Amber Accelerated 
Introduction 
Roger Zelazny's ​Chronicles of​ A
​ mber​ novels provide a magnificent setting for a role-playing game. This 
vast story setting contains an infinity of worlds, mystical powers, complex intrigue, and characters 
who are mythic, yet believable.  
 
The first five Amber novels will be the basis for this adaptation. It does not draw anything from the 
second Amber series or short stories—they are excellent in their own way, but are thematically quite 
different. The biggest difference in terms of game rules is with Chaos powers and sorcery. 
 
The non-Zelazny ​Dawn of Amber​ novels are, of course, dead to us. 

Credits 
● This adaptation is by ​David Rourke​. (My Star Wars adaptation of Fate Core is ​here​.)  
● For the game engine, I am adapting ​Fate Accelerated​, with elements from ​Fate Core ​and​ Dresden 
Files Accelerated​. These are all by ​Evil Hat Productions​. 
● There are several influences on this version of an Amber RPG, including the ​Amber Diceless 
Roleplaying Game​ by the late great Erick Wujcik. Fate originated with Fred Hicks’ ​adaptations 
of the Fudge system to Amber. If you’d like to see other takes on Amber done with Fate, take 
a look at ​this version​ by Tom Moore and ​this one​ and ​this one​ by Scott Acker. 

Permission 
Permission is granted to use any of the information contained on this website for private, 
non-commercial purposes. 

The Amber Multiverse 

Player characters will have the blood of the royal houses of Amber or Chaos, giving them the power 
to travel the multiverse of Reality and infinite Shadow. 

Amber 
The world of Amber is primeval forest, mountain ranges, and vast oceans. It is sparsely populated 
except for the city of Amber, ruled by an ancient royal family. Long ago, the madman Dworkin fled 

—1​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

Chaos with the stolen Jewel of Judgment, using it to inscribe the Pattern and create Amber. The royal 
family of Amber, descendants of Dworkin, have the ability to walk the Pattern beneath Castle Amber 
and thereby acquire the power to walk in Shadow. The city of Amber is vibrant and beautiful, with 
ships coming from nearby Shadow to provide all manner of goods and people.  
 
Most forms of high technology (electricity, gunpowder, etc.) are ineffective in Amber, although there 
is a special substance discovered by Corwin and exploited in ​The Guns of Avalon​ that functions 
equivalently to gunpowder. Amber and nearby shadows are also resistant to magic.  

The Courts of Chaos 

Far from Amber, through a vast distance in Shadow, past the tree Ygg that marks the boundary with 
Order, lie the Courts of Chaos. This is a place of broken and continually changing pieces shadow 
surrounding an infinitely deep pit called the Abyss. The inhabitants of the Courts are strange beings 
with the ability to adapt to constant change by shapeshifting. The Courts are ruled by noble houses, 
members of which possess an affinity for travel in Shadow, advanced shape shifting, and powerful 
sorcery. 

Shadow 
Shadow is infinite. Anything you can imagine, you can find in Shadow. In many cases, whatever you 
find you can bring back with you, although the things of Shadow have much less power in the 
environs of Amber and other places of true Reality. These facts are important to the nature of action 
and conflict in Zelazny’s multiverse. 
 
If you can walk in Shadow, you can find any place, person, or thing you desire. Mechanically, this 
means that you can take a Create Advantage action to generate an aspect, whenever that is useful, 
such as My Fanatically Loyal Army Of Flying Monkeys or Friendly Garrulous Shopkeeper. The aspect 
is available to you to use or invoke for as long as it is part of the fiction. If it is destroyed, killed, 
banished, or you just leave it behind, it goes away.  
 
