Most of the heroes of the Greek myths were mortals descended from the gods. Some had exceptional gifts because of this divine ancestry (such as Heracles’ incredible strength), others had a talent for a particular thing (such as Asclepius’ skill with medicine), others were just lucky. In an Greek mythology campaign, these gifts are called bloodlines, and those people with bloodlines are called scions (these are game terms rather than words the people in the campaign use to describe these kinds of heroes).

Bloodlines come in three different power levels: minor, lesser, and greater (scions with these bloodlines are minor, lesser, and greater scions, respectively). A typical Greek mythology campaign normally has lesser scion PCs, but a GM wanting to bend the campaign’s low-magic framework can use greater scions, while one wanting more realistic campaign can opt to use minor scions (or no scions at all).

Bloodlines derive from godly or titanic power, and a scion’s choice of bloodline abilities depends on which god or titan he is descended from. A character can only have one bloodline, regardless of how many gods are in his ancestry; a descendant of Zeus’s mortal son and Apollo’s mortal daughter must choose which bloodline is stronger and pick his bloodline abilities based on that choice (he can still claim the other ancestor, but it has no effect on his bloodline abilities). Scions are not just limited to humans; a minotaur might be a scion of Poseidon, and an exceptional horse might be a scion of one of the Anemoi (wind gods).

Bloodlines abilities that refer to spells are spell-like abilities unless otherwise stated. The caster level of a bloodline is equal to the character level of the scion.

Minor Bloodlines

Minor bloodlines are the weakest kind available in an Argonauts campaign, enough to help distinguish the PCs from the common folk but nothing flashy. All minor bloodlines are presented as a list of skills; a minor scion picks two skills from his ancestor’s list and gets a +3 bonus to both of those skills. The scion cannot choose the same skill twice except in the case of skills with subskills (such as Craft, Knowledge, and Perform), in which case the character can select two different subskills (such as Knowledge (nature) and Knowledge (religion)).

Lesser Bloodlines

Lesser bloodlines let PCs build characters with physical or mental abilities beyond that of common people without going outside the bounds of the low-magic constraints of the setting. All lesser bloodlines are presented as a list of ability scores; a lesser scion picks one ability from his ancestor’s list and gains a +2 bonus to that ability score. Note that many gods have Constitution or Charisma as an option; this is because the gods are immortal and may pass on a limited form of that immortality to their offspring, and most of the gods are quite beautiful, vain, and confident, all traits which a scion might inherit.

Greater Bloodlines

Greater bloodlines are the most powerful type available in a Greek mythology campaign, representing actual magical manifestations of godly power. As such, they slightly bend the rules of the low-magic nature of the campaign—and don’t have any precedent in the myths—but make the player characters truly amazing in the sight of normal people.

All greater bloodlines are presented as a choice between a pair of options; the player chooses one option at character creation and cannot change it thereafter. Most are equivalent to a 2nd-level spell effect, and those not actually derived from spells are treated as 2nd-level spells for determinations requiring an effective spell level. Saving throws against bloodline effects are Charisma-based. Caster level (if appropriate) for a greater bloodline is equal to the scion’s character level.

In addition to this choice of a greater bloodline ability, the character gains the effect of a lesser bloodline of their ancestral deity (+2 bonus to one ability score, selected from the list of appropriate ability scores in the lesser bloodlines section).

For example, Carlos’ character Thyrsos is a scion of Aphrodite. Wanting to play a character with supernatural influence over other people, Carlos chooses the charm person power instead of the heroism ability, and can also choose a +2 bonus to Constitution or Charisma as determined by the lesser bloodline of Aphrodite.

Battle Aura (Su)

Eris’ Fury (Ex)