Character Creation: Crown Casino
Character Creation for Crown Casino
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All characters start with 40pt, but have walked the Pattern, even if they aren’t very proficient with it. You also need to rank your potential top three parents, to give me an idea of who you’re interested in. Brand, Corwin and Random are not available.
There is an optional character quiz if you wish to fill it out to flesh out your character.
There isn’t a problem with more than one of you being in the same area of the casino. HOWEVER, your seniority in that area will depend on the order in which I receive characters. So, if two of you want to work on the casino floor, then the one who gets their character to me first will have more seniority in that area than the character I get second.
The majority of the characters will have been brought together either during Gérard’s Regency, which lasted from 4,468 AP to 4,485 AP, most likely during the earlier part of that period, when the Amber Family were working on their plans to attack Chaos; or after Random’s Official Coronation in Amber in 4,485 AP. If the character was brought to Amber during the Regency, then they would be familiar with the pre-steampunk Amber, as well as Amber since Random’s…modifications.
There are three main exceptions:
- Children of Bleys, as he was presumed dead during the period between falling off Kolvir during the attack with Corwin, and when he turned up again at the battle before the Gates of Chaos. Therefore, children of Bleys will probably have been brought to Amber when Bleys returned from his sojourn in Chaos in 4,489 AP.
- Children of Eric, as he died in 4,461 AP. For characters of the age of Crown Casino players, they’re likely to have been born in Amber or the Golden Circle within a few years of Eric’s death, and when they come to Amber needs to be agreed with the GM.
- Children of Caine, as he staged his death during Corwin’s brief reign, and was presumed dead when the Elders were staging to go to Chaos. Caine’s children can have been brought to Amber either in the early years of the Patternfall War (from Eric’s Coronation in 4,458 until his death in 4,466), or after Random’s Official Coronation, but probably not during either Corwin’s or Gerard’s Regencies.
It is currently early-4,500 AP.
And as a general note, you all have quarters in both Amber, and on the staff floor of the Crown Hotel.
Character creation options:
Stats
All stats start at Amber. Psyche and Endurance cannot be sold down – a minimum of Amber is required in both of these to walk the Pattern.
Partial buy-ups and sell-downs between Chaos and Amber: eg Chaos+5 would be better than Chaos, but not up to Amber level. Stats cannot be sold down below Chaos.
The main difference for stats is that while Psyche, Strength and Endurance are as per the ADRPG, Warfare has been divided into Combat (your physical skill at weapons, self-defence, etc) and Presence/Command, which is your personal standing, as well as the ability to see the bigger picture, and encourage other people to do as you tell them.
PCs can buy Presence to a maximum of Amber +5pt.
Stuff is available, to a maxium of 5pt in each direction.
Powers
No form of Logrus initiation is available to starting Crown Casino characters, although who knows what might happen in play.
Items are handled by specific house rules, so Conjuration does not exist in the usual ADRPG form, although it is available as a class of magic.
Pattern
You would all have heard rumours about some kind of cut-down Shadow transportation method called “Broken Pattern”, but why would you bother to learn any more about it. You are a member of the House of Amber in good standing, and have walked the Great Pattern itself.
All Crown Casino PCs begin with basic Pattern abilities. You’ve walked it, you’ve learned how to defend yourself with it and you know the basics of how to walk through Shadow, although until now you’ve really only been out to the Golden Circle. You’re also working in a casino, so Random will have personally taught you the basics of probability manipulation, with a specific focus on how to stop people cheating at games of chance.