● After a hundred years of feuding with his older half brother Jak, Tornal decides he has had 
enough. Leaving Amber behind in a fury, he walks in Shadow, gradually approaching the 
place of his desire: a world where the inhabitants adhere to a cosmology indicating that 
Tornal the Redeemer will one day arrive and lead them in a righteous war against his evil 
brother Jak. When he gets there, the large, red eyed, fanged, humanoid locals quickly 
recognize him as the Anointed One for whom they have been waiting all these long years. 
Rejoicing, they assemble a vast army of fanatically devoted warriors. He leads them on a 
march through Shadow, determined to finally defeat his vile brother.  
● Jenev has walked the Pattern beneath Castle Amber for the first time. Being young, 
self-indulgent, and filled with newfound power, she imagines a place of her desire and is 
instantly transported to the Land of Milk Fed Boys. She spends a couple of months satisfying 

—2​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

her appetites there, then selects three of her favorite Boys, outfits them with matching 
motorcycles and leather jackets, and sets off through Shadow for further adventure. 
● Defeated by a dark stranger and left for dead somewhere in Shadow near Ygg, Delilah 
awakens coughing blood from a punctured lung. Calling upon the mastery of Shadow she 
learned from her elders in the Courts of Chaos, she imagines a cottage with a friendly hermit, 
reaches out through Shadow, and stumbles forward to find it. The hermit nurses her back to 
health, amazed at how quickly she heals. Leaving him with her thanks and a fortune in silver 
coins, she continues on, imagining a saddled horse, lost and looking for its master. Reaching 
through Shadow, she finds the horse, tames it, and begins her hellride, determined to find 
and confront the one who bested her. 

Character Creation 
Player characters are created according to standard Fate Accelerated rules, with exceptions noted 
below.  
 
● Choose aspects (High Concept, Trouble, and three personal aspects).  
● Choose approaches (one at +3, two at +2, two at +1, one at 0). Approaches are not the same as 
in Fate Accelerated. 
● Choose stunts (in this version you get Blood of Amber or Blood of Chaos and three additional 
stunts). You can have standard Fate Accelerated stunts or the power stunts presented below. 
● Determine refresh (start at three but you can reduce by one or two to get one or two 
additional stunts).  
● Each PC has three stress boxes and three consequence slots. 

Types of character backgrounds 

There are several kinds of characters who are appropriate for play, as described below. The GM 
might make one or more of these off limits or add new options. Your background should be reflected 
in both your aspects and the powers (stunts) you take. 
 
● Child of Amber​​: One (or both) of your parents is a Prince or Princess of Amber (Corwin, 
Bleys, Flora, etc.). This is the most straightforward character background for most Amber 
campaigns. 
● Child of Chaos:​​ One or both of your parents is a Lord or Lady of Chaos (of the royal or ducal 
houses). You have the full benefits of an education in the Courts of Chaos and access to all 
powers that require a Chaos background. Note, however, that the power of Chaos is lessened 
in the region of Amber, while Amberite powers work almost anywhere; you may therefore be 
at a disadvantage some of the time. 
● Mixed Amber/Chaos Blood:​​ You are the product of a union between a Prince or Princess of 
Amber and a Lord or Lady of Chaos. Depending on where you were raised, you will have 

—3​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

access to most of the powers in the game. While this is the most flexible back​ground, it can 
also be very difficult, since powerful non-player characters may have incom​patible 
expectations of where your loyalties should lie. 
● Unknown Parentage: ​While you have the blood of Amber or Chaos in your veins, your actual 
parentage is unknown. Perhaps you are the product of some unacknowledged dalliance, or 
your parent has tried to protect you from the cutthroat machinations of the royal court by 
keeping his or her identity secret even from you. 

Aspects 
● High Concept: ​This should include that you have the blood of Amber or Chaos. You could be 
a Lost Princess of Amber or Proud Demon Lord of Chaos, for example. 
● Trouble:​​ Almost any source of problems or complication is appropriate here, such as 
drunkenness or impulsivity. Troubles that are especially thematic can include a geas (for 
example, in Guns of Avalon, the demon Strygalldwyr must ask and be denied four times 
before he may enter a dwelling with hostile intent), some form of insanity (studying the 
primal secrets of the multiverse can take its toll on your mind), some unknown enemy, a 
deep desire for revenge, a need to protect something (e.g., Gérard protects Amber), or simply 
being much younger and less experienced than most of your relatives. 
● Three personal aspects:​​ These can be any other things that are important to your character. 
If you can’t think of good themes for personal aspects, have one related to ​Family​ (or lack 
thereof), one related to ​Friends or Enemies​, and one related to the ​Shadowlands.​ The GM may 
run a series of backstory phases to help develop these aspects or simply ask you to develop 
them before or during play. 

