Suhuy
Erick Wujcik wrote the original manual on Amber Diceless Roleplaying.
Some of the content of these pages are adapted from his book.
Copies can be obtained from Phage Press .... or from a gamestore near you.
This campaign uses a slightly different set of rules, but they still owe a lot to his ideas.
It is simple. As simple as ''just pretend''. As simple as shrugging off your worldly cares, and stepping into your alter ego, your Amber character. Simple doesn't mean easy.
Some players handle their characters better than others. Every player is capable of improvement. Role-Playing may take a minute to learn, but it takes a life-time to master.
This chapter shows you how you can role-play better. Not just in Amber, but in any role-playing situation.
Each player brings a different style, a different perspective, to their character. Nothing wrong with that. The idea here is not to make everybody play the same, but to make everybody play better.
Loving your character is really the main point of Amber, both the books and the role-playing. Ask most folks why they enjoyed the Zelazny books and they'll tell you, ''I loved the characters!'' Ask most gamers why they enjoy playing Amber and you'll hear, ''I love my character!''
Loving your character can be as simple as trying to stay alive. As simple as enjoying the details of the character's life. As simple as building a personality strong enough to make the character come completely alive.
Making a character come alive is an act of faith.
Walking down Baker Street in London with a friend, we noticed a memorial placard. Like thousands of others scattered all over the historical city, it announced the famous former resident of the building. ''Sherlock Holmes, Private Investigator'' it said.
''Sherlock Holmes isn't real!'' said my thirteen-year-old friend ''is he?''
''He's real to me'' I said. ''I believe he's real.''
We had quite an argument, my friend and I.
You see, I love Sherlock Holmes. Yes, I know that his exploits fill the pages of fiction, and are not in the history books. In his time you had to read about Holmes under the by-line of Doyle, and not in the front page news.
That doesn't mean he doesn't exist somewhere, somehow, in some reality we haven't yet found. He'll always be real to me.
In the same way my Amber character Theazipha Jak will always be real to me. Maybe we haven't actually met, perhaps my character has never been to this version of Shadow Earth. But I love her, and I believe she's real. Why is this important?
It's important because the more you love your character, the more involved, the more intense your play in Amber can become.
It's also important because playing Amber is not always a pleasant experience. Sometimes it's uncomfortable, sometimes it's painful, and sometimes it's sheer mental torture.
Pain is a universal element in character development. If the main character of a book doesn't struggle against the odds, doesn't overcome nasty situations, and doesn't have to make bitter choices, then there won't be much of a story.
Corwin, the main character in the Chronicles of Amber, goes through a lot of pain. Imagine you were the player, and Corwin was your character.
How would you feel about being a helpless captive of your worst enemies? Would you still keep playing after Corwin's eyes (your eyes!) were burned out of his head? Would you come back, session after session, to endure Corwin's stay of years in a cramped dungeon cell, blind and with no hope?
You might. If you loved your character.
It's the Story Guide's job to describe the world to you. The SG tells you what your character sees, hears, smells, tastes and feels. It's up to the Story Guide to supply you with your character's memories and background.
When playing in character, ignore anything you hear that your character has not heard. Yes, this is sometimes hard. Sitting in the room with the Story Guide and the other players, you'll often hear things that are of vital interest to your character.
If you've heard there's a trap, or a sniper, right around the corner, that doesn't mean your character knows anything about it. Your job, playing in character, is to ignore what you've heard, and react naturally to what the character senses.
Even more difficult, when you're playing in character, you've got to ignore everything you know. Something you, the player, may know, is separate from what your character knows. If you know how to drive a car, shoot a gun, or cook an omelette, don't assume that your character shares this knowledge.
You probably wouldn't enjoy reading about a character who never cares about anything. Characters in books are interesting because they feel.
There's an attitude among some people that role-playing games have to be cold and calculating. Those folks would say that players shouldn't get emotionally involved in their characters.
Yet the very best kind of role-playing is where you do get involved. Where you can laugh, and cry, and feel very, very confused, and have the very best of times.
Why should your character cry? Well, sometimes it's a matter of life and death.
When Corwin loses people he loves, it hurts him. Why shouldn't it?
Sometimes things get mixed up, and you say something to hurt somebody, or someone says something that hurts you. Real life is like that. So is life in Amber.
And yes, sometimes the character's emotions spill out onto the player. That's okay too. Why shouldn't you feel as excited, or sad, or elated about a role-playing game as about a football match?
Other secrets are the Powers, Shadows, Items, and Allies that you develop for yourself. Again, there's no reason to share these things, unless you can share them in character.
In character, in your character's voice, should you reveal secrets?
Not usually. Not in Amber. First, you don't know who to trust, who to believe.
Anyone, including the character of the innocent looking player next to you, can be another character, Shape-Changed.
Then there's the problem of who might be listening. Powerful, unknown, off-scene, non-player characters have abilities known only to the Story Guide. Who's to say that somebody isn't using some exalted version of Pattern, or Trump, or Logrus, or Magic, to spy on your character at any given moment? Can you ever be sure your character is really speaking in private?
