some Idols who deserved to be in the book

ANDY WARHOL

“ in the future everyone will be world famous for fifteen minutes”

An artist who redefined the American art scene. A man who mass produced art of the mass produced, wielding bright artistic energy with the subtlety of a sledge hammer. Whose influence spread through music and film. Whose infamous platinum blonde locks were a regular sight outside 54 and other famed locales. The influence his works had in creating modern American culture is undeniable and incalculable. It’s no surprise that some of the artier iconomancers have taken up his banner

For 2 minor charges Campbell’s Soup makes an ordinary mass produced object impossibly fascinating to everyone nearby. If they fail a Soul roll, they stare at the object to the exclusion of other activity, not noticing anything else in the vicinity, until they are actively provoked out of their stupor (say by having someone shoot at them) or the sum of the spell roll in minutes have passed

For 3 minor charges an iconomancer can become Death Warmed Over, becoming quiet, cold and detached from everything around him, no matter what is going on. In this state the iconomancer automatically passes any stress checks he encounters as if he were fully hardened in all gauges. When this effect ends, in the sum of the spell roll in minutes, the iconomancer must make any checks he avoided during the effect.

For 5 minor charges an iconomancer can give someone their Fifteen Minutes. This functions similar to the urbanomancy effect napoleon of notting hill, except rather than local power, it elevates the target to local fame. While not as world spanning as the Idol dreamed, this effect is more widespread than the urbanomancy effect, creating state-wide (or maybe even nation-wide) fame

For 2 significant charges the iconomancer can draw on the Idol’s most successful film with Chelsea Girls. This allows the caster to see through the eyes of another person, seeing those images lined up next to his own sight, being able to see from both positions perfectly. The iconomancer can only hear from one person at a time, but can choose to switch hearing between himself and the target as often as he wishes. This effect lasts for 210 minutes.

Invoking the dark side of the Idol, The Society for Cutting Up Men costs 3 significant charges. It acts as an iconomancy significant blast, causing someone who works for the target to lash out at him with whatever is at hand. Their attack automatically hits, doing whatever damage was rolled on the spell. If none of the targets underlings are nearby, this effect lingers, waiting to go off until the target approaches one (which could be years if the target does not yet have underlings).

ALFRED HITCHCOCK

“Good evening”

The Master of Suspense, the king of fear, Alfred Hitchcock redefined the role of the director, gaining wealth and fame in the process. In his more than 50 films he scared a generation of movie goers, coming up with many new and unique film techniques. He was infamously a perfectionist, hard for actors to get along with, yet many actors claimed he knew their craft better than any other, and its true he managed to drag some of their best performances out of his actors. His trademark cameo in his films dragged his image into the public conscious, and his TV series cemented it there. Even though his best years were long behind him when he died, his works were still being watched and admired, and his likeness was still being seen by many. His seat amongst the Idols was assured.

For 1 or more minor charges an iconomancer can draw upon The Master of Suspense to inflate the tension in any scene. The next time someone could make a stress check (regardless of whether he should ignore it for being hardened) the level of the check is raised by the number of minor charges spent. So two minor charges would raise a level 3 stress check to a level 5 one, and 7 minors could raise a level 1 stress check to a level 8, causing all but the most hardened of people to step back. This upgrade occurs on the next potential check, regardless of what kind of check that is. If the upgraded stress intensity is still below the targets hardened level, the effect is essentially wasted.

For 2 minor charges the iconomancer can transform someone into a Psycho, adding a number of temporary hardened notches equal to the tens place of his iconomancy skill to whichever of the targets madness gauges he wishes. When the effect wears off, the target will have full memory of what he did during his lapse of morals, and must make any stress checks his temporary hardened notches gave him immunity to. Hitchcock said that the length of a good horror story should be proportional to the endurance of the human bladder, and this horror story is no exception, lasting until the target next vents his bladder.

For 2 significant charges Vertigo allows the iconomancer to give someone a phobia of his choosing. Once again this lasts until the target urinates (which, if provoked with fear hard enough, could be soon).

For 1 significant charge Cameo allows the iconomancer an effect like the pornomancy effect synchronicity.

Invoked negatively the iconomancer can make someone Treat Them Like Cattle, for 3 significant charges causes the target to alienate everyone working for him, mistreating them and causing resentment amongst them for the total of the spell roll in days.

GROUCHO MARX

“I never forget a face, but in your case I’ll make an exception”

Considered to be one of the greatest comedians of all time, the antics of his brothers on stage and screen have been subject to much imitation. Even now people dress up in imitation of Groucho, people who have never seen his films, and know almost nothing of him don “groucho glasses” to affect a cheeky disguise. By far the most famous and respected of the Marx brothers, Groucho managed a successful career alone after his film days, hosting game shows on radio and television, where his talent for adlibbing quips and jokes was legendary. Groucho was cited by many comedians as the greatest, but despite his fame, he managed to slip from the world almost unnoticed, going out while the world was looking the other way, just three days after Elvis Presley died. Even with this quiet exit, his place amongst the idols was assured, and wise-talking iconomancers waddling around with three followers in tow can be found in the most unexpected places.

The simplest effect, for 1 minor charge, Groucho Moustache allows the iconomancer to completely hide his identity, by wearing large glasses and a false moustache. Most people will realise that the iconomancer is in disguise, but no one will be able to pierce that disguise, and tell who the iconomancer is, until he takes the glasses off. Witnesses trying to describe him afterwards will remember the glasses and moustache, but remember no other details about his appearance (such as height, build, skin colour or sex)

For 3 minor charges Razor Wit acts as an iconomancy minor blast, as the iconomancers gives the target a quick tongue lashing, dealing damage to the targets Soul score, rather than his wound points (remember if their soul drops below any of their soul skills to lower their skill too). These lost soul points recover at the same rate wound points do.

For 3 minor charges, The Secret Word allows the iconomancer to sense the next time a target utters a specific word or phrase. The iconomancer only senses the first time the target says the word(s), but the effect works no matter how far away the target is, or how much time has elapsed since the effect was cast.

For 4 significant charges, Who’s Buried in Grant’s Tomb? makes the answer to a puzzle the iconomancer is facing instantly obvious. This only shows the iconomancer the simplest solution if there is more than one, and it also grants this knowledge to everyone else (this works like the cliomancy effect All is Known).

The negative side of Groucho, Shadow of the King, for 3 significant charges reflects his relatively unnoticed death, causing people to ignore one recent event. People do not remember any specific details of the event, and might even be unsure that it ever happened. People who think about this event find their thoughts wander off, or become distracted by another event. This forgetting lasts for the sum of the spell roll in months, after which people are able to remember the event and think about it as normal.

BRUCE LEE

“If I tell you I’m good, you would probably think I’m boasting. If I tell you I’m no good, you know I’m lying.”

Considered by most to be the greatest martial artist of all time, “the dragon” brought martial arts into the mainstream consciousness. His speed was unparalleled, his prowess unmatched. He was stronger than men twice his size, and everyone knew it. Yet despite his enormous skill, he had to work tooth and nail to get himself into Hollywood’s upper crust, and his fame was more posthumous than prehumous. Iconomancy began in China, so its little wonder that the dragon, one of the first Chinese actors to truly make it, is one of the more commonly channelled Idols amongst the iconomancers, though fittingly, he is most often not an iconomancer’s primary Idol. What most people don’t expect is that channelling the dragon is more about being the absolute best than it is about ripping a man’s heart out and showing it to him before he dies. Iconomancers, call on Jun Fan, first and foremost as a leader and innovator, breaking down established barriers, forging his own way, and lightning hands of death second.

For 1 minor charge Fist of Fury, is the iconomancer’s only formula to call on Bruce’s fighting skills. It allows the iconomancer to use his iconomancy skill in place of his struggle/martial arts skill, including flip-flops, and gives him access to martial arts cherries. This effect lasts for the sum of the spell roll in rounds.

For 2 minor charges Enter the Dragon makes the iconomancer the centre of attention. When cast upon entering a room or other inhabited area, it causes everyone present to turn and stare to watch the iconomancers arrival, and keeps their attention on him for up to a minute (assuming he does something to hold their attention). This formula also works on a more long term scale, if used when entering a city, or other large scale network of people, it causes rumours of the iconomancer’s coming to precede him, whispers of his importance and power spreading through the people before he reaches them personally.

For 3 minor charges The Big Boss causes everyone present to instantly recognise your complete superiority in one skill or ability, even if you do not have any aptitude in this skill. With a glance anyone seeing the iconomancer will realise he is the greatest martial artist in the country or the most well connected man in the city, or even the best lay in the bar. The iconomancer merely picks one skill, and people just sense that he is better at it than they could ever hope to be. This in no way confers such skill on the iconomancer, and if he attempts to use the skill in front of people, the effect may well be broken (depending on the results, and on the inclination of the viewers). This effect lasts for a maximum duration equal to the spell roll in minutes.

For 2 significant charges, Way of the Dragon imbues the iconomancer with the legend of the Idol’s athleticism and speed. The iconomancer now moves and acts twice as fast as everyone else (getting two full actions per combat turn, running twice as fast, etc). In addition the iconomancer can use his iconomancy skill in place of any athletics related skill. This effect lasts for the sum of the spell roll in turns.

For 8 significant charges, the iconomancer can play the Game of Death, replicating a feat performed by many Idols – being seen after his own death. To use this effect, the iconomancer must be holding the 7 charges when he dies. At the exact moment of his death, he can specify one future event, at which a version of him will appear. This version of him will look like an idealised version of the iconomancer, and will have no memories or knowledge of anything that has happened after his death, it is in essence a snapshot of him from just before he died. The event chosen must be fairly specific, and the copy of the iconomancer can only appear for one hour, so the event must be relatively short. My daughter’s wedding, the next time that guy who shot me sleeps, or even above my grave, the first full moon after I’m buried, are all acceptable events. The collapse of the united states probably wouldn’t count, as it is unlikely to happen at one precise moment and location. The next time by friend roger says my name works, wherever justice is ignored doesn’t. GM’s call what’s appropriate. The copy’s stats are as the iconomancers, and it interacts with the world like a normal person. Basically this effect allows for one final act from beyond the grave.

Drawing on the negative side of the Idol, for 2 significant charges No Retreat, No Surrender fills the iconomancer or a nominated target, with the drive to succeed at any cost, filling him with an aspect of the rumour that followed Bruce’s earliest days in California. The target becomes immune to any form of magickal mind or emotion control, and all attempts to sway him from his course mundanely suffer a –30 skill shift. However for the duration of the effect the target cannot use any kind of diplomacy or social-concession type skills (nor ever change his mind due to someone else’s suggestions), and must choose the frenzy option when he fails a stress check, he may not choose flight or freeze. Should the target ever choose to back down from a confrontation of any sort, the effect ends instantly. Otherwise it lasts for the sum of the spell roll in minutes.