Of course since we're revising the system, we now feel its time to try and stab at some of the other aspects of the system that we don't like; primarily the stats Warfare (which is too nebulous), and Strength (which is too focused). We have some some nice ideas; the mergement of Blood of Amber/Blood of Chaos into the Reality attributement, and Order/Chaos Alignment reflects the way we were using these powers, as well our World View. However the introduction of skills--``Warfares''--mars the elegance of the revised power system. Finally we've made a stab at integrating the Armies System. You find an appendix at the end of this file for converting characters from our First Edition Partial Powers List.
Expect a Third Edition after a lot more play testing. Constructive Feedback is always welcome.
Peter Miller.
At the moment Amber is encased in a block of Primal Order. If you could scry through this to the Primal Pattern then you would see Corwin, frozen, staring into the Jewel of Judgement, half way through erasing the Pattern. Throughout shadow there are similar sights; blocks of Primal Order incarcerating those who had trumps of Amber, Corwin. or both. Merlin's room is one such instance.
Obsidian--Corwin's Pattern--is surrounded by a sea of Primal Chaos, ejected from the Amber Pattern in a last ditch attempt to destroy Obsidian.
Shadows were still maluable after the shock of Realignment. Corwin's attack on higher and higher order reflections of the Pattern kept them so. But in the millenia since things have settled down. Obsidian the burden of ordering Shadow; unseen and unreachable behind its curtain of Chaos. Even the Logrus is content with the new balance of power. Shadow is quiet, except for the petty schemings of its inhabitants.
There are five Attributes in this Amber system: Action, Awareness, Endurance, Pysche and Reality. Every character in the Amber universe has a value in these stats. At the start of character creation, every Attribute has zero--or ``<rank>''--value. Extra points may be spent on an Attribute to increase its value above rank, or you may take points away from an attribute to spend elsewhere.
An average character from ``Shadow Earth'' has attributes of -15 points, while the most exceptional character might manage an attribute of +10, which is about the same value as that of an ``average'' Amberite. (Think about Merlin and Luke racing in the Olympics.)
As is suggested by its name, the Action attribute is used by the Game System whenever a character's reflexes, speed and general atheletic inclination are required.
(In Jhereg I rarely used Action, Marc used it all the time; that about says it for the difference in our GMing styles.)
Psyche is used by the Game System as a ``<channeling>'' stat (it replaces the First Edition's Channeling Power). The amount of vitae that a character can shift when overpowering a trump, or conciously resisting such an attack are the provence of Psyche.
Many of the Powers impose Psyche penalties on a character while they are in use. This is because the power ties up some of the character's ``channel'' so that he can continue to fuel the power; the character is concentrating on maintaining that power, so that the effective Psyche he can use is less.
The more reality a person a has the more stronger they naturally become. For example, most of Superman's powers, and Gerard's Strength, are the result of their high level of Reality.
Points in Reputation will figure (to your advantage) in calculating the net Morale Multiplier for an Army. The degree to which Reputation has effect will depend on whether the Games Master feels your fame has spread to your/your opponents troops. The GM may also count a character's Reputation in interactions with NPCs, at his discretion.
The obvious example of a character with Reputation is Benedict, but Brand and Lucas would have had Reputations as would Smaug.
Each power source has its own perculiar initiation rights, dependant on the character of the power source; you need to walk the Pattern, Essay the Logrus and must drown in the Spring of Eternal Life. Inititiation to the Power Source entails a single point cost, the value of which depends on the Power Source; 20 points for the Pattern, and Logrus.
The most prosaic function of a Power Source is to provide a reservoir of Vitae which can be tapped--and used in place of--a character's own Endurance. This only way to gain enough power for creating Wards and drawing Trumps. Luke's attunement to the ``Force'', via training by Yoda, is an example of initiation into such a ``surplace energy'' power source.
Some Power Sources also provide shadow wide benefits; obvious examples are the Pattern and Logrus, but the Spring of Eternal Life grants immortality--if you survive its initiation--and the Keep of Four Worlds grants its famous ``Living Trump'' ability. These powers are bought separately once initiation has been gained into the Power Source; the Powers section below includes powers only availible after initiation into the Pattern or Logrus.
