NagoyaHammer.com

Or, "Thy Kingdoms Come."

I'm reserving a thread now for what will be plot progression and notes on my new rpg campaign, based on Scion, wherein all the players are offspring of deities. It should make for an interesting, Exalted-ish campaign with flavor overtones of Neil Gaiman's "American Gods."

After heavy consideration and much investigation, I've decided to scrap the Scion game. While we will continue to having a Children-of-the-Gods setting and storyline, I decided to change the system to the Dresden Files Roleplaying Game, for a number of reasons which I'll outline below.

Dresden Files was nominated for 6 different roleplaying game awards this year, among them best game and best rules. Although the original setting dealt with the world of the Dresden Files fantasy novels, which was about a warlock supernatural investigator of sorts, I think it's easy enough to pick up and will work well for the story. A few of the reasons why I decided to choose the Dresden Files rpg, in no particular order:

• It's low on dice. You only need 4d6 -- that is, 4 six-sided dice-- to resolve everything. Scion theoretically had no limit to the dice pools, but would require Tommie to buy a bunch of d10s. In this system, rolling a 1 or 2 on a die is considered a -1, a 3 or 4 is considered neutral, and a 5 or 6 is considered as a +1 (6's are considered +2). You add your dice results to the appropriate skill, and that's your roll, ranging from a -4 to a +5.
• Continuing slightly from the above point, the Dresden Files RPG has an extremely simplified challenge-rating methodology, which is nicely summarized in one chart. Taking the results of your dice roll from the above (-4 to a +5), and adding them to the appropriate skill you have, you arrive at a result. Your skills are set from Average to Fair to Good to Great to Superb (ranked +1 through +5, respectively). In this manner, you could easily be hitting +7s and up, which are defined as epic, legendary, and so on, which is where you want your godly genes to show.
• You are more in control of your character. When you build a character, you create aspects to them which summarize what the character is about. Aspects have catchy, but broad, names-- they are encouraged to be both good and bad in definition: for example, Theo, my steampunk robot character, would have the Aspect "Punch first, think later" (and could probably used to give bonuses to attacking with his bare fists, to acting faster in initiative, but might also get him in a lot of trouble in delicate situations that require mediation). Another example, one of Jesus's aspects would probably be "I cannot tell a Lie" (thereby giving him bonuses in situations requiring sincerity or diplomacy, or would bone the character if he were in a situation he needed to lie to get out of).
  Anyway, Fate points can be used in two ways-- invoking them, or compelling them. Invoking them, that is, using them to your benefit, will a) give your character a simple +1 to any roll, b) let you reroll your entire roll, and/or c) give you a +2 to your roll total so long as the scene involves one of your Aspects. Compelling an aspect means the situation is not one of your finer moments, and the Aspect is working against you (in which case you would earn more Fate points). Doing cool shit in a game would earn you Fate points, too,
• You are also more in charge of the scenery. You can use Fate points to change your setting in subtle ways that might work in your favor. For example, if you've got a bunch of vampires on your tail that you can't shake, you can spend a Fate point to have a church coming up in the block (to hide in), or to move up the clock so that they're pursuing you right around dawn, etc. In using Fate points, you make a pitch on how you use your fate points, and can even stop DM dickery by using Fate points to negate them.
• The Scion system looked too HARD. Even understanding the way initiative was being used for battles gave me a slight headache, and took me 20 minutes to visualize properly.
• The Scion system had crazy amounts of power creep. Yeah, I understand you're the children of gods, but when you can conceivably roll over a semitruck with a single punch, and that's just as a mortal human (Scion books demigod and god were even more powerful, with reason)? Making encounters for you guys would have been crazy. Not to mention, in Dresden Files, we can start off as normal humans with power-level growth spurts as you ascend to your Godhoods (an overarching goal of the campaign). I like that you maintain some of your human f***-ups, as your powers grow in uncertain ways.

Anyway, to get the PDFs, please head on over to: http://rs.4chan.org/?s=dresden+files&from=%2Ftg%2F
Find the Dresden Files book 1. Download. Moderators, a small note: unlike other game companies, Bad Hat Games encourages sharing PDFs and photocopying, once a book has been purchased for a roleplaying group. I have done so.


For some pointers about the Dresden Files in a quick bulleted list, try this: http://evilhat.wikidot.com/fate-csrd:nutshell#dice
It's not necessary to read it, though, as we'll take it slow.


Some points on the campaign:

Your god and goddess parents can still be determined from the Scion: Hero pdfs, if you have them (you can find them in the above link, but under "Boards" select /tg/-Traditional Games, and under "Search," type Scion (or ask Tom, since he has my flash drive with all of the PDFs). I'd like you to choose some God or Goddess in any of the Scion books (except for the stupid WWII-American pantheon), or check with me if you have another God in mind, but for your Aspects, I'd like you to try to embody one or more of the domains of your chosen parent. If you have another god not listed in the various Scion books, I greatly recommend one of the fan-made non-fictional pantheons from here (but still, check with me, please): http://wiki.white-wolf.com/whitewolf/in ... _Pantheons

For now, I'll make a blanket moratorium on scions of Judeo-Christian, Modern Culture and abstract ideas (ie., the God of Internet, or the God of Money, etc), and Chinese gods, but if you've got a concept you really wanna play (Tommie, I'm looking at you-- I know we spoke, but I'll send another update privately tomorrow), please let me know.

Everyone will start out from the same podunk, midwestern American sleepy town. All ages are welcome for characters, but choose two people in the group, and work with them to determine how you know them, maybe a few shared stories or childhood adventures, whatever. Absolutely no one will start off with knowledge that they're descended from gods, let alone knowing which god they were offspring of.

Once you have your god parent chosen, think of what birthrights you would like. There may be limits to what the Dresden Files can create, so let's work it out together. The Scion RPG books are a good source for ideas, but basically they fall under the domains of

• Creature - A faithful animal companion which can range from an earthly familiar to a grand mythological beast.
• Followers - A group that unwaveringly follows the Scion's commands (flocks of the faithful will come later in the game, via roleplaying)
• Guide - A powerful mystical adviser that a Scion can turn to in a pinch for assistance.
• Relic - The tools of the gods that allow a Scion to access and channel their otherworldly abilities.

I plan to start making characters sometime in the last couple days of Obon vacation (I come back from Montreal on August 16th, so maybe the 17th or 18th?). The first game is set on Sunday, August 28th, to be followed by Sunday, September 4th, which should give us some nice momentum into the game plot. Feel free to shoot me any questions you may have.

As mentioned before, I'll be available during Obon (on or after the 17th, the day after I arrive from Canada) to help make characters, and I printed out a one-shot, low-level game story to familiarize ourselves with the mechanics (think of it as a preview). The one-shot has pre-generated characters, though if you want to use your own characters, I don't see why not (assuming we do have a one-shot). Here's a quick tutorial for making your character for our upcoming Scion game.

Character creation begins in the books on page 52. There's a fantastic, helpful sidebar on page 53 that also lists page number references.

First of all, you need your character's name. Figure out what he or she is, in the mundane everyday world. What is their job? How old are they? The usual. As we're all starting from a small, midwestern American city, as ordinary as that seems, try to make something that would fit that setting. Please also talk to one or two (the more, the better) other players, and see if you can involve your character in their characters' backgrounds and personal histories, too.

You need to know your God parent in advance. Please let Miguel know this as early as possible. The associated purviews and domains from the Scion resources are important and extremely relevant (see way below).

The character needs a HIGH CONCEPT (pg. 54). This is your first and most important Aspect, as it is our calling in life. It can be a job, or a descriptor, but it should be more than just a couple adjectives. ("Scion of the God or Goddess ______" is perfectly acceptable, but perhaps too boring, since you're ALL Scions. "Pre-med student" or "Expatriate English Teacher" would be better, if only because it tells more about your personal background).

The character also needs a TROUBLE (pg. 55), which is another Aspect that's part of his life and his story. A good way to devise of your Trouble would be to ask your character, what complicates your High Concept? The book's pages 55-57 give good analysis over this, and provide some good examples: "Demon in the bottle" could represent your character's alcoholism; "Apple Fell Far from the Tree" says alot about what your Scion would do upon meeting your parent; "The Temptation of Power," an example from the book, is a good one because it could represent your character's greed for power, but also his ability to resist temptations (or experience in dabbling with the "grayer" aspects of life).

As with all Aspects (High Concept and Trouble included), it's good to have broad declarations that can be interpreted for good AND bad situations. You want the good interpretations, because that's where you can use your Fate points to get dice bonuses (called Invoking Your Aspect). You want bad situations, because in moments that complicate your life, you can get more Fate points (called Compelling Your Aspect). See pages 108-109 for more advice on crafting Aspects (and on naming them-- as a phrase, person, or a prop).