Approaches 
Approaches are descriptions of how you accomplish tasks. We have six approaches in Amber 
Accelerated, based on six archetypes. 
 
● Beast:​​ ​Address problems through physical strength, dominance, and prowess. Gérard is an 
exemplar of the Beast. 
● Mage:​​ Address problems by employing mystic powers, manipulating reality, and perceiving 
the true nature of things. Fiona is an exemplar of the Mage. 
● Rogue:​​ Address problems by sneaking, stealing, and pushing your luck. Random is an 
exemplar of the Rogue. 
● Speaker:​​ Address problems by persuading, seducing, deceiving, and influencing. Florimel is 
an exemplar of the Speaker. 
● Traveler:​​ ​Address problems by moving from one place to another, adapting to the unknown, 
and enduring difficult conditions. Corwin is an exemplar of the Traveler. 

—4​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

● Warrior:​​ Address problems through combat, strategy, and leadership. Benedict is an 
exemplar of the Warrior. 
 
Each PC has +3 in one approach, +2 in two, +1 in two, and +0 in one. 

Using approaches 
Use standard Fate rules (the four actions and the four outcomes) for determine what happens when a 
character takes action, there is potential for failure, and the result of failure could be dramatic and 
interesting.  
 
It is not always possible, or a good idea, to just use your highest approach all the time. Some 
approaches just don’t work for some problems. Trying to pick a lock with Speaker isn’t going to work 
unless you can persuade it to open of its own volition. You can break a lock open with Beast, but not 
pick it. In other cases, you can rationalize using an approach that is of marginal applicability, but the 
GM may set a higher passive difficulty, In any event, your approach will help determine the 
consequences of failure or success with a cost. 

Scale 
The ability of entities to affect or influence each other, throughout the multiverse, depends on how 
much their substance partakes of the true reality of Order and Chaos. Real is always stronger than 
Shadow and Primal Reality is the strongest of all. The degree of Reality inherent in any entity is 
represented mechanically through Scale, as follows: 
 
6 Primal (Unicorn) 
5 Ancient (Dworkin) 
4 Elder (Oberon) 
3 Scion (Corwin) 
2 Offspring (Merlin, Player Characters) 
1 Primary (associates of a person or place of higher reality; non-noble inhabitants of Amber, the 
Golden Circle, or the Courts of Chaos) 
0 Shadow (any creature of infinite Shadow) 
 
The default for Amber Accelerated is that each level of scale advantage gives +1 to all rolls. For 
example, an Offspring acting against a creature of shadow gains +2. A Scion acting against an 
Offspring gains +1. If the preference is to emphasize a stronger differential in power between Real 
and Shadow, this can be adjusted to a +2 to all rolls for each level of scale advantage. 

—5​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

Stunts 
PCs begin with the Blood of Amber or Blood of Chaos stunt (or equivalent) and 3 additional stunts. 
Gain more stunts by reducing Refresh.  

Aspect-Based Stunts 
Standard Fate Accelerated stunts, tied to aspects, may be taken as appropriate. However, because the 
powerful of this multiverse must strive for any small advantage over each other, stunts convey a +1 
bonus instead of +2. Here are some examples: 
 
● Because I am a Lost Prince Of Amber, I get +1 to Overcome as a Traveler when I hellride 
through Shadow. 
● Because I Grew Up In An Advanced Spacefaring Society, I get +1 to Attack as a Warrior when I 
use high tech weapons. 
● Because I am Sorcerer Supreme In A World of Magic, I get +1 to Defend as a Mage against 
magical powers. 
● Because I have Practiced the Arts of War For Centuries, I get +1 to Overcome as a Warrior 
when I command soldiers. 
● Because I am Expert In The Subtle Art Of Shapeshifting, I get +1 to Create Advantage as a 
Rogue when disguising myself. 
 
Some Fate Core stunts can also be adapted successfully to the use of approaches instead of skills. 
Check with the GM. 