Walking a Pattern gains you initiation into that Pattern and allows you to use all those powers that depend on the Pattern (Shadow Manipulation, <Power Source> Magic, <Power Source> Use, Draw Trump).
It's worth pointing out that no one has been able to gain initiation into either Pattern in several Millenia. Even before Patterndeath Corwin was very strict about who was initiated into Obsidian (just ask Garrion).
Essaying the Logrus gains you initiation the Logrus, so allowing you to use those powers which depend on it (Veil Sculpture, Logrus Tendrils, <Power Source> Magic, <Power Source> Use, Draw Trump).
Initiates of the Logrus also receive a gift. This gift is the key to the mental and physical puzzle that is the Logrus. Only if the character fully realise the potential of himself and his gift will he ever escape intact. Frakir and Mandor's spheres are both examples of gifts of the Logrus.
Often a spikard will become a focus for many Power Sources and all the ``flavours'' of these inidvidual Power Sources then become intertwined so that spikard has one distinct flavour; it becomes a Power Source in its own right. For this reason you only need buy one ``<Power Source> Magic'' for the spikard. However removal/addition of Power Sources to a spikard change its flavour and invalidates any points its users had in its <Power Source> Magic; requiring that they relearn <Power Source> Magic for the spikard's new configuration. At the GM's discretion, some points may be carried over from the old <Power Source> Magic, or it may be learnt at an increased rate--depending on the severity of the change.
There is no initiation cost to use a spikard; anybody can pick up it up and use it, regardless of if they are initiated to the Power Sources it is attached to.
This section lists the Powers available for use by characters. Generally powers have no effect unless you put any points in them (Trump is an exception, and Shadow Manipulation a special case). The more points you have in a power the better your character is considered to be at it. When it comes to a contest it'll be the character with the most points in his power who'll win.
If you wish you can specify that the points you are spending in a power are to be focussed in one area. In this case you could designate your points as ``specialised'' in that area. Points placed into such <specialisations> are worth two to three times that of a point in the base power; the exact ratio depends on how narrow or broad the area of specialisation is; the more focussed your specialisation the more weight your points carry. Possible areas of specialisations are suggested in the description of each power. Generally its not worth specialising in more than a couple of areas of a skill--you'd be better off putting your points in the general skills but we're not going to stop you and there are exceptions. What we do demand is that you can't start specialising in a Power until you have paid the ``<Base Cost>'' of the power; the cost outlined in the brackets beside it.
In many cases a <Proficiency> and <Master> Rank will be given, these ranks will follow the Base Cost, in the brackets after the Power's name. So, for example, ``Power X (10/20/30)'' has a Base Rank at 10, a Proficiency Cost of 20 and a Master Cost of 30.
Trumps are ``picture cards'' which are the extensions of the aura of a place or person. By activating a trump you can communicate with the subject or step through the trump to join him. Activation of a trump only requires that you concentrate on it. If the subject answers, then the vista will take on a rainbowy 3D look, which allows communication and transportation.
Incoming Trump contact comes as a nudging nagging feeling; you may refuse to answer if you wish, but if you respond (or the caller forces his point) then you will be open to psychic abuse.
Concentrating on a Trump, or engaging in trump communication encurs a 1 point Psyche penalty.
Anyone can use a trump, regardless of whether or not they have points in Trump. When you pay points in Trump you learn about trumps, and become more sensitive to them. Proficient characters can sense when someone is using a trump (by touching that character's trump), block people using trumps and listen in on other people's trump conversations. It is also possible to expand a trump contact into a giant window--a trump gate--which other people can step through. Skill with Trump is also useful when Psychic combat is initiated through Trumps. These are all areas that a character may decide to specialise in.
Fast trump ``sketches'' can also be made by an artist with this power, and are typically made from pencil, pen, or charcoal; however such temporary trumps rarely last for more than a few uses. A trump artist who is considered to be proficient will be able to create sketches in around half an hour, with an Endurance cost of 10-15 points.
Interruption during the creation of a trump anulls the trump being created, unless the creator has a substantial Psyche and Endurance and a high skill.
A Trump artist must be initiated to a power source in order that he can create trumps. The Pattern and the Logrus are the two main sources but other power sources can be found deep in shadow by dilagent and determined characters. See ``Power Sources'' for more details.