Aside from the High Concept and the Trouble, you get 6 Aspects that define you. You're encouraged to make your own Aspects (broadly-defined, applicable in good ways and negative ways), but someone made a very nice list of them below:

http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/inde ... 592.0.html

The lists of Mortal High Concepts, Minor Talent High Concepts, Scion High Concepts, Troubles, and Other Aspects are good places to start looking.

The character sheet has a space for Phases-- basically notes on key moments where your character came from. Two of them, Where did you come from? and What shaped you?, might be good for understanding your character's history and connections to your hometown or other players, but the third, What was your First Story?, is not important, as the first game session will BE your First Story, you first true brush with the supernatural (as opposed to the paranormal). Look at page 58 if you need more information.

Now for the meat and potatoes.


There are various difficulty levels in the game, but at least for the first or second games, we'll stick with the lowest, purely-human power level: Feet in the Water. The name itself isn't important, but basically, you get 6 Refresh Points, 20 skill points, and a skill cap at Superb (a +5, which means no skills are higher than this level, though you can do any combination of points lower than a +5. See below, or see page 65's sidebar on good ways to spend the points).

Skills are bought on a one-for-one rate. A +5 in investigations, for example, will cost a total of 5 points, one for each rank you have to buy into-- this is as opposed to Heavy Gear or 7th Seas, where the skills are bought at a x2 multiplier rate, or at a next-level-times-2 rate, or whatever. It helps to think of your skills as building blocks though-- in order to have that +5 investigations, you need four other skills (at +4, +3, +2 and +1) to support it (there is a fantastic visualization of this, and more explanation, starting on page 65). If you don't have the skill, and you need to roll it, it will be done at a Mediocre level (that is, +0 to your roll).

Your Refresh Pool is basically an abstraction of the question, How human are you? Full, mundane humans are at a full Refresh Pool. Stunts and Powers are simultaneously deducted from your Refresh Pool. The more S&P you have, the less Fate points you get-- which also means the more Fate takes notice of you, and the more it will try to hammer you back in (ie., try to kill you). It's an equalizer in life, that a higher-level wizard character who has 1 Refresh point (out of a pool of 10) should be more talented at situations, but less likely to get second chances, than a regular human with a full Refresh Pool who doesn't get into such crazy situations. You MUST always leave one Refresh Point unspent.
Stunts give guaranteed situational benefits, most likely a +1 or +2 trying to do something specific. You can choose some of the example stunts in the book, or try to design your own stunts (run them by me first before considering them finalized). Although the book states Mortal Stunts each cost 1, I'm gonna say they cost 1/2 a point. I really recommend you do not go and buy 5 points of stunts, because once you get your first God boons and heirlooms, your pool will increase and you can start buying your true God Powers.

*** Mortal Stunts will cost 1/2 a point each, Supernatural powers will cost as listed in the book. ***
We're mostly considered plain, vanilla human characters right now, but if you want to take the Minor Talent template (page 80) which allows for a -1 cost Supernatural Power, I will allow it.



That's all for now-- Hit points (measured in Stress, and modified by certain skills; page 202), weapons (page 202) will be determined when we meet to make characters. If you're worried about cash, look up the Resources skill, and look to pump your skill points into that (page 39-- it's not a bad idea, really).

If you are concerned about what will happen when you convert to true Scion characters, hooray! I'm glad you're already interested and invested in this next campaign. Anyway: no worries, as I've found a good conversion ruleset between Scion and The Dresden Files. If you don't have the Scion pdfs, look at my previous email about the game, or ask Tom for it (he has my USB card).

After the first game, anything from the Scion: Hero book will be open. We'll discuss this more when the time comes, but expect the following:

Your Refresh Pool will jump to 10.
Each Knack will cost 2 Refresh points.
Each Boon will cost 1 Refresh Point, and must be a domain of your original God parent.
Knacks and Boons will use most of the text from the Scion books to the description of powers. As we're not using Legend Points, we'll use dice rolls and Fate points instead.

Each Knack, besides giving the power itself, grants +1 bonus in Damage, Defense or Armor, according to the type of Knack.

DAMAGE:
Physical: Strength
Social: Charisma
Mental: Intelligence

DEFENSE
Physical: Dexterity
Social: Manipulation
Mental: Wits

ARMOR
Physical: Stamina
Social: Appearance
Mental: Perception

Example: If Finnegan, the son of Artemis, has 4 Knacks of Dexterity (Cat´s Grace, Lightning Sprinter, Trick Shooter and Untouchable Opponent) and 2 Knacks of Perception (Perfect Pitch and Unfailing Recognition) he has +4 to Physical Defense and +2 to Mental Armor.

As mentioned in the last email, once you have your god parent chosen, think of what birthrights you would like. There may be limits to what the Dresden Files can create, so let's work it out together. The cost of these will be taken out from your Refresh Pool. The Scion RPG books are a good source for ideas, but basically they fall under the domains of

Creature - A faithful animal companion which can range from an earthly familiar to a grand mythological beast.
Followers - A group that unwaveringly follows the Scion's commands (flocks of the faithful will come later in the game, via roleplaying)
Guide - A powerful mystical adviser that a Scion can turn to in a pinch for assistance.
Relic - The tools of the gods that allow a Scion to access and channel their otherworldly abilities.


I hope this isn't too overwhelming. If it is, don't worry: It's really quite easy, and I'll explain everything the next time we meet. Just be glad we're not using the original Scion system, as it's several times worse and more complicated.

I will refer to pages in the books by using the following notations for DRESDEN FILES RPG (DFRPG) and SCION (SCION).

Although I would have liked to reveal it in the course of the first game, I feel more and more that I need to justify a few points about why we are starting out where we are starting out. Number one, up to only one of you knows you're actually a Scion, a child of a god (probably Jon's character, if he goes with his initial concept); the rest of you are regular mundane folks, or so you were led to believe. We are all from the same town for two reasons-- it settles the question of why Scions are gathered in one spot (across the world, small havens were established by weakening gods, blessed to carve out niches where they can still establish dominion in the face of the current ruling pantheon-- in this case, the Judeo Christian Holy Trinity. It happened many times through history and mythology, like when the Greco-Roman pantheon overtook the Irish and Norse pantheons, for example, with the rise of the Holy Roman Empire-- those gods had to go SOMEWHERE), and it gathers you all in one spot for the start of the game.

Your hometown is a small-sized modern American town, in proximity to a major central American city (I haven't decided which one yet). Good examples of the size I was thinking of would probably be Valor Toda ECC school's surroundings, or Konan, Mikawa Anjo, or Handa, with all the conveniences and trappings of such a town. Most of you ought to have your origins in the town, but you can have had a life outside of the town, like if you were a NY stockbroker, or were Indiana Jones--- but for whatever reason, you are back in town the day before the annual Founder's Day celebration and town fair. The game will start at this this point in time.

FOLLOW THESE STEPS IN ORDER:

1) Choose a name and gender. Figure out biographical details-- family members, birthdate, where do you live, etc. Dont worry about your character's personality or skills yet. Of course, choose your God parent! Remember, you cannot be from the Judeo-Christian Holy Trinity, the Saints or the Chinese Celestial Bureaucracy, nor from an abstract idea (ie., the God of the Internet), nor of a Fictional God (ie., Cthulhu) pantheon.
A good list of Gods found in the original Scion game can be found here http://wiki.white-wolf.com/whitewolf/in ... an_Made%29

2) Talk to at least one other player in the group. Decide on a few backstory points that you share together. Write them down and give them to me in the course of the game. For example, did Ian's character go to school with Tanya's? Did Jon's character beat up Tommie's in a bar fight once, or did Tom's character happen to date all your characters' younger sisters and dump them? I don't know. Build some rapport amongst yourselves, give yourself reasons to travel together as a group.

Time to start using the books! You can read from DFRPG pg 52 and onwards for further explanation, but you don't have to, and you definitely don't need the Template section on pg 53.

3) Time to decide your Aspects. Describe your character using words and phrases that can plausibly used in good and bad situations. Mari and Theo (Miggy's characters in Heavy Gear and Seven Seas) would both ascribe to traits "Socially Dense," "Tough as Nails" and "Hair-Trigger Temper," for example. Choose four descriptions, on your character sheet, these would be listed as Other Aspects.
You can learn more about Aspects in DFRPG pgs 18 and 98. A list of pregenerated Aspects (ALL KINDS OF ASPECTS, including the ones in steps 4 and 5) can be found at
http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/inde ... 592.0.html.

4) Choose your High Concept Aspect. In this case, you all have TWO High Aspects. One is "Scion of (insert god's name here)" and the other is likely your job, but need not be (Tom's Terry character, for example, sounds like his might be "Rebel Without a Cause").
See DFRPG pg 52 and http://www.rickneal.ca/?p=609 for more information.

5) Choose your Trouble: what complicates your high aspect? Terry's character, for example again, might be "Poor as Dirt." Ian's Rob character from 7th Seas might be "Raging Alcoholic," for example.
See DFRPG pg 55, the link in steps 3 and 4, for more examples and explanations.

The following are also Aspects, but deal with your Godly heritage. Draw a small box in the Aspects, or write them somewhere on the character sheet, as they'll be referenced from time to time. Situations involving these Virtues, Purviews and whatever work just like other Aspects do.
5B) Once you have chosen your parent god, you should write down what your Virtues are (SCION:HERO p118 starts the descriptions, but the small chart on the right-bottom corner of p119 lists your Virtues by pantheons). These Aspects are in your blood, not your personality, and will help you. If you are not from one of the original six pantheons, or from any of the other official Scion pantheons (found in the other Scion books-- ask Miggy, or check out http://wiki.white-wolf.com/whitewolf/in ... an_Made%29), then write down four Virtues associated with your Pantheon.

5C) Being a god means you have access to four domains of power-- usually these are listed with the description of your god (as Associated Powers) from the SCION book, in the Pantheons section, but if you chose a God parent that's not from the book, write down the Associated Power if you chose a god found in the link in Step 5B, or judiciously choose four domains if you chose an even rarer God. These correlate with All-Purpose Purviews, which will come up later (SCION page 139), and must be bought as powers. Even if you don't bIuy any Purviews, you must write down the four domains/purviews as Aspects.

If you're keeping count, there should be 10-14 Aspects somewhere on your character sheet, just as we are starting out: one high concept, one trouble, four other aspects, four godly virtues, and four domains of power/purviews (these last four shouldn't come into play too often, so you can put them on the back of your sheet if you want, but are still part of your inherent nature). Expect to collect more, and expect to change these, as we go along!

6) Time to choose your SKILLS! Your skills are pretty limited, but anything that is not on your sheet can be done at a straight-up +0 dice roll, so it's not so bad as, say, Heavy Gear or D&D, which punishes not having a skill listed. We will start with 20 skill points, and a skill cap at Superb (a +5, which means no skills are higher than this level, though you can do any combination of points lower than a +5)
See DFRPG pg 65 for explanations, particularly the yellow box in the corner for an example of skill point distributions, and pg 120 for the list of skills.
Important skills right off the bat would include Resources:Buying Things (DFRPG pg 139, it affects what you can buy), Conviction:Mental Fortitude (DFRPG p125, it increases how much mental "damage" you can take), Endurance: Physical Fortitude (DFRPG p130, it increases how much physical punishment you can take), and Presence: Social Fortitude (DFRPG p137, it increases how much social embarassment or pressure you can take). The default damage limit (marked as Stress on the character sheets) for a run of the mill human is 2 for all three categories. Alertness determines initiative in a physical conflict; in mental and social conflicts it can change, but are usually Discipline or Empathy respectively.
Some Abilities from Scion may be used as skills, but only if DFRPG doesn't already have it listed in its book. Check out SCION p105 for the start of the list.

7) CONSEQUENCES, on the character sheet, will be left alone, unless you increased any of the Fortitude skills (in section 6) to a Superb level, in which case, please tell me. Consequences are bad things that happen to you in the face of battle (mental, social or physical).

The next 2 sections, STUNTS AND POWERS, are where we really set apart our characters from each other, ability-wise. Think of them like D&D feats or Skill Tricks. STUNTS are things that any normal human can aspire to-- they are the things that anyone can excel at, with hard work, training, or inherent genes. POWERS are things that border the supernatural, and this is where the SCION:HERO book will come into play.
All of these are subtracted from your Fate Point Refresh Pool, which will start at a dinky little 6. Stunts cost 1/2 point each, whereas POWERS have varying degrees of cost. For the first game, I recommend you don't spend all of your Fate Point pool, because you're still humans, and it's difficult to justify why you can talk to ghosts or whatever Power you have your eye on. I'm not saying you can't do it, though.
SCION boons, knacks and heirlooms will come more into play starting in the second game session and are more expensive than Stunts, another reason why you might not want to spend your pool of points right now. DRESDEN FILES Powers will cost as listed in the book, whereas SCION Powers costs are listed below.

8) STUNTS, as mentioned above, are worth 1/2 point each.
If you build your own stunts, see DFRPG pg 147-148 and please check them with me before finalizing it on your sheet.
Lists of Stunts can be found starting on DFRPG pg 149, and at http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/inde ... 952.0.html

9) POWERS descriptions will be explained in different sections, but are largely broken up here into DFRPG and SCION powers, for the sake of easy reference. If there are powers that are double-listed between both books, feel free to take the cheaper of the two costs, but always take the cost for the power whose description more closely matches what you have in mind, and/or match what fits with your god powers.

DFRPG Powers can be categorized into Creature Features (starting on DFRPG p162), Faerie Magic (page 166), Items of Power (page 167), Minor Abiilities (I recommend these very utilitarian abilities; page 169), Nevernever Powers (page 170), Psychic Powers (page 172), Shapeshifting (page 174), Speed (page 178), Spellcasting (page 179-- if anyone understands this better, I'm all ears, and will give you a bonus for helping explain it to me), Strength (page 183), Toughness (185), True Faith (187), and Vampirism (188). Not all of these will apply to your concept (I'm looking at you, Vampirism), though.

SCION Powers include Purviews (SCION p 138, but see below), Knacks (page 126, but see below), and Birthrights (page 157, but see below). Relics, as listed starting from SCION pg 159, cannot be bought, but must be sought out as part of your campaign goals, and as part of the Heroic mythic journey.

Purviews (SCION p 138) are listed in the SCION book as being two types: All-Purpose, or Pantheon Specific. Even if you don't buy any all-purpose Purviews, you should have written four of these domains down, in Step 5C. If you have access to the Purview, you can purchase any of the abilities, at one point each, but they must be bought in order. Here's the complete list, simplified (so you don't have to flip through the pdf):
Animal
* Animal Communication: Test: Survival. Speak with animals.
** Animal Command: Test: Survival. Command animals. Simple commands.
*** Animal Aspect: Test: Survival. The character receives one Aspect based on an animal. Each shift increases time beginning from “half a minute”.

Chaos
* Eye of the Storm: as original text.
** Hornet´s Nest: Test: Alertness. As original text.
*** Paralyzing Confusion: Test: Empathy. The target receives “Paralyzed” as Aspect for Shift/rounds.

Darkness
* Night Eyes: see in the dark.
** Shadow Mask: Test: Deceit. As original text.
*** Shadow Refuge: Test: Stealth. Only supernaturals senses can perceive the character.

Death
* Death Senses: as original text.
** Euthanasia: as scion: hero, but the target must be physically Taken Out.
*** Unquiet Corpse: Test: Presence. Spends one Fate. Turns the touched corpse into zombie.

Earth
* Safely Interred: as original text.
** Echo Sounding: Test: Alertness. As original text.
*** Shaping: Test: Craftsmanship. As original text.

Fertility
* Green Thumb: as original text.
** Cleanse: Test: Survival. As original text.
*** Bless or Blight: test: Survival. 1 Fate. As original text.

Fire
* Fire Immunity: as original text.
** Bolster Fire: as original text.
*** Fire´s eye: as original text.

Guardian
* Vigil Brand: as original text.
** Aegis: Test: Endurance. 1 Fate point. The target receives SHIFT/Armor for 24 hours.
*** Ward: Test: Endurance. 1 Fate point. As original text.

Health
* Assess Health: as original text.
** Bless of Health/Curse of Rotten: Test: Scholarship. As original text.
*** Heal/Infect: Test: Scholarship. cure stress/shift. Causes stress/shift.

Justice
* Judgment: Test: Empathy. As original text.
** Guilty Apparitions: Test: Presence. As original text.
*** Shield of Righteousness: 1 Fate Point. As original text.

Moon
* Smoking Mirror: as original text.
** Tidal Interference: Test: Presence. Minus 1 in the targets defense. Each shift is one target affected.
*** Phase Cloak: test: stealth. As original text.

Psychopomp
* Unerring Orientation: as original text.
** Where are you?: test: alertness. As original text.
*** Unbarred Entry: as original text.

Sky
* Sky´s grace: as original text.
** Wind´s Freedom: 1 Fate point. Movement (including dashing) now works vertically as well. If the Birthright item channeling the boon is dropped, the Scion falls immediately.
*** Storm Augmentation: Test: Presence. The target receives “Stunned” as Aspect.

