In the Thirteenth Age, 13 Icons struggle for the fate of the Dragon Empire, which rules the area where the Campaign is set. But for all their power, the Icons are not gods and mortal men have the power to shape their own destinies... or be ground underfoot by their own bad decisions.
It is 3 years since the 6000 anniversary of the Coronation of the First Emperor; many people predicted something would happen, whether a great blessing or a curse, or possibly the Orc Lord pulling the trigger on invading the Empire. Instead... the Empire held grand games in every city and a literal two week long feast in which everyone glutted themselves like mad. In the Great Cities, each day featured some dish from one of the Ages. On the final day, celebrants could sample dishes 'from Ages yet to come', prophesied by the Priestess.
Some pundits pointed to the time problems of the Third Age and the weird way the Twelfth Age ended to argue that we were a fair amount past the year 6000, and that's why the only thing of grand import was a giant party.
Many now expect when the Orc Lord does launch his kunitori, that will mark the end of the Age. But it's been a quiet enough one... by Imperial standards, that few want to see it go.
But if there is anything that 6000 years of history has taught the people of the Empire, it is this -- nothing lasts forever, not darkness nor light. If you persevere, good times will come again. The star of hope never sets.
But that won't help you if you become a footnote in the saga of the age. So go for the glory!
And ignore the distant laughter of those who want to see the Empire burn. Will you be the Heroes to determine how the Thirteenth Age turns?
Maintainer of the mystic defenses of the Empire; many have held this office over the years. The current Archmage is clearly rather overworked and in constant need of agents to help keep everything running, even with an army of agents. The current Dwarf King's interest in things arcane has led to closer relations between him and the Archmage. The Archmage and the Emperor are allied against all enemies of the Empire, from the Orc Lord to the High Druid.
Ruler of the Dragon Empire; there have been hundreds of Emperors since the first, sometimes vastly potent, sometimes empty figureheads. The current Emperor, however, is middle-aged and vigorous but beset with problems to deal with, problems where he could use a few good folk to help him out. Letting the Blue become Lord of Drakkenhall probably is going a bit far in that direction but it's worked so far. For some values of work. The Archmage and the Emperor are allied against all enemies of the Empire, from the Orc Lord to the High Druid. The current Emperor is Andreas X (5993 - Now)
Long ago, he trapped himself in the Abyss to save the world from a demonic invasion. Some still break through at hellholes, but he's doing the best he can. He's the source of the metallic dragons who keep the Empire afloat in its darkest hours. Surely you'll help out the greatest martyr of all? Unusually, the current High Druid has come to the aid of the Great Gold Wyrm several times.
Every age seems to have at least one new Icon or the return of an old one. This one is new; the Priestess has united all the churches of Light into one, cooperating from her city of Santa Cora. The prayers of the Faithful pour in and she aids the faithful and calls on them to help her in turn. The Crusader and Priestess get on poorly for obvious reasons.
FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE. The only solution to the Demons is to basically be willing to do anything to stop them. The Crusader leads the priesthoods and knights of the Dark Gods, who may be evil but want to rule the world, not destroy it. The Crusader and Priestess get on poorly for obvious reasons, but the Diabolist is enemy number one for the Crusader. There have been a lot of Crusaders, as they tend to die young, taking their enemies with them. But the current one may well prove the exception to the rule.
As a dwarf, he is loyal and steadfast and also the living avatar of 'delving too greedily and too deep'. The Dwarves lost the Underworld under one of his predecessors and some worry his quest for wealth and power will do the same to the Dwarven realms in the Shallows. He has a truce with the Elf Queen and owes fealty to the Emperor and seems to take that very seriously, if not seriously enough to stop looking for GOLD, GOLD GOLD LOVELY GOLD. Unlike most of his predecessors, however, he has an interest in things arcane and is on good terms with the Archmage.
