SCION HIGH

N obody quarrels like Gods. Pantheons run on family

feuds, failed romances, and grudges of which nobody
remembers the origins — and that’s just within families.
FIRST CONTACT
Scion High contacts students before they have
Competition between Pantheons can get… heated. In some their Visitation. They find prospective pupils through
ways, that’s the way of The World. Gods are just mortals networks of other Scions and the Gods themselves; some
writ large. But it’s not helpful. It doesn’t keep Titanspawn Gods keep better track of their Scions than others (Zeus’
in their place, or deal with any of the threats that bubble children have a whole section of case files, as well as a
up far too regularly to endanger The World. full-time staff member tracing his offspring), and some
Mohammed Salah, a Scion of Thoth with a doctorate Gods are more open than others to the idea of a shared
in education and pedagogy, founded The Trismegistos education for their children. Occasionally, a God directs
Academic Sanctuary as an experiment: an attempt to Dr. Salah toward a mortal for whom they see a future, one
make the next generation of Scions less fractious than they’re considering for adoption.
their forebears. Usually, Scions find each other during It’s not a perfect system, but it works, for now. TTAS
a crisis, or when Fate chooses to throw them together. sends the teenage Scion a letter offering a place (and a
Dr. Salah thought that by reaching young Scions early, full-ride scholarship) at a prestigious, selective school,
putting them together, and teaching them who they were then Dr. Salah or one of the faculty — preferably from the
and what their lives would look like, he might create a same Pantheon as the young Scion’s parent — follows up
cohort of young people with healthier relationships with in person.
each other, mortals, and their Godly parents. It’s a strange experience. Telling a 13 year old they’re

THE TRISMEGISTOS the child of a God is tough. Some already know they’re
different (but not how); others think it’s a scam. Fate’s

ACADEMIC got a way of nudging people to the right decision. though.

Omens and dreams steer the Scion towards accepting the

SANCTUARY truth — and if they don’t, a scholarship and the excitement

of a specialized, elite-sounding academic setting tend to
win over mortal parents.
T TAS, colloquially known by faculty and students as Scion
High, is a recent development. The doors opened four
years ago, and the first students graduate this year. It’s an
CAMPUS
exciting time for them and the school; this year, the first Scion High has everything a high school should,
ever senior class will graduate and go out into The World. and then some. The campus sprawls over a couple of
miles, lovingly landscaped and carefully planned. Sleek,
modernist architecture is accented with touches of
WHERE’S THE SCHOOL? traditional styles from myriad cultures. Moon bridges
sit alongside Zen gardens and Hellenistic columns.
That’s up to you. By default, it’s somewhere
in the USA — somewhere all the familiar high- Monumental staircases that would be at home at a Mayan
school tropes apply. The founder and many archaeological site lead to the sweeping curves of futurist
staff are American, so even if you transplant classroom buildings.
the school to another location, it retains some The classrooms and science labs are spacious and
American character if you want it; temper it with
local flavor as needed (e.g., school uniforms, modern, the library’s a multimedia delight, and the sports
students cleaning classrooms, different class facilities are second-to-none. There’s an auditorium
schedules every day). and an outdoor amphitheater for dramatic pursuits,
several acres of gardens to cultivate — including a natural
waterfall and fast-flowing river — and a state-of-the-art

The Trismegistos academic sanctuary 1

suite of workshops for those with an interest in forging, to puzzle out answers to important questions like, “How
fire, and other technical and artistic pursuits. In short, it’s can the sun be pulled across the sky by Helios’ chariot and
a fantastic place for students to blossom. pushed by a giant dung beetle?”

