Unlike the way some games are played, you should think up what your character looks like first. Is your character a weight pumping, strongman who likes to brawl? Is she a reclusive sorceress? Does he like exploring out in Shadow, just to uncover something new? What are their favorite colors, their favorite foods, their style of clothing?
Once you have your description written up, you should be in a group. When the group gets together, there is an attribute auction. Instead of deciding your statistics by rolling dice, you bid against the other players, to see who gets ranked as the best.
So, let's pull up an imaginary group. Doug, Cindy, Steve, James, and Melanie are our player's names here. Everyone starts off with 100 points. These points go not only for the statistics, but also your character's powers, and items, like whether they've walked the Pattern or the Logrus, whether they know Sorcery, or if they have a magical sword.
There are ways to get more points, however. If you choose not to bid on an attribute, you can sell it down, below the normal Amberite level. But doing this means you'll be really behind everyone else. You can also contribute to the Game Master. These are things like writing a diary (from the character's point of view), drawing Trumps for characters and places in the game, or tape recording the game and writing up transcripts. However, these must be done for each session. If you miss a session, the Game Master can take points away by giving you Bad Stuff. Taking Bad Stuff is the third way of getting points. Bad Stuff is kind of like luck, and how people react to you. Someone with a lot of Good Stuff (extra points) will always find a way out of problems, get better deals and have lucky things happen to them. Someone with a lot of Bad Stuff (negative points) will be the person who always seems to get jumped, always has something break down, or always be the target of enemy fire.
So, lets start off with an auction. Everyone gets to put out an opening bid, usually no more than 5-10 points. You do not have to bid on an attribute. But once you do, you can't sell it down. Once everyone has their opening bids in to the Game Master, then 'open bidding' starts. This is just like a real auction, with each player participating trying to hit a point number than the others can't, or won't match. In the attribute auction, once you bid points, you can't get them back. That means ever. Those points are spent. Usually, it's worth it to be the leader in a particular attribute. But also remember, no one ever seems quite satisfied with the way an auction turns out.
Let's start on the first attribute. Psyche is normally the first one bid on. A person with high Psyche can dominate others through Trumps. Psyche lends more strength to magic, and is important for anything concerning mind to mind battles. Psyche can sometimes even help when you're searching for something off in Shadow. It helps build up your willpower.
With that started, let's take a look at our sample players. They each write down their opening bids, and announce them to the Game Master at one time.
Doug bids nothing. Cindy bids 8 points. Steve bids 4 points. James bids 5 points. Melanie bids nothing.
This gives us three people bidding. Doug and Melanie, with their no points bid, can still jump in to the auction at any time. So, let's watch them bid.
Steve ups his bid to 10 points. James ups it to 15. Steve rebids at 23 points. James goes for 24. Cindy wavers, but decides not to bid. Steve decides he might need the two points it would take to beat James, and no one else wants to bid, so the auction for Psyche closes.
| Psyche |
| Doug | 0 |
| Cindy | 3rd place (8) |
| Steve | 2nd place (23) |
| James | 1st place (24) |
| Melanie | 0 |
The next attribute usually bid on is Strength. Strength isn't just the size of your muscles, but also your skill in unarmed, hand to hand combat. High Strength is important in combat, if you can just get your hands on your opponent. It also improves your resistance to damage. Even though normal Amber-ranked strength is enough to pick up one end of a car, higher Strength often helps.
So let's look at our player's bids. Doug bids nothing, again. Cindy also bids nothing. Steve bids 2 points. James bids 3 points. Melanie bids 12 points.
Open bidding begins. Steve goes up to 15 points. Melanie matches him at 20. The bidding stalls, and ends.
| Psyche | Strength |
| Doug | 0 | 0 |
| Cindy | 3rd place (8) | 0 |
| Steve | 2nd place (23) | 2nd place (15) |
| James | 1st place (24) | 3rd place (3) |
| Melanie | 0 | 1st place (20) |
What do these points mean? Well, in a mind to mind battle, Steve or James could easily dominate Doug or Melanie, breaking down just about any barriers they have. Wrestling each other, James would eventually beat Steve, unless something interfered in the fight. In a wrestling match, James would beat Doug or Cindy, though it might take him a bit. Melanie could beat any of the other players.
Endurance is the next attribute. While a normal mortal would get tired after only a few hours of hard work, Amberites can keep working for far longer. Just normal Amber rank (0 points) Endurance means you can fight in hard combat for hours, and you can also regenerate from any wound short of death. Higher endurance gives you longer, and better, staying power, faster healing, and is kind of a measure of your 'toughness.' In battles where the opponents are evenly matched, Endurance is the deciding factor on who wins.
That said, let's look at the opening bids for our players. Doug bids 10 points. Cindy bids 5 points. Steve also bids 5. James bids 10. Melanie bids 3 points.
Open bidding begins! Steve raises his bid to 15. Melanie jumps to 17, and James to 18. Cindy goes for 20, and Steve goes for 22. Melanie thinks for a moment, then bids 25. No one else wants to spend more points, and the bidding closes.
| Psyche | Strength | Endurance |
| Doug | 0 | 0 | 5th place (10) |
| Cindy | 3rd place (8) | 0 | 3rd place (20) |
| Steve | 2nd place (23) | 2nd place (15) | 2nd place (22) |
| James | 1st place (24) | 3rd place (3) | 4th place (18) |
| Melanie | 0 | 1st place (20) | 1st place (25) |
Clearly, everyone in this group is pretty hardy. They can keep going, and recuperate faster, than the normal. Nicks and scratches will heal, completely, in just a few hours, and serious wounds will only take them a few days.
The last attribute to bid on is Warfare. Warfare isn't just how good you are with a sword, but also your character's grasp of tactics, skill in leadership, and just how long you will last in combat. Any sort of battle factors in Warfare as a measure of the character's skill.
The opening bids for our players are read off. Doug bets zero. Same with Cindy. Steve bets 5 points. James bids 5 points also. Melanie stays out, with a zero bid. Steve jumps his bid to 10 points, and James gives him a dumb look. Cindy jumps in with a bid of 12 points. Steve raises again to 15. No one else is interested, and the bidding closes at a measly 15 points.
| Psyche | Strength | Endurance | Warfare | Total Spent |
| Doug | 0 | 0 | 5th place (10) | 0 | 10 |
| Cindy | 3rd place (8) | 0 | 3rd place (20) | 2nd place (12) | 40 |
| Steve | 2nd place (23) | 2nd place (15) | 2nd place (22) | 1st place (15) | 75 |
| James | 1st place (24) | 3rd place (3) | 4th place (18) | 3rd place (5) | 50 |
| Melanie | 0 | 1st place (20) | 1st place (25) | 0 | 45 |
With these stats, Steve using any weapon could beat Doug or Melanie. At least, as long as Melanie didn't get her hands on him...
Here's some better explanations of what you can do with high numbers in each statistic:
Psyche -- You can follow the disturbance caused by someone moving through Shadow; you can tell who's on the other end of a Trump call, and the most effective way to block them; you can detect when someone is preparing magical spells nearby, even if they are invisible; you can 'feel' any potential dangers from living creatures or humans around you, getting uneasy feeling when something threatens you; you can detect if someone has Amberite blood, whether or not they have walked the Pattern; also detecting potential for Trump artistry, sorcery, Logrus, and shapeshifting.
Strength -- You are skilled in most forms of hand to hand combat, including forms of martial arts, boxing, and wrestling; you can smash bricks and bend iron bars with ease; you can rip plate armor off of an opponent; you can push over a stone wall or a small building; you can pull a small tree out of the ground; you can take no damage from a fall of thirty feet or less; properly braced, you can stop the charge of a fully armored, mounted knight.
Endurance -- You can heal from broken bones in two days; you can keep going at full exertion for days without sleep; you can regenerate anything from your body at least five times faster than someone of Amber rank.
Warfare -- You move automatically to the place where you will be best able to resist a surprise attack; you can anticipate attacks from surprise angles, such as below the surface and airborne; you can adjust for unseen opponents; you can size up an unknown person, getting a rough ideas of their weapons, strengths, and weaknesses; you can predict the most likely moves for an opposing army to make and counter them effectively; you know the right ways to motivate your troops and ruin the morale of enemy forces; you can build a fresh army from scratch in under a month, use propaganda to improve support and recruitment for your army; you can use anything from a butter knife to a twig as a deadly weapon; you can recognize the potential and use for anything as a weapon; you can react fast enough to interrupt the casting of a spell, if with range; you can beat just about anyone at strategy games (chess or Go). Of course, some of these abilities for Warfare only come if you act like you are constantly living in the middle of a battle.
After the bids for Attributes, your character has a variety of powers to choose from. Not just powers from walking the Pattern and the Logrus, but also the Broken Pattern, Sorcery, Trump Artistry, Conjuration, High Compelling, or Power Words. Below here are brief (very brief!) descriptions of each power.
Pattern Imprint (50 points) : The Pattern is the backbone of Amber's power. It provides the increased attributes over normal humans. Characters with Pattern can travel through Shadow in two ways: hellriding, which is extremely fast and tiring, or Shadowalking, which is easy but kind of slow. Players can search for objects, people, or places in Shadow. This means anything as simple as a good sword to something like a good bar fight or a classical concert. Any character with Pattern Imprint also strengthens a Shadow just by staying there. Shadows where Amberites have stayed for years, like the Shadow Earth, seem more real and a little more solid than the others traveled through. Characters can lead others through Shadow, in numbers from one friend to an army of three million. (Though leading three million did take two Amberites, and it wasn't all that easy.) Since different Shadows have different time flow rates, you can find a Shadow that runs fast (one day there is one minute in Amber) or really slow (one day there is one month in Amber). To a limited degree, having the Pattern Imprint lets a character affect the probability of Shadow, and change minor details (like clothing or money). The last, and potentially the most important, is the ability to lay a Blood Curse. A Blood Curse is normally used when the character is at the point of death, directing all of their energy through their bond with the Pattern to cause something really horrible to happen to their enemies. If a character does live through it, the GM normally takes away at least ten points for it.
Advanced Pattern Imprint takes an extra 25 points. However, it adds extra abilities. By bringing the Pattern up in your mind, you can scan just about anywhere in Shadow, by actively looking at it. You can also detect minor traces of Logrus, Trump, or Sorcery being used. It can also affect the 'reality' of a Shadow, bending the local laws of science or magic. With a few minutes of concentration, characters with Advanced Pattern Imprint can mentally 'walk' the Pattern, and teleport to the place they picture, just as though they had physically walked the Pattern.
Logrus Mastery (45 points) : The Logrus is the embodiment of Chaos, and the source of power for the Courts of Chaos. It cannot be taken unless the character already has shapeshifting, since to walk the constantly changing figure requires aspirants to be able to change their forms. It also causes the character to go slightly (or severly) insane for a time. Having the Logrus also gives a character power over Shadow, though it is increasingly more difficult to manipulate Shadow closer to Amber. Logrus Mastery lets you extend Logrus 'tendrils' into Shadow, to retrieve items or cast spells through. The more unique or powerful an item is, the harder and longer it is going to take to extend a tendril to grasp it. Anything based on Pattern will cause great pain to Logrus users, and swords and items with Pattern can cause their blood to catch fire. However, users of the Logrus can bring its shifting ways to mind, and use it as a sort of lens to detect magical and Shadow disturbances. It can also be used to 'hang' spells that are ready to cast.
Advanced Logrus Mastery costs an extra 25 points. Advanced Logrus Masters, instead of searching through Shadow for one they like, pick a Shadow and manipulate it until it meets their demands for perfecting. Logrus Masters have an easier time manipulating Shadow than Pattern users. They can also summon weak creatures from the Shadows around Chaos, and control them easily. Most feared is their ability to summon Primal Chaos. Left unchecked, this will consume an entire Shadow, generating Shadowstorms. Summoning it too close to Amber, or near someone with Advanced Pattern Imprint, makes it harder to control, so it could backfire and consume the character.
Broken Pattern Imprint (10 point) : The Broken Patterns are distortions of the real Pattern in Shadows close to Amber. Walking them can be done by anyone who doesn't already have Pattern Imprint. Broken Pattern does give the user control over Shadow, but to a far limited degree. Traveling through Shadow using Broken Pattern will always bring you through the worst parts of a Shadow -- waste dumps, torn battlefields, back alleys, rotting swamps, and other dangerous places. Any person or creature you meet is not going to be friendly, and will probably try to kill you. Hellriding is easy, too easy, like running down a mountain in the dark. You may not be able to stop when you want to.
