4e:Icons

This is an adaptation of the icon and icon relationship rules from 13th Age.

At 1st level, each character gets 3 relationship points. The number of points you spend on a relationship is a measure of its overall usefulness, since the relationship mechanic lets you roll one d6 per point invested in a relationship when you’re trying to leverage your connection to the icon. The Icons Relationship Master Chart below summarizes the likely roleplaying and story-oriented consequences of positive, conflicted, or negative relationships with heroic, ambiguous, and villainous icons.

Icon	————————— Relationship Type —————————
	Positive	Conflicted	Negative
Heroic	Spend 1, 2, or 3 points. As far as this icon is concerned, you're one of the good guys, a white-hat hero. Authorities often help you, and civilians often trust you. On the down side, you may be called on to serve representatives of the icon even when you have other plans. You might also be a target of villainous icons or this heroic icon's rivals.	Spend 1, 2, or 3 points. You're probably one of the good guys, but for some reason you're suspect to the icon. Maybe you're a convict who has served his time, or an imperial soldier who was too good and got drummed out of his legion. You have insider knowledge and allies who are in good with the icon, but you also have enemies associated with the icon.	Spend 1 point. In the icon's eyes, you're a dissident, opponent, rival, or foe. You may have contacts or inside knowledge that you can use to your advantage, but some form of trouble waits for you wherever this heroic icon has influence.
Ambiguous	Spend 1, 2, or 3 points. Thanks to your relationship with the icon, you are a hero to some, a villain to others, and possibly even a monster to a few. The enemies of your friends may turn out to be your friends, and vice versa. Advantages and complications will come from all sides.	Spend 1, 2, or 3 points. Your relationship with the icon is complex, an uneven relationship with an icon who's a hero to some and a villain to others. One way or another, you can find help or hostility anywhere. You don't just live in interesting times — you create them.	Spend 1 or 2 points. Your enmity with this icon makes you some enemies, but it also makes you some useful friends. You may be a dissenter, unwanted family member, or even a traitor in some way.
Villainous	Spend 1 point. You are able to gain secrets or secretive allies, but your connection to this icon brings trouble from people associated with the heroic icons who oppose the villain. Be prepared to justify why you're not imprisoned, interrogated, or otherwise harassed by the heroic icons and their representatives whenever they encounter you. Or for that matter, by the other PCs.	Spend 1 or 2 points. You mostly work against the icon, but you're also connected to the icon in a way you can't deny. Your connection sometimes gives you special knowledge or contacts, but it also makes you suspect in the eyes of many right-minded would-be heroes.	Spend 1 or 2 points. You are a special foe of this icon, perhaps because of your virtue or possibly for less happy motives. Your enmity wins you allies among right-thinking people, but some of the villainous icon's forces are out to get you in some way.

When you're called on to check your icon relationships, roll a single d6 for each point of relationship. You roll 1, 2, or 3 (or possibly 4 at epic level) six-sided dice, the same number of dice as the points you spent for the relationship with that icon.

• Hope for 6s: If any die is a 6, you get some meaningful advantage from the relationship without having complications. If two or three dice come up 6, that's even better.
• Look out for 5s: If any die is a 5, your connection to the icon is going to work out as well as a 6 would, but with some unexpected complication. If it's a good icon, you might be drawn into some obligation. If it's a villainous icon, you might attract unwanted attention.
• Both 5s and 6s: Rolling 5s when you also rolled 6s should make life both interesting and advantageous!

The DM will use player characters' icon relationships three different ways.

• Starting a session: All players roll their PC's icon relationship dice at the start of each session, and everybody sees the results. By the end of the session, each 6 or 5 should contribute to the story somehow, either at the GM's or player's initiative. The DM uses the results to think ahead about which icons come to the fore this session. Players use the results to start thinking about how their icon relationships might manifest in the story.
• In-game dramatic events: Players roll all of their relationship dice for a particular icon when their PCs are confronting that icon's representatives, agents, or minions. The DM decides when an event-based roll is called for. At their best, dramatic event rolls can map a surprising path that you and the players will make sense of via shared storytelling and the game's other tools.
• Discovery & Surprise: At the DM's option, players may roll icon relationship dice to find out which icons are involved in a plot element, if any. When the characters have slalomed onto paths and adventures you did not anticipate, icon relationship rolls can serve as an idea generator with mechanics that everyone already understands.