Iconics

I have two different sets of iconics. First, are the iconics that I made initially as iconic characters, who maybe would actually go through the 5x5 Fronts as sample characters, and maybe would be the subject of fiction set in the setting. This includes, but is not entirely limited to, Dominic Clevenger and his buddy Kimnor Rugova, as well as his brother Ragnar Clevenger and his young wife Cailin Clevenger née de Baldry. There are a number of other characters that surround them, originally designed as iconics, but since having migrated into being NPCs, or the equivalent for fiction: Revecca von Lechfeld, Shule, Fredegar de Vend, etc., although some of those NPCs could "graduate" into being full-blown iconics or PCs, if you will. I also had a few other groups of potential iconics, like the Lupescus and their entourage, or the Dark Iconics, also known as the anti-PCs, who became villains. 

Then I have another group, the PCs for my short-lived attempt to start a campaign with some of my kids and in-laws. We ended up moving, so we never did much with it, which means the PCs became—effectively—sample PCs, or iconics. This includes Kazar, Faye Findayne, Aelin Galathynius, and Tharlex Amos. I think the third from last might be a name borrowed from a book my daughter read, so I'd probably have to rename her, but I can otherwise use the concept well enough. 

Finally, I have the four characters I made for my potential Solo game, using the Knave 2e tables to randomly generate personality, background and even their names: Bertram Hardmont, Fitzhugh Grimwatch, Stilton Kingsfax and Tabitha Gamcott. 

Kazar the orc (reformed?) criminal

What do I need with so many iconics? Well, clearly I don't need anywhere near that many. Paizo has a lot of iconics, but they developed more and more iconics, because they wanted to have an iconic character for every class that they developed, at least back in 1e, as well as almost all of the races available. They really sprouted out of control, in my opinion, and ceased to be... well, iconic. Making new characters is reasonably fun, though, so I can see how that happens. The only problem I have with my iconics are the races that aren't represented anymore. Maybe it makes sense to make more iconics, or at leats bring some of my contacts and NPCs into the semi-iconic state, where they can serve as iconics if needed. Many of my contacts initially worked this way, including Oisin Dughall, Shule, Fredegar de Vend and Dean Bannermane. That gets me a goblin and a woodwose iconic. My villainous anti-PCs also had a much better racial spread: an orc, a kemling, two surturs, etc. Of course, those guys are the bad guys and don't really work the same way. Do I want to come up with just a few more exotic iconics? A triton, a sylph, a surtur, a dverg? Another kemling? Maybe even a seraph? Maybe even a grendling? I think the answer is yes. I'm not going to be in a super big hurry to provide them, but I'll probably slowly work them in. If nothing else, like I said, making characters is usually pretty fun.

Another thing that I'd like to do is take my second batch of iconics, the former PCs that my kids and their spouses made, and develop them as iconics a little bit. 

And then, if I decide, for instance, that Icy Graves of Hyperborea needs to be a spin-off 5x5 Front, unrelated to the narrative thread of the others, well, I can, and I've got potentially more characters to do it with too.

I need to come to grips with the idea that me actually running all of these campaigns is unlikely. Do I just leave them as notes on my blog and that's the extent of my creative output with regards to them? I think not. I need to write. I've been saying that for years. For decades probably, actually, and yet... I haven't done it. There's always been excuses, reasons, and good ones in many instances. But mostly I just need to buckle down and actually do it.

On a slightly different tangential coda; I wonder what to do with Capes & Rayguns, the setting that was (once) Ad Astra? Honestly, I think that I prefer science fiction as visual media. I've been reading John C. Wright's Space Pirates of Andomeda, and while I like it well enough, I don't think that it lends itself well to the medium. Partly that could be his writing style, but partly that's just the nature of space opera. I like space opera as video games, movies, even TV shows—even animated TV shows, like the Clone Wars was. Fantasy, on the other hand, I prefer as written word. The Lord of the Rings movies were probably the peak of fantasy visual media, although some entries in video games, like Skyrim are also probably pretty good. But I prefer fantasy as books. The Lord of the Rings movies, if they are peak fantasy visual media, are still not as good as the Lord of the Rings books by a long shot, and probably aren't even as good as less classic fantays, like the Riftwar or the Halfling Gem trilogy. 

This is probably just my own personal preference; I'm not going to kill off Capes & Rayguns or anything. Then again, I haven't done anything at all with it in a long time, and I don't really have much in mind as possible uses for it, unless someone asks me to run space opera as a game for them. Which isn't likely.

That said, my style as a writer or any other type of creative is going to be different than what John C. Wright has. My swashbuckling space opera will focus more on the swashbuckling, and less on the space opera; I think too much exposition and visual cues thrown into your text is a mistake.