The Kingdom of Amber 00C

[KirinLemon77]

THE PLOT!

The king is dead. Long live the king.

But old King Oberon was quite the lady killer during his tenure as Ruler -sometimes in the literal sense- and between his dozen or so children, born to nearly as many different mothers, the question of who is the the legitimate heir and rightful new King or Queen is almost impossible to answer.

The Kingdom of Amber sits atop one of the two poles of the multi-verse, and serves as a beacon of Order in stark contrast against the Courts of Chaos at the opposite end. Between these two kingdoms lies a near infinite spectrum of worlds known as shadows. Worlds where near any reality can be discovered.

The Throne of Amber is an enviable position to sit at, most thrones are, and grants it's the king a considerable measure of power. The children of Oberon, who by virtue of their bloodline are already nigh demigods themselves, hunger for this power... this position. To rule over their ancestral home -one of only two planes of existence that are truly “real.”

They would stop at nothing to claim the crown. Even if it meant killing their own kin.

Sensing the trouble in the divided and leaderless Kingdom of Amber, the Courts of Chaos have begun to mobilize their army -and to ply the Kingdom with spies and assassins in an attempt to worsen the cacophony in Amber.

THE CHARACTERS!

You play as one of the Princes or Princesses of Amber. You are of noble blood, which means three things; You have a legitimate claim, as much as any of your siblings anyway, to the throne.

You possess superhuman qualities -even the very slowest and weakest of the Royal Family are more than a match for Olympic level athletes. The best of them are the reasons Legends like Samson, Musashi and Hercules exist. And you are, for purposes of aging, immortal.

You can walk through the shadow worlds that exist between Amber and the Courts of Chaos. In these worlds you can find any type of reality you choose. From a clone of the world we exist in today, to King Arthur's Avalon, to a science fiction future world and everything in between.

You can create your own history, your own lineage (Oberon must be your father) and your own childhood. Did you grow up in the castle with the rest of your siblings, or did you spend most of your time out exploring the endless worlds of shadow? Are you on friendly terms with some of them? Do you hate others? Were you much younger or older than everyone?

The only stipulation I have for game purposes is that you do not implicitly TRUST your siblings, for the most part. Family gatherings and dinners at the castle have always been terse. This is a dysfunctional family at its worst, and there have been arguments in the past that have left some family members hospitalized, or nearly dead. In fact, there are a few brothers and sisters that have disappeared long ago -maybe one of you is to blame?

Oberon forbid family squabbles from escalating to the death, but way out in shadow, things have a tendency of just... happening. And now that the old man is gone, there's not much to stop things from heating up.

THE SHADOW WORLDS!

The shadow worlds are sort of reflections of the two poles. They exist, and yet they don't. They feel different than Amber or the Courts -they lack a certain substance or aura, which is one of the reasons the Kingdom of Amber is so appealing.

The shadow worlds spread out away from Amber towards Chaos; each a reflection of a reflection, and each containing more minor differences than the last. Each shadow world has its own laws of physics, its own magical properties and even their own species of plants and people.

It's often the case that pieces of technology and magical artifacts do not work in one world as they do in another. If one were to bring, say a gun to Amber or the Courts of Chaos, the gunpowder would simply not ignite in the same way. The same would go for a magic wand, here on “shadow Earth.” Magic employed by those of Amber blood, however, works anywhere -as it draws from one of the two poles of reality.

So how do you get to these shadows?

Well as one travels along their way, assuming they are of royal blood and capable; they can slowly alter their surroundings with their mind. Perhaps around this corner there is a dirt road, instead of the old library.

And when you turn the corner, there it is.

As you travel along the road, perhaps, a forest is up ahead. Sure enough. The subtle changes slowly accrue as you move along, until you have come to the precise version of the world you wish to be in. It is possible, and very likely, that your character knows of at least one or two of these shadows that they call their home away from home. Perhaps they are king there, or thought to be a god.

THE GAME PLAY!

The game will be very cloak and dagger. Most of the tension will come from making alliances and enemies out of your siblings. You're all family, so you all know each other to varying extents.

Who could forget the time Gerard ripped the top and bottom jaws off that 200 pound hell hound that attacked him in the castle garden during one of Father's feast days. We all suspected that Fiona conjured it, she had a way with magic and he had insulted her dress -but we all learned a valuable lesson about staying out of Gerard's hands.

I'd like every character developed for this game to have a sort of legend and reputation. There are 5 stats we'll be using, (Strength/toughness, Dexterity/ Speed, Intelligence/ Magic, Finesse/ Perception/ Reaction, Willpower/Endurance/ Healing) and we'll be having a sort of “bidding war” to determine who's the best in each respective area. You'll be given a rank (and maybe some of you will be tied) based on how many points you spend in each category. The 1st ranked person will be the real bad ass in that category, and it would be foolish to go toe to toe with them in that kind field.

