Godbound: Thoughts On A Scion Conversion, Part 1

Fairly early in the blog's history, I wrote about using Scion as a basis for modern-day Godbound. These are a few thoughts and expansions on the ideas there. It is still not a full blown conversion document as that has yet to be something which is being worked on. These are more loose thoughts on a Scion 'remake' using Godbound, much like the previous Exalted material on this blog.

The Pantheons

A key and important feature of any Scion game is which Pantheon of divinities would be feature in the game itself as well as what options they offer to players when it come to creating their characters. Every Scion need some form of divine parentage (if going by the setting rules of 1st edition, anyway, as 2nd edition is a bit different).

The Aesir (The Norse Pantheon)

Introduced in the core book, the Norse pantheon is one which generally command quite the presence in the game. While not the most famous of the 'main' pantheon, it is the one of those which hold up a sizable portion of the core lore of Scion nonetheless alongside the Greek Pantheon. In Scion, their specific purview is called Jotunblut: it represent the fact that the Norse pantheon interbred with Giants and allow them to enhance their power and stature. Under the original Scion rules, it allowed to turn people and animals into giants but for the sake of Godbound rules I would count that as a miracle and use of Dominion. Rather, personally I'd take cues from John's Scion Resources and use it more for the 'buffing' of the Scion's physical might and stature. Jotunblut, with its theme of gigantism, would likely easily mechanically double as some Giant/Titan 'Concept Word' for vanilla Godbound which is neat. Lore-wise, there isn't much to change to the Aesir.

The Dodekatheon (The Greco-Roman Pantheon)

Easily the most famous of any of the old Pantheons of gods, the Greek Pantheon would be expanded to become the Greco-Roman Pantheon: meaning that aspect of the lore added/changed from the Greek sources by the romans would be considered part of their overall mythos. Their fame combined with being, for a sizable period of time the main pantheon of one of (if not the most) powerful civilizations of the ancient world combine with the sheer amount of demi-gods found in myths would very much make it one of the most prolific, potent and active pantheon...which would not necessarily make them the strongest however, as the Greek gods are easily the most dysfunctional family ever. Any advantage from their size and scope would be negated by how fucked up they are as people. Their Purview in Scion is Arete, which was the most boring-yet-efficient Purview as it provided passive bonus to everything. Rather, if I was to run Scion using Godbound I would loosely base it off the Peak Human Concept Word.

The Daeva (The Vedic Pantheon)

While the Greek Pantheon has fame and influence in human history through the impact of Rome on civilization as a whole, the Daeva are unique in that they've never really gone away and are still worshiped to this day by a very much active religion: Hinduism. Not only that, but through the influence of Hinduism on Buddhism and other faiths such as Jainism the Daeva would be a Pantheon with connections stretching all across Asia. While they were not a core book Pantheon in Scion, this would be something easily rectified and I firmly believe they should be considered one of the core Pantheon of any Scion game. Their legacy of creating demigods and divine avatar easily rival that of the Greeks. Their purview, Samsara, would likely be a reworked version of the Fate Word. As a whole the Daeva have a form of local power which no other Pantheon can ever hope to match in term of longevity and sustained worship.

The Tuatha Dé Danaan (The Celtic and Arthurian 'Pantheon')

On the surface, the Tuatha would not appear to be good material for being considered a 'major pantheon' Celtic mythology, after all, is obscure to most people and filled with characters whose name nobody knows how to read. However, the same Celtic myths which form the basis of their identity were also at the core of a much more famous modern mythology: Arthurian legends. Under this version, the Tuatha Dé Danaan would incorporate many elements of Arthurian mythology with the loose 'retcon' that many key figures were in fact Scion of the Celtic gods albeit those of a later era. This would be more similar to the earlier Arthurian portrayal where he was less of a medieval King and more of a pagan Dux Bellorum. The Tuatha, in Scion, had the purview Enech which is related to the concepts of Geasa. I'd argue this one is a type of Concept Word which would bestow powerful, often passive Gifts at the cost of them being permanently lost if a taboo is broken.

