Thursday, October 11, 2007

Scion Knack - "Friends Everywhere"

One of the listed goals of this blog is to give me a place to store random gaming stuff I've put out on the wikis and forums of the gaming world. That way, if I (or anyone else) need to reference it, they can do so without having to hunt as far.

With that in mind, here's a Knack I'd posted to the Scion Wiki a little over a week ago.
For those not familiar with the Scion RPG, "Knacks" are a type of power accessible to any PC and most NPCs very cheaply, provided they have attained Epic levels in the corresponding Attribute. Knacks are very useful, cost about 1 average session's experience award, and are few in number. So they're one of the most popular places to expand the game with new content.

Friends Everywhere (Charisma Knack)
The Scion is so charismatic, he or she has friends everywhere. Once per scene, the character's player may spend a Legend to cause a (seemingly-random) NPC friend to enter the location. The storyteller is the final arbiter of who arrives and under what circumstances, but the NPC is generally always inclined to be helpful to the PC and at least useful in some minor or tangential fashion. The player can make a suggestion which NPC they'd like right now, but the GM is under no obligation to fulfill their request.

More often than not this should bring some existing fatebound NPC, typically a mortal. But, if the Storyteller feels so inclined, they can of course sometimes have friends of a supernatural nature show up, such as Followers or Guides. The GM can also improvise and introduce a new NPC, such as old high school chums or "your waitress from an off-camera scene two nights ago, you'd left her a really good tip and she remembers you".

You don't generally have to fear the GM using this to grease your NPC buddies or take them hostage before they can do anything. The summoned NPC has script immunity until the end of the scene or until they've done something useful or helpful (such as giving a clue or putting in a good word on your behalf), whichever comes first.

That said, only a sadistic or masochistic PC would use this knack in exceptionally dangerous places. If used in heart of a volcano, the NPC could start taking environmental damage as soon as they've served a beneficial purpose. If used in the villain's dungeon, the NPC might arrive as a fellow prisoner. If used in the underworld, you may find a ghost of a dead childhood friend shows up to help you. The Storyteller is encouraged to be clever.

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