The game ISN'T just about killing each other though, and I don't want anyone playing this game just to win as the last man standing. You're supposed to be a family of sorts, and though you may hate each other, there is a bit of love somewhere in there. Somewhere.

At heart, it's a game of finesse.

But there's no need to hold back in attacks or attempts on each other's lives. As stated before, you're sort of demigods. You can, with time, recover from just about any injury, so long as you're still alive. Whether you've been blinded, poisoned, run through or lost an arm -these guys will bounce back... eventually.

Well, probably.

There will be a lot of in character PM'ing; secrets and private conversations and scheming. And combat will be handled by GM (and possibly player) judgment/jury. It will come down to your writing skills for the most part, but a big part of that writing will be how well you play to your character's strengths, and how well you drag the other character away from theirs.

You might make Mark Twain and T.S. Eliot look like they scrawled their shitty books and poems on a paper napkin with crayon while they were half drunk -but if you're the book worm Magic guy who's never lifted a weight in his life trying to out slug the hulking barbarian guy... You're gonna get your lunch handed to you.

Matches between character's with closer rankings will be different, but the advantage will always go to the better ranked fighter. You'll need to work a compelling angle, and maybe lean back on some stats that you have an advantage in to win if you find yourself the weaker combatant.

STATS EXPLANED

Strength:
Strength is your raw physical power, can you overturn an SUV? It's also your soak -how much damage does it take to bring you down, and how badly did that knife your sister just planted in your back hurt you? You can consider as sort of an armor rating, as well. The strongest character will not be harmed by things that would level a regular human.

Dexterity
This is your speed and agility. Ninja qualities. At top rank this guy is going to be pacing a cheetah in a dead sprint and doing half a dozen somersaults off the castle walls before landing on the courtyard below -unharmed.

Intelligence
This one is tricky, because obviously intelligence is going to be drawn heavily from the Meta: i.e. the brain of the player, not their character. It's a prerequisite for performing magic, and travelling through shadow to find what you want.

This is also going to be your character’s Lore of the world. If you have a high intelligence (and I realize as the GM I’m setting my game up for trouble by doing this) I’m going to try and give leniency to your logical explanations. “Well if I put a lever under here and…” or “I know that this plant would make an excellent, flavorless poison/antidote.”

Finesse
This is your accuracy, your reaction speed and your perception. If you want to be an archer or throw shuriken and knives this is a must, but it's also going to have an impact on your melee attacks. This would be a stat that helps you land a hit on the speedster, if his dex is much higher than yours, or precision tag a chink in someone’s armor.

It's also going to give you an edge for noticing traps and poisons, or if someone were to pop out at you from the shadows. Without a high dex or strength, maybe you couldn't do much about it, but at least you saw them coming.

Willpower
This is your characters resolve. Does he refuse to go down? It's also his endurance; if your opponent is a better fighter than you, you can try to drag the fight out and tire him. It will help you resist magic, poisons and drugs. A character with a high will power will recover from injuries insanely quickly.

During Trump communication, this stat will also allow you to fight the other character in a battle of wills. I'll explain more on trumping later...

It will also serve as a tie breaker stat. Probably good to have.

TRUMPING!

As I mentioned earlier, Trumping is a way of communicating with someone over long distances –and secretly. A trump is a large, thick tarot card and feels cold to the touch. On the face side is a graphic and artful depiction of the person that it “calls.” The depiction would be akin to a portrait, and would include all the things characteristic of that person. “Doesn’t Julian almost always where that ridiculous armor? Corwin always has that magic sword with him –and he always wears black and silver.” Etc.

By focusing on the character portrait, the picture seems to come alive, and in fact, it does. You are then staring through a sort of portal to the person you called. From there you can have a conversation across nearly infinite distances and shadows, or reach out and pull them (or be pulled) out of a very sticky situation.

Answering trump calls can be risky business, however. On the one hand, it is the best way to have a private conversation: on the other, it creates a psychic link and initiates a battle of the wills (Willpower). One can be mentally dominated by someone with a significantly stronger will than them; and held in place, or, commanded somewhat until they are able to break free.

All In Character information shared privately: i.e. vile schemes and plots that you don’t want the other players to hear and know about in the meta game, should be done via PM using a trump. You can whisper all you like, and certainly the other characters may not hear you, but you must do it in the IC. Obviously I encourage people to play realistically, but it is difficult to ignore meta knowledge.