In Amber secrets are the most valuable commodity. An elder Amberite will laugh at an offer of gold, or jewels, or any mere trinket. What they want is knowledge. Don't give it away.
Keeping your secrets isn't just right, it's also fair. It doesn't matter that if player sitting next to you is your best friend, your spouse, or a loved one. That person is also trying to play a character, in character, and revealing your secrets to that player hurts them by making it harder for them to play.
For players there are two kinds of speech, two voices. The first voice is your own, the one you use all the time. You use that voice to talk with the Story Guide and the other players. ''What does my character see?'' is in the player's voice, just as ''When are we going to play again?''
The other voice is the voice a player uses when the character says something. ''Fellows, there's nothing here'' says the player, in the character's voice, ''What do you say we start searching for something important, like lunch?'' Or, ''Caine, I don't trust you. I never have, and I never will. I don't trust you, but I'll obey you.''
When a player speaks in character, it is in exactly the character's words.
Spoken only when the character would speak.
The character's voice comes out mostly when speaking to other characters.
It also comes out when characters mumble to themselves, or yell out against fate.
Finding the right voice is tricky. It can be the hardest thing about playing Amber.
For some players it can take years. You'll never have a perfect character voice, but you'll know you're on the right track when you don't have to explain the difference between your two voices.
Don't get funny. A player character's voice shouldn't be a ''funny'' voice. We can all make up squeaky voices, or deep ones, or talk like we're drunk, or pretend to stutter. Funny noises don't make for good character voices. For one thing, they get pretty boring. For another, it's hard to really believe in a character with such a limited range.
The best way of developing a character voice is role-playing a lot. Practice makes perfect. Aside from speaking, it also helps to write in the character voice. And handy opportunities for writing comes with the character quiz and the personal diary.
If you want the Story Guide to be able to do the job right, you need to put some thought and effort into the quiz questions you are given.
The quiz sheets are also a way to get you thinking about your player character. Try answering some of the questions in character, in your character's own voice.
Don't be afraid to change your answers as time goes by. Characters change, and Amber characters sometimes change a lot. Stress, and the occasional save-the-world responsibility will do that to a person.
Writing the diary after the game helps get all the details right. Sometimes, and it happens to everybody, you find important details you'd otherwise miss.
The most important thing about character diaries is that they get the player in touch with the character. You learn more about the character's ''voice'' and feelings.
Any novelist can tell you about characters that seem to take over a book, somehow coming to life as they are written. This really works with Amber diaries, where the act of writing helps to firm up the character in your own mind.
Another useful aspect of character diaries is the way they let you introduce your own details into Amber. When you describe events you can also add in a lot of detail that can be useful later on.
Examples can be bits and pieces of the stuff you carry around, non-player characters who could be useful later on, and even old memories that fill in your character's background. If your diary from last session was okayed by the Story Guide (and they almost always are), then some detail you introduced, a servant, a secret room, a favourite meal, can come in handy later on.
The idea is that players talk to each other, making up details of background and setting as necessary, while staying in character. This can be pretty challenging, but it's an important aspect of the game, since groups are often scattered, and the Story Guide can only handle one group of players at a time.
Amber gives you some really high quality, intense, role-playing experiences. You are allowed to operate independently or in very small groups, have lengthy conversations with non-player characters, and get the Story Guide's undivided attention.
In return, you've got to wait when another player, or player group, is monopolising the Story Guide's time. Trading your own quality time for ''down-time'' while waiting around.
Don't waste that time. The very best Amber players don't whinge. Instead they recognise the time as an opportunity, and they use it creatively.
Use the other players. So long as you work with at least one other player, you can keep role-playing with each other. Working out your tactics and strategies, but also having a lot of fun exercising your role-playing talents. After all, in most journeys, you spend a lot of time just chit-chatting with strangers and fellow travellers. Take advantage of your downtime by perfecting your character's voice.
Don't assume that there is any one best way of using any of your Attributes or Powers.
There are an infinite range of possibilities. In play-testing no two players have ever used Shape Changing in exactly the same way.
In fact, when players from different campaigns meet each other, they're often astonished at what others can accomplish with exactly the same powers.
Finding your Focus also means to find a philosophy, some kind of view of the universe, that explains your power, how it works, and how you can expand on it.
Your Amber character may have been around for hundreds of years, lived on scores of Shadows, and lived through a dozen careers. Getting a handle on all this can be rough for mere human players. It may seem obvious to some, but you've got to ask about things from the player's point of view.
For example, in some kinds of Warfare situation, a lot of players find themselves lost, unable to visualise the complexities of fencing or hand to hand martial arts. No problem, just ask the Story Guide what the character thinks. ''What'' you might ask, ''does my character know to be the best options in this situation?''
Get your character to ask the Story Guide for their options, and your character's evaluation of the situation. A good Story Guide won't tell the player what to do, but will narrow the possibilities down to what the character would find acceptable.
A personal example has to do with riddles. I hate riddles. Can't stand them. So, if it looks like riddles are going to be regular fare from some Story Guide, then I have the character solve the problem.
I have the character become an avid riddler, reading books and exchanging riddles with passing strangers. I just try to throw all the solutions back, informing the Story Guide that surely my character would know the answer. Then, when my character gets hit with a riddle, I say, ''Quick as lightning, my character spits back the right answer.''
Why argue when you can ask? Arguing with the Story Guide is always a bad idea. If you have a problem, try asking about it.
Instead of backing the Story Guide into a corner with yes-or-no questions, keep your questions open ended. Rather than questioning your Story Guide's actions, instead ask questions from your character's point of view. Not only does this reduce aggravation, but you're liable to gain even more information.
Pointing out the error of their ways usually invokes their second great weakness. They are egotistical and touchy as hell! Being god-like for a few centuries does that to an Amberite.
Elder Amberites also have one important soft spot. They are suckers for young, helpless, and vulnerable relatives. They know their siblings, all the other sons and daughters of Oberon, are cynical, jaded and pushy. They don't trust their siblings.
Each elder Amberite thinks that other elder Amberites are likely to take advantage of the youngsters, the player characters. They feel protective, plus, they like foiling the plans of their equals.
This is something that each player can use.
A couple of years ago, in the first Amber campaign, a group of players finally reunited with their long-lost father, Corwin. It didn't seem to faze them that the Story Guide had described their father, Corwin, as worn, tired and battle weary.
Each player character had a million questions, and even more problems. They asked questions, brought out old grievances and quarrels for ''dad'' to arbitrate, asked for power and assistance, and generally complained about the state of the universe.
Then the last of their group arrived. The player's character threw himself at his father, hugged him, and started crying! ''I missed you so much'', he said, ''I worried that I'd never get another chance to tell you how much I love you.''
It was a pretty dirty tactic. Corwin, worn and frazzled and tired, was a sucker for this kind of attention. The late-comer had brought out the ''father'' side of Corwin, by being more of a son than an Amberite. And Corwin, naturally, looked upon the rest of his children coldly, seeing them to be acting suspiciously like the brothers he mistrusted.
''Look at the Board'' is a phrase some New Jersey players use to describe a tactic in playing Amber. It comes from a case where one player character was playing chess with a non-player character. The player, a decent chess player, was trying to actually play the game, visualising all the pieces and all the moves.
However, Amber doesn't work like that. Few mere humans from Shadow Earth could hold their own in a chess game with an Amberite. After all, chess, like any game of pure strategy, is covered by the Warfare Attribute.
No, the idea is not to actually play the game. The idea is to make your moves sound interesting and realistic.
Don't worry about the exact layout of the board, just say something like, ''I'll open with a cautious, armoured strategy, and wait for white's first attack'' ''I'll open things up for white to put me in check, I want those pieces moved around'' ''I'll move my bishop into jeopardy, setting things up to endanger my enemy's king and queen'' and ''I'll start a series of exchanges that will surely lead to a draw.''
Then, when confronted with similar lines from the Story Guide, ask about the results of various options. After all, chess, like other forms of combat, has a range of responses, from purely defensive to purely offensive.
Since then, the New Jersey group has broadened their definition of ''Looking at the Board'' to include the whole process of players introducing pieces of the shared fantasy, the Amber universe, into the game.
It's really a matter of visualising where you are.
If you need a weapon, and you happen to be in Castle Amber, doesn't it seem reasonable that weapons would be on the walls?
Or that there are busts of Oberon decorating most tabletops? Wouldn't it seem reasonable to find throw rugs on the stone floor and tapestries hanging from the walls?
Sure. Each piece of the shared reality, the universe presented by the Story Guide, but reflected in the player's imagination, is an opportunity. If you use it.
''Creating non-player characters'' is usually the province of the Story Guide, but also an area of potential for players. Start out simple, asking non-player characters questions in order to fill in the blanks in their background and personality. Talk to the non-player characters. The more you interact with a non-player character, the more real it becomes.
Then, sooner or later, players run into a Story Guide's limitations. After all, the Story Guide can't prepare in advance all that many characters. This is the point where you, as a player, can be really helpful.
Offer to fill things in for the Story Guide. ''Hey, I've got some ideas'' you might say, ''how about if I just fill in the names and details of our encounter in my diary?''
Once you've the go-ahead, make the characters as real as you can. Give them names, families, backgrounds, motivations, and everything it takes to bring them to life.
Once you've got a hold of non-player characters, don't forget to use them. Bring them up again and again. Rely on them, build up their characters and personalities.
Give them motives and conflicts and make them a little more real every time you play them.
The more time and effort you lavish on the non-player characters, the more real they become. Which makes it much more difficult for the Story Guide to just kill them off.
If they are killed, any or all of them, then mourn the hell out of 'em. Build memorials, visit grieving relatives, inflict revenge on their enemies. Keep them alive in the game forever. If necessary tell lies about 'em.
''Walking worlds into existence'' is as simple as using Pattern to travel through Shadow. Remember, the player describes the worlds. The more real and detailed the description, the more likely it is that it will become a continuing part of your Amber campaign.
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Tuesday, August 19, 1997 Suhuy |
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