A form of this system was taken off the Amber mailing list about 8 years ago, and modified. I believe it came from Astrid Tops' campaign, but cannot confirm that, as that information has been lost in 4 computer and 1 hardcopy transfer since that time.
Notes on Trump:
1: No Trumps of Amber itself still exist(see the history file).
2: Each Trump Artist is required to have an UNIQUE backing, one which has meaning to them... and their descendants. No known means of Forging this signature is known, though it can be concealed within an image itself. (i.e. it does not have to be on the BACK of a card)
Prerequisites for any power are listed in square brackets. [ ]
* Indicates a power that may be purchased more than once for additional effect.
[Blood of Amber, A or A+ Endurance, C or C+ Psyche]
10....SHADOW WALK: Covers what the basic rulebook calls "Shadow Walking", and "The Royal Way". In essence, the basic ability to shift Shadow around you to travel. 5......HELLRIDING: [Shadow Walk]: The ability to travel through Shadow at an accelerated rate. Disturbing, harder, faster... Also more "visible" to someone scanning for disruptions in Shadow. 5......LEAD THROUGH SHADOW: [Shadow Walk]: The ability to create a "wake" in which those not attuned to Pattern can EASILY follow you. NOTE: this does NOT mean that if you lack this ability, you cannot be followed. 5......SEEK TIME FLOW: [Shadow Walk]: Ability to find a specific Shadow, when the primary criterion is a specific time rate relative to other Shadows/Amber. 5......SHADOW RESOURCES: [Shadow Walk]: Finding desired objects in Shadow. Includes objects not "native" to the Shadows you are traversing at the time. May take some time to travel to where the object is. 5......SHADOW OF DESIRE: [Shadow Resources]: Find a Shadow where the landscape/physics/rules/society meets your desires. Does NOT guarantee a specific time rate. 5......AFFECT PROBABLILITY: [Shadow Walk]: Requires a small degree of expended time, and some form of movement. Carries the small but distinct chance of turning into a Shadow Walk, depending on the degree of improbability desired. 5......MINOR EDIT: [Affect Probability, Shadow of Desire]: The ability to DIRECTLY mold the stuff of Shadow by working your will upon it. Requires movement, but lacks the chance of involuntarily moving you in Shadow. 10....PATTERN DEFENSE: [A or A+ Psyche, Shadow Walk, Minor Edit]: Holding the full image of the Pattern in your mind. Provides some level of defense against Sorcery, Trump, and Logrus. 5......PATTERN LENS: [Pattern Defense]: The ability to traverse the Pattern within the confines of your mind, gaining various sensory abilities. No Transport ability is conferred. The process takes approximately 20 minutes. *5....FASTLENS: [Pattern Lens]: Each level purchased decreases the time needed to bring the lens to mind. *5....SPEEDRIDE: [Hellride, at least 1 level of Fastlens]: Permits travel through "back roads" of Shadow. Travel speed is AT LEAST equal to a Hellride, without the significant disruption effect. Still disturbing to the user. More levels of this power result in shorter routes. You cannot purchase more levels in this power than you have in Fastlens. 5......CONCEAL PATTERN: [Pattern Lens]: Requires an active Pattern Lens, and permits the concealment of the Pattern Attunement/Blood of Amber/Power sources on the USER ONLY. Any or all power sources may be concealed on the individual. 5......ALTER RULES: [Pattern Lens]: Permits Alterations in the basic structure of a Shadow's foundations, on a TEMPORARY basis. 5......CREATE SHADOW POCKET: [Pattern Lens]: Bend a Shadow so as to provide a "pocket dimension" of virtually any size. Not mobile. Pocket lasts for a time based on it's size and the creator's Psyche. Detection of pocket is based on it's size.
5......TRUMP GATE: The knowledge of how to funnel energy into a Trump Contact to open it to a Full Gateway. 5......TRUMP SENSE: [Trump Gate]: Sense the presense of an item heavily charged with Trump energy in the vicinity. Includes any ACTIVE Trumps. 10....IDENTIFY TRUMP: [Trump Sense]: The ability to get a sense of the caller and their intentions, before accepting a full Trump Contact. Full ID requires either close association with the person, or examination of THEIR Trump. 5......TRUMP DEFENSE: [Trump Sense]: By concentrating on a Neutral Trump Image (one's own Trump, or a Trump Backing that has meaning to the individual), provides resistance to Sorcery and Trump; with some resistance to Pattern and Logrus. 10....TRUMP SKETCH: [Trump Sense]: Ability to make a "quick and dirty" Trump, of limited range and lifespan. Takes 15 minutes to 1 hour to draw, lasts anything between minutes and one week, depending on many factors. 10....DRAW TRUMP: [Trump Sketch, Trump Defense]: Create permanent Trump. Requires an Artist's signature backing, a Model (which may be another Trump, but not a simple photograph), and 12-36 hours, depending on several factors. The foremost factor is the degree of cooperation from the Model(a good "feel" for the subject is a must). 5......TRUMP TRICK: [Draw Trump]: The ability to draw a Trump that leads to somewhere other than it's APPARENT destination. 10....MENTAL TRUMP: [A+ Psyche, Draw Trump, Identify Trump]: Permits the contacting, WITHOUT a Trump, of any subject the Artist has actually DRAWN previously. 5......OVERTRUMP: [Trump Trick, Mental Trump]: The ability to detect a Trump Trick BEFORE activating such a Trump. Must be actively and individually checked for. *5....TRUMP JAMMING: [Mental Trump]: Requires the Trump(s) of those you wish to Jam. each level purchased allows the Jamming of an extra individual. Jammed individuals cannot recieve Trump calls. Sending can also be blocked, but any attempt by a jammed target to send a Trump call will result in immediate psychic combat between Jammer and Jammed. 5......TRUMP SPYING: [Mental Trump]: Requires the Trumps of those you wish to spy upon. Unguarded surface thought MAY be available from unaware subjects. High-Psyche subjects MAY detect this intrusion. *5....ACCELLERATED DUPLICATION: [Mental Trump]: Allows the Artist to reproduce one of their own drawn Trumps in a much shorter period of time. No Model is required. Dworkin is believed to possess this skill at a speed of "Shuffle, cut, and deal". *5....ACCELLERATED DRAW: [Accellerated Duplication]: You may not have more levels of this power than you do of Accellerated Duplication. Permits a reduction in the drawing time required for the FIRST Trump of a subject.
10...BASIC SHAPE SHIFT: Includes all "automatic" ShapeShift abilities, as well as the 3 basic forms---Human, Demon, and Avatar. 5......SS FACE: [Basic SS]: The ability to change one's features so as not to be recognized. The effect is somewhat... random, and may be unpleasant. 5......SS FEATURES: [SS Face]: the ability to SPECIFICALLY rearrange one's features, so as to look like another individual, or change one's appearance at will. 5......SS WOUNDS: [Basic SS]: Consciously attend to healing oneself, by repairing wounds. Requires concentration. 5......SS CHAMELEON: [Basic SS]: Ability to blend in to one's surroundings, by matching any desired appearance template. NOTE: only effective as invisibility from a small visual angle. It will be apparent SOMETHING is there if either you or the viewer move to any significant degree. 5......SS AURA: [SS Chameleon]: Alter mental/magical signature so as to be unrecognizable. Any abilities removed from Aura are temporarily unaccessible. 10...SS STRUCTURE: [SS Wounds, SS Aura]: Ability to change to a completely nonhumanoid form, or rearrange INTERNAL structure, so as to move vital organs. 5......SS ANIMAL FORM: [SS Internal Structure]: Take on the form of a COMMON animal. Must currently have, or have had, deep mental link with the animal form being taken. Confers NO natural ability with the form in question, or any special abilities of that form. 5......SS ANIMAL ABILITY: [SS Animal Form]: Bestows all NATURAL attributes of a ShapeShifted animal's form.
5......MAGIC OF SHADOW: This is the ability to cast spells under one set of "shadow" conditions. This does include the ability to "Hang" pre-prepared spells in any suitable artifact of energy or matter. 5......UNIVERSAL MAGIC: [Magic Of Shadow]: This is the skill to understand HOW to adapt spellcasting to a new set of local magical variants. The second ability learned by ANY cross-shadow sorceror. Without it, only Trial and Error will let you get a spell off correctly. 5......BIND MAGIC: [Universal Magic, Conjuration]: The ability to create spells of conjuration and "permanent" items with ONE point of power. ***The making of items with "Rack Named and Numbered Spells" is also possible. 5......BIND GREATER MAGIC: [Bind Magic]: The Caster is not limited in the power of items he can instill with permanence or use in spells of conjuration. Also, the ability to modify previously-made items. *5....REDUCE MAINTAINANCE: [Magic Of Shadow]: The Caster's spells require less maintainance in "Hung" fashion. This does not take extra time to hang, it is considered a skill of design and execution. *5....REDUCE PREPARATION: [Magic of Shadow]: This reduces the time needed to hang a spell. *5....REDUCE CASTING: [*Reduce Preparation]: This is the ability to get "On the fly" spells off in a lesser time. It has no effect on pre-hung spells. It also requires at LEAST as many levels of Reduce Preparation as you wish in Reduce Casting. 5......ADAPTOR: [???]: Benedict has heard of this ability, and told you of it. But he doesn't know it himself. It seems to be a part of each spell, or perhaps a meta-spell, allowing a caster to rapidly reconfigure a full set of pre-racked spells to comply with the local magical conditions in shadow.
5......CONJURATION: Conjure one-point, Unique Items, no conferrals. *3....POWERED CONJURATION: [Conjuration]: At each level, permits conjuration of one additional power level of items. *3....REPLICANT CONJURATION: [Conjuration]: At each level, permits conjuration of one additional item multiplier level. 5......JOURNEYMAN CONJURATION: [Conjuration]: Permits building items that confer QUALITIES. 5......MASTER CONJURATION: [Journeyman Conjuration]: Permits building items that confer POWERS.
10.....ATTACK: Seek to injure a target with a blast of Psychic energy. Target is immediately aware of the Compelling. 5......PROBE: [Attack] Seek information from target. Target is immediately aware of the Compelling. 5......INFLUENCE: [Probe] Seek to acquire control of a target without their awareness of being manipulated. Note that too heavy a hand in the use of this power can give its use away. 5......REMOTE: [Attack] The ability to place a Compelling in an area, or on an item. This allows a WIDE variety of effects, from alarms to traps.
