CONTACT: Jason Dettman (jadettman[at]gmail.com) or David Miessler-Kubanek (shadowwars[at]gmail.com)
A NOTE ABOUT EDITING
Recently, the wiki was hit by spammers. In response, I've had to set a password for the pages to avoid fixing the page ten time a day.
If you would like to help out with this project, editorial access to this page can be arranged by emailing me at jadettman[at]gmail.com
OUT OF CHAOS
You are of the blood of Amber, immortal Princes and Princesses born from legend and destined to walk the Pattern. The Pattern grants you the power to move through Shadow universes and shape Shadows themselves to your own ends. Yours is the power of life and death, creation and destruction. (based on pg.7 ADRPG)
WHAT IS AN INTRODUCTION TO AMBER?
This free project was created to introduce roleplayers unfamiliar with Amber to the Amber Diceless Roleplaying game. It is intended to work as a brief introductory text to both the fictional world of Amber and to the mechanics of Amber Diceless Roleplaying.
The first two pages of An Introduction to Amber discuss the setting and its characters in broad strokes, to familiarize and entice. The second two pages provide an overview of the Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game’s mechanics.
HOW TO USE THIS
An Introduction to Amber works best as a brief introduction to the world of Amber and the Amber Diceless Roleplaying game. In conjunction with someone already familiar with the Amber Diceless Roleplaying game, these pages should serve to provide much of the information needed to get a reader started as a player.
If you are familiar with the world of Amber but no one in your group is familiar with the Amber Diceless Roleplaying game, it should be possible to play a very basic game using just the text on the third and fourth pages but it is not something that we recommend. The Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game is currently available as a PDF at RPGnow and DriveThruRPG and the full text contains a lot of great advice for running and playing a game in the world of Amber.
If this is your first time encountering both the world of Amber and the Amber Diceless Roleplaying game, this document is unlikely to prepare you sufficiently. As a first step, we recommend reading a few of the Amber novels, all of which are generally available from public libraries and bookstores.
WHAT ARE THE CHRONICLES OF AMBER?
The Chronicles of Amber are a series of novels written by Roger Zelazny which were published between 1970 and 1991. These novels posit a broad setting made up of a multitude of universes in which a family of immortals has the power to travel amongst these infinite realities.
AMBER
Amber is considered (by the royal family of Amber) to be the only real place that exists in the multiverse because it is the location of the Pattern. Amber is a grand city built upon terraces that are carved into the great mountain called Kolvir. Atop Kolvir also sits the castle of the royal family, home also to the Pattern.
The city of Amber is a mercantile hub. Amber’s royal family has laid down an uncounted number of trade routes through Shadow which are plied by Amber’s large merchant navy.
THE ROYAL FAMILY OF AMBER
A large part of the appeal of playing a game set in the Amber universe is interacting with the iconic characters that make up the Royal Family.
Oberon
Oberon is the king of Amber and father to all the other family members listed here. He has lived for an unknown length of time and has fathered an unknown number of children, both in and out of wedlock, during his centuries of existence.
What little is known of Oberon suggests that he is both secretive and manipulative. As a father he was distant, rarely involving himself with his children.
Benedict
Oberon's eldest living son. A tall man, thin and dour, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Benedict is Amber's master-of-arms and is considered to be the best swordsman and general known to the family.
Benedict's brothers, Osric and Finndo, died young under unclear circumstances not long after Oberon dissolved his marriage to their mother, Cymnea. Benedict renounced his own claim to Amber's throne.
In temperament, Benedict is dour and taciturn though he has an explosive and unpredictable temper. He rarely involves himself in the affairs of Amber unless the realm is under attack. Those he takes under his protection are important to him and he takes his responsibilities seriously. When those under his protection are threatened or harmed Benedict is swift to take action.
Eric
The second living child of Oberon, Eric is darkly handsome with hair and beard so black that its almost blue. A big man with large, strong hands and a mouth that is always smiling.
Eric and his followers are significant political factor in Amber, a powerbase that it appears he rarely ever leaves.
Corwin
Eric's younger brother but the first child of Oberon and Faiella to be born within the legitimacy of marriage. Corwin is an athletic figure with black hair and green eyes, dressed preferably in black and silver.
Corwin is known as a poet, soldier, and song-writer. If you take his word for it, he is perhaps the third best swordsman in Amber.
Deirdre
The youngest child of Oberon and Faiella, Deirdre is a black-haired woman with blue eyes. Sadly, Faiella died while giving birth to Deirdre.
What little is known of Deirdre is this: She is both fashionable and manipulative. She is strong enough to pick up a man and break his back over her knee. When forced to fight in battle, she wields a battle-axe with some skill.
Fiona
The eldest child of Oberon and Clarissa, Fiona is a physically unimposing woman with red hair, green eyes, and a pale but exquisite complexion.
Bleys
The second child of Oberon and Clarissa. Bleys is an athletic man with red hair and matching beard, and it has been said that he has the devil dancing behind his eyes. He is a capable swordsman and general.
Llewella
Appearance: A woman with jade colored hair and matching eyes dressed in gray and green with a lavender belt.
Personal Colors:
Significance: Illegitimate, but recognised, which caused trouble for Eric. Child of Rebma, the mirror-realm of Amber, as well as Amber itself.
Personality: Little explored in the books. Quiet and withdrawn. Never fully tested.
Brand
Appearance: A slightly built man with red hair and green eyes.
Personal Colors:
Significance: Product of Oberon patching things up with Clarissa, but their last child together.
Personality: A mixture of questing and abandonment. Will pick up a project and then find a better one. A great artist.
Caine
Appearance: A man with a swarthy complexion and dark eyes.
Personal Colors:
Significance: Another of Oberon's by-blows, brought to Amber. An Admiral of half the fleet, at various points.
Personality: Vengeful enough to want some of his siblings dead rather than humbled.
Flora
in a gown green as the sea, just as I’d remembered her the previous evening; [more earlier from his encounter with Flora in her home on Shadow Earth -- The woman behind the desk wore a wide-collared, V-necked dress of blue-green, had long hair andlow bangs, all of a cross between sunset clouds and the outer edge of a candle flame in an otherwisedark room, and natural, I somehow knew, and her eyes behind glasses I didn’t think she needed wereas blue as Lake Erie at three o’clock on a cloudless summer afternoon; and the color of her compressed smile matched her hair.
Personal Colors:
Significance:
Personality: Loudly declares her mistakes and perceived victories. Switches sides easily - a weathercock.
Julian
Appearance: the passive countenance of Julian, dark hair hanging long, blue eyes containing neither passion nor compassion. He was dressed completely in scaled white armor, not silver or metallic-colored, but looking as if it had been enameled. I knew, though, that it was terribly tough and shock-resistant, despite its decorative and festive appearance.
Personal Colors:
Significance: Julian has authority over the Forest of Arden, one of the primary land routes into Amber. He patrols it astride his monstrous warhorse, Morgenstern, and surrounded by his Storm Hounds.
Personality:'' Cold and impassive, and works hard at it. Speaks slowly and judges all his words before he says them, but for maximum effect rather than for wisdom.
Gerard
Appearance: a big, powerful man regarded me from the next card. He resembled me quite strongly, save that his jaw was heavier. And I knew he was bigger than I, though slower. His strength was a thing out of legend. He wore a dressing gown of blue and gray clasped about the middle with a wide, black belt, and he stood laughing. About his neck, on a heavy cord, there hung a silver bunting horn. He wore a fringe heard and a light mustache. In his right hand he held a goblet of wine.
Personal Colors:
Significance: Another Admiral, sometimes of all of Amber's fleet if Caine should be out of favour. (Or vice versa, presumably.)
Personality: A big solid fellow, quick to anger in defence of people he loves, but not the smartest of the siblings by a long chalk.
Random
Appearance: a wily-looking little man, with a sharp nose and a laughing mouth and a shock of straw-colored hair. He was dressed in something like a Renaissance costume of orange, red and brown. He wore long hose and a tight-fitting embroidered doublet.
Personal Colors:
Significance: Random is the youngest son of Oberon.
