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Overview

Introduction

Terms

FAQ

Gamemaster Recomendations

Introduction
You are the Cildea, the Children of Power. Your parents created, shaped and once ruled the Universe when many of the Powers of today were not yet born. After the Falling many of these Great Races left this universe, never to be seen again. Their mantle and powers have fallen to you whether you acknowledge this or not. Some call them Faeries, Dragons, Ghosts, Vampires, Demons, Angels, Wizards. This is only a shell of your True Being. Children of Amber and Chaos, you know only fragments of your lineage. Now a strange call pulls you into shadow. You feel a darkness lurking upon the horizon. The lands of Shadow and Substance are your home and your parents' greatest achievement. Now, you gather together to see who among you will lead, who will follow, and who will Fade.

Ancient Secrets
Slot - Saturdy Afternoon/Evening Slot
Scott Acker, GM
Continuing Campaign
Character may be Amberites, Chaosians, or "Shadows". You will begin game with only a limited understanding of your linage. The history and background will be flushed out during the session. All of the characters are children of the creatures of Power even if they are unaware of this (All Amberites for example have the Unicorn in their lineage if they believe Dworkin). This special bloodline will be explored and developed. To enjoy the game just bring your imagination and get ready to have fun.

Character's will fall into one of three groups (see Terms for a better feel for what all this means):

Domini/Domina - These characters have a chunk of reality, called a Realm, under their control, or Dominion. They will begin the game with the greatest knowledge of what's going on and have the oppertunity to effect the course of the game more than the other players (at least in the begining).
Sorcerer/Wizard/Adept - There is no real difference between these terms just choose which one you like best (or make up some other name for this group). These are the characters that are using Sources of Power (like Pattern/Logrus) without having Dominion over them (i.e. the majority of the Courts of Chaos and the Royal Court of Amber). Most players will likely start off as this type.
Beholden/Bond Servant - A character that has been Bound to the holder of a Source of Power. Your character may or may not know why this has happened. This person (Domini/Domina) may influence your actions or may leave you alone until the right time. I do not recommend this situation for most characters.

Any of these types of characters may be Primal Born. This means your character has a very strong True Being that resists Bonding and does not appear to be dependent on a Source to resist Fading (this is explained better in the FAQ and Terms). Needless to say I feel that most players should buy Primal Born but this is not absolute.

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Terms
Beholden/Bond Servant - Cildea that are Bonded to a Domini/Domina through the use of their Source
Bonded - Loss of a portion of your True Being to a Domini/Domina.
Cil'dea (sing/pl) - The player characters, the children of the creatures of power (Pyrdea/Suldea).
Creator (the) - Near mythic being said to be responsible for the creation of the universe (disputed by the Pyr'dea)
Dominion - That portion of creation over which you exercise authority
Domini/Domina (m/f) - Cildea that have Dominion over a Realm with a Source of Power, usually only referred as the by Beholden/Bond Servants
Fade - The loss of True Being
Falling (the) - Near mythic apocalypse that occurred millennia ago. Fully 3/4 of the Pyr'dea/Sul'dea are reported to have died during this. Rumors abound as to the cause but those who were there are not talking.
Form - Your outward appearance. Usually reflects your inner nature in some way.
Logrus/Chaos - The Source of Power and Realm of the Serpent (Lucifer)
Pattern/Amber - The Source of Power and Realm of the Unicorn (Cel'este)
Primal Born - A person with an extremely strong True Being, does not seem to require a Realm to protect their True Being, the great majority of the Pyr'dea/Sul'dea and rare Cil'dea have this birthright. Power - The ability to affect change.
Pyr'dea (sing/pl) - One of the Great Lines of the creatures of power, now forms a large interconnected Court. Believe in personal power and denies the Creator, each person's ability to shape and mold the stuff of the universe is their justification for Dominion. The Pyr'dea/Sul'dea generally do not like one another.
Realm - Generally a place of Substance and Power (ex. Amber/Chaos)
Sul'dea (sing/pl) - One of the Great Lines of the creatures of power, now forms a large interconnected Court. Believe in stewardship of power and affirms the Creator, each persons ability to shape and mold the stuff of the universe is seen as a gift, the manner with which a person exercises Dominion is a reflection of their character. The Pyr'dea/Sul'dea generally do not like one another.
Shadow - Those persons, places or things dependent upon Substance for their creation and continued existence. A natural byproduct of Substance upon the torn fabric of creation.
Sorcerer/Wizard/Adept - Usually a Cil'dea with out a True Being strong enough to hold Dominion over a Realm/Source of Power. Must tap into Sources found abandoned in Shadow, steal Power from held Sources, or become a Beholden/Bond Servant to access Power.
Source (of Power) - The Power found within a Realm (ex. Pattern/Logrus)
Source (the) - Near mythic first Source out of which it is believed the entire universe was made and all Sources of Power are derived.
Substance (also see Realms) - Those persons, places or things that exist independent of outside influence.
True Being (also see Fade) - Your inner self. that portion of yourself that is Substance. This part of you allows you to manipulate subjective reality and if strong enough the Substance of other persons, places, and things.

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FAQ
Questions are listed as submitted:
Also check out the Amber FAQ.

Following questions submitted by Ron Kreiger

Q. How obvious are one's powers, sources & any bindings that one has?
A. Answers provided for two parts of question:

Powers and Sources - These may be detected by someone with a decent Psyche during active use. Detecting them when not actively used would be resolved as any other active detection.

Bindings - In general passive detection is unlikely if the principals did not want you to know. This is more subtle than a Trump contact. Active detection would be resolved as for any conflict of this nature. For individual characters this will be worked out at the Con with modifications made based on background, Powers, the needs of the story and anything else that seems relevant.

Q. What are the game effects of being Bound?
A. The game effects of being Bound are that you have a lost a portion of your True Being to another Cildea/Pyrdea/Suldea. This Domini/Domina (m/f) now has a connection to your soul so to speak. Since your True Being is something that defines you and is irreplaceable you are Bound to this person. They may with exceptional service return portions of this to you over time but in general at least a small portion of yourself tends to be lost (Fade) over time. Most persons become Bound after utilizing a Source of Power over which they do not hold Dominion (commonly called Sorcery). You may purposely Bind yourself to someone in exchange for a promice, love, even hatred or revenge (commonly called a Blood Curse - this is a special case). Sorcerers take a specail risk as outlined above, this is minimize by using rituals and items to protect them from these effects (commonly called Spells and Artifacts).

Q. What are the game effects of being Primal Born?
A. The most obvious is that the character is not dependant upon a Source of Power to prevent him/her from Fading. Ordinary characters must have access to a Source of Power to keep their True Being intact. The great irony of this is that this need often drives them to access Sources held by others thus getting them Bound and causing them to Fade in another way. Other important features include a slight edge in acquiring Dominion over a Realm, a higher resistance to Bonding, and slightly more impressive effects with their Unique Powers (due to an exceptionally strong True Being). These characters suffer no pain upon entering a Realm without a Source of Power. These advantages are offset somewhat since many will want to Bind such a person into service.

Q. Hypothetically what sort of things can cause someone to Fade?
A. Lack of access to a Source of Power, being Bound (slight), attempting and failing to acquire Dominion over a Realm, using a portion of your True Being for a game effect (ex. Blood Curse).

Q. How do Amber & Chaos fit into this cosmology?
A. The Unicorn and Serpent are important creatures. Theirs is a unique and strong position. Each has Bound numerous 3rd to 8th generation Cildea. It was generally believed that the Serpent holds a slightly stronger position due to the advantage in numbers and the strategic placement of demons under his protective coils. The recent loss of Chaos to Amber has many confused and many have reassessed the Unicorns strategy placing her in a more desirable light. This is far from resolved and other confrontations are expected in the future.

Q. Relative to the books where/when does this fit into the Amber timeline?
A. The game will begin immediately after Patternfall although expect allot of movement through time and space as we work through background and cosmology.

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Gamemaster Recommendations

I assume the majority of the player characters will have some connection to the Realms of Amber and Chaos, so we will all have a common starting point. This is not manditory for all characters and I am very interested in players who are willing to "push the envelope" of this system.
Since characters will be begining the game with little knowledge of their lineage, I do not think it is too important that you develop a full picture of your powers, forms, background at the begining of the game. I believe it will be much easier to develop a sense of your own identity once you understand the campaign background a little better. So give yourself some time. You will happier as your character develops.
If you are not sure what you want then I suggest creating a standard Amberite/Chaosian and buying Primal Born. This will give you the kinds of abilities you are familiar with and protect you from Bonding. You may then explore the universe presented and make your own choices. This character would be what I would call a Sorcer/Wizard type, meaning that you have no Dominion.
Strongly consider designing a Realm and/or buying Primal Born. The work/pts will pay off when you have a Source of Power you can trust and are not Bound to anyone.
Have a means to get around...its a great big universe out there.
Don't buy any Primary Stat at less than 25, you will regret it. The points are simply not worth it.
Describe at least one Form that can walk around a castle, ride a horse, duel etc.
Players should utilize interesting references from the WWW, books, or other gaming suppliments. I believe the system presented is flexible enough to handle most any character concept. The listed Sources are intended to help you clarify what you want to do. I believe the system allows for a wider range of abilities from a Source than I listed.
Decide on a character concept and stick with it. I am very flexible in that regard. I want you to be the character that you want to be.

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