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Icons Superpowered Roleplaying: the Assembled Edition
Icons Superpowered Roleplaying is a tabletop game of superhero adventure that lets you devise stories of the imagination with your friends, based around the heroes you create. The new Assembled Edition revises and expands the original game, putting all options you want under one cover. Icons features quick character creation, a flexible game system that’s easy to learn, and flavorful rules to give your games that comic book feel. Icons is your all-in-one package for superhero roleplaying quick, easy, descriptive, and fun!
- GenresRole Playing GamesGaming
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 29, 2020
I've never played a superhero RPG because most of the available systems are fairly complex and very mathy (my kryptonite). Compared with other systems, Icons is a breath of fresh air. The system is quick and easy to learn, but still allows for a wide variety of character types and powers. The only negative point for me was that the art was not the best, but that isn't really going to come up when you play the game.
January 17, 2015
I've just read this in one sitting, and it is exactly what I wanted.
- easy to play superhero role playing game
- fast action scenes
- enough flavor to create individual heroes and villains
I've played the HERO System and it's fantastic, except that battles tend to last... decades. I'm thinking Icons will make those lengthy battles a thing of the past. I wanted a game that would be able to play out through email (pbem) and I really think this game might work.
I'll have to play test it a bit first, but after reading the rule book I am really optimistic. Highly recommended.
- easy to play superhero role playing game
- fast action scenes
- enough flavor to create individual heroes and villains
I've played the HERO System and it's fantastic, except that battles tend to last... decades. I'm thinking Icons will make those lengthy battles a thing of the past. I wanted a game that would be able to play out through email (pbem) and I really think this game might work.
I'll have to play test it a bit first, but after reading the rule book I am really optimistic. Highly recommended.
March 10, 2017
I ran this system as a first introduction to role play for a group of 6 11-12 year olds. Good fun.
January 22, 2026
Okay, I’ve had this one in my back pocket for a long while, and decided this year to make a list of ten TTRPGs I wanted to play or run in 2026 and dove into this one. My in-person gaming group is three-quarters of our way through our first adventure ("RetConQuest," which is a pre-printed adventure very much designed to be an entry-level scenario, right down to character creation being a part of the scenario, with plot reasons for it), and having a really good time with it.
I don’t think the prevailing sentiment I’ve seen the most describing Icons as Mutants & Masterminds Heros Handbook-lite is wrong, exactly, but I also think that maybe does a disservice to some of the strengths of Icons, most centrally that you can quite literally sit down with a group of people spend a short amount of time rolling 2d6, and have brand new characters (and villains) and be all set up for a quick one-shot at pretty much the drop of a hat (the GM can even generate some ideas with 2d6 to come up with a scenario with the included tables).
It’s really, really well-set up for one-shots—and this book has everything you need to make that happen, as I said—but honestly I’m also seeing it as a great option for when gaming time is short, prep-time is limited, or when everyone’s in the mood for something light.
The base mechanic is quick to grasp. Usually it’s Effort - Difficulty = Outcome. Effort being one of your attributes or powers + 1d6, and Difficulty being either an opposing attribute, power, or set difficulty number +1d6. You look at the result, and you’re good to go. 0 is the tipping point between success (positive results) and failure (negative results), and you go up or down by 2s for degrees of success or failure; +1 and +2 being a Moderate Success, +3 or +4 being a Major Success, and +5 or more being a Massive Success (and the negatives true for failures).
Beyond that, it comes down to being creative on the fly with Qualities (phrases you’ve used to describe your character, like "Defender of the Weak!" or "Haunted by Visions of the Future!") which you can use to spend or gain the game’s Determination Point currency to boost your results, adjust the narrative, perform new feats with your powers you don’t normally have access to, ask the GM for insights etc. And the GM can also lean on those Qualities to give you Determination Points by using them to cause trouble or tempt you into acting a certain way.
There’s a great range of powers (it’s not M&M-level "you can make anything!" but it is broad enough that you can make very different characters via flavour even when dealing with identical powers and mechanics—one hero’s "Aura" is a wreath of flame, where another might have spikes—and the random character creation process encourages embracing "Well, I’d never have chosen that, but… you know what? This could be fun."
Also props for the "fairly small book, 2d6, pencils and paper, and might be nice to some sort of chips for tracking Determination (though not necessary) is all you need" factor. I would have freaking loved this in high school, rather than carting around all my Heroes Unlimited or Rifts or D&D books and dice and binder.
