Age of Legends (Warhammer Fantasy/Scion)

grimnir gotrkson said:

What powers mix well with king of sky figured we don't want an unbalanced character.

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War means buffing birds and going Alfred Hitchcock on the Ruinous Powers.

[X] Absence. She called you beloved, and you can hear the affection in her voice when she speaks of your father. Why, then, did your mother disappear after you were born? Why did she leave you alone?
[X] Romance. How did your parents meet? What was it about your father that drew even the eye of the Goddess Myrmidia? You would never have thought of the divine in terms of love and affection - is it a legacy of her time spent as a mortal?

[X] Epic Dexterity. Your movements are impossibly fluid and effortless. You may stand on any surface capable of bearing a feather with perfect balance, scale and descend vertical surfaces without a handhold, and perform other feats of grace and dexterity without difficulty.
[X] Sun. You can choose to radiate sunlight in an aura around you. The intensity of the light, and thus effective range, can be anything between a soft glow to a near-blinding radiance. This is natural sunlight, and has all associated effects on relevant creatures or magic.

[X] Regret. In that cellar, when you were lost in darkness, Myrmidia said she had hoped to spare you from this. Why? Is there some secret to your power, some drawback to your inheritance, that she would rather you not have?
[X] Romance. How did your parents meet? What was it about your father that drew even the eye of the Goddess Myrmidia? You would never have thought of the divine in terms of love and affection - is it a legacy of her time spent as a mortal?

[X] Epic Dexterity. Your movements are impossibly fluid and effortless. You may stand on any surface capable of bearing a feather with perfect balance, scale and descend vertical surfaces without a handhold, and perform other feats of grace and dexterity without difficulty.
[X] Artistry. Your artistic performances or creations really speak to people, conveying your meaning with impossible breadth and depth; a painting might convey a speech, or a statue a heartfelt appeal. Such works are always masterpieces, equal to those of the finest artisans or performers in the realm.

Equipping a crack team of soldiers with our crazy engineering skills then further divinely empowering them? That just sounds like a way legends are born~
Also, what is a Sunbro w/o some Jolly Cooperation(tm) anyway

[X] Order. You have an intuitive and encyclopedic knowledge of the laws governing any jurisdiction you happen to be standing within. Mortal law enforcement cannot obstruct or punish you for lawful acts, nor may they overreach their authority or abuse their power when you are involved; their bodies betray them in the face of true justice.
[X] Sun. You can choose to radiate sunlight in an aura around you. The intensity of the light, and thus effective range, can be anything between a soft glow to a near-blinding radiance. This is natural sunlight, and has all associated effects on relevant creatures or magic.

SUN PURVIEW, SUN PURVIEW, SUN PURVIEW.

[X] Epic Dexterity. Your movements are impossibly fluid and effortless. You may stand on any surface capable of bearing a feather with perfect balance, scale and descend vertical surfaces without a handhold, and perform other feats of grace and dexterity without difficulty.
[X] War. People who fight at your side, or at your command, are divinely bolstered and empowered. Their strength, speed, resilience and skill are all augmented to the pinnacle of human capability, and they may serve as the vector or target for further miracles without cost.


It doesn't matter how much of a genius you are or how easily you can produce masterworks, or even how much you want to improve the world, if you cannot keep yourself AND your creations out of the wrong hands. History and fiction are full of examples of what happens in such cases. I'd rather not die from an unfortunate heart attack and have all of my research confiscated by the CIA a few hours later.

[X] Artistry. Your artistic performances or creations really speak to people, conveying your meaning with impossible breadth and depth; a painting might convey a speech, or a statue a heartfelt appeal. Such works are always masterpieces, equal to those of the finest artisans or performers in the realm.

[X] Epic Dexterity. Your movements are impossibly fluid and effortless. You may stand on any surface capable of bearing a feather with perfect balance, scale and descend vertical surfaces without a handhold, and perform other feats of grace and dexterity without difficulty.

[X] Divinity. What is it like, being a god? Are there rules which must be obeyed, which prevent Myrmidia from resolving the rift in her cult, or limitations on divine strength which mortals cannot perceive?
[X] Regret. In that cellar, when you were lost in darkness, Myrmidia said she had hoped to spare you from this. Why? Is there some secret to your power, some drawback to your inheritance, that she would rather you not have?

