Saints

Saints are mortals who resonate with the Virtues of the pantheons, tying their Fates to the great strains of philosophy with which the Gods themselves contend. Often, saints come from devout worshippers of the religions, but they’re just as likely to be near-atheists who feel Virtues within their souls. From the rishis to bards, saints are capable of surviving great trauma, and sometimes challenging the Gods when the latter fail to live up to their own standards.

 

Virtue

  Saints gain a Virtue track. The Godly are bound to their Pantheon by blood and by Fate, but these metaphysical societies are often riven by conflict and a long shared history. Virtues are a reflection of this, an attunement to philosophical divides resonating within the Scion’s ichor. Those in tune with divinity feel these Virtues imposed upon them as well.
  Virtues exist on a track, with one Virtue at each end, opposing the other.
  Virtues are relatively philosophical, but an action taken in support or service to them strengthens the hold on the character’s soul. Reinforcing a Virtue slides your character closer to that Virtue every time you reinforce it, while acting against it forces you away. If you’re not at the far ends of the track, acting against the Virtue doesn’t carry any particular penalties than loss of self-respect. When you’re at the end of the Virtue, however, you gain the Virtuous Condition.
  Cardinal Virtue: When a Saint’s actions cause them to move on their Virtue track, they move twice as far as normal. Thus, a Saint can only occupy the endpoints or exact middle of the Virtue track. Saint Knacks may refer to a Saint’s Virtue rating; this is either 3 or 1, depending on whether the Saint is currently at an endpoint or the center of the track, respectively.
  Humanity’s Finest: A Saint cannot be a Scion and cannot gain Legend unless they are also a Sorcerer. In most cases, a Saint will not have any other Supernatural Paths, but if the other players are fine with it, it’s possible to combine them. If a Saint ever gains access to a Marvel or Boon with a Legend cost via a Birthright, they activate it by immediately ending the Virtuous Condition and returning to the center of the Virtue track.
  Culture Hero: While a Saint cannot gain Legend, they are able to have up to three Callings. Whenever a Band’s members would gain Legend, a Saint in that Band gains one dot to spend on Callings at appropriate Legend dots, either Saint or up to two others, as if they had gained Legend like their Bandmates. When they first enter Hero Tier, they gain 4 dots of Callings despite remaining a normal human, for a total of 5 dots. All of their Callings must have at least one dot.
  HERO TIER Fated Exemplar: Saints do not have Legend or Omens, but can still have Fatebindings. A Saint may have a number of Fatebindings equal to their Saint Calling rating. Any time a Fatebinding would cause the Saint to gain Legend, they instead inflict the Virtuous condition on the Fatebound Storyguide Character; if the Saint is currently Virtuous, it applies to the same Virtue. Otherwise, the Saint selects one of their Virtues for the condition to apply to. Any time that the Saint’s Legend would be called for when dealing with the Fatebound for any reason, use the value of the Saint’s Saint Calling instead.  

Virtues

  Æsir: Audacity vs. Fatalism
  Every Æsir is doomed to die, and even the newest members of the pantheon wed themselves to the dire Fate the elder Gods will meet. Yet is not the greatest heroism to be found in the darkest of moments? The Æsir vacillate between railing against their Fate and succumbing to the gloom of it.
  Devá: Duty vs. Conscience
  Devá Scions must uphold the Duty expected of them by their society, religion, and pantheon, but cannot ignore when it conflicts with their individual Conscience. Like Arjuna, who balked at fighting his own kinsman, they must choose between doing their duty even when they know it is wrong or doing the right thing even when it’s a terrible idea.
  Kami: Sincerity vs. Right Action
  All things have a place under Heaven, and all things must be done with a full and sincere heart. However, sometimes the right thing is at odds with one’s wishes, and sincerity is difficult to achieve.
  Manitou: Pride vs. Dream
  All people and things have places and times, and there is no greater calling than to find and fulfill one’s place, time, and purpose. Scions of the Manitou are eminently proud and punctual, placing a great value on being at the right place in the right time, but this leads them to being easily manipulated.
  Netjer: Balance vs. Justice
  The Netjer are concerned with the proper and orderly flow of The World, yet all things demand an accounting. Justice pursued too vigorously leads to vengeance and the lack of Balance, but over-weighting Balance permits injustice to flourish.
  Òrìshà: Tradition vs. Innovation
  The sacred practices of the Òrìshà are steeped in history and Tradition, but their devotion has perpetually changed through Innovation as historical progress and colonial oppression affected their worshippers. Which is more important: the old, or the new? Are they a harmonious dialectic, or are there places where the two come into conflict?
  Shén: Yīn vs. Yáng
  The Shén must balance the yielding passivity of Yīn with the activeness of Yáng, knowing when to refrain from acting and when to act with total force.
  Teōtl: Hunger vs. Sacrifice
  The Teōtl hunger. During the 200 years when the Mēxihcah ruled Tenochtitlan, they consumed massive quantities of flesh, blood, and fire, their empire’s warfare practices based around capturing sacrificial captives to kill and offer to the ravenous Teōtl. But for one to eat, another must be eaten; for one to have, another must give something up.
  Theoi: Egotism vs. Kinship
  The Theoi struggle between their individualistic arrogance and the demands of storge, familial love. The former means they occasionally tend towards truly monstrous overreactions. The latter means they’re quite good at ignoring the outrageous outbursts from the former Virtue.
  Tuatha dé Danann: Honor vs. Prowess
  Honor is your internal self-worth, and Prowess is your ability to back it up. The Irish Gods are consumed by pride and face: how others think of them. This spurs them to great deeds and greater prowess, but often causes a great deal of trouble.
 

