Godbound/Scion: Foes and Monsters

Scion has a lot of monsters taken from all the mythologies of the world. Of course, there is a bit of an issue when it come to mythology and pre-made monsters: in the myths, very very few creatures were part of a coherent 'species'. There were only three Gorgon, for example and Grendel was a unique creature unless you assume his mother to be a similar monster. When it come to Scion monsters, there need to be a tightrope where the GM walk between recognizable myth and usability in game, especially since monsters which players are familiar with tend to lose their impact because everyone already know what they are.

As with most tabletop RPG, Scion 1st edition classified monsters into somewhat coherent categories. That's just the nature of tabletop, one could argue. Players and Game Masters like the way things just make a certain sense. Except mythology, by nature, does not make sense. Far better writers than I have written about this issue.

Lesser Immortals

Art by Helen Rusovich(?)

While they might take issue with the term, the 'Lesser Immortals' refer to any manner of sapient divine being which is kind of like a god but not a 'capital-G' God and member of a pantheon. They are creatures usually bound to the World (as in the mortal world) rather than the Overworld (the world of the Gods). These beings are often (and sometimes mockingly) called 'elves' or 'fey' but this is not always completely accurate, as the only truly elvish beings in this category would be the Alfar of Norse mythology.

Major categories of Lesser Immortals include:

• Alfar: The 'light elves' of Norse mythology are classified in Scion as lesser fertility deities, with the Vanir having members of their ranks in the Norse Pantheon proper. The Alfar are all blessed with superhuman beauty, charisma and just presence in general as well as a connection to the land and fertility. They are vulnerable to iron, as per the myths on fairies.
• Kitsune: These beings are humanoid foxes and natural-born tricksters generally associated with Japan and, to a lesser extent, Korea. While ostensibly on the Gods' side, they are fickle and self-serving beings as one would expect of tricksters.
• Kunitsukami: These beings are the 'land gods' of ancient Japan. They are very tied to their own Pantheon and people, although a few beings similar to them might be extremely ancient and associated with the ancient people of prehistoric Japan, such as the Ainu or Emishi.
• Nymphs: These beings are either whole groups or unique/semi-unique Lesser Immortals tied to a specific location, object or landmark. The Greeks classified them in specific groups such as location type (Oreads for mountains) or even specific locations (Acheloides for the Achelous River). There are non-Greco Roman creatures which are very Nymph-like, such as Nixies or Chaneque. The key feature of these beings if that they weaken (and maybe even die) from being away from their landmark for too long.
• Peri: Associated with the Persian pantheon, the Peri are beautiful winged Lesser Immortals. They are very similar in appearance and function to the Alfar, safe for different focus when it come to their gifts.

Lesser Immortal as Antagonists

Each Lesser Immortal is an individual being, with its own name and a very long history unless they are, somehow, relatively young by their standard which isn't implausible if these beings can reproduce. Because they (usually) have such autonomy and free will it is entirely possible that one could become an antagonist to a band of Scions for a variety of reasons, from perfectly logical to completely stupid and petty. Some of them might also be motivated by ancient grudges toward the Scion's divine parent and might want to enact revenge by proxy. This could be an event recorded in myths or it could be something which is more recent and has gone unrecorded.

Some Lesser Immortals could very well end up joining with the Titans, too. This may very well be bad news, since a Lesser Immortal is still a lesser divine being. Assuming it is not too corrupted by the Titanic essence and powers and retain its full sanity it can be a truly dangerous foe, combining its human-like appearance/shape shifting, age, wisdom and the might of the Titans.

Most Lesser Immortals are beings in the 4-6 HD range (with their more powerful kin with more HD, obviously), with attack bonus and AC which is appropriate to their power level. They have a variety of 'lesser abilities' which may or may not have any mechanical effect, such as being able to assume a near-human or completely human (but very striking) form at will and being immune to mundane problems such as mundane diseases and poisons. Aside from Passion, Command or Desire (very common Words for them in general) their choice of Word could include:

• Alfar: Fertility or Light. In addition, remember Alfar are weak to 'cold iron'. Vanir, meanwhile would have Fertility or Earth as possible Words.
• Kitsune: Shapeshifting or Deception. Kitsune receive a penalty to Saving Throws exploiting their hedonism.
• Kunitsukami and Nymphs: Variable, but can include Fertility, Sea, Earth, Fire or other 'elemental' Words. Kunitisukami could also replace their Passion/Command/Desire Word with Sword or Bow. Nymphs are weakened and cannot regain Effort when separate from their landmark while Kunitsukami receive a penalty to Saving Throws which involve manipulating their sense of duty and honor.
• Peri: Light or Fire. They can fly and have the Alfar weakness to 'cold iron'.

Undead

Art by Zelldweller(?)

Ah, a classic of this shitty blog: undead monsters. They have been a staple when it come to quick and easy but still terrifying monster. The mythological and cultural significance is fairly obvious: we all fear the inevitability of death, something which gnaws at us. In the case of undead it might literally gnaw at us. Scion is no different and feature its own menagerie of the undead.

Obviously, ghosts and undead monsters have their roots in mythology and Scion has its own way of classifying them. The explanation for their sudden rise is that when the Titans broke free of their prison they shattered the walls and paths to and from the Underworld, basically making the whole process of travel to the afterlife a mess while also basically breaking the walls which kept the ghosts inside it. The common categories of Undead are:

• Ghosts: These are regular vanilla incorporeal undead. They are dead people. Some of them are aligned with the Gods and can even act as allies and guides to Scions. A quick and dirty run down on Ghosts could use the work I have already written for my own Urban Fantasy game as the basics would probably still apply.
• Spectres: Taking some cues from other White Wolf games, the Spectres are essentially stronger and meaner ghosts which have abandoned/lost their humanity and aligned themselves with the Titans. These beings are generally those with the suite of freaky powers like poltergeist, possession and filling mortal minds with visions of dread and despair.
• Zombies, Skeletons and Mummies: While the name has very different connotation in Voodoo, 'zombies' is a common name used in modern pop culture for all animate and dumb undead that shambles around.
• Hungry Corpses: Mythologies are rife with the type of Undead with a wicked intellect, strong purpose and/or a strong desire to eat the flesh of the living. These category cover a wide variety of beings such as Draugr or Civateteo.

All in all, one could say that what applies to my Urban Fantasy game mostly applies to Scion, just scaled to Godbound and with the addition of the connection to that game's arch villains, the Titans. Refer to these various posts for a basic on the core ideas. Of particular note are the Nephwracks of Exalted (and other White Wolf games) which are described here: these being, within the lore of Scion, would be the corrupted ghosts of extremely powerful mortals, of past religious figures or even of dead Scions who have wholly dedicated themselves to Titan Avatars tied to particularly destructive forces.

Because the Titans are actively trying to build their armies for the day when they finally destroy the Gods, such beings are likely on the rise. The most desperate people or the worst of scum, or rather their ghostly forms, are infused with the power of Titan Avatars such as those of the Drowned Road, Soku-No-Kami, Xibalba (The Titan of Death, see the fan-made Mayan Pantheon supplement), Zrvan (The Titan of Time, see the Persian Gods supplement) or Crom Cruach. However in theory any Titan who isn't banned from the Death purview could have started assembling such monstrosities under their banner.