World Setting - Icones

Icons make the world ago ‘round …

One of the best things about the use of Icons from the Archmage Engine is that they were implemented from the outset to be pillars that define the game setting. So in this Byzantine Age setting it was important to set those proverbial stakes in the ground before letting the players make camp in the world. Icons fall into 3 general categories with some bleed over here and there: Romans, Neighbors, and Barbarians. 

The Roman Icons define the public aspects of the Empire itself. The Emperor in Constantinople is the main force of law and culture within the Imperial borders. The Praefectus in Antioch represents the military influence and interests of Rome. The Archemagos concerns himself with those who use arcane magic to serve or threaten the Empire. The Pope’s main spheres are those of religious practices and moral philosophy among the people of the Empire and beyond. The Grey Weaver, on the other hand, is a mysterious figure whose main interest is the flow (licit or otherwise) of wealth and information across the Empire, a shadowy hand that’s influence could be felt anywhere. Depending on the time period and theme of the individual campaign, these roles could be filled by different characters (and some of their loci might even change) but their core functions in defining the Empire are largely the same.

Neighboring Icons obviously define zones immediately outside Imperial dominion. These relationships can be a lot more flexible campaign-to-campaign, but they presume a civilized power with diplomatic relations between themselves and Constantinople. The Rose Prince and High Thane represent the relevant Elven and Dwarven civilizations. The Sassanid Persians are lead by their own emperor. While these people may technically be “barbarians” in the strictest Roman sense of the word, no well-educated Roman would want to make a fool of himself to dismiss their civilizations so casually.

Barbaric Icons obviously do not represent everyone that the Romans would consider barbarians in the world, but they are the four who pose the greatest threat in the current era. Ironscales and his fellow draconic disciples hold sway beyond the Rhine and Danube in Germania - a land where many past foes and invasions of the Empire have begun. The Brazen Khan is whatever horse-lord has managed to consolidate the loyalty of those marauding bands in the wild plains north of the Black Sea. The Winter King is no man at all, but the fearsome Lord of the Giants in the Frozen Wastes beyond Germania. The Eternal Pharaoh was once a man, but has returned as an unliving mockery ranging from the Upper Nile to plague the rich province of Aegyptus.


While the inhuman monsters are solidly in the Barbaric Villains category and the Praefectus and Imperator are at the heart of the Roman Empire -  it is very easy to shift the other Icons up or down depending on the historical period, individual character, and minor historical adjustments we want to have in our campaign. Go back a couple of Emperors in real world history and Rome herself (and the Pontifex Maximus) aren’t even a part of the Empire anymore. It’s very easy to conceive of Dwarves and Elves that are openly hostile to Rome due to Caesar trying to conquer Gaulia Hyboria or Caligula sending wave after wave of men to die in a vain attempt to seize some “impudent” Thane under the Alpine Mountains. Likewise the Bronze Horde or the Draconic Order could have reached some manner of truly civilized accord with Rome as a client-state or trading partner years earlier. Each campaign can be drastically different due to modifying the relationships between Icons.