Knacks

  Some Knacks have prerequisite Knacks listed. While a character must possess all prerequisites to learn a Knack that requires it, they do not need to have the prerequisite Knacks active to use their new Knack. It should also be noted that Saints will get no use out of any Knack that requires or allows them to imbue Legend, which they do not have.
  It is impossible for any Scion to ever have a Saint Knack by any means, including Followers Birthrights. These Knacks simply do not function for Scions, whose ichor flows too strongly. Their divine power prevents them from accessing the mortal nature of Sainthood.
 

• Implacable Sarcifice: When you become Taken Out, you may perform a single action before it takes effect. You gain Enhancement to this action equal to your Virtue rating or the Enhancement of the attack that made you get Taken Out, whichever is greater. Once per session, you may choose to end the Virtuous Condition and return to the center of the Virtue track to use this when you gain any Injury Condition rather than Taken Out.
  
 
• Blood of the Valiant (Prerequisite: From Hell’s Heart): When someone would suffer an Injury Condition and is within Close range of you, you may take the Injury Condition instead. If you or they have the Virtuous Condition, their next action gains Enhancement equal to your Virtue rating. If this causes a Maimed or worse Injury Condition and you were not already Virtuous, you become Virtuous in the Virtue of your choice.

 
• If I Can Do It, So Can You: You show humanity what they are capable of by your very existence. Once per session, when you succeed at an effort to overcome an obstacle, such as climbing a cliff, solving a maze or breaking through a blockade, you can bring up to your successes in other characters with you, granting them automatic success at the same deed. This does not count as spending those successes on a stunt. Characters Fatebound to you and trivial targets do not count against that limit.

 
• The Divine Eye (Prerequisite: If I Can Do It, So Can You): You always know the Virtues that most influence anyone you meet, even if they do not actually have a Virtue track. You get Enhancement equal to your Virtue rating on all Social rolls that align with or encourage these Virtues when dealing with them. If you have the same Virtues as they do, this Enhancement applies before rolling.

 
• It Is Not in Heaven: You act with Virtue, and you demand that the powerful live up to their Virtue as well. Once per session, when you are arguing or fighting with someone and they spend Tension or Legend, you may clearly stand against them. They get Complication 3 to their next attempt to argue with or fight with you. If this is not bought off, every Storyguide Character nearby not directly involved in the conflict believes they are in the wrong, no matter what, and cannot be convinced otherwise for the rest of the scene.

 
• Voice of the Mob (Prerequisite: It Is Not in Heaven): While you have the Virtuous Condition, any action that would stop you from being able to speak suffers Complication 3 which, if not bought off, causes all human Storyguide Characters present to become angry at whoever silenced you. While you do not have the Virtuous Condition, any action trying to track you or your whereabouts suffers Complication 3 which, if not bought off, gets the tracker into trouble with a local human organization.

 
• Miracle: Once per session, a Saint can perform a Twist of Fate that’s not tied to their Path. This can be anything from healing the sick masses to bringing a newly-dead person back to life from being mostly-dead. This may border on the supernatural, though it’s rarely anything explicit; the dead man’s heart starts beating again, while the sufferers of plague feel their coughs recede over the course of a scene.

 
• Stainless: While you have the Virtuous Condition, it is impossible for anything to make you act against your Virtues, even divine powers seizing control of your body directly. When someone attempts to do so, you may choose to pass your Virtuous Condition to them. If you do, you return to the center of the Virtue track and lose the Condition yourself. Even if they have different Virtues than you, their new Condition is identical to the one you had.

 
• My Cause Sustains Me (Prerequisite: Stainless): While you have the Virtuous Condition, you do not need to eat, drink, or sleep. You may choose to end the Virtuous Condition immediately and return to the center of the Virtue track to ignore the effects of a single Injury Condition for the rest of the scene. If you do, once the scene ends, you must rest for a full day.

 
• Virtuous Might: Once per session, a Saint may cancel out Scale equal to their position on the Virtue track (maximum 3, minimum 1) for the scene on a single target. This can be anything from stopping a speeding truck from killing them (Scale 2 to 0) to slapping a God like they would any other mortal (cancelling the God’s defensive Scale). Despite the name, this applies to any expression of Scale, including social and mental.

 
• Castigate (Prerequisite: Virtuous Might): When you witness someone acting against one of your Virtues, you get Enhancement on your next action that would harm them this scene, physically or otherwise. This Enhancement is equal to your Virtue rating.

 
• Renunciation (Prerequisite: Miracle): Your strength of will ensures that even the divine hesitates in the force of your Virtue. When you are targeted by a divine Marvel or other effect that costs Legend or Tension, you may choose to end the Virtuous Condition and return to the center of the Virtue track to cause a Clash of Wills against the effect’s source. If you succeed, the effect does nothing to you. If you fail, the roll generates Momentum like a normal failed roll.