The Shen/Celestial Bureaucracy (The 'Chinese' Pantheon)

Oh boy, this is a weird one. The Chinese Pantheon is a complicated one: arguably 'Chinese Mythology' isn't quite as clearly defined as Greek or Norse, as it has incorporate many ideas and characters from different people and different religions crossed with a sizable body of folklore and popular culture. The previously-mentioned detail that the Daeva overlap with other Pantheon? This is one such example due to the influence of Buddhism. Generally-speaking to be a Scion of the Celestial Bureaucracy would mean the character is the offspring/creation of a Deity with a defined role in this system but it is very plausible for a character to be aligned/allied with the Shen and being the offspring of an Indian, Japanese or Korean deity or some figure of Buddhist mythologies. Conversely there are also Scion of Chinese descent who are member of other pantheons due to the spread of the Chinese diaspora: some of them are on good term with the Shen and might act as cross-Pantheon diplomat, such as a Chinese-American Greek scion while others might incur distrust from the Shen because they associate more with the ideals of their foreign divine ancestry. As the tension between China and the Western world slowly grows, who knows where this might lead?

The Orisha and The Loa (The 'West African Diaspora' Pantheon)

While it has roots in the ancient West African people, the Orisha-Loa pantheon is a cross-cultural one born of the African diaspora which resulted from the African slave trade. Much like the Chinese Pantheon (but for very different reasons) it incorporate quite a bit from other faiths. In the original Scion only the Loa were available, while John's Scion Resources presented the Orisha as their own Pantheon which tied into the Loa. Finally, Scion 2nd edition simply has their version of the Orisha be a default Pantheon. Personally I simply consider them an expanded pantheon much like the Greco-Romans combine Greek, Etruscan, Roman and more while the Shen and Daeva overlap with each others (and to a lesser extent the Japanese Pantheon) when it come to Buddhism. Taking cues from the JSR version and the core book Loa, the Orisha would have two potential purviews, which are Ori and Cheval: the first has power over one's destiny and the other allow the 'riding' of humans. How this would work in practice I'm not sure but it isn't beyond possibility for me to consider that some Pantheon have wider and more conflicting signature abilities.

Lesser Pantheon

'Lesser' here is...relative. These aren't necessarily weaker or smaller (or less important), merely pantheon with far less of a foothold in the modern world for a variety of reasons. In fact this isn't even related to my personal tastes as many of these are my absolute favorites its just they have smaller roles and there is generally not much to say about them than which isn't just 'they exist'. They simply have less of a grip upon the world and less active Scion.

• The Aliha (The Arabic Pantheon): Pre-Islamic gods of the Arab lands, the Aliha are almost a dead Pantheon which has faded nearly entirely from history. The fan-made supplement for them even flat out admit they are among the least known or understood of the pantheons of old.
• The Amatsukami (Japanese Pantheon): This one is an oddball among the lesser pantheon as it remain very strong within its own country, much like the Indian pantheon. The difference, however, is that the Japanese are an insular people. They assimilate ideas from others but rarely spread their own insular beliefs and myths to others. As a result, this is a strong pantheon with a strong local base but lacking in the reach of the Daeva and Shen which they are tied to.
• The Annuna (The Mesopotamian Pantheon): One of, if not the oldest Pantheon. While their lust for life may not have faded completely they remain very poorly known today, safe perhaps for their most famous Scion: Gilgamesh.
• The A'pu (The Incan Pantheon): Of the three Meso-American Pantheon they are the less-known but it is worth remembering that the Incan Empire was indeed once the mighty ruler of the Andes.
• The Atua (The Polynesian Pantheon): Much like the Greco-Roman and Shen they are a cross-cultural Pantheon.
• The Aztlanti (The Aztec Pantheon): The most war-like of the three Meso-American Pantheon and the strongest of the three if only because of their connection to the still-existing modern Mexican culture which has Christianize some elements of their pre-existing mythology.
• The Bogovi (The Slavic Pantheon): One of the more 'faded' of the European pantheons alongside the Nemetondevos.
• The Elohim (The Canaanite Pantheon): Almost as faded from history as the Aliha, unfortunately. Their founder (and Titan Avatar) El bear an uncomfortable resemblance to a 'certain someone'.
• The Kuh (The Mayan Pantheon): The Mayan Gods are the sometimes-allies, sometimes-rivals of the Aztec Gods.
• The Nemetondevos (The Gaul Pantheon): One of the more forgotten Pantheon of the older days of Europe.
• The Pesedjet (The Egyptian Pantheon): While iconic, the Egyptian gods are also quite misunderstood and not as well known compared to the Greco-Roman Gods. Like other Middle-Eastern Pantheons they've waned in power, albeit not as much as others. Such is the mark Ancient Egypt left on the world.
• The Tengri-Mongol Pantheon: Currently this one doesn't have a name, as it was not one someone else wrote about in the 1st edition days but rather one born of my own idea on what to add to and expand upon.