Dec
How can/should you change the Icons over the course of a campaign? I remember hearing, maybe at a Gen Con panel, that “If at least one Icon isn’t dead or changed by Epic tier you’re doing something wrong.” Suggestions or musings on how best to do this could be helpful.
How can/should you change the Icons over the course of a campaign? I remember hearing, maybe at a Gen Con panel, that “If at least one Icon isn’t dead or changed by Epic tier you’re doing something wrong.” Suggestions or musings on how best to do this could be helpful.A great question! I’ll start with the reminder that in 13th Age, the heroes are the ones in the spotlight. Regardless of their actual power or position, they’re the protagonists. Icons are one of several tools a 13th Age GM uses to make life interesting for the heroes—which serves the larger purpose of making the game entertaining for everyone at the table. Icons cannot be considered without taking into account their unique relationship to player characters as quest-givers, adversaries, resources, and narrative elements chosen by the players themselves during character creation. If my half-elf ranger is connected ambiguously to the Lich King, negatively to the Priestess, and positively to the Elf Queen, that’s not the same as a spell list or gear that he purchased. Those relationships are part of my character concept.
Why change an icon?
Making arbitrary changes to the icons risks alienating the players who signaled at the start of the campaign that those icons matter to them. However! Meaningful changes that make life interesting for the heroes, and the game entertaining for everyone at the table, are definitely worth making.
Tightening the screws
Hillfolk, a game that focuses on dramatic interaction and interpersonal conflict, talks about Tightening the Screws: a list possible complications the GM might introduce to raise the stakes, and reignite tensions within the group of player characters. Changing an icon tightens the screws by disrupting the campaign in ways that force the heroes to adapt.
Let’s consider three ways a GM might change an icon, each with an example of how that might look in a campaign:
- An icon’s nature (Heroic, Villainous, or Ambiguous) changes
- An icon dies or is otherwise taken off the board
- An icon’s power and influence changes significantly
An icon’s nature (Heroic, Villainous, or Ambiguous) changes
All shall love me and despair! The nature of the Elf Queen changes depending on which sort of elf she is: high elf, wood elf, or drow. This change can occur at any time during your campaign, either in response to a crisis or in accordance with some magical or cosmic cycle. The Queen might transform into a high elf when her people need an effective diplomat and unifying figure; a drow when blood must be shed without pity; a wood elf when it’s time for the elves to go into hiding and regroup. The types of quests, resources, and rewards available to players connected with the Elf Queen change to match her new nature, and the themes associated with that shard of the elven people.
An icon dies or is otherwise taken off the board
Farewell, King under the Mountain! In the midst of an epic battle between the dwarves and their underworld enemies, the heroes hear a mighty cry. In the distance they see the Dwarf King standing atop a a hill of slain foes, with a dagger in his side that pulses with an Abyssal aura. He staggers, and falls! The heroes fight their way through throngs of enemies to reach him, and bear him away to safety. The King lies in a swoon for days surrounded by healers, but their efforts are for naught. The King is dead. In his place—who? A brave but untested heir? A malevolent schemer? A cohort of squabbling nobles? Other forces are eager to take advantage of the power vacuum, and darker powers stir in the deep. Meanwhile, those on the surface who rely on trade with the dwarves suffer as essential goods and materials become scarce or impossible to find.
An icon’s power and influence changes significantly
That hill and wood shall slay. A great distance lies between the Emperor’s throne in Axis and the High Druid’s seat in the Wild Wood; but not so great as humans think. They fight a thousand battles every day, in cities, villages, and homesteads. Everywhere, the Empire pushes against the Wild with axes, saws, and hammers. The Wild pushes back with the power of the elements, deadly beasts, and the endless cycle of growth and decay. What happens when the Emperor falters? Unsettling reports come from the countryside of strange births, monstrous shapes in the woods, and animals obeying commands from someone, or something, unheard and unseen. Wizards are driven out of villages and towns as the Archmage’s wards fail. Rural folk abandon the Light and turn to old gods of field and forest. Emissaries of the Empire find a hostile reception in places close to the Wild. What new dangers will heroes aligned with the Emperor, Archmage, Prince of Shadows, and the Priestess face in areas once under Imperial control? What new—or old—laws will govern their activities when they are in these lands, and who will hold power and administer justice? Can the heroes strike a new balance between the Empire and the Wild, or will the end of the age see Axis become a crumbling, vine-choked ruin?
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(All quotes from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
13th Age Second Edition combines the coolest and most fun parts of traditional d20-rolling heroic fantasy with story-focused rules—now with updated class and kin powers, fearsome new abilities for your favorite monsters, and revamped icon connection mechanics. Pre-order 13th Age 2e now on Backerkit!