Sound Purview

by Telgar

----------------------------------------------------Special thanks to FairlyHyperMan, Malkbunny and

TerriblyUncreative for their own ideas about Sound and
how to revise it. Several of the Boons below are based
on their suggestions.
When the world was created out of the void, it was
with a deafening noise, a propelling wave that
resonated throughout Creation. The purview of
Sound is related to speech, song, and music in
their structured and harmonious forms, but also to
the din and tumult of dissonance.

Beat to Quarters (Sound )

Dice Pool: Charisma + Art (Music)
Cost: 1 Legend

The Scion whips his allies into a battle-ready frenzy,

steeling their nerves and steadying their hands with
a drum beat or rhythmic chant. One ally per success
gains a number of dice equal to the Scions highestrated Music Boon, which can be split among any
number of rolls for the remainder of the scene.

Echolocation (Sound )
Dice Pool: None
Cost: None

With this power, a Scion can find his way perfectly in

total darkness, like a bat or a whale, whether in the
air or underwater (he emits an ultra-high-frequency
sound that is absolutely impossible to hear without
this Boon or Epic Perception). For this Boon to work,
the Scion must be able to both produce and hear
Associated With: Apollo, Bragi, the Dagda, Dionysus, sounds normally.
Hathor, Kvasir, Ogma, Sarasvati, Tlazolteotl
At the Storytellers discretion, this Boon may be
able to detect material but invisible creatures,
depending on what kind of invisibility is being used.
I Cant Hear You! (Sound )
For example, if it actually disappears from sight,
Dice Pool: None
Echolocation can identify it, but if it is affecting a
Cost: 2 Legend and 1 willpower
targets mind to make him believe nothing is there, it
does not.
If the Scion is being targeted by a sound-based
power such as Overt Order or Lullaby, he can
Mockingbird (Sound )
voluntarily deafen himself. The deafness lasts until
Dice Pool: Wits + Art (Music)
the Scion decides to end the effect. Some sonic
Cost: None
powers can be used subtly and the Scion must have
reason to suspect he is under attack before he can
Any sound made within the Scions presence that
activate this ability.
is within his ability to reproduce, can repeated

Wandering Voice (Sound )

Dice Pool: None
Cost: 1 Legend

Any ventriloquist can throw their voice and fool

regular listeners into thinking the sound originates
in another location. A Scion can literally make their
voice come from any location in their line of sight
for the rest of the scene. The Scion can change the
origin of their voice as many times as they want
during the scene. If used in combination with
Polyphony (see below), the Scion can actually speak
from several locations at once.

with perfect accuracy. He can flawless repeat

conversations and fool a security system with
accurate voice-prints. A Scion cannot reproduce
sounds beyond human capability, such as an airraid siren or ultrasonic bat squeak, unless they have
some artificial means of doing so. He may reproduce
only sounds that he has heard and can recall clearly.
The Perfect Memory Knack makes it possible to
reproduce any sound the Scion has ever heard.
Without such an effect, the Storyteller may require
a roll to reproduce particularly difficult sounds from
memory. Mundane efforts completely fail to detect
the mimicry, while supernatural attempts must beat
the Scions successes.

Whispers of the Muse (Sound )

Dice Pool: Charisma + Art (Music)
Cost: 1 Legend

Harnessing the inspirational power of music, the

Scion can act as a muse and bring an extra boost of
vitality and creativity to a single person. For as long
as the Scion sings, speaks or plays an instrument,
their selected target gains 2 dots in the Expression
Virtue. At the end of the Scions performance, their
target will also regain 1 point of willpower.

Pocket Orchestra (Sound )

Dice Pool: Charisma + Art (Music)
Cost: 1 Legend

A Scion with power over Sound never lacks for

musical atmosphere or accompaniment. Any musical
device in his vicinity such as instruments, radios,
jukeboxes and computers will play whatever song
or musical piece the Scion desires. This power lasts
for the duration of one song and affects a number
of musical devices equal to the Scions Legend. If
the Scion wishes, he can have each device play a
different song. Any attempt to interfere with the
Scions chosen music faces a difficulty of the Scions
own successes.

Gift of Tongues (Sound )

Dice Pool: None
Cost: 2 Legend

Under all the languages of mankind, there is a single,

universal harmony. By opening himself or a friendly
target to this universal language, the Scion grants
the ability to understand and speak one language
of his choice, even if he doesnt know it himself. The
knowledge will remain with the target for the rest of
the scene, after which it fades beyond even the recall
of Perfect Memory or similar effects.

Lyrebird (Sound )
Dice Pool: None
Cost: 3 Legend

The Scion can perfectly mimic any voice theyve

heard, even if only through a recording or for a few
words. After listening to a recording of Abraham
Lincoln on the phonograph, the Scion could
perfectly replicate the Presidents voice to give a

reenacting of the Gettysburg Address. So long as

the Scion has heard the person he wants to mimic
speak, he can do so at any time and for as long as
he wishes. It costs 3 Legend to switch between two
mimicked voices, but there is no cost to return to the
Scions natural voice.

Deafen (Sound )

Dice Pool: Strength + Art (Music)

Cost: 5 Legend

With a single word, the Scion can strike his target

deaf. The deafness lasts for one hour per success.
If the Scion scores more than double the targets
Stamina (including Epic Stamina dots) in successes,
the effect is permanent and cannot be undone
without use of a power such as the Regeneration
Knack or a healing effect from the Health Purview.
This power cannot be used on targets with a higher
Legend than the Scion.

Curse of the Rhymer (Sound )

Dice Pool: Charisma + Art (Music)
Cost: 4 Legend

The Scion lays a curse upon his chosen target and

dictates a change in the victims speech. The change
could be as simple as forcing the victim to speak
only in rhyming couplets or iambic pentameter, or
as severe as allowing the target only to speak in
Ancient Etruscan even if they have no knowledge of
Ancient Etruscan. The effects of this Boon last for one
hour per success. Targets with a higher Legend than
the Scion are immune to the Curse of the Rhymer.

All Together Now! (Sound )

Dice Pool: None
Cost: 3 Legend

While performing a battle song that his allies can

act in rhythm with, the Scion can grant his friends
additional skill and power in battle. This Boon can
only be used as part of a Coordinated Attack and it
takes up the Scions entire action. All of the Scions
allies acting as part of the same Coordinated Attack
gain a bonus to their DV equal to the Scions highestrated Sound Boon.

Curse of Babel (Sound )

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Presence
Cost: 2 Legend

With a single vindictive word, a Scion can shatter

the languages around him into chaos. One target
per success within the Scions line of sight is stricken
with severe aphasia (word-salad). The difficulty
of all speech-based powers used by the victims is
increased by the Scions Legend. The aphasia lasts
for one scene, but targets with the Cipher Knack or
a similar power are immune to this effect and can
understand the victims perfectly well.

Missive (Sound )

Dice Pool: Charisma + Presence

Cost: 1 Legend

By spending a point of Legend, a Scion may send a

message of ten words or less to any individual he has
already met and who is within an area determined
by his successes
Distance

Successes

1 mile

10 miles

100 miles

1,000 miles

10,000 miles

The Silence Boon (see below) can prevent the call

from being either made or heard.

Polyphony (Sound )
Dice Pool: None
Cost: 1 Legend + 1 Willpower

The Scion using this Boon can literally say two (or
more) things at once. She can make a number of
simultaneous speeches equal to her the sum of her
Intelligence and Epic Intelligence.
Without an ability such as Multitasking, the Scion
cannot participate in actual discussions, because
her audiences can all respond at the same time on
different topics, and it is unlikely that she is able to
follow them all. She can choose who hears what
speech, for example declaring that all men in the
audience will hear one thing and all the women
another. The Scions speeches do not necessarily
have to be in the same language, and she could
easily say the same thing in Chinese, English, and
Spanish to different listeners. This Boon lasts until
the end of the scene.

Sing-A-Long (Sound )
Dice Pool: None
Cost: 5 Legend + 1 Willpower

On the spur of the moment, the Scion can improvise

a poppy little ditty so easy to follow that any of
Anywhere in
his friends can join in, automatically knowing the
10
the World
words and tune. For as long as the Scion sings or
plays, which requires his full concentration, allies
The message travels at the speed of sound, or about
can join in the song as a reflexive action. Anyone
1,200 km/hr in the air and 5,000 km/hr underwater.
singing along can opt to spend 1 Willpower to add a
The Silence Boon (see below) can prevent the
number of successes equal to their Art (Music) score
recipient of the message from hearing it or the Scion
to any roll. Actions that require a verbal component
from sending it.
cannot be enhanced in this way, since the allies are
already busy singing. Only those with abilities such
Dont Censor Me! (Sound )
as Polyphony can both sing along with the Scion and
Dice Pool: Charisma + Presence
take other verbal actions.
Cost: 2 Legend
There is no per-scene limit to how many times a
given ally can spend willpower to gain extra dice. In
Unless enclosed in a vacuum or blocked by
order to maintain the ditty, the Scion must not take
supernatural means, the Scions voice may be heard
any action but singing or playing and must not take
for miles around. While not deafening, it carries
extremely well and can be heard by all creatures with any damage. If interrupted, the Scion has to pay the
activation cost again before he can restart the Boons
a Legend score. By spending two points of Legend
effects.
and crying out, the Scion can be heard for (Legend)
miles. All those who hear it know in which direction
and how far away its source is.

Playback (Sound )

Lullaby (Sound )

A Scion skilled in the Purview of Sound can hear

sounds that no longer resonate in the air. He stands
silently and then inhales a sharp breath, calling the
sounds of the past to himself. The Scion hears all
the sounds that have occurred within his immediate
vicinity for one day per success. The sounds come to
him in a rush, but he can process them as easily as
if he was hearing them at normal pace. It takes one
minute to listen to and understand an entire days
worth of conversation.

The Scion sings a lullaby and spends 1 point of

Legend per person she wishes to affect within
hearing distance. Her targets fall instantly into a
deep but normal sleep for (10 targets Legend)
hours, with a minimum of 1 hour. If they are
awakened early, they do not gain the benefits of this
Boon. When they awake, all those affected regain
one point of Willpower (up to their maximum) and
heal up to three levels of bashing damage. It is
possible to receive the benefits of Lullaby once every
24 hours.
To resist the somnolent powers of Lullaby, a
character can roll their Stamina + Endurance. They
must gain more successes on their roll than the
Scion did on the activation to stay awake, but each
success they gain removes 1 hour from the sleep
time, down to the minimum.
If used to affect creatures without a Legend score,
each point of Legend spent affects 10 targets instead
of just one.

Dice Pool: Perception + Art (Music)

Cost: 3 Legend

Silence (Sound )
Dice Pool: None
Cost: 3 Legend

By spending 3 points of Legend, the Scion may

create a zone of total silence around him with a
radius of (Legend) yards. All powers or abilities that
rely on sound are rendered ineffective. The user of
this Boon is unaffected.
This power can be applied to a single person to
mute them. While muted, the target cannot
directly make any sounds. Their footsteps and voice
are silent, but if they knock over a vase, it will still
make a noise when it shatters.
This Boon cannot affect those of equal or greater
Legend than the Scion who uses it. The effects of the
Boon last for one scene.

Listen To My Voice (Sound )

Dice Pool: Charisma + Art (Music)
Cost: 5 Legend

The reassuring timbre of the Scions voice becomes

an anchor that his friends can cling to in times of
mental adversity. For as long as the Scion sings,
hums, speaks or otherwise vocalizes in a soothing
manner, one ally per success that can hear his voice
is protected from social and mental attacks. The
MDV of the targets gets a bonus equal to the Scions
Legend. This Boon ends if the Scions vocalizing is
interrupted by taking any action, being wounded or
other distraction. The Scion is considered Inactive
during combat while maintaining the Boon.

Dice Pool: Charisma + Empathy

Cost: 1 Legend per target

Shattering Crescendo (Sound )

Dice Pool: Perception + Art (Music)
Cost: 5 Legend

Mortals with powerful voices can shatter glasses

with the proper note. A Scion who sets his voice to it
can maim or kill living beings and devastate objects.
Such sonic attacks use the Scions Perception + Art
(Music) + Legend as their attack pool. Shattering
Crescendo cant be parried. The base damage of
such an attack is equal to the Scions Strength + the
rank of her most powerful Sound Boon. Sonic attacks
are Piercing and ignore the Hardness of inanimate
objects. The Scion can choose to inflict Bashing or
Lethal damage every time he uses this Boon.

