the Fierce & the LintKing's Amber Bits

Those are pretty standard restrictions, except for the Chaosian modifier. While I'm not changing any of the scales or power costs from the ADRPG rulebook, I will orient characters with the viewpoint that "points indicate your decision of what you want emphasized in the game." For example, while you have 50 points in Pattern (required), if you spend more in magic, or for Advanced Pattern or whatnot, you're indicating a pretty hefty hunk of stock in "the game is going to let me explore this."

In any case, the following are assumptions you will want to share for this game:

Basic Rulings:

I use the Epoch Rule of Trump Blocking.

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.

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.

I use Arref's Rule of Three for Shadowshifting.

I use the Sarah Bear Rules of Epic Amberites.

BASIC ATTRIBUTES

The number of points you place in your attributes is never irrelevant. I will not be using a rank system in any of my games, but the number of points will need to represent how important your character wants to be in each attribute. Characters with exceptional scores in an attribute may have special perks/powers in that ability.

PSYCHE:

Psyche relates to your magical abilities, including force of will and sensitivities, and is the basic measure of your raw potential in power. You cannot communicate in words purely using Psyche: you need a focus of some sort (magical or technological.) Any Psyche above Amber rank implies a small amount of basic sorcery resistance and ability to manipulate shadow without buying the Sorcery power (paying the points indicates training and stronger effects.) Defense is always easier than offense.

Best Psyche-based reference? Probably the Darkover series.

WARFARE:

Warfare relates to your skill with weapons, and your tactical and strategic ability. It does NOT fully indicate your reaction time (although it does suggest your agility) or your military leadership. Warfare is most effective when detailing effects that relate to distance, such as the results of using a bow, rifle, or laser carbine.

STRENGTH:

Strength governs three things: physical strength, unarmed fighting ability, and your resistance to physical damage. Physical strength expresses not only feats of strength, but how much damage you can deal out.

In the (classic) battle of an uberWarfare, loser-in-Strength Benedict versus uberStrength, decent-Warfare Gerard, uWliS-Benedict gets some beautiful hits on uSdW-Gerard, but Gerard "need lay [his] hands" on Benedict "but once" and Benedict will see no more.

My favourite example of strength-based fighting would be Aubrey Knight and the null-boxing in Streetlethal.

ENDURANCE:

Rate of healing and durability, as well as how you deal with stress and exertion, are all handled by Endurance. Endurance handles ALL physical and most mental strain. This also holds true for against normal bacteria, viruses, and poisons, although especially virulent, magical, or engineered ones still pose a danger. The benefits of Endurance are constantly "on" and being tested. Amberites need very little sleep, but sleep does assist in rate of regeneration (both of physical and psychic needs).

STUFF:

What's that?

ELDERS

When and where Elders appear, do not make the mistake of assuming that you can or cannot defeat them. Situation is a lot more important than raw power, (but never underestimate raw power.)

BASIC SITUATIONAL RULES

Any sort of combat generally requires your character?s full attention, unless you significantly outmatch your foe. While you can speak, and use other abilities, it does distract you, and gives an advantage to the enemy for the period of time that it takes.

The things that you do can and may affect the entirety of the universe, for good or ill. Other people are invested in the universe, if not just in their personal piece of it (themselves). These things may conflict.

BASIC WORLDVIEW

AMBER

Amber's technology is based off a mishmash of the cultures that make up its people. Social measures are set by the nobility, who favour a Renaissance/early modern English feel, with a bit of magic. Most people are superstitious in the sense that they use small charms and wards, but their effectiveness is mixed. There is a common pidgin, akin more to Gaelic than Lingua Franca, which will be entirely irrelevant because the GM will be speaking Americanized English and, anyway, both magical and technological creatures learn to translate fast.

There is great trade in horses and food cattle, especially in Garnath.

All time throughout the Golden Circle is the same as Amber's, and they refer to it similarly.

What is "Amber" includes both the city and castle, as well as down the coast, into the passes of the Kolvir range, through the farmlands and light sylvan areas of Garnath, and across through many of the lands of the nobility, up until the Cliffs of Ganesh, where maps generally end, and only Rangers go. Rebma is marked, but no one goes there. The Tir is similarly marked, but it makes "no one goes there" look like a crowded shopping mall. No one can get to the Tir or Rebma without touching the Stairs.