Sun
* Penetrating Glare: as original text.
** Divine Radiance: as original text.
*** Heavenly Flare: Test: Presence. The target tests Endurance. If fail, he gains “Blind” as aspect for one scene. If tie, receives -1 penalty/action.

War
* Blessing of Bravery: test: Presence. During one combat per game session everyone of the Scions side receive 1 Fate Point.
** Battle Cry: Test: Presence. Every enemy have -1 penalty per Shift/rounds.
*** Warrior´s Ideal: test: Presence. Those who fight against the character receives Shift penalty per Shift turns. Only usable once per scene.

Water
* Water Breathing: breath under water.
** Water Control: test: Craftsmanship. Controls water. +2 physical defense.
*** Changing States: Craftsmanship. 1 Fate point. As original text.
As for Pantheon-specific purviews (SCION p149), screw that; this is already becoming too complicated. You can buy them as generic powers, but must be bought in order. Same goes for the Special Purviews (SCION p153)

Knacks need not be bought in order (especially as there is no order priority), but can be bought by anyone, if they feel like it. Each Knack costs 2 Fate points. Although listed in SCION p125, we will use the following power descriptions:

Strength Knacks
Crushing Grip: +3 to Grapple damage;
Holy Bound: +4 to Jumps.
Holy Rampage: +4 to break inanimate objects;
Hurl to the Horizon: +2 zones when throwing things.
Uplifting Might: +4 Might to lift heavy things.

Dexterity Knacks
Cat´s Grace: Cannot be knocked down and is unaffected by difficult terrain (except water/mud).
Lightning Sprinter: Doubles dash speed and allows running on water and mud.
Monkey Climber: +2 to Climbing. The character can do a second action while climbing, with -2 penalty.
Trick Shooter: +4 to trick shoots.
Untouchable Opponent: +2 to dodge. Reroll the dodge dice, choosing the better result.

Stamina Knacks
Damage Conversion: Scion can ignore one mild consequence during Combat.
Holy Fortitude: Doubles time that scion can work and the period between required eating, drinking, and sleeping.
Inner Furnace: Any organic matter can be consumed as food, even if poisonous.
Self-Healing: Test of Endurance, each shift “cures” one point of physical damage. The time to remove consequences is decreased by 2 steps.
Solipsistic Well-Being: A single surprise attack does no damage at all.

Charisma Knacks
Benefit of the Doubt: +3 to Charisma and Falsehood and Deception against one target each time.
Blessing of Importance: Gives one Fate point per person per game session.
Charmer: +4 to convincing someone to help you.
Inspirational Figure: The targets receives the “INSPIRED” Aspect.
Never Say Die: When the character receives one Severe Consequence, the group receives one Fate point each.

Manipulation Knacks
Blurt It Out: +4 to force the target says what he thinks.
God's Honest: +4 to Convinces someone that the scion is telling the absolute truth until someone else proves that the target has been tricked.
Overt Order: Spend a Fate point and puts “OBEDIENT” Aspect in the target and compel it, the compelling must not be suicidal. Mortals have no choice but to obey, supernaturals (scions, titanspawns and alike) can spend a Fate point to avoid the Aspect.
Stench of Guilt: +4 to perceive guilt. When topic comes up in which the target is keeping a secret, the scion is aware that a secret is being kept.
Takes One to Know One: When target deliberately lies, the scion is aware that the statement is false.

Appearance Knacks
Center of Attention: the character receives “Center of Attention” Aspect.
Come Hither: +4 to Rapport test to draws target to scion with just a message and a picture. The target receives the Aspect “Desperate to come to me”. Does not work for divinely ugly scions.
Dreadful Mien: +4 to Intimidation test to put and automatically compel “SCARED” Aspect in the target. Causes target to flee. Does not work for divinely beautiful scions.
Lasting Impression: +4 to Rapport/Intimidation to give/steal 1 Fate Point from the target.
Serpent's Gaze: Deceit test with +4 bonus and paralyze the target while stare in the eyes. One Fate point cancels the effect.

Perception Knacks
Perfect Pitch: Scion notes any subtle variations in sound, from keypad keys to single note flaws in a concert.
Predatory Focus: +2 to Survivor when using smell to track.
Refined Palate: Perfect sense of smell and taste.
Subliminal Warning: Scion always gets a roll, and with +4 bonus, to detect an ambush as it is triggered.
Unfailing Recognition: Scion recognizes the faces of people she is fatebound, regardless of disguise or concealment. Others can be remembered with effort.

Intelligence Knacks
Fast Learner: Scion receives +2 bonus on Scholarship, Lore and Craftsmanship with at least Average (+1) at the skill.
Know-It-All: The Scion has the aspect “I Know a Little of Everything”. Obscure knowledge abounds for this Scion, which may provide hints when stuck in a story.
Math Genius: Scion makes instant calculations and estimations.
Perfect Memory: Scion remembers everything, which is useful if players forget a plot point.
Teaching Prodigy: When teaching any of your abilities, students benefit from -3 time increments to learn.

Wits Knacks
Instant Investigator: (like original text) The scion can instantly tell what crimes were commited in a location, sequence of events, numbers involved, and other details.
Meditative Focus: -2 difficulties from Environmental distractions.
Opening Gambit: +4 to initiatives. Can spend 1 Fate to receive other +4.
Rabbit Reflexes: When surprise attacked, the Scion gets double defenses against that attack instead of no defense.
Social Chameleon: Aside from language and clothes, the scion always looks like he fits into any group of people.

Birthrights (SCION p 156) can take the form of Creatures (Animal Companions), Followers or Guides. The descriptions and Fate Point costs are listed in the book. Please tell Miggy in advance what kind of birthright you are looking to buy, so we can work it into the story, instead of you just magically getting a unicorn on your doorstep one morning, or something. Also, relics, as mentioned above, cannot be bought, but sought out.

FORMATTING NOTES
All major characters, PCs and NPCs, have their names capitalized.
Important Aspects are marked *in asterisks.*

CHARACTERS

CHLOE (played by Jon) -- a tiny, petite but ancient Scion who aspired to strike down Zeus in Ancient Greece, and was struck down for her hubris and turned into a statue. After being restored to humanity by a mysterious benefactor, she wandered around the world until she came to Cairo, Illinois, where she finally settled (somewhat). She currently lives in a halfway home, having no other place to live, no job or resources besides what is given to her via charity, and no comprehension of who she was or of the modern world.

BRENDAN BROWN (played by Tanya) -- a wandering Scion who ran away from town and decided to explore the world (for all the good that it did her) and then finally return to town in time. She has held many jobs, and succeeded at none of them, and is a compulsive liar-- but no one knows how or where she got her martial prowess, or the authentic katana she carries with her at all times. Her mother, Barbara, is the social worker who initially took care of CHLOE, which is how the two met.

MARK WRIGHT (played by Ian) -- a mad scientist Scion, he has a full arsenal of bizarre inventions, all of which have been weaponized. An MIT graduate and a chief researcher for various private industries (and currently the Pentagon), he wanders around in a fully-kitted research laboratory van, mostly hoping for a chance to test his crazy inventions out, and also to get away from an overbearing wife. The oldest Scion out of the group, he also is the scientific brains of the outfit, if not the sanest.

THE SETTING

The Scions' hometown is Cairo (pronounced KAY-roh), Illinois. Unlike its real-world counterpart, however, this Cairo is a bustling, industrial city, with active steel foundries and a community of about 50,000 people strong, most of whom are of Swedish descent, although the Jewish community is large enough to warrant a Holocaust survivors' museum. As decided by the players, Cairo is home to a gypsy fortune teller and a native american casino, and has a history of smuggling during prohibition years, but also has many sightings of Civil War-era ghosts and hauntings. The town is notable for a few hickish accomplishments-- they once made the largest pizza in the U.S., and boast the largest bowling alley in the state. For whatever reason, only one bar in the city has survived longer than 20 years.
Let me know if there is anything else that you want to add in town.
The city's mayor is ARTHUR BIXBY III, and the sheriff is Sheriff TAL BASH, with his three deputies--- FREDERICK DOG, CARL HIGHTOWER and ( name undecided yet ).
On the supernatural side of things, the town was originally settled by the actual POSEIDON-- not a Scion-- and the townspeople have unconsciously (or perhaps anonymously) erected a statue to the sea god by the thriving shipbuilding yards. As with all Hallowed Cities around the world (cities designated as safe points that are beyond the purview of the reigning pantheon in order for displaced gods and their kin to live out their days), Christian, Fundamentalist, Baptist or other Judeo-Christian churches are secretly disconnected from any actual spiritual connection to god, but there DOES exist an eccentric nun who somehow has a direct link to God within the town. Also, only about a dozen Scions within the city actually know their diefic heritages, one of whom is Illinois Governor FELICIA ARMSTRONG, who has ruled as governor for as long as anyone can remember.


