mighty warriors such as Thor cooperating seamlessly with spellcasters such as Frigg (also known as Freya) and even the dour warden Hel against both their divine rivals and Titanic foes. Apart from their old rivals the Vanir the Aesir have interbred with many frost giants despite the giants’ status as Titanspawn of Ymir, the Titan of Frost who Odin and his brothers slew aeons ago-resulting in allies such as the noble Skadi, and the infamous trickster Loki who stands as an exception to many if not all of the Aesir’s values. Their greatest weakness is a fondness for aggressive solutions and as a result a great many enemies, as well as an obsession with the Fate that binds them deeper than most pantheons which leads to them asking for prophecies from nearly everyone. 4. The Atzlanti: The Aztec gods have no name for their pantheon since their murky emergence between 3000 to 4000 years ago, gaining their name from other divine tribes. Those divine tribes also frequently complain they are capricious and cruel in a way they are not, being literally thirsty for blood from the sacrifices their supplicants once offered up to them-sometimes animal, all too often human. To the Atzlanti, continuity is all. The preservation of the sun and moon’s ordained cycle, the shining of the stars on their proper schedule-it is the maintenance and defence of these facets of the natural world that the Atzlanti use to justify their sacrifices, and even other pantheons acknowledge their methods-though distasteful-have proven effective in the past. There is even some individuality beneath their practices; while Huitzilopochtli’s thirst for blood was (in)famous from the practices of his chosen people the Aztecs and Tezcatlipoca is the pantheon’s bringer of discord and vice, Tlazolteotl delights in sweeping aside both physical and emotional filth while Quetzalcoatl sincerely encourages mortals to live joyfully, create beauty and achieve their highest ambitions.
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