VolitionReceptacle
Villager
So recently I have been working on developing my Planescape Future setting and thought about the role of "gods" in it, which led me to a few rpgs, the one I want focus on right now being Scion.
Background details/musings
Now, before I discuss my ideas on it, I want to analyze the idea and role of "gods" in our world's culture today.
To start off, it seems that entirety of the idea of gods in terms of religion relates to philosophy of different kinds, in terms of trying to make sense of each other and the world around them. Specifically, in trying to explain what was not explainable in primitive times. I believe some general ideas of "good" and "bad" gods come into being stemming from whether the generic natural event they were related to was real either. They also tended to behave in human ways. Notably, pantheons like the Greek deities were used as examples of "what NOT to do" practically as often as they were used in situations actually behaving in acceptable ways. There is also the example of the single supreme god, that I'm not going to get into very far, suffice to say that the idea of some great Creator is present in many religions with what we would think of as "pantheons."
Another common usage of the word "god" is just to express an especially good performance, like "his calligraphy was godlike" or really strong power. This is reflected in I think the basic "secular" superheroes like Superman, who would surely be thought of as a god by some random bronze age peoples.
Speaking of "secular" gods, I feel there is a definite division of "the civilization contrasted against the gods" as we became more advanced as a civilizations. This is most obvious in sci-fi, where the idea of how a creature that lived in caves and banged rocks together could evolve and advance to become godlike, my favorite example being the precursor race in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Some points where the ideas of the traditional gods and the idea of scifi blend in can also be seen in any one of a dozen flavors of "cosmic being", aka space gods. Marvel is probably the biggest source for this (despite the immense jobbery some of these beings have seen but I digress), but a few other pieces of media have them too.
Main Themes/Ideas
Now that I have listed down some of these ideas, I want to actually write out the main themes concerning the rework of Scion I am working on.
First off, I want to make a clear distinction between Gods and "mere" superpowered beings and cosmic beings. This is because I am frustrated that in a lot of media the gods show up and basically are just some superpowered aliens and get beat by guys who can punch hard enough (I recognize, of course, that with enough reflavoring anything can be any other aesthetic but I digress.) Thus, I want to focus on the uniqueness of preexisting unique mechanics of Scion, specifically the power of Legend and Fart, as distinct from some generic "cosmic power" or reality warping. Specifically, I want to make it so that Legend allows a god to accomplish not only powerful things, but also things related to creation and being, channeled through Purviews.
This is where expanding on the ideas set forth by the base Scion cosmology comes into play. Specifically, expanding on the idea of the World and the Overworld (and Underworld), as well as certain ideas present in Mutants and Masterminds and related rpgs, I want to emphasize how the "mundane" universe(s) that we know as the IRL universe radiates out from the infinite dimensions and the stuff of the Overworld, where all beings who use Legend or Quantum or Essence or whatever live. In this way, there is room for advanced civilizations to "ascend" (a common trope) into the Overworld, or a section of the Overworld that is their domain, as well staying in the World/Universe. All of this is in line with the og description of the Overworld, which is described as "infinite within the infinite" and a "place of limitless potential."
In addition, using the idea of "the Omniverse" from Mutants and Masterminds, it can be seen that entire cosmologies can be fit into this format much like solar systems or perhaps galaxies in a normal universe, where the Overworld's influence can be felt. Thus, in this format, there is a lot more focus on places beyond a single planet, and as such allows for correspondingly more grand adventures. This would also allow interactions with weird stuff, and situations where the weird quickly becomes mundane.
A major idea for this rework might be how the PCs might create their own universes and worlds out of the fabric of the Overworld, and have it manifest in the World. This might take some hashing out but would certainly be epic and in line with some mythologies.
Another major facet is the actual role of the Gods. If you think about it, it doesn't make much sense for random mythology to have so much precedence in terms of the pantheons and such. Thus, I borrow the idea of the Unification Church from the Dragonstar setting for D&D and work off of that, in which the Gods as assumed by Scion represent Avatars of ancient archetypes.
In terms of Fate, I want to maybe make the idea both less one hundred percent integral as it was in og setting but also make its effects much more wide ranging. Like, it probably wouldn't just affect only Gods, after all in much media there's often an unspoken trend of destiny or some such. Also adjust it to be less a blunt tool and more subtle in nature (I recall this may be the case in 2e Scion).
Thanks for reading. Any constructive input you have is welcomed!
Background details/musings
Now, before I discuss my ideas on it, I want to analyze the idea and role of "gods" in our world's culture today.
To start off, it seems that entirety of the idea of gods in terms of religion relates to philosophy of different kinds, in terms of trying to make sense of each other and the world around them. Specifically, in trying to explain what was not explainable in primitive times. I believe some general ideas of "good" and "bad" gods come into being stemming from whether the generic natural event they were related to was real either. They also tended to behave in human ways. Notably, pantheons like the Greek deities were used as examples of "what NOT to do" practically as often as they were used in situations actually behaving in acceptable ways. There is also the example of the single supreme god, that I'm not going to get into very far, suffice to say that the idea of some great Creator is present in many religions with what we would think of as "pantheons."
Another common usage of the word "god" is just to express an especially good performance, like "his calligraphy was godlike" or really strong power. This is reflected in I think the basic "secular" superheroes like Superman, who would surely be thought of as a god by some random bronze age peoples.
Speaking of "secular" gods, I feel there is a definite division of "the civilization contrasted against the gods" as we became more advanced as a civilizations. This is most obvious in sci-fi, where the idea of how a creature that lived in caves and banged rocks together could evolve and advance to become godlike, my favorite example being the precursor race in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Some points where the ideas of the traditional gods and the idea of scifi blend in can also be seen in any one of a dozen flavors of "cosmic being", aka space gods. Marvel is probably the biggest source for this (despite the immense jobbery some of these beings have seen but I digress), but a few other pieces of media have them too.
Main Themes/Ideas
Now that I have listed down some of these ideas, I want to actually write out the main themes concerning the rework of Scion I am working on.
First off, I want to make a clear distinction between Gods and "mere" superpowered beings and cosmic beings. This is because I am frustrated that in a lot of media the gods show up and basically are just some superpowered aliens and get beat by guys who can punch hard enough (I recognize, of course, that with enough reflavoring anything can be any other aesthetic but I digress.) Thus, I want to focus on the uniqueness of preexisting unique mechanics of Scion, specifically the power of Legend and Fart, as distinct from some generic "cosmic power" or reality warping. Specifically, I want to make it so that Legend allows a god to accomplish not only powerful things, but also things related to creation and being, channeled through Purviews.
This is where expanding on the ideas set forth by the base Scion cosmology comes into play. Specifically, expanding on the idea of the World and the Overworld (and Underworld), as well as certain ideas present in Mutants and Masterminds and related rpgs, I want to emphasize how the "mundane" universe(s) that we know as the IRL universe radiates out from the infinite dimensions and the stuff of the Overworld, where all beings who use Legend or Quantum or Essence or whatever live. In this way, there is room for advanced civilizations to "ascend" (a common trope) into the Overworld, or a section of the Overworld that is their domain, as well staying in the World/Universe. All of this is in line with the og description of the Overworld, which is described as "infinite within the infinite" and a "place of limitless potential."
In addition, using the idea of "the Omniverse" from Mutants and Masterminds, it can be seen that entire cosmologies can be fit into this format much like solar systems or perhaps galaxies in a normal universe, where the Overworld's influence can be felt. Thus, in this format, there is a lot more focus on places beyond a single planet, and as such allows for correspondingly more grand adventures. This would also allow interactions with weird stuff, and situations where the weird quickly becomes mundane.
A major idea for this rework might be how the PCs might create their own universes and worlds out of the fabric of the Overworld, and have it manifest in the World. This might take some hashing out but would certainly be epic and in line with some mythologies.
Another major facet is the actual role of the Gods. If you think about it, it doesn't make much sense for random mythology to have so much precedence in terms of the pantheons and such. Thus, I borrow the idea of the Unification Church from the Dragonstar setting for D&D and work off of that, in which the Gods as assumed by Scion represent Avatars of ancient archetypes.
In terms of Fate, I want to maybe make the idea both less one hundred percent integral as it was in og setting but also make its effects much more wide ranging. Like, it probably wouldn't just affect only Gods, after all in much media there's often an unspoken trend of destiny or some such. Also adjust it to be less a blunt tool and more subtle in nature (I recall this may be the case in 2e Scion).
Thanks for reading. Any constructive input you have is welcomed!
