Post by olivier111 on Aug 21, 2017 7:18:00 GMT -5
Hello.
Please, pardon my few mistakes.
English is not my first language
I'm a devoted fan of Zelazny's work, and a game MAster of Amber RPG
I absolutely love this game.
But i got a few problems with character creations
- The ‘auction war’ is a very good idea… For ‘Throne wars’ (= one shot scenarios were players try to take the Amber Throne for themselves).
It’s pretty much useless in any other configurations ! Especially on campaigns were the PC are more of less cooperating against a greater danger/problems.
Too bad than Amber RPG is especially good in the second configuration…
- Amber rpg is unusually long to explain to a new set of players !
One of the greatest joy of RPG is to discover progressively new universe, new rules, new powers… To be surprised, in one word.
But there, to create a new character, you have
1. To explain the whole Amber universe, and most of its mysteries and inhabitants.
2. To explain every aspects of the available Powers, characteristics, game mechanism etc
3. To beguin a bidding war…
3 bis: To help the newbee to construct his artefacts, creatures, realms of allies...
It can takes HOURS, guys. In a ‘throne wars’, the creation have chances to be LONGUER than the actual game session !
- Plus, as many ‘Narrative Games’, the background of the player is especially interesting to play BEFORE it gets the full measure of his power, and there is no game mechanism to face this.
Sooo... of course, when you play with Amber enthousiasts, it's a marginal problem... but with newvies, it tends to be a buzzkill...
I can't say i 'solved' that problem, i've just build my own campaign setting initiate new players. It worked quite well, but it's rather specific.
=> The setting beguins after the 5th volume. Random is king, Chaos is defeated. The situation is very much like Japan after WW2. The old king of Chaos is still on the Throne (to avoid a desperate rebellion), but he is dying (Eric's curse). Amber had won the war,
Random and Swayhill are working toward a diplomatic solution. Merlin, son of Corwin and Dara will take the throne after Swayhill's death. But there are people on both sides (Amberite and Chaos denizens) would like to ruin the fragile peace.
Swayhill kept a 'card in his sleeve' He got a bunch of 'Amber's heirs' (kids) in a shadow of the Black Circle. Kids that Brand used to collect for his nepharious plans. Those are the future PC.
Paradoxically, Chaos secret service are rather protecting them. Some Princes (Bleys, Fionna, Caines...) would prefer to kill those 'bastards puppies' before they can claim their legacy, or worse, being used against Amber...
So, they have been 'hidden in plain sight', in a protected shadow used for spy training. A present day 'occult world' in the depth of the Black circle.
To be precised, the game beguins when the PC are accepted in a very prestigious Ivy league college named HillFord (It's a shameles 'cliché', but damn, cliche are usefull !)
The Player characters are rich spolied kids, gifted kids, federal witness kids placed there undercover... whatever... The game béguins with a serie of questions, and the choice between several classes (16 classes during a summer school session, and to be precise there are four group of classes, each one related to a characteristic
Ex; football -> strenght, Military history-> warfare; Meditation -> Psyche, etc)
So, i have from the beguining a precise idea of what their charcater will be like at the end of their 'studies', and their background and behaviour will gives me the amount of Good or BAd Stuff, some taste of minor powers etc.
I won't give the whole story here (several layers of events, problems etc). It ends with the PC discovering the 'truth' about their golden prison, and choosing to stay 'loyal' to those who gives them an education, or to claim their legacy as Ambers heirs.
At this point, i help them to complete their character sheet and to choose their power, shadows etc.
So, basically, i use a whole introduction story to built their characters, introduce the universe, allow them to make friends and allies, show them the 'backstabing' side of the game...
Of course, it works. It's not simpler than the original system, but it feels more 'natural' and 'entertaining' to newbies.