In other words, if you have a doozey of a plot to share, you better communicate via trump. The walls in Amber have ears, you see. Please CC me in all Trump call PM’s. You can initiate it by saying, “____ feels a tickling sensation, as if someone was trying to contact him via trump.” The other person could then choose to answer, or try to ignore it.

If you’re feeling particularly sneaky, you could ask me to PM them with the trump call: and I could medium between you two to hide your identity.

A contest of wills cannot be established until the call is answered –but it can be initiated by either party. It’s as risky to call as it is to answer.

CHARACTER CREATION AND AUCTION

Character stats are going to be bid on in a private, secret auction consisting of three rounds.

You will be given 30 stat points each round to allocate into the 5 stats however you choose, and you will PM me your choices with the subject line: Just kidding -I don’t actually don’t care what the subject line is.

When I receive enough auction bids (let’s say at least five or so) I’ll release the “ranks” of each category, but I will not release any of the numbers.

For example bids:

Icmasticc: Str-7 Dex-2 Int-1 Fin-10 Will-5

Atrexial Str-0 Dex-5 Int-10 Fin 5 Will- 5

At the end of this round I would say;

Strength Rank: 1.Icma 2. Atrex Dex Rank: 1. Atrex 2. Icma

Etc…

Then round two begins, and you have another 30 points to allocate. I will release the ranks of that once everyone’s finished bidding.

Then the third and final round beings, and once everyone is done bidding, the ranks are finalized.

The way this is set up, in the event that another “prince” or “princess” shows up later in the game, they can compete the same way without any advantage or disadvantage. I’ll simply rank them along with the others as they go through the three stages of bidding.

It also provides equal parts secrecy as competition. I would ask for character sheets from the get go, but depending on how you bid, the character you GET may be different from what you were originally intending.

The important thing to remember is that the rank is more important that the stat value. All the princes and princesses are superhuman, so the most important value is how you stack up against your brothers and sisters. Also, I’ll keep track of what you’re bidding on as a group, or as an individual, and take that as an indication of what kind of game you guys want to see and play.

If everyone is bidding on strength, all assume you want a battle heavy game. Int, you guys want magic. Finesse – you’re all worried about traps and poison. The stat auction is as important for me as a GM to give you the best game I can as it is for your characters.

ME LIKE! WHAT DO?

Assuming it’s still open (and when is there not room for another *grumble* beloved brother or sister to drop in?) then ask about it here! If I haven’t played with you, and it’s likely, I’ll probably ask for something you’ve written, so I can get to know you and your writing style a little better.

It doesn’t matter if it’s an RP post or a short story, horror or comedy –just as long as it’s a pleasant read and a good way to spend my time. I hate to do applications, but I just don’t want to waste my player’s time with bad role players. As the GM I owe them that.

Once you get the OK, send me some stat choices!

Once that’s all set up, we can post character sheets and get into the meat of the game!

MAGIC!

Here’s a summation of what I’ve put together on Magic. Related examples and my reasoning are in the spoiler below.

You can cast just about whatever kind of spell you would like.

Intelligence determines the efficacy of your spells. *1

Will-Power is your “Gas Tank.” Depending on the magnitude and duration of your spells, it will drain you accordingly. *1

A spell will take about as long to cast as it takes you to read its effects out loud. Put a (##) after a spell to signify how long you took to read/cast it.

If you opt for a super speed-reading time of your spell, you are more likely to make a mistake. (Subject to intelligence) *2

Depending on your Int/Wil, I will allow you to chamber (pre-cast) some certain number of spells at some certain level of casting length. *3

Other than that, just be reasonable.

Spoiler

*1 It will draw on two stats:

Intelligence: which is the extent and strength of your abilities –can you conjure a hellish inferno… or maybe just enough to light a cigarette?

Willpower: Which is your gas tank. Maybe you can conjure that firestorm, but your willpower and resolve will determine how long you can maintain it –and how badly it drains you.

*2

The second thing to ask is; how long does spell casting take?

I’ve been looking for a “holy grail” of spell casting times, and I think I’ve got a good rule of thumb –so long as you’re playing with reasonable people, and that’s what I hope I’m dealing with.

“A spell will take about as long to cast as it takes you to read its effects out loud.” For example:

Lemon held his palm out and a fireball burst to life. (That took about two seconds to read, right? In duress I bet I could spit it out in about one.) Cocking his hand back, he tossed the fireball into the center of the room. It exploded outward, destroying the dining room table and chairs. (Again, this was a 1-2 second read for the effects)

A spell like that, a small fireball grenade would then be about 1-2 seconds of casting time. What about something more complicated?

