History TabletopGame / Scion

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: If the Titans win, mankind's done for.

* TheLostWoods: The Dark Woods is literally the embodiment of this trope, an archetypal forest in the Overworld where the only real defining geography is "lost".

** This is a major plot point in ''Ragnarok'' - sparing Hod (Baldur's accidental killer) ''really'' derails the prophecy (he trades his life for Baldur's, Loki is never imprisoned, Thokk is revealed to be [[spoiler:Baldur's {{Yandere}} wife...]]). And that's only ''one'' of the things that can be done; it's quite possible to kill Garm before he gets Tyr (which is actually rather easy for a God, he being a Demigod-level adversary), or convince Fenris to sit out the battle in return for allowing him to live in [[LostWoods the Dark Forest]].

* AdaptationalHeroism: In a way, the Primordials in the Second ed serve the same function as the Greater Titans did in 1st. The difference is the Primordials representing the entirety of whatever aspect of reality they represent...also extends to understanding Why their aspect completely dominating relating is a Bad thing. Hell a few of them even make Scions to assist their pantheons!

* AMythologyIsTrue: The campaign of ''Ragnarok'' assumes a setting in which only Norse mythology is true.

* AdaptionalHeroism: In a way, the Primordials in the Second ed serve the same function as the Greater Titans did in 1st. The difference is the Primordials representing the entirety of whatever aspect of reality they represent...also extends to understanding Why their aspect completely dominating relating is a Bad thing. Hell a few of them even make Scions to assist their pantheons!

* LikeFatherLikeSon: Scions sometimes hew very closely to their divine parent. The signature Scion of Horus, for instance, is driven to seek justice against his fratricidal uncle [[MeaningfulName Seth]]. In first edition this was mechanically encouraged by making it significantly easier for Scions to gain and raise traits they had in common with their parents. In second edition, a Scion just needs to share one Purview - an area they have power over, such as Fire or Sun - and one Calling - a mythical role such as Warrior or Lover - out of three with their parent, and otherwise have no mechanical incentives to resemble them.
* ALoadOfBull: The Minotaurs are a OneGenderRace of humanoid bulls likely to be encountered as opponents (and, possibly, followers) of demigods. It turns out that, in 1e's Scionverse, the Cretan Bull actually '''raped''' first Pasiphaë and then any Cretan woman it could find after emerging from the sea, as none of the Cretans would even dare to try and corral it for fear of Poseidon's wrath. Poseidon made no effort to stop it; they were saved from its rampages only when Heracles came and took the Cretan Bull as his Seventh Labour.

* OrderVersusChaos: Explicitly defined as part of the core rules in first edition - normal Virtues define a code of behavior, while the Titanic Dark Virtues are [[SocialDarwinist raw survivalism, with a side of selfishness]].

* NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus: Avoided for the most part, since the setting's superpowers ''[[TakeAThirdOption are]]'' divine magic, but the TropeNamer is a special case. In first edition, while the Abrahamic God ''may'' be evil (if he is Aten, if Aten is aping God however then the jury is out) and [[PublicDomainArtifact the Holy Grail]] exists, Jesus is left alone. In second edition AllMythsAreTrue including the Abrahamic ones, but there's a moratorium on official content for them that ensures questions like whether Jesus was a Saint, Prophet, or Scion remain unanswered.

* NoSuchThingAsWizardJesus: In first edition, while God ''may'' be evil (if he is Aten, if Aten is aping God however then the jury is out) and [[PublicDomainArtifact the Holy Grail]] exists, Jesus is left alone.
** In second edition, this is zig-zagged. All polytheistic religions are simultaneously and equally true. The gods of monotheistic religions are distinctly absent. The books note that most followers of monotheistic religions pay very little attention to this paradox, and in fact still make up the majority of individuals in spite of the lack of a {{Masquerade}}. It's noted that many are henotheistic on some level, devoting a prayer to any number of gods after attending mass and not stopping for a second to question it. Aten still exists, but is described as an idol who enforces his own vision of order around him.

** "When your character is incapable of taking action, because he is unconscious, paralyzed, ''[[Franchise/StarWars frozen in carbonite]]'' or whatever . . ."

*** "I thought Thor was a blond."]]

* MultiArmedAndDangerous: The Hekatonkheires are BlobMonsters the size of a small town, but they are capable of creating as many arms as needed[[note]]Although Scion: God notes that that if they create more than 100 arms spreads out the Hekatonkheire too thinly to adequately defend itself[[/note]], and most of the Dodekatheon agree that if all three were to attack Olympus together, ''Olympus will fall''.

* MultiArmedAndDangerous: The Hekatonkheires are BlobMosters the size of a small town, but they are capable of creating as many arms as needed[[note]]Although Scion: God notes that that if they create more than 100 arms spreads out the Hekatonkheire too thinly to adequately defend itself[[/note]], and most of the Dodekatheon agree that if all three were to attack Olympus together, ''Olympus will fall''.