The only real downsides we’ve bumped into are also those strengths, just seen through a different lens: One: if you’ve got someone who prefers crunch to more narrative/creative/off-the-cuff improvisation, Icons might be a bit on the "I’m not sure what to do" side (though I think even then certain character concepts would smooth that out).
Two: the random character creation process is something I really enjoy—and there’s some customization options—but I can see some players being frustrated. There’s an optional point-buy system tucked in there which might be the way to go there, and there’s nothing to stop someone from saying "I’m gonna start over" if they hit a character they just can’t see themselves playing, and given how quick the process is, it wouldn’t take much time.
I’m definitely excited to attempt the full Villain, Team, and Universe options once we’ve got the system a bit more under our belts. Especially excited for everyone creating a group of characters to work from—which lends itself to a "Do we want to play with our powerful Avengers-like characters tonight, or are we feeling like a Teen Titans like experience?" Also really looking forward to the whole "pass your hero to the left and make one of the villains of the hero now in front of you" step.
Anyway. Thumbs up.
I don’t think the prevailing sentiment I’ve seen the most describing Icons as Mutants & Masterminds Heros Handbook-lite is wrong, exactly, but I also think that maybe does a disservice to some of the strengths of Icons, most centrally that you can quite literally sit down with a group of people spend a short amount of time rolling 2d6, and have brand new characters (and villains) and be all set up for a quick one-shot at pretty much the drop of a hat (the GM can even generate some ideas with 2d6 to come up with a scenario with the included tables).
It’s really, really well-set up for one-shots—and this book has everything you need to make that happen, as I said—but honestly I’m also seeing it as a great option for when gaming time is short, prep-time is limited, or when everyone’s in the mood for something light.
The base mechanic is quick to grasp. Usually it’s Effort - Difficulty = Outcome. Effort being one of your attributes or powers + 1d6, and Difficulty being either an opposing attribute, power, or set difficulty number +1d6. You look at the result, and you’re good to go. 0 is the tipping point between success (positive results) and failure (negative results), and you go up or down by 2s for degrees of success or failure; +1 and +2 being a Moderate Success, +3 or +4 being a Major Success, and +5 or more being a Massive Success (and the negatives true for failures).
Beyond that, it comes down to being creative on the fly with Qualities (phrases you’ve used to describe your character, like "Defender of the Weak!" or "Haunted by Visions of the Future!") which you can use to spend or gain the game’s Determination Point currency to boost your results, adjust the narrative, perform new feats with your powers you don’t normally have access to, ask the GM for insights etc. And the GM can also lean on those Qualities to give you Determination Points by using them to cause trouble or tempt you into acting a certain way.
There’s a great range of powers (it’s not M&M-level "you can make anything!" but it is broad enough that you can make very different characters via flavour even when dealing with identical powers and mechanics—one hero’s "Aura" is a wreath of flame, where another might have spikes—and the random character creation process encourages embracing "Well, I’d never have chosen that, but… you know what? This could be fun."
Also props for the "fairly small book, 2d6, pencils and paper, and might be nice to some sort of chips for tracking Determination (though not necessary) is all you need" factor. I would have freaking loved this in high school, rather than carting around all my Heroes Unlimited or Rifts or D&D books and dice and binder.
The only real downsides we’ve bumped into are also those strengths, just seen through a different lens: One: if you’ve got someone who prefers crunch to more narrative/creative/off-the-cuff improvisation, Icons might be a bit on the "I’m not sure what to do" side (though I think even then certain character concepts would smooth that out).
Two: the random character creation process is something I really enjoy—and there’s some customization options—but I can see some players being frustrated. There’s an optional point-buy system tucked in there which might be the way to go there, and there’s nothing to stop someone from saying "I’m gonna start over" if they hit a character they just can’t see themselves playing, and given how quick the process is, it wouldn’t take much time.
I’m definitely excited to attempt the full Villain, Team, and Universe options once we’ve got the system a bit more under our belts. Especially excited for everyone creating a group of characters to work from—which lends itself to a "Do we want to play with our powerful Avengers-like characters tonight, or are we feeling like a Teen Titans like experience?" Also really looking forward to the whole "pass your hero to the left and make one of the villains of the hero now in front of you" step.
Anyway. Thumbs up.
Read
August 1, 2025How? I've been looking for a generic superhero RPG to leave around the house in case the boyo wants to play; and there was this auction for a lot of Icons games, including the Core, Origins, A to Z, and Adversaries.