RUMORS AND LEGENDS Lessons aren’t just classroom-based, either. Every

student on campus is growing their Legend, and in the
To nobody’s great surprise, in just a few short years process gaining Boons and learning Knacks. Learning
the campus has developed traditions and myths of its own. the nuances of their Calling and powers, and how they
Like any legend, they grow richer and more powerful as manifest in real things the Scions can do, is a huge part of
they’re repeated. their course of study. This part’s much more personalized
One legend holds that if a student spends the longest than the standard high-school curriculum: some students
night of the year, from sunset to sunrise, sitting behind need help to rein in powers (there are still tide marks in
the fountain they’ll receive a vision of their future. Of the gym from the water God’s child who got emotional
course, another holds that there’s a gate to an Underworld during a basketball game), while others need space and
(there’s no consensus on whose), so spending a whole time to explore what they can do. There aren’t enough
night there is a risky proposition. faculty members for one-on-one study, so students with
shared Callings are arranged into small study groups
Another popular tale holds that the two seniors
where they can support and encourage one another.
crowned prom king and queen get to sacrifice someone
to ensure the school’s continued success. That one’s not The final track is independent study, in which a Scion
remotely true, but it adds an edge of imagined danger to is given time to figure out what they enjoy, where their
senior prom. passions lie — and ultimately what their divine Purviews
might be. For freshmen, this can be confusing and isn’t
The legends aren’t all bad. One story states if a
always productive, but by the time they graduate most
student goes alone to the outdoor amphitheater after
students have a good sense of where they’re headed.
dark and performs a soliloquy addressed to their divine
parent, they’ll ace their finals. Not all learning happens on campus. Students
are introduced to other Realms, such as Overworlds,
THE DORMS Underworlds, and Terra Incognitae on carefully managed
TTAS takes students from all over The World; field trips that still somehow tend to explode into
naturally, they have to live on campus. The dorms are adventure and danger.
luxurious compared to the average college dorm, or even
some studio apartments. The beds are comfortable, the RIVALRIES
rooms are spacious, and the WiFi’s great. The school Most high schools have ongoing rivalries with nearby
tried installing smart tech, like voice-activated lights, schools. When it comes to Scions and mere mortals, that’s
but they proved capricious and hard to program. There’s a little unfair… but it happens all the same. Fillmore High,
something about this much concentrated Godhood in one in a neighboring county, is regionally famous for its arts
small space that makes the campus a little… unreal. program. Little Lake Preparatory, just a little further away,
has excellent sports teams and an unrivaled cheer team.
The school has four dorms, each named after a
For overconfident Scions, losing to mortals is an important
legendary mountain (Bùzhōu, Meru, Olympus, and Qaf )
lesson that they’re not as superior as they might think.
and assigned to students by their year. Students can
And they do lose; divine talent is one thing, but hard work
either share with one other Scion from their class or
and determination goes a long way to counteract it. Plus,
their parents can pay for a single room. Roommates are
they’re taught to hold back on using their divine abilities to
assigned anew every September, so there’s an adjustment
get an edge over mere mortals (see below).
period each year. Seniors can score a tiny apartment by
serving as residence advisors to a floor in the dorms. Even so, knowing they’re competing against Scions
generates an antagonistic attitude from competitors.
CURRICULUM If they lose to Scions, they cry foul and claim the TTAS
The faculty claim the great thing about boarding school team cheated (because surely, Godly powers are the only
is that there’s so much more time to study. That’s just as reason they won). If they win, they brag incessantly about
well, as the Scion High curriculum is extremely involved. beating the children of actual Gods.
All the classics are in the course catalog: languages, math There are also intense rivalries between the lower
and science, art, design, and professional skills alongside classes (freshmen and sophomores) and the upper classes
the humanities. The students of Scion High aren’t just ( juniors and seniors). Those who go through their formal
training for college and careers, however. They’re training Visitation and pilgrimage (see below) often perceive
to develop powers mortals can only dream of. They have themselves as above and beyond their younger colleagues.
to learn philosophy and mythic history to even grasp who It doesn’t help that these students are often more powerful
they are. They need deep dives into comparative theology than freshmen and sophomores, but it’s not uncommon

2 SCION HIGH
for them to underestimate the lower classes. Even pre- small groups, each supervised by a faculty member, the
Visitation Scions are a cut above the average mortal. newly empowered students are sent off to perform some
heroic deed such as climbing a mountain in one night,
EXTRACURRICULARS taming a legendary beast, or learning a secret from a
With such an intense program of study, it’s no ghost. When they return, they’re a step closer to divinity
wonder Scion High’s extracurriculars are wide-ranging — and adulthood.
and exceptional.
Sports are a big part of school life. The soccer team is STAFF AND
currently the most successful, but the swim team, track
team, and the archery team are all determined this is going
to be their year. There’s almost as much rivalry between
STUDENTS
Scion High’s teams as there is with rival schools. Team
prestige is social capital, as well as a source of pride for
A school’s more than bricks and mortar; the people make
it special. Traits for some of them are included here
(the Extras are Knacks and Boons detailed in Scion: Hero).
Scions with legendary physical prowess and athletic feats
in their heritage. Because of the intra-school conflict,
most students only participate in one sport. There’s
DR. MOHAMMED SALAH,
always something going on — an upcoming track meet, a
THE HEADMASTER
big game — but equally it’s always the off-season for a few
groups of athletes.
The first rule of the TTAS sports code of conduct
is that students may not use their powers in practice or
matches. Rulebreakers get cut from the team, and there
are no second chances (not until next year, anyway). One
of Scion High’s aims is teaching Scions to interact in a
fair, just way with non-Scions, and not throw their weight
around. The sports field is the perfect place to teach this
lesson.
The cheer squad, The Muses, is just as competitive
as the sports teams. A mixed-gender team, the members
are superb athletes and very selective. Getting cut from
the squad is social catastrophe. The Muses take full
advantage, soaking up the adulation of eager students
desperate to make the team.
Scion High offers a range of performance
extracurriculars. The a cappella group (The Sanctuary
Sirens) are rising stars, and the school play is always epic.
The performers are just as high status as the athletes
but there’s little conflict between the two groups. A
soccer player isn’t direct competition for a soprano, so
friendships form easily between the cliques.