Power Stunts 
The vast powers of the Amber multiverse are addressed via a set of standard power stunts, listed 
below. These stunts are necessarily worded more broadly than stunts in standard Fate, and will 
require some collaborative interpretation during play. They are intended to provide mechanical 
structure while still reflecting the ambiguous and symbolic nature of the elemental powers 
presented in the Amber novels. 
 
Depending on the campaign, the GM may decide that some power stunts are not available. For 
example, the advanced versions of powers may be unavailable to starting PCs, or the art of making 
new Trump cards may not be known. Amber or Chaos powers may be disallowed if the game is to be 
focused on one pole of reality or the other. 

Alternate Form 
Requires Blood of Amber. On your non-Amber side, you have the blood of a people who are able to 
change into a single specified alternate form. For example, Eric’s allies, the Wiermonken, can shift 

—6​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

between human and wolf forms. Changing forms takes one exchange. Clothing and equipment do not 
shift.  
● When in your animal form, switch your highest Approach with another one that best reflects 
the creature you become and gain an Animal Form personal aspect which can give 
permission for actions such as flying (if your form is a bird, for example) or climbing (if your 
form is a monkey). You can talk in your animal form but you can’t hold things if your form 
doesn’t have hands. Your form aspect can affect the difficulty of actions, can be invoked 
when appropriate, and can be compelled to require you to act according to the nature of the 
creature you have become. 

Blood of Amber 
You are the child of a Scion of the Royal house of Amber. You have the blood, but you may or may 
not have grown up aware of your birthright, the identity of your parent, or even that Amber or 
Shadow exist. If you are of mixed Amber/Chaos parentage, this stunt will reflect that you were raised 
in Amber or nearby shadows (including Shadow Earth) and that your Amber nature predominates. 
● Provides Scale 2 (Offspring). 
● Although your abilities are undeveloped, you can follow established paths through Shadow 
on the Amber side of Ygg. 
● You are physically tougher and more capable than creatures of mere Shadow; your default 
physical abilities are at the top of human capacity (you could compete in the Olympics); you 
heal from injury more quickly and can slowly regenerate any missing body part. 
● When in fullness of your ire, generally just as you believe your death is upon you, you can 
pronounce a Blood Oath. This creates a curse aspect against a person, place, or nation which 
can be invoked as usual. This power should not be used except in utter extremis (arguably, 
Corwin misused this power in ​Nine Princes in Amber​), since it should be expected that the GM 
will compel it against you (as Zelazny did, in effect, against Corwin). 

Blood of Chaos 
You are a child of one of the Noble Houses of Chaos, the product of breeding for affinity with the 
powers of Chaos. You may have grown up within a Noble House of Chaos or in some other place, but 
the bloodline runs true in you. If you are of mixed Amber/Chaos parentage, this stunt will reflect 
that you were raised in Chaos or in nearby shadows; or that your Chaos nature predominates.  
● Provides Scale 2 (Offspring). 
● Although your abilities are undeveloped, you can follow established paths through Shadow 
on the Chaos side of Ygg.  
● You are physically tougher and more capable than creatures of mere Shadow; your default 
physical abilities are at the top of human capacity (you could compete in the Olympics); you 
heal from injury more quickly and can slowly regenerate any missing body part. 
● You have a basic, unconscious shapeshifting ability that allows you to switch between a 
human form and a primal demon form, and to adapt rapidly to changing environments. Your 
mass cannot change from one form to another. Your adaptability reduces the difficulty of 
any rolls related to surviving in hostile environments by one.  

—7​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

● If you do make your way to Amber or the shadows surrounding Amber, passive difficulty for 
use of any Chaos powers will be increased if you have no Amber blood in your veins. 

Command of Shadow 
Requires Blood of Chaos or, potentially, Blood of Amber. Through mentorship and painful 
experience, you have learned the secret arts of shadow walking known by the Noble Houses of Chaos.  
● Allows travel through Shadow by reaching out to some element you desire and pulling 
yourself toward it by the force of your will. For the most part, slow and comfortable progress 
through Shadow is simple for you. Moving more quickly, or against resistance, becomes more 
difficult and may require an Overcome roll. On the Amber side of Ygg, travel is extremely 
difficult and going all the way to Amber is not possible. 
● You can lead others through Shadow, up to an including an army or fleet if they follow in 
your path.  