[X] Order. You have an intuitive and encyclopedic knowledge of the laws governing any jurisdiction you happen to be standing within. Mortal law enforcement cannot obstruct or punish you for lawful acts, nor may they overreach their authority or abuse their power when you are involved; their bodies betray them in the face of true justice.
[X] Sun. You can choose to radiate sunlight in an aura around you. The intensity of the light, and thus effective range, can be anything between a soft glow to a near-blinding radiance. This is natural sunlight, and has all associated effects on relevant creatures or magic.

[X] Absence. She called you beloved, and you can hear the affection in her voice when she speaks of your father. Why, then, did your mother disappear after you were born? Why did she leave you alone?
[X] Romance. How did your parents meet? What was it about your father that drew even the eye of the Goddess Myrmidia? You would never have thought of the divine in terms of love and affection - is it a legacy of her time spent as a mortal?

[X] Beauty. You have inherited your mother's looks; even covered in engine oil and half-asleep, you would still be the most beautiful person in any room. Miracles based on your personal appearance, behaviour or body language are free to use or repeat, be it silencing a room with a smile or terrifying a hydra with a smile.
[X] Epic Dexterity. Your movements are impossibly fluid and effortless. You may stand on any surface capable of bearing a feather with perfect balance, scale and descend vertical surfaces without a handhold, and perform other feats of grace and dexterity without difficulty.

[X] Absence. She called you beloved, and you can hear the affection in her voice when she speaks of your father. Why, then, did your mother disappear after you were born? Why did she leave you alone?
[X] Romance. How did your parents meet? What was it about your father that drew even the eye of the Goddess Myrmidia? You would never have thought of the divine in terms of love and affection - is it a legacy of her time spent as a mortal?

[X] Beauty. You have inherited your mother's looks; even covered in engine oil and half-asleep, you would still be the most beautiful person in any room. Miracles based on your personal appearance, behaviour or body language are free to use or repeat, be it silencing a room with a smile or terrifying a hydra with a smile.
[X] Epic Dexterity. Your movements are impossibly fluid and effortless. You may stand on any surface capable of bearing a feather with perfect balance, scale and descend vertical surfaces without a handhold, and perform other feats of grace and dexterity without difficulty.

[X] Absence. She called you beloved, and you can hear the affection in her voice when she speaks of your father. Why, then, did your mother disappear after you were born? Why did she leave you alone?
[X] Romance. How did your parents meet? What was it about your father that drew even the eye of the Goddess Myrmidia? You would never have thought of the divine in terms of love and affection - is it a legacy of her time spent as a mortal?

[X] War.

[X] Divinity. What is it like, being a god? Are there rules which must be obeyed, which prevent Myrmidia from resolving the rift in her cult, or limitations on divine strength which mortals cannot perceive?
[X] Enemy. The Purple Hand seemed to know of your existence, or had some reason to target you. Can you expect other foes to know of you as well? Will you spend your life looking over your shoulder in fear?
[X] Epic Dexterity. Your movements are impossibly fluid and effortless. You may stand on any surface capable of bearing a feather with perfect balance, scale and descend vertical surfaces without a handhold, and perform other feats of grace and dexterity without difficulty.
[X] Artistry. Your artistic performances or creations really speak to people, conveying your meaning with impossible breadth and depth; a painting might convey a speech, or a statue a heartfelt appeal. Such works are always masterpieces, equal to those of the finest artisans or performers in the realm.

Akasha said:

[X] Epic Dexterity. Your movements are impossibly fluid and effortless. You may stand on any surface capable of bearing a feather with perfect balance, scale and descend vertical surfaces without a handhold, and perform other feats of grace and dexterity without difficulty.
[X] War. People who fight at your side, or at your command, are divinely bolstered and empowered. Their strength, speed, resilience and skill are all augmented to the pinnacle of human capability, and they may serve as the vector or target for further miracles without cost.


It doesn't matter how much of a genius you are or how easily you can produce masterworks, or even how much you want to improve the world, if you cannot keep yourself AND your creations out of the wrong hands. History and fiction are full of examples of what happens in such cases. I'd rather not die from an unfortunate heart attack and have all of my research confiscated by the CIA a few hours later.

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Well good thing humans everywhere manage not to trip over their own feet and die without a supernatural skill for warfare given them by a divine parent

Seriously though I do not want to pick war because IMO it does not fit the character or her progression. Valeria has never been at war, she has only just killed once, for all the training she's gotten, so what does that mean for her? How does she react to close quarter fighting? How does she turn her gifts to battle?

War answers all these questions with: "Doesn't matter she is amazing at it because demigod." We do not get to see as much of her growth or struggle into a warrior or a leader, because hell who would not want to join up with someone who can make you superhuman in battle?

I'd really like for Epic Dexterity to win.

It just looks to be the part that works best for our survival and thus ability to have more adventures and grow better in all aspects of our callings and heritage.

[X] Absence. She called you beloved, and you can hear the affection in her voice when she speaks of your father. Why, then, did your mother disappear after you were born? Why did she leave you alone?

[X] Regret. In that cellar, when you were lost in darkness, Myrmidia said she had hoped to spare you from this. Why? Is there some secret to your power, some drawback to your inheritance, that she would rather you not have?

[X] Epic Dexterity. Your movements are impossibly fluid and effortless. You may stand on any surface capable of bearing a feather with perfect balance, scale and descend vertical surfaces without a handhold, and perform other feats of grace and dexterity without difficulty.

[X] Order. You have an intuitive and encyclopedic knowledge of the laws governing any jurisdiction you happen to be standing within. Mortal law enforcement cannot obstruct or punish you for lawful acts, nor may they overreach their authority or abuse their power when you are involved; their bodies betray them in the face of true justice.

Artemis1992 said:

I'd really like for Epic Dexterity to win.

It just looks to be the part that works best for our survival and thus ability to have more adventures and grow better in all aspects of our callings and heritage.

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Adding to the above, I do think Epic Dexterity is inherently better than war in one way that gets overlooked. War scales up with the number of people under our command, so it works best when you throw an army at people, but armies do not grow on trees, and even if/when you gather one the powers that be do not really like it that much when there is a strange army marching through their land. Which ties into...

People in the Empire do not really like Myrmidia that much... like she is not Ranald or anything but when Magnus the Pious gave the Myrmidians a seat at the grand conclave of faiths there were more than a few eyebrows and voices raised. The goddess is seen as foreign and strange and a competition to both Ulric and Sigmar, in fact if there is one order god those two can agree to disliking other than Ranald it is Myrmidia with her southern airs. We are not going to be just allowed to gather an army which is where war would most shine.

Epic Dexterity on the other hand is always with us because it is internal, it helps in duels, which lets face it we are a demigod are going to be quite common. Servants of the ruinous powers will seek out the glory of killing Valeria, they are not going to leave that to their hordes of mooks.

Artemis1992 said:

I'd really like for Epic Dexterity to win.

It just looks to be the part that works best for our survival and thus ability to have more adventures and grow better in all aspects of our callings and heritage.

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In previous vote, QM said that our callings will shape what will he throw at us. That is, Omniglot means more foreigners, while Judge means more investigative works, this sort of thing.
I imagine this applies here too.
It is a narrative quest. If we die, it will be because we did something dumb like stab ourselves for power, not because we did not minmax and optimize numbers (which, very notably, do not exist) enough.

ctulhuslp said:

In previous vote, QM said that our callings will shape what will he throw at us. That is, Omniglot means more foreigners, while Judge means more investigative works, this sort of thing.
I imagine this applies here too.
It is a narrative quest. If we die, it will be because we did something dumb like stab ourselves for power, not because we did not minmax and optimize numbers (which, very notably, do not exist) enough.

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Powers still interact with the narrative of the world. This risk of dying is part of the story, because well demigods do that sometimes, so the question of 'which powers would be best at keeping Valeria alive in the political and social context she finds herself in' seems to me a valid one.

DragonParadox said:

Powers still interact with the narrative of the world. This risk of dying is part of the story, because well demigods do that sometimes, so the question of 'which powers would be best at keeping Valeria alive in the political and social context she finds herself in' seems to me a valid one.

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This feels a lot like trying to weasel around the point. No matter what we pick, there are going to be situations in which our choices are ineffective.

Strunkriidiisk said:

This feels a lot like trying to weasel around the point. No matter what we pick, there are going to be situations in which our choices are ineffective.

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That is entirely true, no choice is perfect, that is the point of good game design, but by the same token that does not mean all present choices interact with all past choices to produce the same amount of risk.

1. We are an engineer in Nuln born to an Tilean expatriate
2. We have made an enemy of a Tzeenchian cult
3. We have knacks that are mostly focused around crafting with one that aids in communication and scholarship
4. We have a legend that is focused on Truth and revealing the lie of Chaos (and perhaps others)

All these things are already locked in, so asking the question of 'which future choice best synergizes with the above and will help keep us alive in the deathworld we live on' seems to me at least valid.

For instance I think the odds of getting into a duel with the kind of things that can fight Demigods is likely because of the nature of the setting and the opposition, everyone from Chaos to Blood Dragons to orcs is obsessed with duels. Looking at the above list I do not see many skills that would help in a duel, specifically at least. I am sure Engineering would help with the equipment and if we are fighting something like a daemon or other creature of darkness being able to unveil the lie of its existence sounds good, but we do not seem to have a strong all around ability for one on one battle, hence why I chose Epic Dexterity.

Mind you I also chose Order because given the nature of the Purple Hand and the fact that the cult of Myrmidia is not that well liked they might try the trick with the judge again so that is covering another of what I consider Valeria's weak spots

I'm not saying you cannot just have a personal preference to praise the sun or vote on it, but I do not think that is all there is to this vote.

*runs a tally*

We... appear to have a three-way tie, with Artistry, Sun and Epic Dexterity all having 24 votes apiece. Huh. That is not where I saw that going. Well, the vote is obviously still open, so I guess we'll see how things develop. I might do another post in a bit to elaborate on how each one differs in order to help people who aren't sure which one they want.

Maugan Ra said:

*runs a tally*

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well, if Beauty not winning
revote

[X] Sun. You can choose to radiate sunlight in an aura around you. The intensity of the light, and thus effective range, can be anything between a soft glow to a near-blinding radiance. This is natural sunlight, and has all associated effects on relevant creatures or magic.
[X] Artistry. Your artistic performances or creations really speak to people, conveying your meaning with impossible breadth and depth; a painting might convey a speech, or a statue a heartfelt appeal. Such works are always masterpieces, equal to those of the finest artisans or performers in the realm.

Ok, so to aid in breaking the tie and getting a workable result, here's a breakdown of the current leading options.

Artistry will make you renowned for your mastery of poetry, song, dance, storytelling, painting or any other form of art. Please note that while your Creator knacks apply just as much to works of sculpture and painting as blacksmithing, this purview will not directly benefit your engineering in any way, outside of helping to make your creations more aesthetically pleasing. However, it should be remembered that you are a lowborn Engineer who only recently graduated - you will need a patron or some other form of "in" to get the wealth and material resources necessary for large projects, or to get invitations to prestigious events. Being an excellent artist as well as a capable Engineer will make that kind of undertaking much more useful, and will steer the quest in that direction.

Epic Dexterity is the only one of Myrmidia's purviews which directly enhances your physical capabilities and ability in combat. Other purviews can conjure up blasts of divine energy or reshape the battlefield, and War buffs your knowledge and allies, but Epic Dexterity gives you the speed and grace to personally cross swords with hostile champions or extricate yourself from danger (though you'd want actual martial training to make the most of it). It benefits both melee and ranged combat (one potential Boon is the ability to ignore all environmental penalties to your accuracy and extend your range to line of sight), but the civilian applications are more limited, largely in the form of just being very graceful and elegant.

Sun works with both the literal elements of the sun (blinding light, blasts of holy energy) but also governs more emotional or abstract associations such as hope or rebirth. Boons include directly stirring the hearts of others to cure fear, depression or malaise, or tearing through disguise and illusions with the light of truth. It is also the most overtly supernatural of the three leading purviews, which might be a good or bad thing depending on your preferences - people will very swiftly cotton on to the fact that you are divinely empowered when you start working miracles of this purview. Sun will tilt Valeria towards being a figure of inspiration and hope, someone who leans into her legendary title and Judge calling to drag the sins of the night out into the daylight.

[X] Epic Dexterity. Your movements are impossibly fluid and effortless. You may stand on any surface capable of bearing a feather with perfect balance, scale and descend vertical surfaces without a handhold, and perform other feats of grace and dexterity without difficulty.

[X] Artistry. Your artistic performances or creations really speak to people, conveying your meaning with impossible breadth and depth; a painting might convey a speech, or a statue a heartfelt appeal. Such works are always masterpieces, equal to those of the finest artisans or performers in the realm.

This just makes me want Sun more, ngl, given that "tearing through disguise and illusions with the light of truth" is cool as hell.
And pocket flashbang or holy light is nifty too.
Not the most subtle of choices, but we do not particularly intend to be that subtle, I think.