Icons

If you need to actually point to a power, and not just a relationship, use the Icon mapping. Those are more function based.

ICONS OF THULE

Heroic Icons

Usually

Last Hero of the Elves

Light of Mithra

Sage of Atlantis

Sometimes

Emperor of Katagia

Reaver King

Ambiguous Icons

Usually

Emperor of Katagia

Queen of the Peacock Throne

Reaver King

The Seven Knives

Sometimes

Black Circle

Villainous Icons

Usually

Beast Chieftain

Black Circle

Great Serpent

Kang, the White Death

Nyarlathotep

Servants of R’lyeh

Sometimes

The Seven Knives

THE BEAST CHIEFTAIN

The history of Thule has been the story of barbarian tribes struggling to master the wilderness, and slowly clawing their way toward civilization. Once humans were little more than beasts themselves, but as people learned to master nature, they rose above the level of beasts and became the lords of the Earth. The beastmen—a cruder and more savage breed of humankind—are being left behind, and they hate what more advanced humans represent. The beastman Ghom, khur-za-khur of Ur-Ghom, dreams of unleash- ing an orgy of violence and unthinking rage on all of humankind. Yet Ghom is only the personification of a savage, sullen spirit that lurks in the shadows of Thule’s jungles, hating humans and all their works. Few humans willingly serve this fierce spirit, but a few—particularly those warriors who give themselves over completely to animal rage brutality—become its unwitting agents.

THE BLACK CIRCLE

The demon-haunted city of Thran is home to the most powerful group of mages in Thule: The society known as the Black Circle. These proud, cruel wizards are bent on nothing less than world domination, and constantly seek ancient artifacts, forgotten spells, and unwholesome allies to bring their dark dreams to fruition. Until they find the tome or ritual that will give them what they seek, they carefully husband their power, staying in the shadows and working through intrigue and manipulation. Spies of the Black Circle operate in most of Thule’s major cities, and the wizards are not above conjuring demons and other monsters to destroy those who get in their way.

THE EMPEROR OF KATAGIA

The rulers of Katagia, the Last Bastion of Atlantis, have long tried to re-create the lost empire by gathering Atlantean knowledge, magic, and technology within their city. The Emperor of Katagia sees Thule as a land in danger of being lost to darkness, barbarism, and superstition. To save it, he will impose civilization in the high tradition of Atlantis, even if he must do so at the point of a sword. The Emperor can easily finance expeditions, make Katagia’s store of magic and technology available to heroes engaged in his work, or assign soldiers or agents to promote causes he supports—or attack those working against his purposes.

THE GREAT SERPENT

The cult of Set is older than humankind. Long before the first human nomads found their way to Thule’s shores, the serpentmen of Neskk honored the Great Serpent with horrible rites and obscene sacrifices on steaming jungle altars. Even though the empires of the serpentmen are gone, this vile cult persists. Every city is home to worshipers of Set; some practice their dark faith openly in grand temples, while others carry out their rituals in secret. These worshipers form a vast network of spies, assassins, and zealots who obey any order the cult’s high priests give in the name of the Lord of Night.

KANG, THE WHITE DEATH

A malicious spirit of hate and destruction lurks in the great glaciers of Thule. Kang, the White Death, is the mightiest of them all, and it is a vast and implacable menace to all civilization. As one might expect, the ice-spirit wants to bring endless winter and death to all within its reach, crushing all the Earth in its gelid grasp. But Kang also stands for doom—the ending of the age—and the necessary destruction that must come before this chapter of history closes and a new one begins. Its weapons are ill fortune and ironic doom, and its agents are (sometimes unwitting) nemeses of the proud and mighty.

LAST HERO OF THE ELVES

Long ago, the elven empires defeated the prehuman monstrosities that dominated the primeval continent and helped to civilize the barbaric human tribes that shared Thule with them. Now the great elven cities are in ruins, and the great warrior-heroes of elvenkind are no more ... except, perhaps, Orethya, the Silver Sword of Imystrahl, sometimes known as the Last Hero of the Elves. Orethya has led a dozen desperate quests across the centuries, challenging the ancient enemies of elvenkind or safeguarding dangerous legacies left behind by her people. Some believe that she is deliberately erasing the history of her people, ensuring that future civilizations will not be influenced by the arcane lore and haughty pride of their predecessors.

LIGHT OF MITHRA

Mithra’s temples are among the most influential in Thule. Mithran priests stand at the side of many monarchs, staunch defenders of royal power and privilege. Many are corrupt and venal, but behind the vast wealth and venal interests of Mithra’s temples lies an ancient power of truth and good. Mithra checks the ambitions of evil gods who would drag Thule’s civilizations into an age of darkness and despair, and he stands as an important protector of the human world against the Great Old Ones and their terrible servants. Mithra does not always work through his priests, but every now and then a brave barbarian or plucky rogue confronting elder evils has found the Light to be on his side without ever know- ing that he was serving as Mithra’s champion.

NYARLATHOTEP

For the most part, the Great Old Ones take little interest in the affairs of mere humans. Some sages believe they aren’t even aware of their own cults, and are utterly indifferent to the fates of their most ardent supporters. Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, is the exception. This fearsome being is some- times referred to as the soul or the voice of the Great Old Ones, the only one of their number that seems interested in humans—for good or for ill. In his guise as the “Dark Pharaoh,” Nyarlathotep spreads chaos, madness, and despair, bringing moral decay and destruction to human realms. But to those who serve him, the Dark Pharaoh bestows gifts of unholy power and knowledge.

QUEEN OF THE PEACOCK THRONE

The great city of Quodeth is home to greedy mer- chant lords, corrupt panjandrums, and swaggering thieves, but it is also the seat of Deyane Verix Hazeda, the Queen of the Peacock Throne. She wields little power in her own city, and is little more than a figurehead. However, she stands for something much bigger: The beauty and splendor of Thulean civilization. No other city captures this moment in history or is so inextricably interwoven with the story of Thule as Quodeth, and the Queen of the Peacock Throne is the symbol of the city. The Queen has little strength to arm legions of champions and few agents to help those who fight in her cause—her aid (or opposition) comes in the form of influence and suggestion.

THE REAVER KING

The barbarian tribes of Thule regard civilization as weak, decadent, and corrupt. Many barbarians eschew civilization’s vices, but others see the need to sweep it away altogether and make a clean start of things. The Reaver King of Nim is one such chieftain. The city of Nim is heir to the strength and fury of the Nimothan people, and whoever holds the throne of Nim is effectively the king of Thule’s barbarians. The Reaver King gives aid and support to those who aspire to plunder city-states, battles civilizing influences wherever he finds them, and inspires lesser chieftains to launch their own wars against civilization’s wickedness and dissolute ways.

THE SAGE OF ATLANTIS

On the outskirts of Katagia stands a lonely tower, overlooking the sea. This is the home of Hyar Thomel, the legendary Sage of Atlantis. A white-bearded old man now bent with age, Hyar Thomel is the last living person who was born on the island of Atlantis. How this is possible, none can say, since he was already an old man when the sea claimed Atlantis, and that was three hundred years ago. Hyar Thomel seeks to preserve the legacy of Atlantis by sharing his scientific and cultural advances with the younger races of Thule. The Sage of Atlantis is an excellent source of information; if Hyar Thomel is an enemy, he provides crucial information to the hero’s rivals or villains the hero opposes.

SERVANTS OF R’LYEH

The cult of Cthulhu is ancient and widespread in Thule. The city of Quodeth stands atop the ruins of a prehuman city countless thousands of years old where Great Cthulhu was worshiped; many other secret temples and black shrines lie hidden in Thule’s jungles and shores. This continent-spanning cult waits for the day when the stars are right, and Cthul- hu is released from his eons-old prison to rule over the Earth once again. Since this day may be long in coming, the Servants work tirelessly to speed it along by hoarding terrible lore, forging alliances with unhu- man races, and recruiting the poor, the destitute, and the desperate to join in their blasphemous rites. Cthulhu’s followers dream of remaking the Earth in the belief that a paradise awaits.

THE SEVEN KNIVES

As the largest and most powerful thieves’ guild in Quodeth, the Seven Knives are by extension the most powerful thieves’ guild in all of Thule. Not only do they largely control the richest city in the continent, the Seven Knives control gangs of thugs and spies in every city of the Inner Sea. The Seven Knives represent what is worst about Thulean civilization: ambition, greed, corruption, vice, and decadence. But they also stand for the ability of the weak to band together and defy the powerful, and the triumph of talent and hard work over low birth and poverty. The Seven Knives control the most extensive spy network in Thule, and can help their friends by providing rumors, resources, or agents to help in causes they care about—for a price, of course.