The city has less than half a hundred thousand people, with a standing army, a hired guard, and a citizen's militia, not to mention the Ranger corps which may have numbers in the high three figures. Age of maturity is 15, with children often working as young as 8 to eleven, especially near the docks. Marriage age is between thirty and forty, lifespan is usually less than two-hundred.

Rebmans are the butt of most ethnic jokes.

CHAOS

Since the Patternfall War, there's been some diplomatic contact, but Chaos itself is too different and too uncomfortable to really have made much connection. Those few Chaosians who have form and human features have become translators and ambassadors of a sort, including Dara of Benedict's lineage. Chaosian shapeshifting done near someone who has walked the Pattern creates great discomfort.

BASIC POWERS

The Pattern is dangerous, and once walked, everyone says to themselves, "Never again." Everyone will develop their Pattern-based powers differently based on use. PCs with powers besides Pattern and/or basic magic are considered unusual.

After walking the Pattern, any special powers or abilities gained from Shadow birth often fail, but may be found in the children of the individual. Oberon chose his wives carefully, and only two (Dybele and Rilga) were from the region.

Trump is rare, and does not, to anyone's knowledge, require any other powers, yet the only Trumps anyone would consider "available" are all Amber-related. Who can use Trumps is mostly unknown as they are not left casually to experimentation. A "Trump Artist" can still have failures. Trumps tend to be colder than the air around them, but this is not a telltale sign.

The person initiating the Trump contact (i.e., holding the card) may Trump someone silently, but responses are almost always verbal. Skin-to-skin contact increases the conductivity of a Trump, and is the only known way to add people to a Trump contact. If there is a limit, no one knows it. Distance does have an effect, both in space and time.

"Power Words" may exist, but they're not called that. Cantrips and the aforementioned wards and charms are the magic of the people. There is training for sorceries and other shadow-warping magic, but most of them, for obvious reasons, lie outside Amber. Conjuration is a neat trick, if you can do it.

BASIC ARTIFACTS

No one can "own" a world, but someone Real can potentially shape it to their specification over time and with a great deal of energy.

Similarly, you can invest your personalization into objects, individuals, and places, provided the primary nature of the creation does not deviate. A rock does not stop being a rock even if you're trying to give it danger sense. Determining what is dangerous to a rock, after all, is an exercise that could get you killed while you ponder.

Specials
Specials include:

• Single Point "talents," which are skills and/or abilities that are to regular students of the skill as Amber rank is to Chaos rank. You may have up to three of these.
  
• Two-Point "powers," which are along the line of the Zero Point Powers except that at two points, they are intended to have an effect on play. You may have one of these.
  
• Jewel of Judgment Acknowledgment, which is at one point a statement that you are a potential heir to the Kingdom and may have extended Pattern abilities.
  
• Corwin's Pattern Imprint: one point to differentiate that you walked his Pattern instead. Available only to those who trace their lineage to him. The rule of thumb is that it's better at tracing Pattern-related items (or Shadows) but a little bit worse on changing probabilities.
  
• Patternblade for four points, something not quite Greyswandir, but a new Smith's interpretation. Only one of these, first come, first served.
  
• A Present From Daddykins: Three points, some kind of unusual artifact of GM's whim. This is a grabbag, but whatever it is, it's worth three Special points.
  
• Two point son (or daughter) or Morgenstern. For a steed, you pervs.
  
• Two point Focus Ability: can use Psyche to improve another character's abilities.
  
• Blood Calls to Blood: Use the blood of someone with an ability to identify a power or potential in another. One point.
  
• Trump Ghosts: Four point power to draw a Ghost out of a Trump. Renders the Trump useless, can only be used on Trumps of sentients, Trump Artistry prerequisite, only one per game, first come, first served.
  
• Three point Weirmonken heritage. Shapeshifter blood, maybe some other abilities to be described in private.
  
• Three point Moonrider heritage. Tir-borne blood, some other abilities to be described in private.