THE STORY THUS FAR

CHLOE and BRENDAN were walking along the edge of Liberty Memorial Park, where the annual Town Founder's Day and County Festival celebrations were in the process of setting up. There was a hot dog eating contest, a Yo-Mama joke booth being hosted by two students from the local Greendale Community College, a foam-weapons jousting contest, a rockclimbing wall, and various midways and fastfood stalls. Off to the side, the mayor, ARTHUR BIXBY, was doing a small interview with the local community college, along with the local news anchor, blond and blue-eyed SAM CHAMPION setting up with his cameraman.
The pair decide to get a funnel cake, and there meet ANNA KRONENFELD, a former classmate of BRENDAN's. A trust-fund preppy girl who suddenly but late-in-life discovered her goth side, she's also a bit of a bitch, and makes several implications about BRENDAN's poor family and loser status for dropping out. CHLOE is confused, but writes down some new vocabulary she had never heard before.
After eating the funnel cake, BRENDAN decides to win a stuffed animal for CHLOE at one of the midway games, where there are two pedestals and you have to knock the opponent over with a foam-padded stick (or play against your friends, which is the more popular option, and just fine with Jack, the ambivalent, cigarette-smoking carnie worker). BRENDAN handily defeats Jack and wins CHLOE a black My Little Pony stuffed animal, which CHLOE loves but keeps referring to as some kind of totemic icon.
The now-trio ride on the rollercoaster, but at the peak of the first hill, BRENDAN stands in her seat and the worker quickly stops the ride and kicks them off-- much to BRENDAN's annoyment but CHLOE's relief. She excuses herself and vomits in a nearby lavatory.
BRENDAN meanwhile sees ANNA once more, this time chatting animatedly with *her posse.* There's the not-quite brooding, quiet but massive EDMOND DIXON; the monkey-like class clown CLINT PATEL, and his cohort and Seth-Green lookalike KENDALL BROWN; stoner and skateboard fanatic MITCHELL O'MALLEY; and overall slacker RANDALL JACKSON. ANNA is laughing while pointing at BRENDAN, pissing him off, so he goes to confront her.
While CLINT and KENDALL make a few cheap shots at BRENDAN, she kicks BRENDAN hard enough to knock him off the picnic table they were sitting at, and into the mud. As the others now laugh at the muddied KENDALL, ANNA leads BRENDAN away, saying to not mind the others, they're just pussies for not being up to the *Challenge,* and surely he'd be brave enough to endure one night in the *urban legend-ripe* *abandoned* CARTER HOUSE? CHLOE, who has just returned, points out it is meant to be an olive branch to them both, so they accept the challenge and agree on a set time to meet at the edge of town, where the house sits.
CHLOE and BRENDAN spend the rest of the afternoon doing lazy-Saturday events: conniving their way into getting another ride on the rollercoaster (where she yells out loudly, "KENDALL is a dick!!!!"), and watching a horror movie, The Ring. CHLOE reveals that she *can summon ghosts,* so she goes to Wal-Mart to find supplies (*road salt, bottled purified water, some religious Mary candles,* and just barely has enough to also throw in a bag of *Starbursts*), while BRENDAN packs.
At Wal-Mart, CHLOE runs into MARK WRIGHT, whom BRENDAN has spoken about a few times, and invites him to the *haunted house.* He happily accepts, because otherwise he would have to go home to his *scary wife.*
A few hours late, MARK, BRENDAN and CHLOE have arrived at the *imposing, spooky and Victorian* Carter house *under cover of night*, and meet up with ANNA and her gang, who are surprised to see the much-older scientist there. As the house is being watched by the SHERIFF TAL BASH and a deputy, CARL HIGHTOWER (the house is a popular urban legend spot, especially on the eve of Founder's Day) they concoct a plan to sneak into the house by tossing a skunk into the patrol car's open windows. Successfully luring out a mother skunk and its two cubs, they change their mind (they don't want to separate a nursing family), one of the boys, RANDALL, gets a long switch and attack the skunks. BRENDAN grabs hold of the stick just in time, but RANDALL still kicks some dirt on the family, who are now agitated, and then calls BRENDAN some kind of furry-- whereupon BRENDAN smacks him so hard with the thick stick that RANDALL gets *cracked ribs.*
CHLOE decides to take RANDALL to the police officers-- Sherriff TAL BASH drives the boy into town for medical help, while CARL HIGHTOWER attempts to detail CHLOE and arrange a police car for her ("You're not here to break into the Carter House, are you?"), but she points out she's not a minor, and isn't going anywhere near the house (well, she worded it in a way so she wasn't lying), and then, after being momentarily dazzled by the fireworks show now starting in town over the treeline), she runs back around to the back of the house.
MARK WRIGHT attempts to lure the skunks once more, but realizes he no longer needs to-- and then one of the posse discover that ANNA is missing, and they see her already in the property, slipping into the basement via a storm cellar window. They hop the fence and follow, until MARK WRIGHT spots a *massive* *20-point stag deer* on the other edge of the property, by the tree line, staring at them. It is joined by *six more stags-- smaller, but all of their hides are *softly glowing white in the night.* As the others of ANNA's posse follows her into the basement, CHLOE, BRENDAN and MARK encounter the deer-- all of whom have wandered off, save the 20-pointer stag, who is offered a Starburst.
To get into the house, the TRIO use one of MARK's various gadgets-- a spray that melts metal-- and enter through the backdoor. The house has the following Aspects: *thin, creaky floors,* *garbage and a mattress in the corners,* *dark,* *boarded windows,* *vagabond's temporary home* and *cracked linoleum kitchen floor.*
The POSSE dump their stuff in the living room, and go exploring.
The first floor has the kitchen in the back, a living room and a sitting room, a foyer and a couple of closets. There is a fireplace in the sitting room. The second floor has a wide staircase, a master bedroom and a child's bedroom, and a bathroom. CHLOE picks up supernatural readings of violence throughout the house, especially in the bedroom. Transients have definitely been squatting, for some time and infrequently, and trash litters the rooms. In the bedroom, there is a closet with a *large hole in the wall,* but CHLOE is unable to see anything.
In the hallway, they notice a trapdoor to the ceiling, and with a little bit of hoisting each other, manage to open it. As opposed to the other rooms, this one is relatively clean and *preserved.* There is a *shabby bridal gown, a children's notepad, a teddy bear (and other children's toys, a silver cup and knife.* MITCHELL decides to keep the knife, and ANNA starts stripping to try on the *wedding gown,* but then stops. CLINT is already freaking out.CHLOE decides to summon a ghost, and (after the players janken to decide which one is summoned-- seriously, it mattered) the GHOST OF MRS CARTER appears. She looks prim and proper in her high-necked white dress, and is staring quizzically at all of them.
BRENDAN asks her, "Why are you a ghost?" whereupon she screams, tries to attack MITCHELL, but phases right through him. He drops the knife and it clatters on the floor. She looks confused, and CHLOE explains she did not summon her corporeally, just as a spirit. MRS CARTER'S GHOST, looking *pained,* attempts to pick up the child's drawing notepad, but cannot, and soon fades. Investigating the pad, the group sees it's full of crayon doodles, but then gives over to mad sketches, which Chloe can identify as being rituals of channeling, or directing energy flow.
They decide to leave and explore the other rooms, and MITCHELL follows behind everyone, and EDMOND closes the attic door. *After seeing the child's bedroom, CLINT and KENDALL, downstairs, call out that they found something downstairs-- it's a massive portrait of a beautiful woman in white, with a tipped feathery hat, a man who looks vaguely like Woodrow Wilson, and a baby on his knee.* The man has a large sapphire stone ring, the size of a small chicken egg, and ANNA looks on it greedily. She surmises that the house, being Victorian, probably is full of *empty gaps in the walls,* where who knows what kind of treasures can be found. CLINT and KENDALL pick up on this right away, and EDMOND discovers a *hidden cellar stairwell,* while ANNA and the two class clowns knock on the walls around on the first floor.
BRENDAN and EDMOND head downstairs to investigate-- as opposed to the basement, which the POSSE went through while entering the house, this is a separate section underground that looks like it *hasn't been touched.* It has old magazines and newspapers, some antique wooden toys, furniture under dropcloths, and a furnace underground that must heat the whole house-- after just a few minutes of being there, it starts stoking itself, glowing orange, and then ignites. CHLOE and MARK wander downstairs, and CHLOE surmises something tied to the ghosts might be in the furnace. EDMOND, *slightly worried now*, backs off and goes to ANNA's side to protect her, while BRENDAN fetches a pail of water from the hand lever pump in the back of the house, and CHLOE and MARK turn off the furnace once more and start sifting through the ashes and coal.
They find a *murdered baby's bone* and drop it into a pail of water BRENDAN returns with-- it shatters, and releases a massive cloud of steam, within which they can see a *wailing baby's head* forming and roiling in torment. BRENDAN responds by using his katana and slicing it-- forming two consolidating baby heads. MARK tries slashing it horizontally, forming four baby heads, blinking its eyes open and turning its heads around in all directions. BABY CARTER lets out a wail, inciting a wave of emotions of anger and fear, shaking MARK to his core and knocking BRENDAN to black out. CHLOE throws salt into the cloud of baby heads, and it disperses, dissipating.
The POSSE runs down the stairs, and bring BRENDAN's body up, waking him. MARK argues to leave right away, and CLINT and KENDALL do too, revealing that, while knocking on the walls, ghost arms tried to sieze them from the walls. EDMOND, peeking outside the boarded windows, announces that HIGHTOWER is nowhere to be seen. A vote is taken-- MARK, CLINT and KENDALL want to go; BRENDAN, ANNA and MITCHELL want to stay. EDMOND doesn't say anything, but he's made it clear he will follow ANNA anywhere, and CLINT and KENDALL hesitantly put their hands down, cowed by ANNA. The group decides to stay on, and slowly their watch hands creep towards midnight....


