As the micro black holes encircling Icarus make an orbital satellite defense system improbable, Curtis heads to the Monument to meet with Aurora for drinks. This is where they began their interrupted romance, but he’s focused on discussing the relocation of their defense systems. He has an idea…

Round 3 – Aurora Valenus

Aurora is half-drunk already when she arrives at the bar to meet Curtis. She jokes about the breaking reports of data showing a sudden boom in population.

“It seems to have started around the time we first met,” she slurs. “Did we make the whole world crazy with lust?”

Curtis is not amused. He orders stim drinks to sober her up and pitches his idea: “We move the defense systems to inside the Monument.”

Round 3 – Resolution

Curtis and Aurora combine their rolls: 1 success & 1 failure = success

The commission approves the idea with one caveat: Do not disturb the historic time capsules at the core of the monument. The records of the development of the Longevity Serum, it turns out, have been encapsulated within the Monument for posterity.

As the plan is set into motion, Curtis notices that Aurora has grown distant. Perhaps it was a mistake to end their relationship the way he did. Despite his success and his near-eternal youth, he has lately felt an emptiness inside. He had never even considered starting a family until recently. Maybe whatever is causing the population boom is hitting him, too?

Curtis considers that maybe the recent cracks in the perceived permanence of Icarus have made the people realize that nothing lasts forever. But that doesn’t even make any sense, he realizes as he calls Aurora to meet him for a drink. Why bring a child into a world with a limited future?

She doesn’t answer his call.

Round 4 – Aurora Valenus

Aurora shows up unannounced at Curtis’ door one night. She is dead sober. She takes him by the hand and leads him to the bedroom. She tells him she loves him as she kisses him tenderly. Later, as they lie together, Aurora says she has something important to tell him. But when he wakes up the next morning, she is gone.

In the days that follow, there is another protest begins at the Monument. But this time, it is much, much bigger, and the protestors use their numbers to take over the monolithic tower. Rumors spread about the time capsules hidden within the Monument… rumors that Curtis knows are true.

Round 4 – Curtis Kai

Curtis, who lives in housing near the Monument, takes it upon himself to monitor the situation. When he realizes that the protestors are trying to break into the insides of the Monument, he takes it upon himself to infiltrate the group to get a closer look. If he doesn’t do something, the group’s meddling could take down Icarus’ most important defenses against aggressors like the Triini Empire.

Then the news breaks…

Round 4 – Resolution

Aurora fails her roll. 

The story of the immortal Leaders feeding on brains is quickly quashed. The promised evidence never comes to light and the protestors are blamed for the ridiculous rumors. In fact, the news soon broadcasts the real truth: the protestors are being organized by covert operatives from the Triini Empire. The military descends on the protestors occupying the Monument.

Curtis fails his roll. 

THE TOWER FALLS

Epilogue

What caused the tower to collapse?

Curtis found what was really inside the Monument. He found the (partially malfunctioning) machinery within, which was broadcasting the signal. It enlarged the pineal gland of the citizens of Icarus that had taken the serum. A side effect of the enlargement, which affected the nearby thalamus and hypothalamus, was decreased emotions and motivated behaviors like sexuality, thus the low birth rate among serumed citizens. This is why the damage to the Monument during the initial protest in the story led to a baby boom.

The Leaders had long ago discovered that the serum’s effects wore off eventually, but that a periodic “booster” shot made from enhanced serum molecules taken from a serumed person did seem to grant immortality. Those molecules could only be found in the pineal gland. In order to have enough, the Leaders needed a LOT of citizens. It was the sole reason Icarus was founded.

What happened to the characters in the aftermath?

Curtis pieced together the truth after he tracked down the evidence that had been stolen from the Leaders by Aurora. Aurora, however, was never seen again after the night she told Curtis she loved him.

Curtis never gave up the slim hope that she had escaped the planet and was maybe somewhere in the galaxy raising the child they had made that night. Deep down he knew the Leaders had silenced her permanently.

What became of the civilization after its fall?

Curtis was able to lower enough of the defenses of Icarus to allow the citizenry to be liberated by the Triini Empire. The Leaders had originally been part of a rouge group of Triini scientists that had developed the immortality serum. The Triini were actually peaceful, freedom-loving naturalists, and they gave control of Icarus to its people. Curtis became their first leader, and he renamed the planet-city Aurora, in her honor.

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Curtis is assigned to oversee the repairs to the Monument. Meanwhile, something odd is happening near Daedalus, the largest moon of Icarus.

Round 1 – Aurora Valenus

Aurora is sent to assess the damage from the protests. That includes damage done to the Monument and damage done to Icarus’ galactic PR. Many planets and nations in the galaxy do not approve of the methods that Icarus employs to grow their empire.