SOPHOMORE FIELD TRIP

Near the end of sophomore year, students look forward Dr. Salah’s an academic, an educator, and a Scion
to meeting their divine parent: a formal, divine Visitation, of Thoth. He’s a striking Black man in his late 50s, with
for the first time in some cases. While some students know a long, straight nose and sharp eyes. He tilts his head
ahead of time who their divine parent is, others spend their attentively when he’s listening. Dr. Salah’s a firm believer
time as freshmen and sophomores speculating to whom in letting students learn by doing, including by making
they could be related. The actual Visitation is a moment of their own mistakes. He supports student organizations
awe and expectation. Sometimes that moment is affirming, and doesn’t interfere in wild schemes unless someone’s
and sometimes it’s heartbreaking. Sometimes a parent in imminent danger.
doesn’t show up until it’s convenient for them, or until they Dr. Salah has a reputation for being intimidating, but
feel their Scion’s ready. only because he believes in helping people find answers,
Once they’ve received their Birthright, they end rather than handing them out. He’s an expert at answering
the year with a spiritual pilgrimage, which the students a question with a question and doing so until students
downplay as “the sophomore field trip.” Breaking into (and faculty) think through a problem. It’s unsettling.

Staff and Students 3

 DR. MOHAMMED SALAH At first, being around emissaries of the Gods was
overwhelming. Now Mr. Winston just finds them
Drive: Shape the next generation of Scions exhausting and melodramatic. He often tells students
Primary Pool (9): Instruct, Empathize, Organize their problems are exactly those other teenagers have
Secondary Pool (7): De-escalate, Inspire, gone through since the dawn of time.
Research
Desperation Pool: 5 SIMON WINSTON
Callings: Sage Drive: Live a quiet, stress-free life
Purview: Order Primary Pool (5): Command, Insight
Defense: 4 Secondary Pool (4): Disparage, Deter
Health: 3 Desperation Pool: 2
Initiative: 7 Defense: 1
Extras: Code of Heaven, Divine Right Health: 1
SIMON WINSTON, Initiative: 3
THE MORTAL MANALI, THE OUTSIDER
Mr. Winston has the dubious privilege of being the Manali is an Apsara: a celestial being from the realm of
only mortal teacher on Scion High’s faculty. Someone Saraswati, the Devá God of (among other things) learning
has to teach Religious Studies (more accurately a and music. She’s taken human form to attend Scion High
survey of mythic history; AP classes get into the and looks like a tall, athletic South Asian girl wearing a
nuance of “all myths are true”), and no Scion in The mix of traditional and trendy clothes. She has an infectious
World can do so objectively. Mr. Winston’s a pudgy laugh and a brilliant smile. She’s always surrounded by a
white man in his early sixties, with a reedy voice and light breeze, and the air’s pleasantly cool near her.
a wardrobe of cheap, ill-fitting suits. When he’s tired
of listening to someone, he turns away and strikes up a Apsara are legendarily wonderful performers; men
new conversation or returns to his lesson. sing and women dance. Manali’s not a dancer — not at
all. For a being made of clouds and air, she’s remarkably

4 SCION HIGH
clumsy. But she’s got a beautiful, alto singing voice and In one sense, Yírán’s having the time of her life.
she loves everything from Desi music, to rock, to choral She’s funny, loud, and a party animal, but as her senior
arrangements. Hardly anyone in Scion High understands year progresses, she gets increasingly moody. She hates
why it causes Manali such confusion that she’s drawn to that she’s supposed to choke down all her prowess until
singing, or why she treats it like a taboo. She’s working she leaves school. There are real problems in The World
through it, but she could really use a friend to talk to. and she could fight them. She knows she could, but if she
keeps sneaking out to fight Titanspawn, she’s going to get
in trouble even Yan Wang can’t save her from.
MANALI
Drive: Figure out why I’m drawn to singing
ZHÀO YÍRÁN
Qualities: Imperfect Disguise (mist), Incorporeality
Drive: Make The World a better place
Primary Pool (7): Perform
Primary Pool (7): Athletics, Strength, Stamina
Secondary Pool (5): Observe, Hide
Secondary Pool (5): Evade, Dissemble
Desperation Pool: 3
Desperation Pool: 3
Defense: 2
Callings: Guardian
Health: 2
Purview: Epic Strength
Initiative: 5
Defense: 2
ZH O Y R N, THE JOCK Health: 2
Initiative: 5
Extras: A Purpose, Put Your Back Into It

