Anyone played Scion: Hero?

[Complaint Department]

About three sessions into this now - enjoying it pretty well - anyone else played it or it's cousin Exalted?

[Hatter]

Yes on Scion: Hero. Interesting setting, but awful mechanics. Couldn't grasp how stupidly good soak was or that the extras rules were broken to make supernatural extras actually much better than their non-extra counterparts. :boggle:

Also yes on Exalted. I've been playing Exalted nearly nonstop since early 1e and am currently running a 2e solar/lunar campaign set in The Lap. Fun times.

[Complaint Department]

Yes on Scion: Hero. Interesting setting, but awful mechanics. Couldn't grasp how stupidly good soak was or that the extras rules were broken to make supernatural extras actually much better than their non-extra counterparts. :boggle:

Also yes on Exalted. I've been playing Exalted nearly nonstop since early 1e and am currently running a 2e solar/lunar campaign set in The Lap. Fun times.
The mechanics aren't that good - but I don't think the group I'm in has been paying much attention to them. The game we played before was 4e D&D which was an unmitigated disaster.

[Random Encounter]

I ran Scion: Hero and while I enjoy mythological pantheons and all that I had trouble with half the rules seeming to be missing. Specifically: the thrown weapon rules, improvised weapon rules, weapon choices, discriptions for the weapons they did list stats for, the mechanical effects of having a high legend rather than the GM just throwing more chaos the character's way and actual mechanics for the things the powers were supposedly enhancing.
The grapple rules are utter crap. Epic Dex overshadows every other power, followed by the manipulation knack that lets you make anyone believe anything without a chance for them to resist, even if they are a god and you're just a hero. There are no rules for how to use the social attributes and skills so no reason to take epic appearance, manipulation or charisma other than the knacks, and half of those aren't clear on how they are to be used.
The book is a big White Wolf hardcover that looks like it should have all the needed rules but most of the front half of the book is taken up discribing the various pantheons and the last half of the book is the adventure for the pregen characters.

I think if you have a GM who is comfortable making up the rules as he goes, who's willing to rewrite the extras and soak rules himself, and who can come up with a better reason why Heroes and Gods stay hidden from modern society than the Legend rules in the book, then I can see it working and being fun.

Exalted 2e on the other hand, while sharing a few of the rules from Scion, is a more complete game rules wise. I'm having a lot of fun with that even if I do wish that I was advancing faster experience wise. It's hard to declare that your circle of Solars are going to take over the country when half of you couldn't fight a single dragon-blood one on one. But our two really tactical players (myself included) are exploring the social combat system and splitting exp between combat and social combat abilities and charms is making our efforts slow going.

[Complaint Department]

Maybe Scion should have been done as a setting for Exalted?

(Hey, would that work?)

[Hatter]

Exalted 2e on the other hand, while sharing a few of the rules from Scion, is a more complete game rules wise. I'm having a lot of fun with that even if I do wish that I was advancing faster experience wise. It's hard to declare that your circle of Solars are going to take over the country when half of you couldn't fight a single dragon-blood one on one. But our two really tactical players (myself included) are exploring the social combat system and splitting exp between combat and social combat abilities and charms is making our efforts slow going.

Christ, the allies of the team are more combat oriented, which I'm actually ok with. Your Twilight is all scholarly and social with an elemental ally that is essentially all combat and Amen Ree's no moon is all "Fleeeeeeee!" but has a ninja intelligent cat sidekick. But what would be very helpful is if the Dawn caste could take on a handful of extras or an heroic mortal without getting seriously injured. And this is after I improved the Dawn Caste anima power to allow free combos for combat abilities. The best fighter in the group is the Eclipse caste bureaucrat with Dreaming Pearl Courtesan martial arts. The combat sorceress no moon needs a spellbook or mentor pronto. So I need to come up with something along those lines for her. Fast cast, non-ritual magic, no scholarly stuff just feeling the essence ooo! I have an idea for her that just might work :>

Maybe Scion should have been done as a setting for Exalted?

