R

REVISED BASIC MECHANICS FOR AMBER

Olivier Legrand (2006)

Based on Erick Wujciks AMBER DICELESS Roleplaying Game

REVISED BASIC MECHANICS FOR AMBER

Foreword
This small e-book is a collection of variants,
additions and alternate rules developed over
several years of Amber campaigning.
They do not form a stand-alone set of rules and
certainly do not cover every aspect of the game.
ReBMA should not be interpreted as an attempt
to fix or improve the basic rules of the game,
but rather as a set of possibilities, ideas and
options that may appeal to the tastes of some
gaming groups.
In the end, this book only reflects a single
persons vision of the game and the Amber
universe in general my own Shadow reflection
of the Amber Diceless reality
Olivier Legrand

REBMA
(REvised Basic Mechanics for Amber)
Version 5.0 - Autumn 2006

Table of Contents

Text by Olivier Legrand

I : CHARACTERS
Ranks Revisited .... 3
Power Requirements ... 3
Revised Power Costs .................. 4
Character Improvement ........ 4
Goals and Drive .................... 5

Artwork by Boris Sirbey

For use with the Amber Diceless RPG
written by Erick Wujcik.
Special Amber Thanks to their Royal
Highnesses : Maeve, Queen of Llyonesse and
Daughter of Llyr, Horatio, son of Corwin,
Wanderer, Keeper and King, Melvin, Captain
of the Odysseus and King of Mythika, and, last
but not least, Seann Cyn, Heroic Metamorph
and Reluctant Prince.

II : CONFLICTS
Basic Concepts ....................... 6
Conflict Resolution ................ 6
Fate and the Game .......... 7

Dedicated to the memory of Roger

Zelazny, the Bard of Amber.

Afterword ... 7
2

I : CHARACTERS
Ranks Revisited
Character creation is conducted exactly as in the
standard Amber Diceless system, with one big
difference : there is no attribute auction.
Players still get to spend points on attribute
ranks, but with a more traditional points-per-rank
system. Obviously, this may result in two
characters having similar ranks, but this is not a
problem under these alternate rules.
As in the standard Amber rules, the three basic
ranks of attributes are Human, Chaos and Amber.
Any attribute higher than the Amber rank is
simply measured as a roman numeral, the higher
the better : thus, rank I is better than Amber rank,
rank II is better than rank I and so on.
At character creation, each rank above Amber
costs 10 points and no attribute may be increased
over rank III (for a total of 30 points).
Players may also consider lowering one or more
attributes to Chaos or even Human ranks to get
extra points, with the same benefits and
consequences as in the original rules.

Power Requirements
Most powers now require a minimum rank in one
or two attributes.

What, No Auction ?

Basic Pattern Imprint requires an Endurance

and Psyche of at least Amber level. This
requirement rises to rank I for the advanced level.

Aside from its enjoyment value as a game

within the game, the main merit of the auction
system is the way it creates competition
between player-characters right from the start,
which works especially well with large groups or
at game conventions.

Basic Logrus Mastery and Trump Artistry

both require a Psyche of at least Chaos level.
This rises to rank I for the advanced level.

But what if you want to use the game with a

small group (2-3 players) or even with a single
player ? Or if you dont want your players to
know each other characters strengths and
weaknesses beforehand ?

Basic Shapeshifting requires an Endurance of at

least Chaos level. This rises to rank I for the
advanced level of the power.
Power Words do not have minimum attribute
requirement, but their efficiency directly depends
on the users Psyche. As a higher form of Magic,
Sorcery requires a Psyche of Chaos or better.

Sure, competition and rivalry are very strong

aspects of Amberite (or Chaotic) culture but
so are secrets and hidden agendas.
Moreover, the attribute ranks created by the
auction system are a relative measurement :
they only work in comparison with each other
and make things quite complicated as soon as
you bring NPCs, especially powerful ones like
the Elder Princes of Amber.

