'Once and Future' Speculations

[Astromancer]

The bold take would be going "Excalibur? It's an okay sword, maybe like 2 Enhancement tops. The REAL power is in the scabbard with its ability to heal wounds"

(I do not recommend actually doing this unless someone wanted to put in a sidebar noting that in many of the earlier stories, Arthur's sword wasn't actually considered that special)

I'd go with the multiple swords take. Caliburn (the steel cutter) was a very high quality non magical sword Merlin placed in a stone and anvil (the whole thing looked like a war memorial). Excalibur was a potent relic loaned to Arthur by the Caliach Burh. Other swords could be tossed into the mix.

[Astromancer]

Wasn’t the scabbard stolen early on by Morgan le Fay?

Yes. So a quest to recover the scabbard might be a good adventure.

The bold take would be going "Excalibur? It's an okay sword, maybe like 2 Enhancement tops. The REAL power is in the scabbard with its ability to heal wounds"

(I do not recommend actually doing this unless someone wanted to put in a sidebar noting that in many of the earlier stories, Arthur's sword wasn't actually considered that special)

Wasn’t the scabbard stolen early on by Morgan le Fay?

[Kyman201]

The bold take would be going "Excalibur? It's an okay sword, maybe like 2 Enhancement tops. The REAL power is in the scabbard with its ability to heal wounds"

(I do not recommend actually doing this unless someone wanted to put in a sidebar noting that in many of the earlier stories, Arthur's sword wasn't actually considered that special)

[Astromancer]

Well Excalibur is a form of the lighting weapon. The name means gift of the dark goddess, and in the stories of the Celtic people faerie women associated with water and fog give weapons called "the sword of light" or diamond spears if they're Breton. So assume that Excalibur is heavily linked to the Sky Purview. Darkness and healing powers fit too.

Excalibur is supposed to be able to cut through anything. So ignore armor. Remember the scabbard prevents bloodloss. You'll need to rethink trama.

Also, remember the messages on each side of the sword "take me up" and "cast me away." Anyone taking Excalibur to use for any reason is fatebound to those words.

[Wiwuno]

So in a slightly related topic I'm running a Scion game right now and one of my players is rolling with the concept of "King Arthur Reborn" my plan is to have his ascent to demigod status involve claiming Excalibur since that is such a big part of the King Arthur panoply. Im having trouble however coming up with fair stats for the sword that feel sufficiently epic while keeping this player in line with the rest of the Band.

[Lian]

Mechanically, is there a difference? Like...

Your Origin Path is "I was asleep for a LONG time", your Role Path is "Returned for the Time of Need" and the like, restart at Hero Tier, handwaved with "You were asleep for a VERY long time"

There;s more to advice on how to run something than mechanics..some advice on how to run someone who is out of time in general seems useful?

I've tinkered with canon a bit so Gods, particularly inactive ones for whatever reason, sometimes lose some of their Mantles who run off and become new Incarnate Scions (this can also happen when a Mantle culturally diverges enough, so might be how Benzaiten and Kisshoten ended up separating off as distinct goddesses from Saraswati and Lakshmi, for example... not that the Deva believe in the concept of "distinct goddesses&quot.

It's happened at my table, where Loki is currently bound for the crime of killing Baldr, and if you go see that Loki, they're the hateful god who will fight the Aesir at Ragnarok, but Loki the morally ambiguous trickster-hero Mantle incarnated itself as a PC, who Thor is ecstatic to have back as an adventurer friend.

Point it, under that set up, the original Arthur could be sleeping but various interpretations of Arthur incarnating themselves at the same time as PCs.

I really Like this idea. Glad the “good” Loki is back at your table.

[glamourweaver]

I've tinkered with canon a bit so Gods, particularly inactive ones for whatever reason, sometimes lose some of their Mantles who run off and become new Incarnate Scions (this can also happen when a Mantle culturally diverges enough, so might be how Benzaiten and Kisshoten ended up separating off as distinct goddesses from Saraswati and Lakshmi, for example... not that the Deva believe in the concept of "distinct goddesses").

It's happened at my table, where Loki is currently bound for the crime of killing Baldr, and if you go see that Loki, they're the hateful god who will fight the Aesir at Ragnarok, but Loki the morally ambiguous trickster-hero Mantle incarnated itself as a PC, who Thor is ecstatic to have back as an adventurer friend.

Point it, under that set up, the original Arthur could be sleeping but various interpretations of Arthur incarnating themselves at the same time as PCs.

[Kyman201]

I am thinking less "I am Gilgamesh reborn" vs "I am Arthur/Sigurd/Temujin awoke after a centuries of slumber to..."


....now I want a game of sleeping Heroes and the one streetwise modern scion...

Mechanically, is there a difference? Like...

Your Origin Path is "I was asleep for a LONG time", your Role Path is "Returned for the Time of Need" and the like, restart at Hero Tier, handwaved with "You were asleep for a VERY long time"

[Lian]

I think there'll be rules for that come Demigod, since one of the things you can do is like "I am Gilgamesh, reborn!"

Heck, in Scion terms that'd be an Incarnate Scion.

I am thinking less "I am Gilgamesh reborn" vs "I am Arthur/Sigurd/Temujin awoke after a centuries of slumber to..."


....now I want a game of sleeping Heroes and the one streetwise modern scion...

[ardenty]

ok odd - just realized I was some how in an old account -

anyway [sorry for double posting] - The books mainly just use names and places that are tied to the Story of Arthur - example the 2nd book is called Guns of a Avalon were the main guy has to deal with 'shadow' England so he can get magic guns to over throw his brother with lots of the minion characters being loose taken from the legends [Uther and Lance show up for example] - and the second half of the books the Main person is now Merlin

[Ardent]

Its ok - a bit wordy to my taste -

The Chronicles of Amber is sorta a Arthurian story

I never read that. Is it any good?

[Ardent]

The Chronicles of Amber is sorta a Arthurian story