Well now, this is quite interesting. I suppose I'll do a bit of analysis before I vote.
Harry Potter and the Scabbard of Excalibur
Well, first things first. Harry Potter titles generally refer to some important plot element, so the fact that the quest title conforms to the same basic structure is interesting. Now, it's possible that this was just a cool title that fit the theme, but it may also be a bit of foreshadowing towards stuff later on in the Quest. We'll see.
And now, to the options:
[ ] Heir of Slytherin
*Allows you to speak in Parseltongue, the language of serpents and other such creatures, including politicians.
*Makes your blood considerably more powerful ritualistically and alchemically. A single spoonful, ingested by a Muggle, has effects similar to LSD and horse tranquilizers. Its effects can be modified.
*Makes you a novice natural Legilimens, allowing for the use of that discipline without the use of a wand. If you wish to develop this skill past its most basic levels, you'll need much effort.
*An inherent aptitude for the noble art of dueling and battle magic, especially magus a magus.
*A House Blessing, mutually exclusive with the other House Blessings.
The Parseltongue-politician thing might just be a joke, but it could be possible that Slytherin gives diplomacy bonuses to politicians, lawyers, and others of their ilk. It'd be fitting, at least. The blood empowerment is fairly good, I could see that working out quite well if we took Alchemy or Potions with Trismegistus. Being a natural Legilimens could be useful for subterfuge, as it'd enable mind reading without any obvious tell, but I'm kind of meh on it, personally. The dueling/battle magic could be useful, especially for builds that pick Apocryphal. All in all, it's a fairly decent choice, but I think there are better.
[ ] Champion of Gryffindor
*Although wizards are, by default, absurdly durable, you are thrice more durable than an average adult wizard, and recover in a fifth of the time from even debilitating wounds.
*A considerably unnatural level of resistance to magic; high (80%) resistance to spells with intangible effects like Petrificus Totalus, modest (20%) resistance against effects with tangible effects like Stupefy, applied externally, after your natural and accumulated resistance. Resistance doesn't affect effects that are beneficial (someone slowing your fall down the stairs, healing, etc.)
*An inherent aptitude for the martial art of fencing and swordsmanship, as well as physical self-reinforcement.
*Allows you to Apparate through the Hogwarts wards, as well as to issue commands to its defensive mechanisms and spatial motors on the same level as the Headmaster.
*A House Blessing, mutually exclusive with the other House Blessings.
The path of a muscle-wizard is a fine one indeed. Very attractive to any build with Apocryphal, ensuring that Harry can easily bounce back from anything that doesn't kill him. Also pairs very well with Boy-Who-Lived, as combining this magic resistance with the Forbidden Curse immunity makes it very difficult to actually take this build out. The physical self-reinforcement aptitude is interesting in that if we can get some kind of maintainable speed boost going we'd be able to study for subjectively longer amounts of time. The Hogwarts authorization is interesting in that it opens up unique options for dealing with troubles that occur at school.
[ ] Sage of Ravenclaw
*An immaculate memory, virtually eidetic, allowing you for perfect, non-confusing, and near-instantaneous recall of almost everything that's happened since you were around three years old. Its sheer depth astounds and scares even you; if your cognition wasn't as smooth as it was, it'd be easy to get lost in the immensity of your own recall. Immune to Memory Charms of all kinds.
*Makes you considerably better (100% increase) at developing your own spells or modifying spells you know.
*Become ever-wise to the twisting floor plans and halls of Hogwarts, including its most secret passages, except for the Chamber of Secrets, whose domain lies in the hand of Slytherin alone.
*Makes you into a natural Seer and diviner.
*A House Blessing, mutually exclusive with the other House Blessings.
Ravenclaw is actually pretty interesting. The immunity to Memory Charms is very, very nice: being able to completely shut down a dangerous vector of attack like that is quite the potent boon indeed. I can't really judge the benefit we gain from having an easier time making/modifying spells, but it would likely be fairly significant. The Hogwarts floor plan is actually a pretty solid boon, given that it'd enable things like Room of Requirement abuse right out of the gate. Becoming a Seer and diviner is actually pretty good. Being able to see the ebbs and flows of fate would likely help with handling whatever the Apocryphal throws at us, and
The Dark Lord, for all his power, still feared the prophecy of a Seer.
[ ] Lord of Hufflepuff
*All initiated Hufflepuffs are filled with an instinctive sense of deference towards you. If you happen to become a Hufflepuff yourself, this effect will be further intensified by several steps.
*Never feel especially bothered by having to work more; no rolls for burn-out, and working harder does not cost additional Will. You are simply assumed to always be doing your best to advance.
*Allows you to conjure the Patronus simply by feeling good about yourself. And in time, you may begin to study the secrets of what ancient tomes call the "Infinite Patronus..."
*At night, when you sleep, you can still hear the screams in your dreams. It is very fortunate that you cannot remember your dreams.
*A House Blessing, mutually exclusive with the other House Blessings.
A simple but fairly potent set of boons. The first gives us an entire House worth of minions, which is a fair bit more useful than you'd expect. In addition to having many more eyes and ears and hands with which to get things done, we'd have easy access to a bevy of 7th year 'Puffs ready to tutor us in any subject we care to learn. Actually, wait. Would this work on people who
graduated from Hufflepuff? Because if so, that'd give us an insane number of people to potentially use. The second benefit is quite good to, the ability to just always give our maximum effort is sure to boost our advancement considerably. I'm not quite certain what an 'Infinite Patronus' would entail, but it sounds like something that's at least fairly overpowered.
That fourth point is, uh, quite ominous though. I'd laugh if it turns out that becoming Lord of Hufflepuff somehow connects Harry and
You-Know-Who more, and that's what's up with those dreams.
If I had to pick one, I'd likely go for Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.
[ ] Boy-Who-Lived
*Although you were famous before in the wizarding community, now you are an incredible celebrity; a minor form of messianic savior for the magical people of Britain who recognize your name, and something of a curious phenomenon to Muggleborn or fellow children who heard your story.
*It lends considerable weight to your actions and words from the perspective of certain people. Surely, whoever opposes the Boy-Who-Lived is also opposing conventional wisdom? However, some people will merely see this as a reason to go further...
*Become completely unaffected by the Three Unforgivable Curses - foolish attempts are reflected at double (or more) power back on their caster. If someone threatens to cast the Cruciatus on you, simply laugh and tell them to go ahead.
A pretty good boon, all together. An increase to our reputation is nice, makes it easier to both connect with those around us and call down favors from authority figures. Would certainly enhance the leeway we'd get for our efforts in dealing with Apocryphal procs, anyway. And the Unforgivable immunity is just beautiful, honestly. I wonder how many Death Eaters suffering that reflection it'd take before they decided to swap up their approach. Plus, it'd enable hilarious strategies like human shielding said Unforgivables so other people don't get hit or taunting enemies so they just reactively try and Kedavra us, even knowing it's not a good idea. Those who venture into dark magic aren't exactly known for their sanity, after all. I don't imagine we could ever get
You-Know-Who to completely lose his cool like that, but some of his lieutenants... (Cough Bellatrix cough) Anyway, yeah, immunity to magic that is otherwise dodge-or-die is very nice.
[ ] An Equal In Truth
*Although the reason for this is presently unclear, the scar on your forehead emanates incredible power. +.25 Gnosis for every chapter, raised up to .5 Gnosis on occassion.
*Increases your Magical Power. At the moment you enter Hogwarts, you'll command the raw capacity of a determined and hard-working 2nd-Year student, allowing you to learn spells, potions, and other items on that level without significant issue aside from theoretical knowledge.
*Altogether, over time, your Magical Power grows considerably faster; by the time you're in your 5th Year, you'll actually have the raw magical power of a Hogwarts graduate.
*Requires Mark of the Equal.
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is powerful indeed, it would seem. This grants power enough that we would be greater than our peers on arrival, and potential enough to maintain our position ahead of them. The extra Gnosis is also appreciated, a steady drip that could help push us over the edge for some important purchases.
[ ] A Child Prodigy
*Arrogance is often the result of upbringing or nature, and in your case, it's more the latter than the former (accuse the Dursleys of whatever you wish, but they did their best; sometimes, the best simply isn't enough.)
*Your growth in ordinary Skills is highly increased (300%).
*Your growth in Magical Skills is considerably increased (150%).
*Requires Heroic Flaw: Arrogance.
Not much to say. Pure potential, and quite a large amount.
[ ] Trismegistus
*Makes you Thrice-Great.
*After you enter Hogwarts, you'll be allowed to select up to three subjects, topics, or areas in which you shall excel to a point of surpassing every peer, and scraping against the ceiling of your own teacher's skill level. All of your attainments in this domain or field shall be incredibly swift and groundbreaking.
*As an example, if you select Broom Flying, you might become the Seeker in your first year, or if you select Potions, you might yet brew something that your teacher won't be able to insult...
A very, very good option. Incredible skill and incredible growth in three different disciplines is definitely nothing to scoff at. Ideally, the disciplines chosen would either combo with each other or serve to boost ourselves in some way.
[ ] Mark of the Equal - A scar on your forehead, like a seared brand in the shape of the lightning bolt, emblazoned upon your skin. It always seems too fresh, as if the wound had been dealt merely yesterday rather than years ago. It's like something is aggravating it. And occasionally, it aches, with a terrible, sharp intensity that prompts you to hiss.
Also makes you very recognizable. The scar may be concealed using esoteric means such as Polyjuice Potion. There may be other demerits to selecting this option than the ones mentioned here.
Fairly obvious drawback: we are bound more closely to
The Dark Lord. Honestly, I'm interested in the Additional Boon it would offer. What benefit could we get from being tied more tightly to
He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named?
[ ] Impaired Eyesight - A defect in the eyes, sadly incurable except for the most potent alchemical remedies and potions... but maybe you can live with it, for now.
A strong malus to any task which requires visual acuity or precision when you do not have proper corrective glasses. It may also require a couple of visits to the oculist, but given how richly they are being rewarded for taking care of you, the Dursleys won't mind taking a few hours out of their day to do this for you.
Oh no, we need to wear glasses. Whatever shall we do, suffering under the weight of this terrible curse. Easy pick.
[ ] Heroic Flaw: Arrogance - Just like your father, eh, Potter?
A relatively simple flaw, at its core. Even as a young boy, you lack the critical temperance and humility that you should - whether it manifests as conviction and stubbornness, or heroic anger at perceived injustice, or simply a complete absence of any conception that other people's opinions have weight, you are almost intolerably arrogant.
Although it's without a doubt - fated - that you shall become an arrogant little boy, the nature of your arrogance is highly dependent on your actions as well as the contents of your childhood misadventures. It's possible to get rid of this flaw with relative ease, simply by acquiring refinement and wisdom over the years, or in more brutal cases, by being harshly defeated or humiliated.
Eh, it's tolerable. We'll just have to guide it towards Heroic Determination, is all. Plus, the Additional Boon here is likely to boost willpower, at least in my view.
[ ] Apocryphal Curse - May you live in interesting times.
A hero must face great adversity in order to earn his role - as such, a hero's life is interesting by definition, with the frequent occurrence of vastly improbable events which force them to dig deep and discover whether they are truly worthy of everything that makes them. The challenges this presents will never be beyond your ability to overcome.
Additional Boon - However, the tremendous life of a Hero is filled with fortune and misfortune both, not only a constant string of the latter, so for every three unfortunate events that afflict you, you are ensured to also experience a minimum of one positive event to match them, at the very least. A specialized effort may skew this ratio further in your favor over time.
Oh boy, all aboard the crazy train. Essentially hard more, greater risk for greater reward. Of course I'm going for it.
Ultimately, I'm fine with taking all the drawbacks which leaves me with one House Boon and the other four boons. I'd expressed that I prefer Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, and l think I'll go with Ravenclaw.
[X] Plan Phenomenal Cosmic Power
-[X] Sage of Raenclaw
-[X] Boy-Who-Lived
-[X] An Equal In Truth
-[X] A Child Prodigy
-[X] Trismegistus
-[X] Mark of the Equal
-[X] Heroic Flaw: Arrogance
-[X] Impaired Eyesight
-[X] Apocryphal Curse
Edit: There's another plan that goes for a full-Drawback build, so I'll approval vote for it. If either my plan or that one have a real shot at winning I'll concentrate my vote-power around just the one, instead.
[X] Plan Subvocals
Edit edit: New max all Drawback plan, this time focused on Hufflepuff.
[X] Plan Max Lightning
-[X] Lord of Hufflepuff
-[X] Boy-Who-Lived
-[X] An Equal In Truth
-[X] A Child Prodigy
-[X] Trismegistus
-[X] Mark of the Equal
-[X] Heroic Flaw: Arrogance
-[X] Impaired Eyesight
-[X] Apocryphal Curse