The 13th Age

I've been hearing a lot about the 13th Age RPG -- a d20 variant written by ex-WoTC employees that led the charge on 3rd and 4th Edition D&D.  There are three particular innovations that the 13th Age brings to the table:

1. Icon Relationships
2. One Unique Things
3. Escalation Dice

Icon Relationships
Each character, either NPC or PC, is tied to two specific "icons."  These icons associate a character in some manner with a faction, and can be called upon at a PC's discretion in order to garner an appropriate benefit with a faction.

One Unique Things
These define what makes a specific character different than anyone else within the setting.  Again, it's at the GM's discretion how much it impacts gameplay, but when combined with Icon Relationships, they provide a way to make characters meaningful where otherwise they are simply a selection of statistics.

Escalation Dice
An innovation to combat itself, escalation dice hope to speed combat along and make it more dynamic by placing a large die (usually a d6) on the game table, set on 1, and advance this each turn.  This becomes a bonus for all to-hit rolls for players, and activates special attacks by enemies.

The 13th Age also moves away from the need for a tactical grid, a trend in modern games that has unfortunately changed many games in a very negative way.

All in all, I like the three ideas, and am considering implementing each one to some degree in upcoming RPGs.  Your thoughts?

For more information on 13th Age, visit the Pelgrane Press web site.