If PCs wish to become more adept with the Pattern, then you can buy it in partial steps at 5pt each, or if you’re really keen, you can spend 25pt to be a full basic Pattern initiate. To buy it in one jump saves 5pt compared to buying each ability seperately
Costs are as follows:
| Item | Cost | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Full Probability Manipulation | 5 | Builds on what Random has taught you on manipulating probability in the casino to give you the full ability in Shadow. For example, is a lock open, is someone at home or not, and do you have the right cash in your pocket. |
| Find Shadow Resource | 5 | Lets you find useful items in Shadow. For the most part, they will be generic – a chair, a table, a bag of gold – rather than “my father’s favourite clock”. |
| Time/Magic/Tech Sense | 5 | Allows you to feel for the speed that a Shadow is travelling at, relative to Amber, as well as the underlying rules of magic and/or technology on that world. |
| Find Shadow of Desire | 5 | This allows you to look for a specific place in Shadow. |
| Leading Others Through Shadow | 5 | Allows you to lead other people through Shadow, without the need of a Royal Ways. The number of people you can take with you, and you’re likelihood of losing them, depends on your Psyche. |
| Hellriding | 5 | Hellriding allows you to travel through Shadow at much faster speeds than basic Shadow Walking. You may be able to take other people with you, but how likely you are to lose them depends on your Psyche. |
| Full Basic Pattern | 25pt | This gives you all of the above abilities. |
For player characters wishing to take their Pattern skills beyond Basic, they must first learn all the segments of Basic Pattern, unless agreed otherwise with the GM.
Trump Artistry
Trump is not particularly well known in Amber, especially outside of the Royal Family. However, while Dworkin hasn’t really been seen since the Patternfall War, Princess Fiona and Prince Caine are known to be Trump Artists. Queen Vialle also has some kind of Trump-like ability.
Trump can be bought in the following stages:
| Item | Cost | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Draw People and Trump Defence | 20 | This is the basis of all Trump ability. Without this, nothing else can be done, but once you’ve taken it you can buy the following in any order. Trump defence is the technique for concentrating on your own Trump, to defend against an arcane attack. |
| Caller ID | +5 | Lets you check through your deck to see who’s calling you, as long as you have drawn a Trump of that person. |
| Draw Places | +5 | Allows you to draw Trumps of a place, rather than a person. |
| Trump Sketches | +5 | Quick and dirty Trumps which take about twenty minutes to draw, but will only work once or twice. You can only sketch places, once you’ve taken the full “Draw places”. |
| Trump Scrying | +5 | The ability to attempt to interpret a scrying of cards done in the manner of a Tarot reading. |
| Basic Trump | 40 | Alternatively, you can choose to buy full basic Trump outright, as per the ADRPG. |
For player characters wishing to take their Trump skills beyond Basic, they must first learn all the segments of Basic Trump, unless agreed otherwise with the GM
Shapeshifting
Starting Crown Casino characters may have some degree of shapeshift, although if you choose to take any shifting, it could open up some interesting questions on who your other parent was and why they were hanging out with an Amberite. Some of the Elders are capable of shifting, but they don’t exactly go round announcing the fact. Therefore, if you choose more than just ICM or ICM+4F, you need to come up with a good story about who taught you.
Shapeshift is split as follows:
| Item | Cost | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Inherent Crisis Management (ICM) | 10 | This level of shapeshift is the most basic, and the user has no control over their ability whatsoever. However, it will ensure survival from injuries and in hostile environments. with the proviso that it takes about 1 minute for this to kick in and work. So you need to avoid situations which will get you dead faster than that, or you will still die. This also allows the auto-shapeshift ability, which can cope with major injuries or rapidly changing environmental conditions, however auto-shapeshifting is not a conscious thing and can cause problems in and of itself. |
| Four Forms and ICM | 15 or 5 + ICM |
The starting position from which controlled shapeshift develops. This lets the user switch between their human, animal, demon, and elemental forms. Conservation of mass does not exist between these four basic forms. However, once you take one of them, then you are mass-restricted with other creatures of that kind.Once you have this level of shapeshift you can add any of the following, in any order, for 5pt each, until you reach full basic shapeshift (35pt). |
| Shapeshift Wounds | +5 | This is a conscious self-healing exercise. It can keep going till you run out of steam. Wound shifting is not instant – it takes up to a minute to stabilise critical wounds, so if the shifter’s sub-conscious believes that such wounds will kill you, it may trigger auto-shapshifting. |
| Modify Extremities | +5 | Do you want a claw instead of a finger, or longer arms, shorter legs? This is the one for that. |
| Shift Facial Features | +5 | Want to change what you face looks like? Here we go. It is risky to let this one loose without a mirror available – unless you have practiced a particular shift before, it might not come out perfect first time. |
| Animal Forms | +5 | This ability lets you assume the forms of normal animals other than your avatar creature, of about the same mass as the form you started with. |
| Full Basic Shapeshift | 35 | Alternatively, you can choose to buy full basic shapeshift outright, as per the ADRPG. |
For player characters wishing to take their shapeshifting abilities beyond Basic, they must first learn all the segments of basic shapeshifting, unless agreed otherwise with the GM.
Magical Abilities
Sorcery
Under the Sable Magic System, which I’m also using for the Helgram and Crown Casino Games, mages are not taught specific spells, but instead will have a basic grounding in magic of all kinds. At higher levels they can have specialised in one, two or three specific areas, for example offensive magic, defensive magic or healing. Details of magic in Amber can be found here.
The Amber University Faculty of Magic is the only location within Greater Amber where students can be taught magic. In addition, at the present time, it is offering four courses: Operation of Magical Technology; Magical Technology for the Talented, which covers the basics of mech-tech magic, and lasts one year; Advanced Magical Technology for the Talented, a two-year extension course including Conjuration; and a full Bachelor of Magic Degree, which grounds the mage in the various different classes of magic, and takes five years.
| Item | Cost | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Operation of Magical Technology | 5 | This is a three-month course for those who have just enough Talent to operate magi-tech machinery to a degree that they could work with it as a job. |
| Magical Technology for the Talented (MTech) | 10 | An MTech graduate finishes the course with the equivalent of a basic specialisation in Mech-tech/Industrial magic. |
| Advanced Magical Technology for the Talented (AMTech) | 15 | An AMTech graduate finishes the course with the equivalent of a partial specialisation in mech-tech/industrial magic and a partial expertise in conjuration |
| Batchelor of Magic (BMg) | 15 | Pretty close to ADRPG sorcery, without the specific need for lynchpins. On graduation, they will have a basic competence in all the classes of magic, and one or two “partial” specialisations. A mage’s signet can act as a racking item for c.12 spells. Racked spells do need to be maintained, but it only takes a couple of minutes per spell every evening. |
For students who wish to study further, the Amber Faculty of Magic has an agreement with the Somerton Mage College, located on the Veil 3 Golden Circle world of Beighton. The Somerton Mage College offers both Masters and Doctorate programmes. However, these are not available to starting Crown Casino characters.
Conjuration
Within the Crown Casino game, Conjuration can only be learned either as part of the Advanced Magical Technology for the Talented course, or as a class of magic, as part of a magical degree (as per the Magic System).
Conjuration is not a discipline with instantaneous applications, but it can be very useful over time.
ADRPG High Compelling does not exist within the Crown Casino game.
More details can be found here.
Magical Sensitive
Occasionally, an individual has either an exceedingly weak Talent – i.e not strong enough even to train as the most basic kind of mage; or a flawed or unusual Talent, through which they can demonstrate some kind of unusual affinity or ability. This may be something they have from birth, or it may develop in later life due to specific stresses or experiences. These people are called Sensitives. What specifically makes someone a Sensitive, rather than leaving them with just a weak or broken Talent, is still a matter of great interest and investigation amongst the magical community.
Sensitive abilities can take a number of different forms: examples include the ability to feel magical or other arcane emanations, to unerringly spot black magic and its practitioners, being particularly empathic as far as feeling strong emotions in others, an affinity for the psychic without actually being able to cast spells, being able to seek for something or attune to something and know where it is thereafter, or have what is known in common parlance as Second Sight. There are even some mages who demonstrate the characteristics of Sensitives, which has led to further debate on the nature of this particular ability.
A Sensitive ability can be taken at character creation, although the nature of the Sensitivity needs to be defined at the outset. Occasionally, Sensitive abilities may be acquired in play but in that case, their nature will be defined by the GM. A sensitive would be able to take the Operation of Magical Technology, but not the higher levels of magic.
For a non-mage, Sensitivity costs 10pt; for a mage, it is an additional 5pt over and above their chosen magical level.
Power Words
The other unusual magical ability, which may itself be a form of Sensitivity, is Power Words. These are handled differently in the Helgram Game than in the ADRPG rules. When a character choose Power Words, they are buying the ability to form them, but it does not give you specific “words”. Instead, the character will have have two or three phrases or concepts. For example:
| Power Word | Effect |
|---|---|
| “Don’t die!” | A shout of desperation to try to save someone or something you care about |
| “Dammit, I was supposed to look perfect!” | For when you really need to look your best, but fate is conspiring to stop that happening. |
| “Get away from me!” | The person you shout at gets somehow pushed away – for example, by a gust of wind. |
| “Work, damn you!” | A way of getting something which isn’t working, to start working there and then. |
New Power Words can be added during play, if circumstances allow – for example, a desperate situation, where the character ends up trying to dominate the surroundings in desperation, to try to make something happen. Once a Power Word has been formed, it is always available for the future. However, GM agreement is needed to add new words to the list.
Power Words cost 10pt, whether or not the character is a trained mage. Taking Power Words does not automatically mean that you can take the Operation of Magical Technology course.
(With acknowledgement to Justin Parsler and Kath Banks for the concept)
Mundane Skills
For the most part, the GM assumes that you will have the basic skills for your place of origin, such as language, knowledge of the customs and culture, history, etc. Within Amber, this also includes such Medieval (as was) skills as hunting, riding and falconry if you’re interested in such things.
If a PC wishes to be exceptional at something, they can buy specific skills for 1pt. As an indication of what that means, had they been trained in Shadow, they would be considered in the top decile of the Shadow at that skill. Had they been trained in Amber, they’d be in the top quartile.
You can also choose two or three hobbies for 0pt. This is one stage up from your assumed basic skills as a young member of the Amber Royal Family.
Suggestions for skills include: acting, administration, business knowledge, diplomat, etiquette, gambling, investigation, sense of style, tracking, weapons master, xenobiology, etc. The descriptions below refer to non-combat skills.
- 0pt means you do it as a hobby. You’re competent at it, but you couldn’t make a living from it.
- 1pt in a skill means you have gained a good grounding in that particular subject, and could persue it as a career. 1pt skills related to what you do in the casino are fair game. For other 1pt skills, given you’re a young member of the Amber Royal Family, you’ll need to justify to the GM why you’d have that skill.
Powers-related skills such as magic or a specific Pattern ability cannot be bought in this way.
A Clarification on Combat Skills
If a skill is bought in a specific weapon or combat style, then effectively the PC uses that specific weapon or discipline at an effective higher combat/strength (as applicable) to their basic stat, and you can take combat skills to higher levels than mundane ones. However, there is a law of diminishing returns.
The benefit accrued by buying skills in the same weapon increases as follows:
- 1st skill: 10pt benefit
- 2nd: 5pt benefit
- 3rd: 3pt benefit
- 4th and 5th: 1pt benefit each
Therefore the maximum benefit over the character’s base combat is 20pt if the character buys five skills in that particular weapon or discipline.
Default Languages
Crown Casino characters are fluent in Thari, plus the language of their home Shadow if they were initially born outside Amber. They may also have picked up Texorami standard, as Random brought in quite a lot of the staff from his favourite casino Shadow.
There is also a general Golden Circle trade language which allows the inhabitants of different Golden Circle worlds to communicate. This serves a similar purpose to English and Hindi in India, as the common second language among many different primary languages and dialects.
In addition, because the PCs have walked the Pattern, they can speak most other languages with a little thought, as long as they’ve listened it being spoken by native speakers for a few hours or so.
Items and Allies
Items are also handled somewhat differently within the Helgram Game, as Conjuration does not exist in its ADRPG form. Items are available in two kinds: Personal Items and Items of Power. Living creatures cannot usually be bought as items, except with GM agreement.
| Item | Cost | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Item | 5 | This covers items of significance to the character, but without actual Power. Examples would include swords, parasols, armour, magical gadgets. Details of what they can do must be agreed with the GM.Living creatures cannot usually be bought as items, except with GM agreement. Items purely for boosting stats are not allowed.Mages can also buy ONE additional racking item for 5pt, which gives them instant access to an extra 12 spells. |
| Item of Power | 10 | Items with actual Power in them, such as Trump or Shadow travel, or blades like Greyswandir and Werewindle. These are only available with GM consent. |
Allies, Family Friends and Devotees cost as per ADRPG. Non-family (i.e. 1pt) allies can have quantity multipliers applied to them; Family Friends and Devotees cannot.