Has anyone ever introduced the Iconics into a Home Campaign as NPCs?


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion


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This is a thought that has been floating around my head lately. Mainly because I have this scenario in my head if I was ever playing a CG rogue that crossed paths with Alain Germande.

So if I was to ever encounter Alain as an NPC, that would mean that the rest of Iconics could be in the campaign too. Which brings me to my thread question. And if anybody had any inkling of how to interact with them, as either GM or player.


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Madokar Valortouched wrote:


So if I was to ever encounter Alain as an NPC, that would mean that the rest of Iconics could be in the campaign too.

Why? even comics, books, and stories generally don't feature more than a couple of them. The iconics aren't a league of adventurers that hang out with each other on a consistent basis... more like a group of acquaintences who occasionally cross paths in varying amounts... and some operate solo.

The only reason to include more of them is that you WANT them there for a story purpose, otherwise just leave them out.

Silver Crusade

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There was a naval battle wherein Valeros, Amiri and Lini happened upon the PCs ship as it was being attacked. The iconics helped out, the PCs were very appreciative, and the PCs even repaid them with a treasure map that the PCs didn't have time to investigate themselves. The important thing to remember, I think, is to make it so it's unclear who's the Npc in the relationship!


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Drahliana Moonrunner wrote:
Madokar Valortouched wrote:


So if I was to ever encounter Alain as an NPC, that would mean that the rest of Iconics could be in the campaign too.

Why? even comics, books, and stories generally don't feature more than a couple of them. The iconics aren't a league of adventurers that hang out with each other on a consistent basis... more like a group of acquaintences who occasionally cross paths in varying amounts... and some operate solo.

The only reason to include more of them is that you WANT them there for a story purpose, otherwise just leave them out.

Fair enough. I guess I should have phrased it as that there is the POTENTIAL for more Iconics to be in the same campaign. In a more meta sense, I guess it means that even if you only encounter one Iconic in your personal campaign, it sort of implies that the other Iconics are out in the world doing their own thing.


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Daniel Yeatman wrote:
There was a naval battle wherein Valeros, Amiri and Lini happened upon the PCs ship as it was being attacked. The iconics helped out, the PCs were very appreciative, and the PCs even repaid them with a treasure map that the PCs didn't have time to investigate themselves. The important thing to remember, I think, is to make it so it's unclear who's the Npc in the relationship!

Was that a homebrew campaign or a part of Skull and Shackles?


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I've never done that for Pathfinder, but I ran a homebrew game which crossed over parts of Forgotten Realms and Eberron in which I used (many of) the Core/Player's Handbook 3.5 iconics (not the setting-specific ones) as important NPCs.

It worked out pretty well, over-all!

... of course, as it turned out, no one - not even the PCs in that game - were "real" people: they were all extremely potent illusory magical effects (akin to simulacra, but without being made of ice and snow, but shadow instead, and with the ability to naturally heal and progress in strength and reality) who thought they hailed from a mythical land of "Faerun" who'd been created by an ancient dream-manifestation-device accidentally activated by a few explorers whose' souls had been consumed to create the sliver of soul-spark that resided in each of them (taking hints from Incarnum)*.

... also, in at least one instance, two of the iconics, Devin (having been infected by therianthropy as a weretiger) and Regdar, ended up fusing into a single Rakshasa after they were both temporarily turned into illusory ash along with an actual Rakshasa - ash that was used in an attempt to "bring them back" via a wish gained from a less powerful source than the original.

(After eating/sleeping/breathing enough, their illusion-bodies, as they were partially real, eventually formed actual cells and created almost entirely nonmagical physical forms that were able to create "normal" - i.e. not illusory - children and pass down genes and whatnot. This all took place about ~200 years prior to the "current" campaign time set in a sealed remote valley in the wilds of Xen'drik - they even met the couatl that would (unbeknownst to them) become part of the Silver Flame! So now most all of the PHB/EPH/PH2 iconics* and a few of the Incarnum/Tome of Magic iconics* have descendants that live in a remote corner of Xen'drik.)

* I actually had more "iconics" than those brought, along with a fair number of other people. In addition to the group listed, from the FRCS I added the elves on pg 14, planetouched on pg 19, clerics listed on pg 243, and "several dozen" other people.


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Yes. I use the iconics in my home game. The players are all part of the Pathfinder Society, so they encounter the iconics from time to time. The time they met Valeros when he was stinking drunk in the middle of the night at Sheila Heidmarch's manor comes to mind. Since we run a mix of APs, modules and even PFS scenarios, there is a constant background narrative of the iconics working their way through the adventure paths that are not covered by the PCs.

The players occasional talk to Ezren who acts as a mentor and they have a healthy rivalry with Valeros. The enjoy running into them as it makes them feel like their part of the same mythology.


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When I played Kingmaker, my first character died so I took an old character, who was the leader of a mercenary company. So I took the Leadership feat and decided to use the iconics as followers.

Silver Crusade

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Madokar Valortouched wrote:
Daniel Yeatman wrote:
There was a naval battle wherein Valeros, Amiri and Lini happened upon the PCs ship as it was being attacked. The iconics helped out, the PCs were very appreciative, and the PCs even repaid them with a treasure map that the PCs didn't have time to investigate themselves. The important thing to remember, I think, is to make it so it's unclear who's the Npc in the relationship!
Was that a homebrew campaign or a part of Skull and Shackles?

Oh yeah, it was a homebrew campaign. Still going, actually. I know I could have introduced any old NPCs instead of the iconics, but since they're already so fleshed out I don't have to work so hard to characterize them. Also, it's really fun to just have Pathfinders being Pathfinders in the background, it does help the setting come to life a bit more.

The Exchange

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In my home game the players encountered an NPC (BBE) Wizard who had a spell Summon Pathfinder II in his book. It summoned up (1d4+2) 1st level Iconic Pathfinders (a "Team" of random Agents)... The Material Component for the spell was "an Item or Document of Arcane or Historical Significance" (called "the McGuffin")... One of these days I'll finish the write-up for Summon Pathfinder I, Summon Pathfinder III, and Summon Pathfinder IV...

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