Gming question on Callings

[TheWanderingJewels]

I finally got my players rolling on Scion Origins and have gotten a rather interesting question from one of my players I've been working to get creating some more varied characters

"Working on the mechanics of my backup character: a First Nations/Native American Nymph. Basically, the Republican Pan had a thing for her mom (who grew up on a reservation) & he "gave into his appetites," so to speak. Viola, a First Nations Nymph. Raised to worship native gods but belonging to the Republican pantheon.

In looking at the Nymph section (pg 24, Theoi Expanded,) it lists "Example Calling Keywords." I'm not totally sure what that is. The words they have are "Spirit, Maiden, Gardener, Tender, Dweller, Defender, Manipulator, Nature." But the Callings listed under the Republic Pan are "Liminal, Lover, Trickster."

Are the Calling Keywords meant to put an emphasis on one of the Callings? Do they replace the Callings under Pan?

--While Nymphs have some healing-type Knacks they can take at Heroic/Immortal level (Healer of the Needy & Hair of the Goat,) the Healer Calling isn't listed under Pan's Callings. Does this mean the authors didn't connect nymphs to Pan but to other Greek gods?"

This is a good set of questions, but anyone who's looked at these documents, I am looking for suggestions on how to answer this one.

Thank you for your time *Tips Hat*

[FallenEco]

In Scion, if you are a Denizen, you have a special Calling with it's own Knacks. If you are a Scion or a Heir, you only need to share 1 Calling, (though that can change for Heroes as they advance through Demigodhood or avoided entirely by Divine-Tier Tricksters through a Knack*.)

If you are both like a Nymph who is a Scion of Pan or an Amazon who is a chosen Hero of Bast; then you will (probably*) share one Calling with you patron AND the Denizen Calling.
Gods don't need to have Callings that connect to the Denizen Calling's Knacks. It just isn't required. Entering speculative territory, a Denizen Calling appears to be a legendary identity not unlike a Mantle.

In your case, is there a myth where Pan acted as a Healer? I can't recall any off the top of my head. But Theoi siring nymphs and other such Denizens is fairly common when not getting it on with humanity.

[literatzi]

FallenEco is 100% correct, but playing a Denizen can be a bit confusing so I'm gonna go over the same info in a different format in the hopes one of our versions will click for you.

At the Origin level when you play a Denizen, you have three Paths and one Calling. One of your Paths has to relate to being a Nymph, and gives you access to extra Knacks you can learn.

So this character might have...
Origin: Bastard Daughter of Pan (This Path ties to the character being a Nymph)
Role: Seeker of Truths
Pantheon: Daughter of Two Worlds

The player then takes the Sage Calling because they want her to be knowledgeable and figuring things out about the World.

At the Hero level when you play a Denizen, you have 3 Paths, and three Callings. One of your Callings has to match one from your divine parent, and one has to relate to being a Nymph.
So this character might have...

Origin: Bastard Daughter of Pan (This Path ties to the character being a Nymph)
Role: Seeker of Truths
Pantheon: Daughter of Two Worlds

Paths: Sage 2 (this one is player choice), Nymph 2 (this is because she's a Nymph and is getting knacks), Liminal 1 (the player chose one of Pan's three Callings, and picked Liminal for this character.)

Calling Keywords are used to create your Legendary Title, and give you a pool of keywords to use for Feats of Scale not tied to your title.

You pick one keyword per dot of Calling. So this character might have...
Sage: Clever, Teacher
Liminal: Threshold
Nymph: Nature, Defender

When you select your first Title, you use one of the keywords as the central aspect.

Just going for an obvious Nymph one, "Defender of the Forest"

Keywords and Titles are discussed starting on page 191 of Scion: Hero

With all of that laid out, your player's questions...

Are the Calling Keywords meant to put an emphasis on one of the Callings? Do they replace the Callings under Pan?

Every Calling has a list of suggested keywords, they exist to help you put an emphasis on what aspects of the very broad Calling your character is most tied to. They don't replace Callings, they're just tied to them.

While Nymphs have some healing-type Knacks they can take at Heroic/Immortal level (Healer of the Needy & Hair of the Goat,) the Healer Calling isn't listed under Pan's Callings. Does this mean the authors didn't connect nymphs to Pan but to other Greek gods?"

Probably the authors connected nymphs to legends of nymphs, which are distinct from legends of Pan. Nymphs might be strongly associated with Pan in the document you're referring to, but they have distinct legends and the Knacks are inspired by those legends.

Another example might be Maenads and Dionysus. Dionysus is very strongly tied to a group of Nymphs called the Maenads, who are famous for (among other things) ripping people apart limb from limb. Hero gives Dionysus the Lover, Liminal, and Sage Callings. A Maenad Denizen Path would probably have some overlap with a few Warrior Knacks, which this version of Dionysus doesn't have. This doesn't mean the Maenads shouldn't be tied to Dionysus, it just means that they're evoking myths and abilities specific to the Maenads.

Hopefully that helps!

[literatzi]

Another option if the Denizen stuff just isn't making any sense, your player can just say their character is a nymph but don't mess around with the Denizen Path/Calling. A Scion's origins can be weird and wild without having a special set of Knacks, and truthfully the knacks Denizens get usually overlap with an existing Calling pretty heavily.

If a character has a weird appearance because of their heritage treat it like a Persistent Condition. When it comes up and causes problems, gain Momentum, done. Want to be a nymph with healing powers, just take the Healer Calling and Knacks from there.

Denizens are a good choice if you don't want to play a Scion, but want to mostly keep up with Scion characters. Scion Denizens aren't usually an amazing choice mechanically since you get enough cool stuff you probably can cover whatever concept you wanted. Like if you wanted to play one of Triton's mermaid daughters you could mess around with a mermaid Denizen path, or just take the Water purview to be able to breathe water and swim effortlessly, and a Condition that says you have a fish tail.

For your player who wants to play the nymph, I'd ask if the things they want the character to be able to do can be just as easily represented with Purviews, Boons, Marvels, or Knacks from other Callings. If they can do what they want with the basic stuff I'd skip the Denizen path and just say the character is a nymph as part of her backstory.

[TheWanderingJewels]

thanks for the help