We finished the game there. The police officers are seemingly gone. Randall has broken ribs and is back in town. Kendal, Why does Chloe know how to summon ghosts? Clint and Edmond are all a pretty shaken, as is Mark; and a mystery remains-- why did the sealed attic have what looked like satanic runes drawn in a child's notebook? Why was there a child burned in the furnace? Who did this? Can they last the night?

Next game is NEXT SUNDAY, at 2pm !!
Tommie and Tom, please work with Jon (or me, via email) to have characters and especially aspects ready for next Sunday, so we can start as soon as possible!

STORY TIME PART 2
(Note: due to one player being sick, his character became automatically out of commission. However, he still has his own roles to play, on the sideline)

CHARACTERS:
CHLOE
BRENDAN
MILTON

SHYHAM NONCE is a professional party organizer, but the life of any party. He secretly has a few supernatural abilities already, among them the ability to interact and see ghosts, and the ability to instill a sense of almost manic happiness in people from even across a room.

TERRY is a drug peddler and an all-around petty criminal. He carries pistols everywhere he goes, has deft fingers, and if it's illegal somewhere, he's probably done it, or at least attempted it. As shady as a black cat under a bush in a solar eclipse, his greed is matched by his thrill-seeking side.



KENDALL, one of the slackers in　ANNA's posse (who was grabbed by ghostly arms from one of the first-floor walls), decides to wimp out of the challenge. MILTON, the mad scientist, already jumping at shadows from the encounter with the ghost baby, agrees and drives the both of them into town. On the way to town, unbenknownst to any of them, they pass SHYHAM NONCE, and TERRY in SHYHAM's PT Cruiser and party van. SHYHAM was invited by stoner MITCHELL (one of ANNA's followers), who in turn invited his dealer friend, TERRY, because he didn't know how much weed to bring.
As they approach the abandoned, haunted Carter House, they see a police cruiser parked outside of the house. TERRY, carrying drugs, convinces SHYHAM to park the car about 300 yards away, and cut through the forest and sneak into the Carter property.

Note: I done goofed on this section, as SGT BASH left with bruised-ribs RANDALL a couple hours ago, leaving DEPUTY HIGHTOWER to guard the house against trespassing kids. However, as will be revealed later, HIGHTOWER was merely picked up by another cruiser as they needed him for events happening off-screen, back in town.

As soon as the two sneak into the Carter House, they're greeted by a most unusual sight of 8 (not 11, as said before-- sorry) eerily-glowing white bucks, including the previously-seen 20-point stag. They're forming a ring around the entire house, evenly spaced, watching it, but two smaller deer, and the 20-pointer, notice them and regard them warily. SHYHAM and TERRY approach with trepidation, but despite TERRY trying to feed the deer some weed, and despite the two smaller deer trying to lead them away, they pass through unmolested. TERRY nicknames SHYHAM the "Deer Whisperer."
While they joke about this, they enter the kitchen backdoor and are greeted by BRENDAN, sword poised, just in case it was the ghosts again. The original group had decided to camp out the rest of the night in the derelict dining hall-- MITCHELL is ecstatic to see them, and he and ANNA start smoking pot almost immediately. EDMOND, large and quiet, is twisting the knife, point-first on the trashed dining table, contemplating something, as CHLOE asks the newcomers and BRENDAN the significance of the word "fucking." SHYHAM immediately sees a ghost, a brown-haired Victorian woman, standing in the corner, behind EDMOND, eyeing the dagger warily.
SHYHAM asks to see the dagger, and EDMOND passes it over, explaining that he took it off of MITCHELL after discovering he pocketed it from the attic (he was the last one out of the attic-- go on, check the last set of notes. ^__^ ), and that it's dangerous. SHYHAM examines the dagger, and subtly offers it to the Victorian ghost, who recoils in horror. She speaks to him, though, saying she was murdered by it, and stuffed into a hole-- not unlike the one CHLOE discovered in the bedroom upstairs-- which happens to be directly above where KENDALL was attacked by ghostly apparition arms from the wall, in the last game.
CHLOE and BRENDAN, in the meantime, have decided there might be more to the house. SHYHAM's admission that he can see and speak with ghosts rattles them somewhat, but they decide to go upstairs and see if they can find a diary. TERRY and SHYHAM follow them, but to go look at the attic (and look for loot, at least in TERRY's case). ANNA, EDMOND, MITCHELL and CLINT are downstairs, all but EDMOND smoking weed.
BRENDAN easily lockpicks a fairly recently deadbolted lock (from the police), which reveals a trashed private study or library. SHYHAM, leads TERRY but follows the woman ghost into the now-opened library study with the others. A ledger desk remains, and a trashed painting sits askew on the wall. CHLOE examines it, and they discover two safes embedded in the wall, behind the painting. It's tough to unlock, but TERRY discovers a forgotten medical bag, and uses a stethescope to unlock the safes. Just as he succeeds-- finding a ledger/diary, several bonds, antique jewelry, three deeds of property, several papers of only historical interest, and a massive opal ring (the same in the defaced but entrancing painting downstairs) between the two safes-- a grandfather clock that doesn't exist anywhere in the house chimes midnight. SHYHAM asks the Victorian ghost to show him where she died, and she phases through the wall, presumably into the adjoining bedroom.
CHLOE is reading the ledger, which paints an unusual scene: it is part ledger and part journal. The journal dictates that for the most part, the husband and wife were childless, unable to conceive despite all attempts, until finally, the wife reveals she is with child. The writer admits it's strange, but is too happy to notice he'd been cuckolded, until a few months later, a shady-looking man appears and claims the baby is the child of a god. The writer says that, even with a constable residing on his property from then on, the man appears constantly, watching them from underneath a tree that existed across the road from the manor (it is now all trees there, overrun). The journal ends there, just as CHLOE makes a startling connection:
Discovering he'd been cuckolded, Carter went mad with jealousy and rage. He killed his wife, and stuffed her into the walls, and meanwhile, put his baby in the furnace, in an attempt to burn away its mortality (like Thetis did to Achilles), then used ritual line magic to redirect the baby's immortal energy into himself (later, it was discovered he siphoned the energy into his opal ring, making it a focus of his lingering evil).
CHLOE then notices the sound of dragging metal across the attic floorboards above. She warns the others and they flee the room, but not before the ghost descends down nonexistant stairs from the attic.
The ghost is that of Carter himself, driven mad. He demands his ring-- pocketed by TERRY-- and his ceremonial knife-- held by SHYHAM-- back. CHLOE quickly draws a line in the hallway of iodized salt, forcing Carter's ghost to remain trapped in the hallway, until it decides to sink into another room and go around the salt. Carter leaps from a wall, making a surprise attack on TERRY with a ghost chain that passes right through him, but sends shivers through his soul.
A fight erupts. Downstairs, the other group is surprised when the doors slam shut on their own and do not open. EDMOND is bashing at the rear kitchen doors, while MITCHELL and CLINT are trying to pry off the boards barricading the front door. TERRY runs downstairs to help the two, while BRENDAN wets his katana blade with purified water, and coats its edge with purifying salt, to make it effective against Carter's ghost, and SHYHAM attacks Carter with his own dagger (Carter, meanwhile, has a spiritual, ghost incarnation of the same dagger in his hand). Both prove effective weapons on the immaterial killer. CHLOE blows salt in Carter's face, but finds it only momentarily dispels him, rather than destroys him (in fact, TERRY, downstairs, hears the ghost baby crying once more, from the fireplace). Finding herself useless in the fight, she runs downstairs and directs EDMOND, ANNA and CLINT to break down the wall, and free the spirit of Mrs. Carter.
Carter is enraged by this, and disintegrates from the fight upstairs, reappearing downstairs, trying to stop the second group. SHYHAM and BRENDAN run downstairs, and TERRY formulates a plan-- he will draw Carter's attention, as he is holding the opal ring, Carter's poltergeist anchor, while the others attack it. In the middle of the exchange, the Victorian woman's ghost arms appear from the wall, seizing her husband's arn just as he's about to plunge the dagger into TERRY. CHLOE formulates a plan, and draws an anchoring circle at the top of the stairs, and orders TERRY to run away, and draw Carter's ghost into its boundaries. He manages to lure it into CHLOE's trap, and BRENDAN plunges his katana into Carter, delivering a killing blow.
It is approaching 3am. The group pulls out Mrs. Carter's corpse-- dessicated, mumified, in its white dress-- from the wall, where it was trapped between floors. EDMOND goes to the basement, retrieving the baby's burned bones, and an antique teddy bear, in the same blue bucket from the last game. Carter's runic drawings, and silver cup are burned, destroyed and buried. Mrs Carter is buried with her son, giving them peace. The opal ring is destroyed into two halves (in an almost anticlimactic way, with no special effects), and the dagger destroyed into separated blade and hilt. All of this is done outside, under the observing eyes of the ghost-white stags, who, seemingly placated afterwards, wander back into the forest. BRENDAN's katana has developed a nasty-looking black etching into her sword blade, CHLOE claims it is the final death grudge of Raymond Carter's ghost.
While the groups are patting themselves on the back, TERRY receives a pager message to not return to town, as the place is swarming with cops. Likewise, BRENDAN receives a phone call from his mom, demanding to know where he is-- he says his friend's house, and the mom, relieved, tells him to stay there. Something-- terrorists, she suggests?-- has just attacked the about-to-be christened new maternity ward in the hospital. Everyone decides it's safer in the house, and they spend the rest of the night there, with no further incident.


to be continued!

STORY TIME, PART 2A


The house is quiet and peaceful when the morning comes, and the groups decide to split up. CLINT and MITCHELL walk home, and ANNE, EDMOND, TERRY, BRENDAN and CHLOE ride in SHYHAM's PT Cruiser back to town. They make a short stop to TERRY's fence, Luigi Parenzan, who takes TERRY's half of the opal stone, Mrs Carter's jewelry, and gives him a pittance for it (but promises to adjust his cut, if he manages to find a buyer for the stone), and then drive off into town. ANNA and EDMOND leave them, walking home on their own.
Downtown is in chaos. Helicopters are overhead, reporters are swarming the area, and the few local cops are having a hard time keeping everything organized behind barriers in front of the hospital. The group decides to visit RANDALL (of the cracked ribs), but are stopped by SARGEANT TAL BASH, who's urging them to stay home. It's a clusterfuck, he says, that this-- and he stresses it as if it were the first truly violent thing to happen in the sanctified town-- happened the same weekend as the Founder's Festival before have its inaugural opening, and with the GOVERNOR FELICIA ARMSTRONG in town, and the FBI are on their way.
BRENDAN has a slip of the tongue, revealing being in the prohibited Carter House, and ghost babies with god's blood. SGT BASH becomes wary, and even morseo after smelling pot on them, asking them nicely to go down to the station for questioning. TERRY, hiding a gun on him, and BRENDAN, just not wanting to be caught, flee from the police through the crowds of reporters-- as CHLOE and SHYHAM are handcuffed (because of TERRY and BRENDAN) and escorted to the police station in a cruiser, where they're put in an interrogation room (the police are overworked).
TERRY runs over to the local diner, tossing his gun into the river, where he enjoys waffles until he sees his face has been captured on video by local newsanchor SAM CHAMPION, and the diner staff (and patrons) call the police on him.
BRENDAN sneaks into the hospital to see KENDALL, who's admitted into a room for the day, but he doesn't know anything either. He is still a jerk to BRENDAN, though, who kicks him. Eventually, she turns herself in to one of the deputies, and is taken to the same interrogation room as the others. SHYHAM is annoyed at her, and for probable good reason.
Eventually, SGT BASH walks in for only a minute, and says he's letting them go, but urges them to keep a low profile, and how he doesn't need any more heat on him or on the town. Just as they are leaving, though, TERRY is brought in, in handcuffs, and a number of VIPs are coming in, conferring among each other-- among them town mayor ARTHUR BIXBY, governor FELICIA ARMSTRONG, SGT BASH and his deputees, and a number of men in suits. FELICIA ARMSTRONG takes one look at them, and orders the SGT to put them right back into holding.
She joins them, tells them that the room is secure, and asks them what they are doing in the police station, all together, and at this moment. She reveals to them that each of them (not counting CHLOE, whom she doesn't know, but does include SGT BASH and herself, the governor) are the children of Gods-- and that the six babies who were taken from town were also the children of Gods. She doesn't believe in coincidences, and it is probably more than chance that in a town of 50,000 people, with about 50 unwitting scions running around, BRENDAN, SHYHAM and TERRY just happen to be at the right place, at the right time, together.
The group is hesitant to believe, and she doesn't have time to convince them. She tells them, if they wish, to go down to the town records office, and gives her personal business card to show the record keeper. Once again, the group is let free, and told to keep their heads down because SOMETHING is apparently hunting anyone with gods' blood. She leaves them, and heads into what appears to be a press conference with SGT BASH.
The four of them get in a car, and drive to the tiny, one-story city records office, where they're greeted by a spry, old man (with wisps of white hair tucked behind too-pointy ears and a too-pointy chin) who feigns ignorance about any secret registry of gods (or somesuch nonsense) until they reveal the governor's business card. His eyes suddenly light up, and he winks at them, goes around the counter, and reveals he's quite tiny-- barely CHLOE's height.He locks up the registry office, flips the sign to show he's out for lunch, and then leads them to the back entrance of the building, which opens into an impossibly vast records room-- several floors' worth of old fashioned card-catalogue drawers facing walls of thick, fat leatherbound tomes, with brass ladders on runner rails everywhere. If one squinted, they could see small impish figures clambering up and down the aisles and on the ladders on the various stories above.
The old man takes them past sections marked by centuries, into what seems to be the end of the building. He reveals that the children of the gods are not quite innumerable, but they all wind up here. He shows them each of their card catalogue files, and TERRY, SHAYHAM, BRENDAN and even CHLOE all discover they are in fact registered, as children of BASTET, BARON SAMEDI, SUSANOO and HECATE, respectively.
Using the reference numbers on the cards, they find their respective tomes, and look themselves up. The caretaker of the archives grins, and tells them that the books magically update themselves, but only when a god surfaces long enough to sire another offspring, or if they are "spotted" somewhere in the world-- and keeps tabs on all of their scions as well. All of them make photocopies of their own biographies, except CHLOE who memorizes hers, and discover the last-known whereabouts of their parents-- for SHAYHAM, it's right in town.
SHAYHAM insists on taking them to see his parent, who runs a music shop somewhere in the suburb outskirts of Cairo. It's a small shop, with used instruments on the walls, and autographed photos of visiting celebrities on the walls, which is strange, considering the tiny status of the shop. LPs, cassettes, CDs and even 8-tracks are everywhere. They meet TREVOR, an aging hippie who runs the store in lieu of the boss. He's not quite all there, and says he's been working for about 10, 15 years, when in reality it's closer to 40 years. SHAYHAM reveals he's actually done some business with the shop, called HOT TRAXX (its mascot is an 8-track with cartoonish arms and legs), and TREVOR is an old friend, and asks him to please get the boss-- who then makes them wait for 90 minutes while in the back of the store.
BRENDAN and CHLOE reason to SHAYHAM that this is not a god who's concerned about his children, and TERRY devises a scheme to share some drugs with TREVOR in the back room-- TREVOR immediately agrees, and enigmatically shuts down the store for the afternoon (while BRENDAN and CHLOE decide to go to the kids' arcade center in the same strip mall, and play arcade games and skeeball).
TREVOR injects some of TERRY's PCP into himself, while SHAYHAM quietly lets himself into the manager's office-- Jimi Hendrix is playing, double beaded curtains obscure the view, and the room's only light is by candle. Through the beaded curtains, SHAYHAM introduces himself to his father, who dismisses two hastily-dressing girls, 12 and 14, from his bed, and reveals himself: BARON SAMEDI appears 30ish, the same age as SHAYHAM, with a thick beard and his thick hair pulled back behind his head. He is impeccably dressed rough silk pants, and a pinstripe vest hanging open over his shirtless torso, revealing thick arms and six-pack abs. BARON SAMEDI looks pleased to see him, saying that SHAYHAM is the first child in many years to seek the truth, and to find him.
SHAYHAM confirms his godhood lineage, and the BARON gives him a magic coin, a token of his appreciation to his acknowledged son, and the news that an acquaintance of his, simply named the Jackal, owes him a grand favor, should SHAYHAM ever be in California and require assistance, although Jackal's hiding out in a maximum security prison for whatever reason. SHAYHAM reunites with TERRY, who's bound TREVOR to a chair after starting to foam at the mouth from PCP. BARON SAMEDI laughs, and says not to worry, that TREVOR amuses him too much to let him die.
SHAYHAM quickly goes to a nearby shop in the same strip mall, where he gets a custom bracer made to keep the coin on his body. He reunites with BRENDAN and CHLOE, shows off his bracer, and suggests they all decide what to do next at the local Starbucks.
While there, everyone notices, across the road (where there is a grove of woods), a massive 20-point buck is staring at them right through the windows. Everyone goes across the street, follows the deer a little ways into the shade of the forest, and ask SHAYHAM the deer whisperer to try and communicate with the deer.
At that moment, an elegantly dressed young black man comes out behind a nearby tree, asking him what he expects will happen, it's a fucking deer. Several other effeminate, well-dressed men come out behind other trees, and the 20-point buck changes (behind a tree) into a grim-faced squinting man with long, unwashed but pure-white hair. They reveal that they are the group's guardian angels, and, indeed, each of them suits their protectee in some fashion or aspect, although all of them are dressed in monochromatic, elegant-cut suits. The 20-point buck is an Archangel, who is there to make sure the other angels don't overstep their boundaries more than they already are doing, by revealing themselves.
BRENDAN's archangel, a blonde-haired young boy with manicured fingernails, reveals that, yes, they are children of other gods, but as half-mortals, they were also assigned Guardian Angels. BRENDAN asks for proof, whereupon the Angel turns his katana into a fiery angelic blade, but then extinguishes it just as quickly. They reveal:
For the most part, gods are a rotating pantheon who come into power, rule over whatever domain their subjects conquer for them, but then die out as the next big god comes around-- but since they are immortal, they gotta go somewhere. As per the RPG's premise, some gods decided to carve out niches where they can remain outside of the ruling god's purview-- and the biggest, strongest of them all is Yahweh's pantheon, which covers the globe in its influence.
Now, every so often, a new god is born, destined to shake up the established pantheon-- and possibly supplant it. The angels reveal that time is at hand, and could be the reason why someone kidnapped the newborn children from the hospital. They're not quite sure. The guardian angels warn them to watch their backs because they could be next.
The group is also told that perhaps their other god parents can give them their blessings, as BARON SAMEDI has, to strengthen them, and ready them for whatever might make an attempt on their lives. They say their goodbyes, but pledge to come, if they are ever summoned, and their need is truly great. One by one, the angels draw glowing symbols on their foreheads, and a shiver of warmth goes through them, as their god blood is stirred in their veins. The angels disappear one by one, and the Archangel reverts into the 20-point deer, and simply walks away into the forest.
A minute later, BRENDAN gets a cellphone call from ANNA, who is crying her eyes out hysterically, and terrified. She asks for them to come pick her and EDMOND up, that something terrible has happened. BRENDAN gives the directions to SHAYMAN, towards the nice part of town, where a massive, massive wolf, and two smaller pups, is stalking up and down the street. The main wolf is easily the size of a small house, and the two pups are the size of large cars, and they're sniffing up and down the street, looking for something. The group, still in SHAYMAN's PT Cruiser, notice EDMOND dart across a street and into one house, which BRENDAN confirms is ANNA's. The large wolf is flipping over cars, sniffing the ground and howling for the rest of the pack, and its pups are tearing into people left and right, but they didn't notice.
A plan quickly forms.
Using a cooler, CHLOE and TERRY are mixing drugs and all the chemicals they can find in one container, and making a giant molotov cocktail. SHYHAM drives, jumping the curb and driving through backyards, to ANNA's back yard, where BRENDAN opens the sliding door, and motions for EDMOND and ANNA to jump in quickly. They do, but ANNA is shaken terribly-- CHLOE immediately starts consoling her as SHYHAM furiously drives in reverse, hits a perfect K-turn and jumps into the highway, just as the main wolf catches their scent, and takes off after the car. CHLOE surmises it can smell the god's blood in ANNA.
Mayhem and destruction are rained upon the highway-- TERRY chucks the mixture of chemicals, but it barely splashes the dire wolf's mouth, and doing minimal damage. Several more molotov cocktails are chucked-- one setting a pup completely on fire, leaving it to die painfully in the street as it roasts, and another catching the mother wolf in the maw, and also its fur. BRENDAN takes the shard of knife from the Carter mansion, and chucks it perfectly into the mother wolf's paw, and then later, uses the spare tire to make a makeshift muzzle on the second pup, occupying it for several minutes. At one point, the lead wolf's face was completely incinerated, and it had to put out the fire by chomping on a tree and rolling on someone's lawn.
SHAYHAM's head is bitten nearly clean off, but instead turns into a wickedly close graze. CHLOE helps ANNA recover, and EDMOND does light damage to one of the wolves.
Finally, while the lead wolf is riding alongside the car, and after much damage has been inflicted on it, BRENDAN grabs ahold of the fur, and leaps onto the beast. Seeing his opportunity, and ignoring the fire damage he takes, he plunges his katana into the wolf's brain by sinking his arm up to the elbow in the eyesocket. The wolf tumbles dead, but with SHYHAM's skillful driving, avoids taking any more damage, and they catch BRENDAN who leapt from its back into the convertible car.
The party comes across a dam, or some kind of utility center, off of the highway, and they plow right through the main chainlinked fence, but totally blowing out the tires on roadspikes. The last wolf, the pup that had a spare tire on its face, gallops down the road, completely tearing off the arm of the poor gate guardsman (Poor Freddy!) on duty there. EDMOND and TERRY chuck rocks and the last molotov cocktail they have, as BRENDAN runs towards the wolfpup, and comes to a slide underneath it, bringing the katana up and slicing its underside completely open from neck to belly. Its innards spill out in a bloody mess, and the wolf, suddenly tired but in incredible pain, lopes for a few steps, then drops to its side. TERRY uses BRENDAN's sword to cauterize the bloody shoulder stump of the guardsman, saving his life.
As firefighters, police and reporters soon come racing to the scene, SGT BASH comes up to the group and asks them if this is their idea of keeping a low profile. He urges them to get out of there quietly, but says he'll be in touch with them. Meanwhile, ANNA has captivated the hearts of the camera newsmen, and is playing the victim-- and a reluctant but heroic participant-- in the highway carnage. SHAYHAM seethes that he's not in a bigger spotlight than she's in; TERRY attempts to steal her wallet but fails; but it's CHLOE who chides her, making her finally admit that the others helped. And that they saved her life.
They decide to take her and EDMOND to the Maccaroni Grill, where they get the full story from ANNA-- she was freaked out that two of the deer kept following EDMOND and her, and then one kept following her when EDMOND went home, so she ambushed it and killed the deer with nothing more than a knife. There is a collective facepalm from the table, but SHAYHAM is shocked that she is adept enough at taking down a deer with her hands. They reveal to her and EDMOND everything they learned that day-- the secret registries, the visitation of the Angels, and that something could possibly be hunting her down. In turn, the party discovers that there is a highly probable chance that ANNA is adopted, and that EDMOND lives with his Native American grandfather on a reservation, and his parents are dead.
ANNA decides to go hit the road and try to find the truth, and her real God parent-- that she'll make a visit to the registry, and try to convince mad inventor MILTON WRIGHT to join her cause. She also invites TERRY, SHAYHAM and BRENDAN to join her posse, but they refuse, as they have their own plans on becoming honorary deputees (BRENDAN's idea) and help track down the kidnapped babies, or to head to New York City to visit TERRY's god parent.



END of SESSION 2, part B

(Whew! That took much longer than I expected!
A guide on spending fate refresh pool points will come very soon-- everyone, including Ian, but excepting Tommie, has 7 Refresh points to spend (not counting stunt points already spent). Tommie has 8 Refresh points, after having met his God parent.

I hope you enjoyed the last session-- Ian, I will be in touch about finding out what your character wants to do in the downtime that he had!