Shardworld/Icons

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Never before has the balance of power between the icons been so unstable. After decades of war following the High King's death, four Low Kings have divided his realm between them. The Great Khan has joined the iconic ranks, and his arrival seems to have galvanized other malevolent icons to new action. The Locus, Divine Synod, and Wildspeaker strive to maintain their own forms of equilibrium. And something or someone calling itself the Codex of Whispers has been pulling strings from behind the scenes... The Continent spins on the needle-point of Fate, and the balance can't hold for long. That's where you come in.

Icon relationships with Low Kings: As always, an icon relationship almost always represents a bond with the icon's faction-subordinates, messengers, henchmen, and cults of personality, rather than the icon itself. In the case of icon relationships with the Low Kings(Gilded Suzerain, Kraken Tamer, Storm Rider, Lord Artificer), this represents allies, contacts or enemies in the leadership of that nation, such as a general, prominent merchant with political ties, or attendant in the icon's court. Individual suggestions can be found in the individual entries.

Icon Relationship Points: Icons of Order and Icons Between can be given up to 2 points in positive, conflicted, or negative relationships. Icons of Chaos can be given up to one point in positive relationships, and up to 2 points in conflicted or negative relationships. Yes, this does mean you can't spend all 3 points on one icon relationship, unlike the default 13th Age rules. This is to encourage characters to have varied backstories and serves as a source of dramatic conflict.

Icons of Order

The Divine Synod

One mind, many bodies; envoys for the gods.

The Golden Emperor

He longs for all the world under his wings.

Usual Location: In human form in his palace in Verdrise, the capital city of the Shining Empire.

Common Knowledge: The Gilded Suzerain is an ancient dragon, the only known direct descendant of the Wyrm itself. It is said that during the beginning of the 6th Age, in the early years of the rebellion led by the man who would become the High King, the Suzerain, then simply called The Gold, descended from the clouds to turn the tide of a battle in favor of the High King. He tied his fortune to humanity as the Wyrm had done many ages ago, and his might and intellect proved instrumental in the High King's great campaign of unison. Allegedly, it was the Prince's counsel behind many of the more brutal or pragmatic decisions made during the High King's rule. After the King's assassination and the collapse of the Kingdom of Avindras, the dragon claimed the former heartland of the kingdom around the Diamond Sea and named himself the head of a new Shining Empire, claiming he was the only being fit to continue the High King's ambition and rule humanity. After securing his borders to the south and east, the Golden Emperor set about expanding north and west, into the Ørindi and the Veshki Peninsula. The Empire generally begins expanding into a region with attempts at peaceful cohabitation leading into trade and political alliance, with the aim of gradually assimilating a new region; the Shining Empire is the only nation in history to give as much acclaim to diplomats as to generals. However, the Emperor is uncompromising in his goal of regaining unity, and he doesn't hesitate to order sudden and precise military action when negotiation fails. It is said that when faced with the Shining Empire, the only choices are wine or blood. So far, the strategy has worked-the Shining Empire is the largest and wealthiest nation in the Continent, with the Gold Prince at its helm looking onwards.

Characters and the Gold Prince: The Empire always needs capable heroes to do what soldiers and negotiators can't. While the Emperor looks less than favorably at adventurers who help thwart his ambitions. he's usually willing to give them a second chance if it helps the Empire.

Allies:

Enemies:

The True Danger:

The Locus

The power of the elements, anchored.

The Lord Artificer

Victory through progress.

The Great Khan

The doom from the south.

Usual Location: The Khan's base is a black iron fortress deep in the Southern Scar, and he splits his time between there and the front lines.

Common Knowledge: The Great Khan marched out of the Southern Range at the beginning of the age, at the front of a horde of orcs- a monstrous race never seen before on the Continent. His initial assault was beaten back only by the hasty alliance of Athon and the Kraken Dominion, but the Khan had already managed to carve out a domain for himself in the arid and inhospitable Southern Scar. The rest of the world took note-who were these orcs, to force two nations to unite merely to stall their assault, and to be able to survive and prosper in such a desolate region? The Khan gave answer-they were the conquerors of the realm here to put an end to the fragile peace of civilization. The other nations assembled the Orcwatch in response, an army made up of soldiers from every Low King. The Khan launched three great offensives during the following decades, and all ended in defeat for the Khan. Furious at his lack of progress, the Khan changed tactics. While he continues to fight small battles with the Orcwatch, his main focus is on mustering forces and attempting to unite the monstrous races of the realm under his banner. At the moment, he has gathered many bugbear tribes and ogre warbands to his side, some twist clans, and an eclectic mix of other monsters, including at least one dragon. In addition, the Khan's shamans have found a way to dramatically extend the range at which they can create orcpits, the festering sinkholes orcs are spawned from. Orcpits have been observed as far north in Egrond and more continue to spawn, as the Khan prepares to war on the nations of the Continent from within and without.

Characters and The Great Khan: Many people have been hurt by the orc plague, from families to empires. Skilled adventurers who can fight back against orcish incursions are in high demand across the Continent. Given the growing frequency of orc-pit emergence, there is no shortage of jobs and prestige available for those willing to fight. Favor with the other icons is likely to be gained by those who strike especially notable blows against the monstrous hordes. Those who aid the Khan's endeavor to end non-monstrous life are either insane or don't know they're helping him.

Allies: Considering his stated goal to annihilate civilization, none of the Low Kings proclaim allegiance with him. Rumors that the Auroch-General has been secretly meeting with his envoys are the cause of much concern. Some claim to have seen orcs that exhibit the demonic influence of the Hellmote.

Enemies: The Wildspeaker burns with fury at the Great Khan's perversion of nature, and he has vowed to utterly annihilate him and his forces to the last orc. The Tinker King and the Krakentamer, being the closest Low Kings to the Scar, have lost the most during the Orc Wars.

The True Danger: If The Great Khan forges enough allegiances with the monstrous species and creates enough orcs, he will march forth with his horde and the earth itself will tremble.

The Hellmote

It births corruption from its maw.

The Krakentamer

Savior and scourge in equal measure.

The Revenant

It loathes the living for what it can never have.

The Slumbering Ones

Their mere dreams shake the world.

The Storm Rider

The fury of the tempest made manifest.

The Wildspeaker

Defender of the wild places, red in tooth and claw.