So, what do people here think about this new game. It looked incomplete to me, but i didn't buy and haven't read it so...

I like the idea behind it, but like most of these types of games, i always lose interest once the execution is revealed. Two reasons for that really.

1) Although i like the idea of things like, say, Godlike, Nobilis and now Scion, i get hung up on the power levels. It's cool to be uber-powerful for a while. Then it gets kinda boring. "100 mooks you say? I spend two hours killing them with no risk to me. Ha!" "Monster of the week is an abomination born of the God of 50's hairdo's? Great! The world trembles at our cataclysmic battle".then next week..."the world trembles at our cataclysmic battle and i kill 100 mooks!" or "I talk at court among my peers and we have politics and stuff....followed by a catclysmic battle and killing 100 mooks!" Alright, that's a bit hyperbolic, but still.

2) The rules for these things are too bloody annoying. I'm sure there must be easier ways to illustrate Godlike powers than infinite dice pools and powers that scale badly. In fact, IMO, you don't need a set of normal powers to destroy with your Godlike ones. In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Imagine d&d with the following. No magic using classes at all, except for Sorcerers. Give them d6 or d8 hit die and maybe add a few healing spells to their list and the BAB of a Fighter. All other classes are the NPC classes (bar Adept) from the DMG. There you have a setting where a small group of remarkable people can do amazing things. Are they the offspring of Gods, Dragons? Who knows, but they sure kick everyone elses butts.

Dan's got the right of it, from where I sit.  I like the idea, but from what I've seen of the mechanics and execution, I don't think this one will be for me.  (To be fair, it seems like a lot of WW products aren't for me).

One thing I'm confused about (just one?) is: do you need the WoD corebook to play Scion or is it a self-contained game?

Godlike characters (as in, from the WWII supers RPG Godlike), are anything but.
Likewise, Scion characters, who from what I gather over at tBP are more like the crappier Matrix characters; even the lobby scene from #1 is risky for Scions (at least with only this first book).
I'm not interested in it myself, having the only book I need to create some street-level superhero action clutched in the ape's arms.

Dan's D&D idea, however, is awesome. I'd probably make them gestalt sorcerer/(x)s, rather than just buffing the sorcerer, but I have an unholy love for 3.x Base Class Glut and the gestalt rules.

yes, i don't like this 3-book model.

has got me thinking about something similar, an idea for the modern day paradigm but where teh gods of olympus still exist and do their funky thing, somehow.

tBP?

Quote from: signoftheserpentyes, i don't like this 3-book model.

I'm sort of ambivalent about it for Scion, not caring about the game, but the fact they're using it as a general model for any line that isn't the Big Four (Werewolves, Vampires, Mages, Exalted(s?)) strikes me as clever business. They can focus core talent on the lines that have always done the best, testing the waters with other lines as it suits them.

QuotetBP?

the Big Purple, local shorthand for rpg.net being both big and purple.

Quote from: Christmas ApeDan's D&D idea, however, is awesome. I'd probably make them gestalt sorcerer/(x)s, rather than just buffing the sorcerer, but I have an unholy love for 3.x Base Class Glut and the gestalt rules.

Yeah. If you're looking for an Exalted vibe, a Sorcerer/Monk Gestalt character with a monk fighting style could suffice. A few different fighting styles there and a huge variety in the spells that these super-characters could use will give a big variety in characters, which on the face of it would seem fairly restrictive.

Just allow the purchase of any Feat and you're ready to go. Give yourself a fancy title and a God whose son/daughter you are and get ready to duff up the lowly Warriors/Experts/Commoners and the Titans and Titanspawn (monsters from the MM).

In 1997 I came up with the with same idea that's central to Scion. Ten years ago.  When WW first announced Exalted in 1999, this is what I thought it might be.  Long story short, I think that Scion was yesterday's news even before it was ever released.  It seems very rooted in popular media from a decade ago.  I still have a good sized handful of games from a decade ago that serve that very purpose, and you know what?  I don't play any of them.

!i!

On the whole I like the concept but not the execution.  I want more nifty settings, and Scion doesn't include a setting - just a system and a general idea.  It also falls down, mechanically, in a few areas.

I have a review at RPG.net if anyone wants to know more: http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12910.phtml

Quote from: C.W.RichesonOn the whole I like the concept but not the execution.  I want more nifty settings, and Scion doesn't include a setting - just a system and a general idea.  It also falls down, mechanically, in a few areas.

I have a review at RPG.net if anyone wants to know more: http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12910.phtml

Yeah, read it earlier and it basically confirmed my suspicions. Nice review.

Quote from: MoriartyOne thing I'm confused about (just one?) is: do you need the WoD corebook to play Scion or is it a self-contained game?

Self-contained, and the Scion line is set in a world of its own which doesn't have anything to do with the nWoD.

Quote from: One Horse Town1) Although i like the idea of things like, say, Godlike, Nobilis and now Scion, i get hung up on the power levels. It's cool to be uber-powerful for a while. Then it gets kinda boring. "100 mooks you say? I spend two hours killing them with no risk to me. Ha!"

That would be the reason why such games require challenges that do pose a risk even to demigods. Even in combat-heavy scenarios, a battle with a hundred mooks shouldn't be more than a slight obstacle on the way to deal with the real adversaries.

Quote from: GrimGentThat would be the reason why such games require challenges that do pose a risk even to demigods. Even in combat-heavy scenarios, a battle with a hundred mooks shouldn't be more than a slight obstacle on the way to deal with the real adversaries.

Sure. See the "cataclysmic battle of the week" you missed out of the quote.

It looks purdy. I really like ravens and crows. Haven't read it yet.

Seanchai