Similar requirements could also be extended to

other powers used in the context of a specific
campaign. As a general rule, consider that
magical, mystic or psychic powers have a Psyche
requirement, while physical powers have an
Endurance requirement. These may be combined
in the (rare) case of powers which (like Pattern
Imprint) are both physical and psychic in nature.

For all these reasons, some gaming groups

may feel more comfortable with an alternative
ranking system like the one described above.

Character Improvement
As far as attributes and powers are concerned,
handlng experience points after every session is a
sure way to cause an unmanageable power
escalation in your campaign. Gaining a single
rank in an attribute represents a tremendous
achievement, far beyond the possibilities offered
by regular training or normal experience. It has
taken centuries for Benedict to get his amazing
Warfare rank and you certainly dont want your
player-characters to reach a similar degree of
skill after a dozen sessions. Likewise, simply
toying with Pattern and Trump for a few years
will not make you the equal of Brand or Fiona.
But time is not really of the essence here : in a
game where most player-characters can easily
hop at will between Shadows with varying timeflows (not to mention the Courts of Chaos !),
basing attribute and power improvement on some
objective measurement of time will only result in
system abuse, endless disputes and useless
headaches for the gamemaster.
One of the easiest ways to handle character
improvement in a long-term Amber campaign is
to use the seasonal format of television series and
other continuing fictions.

Revised Power Costs

Pattern Imprint costs 50 points at basic level
and 25 more at advanced level (for a total of 75).

Most campaigns regularly come to temporary

halts, as old problems are resolved and new
issues are introduced : these moments of
transition between two narrative seasons are the
ideal time to update a characters abilities.

Trump Artistry costs 40 points at basic level

and 20 more at advanced level (for a total of 60).
Shapeshifting costs 40 points at basic level and
20 more at advanced level (for a total of 60).

In game terms, this could give each player 5 or

10 extra creation points to distribute between his
characters attributes and powers. In most cases,
this gain will not be enough to actually upgrade a
power from basic to advanced level, reflecting
the progressive nature of experience.

Logrus Mastery costs 50 points at basic level

and 25 more at advanced level (for a total of 75).
The same structure may be used when defining
new Powers, with the extra cost of the advanced
level being equal to one-half the cost of the basic
version. The only exception to this rule is Magic.
In these alternate rules, basic Magic corresponds
to Power Words (which cost 10 points, as in the
standard rules) while advanced Magic is actually
Sorcery (which now costs 20 points, for a total
of 30). This reflects the fact that Sorcery, more
than any other power, require arduous and
constant study (which may explain why its not
that popular with Amberites).

Elder Amberites & Attributes

The variant ranking system described in this
chapter also allows the gamemaster to directly
translate the attribute levels of the various Elder
Amberites, as detailed in the Amber rulesbook :
every 10 points (or fraction) beyond Amber rank
simply translates as one attribute rank.
Lets take the example of Corwin. In his 300
point incarnation as The Champion of Amber,
Corwin has been given the following attribute
points : Psyche 21 points, Strength 16 points,
Endurance 81 points and Warfare 85 points.
Using the ReBMA ranking system, these figures
would translate as : Psyche rank III, Strength
rank II, Endurance rank IX and Warfare rank IX.

Also note that in these variant rules,

Conjuration simply does not exist as a separate
power, since its existence in the novels is
dubious at best and most of its effects can be
duplicated by Pattern Imprint or Logrus Mastery.

What About Stuff ?

Like attribute auctions, Stuff is another concept
that does not necessarily work well with all
kinds of players this for a variety of reasons,
including those that were discussed in Jack
Guliks excellent article When Good Stuff
Happens to Bad People in Amberzine 7.
Moreover, one of the justifications for the
existence of Stuff is to allow players to balance
their auction expenditures by using Good Stuff
as a possible pool for spare points or Bad Stuff
as an emergency cash reserve. The need for
such cost-balancing mechanics become far less
relevant with this variant system, since players
are allowed to spend exactly the amount of
points they want on their characters attributes.
For all these reasons, the ReBMA rules simply
ignore Stuff but Stuff can easily be grafted
back onto the system if desired.