* {{Transgender}}: Blair Thomas.
** In 2e, Loki is pangender, Annie X is genderfluid, and Sigrún Askrdöttir was a Scion of Loki who spat her first breath in their face...because they carved her from an ash tree into a masculine shape, having intended to create a Viking Adonis. She's seeking magic to carve herself into her rightful form.

* {{Seers}}: In addition to any Scion or God with the [[WindsOfDestinyChange Fortune]] purview, [[NotThatKindOfMage two kinds]] of seer exist as a Supernatural Path in Second Edition. Prophets do not actually have the ability to perceive the future, but have an intuitive understanding of fate, allowing them to predict it. Since fate runs on storytelling logic in this setting, this makes them {{Meta Guy}}s par excellence. Meanwhile, [[TheCassandra Cassandras]] know precisely what is happening in the moment, but isn't immediately visible, such as the fact that the TrojanHorse is the setup for an ambush, or that the paramedic that just arrived is a shapeshifter in disguise. Unfortunately like their namesake they are cursed to never be believed. Prophets are a potential background for Scions, but Cassandras are not and can't ascend beyond mortal tier. Both are useful allies for player characters, as creatures of Legend are immune to the Cassandra's curse.

** In second edition, this is zig-zagged. All polytheistic religions are simultaneously and equally true. The gods of monotheistic religions are distinctly absent. The books note that most followers of monotheistic relgions pay very little attention to this paradox, and in fact still make up the majority of individuals in spite of the lack of a {{Masquerade}}. It's noted that many are henotheistic on some level, devoting a prayer to any number of gods after attending mass and not stopping for a second to question it. In spite of this shrug when it comes to Abrahamic and other monotheistic religions, this trops is {{averted|Trope}} when it comes to the Buddha. Siddhartha Gautama was explicitly an incarnation of Vishnu in second edition's setting in spite of there being a snarl when it comes to any number of details about many religions. Buddhists are in denial. Aten still exists, but is described as an idol who enforces his own vision of order around him.

* PrecisionFStrike: In 2e's ''Hero'' book, it's noted that despite what [[Literature/{{Ramayana}} Rama]] suspected, Sita's virginity was indisputable, "[[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped not that it should fucking matter]]".

* HeroicLineage[=/=]InTheBlood: In first edition, Scions are expected to take after their divine parents in personality as well as ability, with the writeup for each god going into specifics. Since those specifics are intended for presumably-heroic player characters, the former trope is more likely to be played up than the latter. For instance, Scions of [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Set]] are known for doing DirtyBusiness, Scions of [[Myth/AztecMythology Tezcatlipoca]] stir up controversy for a cause, and Scions of [[UsefulNotes/{{Voudoun}} Kalfu]] are likely to be DrivenToVillainy troublemakers more than actually malicious. Those fathered by Caligula, who's detailed in the WWII supplement as the reason the Greek Gods are supporting the Axis, on the other hand, are just terrible people.

** Out of the six sample "evil" Scions in first edition, only two - [[BigBad Kane Taoka]] and Seth Farrow - are truly nasty. Sly's a pawn, Orlanda's a victim of LoveMakesYouEvil, Marie's just egotistical (and pulls a HeelFaceTurn in ''God''), and Victor's just following orders (he ''is'' a soldier).

* MasqueradeEnforcer: Deific Fatebinding. Here, Fate is the collective force of humanity's mythologies, narratives and stories about how the gods and other supernatural creatures work. Basically, the memes about the gods. In this setting, these memes can have a binding effect on the Gods, forcing the Gods to act in ways that conform to those memes. This is known as Deific Fatebinding. Whenever they do act in the world, the Gods therefore act in ways that are subtle and hidden from humanity, less the stories generated from open action Bind them to roles they don't want.

* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Averted. The writers actually get "chthonic" right as a definition (it means "of the underworld" in Greek, and guess where the Titans got themselves sealed?).

** [[spoiler: This is revealed to be the primary motivation behind Loki's convoluted plan in 1e's core books. ''He succeeds'', breaking free from his Fate-given role by hijacking Muspelheim and becoming a Greater Titan himself.]].

** About the only major exception is Miclantecuhtli of the Atzlanti, who is pretty much a JerkAss - 1e ''Hero'' describes him as "suffering a permanent case of schadenfreude". Then again, with the possible exceptions of Quetzalcoátl and Tlazolteotl[[note]]And she's a goddess of ''shit''[[/note]], none of the Atzlanti are really portrayed in a flattering light. This extends to the Scions; of the four official examples, one is a psychotic self-mutilator, one is a male-to-female transsexual who uses the flayed skin of a woman to change sexes, one is a self-hating DeathSeeker, and the other, after ascending to godhood, is pretty much disgusted with his own pantheon.