Pattern Imprint 
Requires Blood of Amber or Blood of Chaos. You have survived walking one of the Patterns and it has 
remade you into something greater than you were.  
● You can walk in Shadow, imagining and instantiating one tiny detail change after another 
until you have reached a place of your own desire. For the most part, slow and comfortable 
progress through Shadow is simple for you. Moving more quickly, or against resistance, 
becomes more difficult and may require an Overcome roll. On the Chaos side of Ygg, travel is 
extremely difficult and going all the way to the Courts of Chaos is not possible. 
● You can lead others through Shadow, up to an including an army or fleet if they follow in 
your path.  
● If you walk a Pattern again, from the center you can command it to send you instantly to any 
location, anywhere. 
● By focusing your mind on the Pattern, you can take a Full Defense action to give you +2 
against all magical or other powers against you. 

Personal Shadow 
Requires Pattern Imprint or Command of Shadow. This is a place that is special to you. You’ve spent 
much time there, invested your blood and tears there, loved and hated the people who live there. It 
has become a part of you and you a part of it. A personal Shadow has its own evocative aspect (The 
Silver Towers of Avalon, for example). You can flesh it out in as much detail as you like, with its own 
NPCs, environment, natural laws, etc.  
● Your personal shadow is a place of refuge for you, allowing you to recover from 
consequences there without needing any kind of overcome roll.  
● You can bar entry to others if you wish; this provides passive resistance equal to your Mage 
score. 
● Inhabitants of a personal shadow are Scale 1 (Primary) while in this place, but revert to Scale 
0 if they leave. 

—8​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

Resource 
A resource is a creature or object (or multiple creatures or objects) tied to your destiny, partaking of 
the reality inherent in your birthright.  
● Give the resource an aspect that describes what it is and how it is related to you. That aspect 
can be invoked or compelled—if it is compelled against you, you get a fate point as usual. 
Sample resource aspects: 
○ My Band of Loyal and Rowdy Myrmidons 
○ Gethsemane, My Golden Rune-Covered Battle Ax 
○ My White Raven Temur And Red Raven Hurgel 
○ Space Patrol In Every Star System 
○ Friends With The Tiny People 
○ Bracers Of Protection 
○ Ithaka, The Silent Assassin 
● If appropriate to the aspect’s nature, it can act instead of you in any exchange, using one of 
your approach scores. For a fate point, a resource can act in the same exchange as you or 
appear in a scene when you are not present. 
● Choose one benefit that your resource provides: 
○ When you make a physical attack with your resource, upon hitting you do +1 stress. This 
could represent striking with a powerful weapon or getting assistance from one or more 
allies. 
○ When your resource helps defend you and you take a physical hit, subtract -1 stress 
from the attack. If that brings total stress to 0, the attacker gets a boost. This could 
represent special armor or getting protection from one or more allies. 
○ When your resource helps you defend against magic, get +1 to all Defend and Overcome 
rolls. 
○ Your resource is of a kind that exists throughout Shadow in one specific environment 
(cities, starports, swamps, barns, etc.). When in that kind of Shadow environment, your 
resource is always available to you at your call.  
○ Your resource can scout or spy for you, traveling in Shadow independently. When you 
concentrate, you can see and hear what it perceives. 
○ Invent another benefit of similar value. Get the GM’s approval. 
● If you invest another stunt in the same resource, you can invoke the resource’s aspect once 
per session for free. Also, you can choose two additional benefits. If you choose the attack or 
defend benefits a second time, the bonus is increased to +2. 
● A resource can be damaged, lost, stolen, slain, imprisoned, or otherwise made unavailable to 
you. If so, that’s a temporary problem because it is tied to your destiny. It, or another exactly 
like it, will always be restored to you within a scene or two. You and the GM can narrate how 
that happens. 

