13th Age Icons for Planescape

Last post, I talked about creating a list of Icons for Planescape. Today I’m going to present the list I came up with in a similar format to that found here.

Be aware that this is just one possible way of doing things. Also note that I’m not sticking strictly to Icon = Plane = Alignment. Hopefully, you’ll forgive any sacred cows I kill in the making of this list. I’m more concerned with the thought process and crafting a list of Icons that is workable and interesting than sticking strictly to Planescape canon. I want to make sure that there are good conflicts and alliances that can occur, too. Without futher ado, here is the list I came up with (in no particular order).

Planescape Icons

• The Wild Queen is capricious and represents nature in all its forms. A fey of untold power, she desires that all things remain untamed and wild. Note that this does not necessarily mean chaos, as there is order in nature, too. (Beastlands, Arborea)
• The Eternal Warrior is the personification of the concept of battle and conflict. She craves war for war’s sake, whether that be the noble battles of rival lords or the brutal savagery found on the battlefields of the Lower Planes. (Ysgard, Acheron)
• The Lady of Pain is an enigmatic figure. No one is really sure of her motivations, beyond that of keeping any and all Icons / Powers out of Sigil, her domain. (Outlands)
• The Schemer envisions a multiverse in which plots, subterfuge, and trickery are the only way. He’s always willing to make a deal, especially when it’s to his advantage (which it usually is). Even the best laid scheme goes awry, though, which is why he also represents those caught in the act of doing something they shouldn’t. (Carceri, Gehenna)
• The Elemental is primal, fundamental, the raw building blocks of the multiverse. It seeks only to spread fire, ash, wind, and even pure energy throughout the multiverse. (Inner Planes)
• The Dreamer is the protector and guardian of those who find themselves lost or wandering. He also watches over those who dream and desires a multiverse of wonder and potential, free from alignments. (Astral Plane)
• The Madness represents pure chaos and randomness. The multiverse should have no reason and no boundaries according to him. (Limbo, Pandemonium)
• Primus”, the Order, desires order in all things in the multiverse. Chaos is anathema to it. Methodical and patient, it is only a matter of time until its grand plan comes to fruition. (Mechanus)
• The Harmonious One is a being of sublime peace and harmony. Unflappable, he sees beauty in peace and quiet contemplation. (Elysium, Arcadia)
• The Apathetic One cares about nothing. She wishes for the annihilation of everything in the multiverse. Order and chaos are both meaningless concepts, as are good and evil. (The Gray Waste)
• The Transcendent One is beyond and within and above and below and everywhere and nowhere. His motivations are for all to be united as one, containing all things and nothing. (Mount Celestia, Ethereal Plane)
• The Craftsman cares nothing about good or evil, law or chaos. All that matters is creation, conversion of raw materials into finished product, work, labor. These are the things that matter. (Bytopia)
• The Fiend represents evil in all its forms and wishes for the multiverse to be one of selfish ambition, infighting, and strife. (The Abyss, Baator)

It looks like I managed to keep the list to 13. Bonus! Feel free to use this list as-is, modify it for your own nefarious purposes, or whatever. If you’ve got any questions, hit me up on Twitter.

If you happen to use this in either your D&D game or 13th Age game, please let me know! I’d love to hear how it went.

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rdonoghue said:

If I were to tweak these, I’d actually make them (or at least some of them) a little bit less abstract, specifically the one’s ending in “One”. It’s easy to build an image for some of these because they’re rooted in things like Demons or Fey, but harder for others.

Which is a shame, because the Apathetic One (to pick a particular example) feels like it needs just a nudge to crystallize into something really vivid.

As a test, imagine at the end of each description, that someone asked you “Why?” For some of these, that answer is more apparent than others, and in attempting to answer, you may reveal more of the face.

TriskalJM said:

I can definitely do some of that tweaking. Thanks for the comment, and I’ll post a revised one when I’ve had time to mull them over some more.

The Dad Hatter said:

I was always more into Spelljammer than Planescape. Are these actual forces within the Planescape setting (I know the Lady of Pain is) or are they forces you created to fit the Icons formula?’