What? Steve Kenson writes in his blog that this started as an experiment to recreate some old superhero RPGs (I think the TSR Marvel FASERIP system) and he did that by starting with Fudge (the precursor to FATE), which sort of takes a page from Over the Edge and allows free-form descriptors as a way to increase your abilities. Which would seem perfect for a superhero RPG! Like: Batman is "The Greatest Detective", so he should get a bonus to an intelligence roll that involves detecting something.
The Origins books adds more archetypes and discusses teams; Adversaries is just a villain book. A to Z is maybe the most fun book, with each letter being a comic book topic (aliens, zombies, cosmic powers, lost worlds).
Yeah, so? It's fine. Maybe this would really sing with the right group, and it is really done for a certain sort of generic, four-color, low-crunch game, which I appreciate. But there's not -- for me -- enough narrative mechanics as there is in, say, Masks.
And at that point, I'd almost rather run something with a real open, low-crunch system and reskin it for supers. Hmmm, what would Cthulhu Dark be like but for Supers?
What? Steve Kenson writes in his blog that this started as an experiment to recreate some old superhero RPGs (I think the TSR Marvel FASERIP system) and he did that by starting with Fudge (the precursor to FATE), which sort of takes a page from Over the Edge and allows free-form descriptors as a way to increase your abilities. Which would seem perfect for a superhero RPG! Like: Batman is "The Greatest Detective", so he should get a bonus to an intelligence roll that involves detecting something.
The Origins books adds more archetypes and discusses teams; Adversaries is just a villain book. A to Z is maybe the most fun book, with each letter being a comic book topic (aliens, zombies, cosmic powers, lost worlds).
Yeah, so? It's fine. Maybe this would really sing with the right group, and it is really done for a certain sort of generic, four-color, low-crunch game, which I appreciate. But there's not -- for me -- enough narrative mechanics as there is in, say, Masks.
And at that point, I'd almost rather run something with a real open, low-crunch system and reskin it for supers. Hmmm, what would Cthulhu Dark be like but for Supers?
April 20, 2019
Seems like a pretty good superhero game. Robust system for building powers with the option to generate them randomly (always fun).
My big question is why wasn't it built in Fate? The system is basically Fate but the slight differences in procedure and terminology make playing unnecessarily difficult for those familiar with Fate.
My favorite part was the variety of pyramid tests which could be adapted into any ga.r
My big question is why wasn't it built in Fate? The system is basically Fate but the slight differences in procedure and terminology make playing unnecessarily difficult for those familiar with Fate.
My favorite part was the variety of pyramid tests which could be adapted into any ga.r
October 15, 2023
Seems like a good balance of playable rules and the more improvisational style that newer RPGs tend to favor. The tone is nice and light and should be great for modeling a more innocent, pre-Watchmen/Dark Knight style of superhero adventure.
March 29, 2015
Esta edición es la combinación de Icons (a secas) más Villainomicon con un trabajo para simplificar y normalizar aún más el sistema al unificar Cualidades y Complicaciones en Cualidades -y punto- las cuales pueden funcionar en ambos sentidos.
El combate y poderes siguen con la misma estrategia de mantenerlo simple y ágil pero aún robusto con el aprendizaje y creación de Ventajas y Problemas en base a las Cualidades.
La creación de personajes es increíblemente ágil y aunque ofrece una alternativa de point-building sugiere la creación aleatoria para agilizar la partida. Al final, ofrece también algunas tablas para la creación rápida de partidas.
Realmente, es el juego de superhéroes ideal para un cambio de ritmo y complejidad luego de un sistema tan crunchy como puede ser M&M a favor de velocidad e interpretación pero manteniendo lo esencial de un juego de superhéroes.
El combate y poderes siguen con la misma estrategia de mantenerlo simple y ágil pero aún robusto con el aprendizaje y creación de Ventajas y Problemas en base a las Cualidades.
La creación de personajes es increíblemente ágil y aunque ofrece una alternativa de point-building sugiere la creación aleatoria para agilizar la partida. Al final, ofrece también algunas tablas para la creación rápida de partidas.
Realmente, es el juego de superhéroes ideal para un cambio de ritmo y complejidad luego de un sistema tan crunchy como puede ser M&M a favor de velocidad e interpretación pero manteniendo lo esencial de un juego de superhéroes.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews