Fatebindings
When a Scion draws on the deepest reserves of her Legend, nearby mortals are sometimes caught up in the Scion’s story. Much the way an improvisational storyteller spontaneously weaves a new character into her tale, Fate decrees that the mortal will have a role to play in the Scion’s epic. The mortal in question might become a bit player for a brief time or a defining pillar of the Scion’s life as Fate chooses an archetypal role and guides the Fatebound mortal into it.
It’s very important to note that Fate is not “mind control.” It doesn’t override a mortal’s will, force them to do things they don’t want to do, or otherwise turn them into puppets. What it does is find people who were already predisposed to fill a particular role in the Scion’s Legend and makes it very, very easy for them to go along with it. Someone Fatebound to a Scion as a Paramour isn’t suddenly struck with a compulsion to love her; rather, Fate finds someone who was either already romantically interested in (or at least attracted to) the Scion, or whose “type” the Scion fits, and manipulates events such that they encounter each other in settings conducive to furthering a romantic relationship. Either party can turn away from the path if they have a compelling reason to. Think of it like going for a walk in the woods. If you’re not consciously trying to get somewhere in particular, you’ll probably pick the path of least resistance: downhill, out of the hot sun, etc. Fate just makes sure that the path of least resistance is the one that leads to the Fatebound role.
Example: Two Scions, Boyd Calhoun (Scion of Sobek) and Henrietta Belle (Scion of Hermes) have both triggered a Fatebinding on a French battlefield in WWII (it’s a long story). Both are fighting their way through the Axis lines to recover an artifact buried beneath an old church, but Boyd’s Fatebinding tangles him up with a Paramour, while Henrietta’s brings her a Boon Companion.
Taking shelter in a foxhole, Boyd finds himself face to face with Corporal Fumero, a medic he’d previously had a spark with. As they make their way across the battlefield together, Fate conspires to throw challenges at them that allow each man to display character traits the other finds attractive. It might even ensure that the German shelling stops just in time for them to see a beautiful moon, full and bright, hanging above the trees — Fate is not above low cliché. Even any injuries they might suffer on their quest are conducive to romance: the sort of thing that requires the removal of shirts and tender bandaging, and certainly nothing that would impede an impassioned kiss at a dramatic moment. Henrietta, meanwhile, marches through hell with a local freedom fighter. Sucking mud and howling chaos force them to rely on each other, and each is presented with opportunities to abandon the other and press on — which, naturally, neither of them takes because they’re not that sort of people. By the time they reach the church, they trust each other more than some people who have known each other their whole lives.
Once an SGC has been Fatebound to a character, he enters a nebulous sort of realm where he’s not quite a full, independent character any more. He can take some actions as appropriate when he’s present in a scene, and the Storyguide might give him relevant dice pools, but his main interaction with the game mechanics is through Fatebinding Conditions.
FATEBINDING BASICS
- Legend Limit: A player character may not have more Fatebinding Conditions than she has dots in Legend.
- Storyguide Characters Only: Only Storyguide characters may be Fatebound, and only to characters of higher Tier.
- Acquiring Fatebindings: Once per session, youf may acquire a new Fatebinding at Strength +1 (from a minimum of 0) to regain 1 point of Legend. You and the Storyguide must work together to decide on an appropriate Fatebinding Condition and Storyguide character to be Fatebound; this can be a new character if no extant characters seem to fit.
HIGHER-LEVEL FATEBINDINGS
The relationships created by Fatebinding as described here are specific to Hero-level Scions. As a Scion’s Legend grows, Fate takes a more direct hand in shaping her.
At Demigod level, Scions still find themselves bound to relationships with mortals, though those relationships are just as often with whole groups or societies as with individuals. Demigods can also become Fatebound to mythical beings, but the biggest difference is that Fate actively punishes Demigods who try to step outside their Fatebindings. This level is where you start to see things like Cú Chulainn being brought low by breaking his geasa or the Æsir going willingly to their deaths at Ragnarok.
Gods are far more dramatically affected by Fatebindings. Not only can they become bound to entire peoples and cultures, Gods find themselves (or at least, their Godly Mantles) changed by their Fatebindings just as much as those they’re bonded with. You can see this in the character of Ares/Mars, who is variously a vainglorious coward, a rampaging brute, or the model of martial virtue, depending on what Mantle he wears and what societies (e.g. Athens vs. Sparta, Asia Minor vs. Rome) those Mantles are Fatebound to. It’s for this reason that Gods are reluctant to engage directly with the World, preferring to act through intermediaries like their Scions.
Full rules for these higher-level forms of Fatebinding are presented in Scion: Demigod and Scion: God, respectively
MULTIPLE FATEBINDINGS
Most of the time, an SGC can only be Fatebound to one character, and only as one archetype at a time. If you’ve got a large group or your players are triggering Fatebindings often, though, that can lead to supporting cast bloat. In that case, it’s okay for one character’s Paramour to be another’s Rival, for example. Be mindful of creating schisms within the group, and avoid it unless party infighting is your desired goal.
Also, any Resolution of a Fatebinding Condition that removes the character from play must have the consent of all players whose characters are Fatebound to that character.
Fatebindings are represented as a pair of Persistent Conditions. The Storyguide character receives the Fatebound Condition, while the Scion she’s Fatebound to receives a Condition representing the role of the Fatebound character. Role Conditions look a little different than other Conditions. Instead of simply having a system and a means of resolution, they have three components:
- Invoke: Once per session, a player may invoke one of her character’s role Conditions for a minor benefit. If the Fatebound character isn’t present in the scene already, she’s assumed to fortuitously show up in the nick of time. The Storyguide may disallow invoking a Fatebinding if the character’s presence is totally implausible (e.g. the Scion is in solitary confinement in the dungeons of Jinnistan, or it’s already been established that the SGC is present in another scene happening on the other side of town at the same time), but should err on the side of allowing it. Invoking a Fatebinding is always a reflexive action.
- Compel: Once per session, a player or the Storyguide may compel one of the character’s role Conditions to introduce an obstacle or difficulty related to the Fatebinding. The Scion gains a point of Legend for his trouble.
- Resolve: A player may resolve one of her character’s role Conditions for a more dramatic benefit than invoking. Resolving a Condition has permanent, long-lasting effects on the Fatebound: either removing them from play or changing the nature of the Fatebinding.
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