Mysterious and enigmatic, she has ruled the Elves for thousands of years, going on when others die. Only she holds back the three Elf nations from once again tearing each other apart. She once warred with the Dwarves, but they now have a long-standing truce. Everyone knows she desires the prosperity and survival of Elvenkind, but no one is sure how she plans to do that. Like the Emperor, she always needs aid in her projects, though she has less problems to deal with than him. Unless you count the return of the Orc Lord, who is known to want her head on a plate. The Green, once one of the Five, who are now just Three, serves her for reasons unknown. No one is sure who is zooming who here.
There have been a series of High Druids over the Ages; most have dwelt out in the wilderness and concerned themselves with things which barely touched the Empire; this one appeared around the same time as the Priestess and set up inside the Empire, sort of, in the Wild Wood. She's known to feel the Empire is too big and needs to be cut back like out of control kudzu, but no one is sure how she plans to do it; the Emperor and the Archmage both are clearly her foes in this respect though. Oddly, unlike other High Druids, she's also sent aid to the Great Gold Wyrm.
Do you want to dance with Jack of Shadows? There are rumors he comes from another set of planes of existence. Whatever his origins, the Prince of Shadows lives in the twilight between good and evil, ignoring the law, but rarely hurting anyone but the wealthy and powerful. What he wants, beyond doing it his way, remains a mystery.
There have been several Diabolists, but entire ages have gone by without one. The current one acts in public like a cackling pantomime villain, all slinky clothing, seduction and curses. It's generally assumed this is an act but no one is sure what she's really like, beyond being the ruler of the demons held back by the Great Gold Wyrm. She's constantly offering favors in return for services. You always get what she says you will get... and consequences you didn't anticipate. Sometimes she even asks you to do a nice thing and that worries people the most. Surely, she's up to no good, though.
The Wizard King overthrew the rule of the Serpent People and carved civilization out of the wilderness for mankind. Then he decided he wanted to never die and became an undead monster and everything gradually went to hell. Ironically, it's the Orc Lord who carved him into kibble, then the Great Gold Wyrm and the first Emperor imprisoned him on Omen. Unfortunately, he's now back in action, though not yet free to roam the world, causing trouble. And you'd make a great pawn. Some people make bargains with him, but some people mistake their own vomit for Jubilex and try to cut a deal with it too. He is more powerful than your vomit but a lot more dangerous.
During the time before the Ages, in the Epoch of the Serpent Men, the Elves created their own super-weapon to deal with the Lich King, the Orc Lord, who would lead an army of monsters against the Lich King. And he did! He totally chopped the the Lich King into hamburger, then vanished. Only the Orcs stuck around and periodically there's an outbreak of them and they wreck havoc. Only, now in the 13th Age, he's back and seems to have decided the Emperor is the Lich King, or maybe he just was badly created and wants to kill all monarchs and burn all civilizations. Ooops. (Certain Rumors claim he was circumnavigating the globe and destroying all its civilizations until now.) Anyway, he's back and known to be gunning for both the Emperor and the Elf Queen. Maybe the Dwarf King too. It's good to be ambitious, right? Maybe you can cut a deal with him. He is honorable in his own way in a way that includes a lot of destruction. People expect he will move soon, as he's been laying the groundwork for a century now; the fact that he's taken so long worries people. The Orc Lord wasn't so methodical in the past.
An alliance of three Chromatic dragons. Once the Five, but the White got turned into a Dracolich by the Lich King, then was hacked into kibble by the Orc Lord, because that's how he rolls. He cares about it so little it isn't even mentioned in his own entry but the Three are still bitter. (The Green betrayed the others and now is the lapdog of the Elf Queen, and no one is sure why.) The Red, the Blue, and the Black still rule the Chromatic Dragons but now the Blue has signed on under the Emperor as the Lord of Drakkenhall and no one is sure what's going on there, either. There is probably a master plan but given how dragons are, this may well end up with just a One who then gets killed by the Orc Lord. Still, I wouldn't want to mess with them and if a dragon tells you to do something, you'd better have big mojo if you want to say no.