Advanced Broken Pattern Imprint costs an extra 15 points. This gives them the ability to sense any reall strong magical powers (like Pattern or Logrus). They can put out tendrils, similar to Logrus tendrils, except Broken Pattern tendrils cannot affect things physically, only magically. And, like the Logrus, it can be used for hanging prepared spells, though there is a constant chance that the spells will wear down faster, or have something go wrong during casting.
Trump Artistry (40 points) : The Trumps are magical sets of cards, used for communication, transportation, and occasionally confrontation among both Amberites and Chaosians. They don't seem to be powered by either Pattern or Logrus, and creating them is a difficult task, at best. Good artists can create even a simple sketch that will work, for a short time, just as well as a full Trump. Most of them can tell who is sending them a Trump call, and anyone with Trump Artistry can block a Trump contact. This also allows creating magical items that run on Trump power, and detecting items that use that. It also conveys a limited sense of an artist's style.
Advanced Trump Artistry costs an extra 20 points. Advanced Trump Artistry not only lets you draw the cards when the subject is there, but also from memory. By learning the tricks behind the Trumps, you can use them to spy on someone else, or put up an advanced block to all contact. This jamming can be used on someone else, as long as you have the Trump in front of you. A large Trump gate can be created, that will stay open for several minutes, but it requires a massive amount of energy and concentration. Trumps can also be drawn with traps in them, so that the picture on the card is not the actual destination of the contact.
Shape Shifting (35 points) : Though Shape Shifting is a really cool power to have, it comes with its risks and limitations. Shape Shifters cannot easily change to a creature with greater or lesser mass, without absorbing some kind of organic material (wood, paper, natural cloth, etc.) or excreting the same. Shape shifts are not instant; different forms take longer to achieve, depending on how familiar the character is, and how different it is from their current form. It puts a serious drain on the character's Endurance, since Shape Shifting alters just about every cell in their body. The most serious danger of all is the risk of a character's mind getting 'lost' in the instincts of the creature they assume. But the gains of shape shifting are being able to give themselves natural armor, better movement under harsh terrain, and adjusting their faces as a disguise. With practice, shape shifters can adopt animal forms, even flying ones. With practice, Shape Shifting can be used to heal faster from wounds, as long as it isn't a body part that is actually missing.
Advanced Shape Shifting costs an extra 30 points. Advanced Shape Shifting lets the character shift their aura, so they can appear to be another person, a normal Shadow dweller, or an animal. They can also try and shift themselves to be another person, though there is the risk that they could be overwhelmed, and lose themselves in the new persona. Shapeshifting just features, to anything, is easier on the body and lasts longer. They can rearrange their internal structures, giving themselves two hearts, stronger and thicker bones, and regenerate body parts faster. By cutting themselves, they can also form a creature out of their own blood, though it is not easy to do.
Power Words (10 points) : These are a limited form of magic power. They are incredibly easy to cast, work instantly, but don't last past a second at the most. Once they're known, they are rather easy to create a defense against. For the 10 points, a character gets five Power Words, and more can be added later at a cost of one point each. Some examples are: Magic Negation, which disrupts a spell being cast; Chaos Negation or Pattern Negation, which defend against attacks made by Chaos or Pattern; Psychic Disrupt, which breaks the concentration of someone using Psyche for an attack or defense; Lifeforce, which doesn't heal, but will break any anti-life spells or effects; Strobe Light, which creates a bright flash of light, useful to blind someone; Burst of Magic, which generates a 'pulse' of magic to help a spell or activate a magical object. New Power Words can be created, at the GM's discretion.
Sorcery (15 points) : Though spells can be incredibly useful and powerful, in the right situations, they are a pain to create and maintain. Most spells take anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours to cast, and even if you have something like the Logrus to 'hang' finished spells on, they tend to decay and disappear within about two weeks. Most spells like this are designed with lynchpins, key words left out of the spell which describe a target, effect, and the magical aura of the Shadow they are being cast in. Sometimes spells can be created with as few as one lynchpin, other times they need up to five or six. Here is a list of some sample spells, showing effects, possible lynchpins needed, and the casting times.
Conjuration (20 points) : This is ability to conjure up items or creatures, and empower creatures, people, or objects. It is actually using a bit of magic to shape Shadow, and give that bit of Shadow power. Usually, Conjuration is used to create objects, or occasionally to give existing items more (or better) powers. Conjuration does not require Sorcery, but characters with Sorcery can create objects capable of storing spells. Conjuration and Shape Shifting together makes it easier to create creatures out of blood. Conjuration and Power Words together creates creatures or objects that can use the same Power Words as the creator, except this means it will be easier for someone to form a defense against them. Conjuration with Sorcery makes it possible to create spells of conjuration, which can be stored and used later with the proper lynchpins. That combination is more useful in creating objects which can rack and store spells for later use. Conjuration is a lengthy, step by step process, that often takes several hours. But it still beats the heck out of running off into Shadow after the stuff you want.
For an extra 5 points, you can get High Compelling. High Compelling is the art of 'conjure' up feelings and motivations into other people. Psyche is crucial, since you'll obviously be competing against your victim's mind. This can do things like a Geas, false memories, or a completely new personality. Any of these will last longer if they are closer to the victim's original personality, and have a great deal of time spent on them. Characters can also put High Compelling into items, which might work well to fool another character into using them.
Now, which of these powers are the really good ones? Pattern, Logrus, and Trump are almost necessary for at least one person in the group. Otherwise, traveling through Shadow is going to be a real pain. The only real problem with those, is that they are really expensive. Broken Pattern is an option, but any character with that is always going to be traveling through the worst areas imaginable. Later on in a session, when characters have points for advancement, they can always buy their way into new powers.
Even if you really want extra powers, it's a bad idea to sell down your Attributes to Chaos (+10 points) or Human (+25 points) level. A weakness like that leaves you very open to attacks in those area. Also, characters of Human Endurance won't have the strength to walk the Pattern or the Logrus, and they are more likely to die going through the Broken Pattern. While taking Bad Stuff might look like an option for extra points, it never gets used up. Bad Stuff works like a constant Murphy's Law -- what can go wrong, will go wrong. Every time.
In addition to the Powers listed, characters can have Allies. These may range from a minor retainer, in either Amber or the Courts of Chaos, all the way up to one of the elder Amberites, or the head of a House in the Courts.
Ally in Amber (1 point): This is a court retainer, royalty of a kingdom in the Golden Circle (Amber's trading partners), sea captains in Amber's navy, or someone of similar power. This ally can influence minor things, will share information with the character, and can usually assist in any reasonable plans.
Demon Friends (1 point): Demons are the Courts of Chaos equivalent to the servants and retainers of Amber. These demons are bound to the character through either an inheritance, some other ally of the character, or maybe they just think their own interests run the same direction as the characters.
Court Friend (2 points): These are along the lines of the a friendly elder Amberite, or the head of a House in the Courts of Chaos. The character may never know who their Court Friend is, but that person is constantly looking out for their best interests, and will try to (anonymously) get them information and support.
House Support (3 points): One of the Noble Houses in the Courts of Chaos supports the character. Usually, if the character has Logrus, they will be related to that House. It doesn't mean that everyone in the House likes the character, but it gives them better resources and a safe place to stay when visiting the Courts.
Chaos Court Devotee (4 points): A Lord of Chaos, likely one of the Elders who controls events in the Courts of Chaos, has a really deep interest in the character. This is usually caused by a blood relation, and any character with a Chaos Court Devotee has the ability to walk the Logrus. Often, the devotee will arrange for demon guardians, and will always save the character from a life-threatening situation, even if it means risk to themselves.
Amber Court Devotee (6 points): One of the Elder Amberites is the parent of this character, which gives them the option to walk the Pattern. They will work to arrange things in the character's favor, and save them from anything life-threatening, though they aren't beyond manipulating their children into something they think would be better.
After all of this, the player gets to decide whether or not their character has any magical items, or creatures, or if their character would have put the effort into strengthening a Shadow for their own personal use. Click here to see how to create magical items and Shadows.
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