Goals and Drive

When Corwin returns to Amber and fights his
sword duel against Eric, his anger and desire for
revenge obviously act as key elements of the
scene and probably affect its very outcome. In a
game like Amber, goals and ambitions should
also be allowed to influence the outcome of some
scenes, since they define a characters drive
what he fights, stands or lives for.

The only way to go from basic to advanced (or

even from advanced to exalted) in a power is to
use it extensively not only a lot, but in ways
that push the limits of the characters mastery
and bring him closer to new possibilities and
unexplored paths. The only exception to this rule
is Magic (as Power Words or Sorcery), which
can be improved by study and personal research
see the Magic chapter for more details.

At character creation or at any time between

game sessions, a player may define up to four
goals for his character. These goals can be
anything the player wants, as long as they have a
specific object : goals like stay alive or
defeat all my enemies are just too general to
qualify. Here are a few examples from my own
Amber chronicle : Defend Rebma, Protect my
loved ones, Preserve the legacy of Llyr, Defend
Corwins Pattern, Kill Desmond, Serve the
Crown of Amber, Avenge my fathers death,
Recover the spikards, Get even with my brothers,
Show my father I am worthy of his attention

Obviously, this system will make power

advancement very slow but it also works quite
well with the partial powers approach used by a
lot of Amber groups, allowing a step-by-step
developement of powers.
But what about acquiring new powers ? There is
no general rule here, since each power has its
own specific conditions and requirements. The
only way to gain basic Pattern Imprint, for
instance, is to walk (and survive) the Pattern.

Some goals may be life-long objectives, while

others only reflect temporary preoccupations. A
player may freely modify his characters list of
goals between sessions, reflecting his characters
evolution (or transformations).

Thus, point costs for basic powers only apply to

character creation. Again, Magic is an exception
here, since Power Words and Sorcery can be
learned by study (at least as far as Amberites or
Lords of Chaos are concerned). Even Trump
Artistry requires some form of innate (artistic)
gift or talent that should prevent characters from
developing its basic level once a campaign has
begun. Of course, as with almost anything in
Amber, exceptions are always possible (and left
to the discretion of the individual game master).

In addition to their obvious application as

roleplaying tools, such goals may also have a
more direct impact on play, as an expression of a
characters determination : sometimes, victory or
survival might just depend on how bad you want
to win - or live to fight another day. See the rules
on Conflicts in chapter II for more details.

II : CONFLICTS
Basic Concepts
In a game like Amber Diceless, the only
situations that really need a resolution system (no
matter how freeform) are conflicts.
Conflicts can be defined in game terms as any
situation in which two or more characters oppose
each other through the use of one of their
attributes : depending on the situation, this may
represent wrestling (Strength), sword duels and
other forms of armed combat (Warfare) or
psychic duels (Psyche). Endurance is rarely used
as the active attribute of a conflict but plays a
crucial part in all forms of extended conflict,
since it does not only represent physical stamina
but also reflects a characters ability to push his
own limits, be they physical, mental or psychic.
Conflicts are either basic or extended. Basic
conflicts correspond to sudden, make-or-break
oppositions, while extended conflicts tend to be
longer and more uncertain and are usually more
taxing for a characters inner reserves.

But what about ties ? What happens if, despite

all these factors and circumstances, two
conflicting characters end up with exactly the
same rank and nothing can seem to tip the scales
in either ones favor ?

Sword battles (Warfare), wrestling matches

(Strength) and psychic duels (Psyche) are typical
examples of extended conflicts ; examples of
basic conflicts include arm-wrestling (Strength),
or trying to gain psychic superiority when using
Power Words or Sorcery spell (Psyche).

In such cases, the situation of conflict becomes a

situation of status quo.

Conflict Resolution

In an extended conflict, a situation of status quo

will be broken by comparing the conflicting
characters Endurance.

Basic conflicts are resolved by comparing the

attribute ranks of the contestants or antagonists :
all other things being equal, victory goes to the
one with the higher attribute rank.

But what if the conflict is not an extended one or

if both contestants happen to have the same
Endurance rank ?

So thats it but keep in mind that all other

things are rarely equal in reality. There are
actually many factors and circumstances that
may influence the outcome of a conflict. In game
terms, such factors can be abstracted as a
temporary addition to the characters attribute
rank : in practice, each notable edge should
translate as the equivalent of one extra rank.

In practice, such cases of enduring status quo

will occur very rarely but when they do, they
can only be resolved by the intervention of
Fate which is entirely in the hands of the GM,
who may use anything from a deus ex machina to
an arbitrary decision to break the status quo.
Of course, this rule may seem very arbitrary
and it is like so many elements of the Amber
Diceless game. It also encourages players to use
every possible advantage (or dirty trick) that may
give their characters that extra edge they need to
win a conflict especially if their opponents
abilities are close to their own.

In situations that are directly related to one of his

goals (see chapter I), a characters determination
may give him such an edge, but many other
factors can be taken into account : in combat, this
includes the effects of terrain, surprise, superior
weaponry, tactical choices etc.

Fate and the Game

Like any fast-paced, action-packed story, the
Amber novels are full of deus ex machina,
cliffhanger escapes and unexpected twists of
fate and in a lot of cases, these manifestations
of destiny tend to play in the favor of the heroes,
simply because they are the focus of the story. In
keeping with the style and spirit of the Amber
stories, Fate in the game should not be used as
just another element of reality to simulate, but as
an essential component of drama.
The main idea behind this treatment of Fate is to
replace the arbitrary predestination of Good or
Bad Stuff with an equally arbitrary form of
dramatic balance also remember that Fate
should only manifest itself when no other action
or factor seems to apply, as the GMs last resort
and should never take precedence over a
characters abilities or a players ingenuity.
Furthermore, Fate does not always have to
manifest itself in an all-out, win-or-lose manner :
defeating an opponent thanks to a deus ex
machina or some other favor of fate may create
all sorts of equally unexpected complications.
Conversely, losing a conflict because of Fate
does not have to mean utter and irremediable
defeat it could also create new complications
with interesting consequences in the long run

AMBER
REBMA

The Sniper Situation

As an example of how this concept of
dramatic Fate might work in practice, lets
consider the way Merlin cheats death in Trumps
of Doom when he is missed by the bullet of a a
mysterious unseen sniper

Afterword
So thats it : five pages of rules with large
illustrations and lots of general comments.
But these are supposed to be basic
mechanics, remember : thats what he B in
ReBMA stands for.

If Merlin had been a player-character, it would

seem only fair to allow him at least one chance
of escape from this situation of certain death.
On the other hand, if the sniper had been a
player-character, it would seem rather odd to
tell the player that his expert marksman has just
missed a sure hit just because his intended
target has been saved by the forces of Fate.

In the future, I intend to add several thematic

mini-supplements to these rules currently
in the works are expanded or alternate rules
for Chaos characters, additional abilities for
Master Trump Artists, a variant system for
Sorcery and various other things based on
my ongoing Amber Diceless campaign.

Also consider how Caine was killed by a similar

bullet this did not occur because Caine was
weaker or less alert or even inherently less
lucky than Merlin, but because unlike Merlin,
Caine is not the hero of the Merlin chronicles

So stay tuned to the ReBMA trump channel !

Another example of dramatic Fate at work is the

way Corwin survived his car accident in the first
place In this case and many others, the main
character of the story obviously enjoys a certain
degree of good fortune and plot immunity,
regardless of his actual abilities or powers.

Olivier Legrand (August 2006)

olivier.legrand6@free.fr