Lemon planted his feet down and raised his hands upwards. A faint shimmering appeared in the air as the temperature abruptly increased. The blossoming heat wave increased in intensity until it was a roaring inferno. Tongues of flame spiraled outwards in a whirlpool nearly 40 feet across, consuming more than a score of soldiers on the battlefield.

That takes around 10 seconds to read out loud at a good pace. Of course, if you were trying something like that in a close quarters battle, don’t be surprised if:

“As Lemon raised his hands upward to summon a fireball, Lime clocked his brother across the jaw, and the mage sunk to the floor like a sack of potatoes.”

It’s a careful balance. Describe a spell too simply and it will fizzle or have a lackluster effect, go into too much detail and it may take too long to cast, assess to short a casting time, and your character’s tongue may slip.

*3

Magic will be among the most powerful of abilities, but it will have limitations, too. Just like it should.

Simple effects and “words of power” will be nearly instant. I’m also going to allow you to “chamber” up to ___ spells as long as ___ seconds a piece (depending on int and willpower stats/rank) for immediate casting. Your character can set them up in private, or in their room. Just PM me with what they are.

CHARACTER.SHEETS

Name

Age (and how old you appear, you can live for centuries)

Appearance (describe yourself as you appear on your trump. What are your colors? What is your garb like? Are weapons or trinkets pictured?)

Mother, and your formative childhood experiences:

Personality:

Relationship with various family members: (thus far, and subject to change)

Where you spend your time (A particular shadow realm? What's it like? Wanderer? Spying on the courts?) Skills:

Equipment: (Subject to nerfing, don't go overboard on excaliburs and magic katanas. If you're "that" guy Thia isn't the game for you.)

...whatever else you think is relevant!

I like keeping the template loose. Obviously you'll have to fill in family relationships and edit some other things later as you read up on other CS sheets and talk out of character.

You can post the CS's to hereas soon as you'd like or.PM it to me. You may want to with hold some details for now though, if you think it may affect your bidding chances.

[icmasticc]

Reserving this spot for my CS. I haven't even thought about the stats yet. I've got too much of an idea for my character herself lol.

[TimeMasterX]

Hi yeah I'm loving this idea and getting a few ideas. Can I join this thread?

[PlatinumSkink]

... Oh? So in the bidding phase... We first send in how we want to allocate our points. If we find that we ended up lower than intended in a specific stat, we simply need to bet more points in that next time to measure up... Well, well. well. That is something.

Is there a maximum amount you can spend on one stat? The example bids would suggest "10", but... Heh.

So, we actually don't make our character sheets or names before we know our positions in the auction?

Also, will all our characters have the same last name? In that case, what?

[KirinLemon77]

(No Max or minimum bids)

Yeah, there have been a few questions about character sheets, so let me elaborate.

I think the bidding results will have a big impact on character developement and history. You're kind of "fighting" to define yourself amongst your peers as we go through it.

You're all going to be strong. And you're all going to be fast. When they walk the worlds of shadow, the children of amber are terrifying forces of nature in every regard when compared to the citizens who dwell in shadow.

But when they come home for "Thanksgiving dinner" or what not, they may suddenly find themselves a small fish in a very big pond.

I've opted against posting a traditional character sheet, because I hate them... but something like this will probably do.

Name
Age (and how old you appear)
Appearance (describe yourself as you appear on your trump. What are your colors? What is your garb like? Are weapons or trinkets pictured?)
Mother, and your formative childhood experiences:
Personality:
Relationship with various family members: (thus far, and subject to change)
Where you spend your time (A particular shadow realm? What's it like? Wanderer? Spying on the courts?)
Skills:
Equipment: (Subject to nerfing, don't go overboard on excaliburs and magic katanas. If you're "that" guy Thia isn't the game for you.)
...whatever else you think is relevant!

I like keeping the template loose. Obviously you'll have to fill in family relationships and edit some other things later as you read up on other CS sheets and talk out of character.

You can post the CS's to hereas soon as you'd like. You may want to with hold some details for now though, if you think it may affect your bidding chances.

[icmasticc]

Hmm...so you're saying we can basically leave Relationships blank until we actually make some?

[KirinLemon77]

Yeah... for now you can really just fill out personality, appearance, childhood... etc. Character history stuff.

Also, feel free to take story liberties. Oberon was a gruff and distant father. Powerful, serious hyper intelligent and driven. But he definitely had favorites... and... less than favorites.

Also, I'm gonna open bidding now: shoot some numbers my way. Anyone interested in playing now has 30 points!

[icmasticc]

Can we send stat points before we're done with our CS?

[PlatinumSkink]

Is there any specific rules on magical skills we should know?

[KirinLemon77]

Magic systems are always hard to balance. I always find them intimidating. I have a simple explanation coming up: