The ancient powers never fully went away. They wander our roads and cities, mingling with the teeming masses of humanity. You are one of their children, born to the magic of yesterday and the promise of tomorrow. Now begins the war against the Titans, elder beings who rage against the human world and its wayward gods. Commanding the push and pull of Fate, you will ride into battle and work wonders, the better to prove yourself worthy of legends.

Scion: God brings Scion stories to their latest chapter with all-new rules for players and guidance for Storyguides. This builds on the journey begun in Scion: Origin and Scion: Hero and continued through Scion: Demigod. Gods face the impossible balance between a desire to interfere with The World and their duty to protect the Overworlds. It presents all the rules and lore Storyguides and players need to craft the thrilling climaxes of their Scion chronicles.

Scions who choose to chase down divinity do so out of hunger, pain, ambition, compassion, hope, rage, and a thousand other drives, all combined and intermingled. They do so because they have to speak a need into The World — a truth about what really matters. For the chance to speak this truth, they fight and love and scheme and betray and suffer. And if everything goes right? They win the big prize. After a lifetime spent running towards their goal, they emerge from the crucible of apotheosis as a fledgling God.

So…what comes next? 

To be a God is to take lay claim to a seat at the Game of Immortals. It is not a game for the timid; with each turn, a God may raise up favored pieces or lose them to calamity. It is not a game for the insular; alliances are made and broken, tested by fire and ages. It is not a game for the complacent; a God’s fortune — and the fortunes of her pantheon, Scions, Realms, and devotees — can only be won through risk, effort, and the courage to act. Some Gods may try to hold themselves above the fray, or affect a façade of neutrality, or openly proclaim their disgust at the game…but none can refuse to play it. 

Scion: God elevates Scions to true Godhood, granting them a new perspective on The World’s treasures and troubles. On the one hand, becoming a God represents a character ascending to lofty heights of cosmic power and influence, able to shake the firmament with their word and will. On the other hand, Gods feel the grip of Fate more tightly, and many act in The World only subtly to prevent themselves from becoming bound in chains of myth. 

Gods are multitudinous and vast. They have the power to enact their will upon The World and see their desires manifest. They are also problem-filled and flawed, the human experience magnified a thousandfold. So, too, are they flawless paragons who have shepherded humanity for thousands of years and cared for us, despite our foolish notions. They are all these things and more. 

What does it mean to be a God?

We’re about to find out.

Scion: God presents all the rules and lore Storyguides and players need to craft the thrilling finales of their Scion chronicles. 

You are the child of a God, born to the magic of yesterday and the promise of tomorrow. You live in a World of myth, where every ancient story is true. Your ancient enemies, the Titans, stir in their prison beneath the lands of myth, and the specter of war falls across the heavens. In this age of turmoil, you seize your birthrights and feel the call of your blood.

Find your destiny. Live the Myth. Embrace your Fate.

Scion is a game about Gods and humanity, and everything in between. It's a game about mythic deeds and the reasons people talk about those mythic deeds.

Scion: Origin (Second Edition Book 1) introduced players to The World and the basic mechanics of Scion, Second Edition. Origin gave the tools needed to play divinely-inspired characters skirting the edges of the supernatural elements and discovering the abilities and knowledge that separated them from ordinary mortals. Pre-Visitation Scions understand a fraction of The World.

Scion: Hero (Second Edition Book 2) expanded options, casting open the doors to the divine. At the Heroic tier, Scions gain a fraction of the power of the Gods, giving them the opportunity to take their adventures further. This creates new choices for players, allowing their Scions to shape The World: protecting their neighborhood from Titanspawn, investigating dangers, and helping prevent catastrophes. 

In Scion: Demigod (Second Edition Book 3), Scions stride further from humanity, becoming too powerful to be mistaken for mortals any longer. While most Scions of this tier continue working to better The World, the quest for power becomes its own irresistible journey. Apotheosis — the process of becoming a God — defines Demigod Scions as much as anything else. Demigods no longer wrestle with the question of whether or not to become a God, but rather what kind of God they wish to become, forging their own Legend.

Now, with Scion: God (Second Edition Book 4), Scions are near the end of their journey for resources; they now have the incredible power they’ve dreamed of and can finally fulfill the desires they had in the earlier steps of their journey, regardless of what those might have been. Gods seeking to steer The World to a better place can play a geopolitical game, using their influence over their Cults and Religions to nudge humanity to a better path. They can take a more direct role, although the more overt the changes they seek, the more resistance they’ll encounter from other Gods. God-tier Scions can even create Incarnations — pieces of themselves to do good in The World much as they did when they were younger, but now with a clarity of purpose only available to those who can take in the entire breadth of The World with divine eyes.

Players can even turn their eyes inward, spending their time in Scion: God collaboratively crafting new mythology. Through acts and Deeds, new Gods write their Legends, answering what it means to be good. How these Gods interact with The World and their new neighbors, peers, and foes will define history itself.

The primary purpose behind this crowdfunding campaign is to enable Onyx Path to create a hardcover edition of the Scion: God book compatible with the Scion Second Edition core rulebooks (Origin, Hero, and Demigod). Your support will allow Onyx Path to produce a fully-developed PDF and hardcover edition for this setting. With your help we hope to not only deliver a beautiful book to all of our backers, but also fund at least one print run to be sold through distribution and into book and hobby stores that are so vital to our community.

Exceptional funding may allow the Scion: God team to explore more of the limitless possibilities open to characters in this game, perhaps introducing additional Incarnations and Mantles, Realms and Cults, new Birthrights and additional guidance in creating these powerful characters. If we can really expand the project, we can even delve into the stories we tell with these characters, offering even more support for Storyguides including plot seeds and story hooks, as well as epic locations and new antagonists and allies.

Beyond those campaign-specific goals, the hope is to do what these games have always done — build a community invested in each other's stories and shared imagination. Every person who participates is joining with the goal of bringing this game into the world, and that common goal is a powerful binding element that we can't help but want to share. When you back this project, you join us on this epic journey and become part of our own version of the Pantheon family.

All participants who would like to make this project happen can pledge their support and add to the overall campaign total. If the campaign meets the funding target ($30,000), then we will have funded the project and it will become a reality. Your pledge will only be collected if we achieve our funding target.

In thanks for your support, we offer rewards based on your level of funding pledged. The Pledge Tiers outline the various rewards reflecting various levels of support pledged. Please note that international shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager.

DECIDING ON YOUR PLEDGE TIER

Digital vs Physical: do you save some shelf space and go digital-only with the PDF version or go all in with the hardcover version? Are you just interested in the new book created by this campaign, or looking to add extras with the Add-On options available as well? Please note that international shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager.

While Scion Second Edition may be epic in scope, we've tried to keep supporting this project as simple and straightforward as possible. To pledge support to this project, pick one of these pledge path tiers:

In addition to these primary reward pledge paths, we also offer the following options:

Need the first three Scion Second Edition core rulebooks as well? They form the basic system upon which your Scion: God character (and all Scion Second Edition games) are built. We've set up these one-click pledge paths to get you started! If you don't already have a copy of the Scion books, you soon will by choosing either of these reward tiers.

Finally, we love retailers, but modern publishing methods don’t always make it easy for them to get books into their stores. With this Scion: God campaign, we have created two special Reward Tiers just for you.

ACCESS TO DRAFT MANUSCRIPT UPDATES – During the course of the campaign, we will be sharing the ENTIRE manuscript for Scion: God. Backers will be able to review the manuscript and share feedback with the developers during the course of the campaign. 

SCION: GOD PDF VERSION - The digital version of Scion: God, fulfilled by our partners at DriveThruRPG.com. Backers will receive redemption links for an early version of this book before it goes on sale to the public. This initial "Advance Version" will be used to get feedback from the fans to make the final version the best that it can be. When it has been updated to the final version, it will automatically be added to your DriveThruRPG library and available for download at your convenience.

SCION: GOD HARDCOVER BOOK - The main goal of this campaign is to fund the creation, production, and print run of a hardcover edition of this book. Note that all Reward Tiers that include the physical hardcover version also include the digital PDF version as a bonus. Shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping after the campaign through the pledge manager.

OPTIONAL DISCOUNTED PoD VERSION – For this Scion: God campaign, you will have the option of using DriveThruRPG.com’s Print-On-Demand service to purchase a physical, printed copy of the PDF directly from their PoD partners at discounted cost (this cost is not included in your pledge, and you do not need to increase the cost of your pledge to use this option). When the PoD versions are available to order (which may be some time after the books have gone to print), you will receive links to purchase these versions of the books from DriveThruRPG.com. You DO NOT need to take advantage of this PoD offer as it does not affect in any way your pledge rewards.

In addition to the rewards listed in each Pledge Tier, backers will have access to additional "Add On" reward options available in the post-campaign Pledge Manager. Backers have the option of adding additional funds during their pledge and then allocating these funds to cover Add On options in the BackerKit survey. Digital Rewards can be added to any pledge, while physical rewards can only be added to rewards lists that include a version of Scion: God hardcover book, and will therefore have a shippable order when information is downloaded in the fulfillment system.

Simply increase your pledge amount by the associated cost to cover these additional rewards, and then confirm your selection in the BackerKit Pledge Manager after the campaign.

As we increase the overall funding and support for the project, we’re able to add additional resources to the project, expand the rewards listed, and add in new offers and opportunities. Each Stretch Goal will have a target that, once reached, will add a project to the reward list for backers of the relevant Stretch Goal path. Whenever we achieve a stretch goal, the image will be updated to reflect the achievement.

ACHIEVED! - At $50,000 in Funding - New Add On: Scion: God Storyguide Reference Screen! – We’ll create a Scion: God Reference Screen with new charts and tables, and updated artwork to reflect the ongoing journey of the characters introduced on the Origin/Hero screen. This can be added to any reward tier containing a hardcover book for only +$25 (plus additional international shipping charges based on your location).

ACHIEVED! - At $60,000 in Funding – Scion: God Companion Supplement – Scion: God is a complex game, covering running religions, killing Gods, managing Realms, and possibly even running games where players play multiple Incarnation of the same God. This has huge potential for confusion. Onyx Path will create a Companion supplement for Scion: God that will explain some concepts in more detail, as well as provide evocative and fun examples. All backers receiving the Scion: God PDF as one of their rewards will automatically receive the Scion: God Companion PDF as a bonus reward.

ACHIEVED! - At $70,000 in Funding – Scion: God Companion Supplement II – The Companion supplement will be expanded to include additional information on Incarnations and Mantles, possibly including rules for rebellious incarnations that seek to sever their connection to their God, Incarnation troupe play, or forging or fighting for new Mantles.

ACHIEVED! - At $80,000 in Funding - Scion: God Jumpstart - An introductory scenario to launch your Scion: God story, complete with Ready-made Characters and basic rules will be created and released as a supplemental PDF. All backers receiving the Scion: God PDF will automatically have this added as a bonus reward.

ACHIEVED! - At $90,000 in Funding – Divine Inspiration Supplement – Scion: God contains so many options for play and story paths to explore it can be a challenge to narrow your focus. Onyx Path will create a supplement to provide some direction and ideas for Storyguides to build upon, including creative Plot Seeds to explore in your game. All backers receiving the Scion: God PDF as one of their rewards will automatically receive the Divine Inspiration PDF as a bonus reward.

ACHIEVED! - At $95,000 in Funding - Backer T-Shirt – A Scion: God-themed Backer shirt will be hosted on Onyx Path’s Redbubble store for a limited time. Only backers will be notified when the shirt becomes available for purchase.

ACHIEVED! - At $100,000 in Funding – Scion: God Companion Supplement III – More on Realms! The Companion supplement will expand and clarify rules around Terra Incognita, Realms, and Sancta. Rules and guidance may include information on ruling over Realms, creating or destroying Realms, Realm Conditions, and Realm challenges.

ACHIEVED! - At $105,000 in Funding - Digital Wallpaper – Dress up your monitor with an epic scene from Scion: God, automatically added to the rewards list for all backers.

ACHIEVED - At $110,000 in Funding – Divine Inspiration Supplement II – Plot Seed Packs, sets of thematically-connected plot seeds that can be threaded together for a larger story will be added to the Divine Inspiration supplement.

ACHIEVED - At $115,000 in Funding - Mobile Wallpaper - Dress up your lockscreen with this Scion: God-inspired mobile wallpaper, automatically added as a reward for all backers.

ACHIEVED - At $120,000 in Funding – Scion: God Companion Supplement IV – Titans, Dragons, and Mythos Scions, oh my! The Scion: God Companion supplement will examine Titanic Apotheosis, Full Dragons, and upgrading Mythos Scions. Additional exploration of how Dragons can steal mantles, and understanding Dragon Lairs as Realms may be included.

International shipping has become increasingly expensive and is often prohibitive to non-US backers. Several contemporary publishers have decided to discontinue international shipping completely. For this project, Onyx Path wants to keep all options open to our customers, though shipping costs will reflect the expense.

PLEASE NOTE: Shipping costs ARE NOT included in the cost of your pledge. You will be charged for shipping—and have an opportunity to adjust your pledge—after the campaign through the pledge manager.

The following are estimates for shipping a copy of the hardcover book with full package tracking, projected on current trends. Please note that these are estimates only and are subject to change by the time of fulfillment (currently projected for November 2024)

Again, we will be charging the actual costs via our BackerKit pledge manager once the books are preparing to ship. These are estimated costs only, and the final costs charged will reflect the actual rates at the time of shipping.

