Scion 2E:Class of Strange Aeons

Higher education starts as a dream...

Ever since childhood, you've known about the Dreamlands.

Maybe you were just born that way. Maybe a creature of Aware Darkness went through your head, and you became lucid forever. Maybe you saw a creature from there. Whatever the case, you know what lies beyond your own dreams, and you remember how you loved to sleep, so you could play with your friends all over again.

You knew each other, actually - along with an older teen, Meri. You didn't know much about Meri; they never talked about it. But you know they were nice, and they were human, and they came from Arkham, Massachusetts. Maybe you did too, but the Dreamlands don't care about geography. You could be on the other side of the planet, and you'd dream yourself to that little park near Ulthar, where Meri and their cats always seemed to be.

Then, one day, Meri vanished. The cats didn't want to talk about it, and if you strayed too close to the treehouse they lived in, you would see flashes of a knife, a twisted city, and a flash of red. The park didn't seem very fun any more, and you just...drifted apart.

Then, two things happened, later in your life.

One day, you discovered that one of the most powerful dreamers in the Dreamlands, those timeless intelligences, had infused you with power. Maybe it was intentional. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe you were always of them, built or partly sired by sorcery, but you only became aware of how deeply you were tied together in that moment.

And soon after, you received a letter, informing you of a scholarship at Arkham University. In it was a picture of a high school graduation album, and among the photos of the junior year, was one Meri Alex Pickman...

Welcome to Arkham U! Your class rules and orientation

1. What kind of game is this (system, power-level, genre, tone, etc)? Scion 2E, using the Masks of the Mythos previews and the Miskatonic Hollow setting, focusing on Scions recently enrolled in Arkham University who previously known each other, and the aforementioned Meri Pickman, as childhood friends in the Dreamlands. After their (gender-neutral pronoun deliberate, Meri was genderqueer) untimely vanishing, you went back to your old lives, bitter and unnerved, only to be Visited as Scions of the Great Old Ones in high school, followed rapidly by your sudden scholarship at Arkham, along with a picture confirming Meri was from Arkham. You are united both by investigating what happened to them, and who they were, while protecting the town and the larger Hollow from malicious cultists and monsters you get involved with due to everyone wanting at the library for their schemes. It's not going to exactly be a dark, or even that much of a horror game, but I do plan to get at some dark themes, especially those revolving around human malice. 2. How many players? ("Big16" #3)

Depending on interest, between 3 and 6. I'm a newbie GM, though, so I wouldn't mind someone who wouldn't mind me bouncing ideas off. (There is currently 4, last I counted)

3. What are the character creation guidelines? ("Big16" #5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16)

Everyone's a Scion of the Old Ones, and has Awareness, using Scion: Hero, and Masks of the Mythos to make Legend 1, Awareness 1 characters. Otherwise, everything is good.

4. Any house rules? Anything we should know about how the dice work? ("Big16" #12, 13)

The rules we are using aren't the finalized version of the official rules, and I expect problems. I am open to making Awareness the only power stat if the majority of the players want that (although that does mean we'll need to figure out a more merciful refresh rate), and will be using Dread and Revelation as the Mythos Virtues; Dread is about acting based on fear and a desire to protect people from what you know, Revelation is about exploring the Mythos, teaching it to others, and embracing your potential as a larval Old One yourself.

As a first general house rule; the Pantheon Skills for the Old Ones are any two of Occult, Science, Integrity, and Subterfuge.

If you wish to take a Mythos Relic from the previews, please talk with me or another player about balancing it to Scion Companion rules; they are not especially balanced in said previews. 5. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)? ("Big16" #14)' I do long-form backstories a lot, but I don't mind if it's anything close to a paragraph or two. While you were all childhood friends of Meri and knew each other, you knew each other through the Dreamlands. You can be from all across the world, I just request your character is able to speak English for ease of communication in Massachusetts. You could even be someone nonhuman, like a ghoul who can pass for human or a deep one hybrid, if you can justify why one would become friends with a human dreamer and then attend a human college. I won't make you necessarily a Denizen, in that case.

I will ask a questionnaire later; the Dreamlands are very important to this game, and they will end up reflecting your personal idiosyncrasies a lot. 6. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above? ("Big16" #15)

Combat and investigation, mostly, with roleplaying elements. Most of which are part of the Storypath system. Most of the game will focus on the investigation of both Meri's past and whatever book thief of the week is attacking the Hollow. 7. Is there anything else we need to know? (NEW!) I am a newbie ST, and also have a few other obligations, like a Master's Degree in Education to work on, and several fanfics. My posting rate will be somewhat sporadic, and I will try to warn you when I need to go radio silent for a bit.

I will get into some dark themes about racism, bullying and social decay in my notes; do not be afraid to flash an X card in chat, and we will discuss what everyone is okay with in Session 0.