The second local conflict in the galaxy centers
around the worlds of Devonia and Spekag.
Some of the amphibious natives of Spekag left
their world centuries ago and, devoting
themselves to the forces of entropy and death,
went through a racial transformation into a
new species now called the Eidolon. With their
new sorcerous powers, and led by a
Promethean named Krux Morta, the Eidolons
conquered the planet Devonia and its
defenders, the heroic Star Blades. A few Star
Blades survived to become wandering ronin
and refugees, but the Eidolons were triumphant
and now, on Lost Devonia, slave away in the
service of Morta, whose goal is nothing less
than universal nihilism: the end of all that is.
(Also — with those great setting creation
rules that Steve wrote for Stark City, it’s
really a shame to not create some planets of
your own.)
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vast and inscrutable intellect and Shepherd of
the Null-State. He is served by an Earth woman
gifted with immeasurable cosmic power but
tortured by her own miserable duty: bringing
her master from one thriving planet to another,
each reduced to meaninglessness so that her
own homeworld might survive.
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Meanwhile, the Prometheans themselves have
withdrawn to the Galactic Core, where few
dare trespass and even fewer are welcomed.
The greatest champions of life, light, and
energy have instead become paralyzed by their
own past mistakes. Despite the need for bold
action, they remain isolated and inactive as a
species, even as individual Prometheans depart
and serve the Greater Dark on Lost Devonia
and elsewhere. One of these expatriates is
Krang, Lord of the Krobon Empire. Krang has
conquered and despoiled the once-lush world
of Verdania and is opposed only by a plucky
human and his most loyal allies. It is only a
matter of time before Krang's advanced army
crushes the last remnants of Verdanian
resistance.
GALACTIC MAP
You’ll notice several planets on the map that
don’t have descriptions in this book. Planets
such as Roxul V, Mithran, Doral and
Wreven. One of the guiding principles with
Stark City was to leave room for the GM and
players and not fill up every corner of the
setting with NPCs that could steal the
limelight from the PCs. That’s one reason
why we left certain neighborhoods in Stark
City undefined beyond some basic
description and that’s the same rationale
here.
For the last two centuries, the Greater Bright
has been losing and the Greater Dark has been
winning. Humanity is not the newest player in
this Game; rather, they are an old player, and
your PCs represent not the arrival of Earth on
the galactic stage, but their return. Will
humanity be strong, smart, and noble enough
to turn the tide of the Game, to seize the
advantage?
The remaining powers of the galaxy work more
or less in isolation; some are remote threats,
others too chaotic to work in any one direction.
The Mech Centrality is in the former camp. A
civilization of sentient machines struggling to
preserve their cohesion in the face of
factionalization, they dwell on the outer edge of
the galaxy and quietly calculate their entrance
into the Great Game. In the latter camp could
be counted the Jacker Worlds, a lawless noMan’s-land of pirates, slavers, scavengers, and
petty space fleets in service to tyrannical
warlords. Outside, and above all systems of
classification, stands the enigmatic Entropos, a
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running a
Cosmic campaign
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on the way to confronting the Imperial Guard,
Darkseid, or the Super-Skrull. This book is
written with that truth in mind; you will find
more alien champions written up in these pages
and few stat blocks for star destroyers or
Martian tripods. Even so, we have not been able
to provide all the write-ups you will need for a
full-size alien invasion. If you need something
on the scale of the Imperial Guard, you will
need to gather up other ICONS heroes and
villains, change their names, costumes, and
species, and re-use them as disposable
champions from a dozen different alien worlds.
As long as these aliens are colorful and go
down quickly, your players will neither notice
nor mind.
