Jotunblut (Scion)

“Jotunblut”, which means literally “giant’s blood”, describes a quality peculiar to the Gods and Scions of the Norse pantheon. In ancient days, the Norse Gods intermingled with the giants from whom they took the World, blending their ichor with their enemies’ blood. Today, that legacy breeds true in the ichor of those Gods’ Scions. By shedding a measure of her blood (i.e., suffering a single health level of lethal damage) and spending Legend, a Scion can use that blood to bestow a hint of the giants’ legendary strength and toughness.

Mortals and animals who receive this endowment from a Scion remain loyal to that Scion thereafter, though they become surly and short-tempered with everyone else. This loyalty lasts for a limited time and must be renewed periodically by a fresh infusion of the Scion’s blood. If the limited time lapses and the Scion doesn’t renew the recipient’s loyalty, the recipient turns feral but keeps the physical bonuses. Once that happens, any Scion with appropriate Jotunblut Boons can re-endow the feral being and claim its loyalty for his own.

The endowments granted by these Boons cannot be stacked on the same character, even if a Scion is reendowing a feral being. They can, however, be replaced by higher-dot Boons under this Purview. That is, a Scion cannot endow the same person twice with this Purview’s two-dot Boon in order to give the person four free Attribute dots. (That would cost more Legend points anyway.) If he wants the person to have more free Attribute dots, he’ll have to re-endow that person with a Jotunblut Boon rated at three dots or higher. If the Scion re-endows a person with a Jotunblut Boon rated less than or equal to the last one that affected the character after that person’s previous loyalty lapses, the Scion claims that person’s loyalty but has no effect on the recipient’s Attributes.

Finally, Scions cannot use these Boons to bestow free Attribute dots on (or to claim the loyalty of) titanspawn, their fellow Scions or other supernatural beings.

Bestial Endowment
The Scion grants a beast a single extra dot in either Strength or Stamina. The beast becomes loyal to only the Scion, who can also train him as normal, but that loyalty must be renewed once every month.
 * Dice Pool: None
 * Cost: 1 lethal health level + 1 Legend

Human Endowment
The Scion may imbue a human with two free Attribute dots that can be spent into the human’s Strength and/or Stamina. The human remains loyal to the Scion for a single month but grows irritable around other people. A Scion cannot use this Boon on a beast.
 * Dice Pool: None
 * Cost: 1 lethal health level + 2 Legend

Heroic Endowment
The Scion can now imbue a human with three free Attribute dots to be spent into the human’s Strength and/or Stamina. The person remains loyal to the Scion for three months (roughly one season) and remains equally irritable with other people. A Scion cannot use this Boon on a beast.
 * Dice Pool: None
 * Cost: 1 lethal health level + 3 Legend

Supernal Bestial
The Scion grants a beast four extra dots to be divided as he sees fit between its Strength and Stamina. The beast also gains two extra -0 health levels. The beast remains loyal to only the Scion, who can still train him as normal, but that loyalty must be renewed once every three months (roughly one season).
 * Dice Pool: None
 * Cost: 1 lethal health level + 4 Legend

Supernal Human Endowment
The Scion can now imbue a human with four free Attribute dots to be spent into the human’s Strength and/or Stamina. The recipient also gains two extra -0 health levels. The person remains loyal to the Scion for three months (roughly one season). This devotion is such that the person’s imposed Loyalty Virtue rises to 5. A Scion cannot use this Boon on a beast. If the listed time elapses before which a Scion must restore his Jotunblut bond with a mortal, the mortal loses any imposed Loyalty dots.
 * Dice Pool: None
 * Cost: 1 lethal health level + 5 Legend

Epic Endowment
The Scion can imbue a human with five free Attribute dots to be spent into the human’s Strength and/or Stamina. The recipient also gains four extra -0 health levels. The person remains loyal to the Scion for six months with an imposed Loyalty of 5. It also raises the berserk’s imposed Courage to 5. A Scion cannot use this Boon on a beast.
 * Dice Pool: None
 * Cost: 1 lethal health level + 6 Legend

If the listed time elapses before which a Scion must restore his Jotunblut bond with a mortal, the mortal loses any imposed Loyalty and responds to any physical threat thereafter in a Berserker Fury (per the Courage Virtue Extremity).