ASHTON BANKOLE-STEVENS,
THE ALPHA
Ashton is hands-down the most popular person in
Scion High. This Scion of Oshun is gorgeous, charming,
witty, and consistently gets the best grades in the senior
class. The second most popular student’s his drag persona,
Miss Honey Galore. He’s living the high-school dream.
Ashton’s an essential contact for any student trying
to improve their social status at Scion High. Sadly, it’s
hard to get past his throngs of admirers, so getting into
his good graces is a significant task — or Deed.
People expect Ashton to be a scheming, vindictive
brat. He’s not. He’s one of life’s peacemakers but he just
can’t shed that popular-kid stereotype. He is, however,
a meddler — and a matchmaker. There’s no problem
between cliques Ashton won’t try to solve by engineering
a romance. Sure, he’s caused some spectacular feuds, but
he’s also achieved some amazing successes.

ASHTON BANKOLE-STEVENS
Yírán’s a star athlete. Everybody knows her and Drive: Make everything better, even if people don’t
every clique wants to hang out with her. She’s not only realize they need my help.
a track-and-field star but a wrestler whose opponents Primary Pool (7): Charm, Guide, Perform
quake in fear when they see their name matched against
hers. She’s a Scion of Yan Wang, a death God known for Secondary Pool (5): Study
his superhuman strength, and he couldn’t be prouder of Desperation Pool: 3
her; he’s been known to intervene when other students or
Callings: Lover
foolhardy staff members tried to get in the way of Yírán’s
complete dedication to her sports. Purview: Beauty

Staff and Students 5

 Defense: 2
Health: 2
Initiative: 5
Extras: Lasting Impression, Lover’s Intuition

THE COYOTES,
THE DELINQUENTS
Not everyone’s set on taking advantage of the
opportunities Scion High affords them. While most of
the student body studies hard, pursues their Calling,
and worries about dates and college in equal measure,
the Coyotes enjoy their lives and make everyone
else’s more difficult. The Scions of trickster Gods like
Anansi, Loki, Dionysus, and Maui, the Coyotes are
only in class if they have a plan to disrupt it, and only
at parties if they’re cooking up a prank to play there.
They’re self-defined spanners in the works, and
they’ll upset and complicate any plan that’s going too
well just for the hell of it. They’re jerks, but they’re
dramatically useful jerks.

A COYOTE
Drive: Make life interesting
Primary Pool (7): Cheat, Lie, Misdirect
Secondary Pool (5): Procure, Streetwise
Desperation Pool: 3
Callings: Trickster
Purview: Chaos or Deception
Defense: 2
Health: 2
Initiative: 5
Extras: Rumor Miller and either Ephemera or
No Masters

ADVICE FOR
STORYGUIDES
T here are plenty of great media references for
super-powerful teenagers and you can take a lot of
inspiration from them. None of them are quite Scion
though, so there are some extra considerations to manage.
Scion High’s a union of two genres: high-school
teen drama and high-fantasy coming-of-age stories
(with a dash of superhero origin story for seasoning).
The choice of power level moves the dial toward one
or the other: Origin-level Scions are perfect for a
focus on interpersonal teen drama, with burgeoning
divine birthrights as just one more source of tension;
Hero-level Scions can handle more external threats.

6 SCION HIGH
 just the costumes. A Scion of the Tagalog God Panganoron
POWER LEVEL rescues a Scion of Magayon from an accident on a field
By default, the Scion High setting assumes freshmen trip; it’s history repeating.
and sophomores are Origin-level Scions and juniors Pantheons are just as prone to forming cliques as
and seniors are Hero-level. That avoids putting young high-school students: the popular kids, the jocks, the
teenagers in serious danger (and gives older Scions nerds, and so on. But who you’re the Scion of can also
someone to protect) but keeps monstrous threats on the impact your social pecking order. Gods with broad
cards as the game progresses. Setting the whole school Purviews are seen as more powerful (and cooler) than
at Origin-level places the game alongside shows like those with a narrower focus (this is especially true in the
Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and early Fort hierarchies of the Shén). Some Gods and their Scions —
Salem. Dialing the power up to Hero-level takes it closer Zeus, Shiva for example — naturally and effortlessly float
to X-Men. to the top of the social order while others struggle to be
As well as keeping teens out of physical danger, setting taken seriously. Tricksters undermine the entire system
a game played mostly by adults in a setting mostly populated of cliques and social strata. Ascended Demigods are on
by teens needs a delicate touch when it comes to romance the fringes, technically Gods but new arrivals lacking
and other taboos. Teenagers are hormone volcanoes with a social clout. Cthonic Gods are outsiders, oblivious to the
powerful attraction to risky behavior. That’s fun to explore hierarchies of the cool kids.
with older teenagers but can get uncomfortable fast with a Sport is war. It’s a field on which to demonstrate skill
Band of 13-year-old kids. One good argument for keeping and warrior spirit, experience the soaring highs of success
all students at Origin-level play is to focus on teenage and the character-building depths of defeat. Rivalries
transgressions without the potentially grimy feeling of simmer between star players and benchwarmers, and
exploring them with freshmen. intra-school sports are epic battlefields.
Nudging the power level up to Hero means all Scions School sports can be a metaphor for more than war,
at the school have received their Visitation. It takes a lot though. There’s a whole story arc in a modern Achilles
of identity-based storytelling off the table: The students storming off the cheer team after a fierce fight over
are mostly comfortable with their nature and powers, and who should be head cheerleader. They’re also a story of
adopted students have a bond with their adoptive parent. restraint and self-control, with students forced to rein in
Whether that’s a useful storytelling technique or a waste powers for the sake of fairness. The sports field is where
of melodrama depends on individual taste. many TTAS students first understand the weight of
LEGEND responsibility.

The most quintessentially mythic aspect of Scion Rivalries with Scions in other schools can turn
High is Legend. Post-Visitation Scions start gaining tropes on their head to examine privilege and status (and
Legend, and with greater Legend comes more Boons and favoritism if the outsider Scion’s parent has offspring at
Knacks. Scions gain Legend by doing great, epic Deeds Scion High, too).
like slaying monsters, taming the sun, stealing a divine
sibling’s stuff — horses, pet, favorite mortal lover — or
PARENT CONFERENCES
getting in petty arguments with another God and making Obviously, Scions don’t just repeat their parents’
them look a fool. You know, classic high-school behavior. Deeds. They forge their own path to Godhood. The point
is mythic tropes, like high-school ones, are powered by
High school tropes are rife with potential for great self-discovery and emotions running wild. With a little
Deeds to grow a Scion’s Legend. Matchmaking for the imagination, any classic high-school plotline offers an
prom can start a rivalry as bitter as the Trojan War; a array of opportunities to gain Legend. The preparations
makeover for an underclassman is the modern equivalent for prom — event planning, arranging dates, figuring out
of training a future Hero. Even studying for finals can be a how to hijack the playlist and spike the punch — could be
quest for enlightenment. a whole storyline on their own.
Do all these opportunities to build Legend in a safe Speaking of parents, parental expectations are a
environment mean Scion High students start out with huge source of conflict in both Scion and high school;
an edge over Scions who didn’t go to an elite, Scion-only the God (or high achieving parent) wants their child to
academy? They sure do. But they also risk the chance of follow in their footsteps, while the Scion (or free-spirited
Fatebinding friends and enemies, too. The World’s just teen) wants to chart a different course. Negotiating that
not fair. relationship is a fantastic source of character-driven story,
CHARACTER INTERACTIONS and a high-school setting’s the best place to explore it: It
gets harder to make time for it in a Band of adult Scions
Romance is a linchpin of high-school drama — and who don’t crave or rely on their parents’ good opinion.
mythic cycles. You barely need to change the narratives,

Advice for Storyguides 7

CREDITS
Scion Content Lead: Hiromi Cota
Developer: Eddy Webb
Writer: Cat Evans
Editor: Dixie Cochran
Art: Andrea Payne, Priscilla Kim
Art Direction and Design: Mike Chaney
Creative Director: Richard Thomas

© 2022 Onyx Path Publishing. All rights reserved. References to other copyrighted material
in no way constitute a challenge to the respective copyright holders of that material. “Scion”
and all characters, names, places, and text herein are copyrighted by Onyx Path Publishing.
Keep up to date with Onyx Path Publishing at theonyxpath.com.

8 SCION HIGH