(Hey, would that work?)

In a word? yes. I've often considered such a setting, though it would be a lot of work to write out and I find the Exalted setting to be compelling in it's own right.

[Hatter]

Speaking of Dexterity being too good, I'm tempted to make Strength the melee attribute in Exalted, so that Dexterity isn't quite as much of a powerhouse. Right now we have

Dexterity:

1 Dex = 1 Accuracy for ranged/melee attacks and grapples
1 Dex = .5 DV for Parry or Dodge
1 Dex = .5 damage dice (extra successes on the attack)

While Strength is

1 Str = 1 Accuracy for Grapples
1 Str = 1 damage dice

So currently Dex gives you a lot more offense and defense and enhances damage at half the rate that Strength does. It is very tempting to balance it with all melee attacks using strength to hit so you have.

Dexterity
1 Dex = 1 Accuracy to ranged attacks and escape checks (still slippery)
1 Dex = .5 DV for Dodge
1 Dex = .5 Damage dice on ranged attacks.

Strength is
1 Str = 1 Accuracy to melee attacks
1 Str = .5 DV for parry
1 Str = 1.5 Damage dice on melee attacks and 1 damage dice on ranged attacks.

But that would probably overpower Strength. There's got to be a happy medium, at the moment a lot of people dump strength since Dexterity gives them so much more and is more frequently rolled outside of combat as well. This bears further thought.

[Dacke]

Well, you could make Strength the melee attribute for offense only, and keep Dex for parries. Another option could be to increase Overwhelming, for those weapons that have it, by Strength or Strength/2, or something like that.

[Freedom Canadian]

Well, you could make Strength the melee attribute for offense only

That's what I'd do.

Note that the New World of Darkness rules do use Str to hit with all melee attacks. (There is also just one roll to hit and damage. Soak lowers the attack roll and successes on the attack roll = damage. I like that, personally.)

[Complaint Department]

Well anyway, as I mentioned I'm having fun with it. For some reason (maybe it was the beer) I basically made a knockoff of Ranma, complete with water tricks, scion of Hachiman - then at some point it was decided the guy was just plain loaded - when the GM asked me how much money I envisioned this guy had I smirked and said, "uhm, Paris Hilton scale - couple billion?'

What I do like about the setting is most other games would have squealed and died with that kind of cash influx - this one seems to purr along (course I haven't tried to abuse the money either beyond carting the whole group around in a Lear Jet).

Yes, the wedding chapel scene from the adventure in the book turned into a laugh riot.

[Random Encounter]

Well anyway, as I mentioned I'm having fun with it. For some reason (maybe it was the beer) I basically made a knockoff of Ranma, complete with water tricks, scion of Hachiman - then at some point it was decided the guy was just plain loaded - when the GM asked me how much money I envisioned this guy had I smirked and said, "uhm, Paris Hilton scale - couple billion?'

What I do like about the setting is most other games would have squealed and died with that kind of cash influx - this one seems to purr along (course I haven't tried to abuse the money either beyond carting the whole group around in a Lear Jet).

Yes, the wedding chapel scene from the adventure in the book turned into a laugh riot.

The wedding chapel scene when I ran it had a full on wedding going down while the party was trying to investigate the tower and a couple players got roped into helping with the wedding as staff. I kept it low key at first and mixed up the snake themed things with sequins and odd food like fried peanut-butter and banana finger sandwiches. The wedding couple were japanese and in Vegas to have a large Elvis themed wedding, complete with a japanese Evlis impersonator performing the ceremony. I got to inflict my horrible Elvis impersonation on my group. :D

[Hatter]

Bah. I did Elvis years ago in Over the Edge.

[Random Encounter]

Bah. I did Elvis years ago in Over the Edge.

You did real Elvis working a greasy diner in that game.

I did a japanese Elvis impersonator performing a Graceland themed wedding in Las Vegas.

Yours was weird but fairly low key.
Mine got cranked up to 11. :tongue: