Epoch's Amber Tips just in case someone comes by to read about Amber that hasn't any idea how to run a game--- this is the page to read. Excellent stuff. And very good advice.
I'm going to collect some of this here--- as my Rebma page can always use more content.
Rebma
--- Madeline wrote:
> It's more, though, that Rebma is just mind-numbingly boring,
> and I'm trying to come up with some reason to visit it other
> than "I have to talk to Llewella." :)
> Other people probably have given this more thought,
> and I'd love to hear their tricks...
Rebma tricks:
1. politics: Moire and Llewella represent family ties (Martin, etc) and some of the combat strength of Amber. Try a naval battle without Rebma a neutral party.
2. sex: Oberon, Eric, Corwin, Random, all found something about Rebma that reflected a unique attraction. Could it be *the women*? IMC, there is Athanor blood in the Tribes that came to Lir's call. And no small part of the royal lineage of Rebma is the blood of sirens. And the women of the royal line cooperate--- boy, do they cooperate!
3. arcane secrets: the Pattern, the rings of Moire, the spikard shown but not mentioned (oops, forgot to give the first series purist warning), the protections of a realm that are more arcane than the earthly ones of Amber.
4. maturity: Rebma is boring--- if you don't have time to invest yourself in the Emerald City, it doesn't have time for you. So young amberites easily get the cold shoulder here. Trot out the diplomats, the relationship driven cousins and things can change.
5. shadows: note the kind of shadows that Rebma reflects, dark citadels of sorcerous power, high-tech stations floating in a dwarf star system, hidden cities. Lot's of things to explore in such places... including monstrosities.
--- Madeline wrote:
> This hadn't actually occurred to me as a lure, though I have
> encountered Rebman promiscuity in many games.
> Even been a part of. Huh!
>
> I dunno. As a player, it seems that generally when PCs
> want to get laid without much work, they need go no
> further than the brothels of Amber. How could a GM
> make Rebma seem like it was worth the trip?
>
--- Kris Fazzari wrote:
> The novelty of sex underwater? Certainly, the effect of
> gravity appears to be lessened.
>
--- Claire Bickell wrote:
> Because they're somehow bewitching and it's a bit of a
> dare/right of passage to try and prove oneself immune?
>
> Or maybe they just have kinky skills that are so jealously
> guarded that nobody else knows them?
All excellent points. I think it is possible that a prince of Amber might go 'fishing' for such information and experience, or rumors of such. Particularly Random since his 'skill set' might overlap these issues.
:)
The maternal line of royalty in Rebma has talents for relationships, whether formal, arcane, kinky, or otherwise. And as a GM, I don't encourage trips to Rebma, as Llewella goes out of her way to make Rebma seem boring and unimportant. She is one of its guardians.
As for brothels, if young Amberites do anything at all 'without much work' then they are the navigators of their own result. They can
remain blissful of their relative success. Amber does have some very nice brothels, and Rebmans can be difficult to get to know, even if they are disposed towards you.
Results are derived from desire, focus, and practice as with shadow.
I think there are plenty of examples of our 'faithful narrator' explaining that there is nothing like Amber's air, or the colors of Amber, or the other sensory delights of the center of all things. Perhaps this is only my own extrapolation of bare hints...
However the sons of daughters of Oberon pick-up on this stuff in different ways, at different speeds, or not at all.
An Amberite with good values in Endurance and Strength has better perceptions and judgment about sex and other advanced bodily states. Endurance has mystic and analytical components that are underused (more in the gaming practice than the canon).
--- Ginger Stampley wrote:
> Who watches from the shadows in the turbulent waters
> where you seek the answers to these questions? And who
> would silence you rather than have the truth run free like
> blood in the waves?
Cool.
IMC, the Rebmans have made alliance with Amber for most of its existence. This has always been costly. Just as Oberon lost many (unremembered) sons and daughters before Corwin's time--- Rebma lost many heroes and royals in the defense of Amber.
While Oberon respected this-- Eric and the others were largely ignorant of it. Moire and Llewella did not appreciate that ignorance, while they also saw no reason to illuminate it.
Congratulations/Condolances, you're Jean Grey! hmmm
Caine, elven ranger bard, with dragon blood, and a secret complex to be a redhead, possibly darkly motivated. Gee, I think I'm getting a campaign idea.
Setting aside some nice things she said about me and others, I would like to add that there are probably more interesting minds on the Amber List than any I've encountered anywhere at any time in my life.
Unfortunately, the List is a shadow of the harsh crits I've seen Amber DRPG get.
1. Elders are unfeeling and without compassion for youngers. Who needs them?
2. Elders never make mistakes, and if it appears they have, you're wrong, you just don't know enough.
3. Elders turn everything into a zero sum game. They win, you lose.
4. Elders have already thought of everything you might think of, and are prepared in advance to squelch your ideas and plans for the immature and foolish things they truly are.
Now in response to this, I am prepared to defend my favorite game, (if not the Mail List):
1. Elders invest compassion for youngers once they have a better measure of them. First impressions are hardly ever adequate. Other Elders note such relationships and put much more thought into them than may be needed, but that's what families are like.
2. Elders never make small mistakes, and if it appears they have, you're wrong. It's probably a large mistake which the Elder is good at hiding. Help them out of a bind and they may owe you a favor. Like helping you out of your mistakes, large and small.
3. Elders game with opponents of equal measure. They like to win, but save their invective for worthy foes. If you think one of them is petty, see number 2 above.
4. Elders were young once, they just don't remember it well. Everything you might think of has probably crossed their minds, but the world is always a slightly different place than it was last century. Yes, you might be young and boring, but you might also have stimulus and inspiration that just weren't around a hundred years ago. Stay in the game. It could be worth it just for what you pick up from the edges.
So does that tell me anything about staying on the Mail List? Probably.
The Spook: February 2002 about half way down the page, Emma Straub does a bit of digital legwork with friends of her father. She tears into the line between popular genre fiction and literature.
Very interesting reading.
I think Zelazny was a genius in the way he could involve readers in his themes, his imagination, and still keep the story accessible.
Here is a link straight to the PDF file for Emma's article.
Perhaps there is no point to an Amber name but what the observer puts upon it.
But I think this is not so.
Should you come upon a royal name, whether it be plain or dripping syllables like grapes on a vine, you should understand at some cosmic-string level of your being that you are meeting a person of distinction.
I'm always intrigued by words, and given names are a close second in fascination. In the game of Amber, the name you give your character lasts forever and generates a series of shadow-myths through infinite shadow.
As such, the name should be very strong, but very flexible. It should inspire myth, but not simulate it.
Here are some that I've seen that really seem excellent:
Cinder, daughter of Bleys
Noys, daughter of Eric
Dagny, daughter of Rinaldo
Jubilation, daughter of ?
Aefre, daughter of ?
Jilly Coppercorn, daughter of Fiona
Folly, daughter of ?
One comment on many of the above-- the usual form of the name and the formal form create interesting ideas. Folly might also be Folhcastrix. Jubilation is the formal of Jubilee.
Shapir, son of Julian
Evander, son of Eric
Ingeld, son of ?
Kaedric, son of ?
Withnail, son of ?
Veldt, son of Oberon
One comment on those above-- in a con game I ran with some pre-gen characters offered, the premise was to play the sons and daughters of Oberon that are no longer even remembered in Amber during Corwin's narrative. Royals who perished centuries before Faiella came to Amber.
Just that idea can put you in a mood for creating interesting names.
I'd love to collect rare and interesting names for Amberites.
Ever have trouble finding things on my Eternal City pages?
I have 129 pages (as of today).
The Atomz search engine is a really spiffy device.
I have assigned various 'equal words' for searches, for example, looking for Flora will also yield Florimel.
Nope.
Nothing personal about other folks here.
Not going to happen.
No, if I have an observation about someone at a personal level, I know where my email program is.
