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Allies
Sept 25, 2007 12:55:42 GMT -5
Post by serendipity on Sept 25, 2007 12:55:42 GMT -5
What do you think of the idea of having players put points into future allies and then later telling the DM they'd like a particular NPC to be their ally? I can see there would have to be rules about who is allowed to be an ally for a certain number of points; suddenly deciding to be friends with the king wouldn't exactly be kosher unless you spent almost every character gen point given to you on that ally.
--Sere
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Allies
Sept 27, 2007 13:49:20 GMT -5
Post by Finarvyn on Sept 27, 2007 13:49:20 GMT -5
I think that Allies are one thing that ADRP suggests should be left up to the GM. In other words it's possible to have a friend in Amber and not know who he/she is, but occasionally you find that you are getting aid from an unkown source.
Certainly, being able to pick you allies should cost more than the unknown type.
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Allies
Sept 27, 2007 15:00:40 GMT -5
Post by serendipity on Sept 27, 2007 15:00:40 GMT -5
I can understand why a DM might not want the players to choose their allies, since the players might choose someone that ends up being far more influential than originally intended. Perhaps it's just because I'm the chronicler for our group and I have to figure out how to write it up, but I'd at least want to know who my ally is! In real life, I at least get a card or a phone call from whoever helps me; I've never yet just gotten anonymous, altruistic aid.... At least (grinning) not that I know of.
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Allies
Sept 27, 2007 18:32:20 GMT -5
Post by nihilisticmind on Sept 27, 2007 18:32:20 GMT -5
I like to keep it a secret. It's more fun that way. It's always nice to make the players think so-and-so is their ally, when they're really just setting them up to eventually betray them, at which point the real ally can also be revealed.
If you look the Ty'iga (sp?) and how she was looking after Merlin AND Luke in the guise of Gail, neither of them knew they were getting help, and what's even more brilliant, SHE didn't know which one she was supposed to help either!
I have to admit that I've not been very creative with allies, and they often tend to be a parent of the PC, with a few exceptions... Any fun ideas to apply to an ally?
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Allies
Sept 29, 2007 19:00:48 GMT -5
Post by serendipity on Sept 29, 2007 19:00:48 GMT -5
In our longest Amber campaign, my character's ally was an uncle (an Elder) to whom she would write letters, describing her adventures. (I'm the group chronicler, so I wrote our transcripts in persona.) It kept a certain distance between my PC and her ally, and we never knew for certain if her uncle received the letters and aided the group behind the scenes... or not.... It certainly kept us from showing up on his doorstep to try to get the benefits of a strong NPC's stats. I liked this method much better than not knowing who my ally was, even though I never really knew if/when we actually got help.
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Allies
Oct 1, 2007 21:00:13 GMT -5
Post by nihilisticmind on Oct 1, 2007 21:00:13 GMT -5
I think that's a great way to handle an ally that is known to the PC. Very good.
One of my poor players almost killed his ally, because of a misunderstood behind-the-scenes happenstance... Very unfortunate. But it forced his ally to reveal herself, which was a great scene.
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Allies
Oct 18, 2007 15:17:25 GMT -5
Post by Finarvyn on Oct 18, 2007 15:17:25 GMT -5
Sounds like a great role-playing experience, having to somehow keep the two from killing each other. The neat thing about having a player NOT know the identity of the ally is that the player never knows if the points are well spent or not. As a GM, I can always save up the aid for one big surge of assistance when it really counts!
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Allies
Oct 18, 2007 16:09:51 GMT -5
Post by nihilisticmind on Oct 18, 2007 16:09:51 GMT -5
Exactly, and making things very dramatic at just the right time! Now THAT's fun!
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mtfhod
Lost in Shadow
Posts: 2
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Allies
Dec 20, 2007 0:39:58 GMT -5
Post by mtfhod on Dec 20, 2007 0:39:58 GMT -5
What do you think of the idea of having players put points into future allies and then later telling the DM they'd like a particular NPC to be their ally? One of our regular auctions is "Loyalists" which represents the people of Amber and the Golden Circle and their preference/favouritism of the ranking characters. I will allow people with high Loyalist ranks the option of developing some of these allies, but I keep the Ally rules fairly pristine DRPG, in that someone can say, "My Ally is Captain of the Guard," and I'll smile and nod and think to myself, "Sure he is..."
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Dilvish
Low Rank in Amber
The damned
Posts: 76
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Allies
Aug 22, 2009 22:16:15 GMT -5
Post by Dilvish on Aug 22, 2009 22:16:15 GMT -5
I'm of mixed mind on this issue.
If I put CP into a Personal Shadow, I get to determine what it is like. I get to give it details, give it life. I get to decide a lot about it. However, if I put CP into Allies, the GM gets to pick and I may never find out who it is or what this Ally has actually done for me. Or if he has done anything at all.
Whle I appreciate the plot elements involved in a "Secret Ally" it seems like these two situations don't compare well. Shouldn't both situations be interpreted the same?
I'm not sure about this, understand. Mostly playing Devil's advocate on the whole thing....
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ed
Citizen of Amber
Posts: 30
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Allies
Apr 27, 2020 19:20:26 GMT -5
Post by ed on Apr 27, 2020 19:20:26 GMT -5
What about a player buying ally or devotee for another character? So the player would get an extra few points for their character at the expense of having to intercede in the adventures of another character. I can't see it working out well but at the same time in a long-running campaign some PCs might become parents and other players might want to support the offspring.
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