with many thanks and apologies owed to the Amber campaign New Mutiny and Chris Kindred's When the Queen Says Go and Die...
Concept | Customized Rules | Sample Characters
An Amber role-playing game with a swashbuckling feel, where the world is ripe for exploration, adventure and intrigue. A game set in Amber, but not an Amber in which the same old politics, power structure, and rules apply. An Amber with style and flair where the era of the heavily-armored knight on horseback has given way to the era of the swashbuckling swordsman. An Amber where knowledge is power, and mysticism isn't quite as flashy. An Amber unafraid of innovation, where technological progress doesn't spell the end of Amber's way of life. An Amber where royal blood can run in the veins of princes, paupers, conquerors, or rogues from all walks of life. An Amber where the person you bump into on the street might, just might, be a commoner with royal blood, or a prince in disguise.
A little over 300 years ago, the events of the Patternfall war took place largely as described by Corwin and depicted in my previous campaign, Shadows and Substance. Amber's royal family has produced another generation, some of whom sided with Brand in the conflict. Their presence produced a different outcome, where Martin was never found, Deirdre didn't die, and the Unicorn could take human form. Post-Patternfall Amber was wracked by civil war and strife within the Golden Circle.
Then, in the midst of the conflict, an ancient Chaosian curse was broken and Oberon's eldest child, Aurora, returned to the fold. With an iron-clad claim on the throne, a determination to rival her father's, and healthy dislike of Chaos, she began a new golden age. Harnessing the the power of the Jewel of Judgement she called upon the Unicorn for help. They forever barred the minions of Chaos from Amber's shadows, and restored much of Oberon's original designs. Not content to stop there, armed with the knowledge of Aurora and the Guns of Avalon, a revitalized Amber and a reformed Church of the Unicorn began to expand Amber's dominion. The original Golden Circle Alliance became the heart of a new Empire ruled from the Eternal City. Amber's might did not go entirely unchallenged. In barring the paths to Chaos, Aurora opened up new pathways to distant shadows, where strange new powers hold sway. As the Empire expands, it will surely have to deal with these alien powers. Until then, the skillful can still carve out a world of their dreams, be it in the shining Imperial capital, on the trade routes of the Empire, at the front of the Empire's expansion, or in private pursuits.