Lingering Echo (Sound )

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Art (Music)
Cost: 2 Legend

Demigods with power over Sound can speak and

leave their voices hanging in the air, unheard until a
specific event comes to pass. A single speech, song
or other utterance can be stored in the air of the
Scions current location for a day. Each success allows

the Scion to set a condition on when their message

will be heard or extend the duration of the Boon for
one extra day. If the Scion uses a Legendary Deed
as part of the activation, the duration of this power
becomes permanent. Legendary Deeds used in this
fashion provide no additional successes, they simply
adjust the duration. Conditions set on the replay
of the stored sound can be as simple as whenever
someone comes through this hallway or as specific
as when my son finds this room.

Sonorous Creation (Sound )

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Art (Music)
Cost: 2 Legend

The Scion can produce virtually any sound

by himself. Hes his own chorus, symphony or
Hollywood sound department. The user cannot
create more sounds, voices or instruments
simultaneously than the sum of his Legend,
Intelligence and Epic Intelligence. The difficulty of
creating specific sounds depends on how complex
the sounds are and how many are involved. Making
the noise of an air-raid siren is only difficulty 1, but
reproducing a pitch-perfect performance of the
Philharmonic Orchestra would be difficulty 10.

Sirens Song (Sound )

Dice Pool: Charisma + Art (Music)
Cost: 2 Legend + 1 Willpower

Like the sirens who lured sailors to their deaths,

the Scion can call others with his song. Everyone
within earshot (this effect cannot be carried over
amplification and cannot be recorded or broadcast)
must make a (Willpower + Integrity + Legend) roll
and obtain more successes than the Scion did in
order to resist the siren-song. An affected person
should immediately come as close as possible to
the user of the Boon and, once within sight of them,
remain in their presence until the end of the song. A
person thus captured is not completely oblivious to
danger around him (he will not simply stand there if
someone strikes or shoots at him). This Boon works
effectively against both sexes and does not affect
anyone of equal or higher Legend than the user.

Haunting Melody (Sound )

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Art (Music)
Cost: 5 Legend + 1 Willpower

The Scions song will daze and confuse his enemies,

making it difficult for them to track or attack him. For
as long as the Scion continues to sing or otherwise
create the Melody (a diceless action), everyone
who can hear his song is affected by the discordant
harmonics of the music. Each success on this Boon
increases the difficulty of any attacks made by the
affected against the Scion by 1. The affected are also
unable to see the Scion clearly, he fades and blurs in
their awareness, inflicting the same loss of successes
on all attempts to locate, track or identify the Scion.
If someone hearing the song has a Mental DV
greater than the number of successes the Scion
gained, they are immune to the effects of the Boon.

It Goes to Eleven! (Sound )

Dice Pool: Charisma + Art (Music)
Cost: 5 Legend

This Boon allows the Scion to manipulate the

volume of sounds around her. The user decides if she
wants to reduce or increase the volume of any or all
sounds in the area. Each success on the roll allows
the Scion to double or halve the volume of a single
sound. Multiple successes can be applied to specific
sounds, allowing the Scion to mute the take off of
a space shuttle down to a mere whisper or amplify
the sound of a falling pin to literally deafening levels.
Sufficiently loud sounds may inflict Bashing damage
at the Storytellers discretion and result in temporary
or permanent hearing loss for those without Epic
Stamina.
If the Scion wishes to mute or enhance the volume
of all sounds around her instead of picking and
choosing, five successes allow halving or doubling of
the ambient noise. As with single-sound targeting,
the Scion can apply multiple sets of five successes
for truly powerful noise manipulation.

Lend Me Your Ears (Sound )

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Art (Music)
Cost: 10 Legend + 1 Willpower

With a few words and a quick touch, a Demigod

can create a bond between his ears and those of
another person. For the next day, the Scion can
choose to hear through the ears of his target or
allow the target to hear through the Scions own
ears. While the one receiving sensory input gains

the benefits of regular Epic Perception (if the other

member of the bond has any), no Boons, Knacks or
other supernatural powers that affect perception
are transmitted by this Boon. A Scion can have a
number of these connections active equal to his
highest-rated Sound Boon, but can only use one at
a time. The cost of the Boon must be paid once for
each target the Demigod wishes to connect with. If
the target resists the connection, compare their MDV
to the Scions successes. Should the target succeed
in resisting, the cost of the Boon is wasted and the
Scion cannot try again for the rest of the current
Story.

Crossroads Gift (Sound )

Dice Pool: Charisma + Art (Music)
Cost: 10 Legend and 1 willpower.

The Scion can grant temporary and superhuman

musical skill to a mortal. The target of this Boon adds
a number of dice equal to the Scions highest-rated
Music Boon to any roll involving musical skill. The
bonus lasts for one day per success.

Howl of the Banshee (Sound )

Dice Pool: Charisma + Art (Music)
Cost: 5 Legend + 1 Willpower

The Scion draws in a deep breath and lets out a

gut-wrenching scream; a sound out of the worst
nightmares of humanity. The Banshees Howl cannot
be amplified by artificial or supernatural means,
not even by other Sound Boons. Those who hear
the Howl take one die of unsoakable lethal damage
per success as their minds are torn by the terrifying
scream. The only resistance is a Stamina + Endurance
roll which can be made only by characters who
possess a Legend score. Each success on the roll
reduces the damage by 1.

listening to the Macabre Symphony, the victims

must spend a point of willpower for every action
they wish to take.
Performing the Symphony counts as a diceless
action, but its dissonant harmonics can be worked
into the songs of other Sound Boons such as
Haunting Melody, Lullaby or Sirens Song. Doing so
applies a -2 dice penalty to the activation rolls of
both Boons.
Anyone with a Mental DV higher than the Scions
activation successes is immune to this Boon.

Mortal Dirge (Sound )

Dice Pool: Manipulation + Art (Music)
Cost: 10 Legend + 1 Willpower

This Boon can only be used against targets who have

no temporary Willpower left, for their souls must be
weakened before the Scion can assail them further.
By playing or singing the notes of this dark melody, a
God of Sound can cause such utter desolation within
his listeners that they simply lose the will to life and
die of their own accord.
Anyone who can hear the Dirge and has no
remaining temporary Willpower suffers 30 Lethal
damage, plus 1 more for every two successes the
Scion gained on the activation roll. This damage
cannot be soaked by armor.
Any ordinary mortals who hear this song, no matter
their amount of Willpower, die instantly.

Clarion Call (Sound )

Dice Pool: None
Cost: 15 Legend + 1 Willpower

A God of Sound can be heard anywhere, by

anyone. The God simply chooses who he wants to
hear him and speaks a message, which can be of
any length, and his intended audience will hear
him as easily as if he were standing next to them.
The chosen audience can be defined as strictly
Macabre Symphony (Sound )
Dice Pool: Charisma + Art (Music)
as a single person, or as broadly as all attractive
Cost: 5 Legend + 1 Willpower
Hispanic females with lower back tattoos and it
can incorporate any conditions the God wishes. He
By performing a song laced with discordant,
could choose to speak to everyone in New York City,
demoralizing harmonics, the Scion can sap the will of or everyone in the world who makes more than
anyone listening to his music. By voice or instrument, $100,000 per year. The Clarion Call can transcend the
the Scion performs his song and chooses which of
boundaries of Worlds, allowing conversation with a
his listeners will be affected, up to a number equal to soul trapped in Tartarus while the God himself is in
his highest-ranked Sound Boon + his Legend. While
the Overworld. The only limitations of this Boon are

that it cannot convey any other powers and it does

not allow for conversations. The God can speak, but
this Boon offers him no way to hear what anyone
says in reply.

Avatar of Sound (The Intoner)

Cost: 30 Legend and 1 Willpower
Dice Pool: None

When the Intoner speaks, the World listens.

Languages bend to his will; his songs shape the
hearts of Gods and Titans; his screams can shatter
the very foundations of the Earth. No sound comes
without his permission, even Titans cannot be heard
when the Intoner hushes them. A ripple in the air and
the howl of thousands of voices mark the presence of
the Intoner, who has no physical form.