Character Creation

Rules questions, useful links, and the like.
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Joshua
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Character Creation

Post by Joshua »

I'm late to the game/don't have a rulebook/have no idea what Amber is/haven't been invited, can I still join?

Yes. Yes, you can.
  • Joining Late: I do not automatically raise people up to the current XP level, but I will be giving new people a 50% boost to XP until they catch up. That's described in a bit more detail on the XP thread.
    Keep in mind that even starting characters are powerhouses who can destroy reality. You're not at as much of a disadvantage as you think.
  • No Rulebook: First, it's very rules light, so the rulebook might not be needed. Second, let me know and I can get you a copy.
  • What is Amber?: The rulebook has a very good 10 page summary of the book series. We also have the book series, and have a basic background thread. The good news is that the setting takes place millennia before the books, so much has been changed or not found yet. This means, play someone who doesn't know and enjoy the ride. For what the beginning of that ride looks like try this thread.
  • No invite: You may consider the game open invite. If you want to play, let me know. If you want to invite people, you may. If you found us through a web search, send me a pm first, but you're welcome to join.
(More FAQ below.)
(Or you might be curious what has changed in the setting.)

Creation Rules:

You start with 100 points and a character idea. If you're having trouble with an idea, I can always run you through a prelude to give you some ideas, or hand you a complete character based on what happened there.

Attributes: The 4 attributes are Psyche, Endurance, Strength, and Warfare. They slightly changed from the book (Strength is a little more important, Warfare is a little less) from the book and there is no attribute auction. The changes are described here.
Personally, I recommend 50 points of attributes and about 50 points of powers. I am making an effort to make all 4 attributes equally important. Still, political savvy and combat pragmatism beat all, and those are not covered by the attributes.

Powers: Unlike the base game, Powers are broken up into 5 point increments. This breakdown is listed here. The list is probably sufficient if you are familiar with the game or setting, but I also added a lit of changes as well. Links to individual powers are in the list itself. If you have questions, please ask.
Some powers are very common or very rare; While this is described in the setting topic, here's a quick breakdown:
  • Amber Court: Be prepared to spend 25 points for Walked the Pattern. ALL regular members of the court must eventually walk the pattern. Advanced Pattern does not currently exist, and none of the starting NPCs even have 50 points of pattern. So, the really basic stuff is still being discovered. Most shadow shifting is done through hellrides. You do not need to take a placeholder for the potential to walk pattern, however Follow Shadow Path or Broken Pattern can work in that way.
  • Chaos Court: Assuming we open things to include the chaos courts, expect to take some shapeshifting. Logrus is currently unavailable. (Although a PC could find several exceptions to this, and it is expected to return during game.)
  • Trump: Is almost unheard of, although Dworkin is slowly teaching people in Amber. It is unheard of in Chaos. (Although, again, a PC could have learned something from Dworkin before Dworkin left Chaos.)
Allies: Still exist. In Amber, they are much less likely to be relatives, and more likely to be staff and such you get along with. In Chaos, there's relatives, old Clan members, new House members, etc. You do not need to take these as a placeholder for gaining Logrus or Pattern. (There is a 5 point Pattern power that holds the same place now, although it's not strictly needed.)

Skills: Are free. If you want skills, you can have them. You have all skills appropriate for the background you submit. Per normal rules, don't submit a list of skills, submit the kind of education you received. (10 years aboard a ship. 15 years being trained as the God of a small village. 5 years as an assassin for hire in a Japanese shogun style world.)
We have added Talents and Quirks (see below) to help clarify which skills are most important to you and your character.
Note: Local (read: only works in one shadow) magic, super-powers, or psychic powers fall in this category. Without Shapeshifting, Sorcery or similar, they tend not to work outside the original shadow. If such powers are intended to work everywhere, there are a lot of options, including the above as well as creatures or artifacts. Let me know and we can work something out.

