Campaign Setting - Shaping Icons

Worlds Are Theoretical; Campaigns Are Alive

I love game world settings that come with compelling pillars and features, but leave an overwhelming majority of the map under a shroud of ambiguity. It gives me a lot of room to work with as a Dungeon Master. I don't have to run the same world the same way for different groups of players. I can fill out a massive campaign bible for various places ahead of time, and leave other places in a quantum sort of state - only finalizing their states once the players go to observe them. It's also great for encouraging players to build the world with / for me as we go. In this regard I've always preferred running my games in settings like the Nentir Vale setting from D&D 4th Edition or the Dragon Empire from 13th Age. I also love how games like World of Darkness turn well-known cities and towns into a completely uncharted wilderness full of horrors.

So we have a campaign game going now, and as Arturo and Vinto venture out into the world we have to start solving for some of these variables - in particular it means hashing out the Icons with whom they interact. When the players came up with their backgrounds they deliberately supplied their own hook into the adventure. Their idea is that the two "brothers" have been coerced into some sort of dangerous quest due to running afoul of the law. Arturo has been something of a malcontent in his social station and fell in with what the player's described as a some sort of shadowy syndicate. But when his associations caused Vinto to wind up imprisoned he took rash action and engineered an unsuccessful escape attempt, compounding the issue. Benefactors in the syndicate managed to expunge the offenses from the official record - but such things do not come without a price.

An organized crime syndicate in the Roman Empire? This Sounds like a job for the Gray Weaver icon. Mobsters from Sicily, nobody will ever see that one coming .... In particular, though, this forced me to consider what kind of interests this Icon had, and his relationship with the Empire itself. So the skeleton needs to be a bit more fleshed out. We already have an historical character for the Emperor (Justinian the Great) and there's a major historical event tied to smuggling and shady mercantile affairs in this era - the smuggling of silk worms from China into the Empire. So now an idea took shape - one I've been familiar with from many years with the Legend of the Five Rings franchise - an Icon who works as the Underhand of the Emperor. Of course, an organization like that needs mysteries and motives - so I did a little more digging and spun up just the right person (more on that another time).

So the Gray Weaver is ultimately working for the increased prosperity and security of the Empire as a whole, but is happy to use nefarious means and odious men to accomplish his goals. He'll obviously be concerned with the looming crisis of succession (Justinian is in his late 70s with no son and unable or unwilling to favor any of his nephews) and has his fingers in many pies. If the PCs distinguish themselves he'll start to take a personal interest. If he finds common cause with them, he may fold them further and further into the heart of his grand conspiracy. On the other hand, if he fails to see redeeming qualities in their character he won't hesitate to play his pawns ruthlessly ... even crime bosses have their standards.

 

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.

World Setting - Alterna Historia I

Campaign World: Custom Terra with fantasy fictionalize history

Campaign Setting: The Province of Sicily, Roman Empire; 33rd year of the Glorious reign of Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus Augustus in Constantinople; 560 A.D.

Campaign Mechanics:

    Dungeons and Dragons, 5th Edition is the primary mechanical base for the campaign. The character attributes, class features, ability checks, and combat mechanics are played directly out of the Player’s Handbook. Pretty much everything else is taken from the Archmage Engine system or the 13th Age Rulebook. Instead of selecting a background from the PHB each player invents a single Background in the 13th Age style. when one would normally interject their background points into a check under the Archmage Engine, instead the character gets to add their proficiency bonus to the check. The Escalation Die mechanic is used in combat. The Montage Technique is used for travel and non-combat group challenges as appropriate. Stunts are also handled under the 13th Age style. Icon Points are introduced to player characters over their first 3 levels, one at each level - preferably over the course of play.

Setting Icons:

    Each Icon is represented not only be a figurehead, but also by a particular organization. The icon relationship represent any relationship that would have sway over the greater part of an organization. Each organization is also associated with a powerful Locus - a physical area where they hold the greatest sway and the fortunes of which are directly reflected upon the organization. Many of these have obvious analogs to familiar faces in the default 13th Age setting - and rightly so. The Icons of the 13th Age were crafted to fill some of the most common, yet flexible NPC pillars the commonly occur in fantasy game settings and literature. There’s no reason to discard an old trope out of hand.

ICON LIST:

Imperator - Constantinople

Praefectus Oriens - Antioch

Archemagos - Alexandria

Pontifex Maximus - Rome

Grey Weaver - Syracuse

High Thane - Khazad

Rose Prince - Hyboria

Ironscales - Germania

Sassanid Emperor - Ctesiphon

Brazen Khan - Sarmatia

Winter King - Utgard

Eternal Pharaoh - Thebes