Vampires in Amber

Anyone who knows me at all knows that I think of vampires as unnatural, fetid parasites, with all the connotations that brings. ("Breath of the grave." "Oh yeah, he's hot, if you think old tepid blood is, um, hot.")

So in my feverish afternoon I did come up with one idea of vampires in Amber that I liked.

See, it was all based on the "unto the third generation," line oft-quoted. What if you couldn't actually walk the Pattern after that?

Then my brain said, "No problem, that's why we keep Dworkin hooked up to the tubing. A few transfusions of the old shapeshifter's blood and we can go anywhere but this creepy dump."

The Third Game [ACNW 2008]

I've had a(nother) game cancelled at an ACNW.

So, I had been very frustrated about the third game I wanted to run at ACNW 2008. I know it came out in the description, leaving a certain incoherence and a certain level of nonchalance that didn't give the same "bang" in the description as I've been able to make in other games. I know that was part of it.

Terror Comes from Many Sources

Could the Prince of Chanicut's Logrus-Sight also be termed, "The Tubble Hell-o-scope?"

A Friendly Exchange

to replace Secret Handshakes

--- Game Title ---
A Friendly Exchange

--- Teen Friendly? ---
no

--- GameMaster(s) ---
Meera Barry and Kingsley Lintz (as Martin)

--- Contact Email ---
the.fierce@gmail.com

--- Game Description ---
Game may run late into the evening.
Dark / Grim -- Alternate Amber

You have spent a quarter century as a prisoner of your own honor amongst the people of the Thelbane.

You have learned secrets, dangerous secrets, and you have suffered for it. The Courts are always darker than you think.

Your sentence is concluded. You are free to go.

Except...

They say you can never go home again.

--- Setting ---
I looked and I saw Random. He was standing with his back to us about thirty meters away, on a shelf of rock, facing the storm. It was very close now, and a wind whipped his garments. Lightning trails crissed and crossed before him. The thunder boomed almost constantly.

"How long-has he been there?" I asked.

"Only a few minutes," Fiona replied.

"That is how long it has been - since our return?"

"No," she said. "You have been out for a fairly long while. Random talked with the others first. The real Lords of Chaos. They've thanked you for indulging their pets, but the storm isn't of the Pattern, or the repair. The storm," she emphasized, "is them. Or some of them."

I turned my head.

There was movement along the black road, a dark column heading out toward the citadel. Gossamer strands drifted between us; there were a few sparks at the far end, about the nighted hulk. Overhead, the sky had completely reversed itself, with us beneath the darkened half. Again, I felt that strange feeling of having been here long, long ago, to see that this, rather than Amber, was the true center of creation. I grasped after the ghost of a memory. It vanished.

I searched the lightning-shot gloom about me.

"All of them - gone?" I said to her.

"They return. The rules have changed, Corwin. You have changed." She looked down at herself for a moment, then looked back up with a sly hint of a smile. I cursed silently. She had changed, too, and not for the better. "Do you wish to follow them now?"

I shook my head.

"I'm staying here with Random."

"I knew you would say that." She did, too. "We'll be bringing some of them back. They'll foster some of ours. Perhaps we'll learn better this time."

Her gaze took in the Abyss, and for a moment, perhaps it looked back into her.

--- Character Instructions ---
You are one of the children of the Amber Elders. You were there as Brand was struck down, helping Amber, a cause in which you believed. You can choose your parent(s) pretty freely (no Dworkin/Oberon/Creature.) You have 100 points, with the note that you will have Basic Shapeshifting for free - it was necessary to survive, after all. You may have additional restrictions, bonuses, and guidelines depending on the House of Chaos you have chosen via the quiz at

http://www.skyseastone.net/mabarry/Quiz/exchange.html

- if for some reason the quiz does not work in your browser, please e-mail me and I will offer it in my response and "grade" it myself.

--- Player Information ---
Minimum: 3
Maximum: 6

The Madness of King Lir

--- Game Title ---
The Madness of King Lir

--- Game Description ---
KING LIR

What dost thou profess? what wouldst thou with us?

DWORKIN

I do profess to be no less than I seem; to serve
him truly that will put me in trust: to love him
that is honest; to converse with him that is wise,
and says little; to fear judgment; to fight when I
cannot choose; and to eat no fish.

KING LIR

What art thou?

"What art thou indeed? That your blood is like flame, and yet the cool waters of the En-ehtlab do not soothe you. That your ethereal nature is not of this or any other realm? Can I trust one such as you that eats not fish? I dub thee Taninim. Begone from my realm, child of the Leviathan."

Moire swears by Lir's bones, leading us to believe there is more to this story. After all, there are many secrets hidden in the depths. Secrets like, who was Lir? And where are his bones? Why is the castle built for tritons, and not the soft feminine inhabitants?

And the strangest secret... how did the women take over?

--- Setting ---
In Rebma, it is still a time of legends and magic. The things Random has changed in Amber reflect oddly in the mirrors of the ladies. Information may pass up to Amber and maybe even to the other side of the universe.

--- Character Instructions ---
You are children of Moins, sisters (or perhaps a brother) of Moire. Partially pregenerated, you are adventurers, explorers, and keepers of secrets. Have an idea? Give me something between a 100 and 200 point character, and I'll tweak it to fit.

Secret Handshakes

--- Game Title ---
Secret Handshakes

--- Teen Friendly? ---
yes

--- GameMaster(s) ---
Meera Barry

--- Game Description ---
Tense / Real-time -- Non-Amber

Three passions are required to care for the seed that blossoms into a world.

The first is love, for you must know the generating force.
The second is knowledge, for you must know how to use the magics.
The third is vengeance, for you must have lost to know the truth.

Worlds die as the stars dance, but only those who walk the worlds know how few remain. What is it in the garden that chokes the life out of the living worlds? Who stands to profit?

The Gathering has been called.

This is a "Night in the Lonesome October"-inspired adventure/LARP.

--- Setting ---
It starts on what we know as Earth, real-time.

--- Character Instructions ---
Characters will be pregenerated based on myth, story, the GM's wicked amusement, and your responses to the following two questions:

1) Are you a good witch or a bad witch? No wait, wrong story.

Which of the three passions do you bring?

2) What is your familiar?

As for the second, as this is a LARP, we expect you to bring your familiar (or a representation thereof) with you to the Gathering. So no split-atoms, no ioun stones, and no half-naked showgirls, unless they're a bribe for the GM.

No, no, he's on the outside, looking in.

To give credit where credit is due, without Amber DRPG, my world would be much, much different. I wouldn't have all the friends I have, and maybe not even the relatives. I may never forgive him for the phrase, "wandering samurai," but for all that I may not have a lot nice to say, Mr. Wujcik's effect on my life more than negates anything I'd have had bad to say. I still enjoy playing and running Amber most of the time, and for that, at least, it's worth the mention and remembering. May his peace be a restful peace.

In Other News

I participated in a little silly quiz thing with suitably random Top Five lists being provided. Mine was "Top Five Fandom Pairings" and I, of course, figured I'd go for some Amber Elder pairing amusement. Obviously, the number of pairings with Fiona is because of the development I've done with her as a character.

Behind the Scenes!

I have several long posts I've been working on to add to the blog after the end of "Please and Shank You," and considering my continued interest in ADRPG. I've got lots of new ideas, but only so much time, which is, of course, always the issue.

However, it IS important to note that the Shadows of Amber forum (link on the right) is all NEW and SPARKLY and could use your Amber input. While the unfortunate side of it is that so much of the accumulated wisdom has been lost, it is a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor and spark new conversations. Come join us!

House Rules #1: Time, Trump, and Personal Energy

Here's the strange thing: I never thought of myself as a big "House Rules" person. I mean, when I could find a pithy one I added it. I have a collection of rules from the community that I have assimilated. So I don't think of them as "House Rules" in the fashion I do, say, our silly Monopoly variants.

I have some GMing tricks and rules I re-use. The "three questions" I want to know of each character:

1. What are the character's greatest hopes and fears?
2. What circumstances would turn the character into a hero?
3. What makes this character interesting enough to play?

The rule, "What someone pays attention to develops." The maxims noted in this and these old WISH responses.

I have personal rules. "I play with people who can separate fantasy from reality."

I have goals.

I use the Communist Trump rules (and by the way, people buy Trump Decks using this rule...)
I use Ginger's Rule of Game Design.
I use Arref's Rule of Three for Shadowshifting.
I use the Sarah Bear Rules of Epic Amberites.
I use the Odekirk d10 method of Patternwalk Risks.

A d10 is used to see if you die on the Pattern, each time. Note, I've never actually utilized this, but I reserve the right.

If the person receiving the call doesn't accept the call in the first place, the person making the call has next-to-no ability to put the call through. "Not accepting the call," is something that takes little or no concentration. It is something you can do while swordfighting, for example.

But what are my house rules? Do I use them when I introduce people to the game?

I think, using this round of development as an example, that the answer is, "Heck, yeah."