Round 1 – Resolution

Curtis and Aurora combine their rolls: 1 success & 1 failure = success

Aurora hates the diplomacy aspect of her job. She would rather rejoin the military, but this promotion came with an instant perk: a dose of the serum. Since receiving her dose, she has become a chronic alcoholic as many do post-dose, especially since the serum prevents permanent damage from this behavior.

She runs into Curtis at a bar close to the repair site. They served in the military together 15 years earlier and Curtis barely looks like he’s aged. His wealthy family ensured he had a dose while still in his prime. Curtis is also a lush, and they hook up.

In discussing the issues with repairs to the vast titanium covering of the Monument and the sudden scarcity of the metal, they create a renovation plan. The plan is accepted by the Leaders and the titanium is stripped from the Monument and repurposed to expand the fleet. This also provides PR relief as a large number of the poor are added to the expanded military, which is a path to obtaining a dose of the Longevity Serum… if they survive long enough to retire.

The expanded military is able to push back the Triini Empire from resource-rich planets areas of the galaxy. The plan’s success earns Aurora the position of Military Advisor reporting directly to the Leaders. She is happy to escape her strictly diplomatic role as Attaché. Her first assignment is to Daedalus. This effectively ends her romance with Curtis, who refuses to leave his true love, the city he helps build and shape.

Round 2 – Aurora Valenus

Aurora is sent to Daedalus to help investigate the anomalous distortions surrounding it for possible enemy involvement. While there, she hears word that the Triini Empire has shifted strategies. They are now establishing blockades to prevent the export of food to planets that are negotiating with Icarus. (Starforged oracle roll for “Descriptor + Focus” = “Isolated Route”)

Round 2 – Curtis Kai

Curtis is working hard on the finishing touches to a new city addition for the newly joined population of Farpoint when disaster strikes.  (Starforged oracle roll for “Settlement Name” = “Farpoint”)

Round 2 – Resolution

Curtis rolls a success. Aurora rolls a failure.

Despite the population-level “suicide bombing” by the immigrant population of Farpoint, the engineering marvel of Icarus’ planet-city proves more than adequate at protecting the wider population. The destruction of an entire section of Icarus caused only minor consequences for the surrounding citizens. Curtis is rewarded for his work in leading the damage control and repairs in the aftermath of the Farpoint attack and is promoted to a role as Civil Engineering Technical Specialist working directly for the Leaders.

Aurora and her reconnaissance team come up with no answers for the issues affecting Daedalus until it is too late. Daedalus’ top-secret quantum server base is the primary computing source powering much of Icarus’ operations. And it is almost entirely responsible for the city’s orbital defenses. It is all but taken offline by what is later revealed to be weaponized micro black holes, also called quantum mechanical black holes.   (Starforged oracle roll for “Action + Theme” = “Attack Technology”)

Curtis and Aurora are reunited as part of the commission to shore up the vulnerability.

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“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning…” — Ecclesiastes 7:8

Game: Icarus

More Info: Review by Dicebreaker

Setup

To make the game work for solo, I decided to set up for a two-player game and use oracles to give each character their own personality. I will play them the same way a GM plays NPCs–as true to their personality as possible. My game will focus on the last days of a powerful city that spans the entire planet of Icarus. I decide to use a human-centric sci-fi setting, so I will primarily be using the oracles from the Ironsworn: Starforged preview edition.

The three Pillar cards I draw for setup: Health, Diplomacy, and Architecture. One must be assigned to the Monument (I choose Health) as inspiration for its purpose/significance.

The others are split between my two characters. One of the character’s Pillar cards must use the Weakness printed on the card. I decide to use the Weakness on the Diplomacy card to give Icarus an external threat.

Character 1: Curtis Kai, Chief Civil Engineer, takes the Architecture Pillar. His Motive is to PRESERVE THE CITY. I will use his Motive and his characteristics, “INSENSITIVE, LAW-ABIDING” to determine his actions in the game. He seems like a pretty straightforward character who will focus on his duties as an engineer and not worry too much about how it affects the citizens.

Character 2: Aurora Valenus, Military Attaché, takes the Diplomacy Pillar. She wants to PROTECT THE LEADERS, so I make her former military that has advanced to an ambassador role.

I decide her “AFFLICTED, ADDICTED, and GENEROUS” characteristics mean she has grown tired of diplomacy, copped a drug or alcohol habit, and is generous with her time, volunteering for extra work in fighting the biggest threat to Icarus: The Triini Empire.

The last part of setup is to draw two cards from Story Deck. I decide to answer these questions in a way that will bring our two characters together. Here is the final board:

The game will start as our characters meet to survey the damage to the Monument caused by the protests. And this will introduce arguably the most interesting aspect of the game: the tower of dice that represents the Monument and, by extension, the civilization itself…

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