Icons are mortals who have ascended to Godhood and most times reside within the Material Plane and are thus associated with the body. Some Icons ascend to Godhood before their death, some reach this status by garnering devotion and worship, others take it by force. In either case, these Icons achieve undying worship without the need of being a martyr or facing justice. Other Icons are exalted after death, some at the moment of or shortly after their death, others long after they’ve been gone, being lifted up as their deeds and acts get re-examined. Icons, though born mortal, are full-fledged Celestials, on the same level as Aeons and Heralds. Icons can be considered the Gods of the Material Plane, just as Aeons are Gods of the Astral Plane and Heralds are Gods of the Ancestral Plane and Emanations are to the Ethereal Plane. Some Icons have taken the place of Gods previously worshipped, some have taken up a place of a people who were without a God, some have taken the place of a God long dead or missing in order to guide that people forward.
Icons are oft made by half-races in need of a patron Deity, such was the case for the Goliaths (the offspring of a Human and True Giant, as well as the offspring of two Goliaths) and Bugbears (the cult of Goliaths that followed Myolg’s teachings). Icons are also often created by those in a shared profession, such as soldiers, or a those affected by a particular affliction, such as vampires.