Personality:'' A poisonous little rat-fink, who improves as time goes on.
PATTERN
The Pattern of Amber is a design of power inscribed on the floor of a vast room in the depths of the Amber castle. It allows someone attuned to it to travel between the infinite variety of Shadows that lie beyond Amber’s borders.
Deep within the lower levels of Amber's castle, the Pattern appears as an intricate series of glowing concentric lines etched on, or within, the black, glass-like floor of its chamber. To become an initiate of the power one must step on the beginning of the Pattern's line and follow it's intricate design to it's end at the Pattern's center.
In the undersea realm of Rebma, and in the ghost city of Tir Na Nog'th that hovers above Amber on nights of the full moon, mirrored replicas of the Pattern of Amber can be found. In these places, someone of Royal Amber blood can traverse these other Patterns to similar effect.
Touching the Pattern if one is not of the Royal Family of Amber or straying from the Pattern's lines once a foot has been set upon it, even if one is of the Royal blood, is deadly. The Pattern is not a power to be trifled with.
TRUMPS
The Trumps are a set of mystical cards created by the artist Dworkin at the behest of King Oberon. Each Trump card depicts one of the members of Amber’s royal family, or a specific location, and allows a person to contact the subject depicted on it. In addition to communication, it is also possible to travel to persons and locations depicted on a Trump card or to attack a person mentally through a card.
While the full operation of the cards are unclear, it is known that a person can resist being contacted by another using his Trump by clearing one's mind and refusing the connections. Likewise, it would appear that travel or physical contact through a Trump is more difficult and is most easily accomplished with the permission of the Trump's subject, in the case of a card depicting a person.
SHADOWS
In the vocabulary of the Royal Family of Amber, a Shadow is one of an infinite number of other realities. These worlds are said to encompass any possibility that a Pattern user can imagine.
There is some speculation by Amber's royal family whether Shadows are created or merely discovered when a practitioner of the Pattern travels Shadow in search of his desires. No definitive answer yet exists.
THE COURTS OF CHAOS
At the other end of the multi-verse from Amber lie the Courts of Chaos, an unpredictable land of mystery and dangerous creatures, ruled over by Machiavellian Lords.
Frequently portrayed as the mortal enemies of Amber, the inhabitants of the Courts are varied and chimeric, possessing elements of both horror and folktales. Those of the Courts have a fell power to corrupt Shadows . . .
WHAT IS AMBER DICELESS ROLEPLAYING?
The Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game or, if you prefer, ADRPG, is a roleplaying game originally created by Erick Wujick which was designed to allow its players to adventure in the world of Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber. As the name indicates, unlike the majority of roleplaying games, players of the ADRPG do not use dice to determine the outcome of actions or conflicts. Instead, the ADRPG uses a simple system of numerical comparison and human judgement to determine the outcome of player choices.
ADRPG RULES
In many respects the Amber diceless rules are like any other roleplaying game. Foremost, each player requires a character to play and the game-master (GM) depicts the non-player characters and world with which the player’s character interacts. If you are beginning play from scratch, rather than a pre-planned scenario, the first thing to accomplish is for players to create characters.
CREATING A CHARACTER
Every player starts with 100 points to spend in creating his character. These points are spent on Attributes, Powers, and personal accessories such as powerful allies, items of personal value, or personal Shadows.
THE ATTRIBUTE AUCTION
The official method for creating a character is begun with an Attribute Auction. Using this method, the GM sits down with all of her players to conduct bidding for each character Attribute separately and attempts to cajole every player into to competing for the top spot in each. This has the benefit of creating a contentious atmosphere of rivalry that is designed to recreate the family tension of the books.
Personally, I find that the attribute auction can be off-putting to new players and usually suggest something simpler for a first game.
BUYING ATTRIBUTES
For a player’s first game, I recommend allowing each player to buy Attributes, Powers, and Accessories as he wishes and then providing everyone with a listing of the ranks for each attribute.
If you’d like to create a little of the Attribute Auction’s tension without the time-consuming huckstery, I find that allowing each player to spend 80 of his 100 points initially and then allowing a second round of spending after publishing the attribute rankings to be sufficient. Just remember to provide the players with any changes to the rankings afterward.