—9​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

Shadow Binding 
Requires Command of Shadow. The Noble Houses of Chaos have mastered the art of binding 
creatures of Shadow to their will. Anyone who can walk in Shadow can find people and creatures 
who will do their bidding. This is something more.  
● Bind a creature by succeeding in an Overcome action against a creature of Scale 1 or 0. It is 
now yours. You force it to change shape just as you could your own body. It will follow any 
commands you give it, and has a psychic connection to you. By concentrating you can reach 
out to it psychically, even through Shadow, to communicate with it, command it, and see 
what it sees. You can bind no more creatures at a time than your Mage score. 
● A bound creature has an aspect describing who it is now that you own it. That aspect can be 
invoked or compelled as normal. If compelled against you, you get a fate point. 
● If you wish, you can use a bound creature as a pawn, pretending to be its old self while acting 
in your interests. Detecting the subterfuge is always an active Overcome roll against you. 
● If aiding you, a bound creature can act in your stead in any exchange. For a fate point, it can 
act in the same exchange as you or appear in a scene when you are not present. 

Shadow Mastery 
Requires Pattern Imprint or Command of Shadow. You have learned to command Shadow in ways 
that mere practitioners do not comprehend. Allows easier movement on the other side of Ygg, all the 
way to the opposite pole of reality (although this is still difficult and dangerous).  
● In Shadow, once per scene, you can “nudge” the world you are in slightly without moving to 
a different Shadow. For example, you could find a convenient amount of money in your 
pocket or encounter a friendly person who can provide you with shelter. Additional uses of 
this ability costs a fate point. 
● You can create paths through Shadow that others can follow at a later time. You can destroy 
such paths that you or others have made. 
● You can destroy a shadow completely. Because Shadow is infinite, there will be others out 
there that are similar, but never quite the same.  
● You can set traps, blocks, and Shadow storms that interfere with movement into or out of a 
specific shadow.  
● Once per session you can spend a fate point and create a Destiny To Meet aspect. This 
declares that you or someone else (or something else) in your presence is destined to 
encounter some specific person or thing, somewhere in Shadow. Within a few scenes, if those 
intertwined people or things are in Shadow, they will meet. 
● Once per session, you can create a creature out of your own blood. It can be given a free 
Destiny To Meet aspect if you wish (and can carry a message). Otherwise, it can scout in 
Shadow for you and return to tell you what it saw. 

—10​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

Shape Shifting 
Requires Blood of Chaos. While all of the people and creatures of Chaos have a basic unconscious 
shape shifting ability, you have learned to control it. As with most disciplines acquired in Chaos, 
learning to shape shift is long, arduous, and painful. 
● Changing your shape takes time—more time if the shape is physically very different from 
your current form, more if you are unpracticed with the form you are taking—up to about a 
half hour. You can only change shape, not mass. Changing back to your normal human form, 
or to a predefined demonic “primal” form, takes only one exchange. 
● You can disguise yourself as a different person, as Oberon disguised himself as Ganelon in ​The 
Sign of the Unicorn.​ Copying a person is a Create Advantage action that creates a Disguised As 
[Identity] aspect, which can then potentially be Overcome by another character.  
● You can change your shape to acquire some physical ability such as flight, the ability to 
breathe water, the ability to survive in a vacuum, etc.  
● You can change your shape to switch two of your approaches.  

Sorcery 
Magical energy, in some form, exists in most shadows. Although it is often possible for local mages to 
manipulate magic in their home shadows, their skills don’t generally translate from one shadow to 
another. A true sorcerer, on the other hand, under​stands more basic principles of magic and can 
make use of whatever magical energy is available in a particular shadow. Most uses of magic in the 
novels are limited to personal rather than widespread scope and so, to fit the theme, in most places 
that’s what magic will be good for. In shadows with aspects indicating stronger magic, sorcery will be 
capable of broader effects. However, since sorcery is unreliable in so many places, those of Amber 
and Chaos with access to true power do not usually rely upon it. 
● Different places have different degrees of magical affinity, reflected in a situation aspect. A 
given place might be Strong In Magic, or Resistant to Psychic Powers, or Magically Blocked, 
for example. These aspects can be invoked or compelled as normal, and will guide the GM in 
setting difficulty for actions performed with sorcery. Note that Amber and nearby shadows 
are Resistant To Magic and for that reason sorcery has limited utility there. In the case of 
active resistance in a shadow that is not conducive to magic, the GM will set a minimum 
passive result for the resistance roll, no matter what the defender rolls. 
● Having the Sorcery stunt can allow you to take a variety of actions that are simply narrated 
as use of magic. Where another character might have a conversation to persuade an 
unfriendly barkeep to provide some critical piece of information, a sorcerer might make the 
same roll, but in the fiction she is casting a spell that compels the barkeep to speak the truth. 
Sorcery thus gives narrative permission to take actions that are magical in nature or to make 
use of the Mage approach fit the circumstances. 
● Sorcery aspects are dispelled by moving through Shadow. 
● Here are some examples of Sorcery spells: 
○ Hold​ a person in place. This creates an aspect that must be overcome. The target cannot 
move, although talking, fighting, etc., are still possible. The sorcerer must maintain 

—11​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

concentration to keep the spell in effect. Fiona cast this spell on Brand in ​The Courts of 
Chaos,​ keeping him in one place when he confronted his siblings at the Abyss. 
○ Ignite​ a small amount of flammable material. Brand cast this spell in ​The Sign of the 
Unicorn​. This creates an On Fire aspect. 
○ Banish​ a creature or person, forcing it to go away from you as quickly as it can. This 
creates a Banished aspect. Corwin attempted this spell, without success, against 
Strygalldwyr in ​The Guns of Avalon.​  
○ Learn​ how to manipulate native magic in an unfamiliar shadow. Cast this spell to identify 
location aspects related to magic. 
○ Dispel​ a magical effect created by someone else. This is a simple Overcome action, with 
active resistance if the original caster is concentrating or passive resistance if he or she is 
not. 
○ Open a path​ to a nearby shadow. This is done by creating a gate via a picture or glyph, by 
going through a ritual in which a gate is opened, or by “discovering” a gate. Paths can be 
opened only to nearby shadows that are similar to the one you are in, although a more 
complex spell will increase your range. Generally, it’s easier to move through Shadow 
using Pattern or Chaos powers, but in some cases sorcery provides a viable alternative if 
using a more primal ability might be blocked or too noticeable. 
○ Summon, enchant, create, or zombify​ a shadow servant or guardian. This creates an aspect. 
The effects will wear off if the creature is moved to a different shadow. 
○ Create or enchant​ magical items. This creates an aspect. Items can include amulets of 
protection, extra-strong armor, flaming swords, strength enhancers, etc. The effects 
wear off if the object is moved to a different shadow. 
○ Influence​ a weak mind. You can make the target feel some emotion, such as anger or 
happiness, for a few minutes. This creates an aspect that can be invoked or compelled. 
○ Heal wounds, cure diseases, or treat poisons.​ This spell can only affect creatures of Shadow. 
○ Create an illusion​.​ For example, you could change a person’s appearance. This generates 
an illusion aspect.  
○ Detect​ the use of a spell or the presence of magic. This is an Overcome action to identify 
magical effects.  
○ Enhance​ the vision or other senses of the subject. This creates an aspect that can be 
invoked. 
○ Obscure​ magical detection and analysis, including use of the Sight power. This creates an 
aspect that can be invoked for opposition to detection. 

Sight 
Requires Blood of Chaos. Some denizens of Chaos have the ability to directly sense mystical and 
symbolic connections between people, objects, and actions. These abilities are not always reliable, 
but a sufficiently intuitive person can gain considerable advantage. 
● Once per scene, you can attempt to sense the connection between a person, place, or action 
and another. Passive resistance is generally +2, but may be lower if you have a strong 
connection among the elements you are divining. If you succeed, the GM will describe some 

—12​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

piece of imagery that represents the connection (or lack thereof). If you succeed with style, 
the GM will give you an image that shows the relationship with great clarity (or shows the 
complete absence of connection, if that is true). For example, you encounter someone who 
claims to be your missing father’s bodyguard. You use Sight, gain a success with style, and 
gain an image of the purported bodyguard stabbing your father in the back. You know this 
may not necessarily mean that the bodyguard literally stabbed your father, but that some 
sort of betrayal has occurred and she is not what she seems. 
● The GM can give out a free or unasked for instance of Sight if it is especially apt or if it helps 
get the story moving. 
● Additional attempts within a scene cost a fate point. 

Trump Artistry 
Requires Blood of Amber or Blood of Chaos and Trump Deck. Through talent and practice, you have 
learned to create Trump cards and drawings.  
● See the Trump Deck stunt for details on using cards.  
● Creating a Trump requires an Overcome roll, with difficulty set at +1 if the subject is posing 
for you; +2 if you are very familiar with the subject; +4 if the subject is one you are only 
vaguely familiar with. If you are simply imagining a place or person in Shadow to connect 
with, the difficulty is +2. If you succeed with style, you gain a boost that can be used in any 
roll against the subject. 
● Making a full Trump card takes special materials and several days of dedicated work. If you 
want to have more than a 3–4 Trump cards on your person at a time, you should choose the 
Trump Deck stunt. If you have both that stunt and Trump Artistry, your deck can expand 
however you like, so long as you have time to make new cards. 
● A Trump drawing is much more fragile than a Trump card, but works the same and can be 
done with simple materials in only a few hours. If you are carrying a Trump drawing from 
place to place (as opposed to, say, making a drawing and leaving it somewhere), it will 
generally not last more than a scene or two. 

Trump Deck 
Requires Blood of Amber or Blood of Chaos. You possess a deck of Trump cards. These cards contain 
uncannily evocative portraits of people and places. Decide how you acquired the deck, how much you 
know about their nature, and collaborate with the GM to determine the subject of each card. 
Depending on the source of your deck, you might know all the subjects on the cards, but some (or all) 
might be mysteries to you. 
● If you concentrate on a Trump, you open a connection to its subject, even across infinite 
Shadow. Extreme distances, such as from Amber to the Courts of Chaos, may require an 
Overcome roll.  
● If you connect to a place, you can see what is happening there and, if you wish, step through 
to that location. 
● If you connect to a person, he or she feels a connection forming, but doesn’t know who it is 
from. He or she can block the connection or accept it. If the connection is opened If the 

—13​— 
 Amber Accelerated 

connection is opened, you can communicate with and can see what’s happening in the 
person’s background. If the two of you cooperate, one of you can step through to the other’s 
location. 
● Trump cards are magical artifacts that are very hard to damage or destroy. 
● You can give one or more cards to a character who does not have this stunt. However, 
without this stunt those cards will tend to be lost within a few scenes and find their way back 
to their owner. 
● Individuals of Scale 0 cannot normally use Trumps to open a connection (they can receive 
Trump connections normally, but cannot block). Those of Scale 1 may attempt to open 
connections and block connections, but must Overcome at a difficulty of +2.  

Trump Mastery 
Requires Trump Artistry. This is a higher level of ability to make and manipulate Trump. 
● When receiving a Trump connection from someone you know, you can identify the caller 
before deciding whether to accept the connection. 
● If you make a connection to someone without Trump Mastery and they attempt to block, you 
can take an opposed Overcome action to override the block. 
● It takes only a few minutes to make a Trump drawing and a few hours to create a Trump 
card. Difficulty is +0 if the subject is posing for you; +1 if you are very familiar with the 
subject; +3 if the subject is one you are only vaguely familiar with. If you are simply 
imagining a place or person in Shadow to connect with, the difficulty is +1. 
● If you have a Trump card, you can spy on the subject, sensing their surface thoughts and 
what is happening around them. 
● If you have a Trump card, you can prevent the subject from being contacted by or connecting 
with Trump. Any attempt to do so requires an Overcome roll which you can actively resist. 

Other powers 
There may be new power sources out there, waiting for intrepid player charac​ters to discover their 
secrets. If you’d like to have nonstandard abilities or have your character based on some 
nonstandard source of powers, discuss that with the GM. 

—14​—