Legend

Scions and Gods are creatures empowered by divine legend, whose Deeds shape the World around them. Tumult and conflict surround a Scion as the forces of Fate act to shape her power in turn, until her divine identity — the Mantle — begins to dictate her actions. Until that time, however, her Deeds defy the physical laws that bind ordinary mortals; as she grows in power, her mythic weight distorts the very fabric of reality. Waves of improbability spawn wonders — and, increasingly, eerily familiar disasters — wherever she goes. She walks as the Gods do, until the World entire is treaded by her feet. The Legend trait is the measure of the Scion’s mythic weight, reflecting the favor of her divine parent and the glory of her epic deeds. As a Scion’s Legend grows, she gains access to greater Boons and Knacks. She also becomes better-known in her pantheon and the World. This isn’t a function of fleeting mortal fame, however, as simply having millions of social media followers won’t increase a Scion’s might. Legend represents a shaping of humanity’s unconscious to accommodate the Scion and their Deeds. Having a high Legend nets you a lot of social media followers, not the other way around.

A Scion’s Legend rating generates a pool of Legend points equal to the character’s Legend dots. These points may be imbued — temporarily allocated to power Boons, and returning to the Scion’s Legend pool when the Boon is terminated — or spent — a powerful expenditure of divine might that temporarily weakens the Scion, requiring him to immerse himself in the narrative strands of Fate or receive sacrifices in order to grow strong once more.

Legend is rated from 1 to 12. Scions of Legend 1 through Legend 4 are considered Heroes — an ethics neutral term here meant to separate Scions from mortal humanity. Scions of Legend 5 through Legend 8 are considered true Demigods; characters of Legend 9 through Legend 12 are themselves Gods. Most Gods have a Legend of 9, while particularly strong Gods with diverse Purviews may be Legend 10. Legend 11 is generally reserved for the foremost members of the pantheons who occupy specific roles (God of War, God of the Harvest), while the three or four mightiest deities of the pantheon have Legend 12.

 

RAISING LEGEND

Raising Legend requires the Scion to complete one set of Short-term, Long-term, and Band Deeds. Mark the box next to the Deed once this has been completed. As a reminder, while the Scion may choose a new Short-term Deed with a tweak between sessions (and a Long-term one with a similar tweak, once it’s been completed) and gain Experience for completing new ones, they may not choose a new Band Deed until the entire band has completed one set of Deeds: in other words, once everyone’s on the same level of Legend once again. Once you’ve completed a set, erase the marks over the boxes; any new Deeds completed count towards a new set. Upon gaining a new Legend dot, the Scion may rearrange which Boons she knows “permanently” among any Purviews she has access to.

 

REGAINING LEGEND

Scions and Gods may regain spent Legend points in one of two ways: by receiving an appropriate sacrifice, or by accepting a Fatebinding (see p. 195). Either generally requires a dedicated scene of play.
 

Fatebindings

When you accept a Fatebinding in accordance with one of your Callings, the energies generated by acting in accordance with Fate replenish a point of Legend.  

SACRIFICE

Gods and Scions can also replenish their Legend points through sacrifice. For Heroes, this involves making a ritual offering to your divine parent or your pantheon as a whole in a holy place or shrine and in accordance with the pantheon’s motif (see p. 237), a ceremony which takes one scene to complete. At the conclusion of the sacrifice, you regain a point of Legend. If your Legend pool is already full, you can instead immediately spend or imbue that point in a Boon or marvel. Sacrifices are divided into two types — minor and major — depending on the narrative challenges posed by acquiring and offering them. A Scion can only benefit from a minor sacrifice once per arc, while there is no limit to how many major sacrifices they can gain Legend from. Note that this alone is not enough to assure a sacrifice’s value — you gain nothing from offering a God something they do not desire, even if it qualifies as a major sacrifice.
• Minor sacrifices can usually be obtained offscreen during downtime or between scenes, and carry little or no consequences: garlands of flowers, cigars left at crossroads, and animal offal (ask your local butcher).
• Major sacrifices tend to involve multiple scenes (sometimes entire sessions) of effort to acquire, and/or have potential consequences severe enough that even a Scion would not undertake them lightly. Human sacrifice is major, but so is burning a masterfully crafted handmade effigy or offering the last cigar from a box that formerly belonged to an Incarnation of Eshu. Scarification, bloodletting, and other ritual self-mutilation are minor sacrifices, which result in accepting an Injury Condition.