Divine Endowment
The Scion can now imbue a human with either six free Attribute dots to be spent into the human’s Strength and/or Stamina or one dot to be spent into Epic Strength or Epic Stamina. Doing the latter also grants the human either the Crushing Grip or Holy Fortitude Knack (respectively). The recipient also gains six extra -0 health levels. As with Epic Endowment, the berserk’s imposed Loyalty and Courage are both 5. A Scion cannot use this Boon on a beast.
 * Dice Pool: None
 * Cost: 1 lethal health level + 7 Legend

If the listed time elapses before which a Scion must restore his Jotunblut bond with a mortal, the mortal loses any imposed Loyalty and responds to any physical threat thereafter in a Berserker Fury (per the Courage Virtue Extremity).

Dire Endowment
Feeding a beast a measure of his blood, the God increases its Strength and Stamina by three each and grants it one dot each of Epic Strength and Epic Stamina. It gains no Knacks with these Epic Attributes. Its Legend increases by one dot, though only the first time this Knack is used on it. This Boon increases the beast’s size to half again its original size and adds four -0 health levels. The dire beast remains loyal to only the Scion, who can still train him as normal, but that loyalty must be renewed once per year.
 * Dice Pool: None
 * Cost: 1 lethal health level + 8 Legend

Giant
When the God feeds his ichor to a mortal and uses this Boon, the mortal’s body swells and expands dramatically in mere moments. This process is painful and ugly, but it’s mercifully quick. When it’s over, the mortal has become a giant. He’s half again as tall as he was originally and sheathed in powerful muscle. He gains eight free Attribute dots to be divided up between Strength and Stamina as the God wishes, as well as two dots each of Epic Strength and Epic Stamina. (Knack-selection is up to the player.) His Legend is 2, and he has imposed on him the following Virtue ratings: Courage 5, Endurance 3, Expression 1, Loyalty 5. This empowerment also adds eight -0 health levels to the mortal’s original total. A Scion cannot use this Boon on a beast.
 * Dice Pool: None
 * Cost: 1 lethal health level + 9 Legend

If the listed time elapses before which a Scion must restore his Jotunblut bond with a mortal, the giant goes free and is considered a generic giant. He doesn’t have the Dark Virtues normally attributed to giants, but he loses all imposed Loyalty and responds to any physical threat in a Berserker Fury (per the Courage Virtue Extremity). Another key difference is that a rogue giant doesn’t have the Eitr supernatural power. If he should be fed eitr from a true giant, however, he irrevocably becomes a true giant himself (of whatever type fed him the eitr). At that point, the giant’s imposed Courage becomes Rapacity, his Endurance becomes Ambition, his Expression becomes Zealotry, and his Loyalty becomes Malice (These twisted Dark Virtues retain the originals’ ratings and function).

Eitr Antivenin
Lest it be forgotten, the Aesir defeated the giants in the ancient days. As a result, the divinity of the Aesir can purge a giant’s foul influence on a mortal’s body. If the God can subdue a thrall, feed that thrall a measure of his ichor and activate this Boon, the God’s ichor destroys the giant’s eitr. Any damage done to the thrall’s Intelligence is repaired, though any benefits to the thrall’s Strength or Stamina dissipate as well. Fortunately, the removal of eitr also removes the unnatural loyalty the thrall was forced to feel toward the giant who originally fed him the eitr.
 * Dice Pool: None
 * Cost: 1 lethal health level + 10 Legend

A God can use this Boon on only one thrall at a time, and it has no effect on berserks, dire beasts or giants. A thrall who receives the benefit of this Boon feels no unnatural loyalty toward the God who used it, and he remains immune to the effects of eitr for one year.