RANKS
Attribute ranks are one of the tools that a GM uses to determine success when player characters are competing with each other. In general, when two player characters are competing, the character with rank advantage wins. For example, if Clifton and Amelia are racing to see who is fastest (a Strength contest) and Amelia is First Rank in Strength and Clifton has Second Rank, then Amelia will win, barring any cheating or unforeseen circumstances.
Ranks are determined at the beginning of the game during the Attribute Auction. The character with the highest number of points in an Attribute is First Ranked, the player with second highest number is Second Ranked, etc.
ATTRIBUTES
Attributes are a combination of innate ability and acquired skill. The are broad in their definitions to encompass the capabilities of a diverse group of characters.
Psyche: Your character’s willpower and mental strength. Psyche determines the amount of force your character has available when using Powers.
Strength: Your character’s physical strength and damage capacity.
Endurance: Your character’s ability to heal and persevere.
Warfare: Your character’s ability in personal combat and in maneuvering armies on the battlefield.
POWERS
Powers are the supernatural abilities available in the Amber universe. Though many Amber games include a wide variety of other, lesser powers, the Powers described below are specifically of the Amber universe.
The Pattern: Attunement to the Pattern of Amber grants a character the ability to travel in Shadows. By visualizing the changes she wishes to make while simultaneously moving, a Pattern user can gradually move to anywhere she can imagine. [50 points]
Trumps: A properly trained Trump Artist can create magical images, typically on Tarot-type cards, that allow anyone to contact a person, or travel to a location, depicted. [40 points]
Sorcery: Sorcery is spell-casting. It is the ability to create a wide variety of manipulative effects, codify these effects, and save them for use at a later time. [15 points]
Conjuration: The ability to create special items or creatures. [20 points]
Power Words: Simple, short-lived manipulative effects; essentially short less-powerful spells. [1 point each, or 10 for 5 points]
ALLIES
During character creation, a player has the option of purchasing one or more allies for his character. How influential an ally is in the game determines the cost to have that ally.
In most cases, the player does not get to choose who his character's ally is. The GM determines a character's ally and frequently doesn't inform the player which NPC it is. The intention in this is to provide suspense and relationship tension.
ITEMS
A player can acquire 'magical' (or technological) items and creatures for his character during character creation. These items, or creatures, can be anything that the player can imagine, provided the approval of the gamemaster. How powerful the item or creature is determines its cost.
PERSONAL SHADOWS
A personal Shadow is a world which a character has invested a significant amount of time and energy to become acquainted with and, usually, has created a life for himself there. The cost of a personal Shadow is determined by the benefits conferred to the character and the level of control the character can exert on the Shadow.
TIPS FOR RUNNING AN AMBER DICELESS GAME
Presented below is just a fraction of the advice available, both in the ADRPG book and on the internet, for running an Amber game. What you'll find here is what I consider the most important advice that I can give.
COMMUNICATION
Talk to each other. Be direct and be honest. Tell each other what you think is fun, what you don't think is fun, and work together to create a game that everyone will enjoy.
TRUST EACH OTHER
Amber is a "high trust" game. The players and the gamemaster have a lot of power in an Amber game. Trust each other not to screw things up or do things that aren't fun.
Sometimes, mistakes will be made. Someone will do something that was fun for them but wasn't for everyone else. When this happens, remember rule #1: communicate! Either call a time-out and talk about what happened immediately or, if it's something that can wait, talk about it when the game session ends.
Don't bottle up! You may think that the mistake was obvious and everyone else knows that it was a mistake. That may be true and, if it is, talking about it shouldn't be a problem. If they didn't notice, though, talking about it is the best way to make sure something like that doesn't happen again.
TRUST YOURSELF
As a setting, Amber presents a wide-range of options. Sometimes it's hard to pick what you want to do or what the "right" thing to do might be. Be impulsive! Amber characters are intended to be competent and they can take a lot of damage. It's better, and more fun, to do something than it is to sit around thinking or talking about doing something.