Archetypes
The four base Archetypes for Scion: Origin are, in ascending order of danger to the player characters, Mook, Professional, Villain, and Monster. All Archetypes have a common set of Traits that enable them to act for whatever purpose they need, as defined by the Storyguide. Example Antagonists will also have a short description and roleplaying hints attached.
Drive: This section is for the Storyguide to give a motivation to her Antagonist characters. For Mooks and some Professionals, that’ll probably be something on the order of “Collect my paycheck from the boss” or “Make it out of this situation alive,” but for detailed Professionals, Villains, and Monsters the Drive is more important, since they occupy commensurately more space in the story, and may even be driving the plot behind the scenes.
Primary Action Pool: This pool represents those actions that the Antagonist exists to perform, rolls that they will make assuming they get to perform their primary function in the story. A gun-toting mercenary will almost certainly have a high pool for Shooting and Tactics, for example.
Secondary Action Pool: This pool represents actions that, while important to the Antagonist, are not central to their function in the story — but if it does come up, it would be reasonable for the Antagonist to be good at it. The aforementioned mercenary probably has a decent ability for Survival and Athletics, and perhaps a few other actions. The Secondary Action Pool is your last chance to make an Antagonist competent at something, so if you’re waffling, err on the side of including it here.
Desperation Action Pool: This is the pool that all other actions default to, the pool for actions that the Antagonist probably has no business attempting but needs to anyway. The aforementioned mercenary would probably roll his Desperation Pool if he were in a situation requiring him to explain in detail ancient Mesopotamian religious law, for example. Antagonists participating in a Clash of Wills always roll their Desperation Pool.
Health: This is the number of Health Boxes the Archetype comes with by default. Antagonists do not have Injury Conditions, but are Taken Out when their last Health Box is filled.
Defense: This is the base Defense of the Archetype. Player Boons or Knacks that oppose a Trait always oppose an Antagonist’s Defense. Dodge and Soft Armor are both folded into this Trait.
Initiative: This is the Initiative Pool of the Archetype.
Extras: Some Archetypes come with certain Flairs or other Traits by default.
Secondary Pool: 4
Desperation Pool: 2
Health: 1
Defense: 1
Initiative: 3
Professionals are a cut above the common enemy. They may have a name, but more than that, they have a distinctive style. They’re the main interest points in fights — the heavily armored enemy, the enemy with a mystical glowing sword, the enemy with a rocket launcher. They’re unlikely to show up for more than a single fight, so they have to get all their awesomeness out in one go.
Secondary Pool: 5
Desperation Pool: 3
Health: 2
Defense: 2
Initiative: 5
Extras: A Cut Above (+1 Enhancement, Storyguide’s choice)
Villains are the centerpieces of big fights. As such, they usually have lackeys, consisting of Mooks and maybe a Professional or two. Villains should definitely have names and detailed motivations, as they’re the movers and shakers behind plots. They’re also tougher than one might think — the better to make an escape and menace the player characters again!
Secondary Pool: 7
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 4
Defense: 3
Initiative: 7
Extras: Get Out of Jail Free (As long as the Villain dies offscreen or in questionable circumstances, she can later reveal herself to have miraculously survived. This costs 1 Tension. Cooldown: One arc)
Monsters are the big guns at the level of Scion: Origin. All three of the previous Archetypes are explicitly normal — and the Monster is explicitly abnormal. It is something magical, something legendary, something bigger than any one mortal can deal with. A Monster is meant to take on an entire band and be a significant threat to it. It may or may not have lesser enemies aiding it, but it’s more than capable of taking punishment all on its own.
Secondary Pool: 9
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 6
Defense: 4
Initiative: 9
Extras: Some Monsters may make use of the Segments or Size rules — at the Mortal Tier, however, few Monsters should have more than 2 Segments, or be more than Size 1, or 2 if the player characters are loaded for bear. Any more than that risks something entirely beyond their ability to deal with.
Sometimes Storyguide Characters built using the Antagonist system will acquire a more important role in the story over time — a foe turned friend who consistently reappears to aid the players’ characters, for example. If players like a Storyguide Character, and go out of their way to interact with them, that’s a sign that you might want to make them a little more important in the story, and thus transition them over to the character-creation system.
Drive: This section is for the Storyguide to give a motivation to her Antagonist characters. For Mooks and some Professionals, that’ll probably be something on the order of “Collect my paycheck from the boss” or “Make it out of this situation alive,” but for detailed Professionals, Villains, and Monsters the Drive is more important, since they occupy commensurately more space in the story, and may even be driving the plot behind the scenes.
Primary Action Pool: This pool represents those actions that the Antagonist exists to perform, rolls that they will make assuming they get to perform their primary function in the story. A gun-toting mercenary will almost certainly have a high pool for Shooting and Tactics, for example.
Secondary Action Pool: This pool represents actions that, while important to the Antagonist, are not central to their function in the story — but if it does come up, it would be reasonable for the Antagonist to be good at it. The aforementioned mercenary probably has a decent ability for Survival and Athletics, and perhaps a few other actions. The Secondary Action Pool is your last chance to make an Antagonist competent at something, so if you’re waffling, err on the side of including it here.
Desperation Action Pool: This is the pool that all other actions default to, the pool for actions that the Antagonist probably has no business attempting but needs to anyway. The aforementioned mercenary would probably roll his Desperation Pool if he were in a situation requiring him to explain in detail ancient Mesopotamian religious law, for example. Antagonists participating in a Clash of Wills always roll their Desperation Pool.
Health: This is the number of Health Boxes the Archetype comes with by default. Antagonists do not have Injury Conditions, but are Taken Out when their last Health Box is filled.
Defense: This is the base Defense of the Archetype. Player Boons or Knacks that oppose a Trait always oppose an Antagonist’s Defense. Dodge and Soft Armor are both folded into this Trait.
Initiative: This is the Initiative Pool of the Archetype.
Extras: Some Archetypes come with certain Flairs or other Traits by default.
ARCHETYPE LISTINGS
Mooks are common enemies, the nameless rabble that heroes must often fight their way through or around to get to the interesting bad guys. Mooks only have a single Health box, so if they’re struck at all they’re out of the fight. Just because they can’t take it, though, doesn’t mean they can’t dish it out, especially in large numbers or when boosted with Qualities and Flairs.MOOK
Primary Pool: 5Secondary Pool: 4
Desperation Pool: 2
Health: 1
Defense: 1
Initiative: 3
Professionals are a cut above the common enemy. They may have a name, but more than that, they have a distinctive style. They’re the main interest points in fights — the heavily armored enemy, the enemy with a mystical glowing sword, the enemy with a rocket launcher. They’re unlikely to show up for more than a single fight, so they have to get all their awesomeness out in one go.
PROFESSIONAL
Primary Pool: 7Secondary Pool: 5
Desperation Pool: 3
Health: 2
Defense: 2
Initiative: 5
Extras: A Cut Above (+1 Enhancement, Storyguide’s choice)
Villains are the centerpieces of big fights. As such, they usually have lackeys, consisting of Mooks and maybe a Professional or two. Villains should definitely have names and detailed motivations, as they’re the movers and shakers behind plots. They’re also tougher than one might think — the better to make an escape and menace the player characters again!
VILLAIN
Primary Pool: 9Secondary Pool: 7
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 4
Defense: 3
Initiative: 7
Extras: Get Out of Jail Free (As long as the Villain dies offscreen or in questionable circumstances, she can later reveal herself to have miraculously survived. This costs 1 Tension. Cooldown: One arc)
Monsters are the big guns at the level of Scion: Origin. All three of the previous Archetypes are explicitly normal — and the Monster is explicitly abnormal. It is something magical, something legendary, something bigger than any one mortal can deal with. A Monster is meant to take on an entire band and be a significant threat to it. It may or may not have lesser enemies aiding it, but it’s more than capable of taking punishment all on its own.
MONSTER
Primary Pool: 11Secondary Pool: 9
Desperation Pool: 5
Health: 6
Defense: 4
Initiative: 9
Extras: Some Monsters may make use of the Segments or Size rules — at the Mortal Tier, however, few Monsters should have more than 2 Segments, or be more than Size 1, or 2 if the player characters are loaded for bear. Any more than that risks something entirely beyond their ability to deal with.
MAJOR STORYGUIDE CHARACTERS
This system is designed for Antagonists that will play a role primarily in combat or other scenes of opposed action — in other words, they don’t need to be particularly detailed or deep, mechanically speaking, because they aren’t going to be around long enough to get stale. Some characters are different — they may be recurring characters sympathetic to the player characters, for example, who play a significant role in the story. Such characters may have needs that exceed the scope of the Antagonist system, so in cases like these, it’s more reasonable to invest the time and effort needed to create a fully realized character with the character-creation system (p. 82). This makes for a much more well-rounded character, one who can bear extended scrutiny by players without seeming mechanically paper-thin.Sometimes Storyguide Characters built using the Antagonist system will acquire a more important role in the story over time — a foe turned friend who consistently reappears to aid the players’ characters, for example. If players like a Storyguide Character, and go out of their way to interact with them, that’s a sign that you might want to make them a little more important in the story, and thus transition them over to the character-creation system.
BUT WHAT SKILL AM I USING?
Actions should be listed generally, rather than trying to map them to an Skill + Attribute pool — when player-character powers refer to specific dice pools built on such combinations, use the closest applicable action the Antagonist possesses, or the Desperation Pool if nothing fits. Enhancements granted by Qualities or Flairs should apply to one of these general descriptions of actions. No more than two or three actions should be listed in each Pool — if they’re that good at that many things, consider promoting them to the next Archetype up or building them with the character creation system!I’M HERE TO CHEW BUBBLEGUM AND KICK ASS
Mooks aren’t a match for player characters. Sometimes, an army of them isn’t a match for player characters. Sometimes, the hero just absolutely has to wreck the day for seven people in one blow. If Mooks exist to make player characters look cool, this over-the-top Stunt exists to make player characters look totally rad.System: These rules apply whenever a player character succeeds on an attack and has more than one net success after buying off the Mook’s Defense. Rather than simply filling the Mook’s only Health box and taking that Mook out, take the remaining successes and spread them around to every Mook in close range, one each, and fill in their Health box as well.
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