From the first days of the superhero genre,
aliens have often been portrayed as essentially
benevolent; alien visitors respect Earth life and
society and often “go native,” seeking to blend
in with humanity. In other words, outer space
becomes the origin story for a superhero
character, and you will find many potential
superhero origins in this book. Alien heroes
might have amazing powers which are native
to their species (Starfire), or they may wield
technology which is far beyond human
understanding (Mr. Miracle), but much of their
characterization comes from the friction that
develops between the alien way of life and our
own. While an alien hero often has different
values and principles than Man, their real
narrative power comes from their role as thirdparty observers and neutral critics. In other
words, alien characters look at human
traditions, customs, and laws and ask, “Why do
you do that?” This usually starts as comic relief
(Starfire's nudity) but turns serious when aliens
consider themselves empowered to dispense
lethal justice (Rom). If the alien hero is the star
of his own comic (Mar-Vell), he has a plucky
human sidekick to act as foil (Rick Jones), but in
a team situation (like most ICONS games), other
heroes play this role instead (the Teen Titans).
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Running an ICONS game with cosmic elements
ultimately comes down to a choice of two
directions: do you want the alien to come to
Earth? Or do you want Earth to go to the alien?
Tales in which the alien comes to us are the
easiest; you can keep all the comfortable
trappings of your current game and setting.
Indeed, those trappings become the stakes
which make the alien arrival exciting. If your
heroes are already adventuring in Stark City,
they have met some of the people there,
perhaps befriended the Mayor or established
rivalries with criminal gangs or NPC vigilantes
in the city. All of this gets thrown into doubt
when the aliens arrive, and the strangeness of
the invader contrasts with the comfortable
known-ness of home. Many stories of alien
invasion spend most of their time trying to
figure out what the aliens want, why they are
here, and what they really are. In other words,
these are stories about making the alien less
alien; when the unknown becomes known, it is
no longer feared and can be defeated.
Other stories about aliens coming to Earth
borrow heavily from science fiction traditions
like the invasion, which might be secret
(Invasion of the Body Snatchers) or public (War of
the Worlds). In the pages of our monthly comics,
we have seen beloved characters revealed as
Skrulls or Manhunters, we have fought off
massive space fleets crewed by the Kree and the
Dominators, and we have even traveled to
alternate realities where the Martians have
already won. While science fiction novels and
film often focus on war with the aliens in the
form of spaceships, alien soldiers, and superweapons (and the television version inevitably
stars aliens who can masquerade or pretend to
be human), superhero comics traditionally
personify the alien invader in the form of
super-human champions whom our heroes
must ultimately battle. While comics do show
fleets of spaceships, and superheroes do fight
them, this is usually a sideshow or middle stage
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Ultimately, the alien critique of our culture
wakes up those humans who surround the
alien and causes us to correct our errant ways.
The alien, who can perceive our errors more
clearly because he is not enmeshed in our old
habits and excuses, and who admires and loves
humanity precisely because he does not take it
for granted, becomes a teacher and a guide.
personality. The upshot here is that contact
with the alien and the strange affects the
protagonist in a way which even a serial
narrative like comics does not easily dismiss.
The “Space Police” is another broad term which
can be used to identify a super-team made up
largely of aliens, though there are usually one
or two token Earthlings among them to provide
contrast and some reader identification. The
Legion of Super-Heroes is the definitive Space
Police, but there are many others, including the
Guardians of the Galaxy, the Green Lantern
Corps, and even “lawless” groups like the
Omega Men or the Starjammers. While these
latter groups are ostensible rebels or pirates,
even they inevitably find themselves working
for the common good. The Space Police forms a
solid grounding for a new ICONS campaign, one
set almost entirely in space. The Human
Interdiction, which prevents contact between
Earth and the rest of the universe, becomes an
important plot point in this sort of story. If an
Earth superhero or two accidentally found out
about the Sirians and the other alien forces
arrayed in the universe, they might not be
allowed to return to Earth. Base a group like
this in the Sirian Principality and use origins
from throughout this book as well as anything
your players care to make up. You could have a
wielder of a Bloodstone alongside a member of
the Ghostlight Legion, a Tricero-Tyrant from
the Krobon Empire, a Promethean Aliyat and a
ronin Star Blade. While some of the groups in
this book are united by having similar powers
(Bloodstones, Ghostlights), others could wield
virtually any set of random abilities
(Prometheans, Verdanians, Star Blades), so you
can still use ICONS as a pick-up game with
randomly-generated characters, if that suits the
style of your table and your players.