This power allows a character to change the ``universe''--shadow--he occupies. This may be done subtley or so completely that the universe he started in is not recognisable as the shadow he finishes in; this Shadow Shifting is the main use of Shadow Manipulation.
Shadow shifting is performed by walking forwards and slowly altering little facets of your environment--say that the next bird around the corner turns out to be a green jay instead of a blue one. In general shadow shifts should be small and out of sight; ``round the next corner''. If you want the sky to change colour have it cloud over and then uncloud in your new colour. When you want a Bank have the next building around the corner have a sign with the word "bank" on it. Or you may find the right change in your pocket, when you next check.
Because hiding shifts out of sight frequently involves placing things just over the horizon, shadow shifting involves a lot of travel. So the limit on the speed of shadow shifting becomes how fast you can travel. You can use a mount (like a horse), machinary (say a car) or magic (perhaps a flying carpet) to increase the rate of loccomotion. However when using technology that depends on the specific physics of a shadow (like a car or a flying carpet) shifters have to be careful not to stray into a shadow where the laws of reality do not support your mode of transportation. And the more sophisticated a device the more sensative it is to changes in shadow.
Generally you can only shadow shift to a place; if you wanted to find a loaf of bread, for example, you might try and shape shift to a house with a smell of fresh baked bread and then barter with the owner for his labours.
In theory it's possible to find a shadow where anything exists; even time rates may vary between shadows. However concious control of all features of a shadow--especially finding one with a chosen time rate--is difficult. Furthermore not all shadows are actually accessable to an Amberite; the physical laws of a shadow may not support the existance of an Amberite, and many shadows reside near Chaos where all but the most experienced shadow shifters cannot reach.
It is almost impossible to walk shadow when you have no references to change: so a lack of light, or a land that is all white cannot normally be shadow shifted out of.
When you walk though shadow you distort it slightly so that you leave a trail that others (even non amberites) may follow, and which remains apparent to experienced shadow walkers until a measurable time has passed.
It is also possible to Hell Ride with this power.
Chaos Lords have the ability to alter their physical form; for their forefathers it was a requirement in order to survive in the constantly shifting environs around the Abyss. But the advent of Shadow Manipulation powers have stabilised the Courts of Chaos into known periodicities and the shape shifting powers of the Chaos Lords have atrophied. Today shape shifting is a formality rather than a necessity. Most Chaos Lords having only a couple of shapes that they regularly frequent, finding form swapping difficult, time consuming, and painful--epsecially when far from the Courts.
Any character who meets the prerequisites for shape shifting, we'll be able to shape ship at this level; between two well defined forms in minutes at an Endurance cost of 10 or so points.
More experienced, powerful shape shifter will have a larger vocabulary of forms, manage shifts quicker, easier and with less of an Endurance cost.
The Order force of a Pattern permeates shadow causing the stuff that makes up shadow--Vitae--to gel together in a uniform ordered way. The Chaos force of the Logrus permeates the space between shadow, causing vitae to disperse itself. This the reason why shadows are very small and thin near Chaos.
This chaos force causes a flow of information and energy in the intershadow medium from the Logrus all the way to the pattern. The chaos flow can be made to permeate shadow, although this harder the deeper into a shadow it has to penetrate (and hence the force is weaker at Amber as there is less space between shadows, shadows are larger and so need to be penetrated deeper, and there proximitiy to the Order power source makes them resisitant to change). It is this flow that is used by Chaos Trumps, and to provide power for Chaos Magic; and it it this power that is harnessed by masters of Chaos Tendrils.
In use, a character summoned the Logrus to mind and then places himself ``within'' it. Once inside the Logrus, you can defend yourself against physical and magical attacks. The Logrus can then be distorted to provide tentacles which can be used offensively. These tentacles can be extended into tendrils which are used to fetch items from far away in a shadow and beyond, or refined into delicate ``finger'' like probes which a sorcerer can use to probe the vitae constructs of sorcery.
Chaos equivalent of Shadow Manipulation, but manipulates Veils instead of Shadow. Also allows creation of Black Threads--roads between shadows.