Creatures, Artifacts, Shadows, Constructs: Powerful things you can either conjure, or actually put on your character sheet to have regular access. There is no need to pay points for any of these. However, if you do pay points, they're automatically a lot more loyal and permanent. There is a change to XP called Bonus Points that can be used to pay for these as well.
Note: Changed from the book, you CAN take an item that "Racks Named and Numbered Spells" with just sorcery. You just can't make one that survives shadow walking yourself.

Stuff: +10 to -10 points. (Negatives give you points.) You can exceed that with ST permission, but please don't. Represents how lucky or unlucky you are. Unlike the normal game, this CANNOT be turned into XP freely, nor is unspent XP automatically turned into Good Stuff. For an idea of what this does:
  • 0: You make your own luck. Things tend not to go your way any more then they do. First impressions tend to be based on what you do.
  • 5: You have a little good luck. This tends to take the edge off mistakes you might make and smooths over minor issues.
  • 10: You have some good luck. Things tend to work out, and first impressions are usually good. (Although some people may be envious of how easy things are for you.)
  • 20: You have very good luck. This tends to counteract the worst of mistakes you might make and smooths over even moderate issues with good timing and coincidence.
  • 30: You can throw a crate of swords in the air, stand under it and not be cut. Please don't take this.
  • -5: Things tend not to go your way, but you can counteract it with careful planning.
  • -10: Almost nothing goes your way and some things go out of their way to make your life harder. Things like saying the wrong thing when you first meet someone or having weapons break more often then they should. Still avoidable, but a bit more effort. Your favorite flavor of ice cream is always sold out, but you can always mug the last guy who purchased a cone.
  • -20: If it can go wrong, it will go wrong. There's always some part of the outcome you didn't intend that's a problem for you.
  • -30: Starts looking like Final Destination, with seemingly harmless events going out of their way to build into life threatening issues.
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Joshua
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Re: Character Creation

Post by Joshua »

A minor addition to the character creation process:

Talents and Quirks:
While entirely contained in your skill descriptions and background, this is a shorthand that helps me understand your character at a quick glance.

Talents are things you are good at. Basic skills that you are particularly good at. Again, your skills background should express this. However they are a good way to make sure I'm reading your background as you intended. They are intended to be dynamic, and cost nothing to define or change.
Quirks are minor flaws, tells or calling cards. Little things you do subconsciously. They are not absolute, more a roleplaying suggestion. Again, they are things you do, and can be changed without much effort. Still, some characters have a calling card, and this is as good a place as any to declare that.

You may take up to 5 of each. One talent for each quirk.
I suspect these are best described with examples:

Talents:
The Talent to pick up chicks.
The Talent to hit a moving target.
The Talent for Ice Magic.
The Talent to be fashionably late.
The Talent to sing.
The Talent to pass as a dog. (With shapeshifting.)
The Talent to eat lousy food.
Gaydar.

Quirks:
Always leave riddles behind.
Plays with a trump card.
Likes carrot cookies.
Has blue eyes. (for a shapeshifter, this would be a tell. Like with Exalted.)
Can't Sing.
Can't Dance.
Absently paints with blood when available.
Womanizer.
Macho Amazon who thinks men are scum.
Flamboyant Fop.
Talking animal.
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Joshua
Gibbering
Posts: 2987
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:59 pm

Re: Character Creation

Post by Joshua »

FAQ:

I'm late to the game/don't have a rulebook/have no idea what Amber is/haven't been invited, can I still join?

Explained above.

Can I make _________?

Probably. Run it past me. In the past, we've allowed some really strange stuff.

Can I make a new character? I don't like my current one.

Yes, you can.

You'll want to talk to me about it. I may ask things like "Why do you not like the current character?" and "How much xp do you want to carry over?", but I'm reasonable. Mostly, I want to make sure you're doing the right thing and not making the same mistake with your new character.

Can I play two characters at once?

Yes. Although, remember please be sure you have the time to keep both active. Also, they shouldn't work together much. (To avoid telepathic twin syndrome.)

Can I play an NPC?

Yes. Just ask. I might even let you change an existing NPC into a PC. (Not Dworkin though. Sorry.)
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