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“Astronauts” is a broad term which can
encompass all those stories in which
superheroes from Earth are temporarily cast
into outer space. Comics writers have
traditionally reveled in this opportunity,
because it is easy to invent new planets,
villains, species, and stories in outer space,
liberated from the restrictions of continuity. The
quintessential example of this is Alan Moore's
outer space interlude on Swamp Thing, but
Messner-Loebs tried the same thing on Wonder
Woman, Claremont did it in a memorable run
on the X-Men, and the entire Kree-Skrull War in
Avengers falls into this category. When Earth
heroes go to space, it is another opportunity for
them to confront the alien in a symbolic as well
as literal sense. Things are just weirder in space,
and a lot of character concepts which would be
laughable if they appeared on Earth (a talking
raccoon, a cigar-smoking satyr) are perfectly
acceptable in space; they're no weirder than
anything else. Much of this book has been
written specifically to accommodate space
tourists of this sort; use Krang and Verdania if
your heroes are basically human and have few
or no super-powers, or the Sirian Principality
and their war with the Bloodstone if your ICONS
group is a more traditional super-team.
Astronaut stories take a few sessions to play,
are relatively self-contained, but often end with
some serious consequence: perhaps one of the
heroes decides to stay in space, an alien returns
with the heroes to Earth, or one of the player
characters gets a change in powers, uniform, or
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After the alien has come to us, inevitably we
must go to the alien. Again, superhero comics
have a few trends — Astronauts, Space Police,
and the Cosmic Menace — which an ICONS
group might find useful.
Finally, space is often the home for ultimate
threats in superhero comics. Jack Kirby's “The
Coming of Galactus” defines this genre, and
Marvel has continued to emphasize cosmic
entities like the Stranger, the Collector, the
Grandmaster, the Beyonder, and so on, while
DC instead has Kirby's Darkseid and all the
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the cosmic entity really is, what it wants, and
how it thinks, but in the case of villains like
Darkseid and Thanos, punching is also usually
involved. In this book, Entropos and Lord
Krux, the Bringer of Darkness, give you a
couple of cosmic menaces, dialed to different
positions on the punch-o-meter.
armies of Apokolips. Thanos, a Marvel homage
to Darkseid, brings together ultimate cosmic
power, a fleet of space ships, and an army of
freakish aliens. Sometimes these menaces can
be fought, but this is usually futile. Instead, the
cosmic menace is defeated through trickery,
virtuous behavior, or some unexpected plot
twist. The secret to victory lies in learning what
galactic factions
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The most ancient beings in the universe reside
on Ur, a world in the Galactic Core, where suns
crowd close together and the blackness of space
is filled with gusting solar winds and a blaze of
intense radiation. These people were once
known by many names — the First, the
Founders, the Progenitors — but because they
brought the fire of super-powers to mankind,
who went on to terrorize the universe, they
eventually came to be called Prometheans. For
billions of years they ruled as much of the
universe as they chose to govern, but after the
Promethean Wars they retreated to the Core
and for two thousand years they have remained
more or less in isolation as the Greater Dark
grows closer and closer to ultimate victory.
forms; in the language of map-makers
everywhere, “You just can't get there from
here.” Physically human in appearance,
Prometheans are actually ethomorphs, which is to
say their bodies reflect their ethical stance and
choices. A Promethean who follows ethically
good conduct will take on a more beautiful and
handsome appearance while one who does evil
will grow increasingly ugly. Prometheans do
not age in the traditional sense, nor do they
grow weaker as the years pass; a Promethean
who looks like a wise old grandfather is
physically exhibiting his wise and paternal
personality. Likewise, a Promethean who
appears infirm and decrepit is revealing his
inner failures. Superhuman powers are
uncommon amongst Prometheans but hardly
rare.
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Prometheans
of the
Galactic Core
Promethean civilization is grand, baroque, and
fantastic; its elaborate palaces do not displace
nature but, instead, incorporate it, so titanic
trees, majestic waterfalls, and frozen glaciers are
integral to city design. The few explorers who
have dared to visit Ur insist their science is so
advanced as to be indistinguishable from magic,
but others have been forced to admit the
opposite: Promethean magic may be so
sophisticated that it is indistinguishable from
science. Regardless, Promethean weapons,
vehicles, and other machines function according
to principles undiscovered by Earth engineers.
There is no development path by which 21st
century human science matures to Promethean
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For all of its history, Promethean civilization has
had but a single ruler: Overlord Kro, most
senior of the Elder Prometheans, seven kin who
claim to have survived the last universe. Kro
was, for most of his reign, a vigorous and wise
ruler who sought to bring peace, enlightenment,
and civilization to the universe. In addition to
his six brother-sisters (Krang and Krux, Krista,
Kredeis and Kryte, plus the enigmatic Krel), he
has been assisted by a council of viziers, or
advisors, known collectively as the Vazierin.
Kro's
government,
Prometheans
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expanded through the cosmos, aiding sentient
beings when they found them and even
elevating some animals and beasts to thinking
state — it was in this way that Kro came to be
immortalized as “Krobon” on Verdania and its
surrounding worlds. The great dynamism and
Over the last few centuries, Overlord Kro has
become more and more of a recluse, seldom
leaving the royal palace’s Game Room, where
he ponders the board, his pieces, sacrifices and
potential gambits. His brothers and sisters carry
on as they always have and life on Ur remains
peaceful and happy, but the Vazierin are not
blind to the growing entropy and paralysis of
the Promethean state. Change must come, and
soon, or else all will be lost.
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Sixty thousand years ago, Kro’s brother and
boon companion, Krux, broke with the family
and went into self-exile, wandering the endless
void of space in search of the Greater Dark. In
this moment of weakness, when the Overlord
could think only of his brother’s betrayal and
the mischief a bitter Promethean might cause,
Krang, another of the Elders, convinced Kro to
create a slave army to fight on the Prometheans'
behalf. It took about a generation to create this
army out of mutated human beings, most of
whom were then taken to the stars while the
rejected and the disobedient remained behind
to become the ancestors of Earth's modern
supermen. Not everyone was convinced of the
wisdom of this plan, but Krista, who led the
Promethean armies against the Greater Dark,
needed soldiers, and her aggressive support of
Krang, regardless of the ethics involved,
persuaded the Vazierin and, thus, the
suddenly-impressionable Overlord.
In consultation with his siblings, Kro developed
a new strategy, one which came to be called
“The Great Game.” This new technique for
combating the Greater Dark relies not on
massive armies but on grand-masters known as
Aliyat, special agents empowered with all the
best in Promethean weaponry and training.
Crisis points are calculated and detected
through the sentient Uni-Verse, and then Aliyat
are dispatched to strike precisely and cleanly,
with a small footprint and a minimum of
collateral damage. In some senses, the new
strategy seems to be working: resentment of
Promethean meddling has largely vanished,
though hatred of human beings continues to
linger. But the universe is vast and the Aliyat
are few; recent developments such as the rise of
the Bloodstone Protectorate, the Mech
Centrality, and the Krobon Empire highlight
the weakness in Kro’s policies. There just aren't
enough pieces in play, and the board is slowly
being overcome by the Greater Dark.
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expansion of Promethean culture in these early
millennia reflects Kro’s pre-occupation with the
struggle between the Greater Bright and the
Greater Dark; to his mind, it was important to
build up as much of an early lead as possible
when the universe was yet young, so that the
forces of entropy could be forestalled as long as
possible as the universe aged.
Over two millennia ago, Kro was aggressively
pursuing his war when Krel, his strangest
sibling, intervened. Krel never quite escaped
from the old universe, and continued to exist in
a liminal state, neither male nor female, neither
alive nor dead. From this odd vantage, Krel
saw the future and showed Kro that the
Promethean Wars could have only one
conclusion: Kro would kill his own brother,
Krux, whom he loved more than any creature
alive. Moreover, he would do so gladly,
exulting in his triumph, and in this way lose all
that had made him great. Kro was devastated,
and he resolved to do everything in his power
to ensure this future would not come to pass.
He recalled his sister Krista at once, ending the
war in total surrender. He disbanded the
human Janissaries and retreated to his palace.
Ur
Aspects
Life and Science in Harmony
No Sense of Time
Memorials to a Lost Universe
Ur is a paradise planet, a perfect blend of
technology and nature where all resources are
found in plenty and there is no sickness or
death. There are only a handful of cities, each
distinguished by its unique climate and
geography: one city in the dense jungle, another
in the arctic north, a third in the desert, and so
on. In each of these cities, subtle psionic towers
mask the architecture and inhabitants from Ur's
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native wildlife, so native predators and prey
walk, crawl, and slither blithely through the
city streets and in and out of homes completely
unaware that they are keeping company with
strangers.
The Uni-Verse
When a copy of the Uni-Verse falls into the
hands of an outsider, this is usually because the
poem has allowed this to occur. It is a simple
matter for the Uni-Verse to vanish and reappear in the hands of its proper owner, but the
Uni-Verse's goals and methods are mysterious
and inscrutable, and sometimes it cooperates
with more primitive life forms (such as
humanity) in order to thwart the Greater Dark.
The Cavalry
Road
As part of the Great Game, Promethean
engineers have developed a method of instant
travel which allows both the Aliyat and others
to cross the vast gulf of space quickly, safely,
and in great number. In the Promethean
language it is called the Turagapadabandha,
which translates as “a journey in the footsteps
of a horse,” but it is commonly called either the
Knight's Progress or the Road to Cavalry.
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The Overlord and his Vazierin govern from the
city of Memory, devoted to honoring the
universe prior to this one. Located on a ring of
cliffs surrounding a deep, circular valley
created by asteroid impact millennia ago,
Memory is decorated with statues of men and
women who never existed and about whom
nothing is known, because all lived in the last
universe and all records of their existence died
with it. While many Prometheans traverse the
circular city by aerial sled, flying yacht, or other
such device, a floating, open-air train runs
constantly through the entire circuit of
Memory, a pleasurable way to pass the time in
a place where time has little meaning.
Promethean technology, it can be used to
explain virtually any plot twist.
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The Uni-Verse is a poem with one page for
every year in the history of the universe. Its
incredible complexity has made it self-aware,
and its nature as a symbolic representation of
the cosmos in miniature has given it a
symbiotic link to the greater universe. It has
vast knowledge of the past and present and, by
altering itself, it can alter reality.
Prometheans encode the Uni-Verse into
handheld computers, and whenever a
Promethean agent or group of travelers leave
Ur they are almost certain to have a copy of the
Uni-Verse with them. The Uni-Verse is
benevolent, compassionate, and dedicated to
the Greater Bright; it communicates with its
bearer by touch, through a symbolic language
which can be automatically and perfectly
understood by anyone native to this universe.
Because every copy of the Uni-Verse is, in some
sense, the same entity, it knows everything that
happens to any of its copies in real time.
The Uni-Verse's primary function is to give
advice, warn of looming threats, and to heal
serious injury, but as an example of
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The Road can be imagined as an invisible
highway which touches on every possible
location in three dimensional space. Machines
housed on Ur can open and close gates to the
Road anywhere in the cosmos; the usual
method of operation is for a wandering
Promethean or Aliyat to use his Uni-Verse to
request a gate, which is then opened for him
instantly from Ur. These gates appear as
massive white squares surrounded by crackling
energy motes. Travel along the highway is
instantaneous; a Promethean can open the Road
on Ur, travel through the gate, and emerge
anywhere a moment later. Gates can also be
opened from afar, and Promethean engineers
often use this method to rescue Aliyat who are
in danger on far-off worlds. A gate will not
teleport an individual who is standing still,
however; to use the Road, someone must
physically move through it.