Sorcery is the creation of vitae ``<constructs>'' which can perform just about any effect any where in shadow. Casting spells incurs a temporary Endurance cost, depending on the size of the construct under creation. This Endurance loss is identical to fatigue caused by physical exertion, and is recouperated in exactly the same way: through rest. Power Sources are popular with sorcerers because they reduce or eliminate the Endurance cost in manufacturing a construct; a sorcerer uses free vitae from his source rather than from himself. The use of a Power Source in Sorcery is governed by the ``<Power Source> Magic'' Power.
Not only is weaving a spell a physically exhausting process but it requires intense concentration reducing a sorcerer's Psyche to a small percentage of its normal value for the immediate duration of the process.
Because constructs are often time consuming to manufacture, and leave a sorcerer vulnerable during manufacture, sorcerers frequently build spells in advance and ``<rack>'' them. In essence the spell is put into cold freeze until it is needed. Generally racked spells have gaps--called <lynchpins>--left in them which are filled in when the spell is cast; the less lynchpins that have to be filled in in a construct has the faster it can be cast. The actual nature and number of lynchpins is up to the construct's creator. It is an arbitary thing; a parameter to be passed to a function on invocation. It might be as bland as ``target(s)'' or a specific as ``range'', ``bearing'' and ``radius of effect''. Remeber the blander the lynchpin the bigger the hole in the construct, and the longer it will take to fill in.
Spells can be racked in one's mind; they are stored within the creator's aura. However doing so incurs a cumulative Psyche penalty of 10 points for an average spell, 20 for a second one, and 40 for the third. For this reason most sorcerers either rely on a Power Source which can serve as a rack, or have a specially designed rack. Racking spells on a Power Source are the provence of that ``<Power Source> Magic''.
An alternative to racking spell is to ``learn it by heart'' until casting it becomes a relex reaction, in the same way that a skilled assassin can draw and throw a concealed dagger in the blinking of an eye. Such learnt spells are often known as ``<Power Words>'' due to one technique employed in learning them, which keys the character to cast a spell when he speaks a special power word.
Although it is always quicker to unrack a spell than to cast it on the spot, one can often cast a spell with no lynchpins as fast as the lynchpins in a more sophisticated spell can be filled in.
All spells have finite limits (duration, range, intensity, etc...) set by the amount of vitae used in the construct during the casting/unracking of the spell. Some vitae Power Sources (including spikards, but not Patterns or the Logrus) can get around this problem by attaching the construct to the Power Source; although sustaining a construct like this restricts the amount of power availible to other users of the source, including the construct's creator. Another option for the caster to attach the construct to himself, and continue to channel Power into it; needless to say, doing so incurs a Psyche penalty (5 pts for an average spell). Such <lifelines> between a spell and its caster allow other Sorcerers to trace the construct back to its caster, and provided a channel for Psychic attack unrivalved even by Trumps.
The effects of constructs needn't be limited to a single shadow; it is possible to cast trans-shadow spells. Such constructs are used by a sorcerer to move creatures and inanimate objects across shadow. Generally a construct can cross shadow as fast as a proficient Hell Rider, and this places the ultimate limit on the speed at which trans-shadow magic can work. Here lifelines can halve the time taken for trans-shadow magic to work, as they allow a construct to quickly find its way back to the caster. Lifelines also stop a construct becoming lost.
Constructs can also be used to distort a persons perceptions of the world. Such specialist constructs are called ``<compulsions>'' and take a great degree of skill and subtlely to succeed against an intelligent opponent.
Enchantment is the power to enhance something's Reality at permanent cost to the Enchanter's own Reality; this is exactly the process that one undergoes when one is initiated to a Power Source.
If you are to use a particular power source for magic (Sorcery, Enchantment or Warding) you need to buy this Power for that particular Power Source.
<Power Source> use brings the sign to mind, which can then be used to see the through shadow to the Vitae, and Order/Chaos beneath it, or to scry afar. Alternatively one can use it to control one's apparent shape of Vitae and Order/Chaos flow beneath shadow; doing so incurs a Psyche penalty.
Warfare is actually a Power in its own right, and you can put points in it if you wish, but Warfare its such a vast power that we've split it into a number of specilasations. The mechanics are just as they were for Powers (Warfare has a base cost of 0) but a point into one of these Warfares is about equal to a point in a Power like Trump and points in Warfare as a whole are worth correspondingly less. For the record, a character with Swordplay 25 is techniqually equal to one with Warfare 70 in melee.
Despite the rigid appearance the boundaries are just as fluid and you can suggest specialisations other than those listed. You can even specilise in specific areas of a specialisation if you wish.
to become good at all the areas listed; but it has a base cost of 0 points so you can start specialising immediately.
Those of you who know ADRP as laid out by Wujcik, will probably appreciate there's a problem with his Warfare attribute. It certainly a regular topic of discussion on the Amber Echo. In our experience the problem with Warfare is it's too broad and nebulous a quantity. We began tackling this problem in our First Edition Amber Partial Powers List by introducing the concept of specialiations. This time around we've deleted Warfare from the Attribute list; any raw ability that may have been covered by the Warfare attribute, such as dexterity and speed, is now covered by the Action trait. Instead Warfare is considered to be a Power, with a number of well defined specialisations. Hopefully this approach will solve the ``Warfare Problem'', enable one Warfare Specialist to be distinguished from another and ensure that non sorcerers are no longer rare and exotic creatures.
Sorcerous and Trump warfares, etc... are all covered by the appropriate power in the Powers section.
Zero in a second Edition Attribute is considered to be First Edition's Chaos Rank; so an Amber Rank Attribute gives you 10 points to translate into the Second Edition Attribute. For example, a First Edition character with Amber+70 Warfare has 80 points to distribute as he chooses amongst Action, Awareness and Warfares.
1st Edition 2nd Edition Strength Endurance; Reality Warfare Action; Awareness; Warfare(s) Endurance Endurance Psyche Psyche; Awareness Blood of Amber Reality Blood of Obsidian Reality Blood of Chaos Reality Trump Trump Trump ID Trump Trump Spying Trump Trump Jamming Trump Trump Gate Trump Draw Trump Draw Trump Etch Trump Draw Trump Trump Memory Draw Trump Trump Trap Draw Trump Walked the Pattern Walked the Pattern; Reality Blood Curse Reality Shadow Walking Shadow Manipulation Hell Riding Shadow Manipulation Probability Alteration Shadow ManipulationSign of the Pattern <Power Source> Use--``Pattern Use''
Pattern Lens <Power Source> Use--``Pattern Use'' Pattern Scrying <Power Source> Use--``Pattern Use'' Pattern Trump <Power Source> Use--``Pattern Use'' Shape Shifting Shape Shifting Shape Shift Wounds Shape Shifting Shape Shift Internal Shape Shifting Shape Shift Blood Shape Shifting Essayed the Logrus Essayed the Logrus; Reality Gift of Chaos GM's discretion. Sign of Chaos <Power Source> Use--``Logrus Use'' Logrus Sight <Power Source> Use--``Logrus Use''Create Primal Chaos <Power Source> Use--``Logrus Use'' Control Primal Chaos Logrus Tendrils; Logrus Use; Veil Sculpture
Wear Logrus Logrus Tendrils Logrus Tendrils Logrus Tendrils Logrus Defence Logrus Tendrils Logrus Offence Logrus Tendrils Logrus Probe Logrus Tendrils Logrus Healing Logrus Tendrils [Chaos] Shadow Shift Veil Sculpture Create Shadow Veil Veil Sculpture Mould Shadow Veil Sculpture Create Black Thread Veil Sculpture Create Ways Veil Sculpture Energy Channeling Psyche Sorcery Sorcery Summoning Sorcery Compulsion Sorcery Wrack Spells Sorcery Enchantment Enchantment Warding Warding[Power Source] Magic <Power Source> Magic
Our original (First Edition) Amber Partial Powers system was inspired from an example by Ken Crook.
All the players who've contributed to both the Amber and Jhereg Diceless Systems: Neil, Alec, Steve, Andy, Chris, Steve, Lee, Jo and Jon.
Draft 1,2 Private Drafts
Draft 3 14/4/96 First Public Release.
Draft 4 15/4/96 Minor corrections; Added Appendix to convert
First Edition characters to Second Edition.
Draft 5 16/4/96 Removed the Chaos Power; Minor Edits; Added
Revision History.
Amber Partial Powers List Second Edition Draft: 5 Last Updated: 16/4/96 (c) PJM/MDR '96