ALTERNATE OPTIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL BACKERS:

If you live outside of the US, here are your options for obtaining a physical copy:

After the campaign is over we'll launch our BackerKit Pledge Manager and invite the backers to set up their rewards via survey. This allows you to confirm your pledge and add on anything that you might have missed, as well as possibly increasing your pledged reward tier, should you choose to expand your reward selection. This option will give international backers additional time to investigate shipping options, should they choose, knowing they can confirm a physical reward at a later date. We will also use BackerKit's Pledge Manager to charge actual shipping costs for international orders when we're approaching order fulfillment. Funding collected by BackerKit after the crowdfunding campaign does not count toward any campaign Stretch Goals, however.

Onyx Path Publishing has managed more than 50 crowdfunded projects, and that experience allows us to maintain manageable projects and achievable goals. To read more about the knowledge that has been applied to this project, you can read the FAQ linked here: http://theonyxpath.com/about/faq/kickstarter/

Risks and challenges

Risk: This game isn't created at all even though the goal is reached.

Solution: We have successfully shipped many crowdfunded projects and more are headed to completion as you read this. All those projects have taught us how the various pieces of the process works, and we have increased our ability to judge the various stages of delivery better with each campaign. The text for Scion: God is finished and some initial interior artwork has been contracted, so the development process is well underway.

Risk: Shipping costs soak up pledges that were meant to enable the creation of the book.

Solution: We'll be charging for international shipping when we approach fulfillment rather than as part of this campaign. This will allow us to account for actual shipping costs, rather than using estimates that may be two years old at that point.

Risk: The game will take a long time to produce and anger the backers.

Solution: We've learned many lessons with our previous campaigns and we've become much better at estimating the various pitfalls that will delay a project. We were able to deliver the PDFs for our last several projects several months before the estimate, and our recent campaigns have delivered rewards earlier than estimated.

That being said, backers need to be aware that they are enabling a process, and not a pre-order opportunity, and things do sometimes run slower than we want or anticipate with that process. We've found that an open flow of communication between us and the backer community is vital so once the project funds we will deliver Updates on progress once a month (or more, as needed) via Backerkit as well as in our regular, weekly, Monday Meeting Notes blog at www.theonyxpath.com

ADDITIONAL TERMS & CONDITIONS

By backing this project, you have agreed to the following additional terms and conditions:

ARTWORK, DESIGN, MATERIAL & CONTENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Onyx Path shares artwork, design, descriptions and manuscript contents with the understanding that changes may occur in the creation of the final product based on further development, available resources and materials, and the nature of the creative process.

REWARDS REQUIRING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIRE TIMELY RESPONSE. Some rewards, particularly limited Special Rewards such as art model descriptions, character names, and custom design work, require input from the reward backer. For these rewards, the backer must respond within 6 weeks of the information being requested (most likely by BackerKit pledge manager survey, occasionally by direct e-mail) in order to maintain the project development and manufacturing timeline. Onyx Path will make a strong effort to acquire this information, but should the backer not provide it in a timely fashion, all parties agree that Onyx Path can move forward on the project without the information or using an appropriate substitution and the respective backer will consider the reward obligation fulfilled in full for payment or donations pledged and collected on the part of Onyx Path. The simple fact is that we cannot delay the production of the product due to a unresponsive backer, that's just not fair to the others who have supported this project.

ADDRESS CONFIRMATION & DELIVERY OBLIGATIONS. If you confirm your pledge prior to final address confirmation and initiation of distribution notification via email, you agree that our responsibility to you is to ship your order as entered into our pledge manager system, that title and risk passes to you upon delivery to a common carrier for such shipment, and you are responsible for import duties or any other duties that may be payable to the relevant tax authorities, providing correct address information and ensuring this address is deliverable by normal methods. Failure to confirm mailing address prior to final request and distribution notification will be taken as agreement that all obligations have been met and no further action or effort is required on the part of Onyx Path. We will attempt to alert you via the methods provided by BackerKit, primarily e-mail, prior to distribution of rewards to avoid any issue, but once we’ve made all reasonable efforts, we must move on with other business and will be unable to make exceptions.

DIGITAL REWARDS. You will be notified by BackerKit when digital rewards become available to you. Typically, these will be links to load PDF titles into your account library on DriveThruRPG.com. The links from BackerKit must be activated within 90 days to ensure the titles are added to your library, after which the links may expire and Onyx Path may not be able to provide replacements.

If you do not accept these terms, please do not pledge on this project but instead wait for the general release.