In which Matthew, Dixie, and Eddy sit IN THE SAME ROOM and talk about Midwinter and product announcements with Rich Thomas. (Show notes are light, because we’re putting this up as fast as possible.)
- Product announcements!
- They Came from Beneath the Sea Kickstarter!
- Some revelations from the Onyx Path Summit!
- People knocking on doors!
Great episode! I’m always excited to hear the announcement of new products.
I didn’t catch the name of the first one, but it looks like a Mythos expansion for Scion, and Scion Demigod naturally (though they are making it more than ‘hero, but more leveled up,’ I like the comparison of someone in Planescape compared to Forgotten Realms). Also (Blood?) Cults of the Blood God for V5.
I feel embarrassed I hadn’t put together Matthew’s liking of the Clan of Death. The Giovanni I’ve always -wanted- to be interested in, but the Mafia stuff just wasn’t doing it. I think I liked them more because they were Independent and I didn’t like any of the sects (the same reason I initially liked the Setites).
I have to say, a Cthulhu Mythos book for Scion 2e is… a really bizarre choice. I hate to sound negative about it, I’ve heard nothing but good things about Harlem Unbound and how it handled legacy offensive elements from Lovecraft’s stuff, but it just begs the question.
Like, airing out the practical concerns, it’s confusing for two main reasons. One is that /there are so many things/ that Scion wants to cover, that making one of *the first announced supplements after the kickstarter* (not counting the Companion and Bestiary because they’re basically expansions to Hero and came off the kickstarter’s success) a Cthulhu Mythos kind optional supplement seems really… confused in terms of priorities. Two is that the premises of the Mythos seem tonally dysfunctional with the assumptions of Origin and Hero. And it sounds very contrary to the spirit of the base game, which has gone out of its way to draw on real religions and beliefs held by so many people with reverence and attempted respect, to /equate/ this fictional extended universe with them, or prioritize a Mythos supplement over more representation of the culturally rich sort.
I think there’s a lot to say about that point in particular, of respect, but trying to stick to the main argument: it’s a really unexpected and honestly kind of disappointing announcement. It’s not that I think it will fail to be at least decent as an individual product, but in the larger context the concept itself just doesn’t fit, to me. My fear is that it’s a drop in nuance with a dip of pandering to the pop culture popularity, instead of what reading the core books made me expect for the future.
I think the line’s energy, at least at this point in time, is better channelled for /more/ stuff like the Dragons book, like Sorcerers, or even folklore that doesn’t make up or belong to a pantheon. A Cthulhu book honestly sounds like one of the last things I’d expect to officially see in 2e, if at all.
Well, that’s why we’re doing Dragon at the same time — if the Mythos isn’t your jam, you can stay excited about Dragon or Demigod!
I have actually always LOVED the Mafia aspects of Clan Giovanni. As a Sicilian, it has given me a great sense of pride to play characters from this clan over the years.
Hope you guys don’t change too much…
Mythos and Dragons sound like exciting additions to the Scion game line.