Amber Diceless

[PA]

Note: Mark Mackinnon of Guardians of Order was (and maybe still is) a huge Amber fan. He ran Ambercon North for a couple of years, and the GoO name is an Amber reference, I believe. Plus their early logo (no idea about now) included a unicorn, another Amber reference.

This is all my personal opinion, not vetted by Mark or any GoO employee. I haven't played in a game of his in years.

--Seule

Oh, true, how could I forget. Mark wrote, this very year:

"Amber was undoubtedly the biggest influence on BESM."
http://www.herogames.com/SAS/Interview_1.htm

"I'm a huge fan of rules-light systems, with Amber Diceless RPG as my
all-time favourite"
http://www.herogames.com/SAS/Interview_2.htm

 

[DMauricio]

...

Of course, true Amber fans will realize what I mean when I explain that I was playing an unknown character, and beat Benedict in a fair fight. That somewhat colored my perceptions of the game.

...

<amber geek>
Benedict may have been the best fighter, but he wasn't infallible.
And besides which, he may have let you win.
</amber geek>

I like the concept of amber diceless. I like it in theory.
However, I find that to make amber run... you need like-minded people.

So unfortunately for me, there is no amber diceless. Most of my players are damn resistant to change, and as much as I could just go find a new group, I like my players. There's also the issue that I have with my group, that only a few of them think "big". Actually, some of them think "too big" for our own good. But maybe its just a style thing for me.


just my $0.02

Dom

 

[Seule]

<amber geek>
Benedict may have been the best fighter, but he wasn't infallible.
And besides which, he may have let you win.
</amber geek>

Dom

Actually, I was playing Finndo, the elder brother who (in this game) taught Benedict how to fight in the first place. The game was set in Chaos, after Amber defeated it, with Benedict set up as Regent. I was in disguise, and only Benedict (an NPC) recognized me. I attacked, to keep my secret, and once I started winning, all the Amber sympathizers started assisting me, assuming he couldn't be Benedict, as he was losing.

Of course, the game was set up to challenge people's perceptions. The High Priestess of the Serpent (PC) had a higher psyche than Fiona (also PC). A Chaos noble (Helgram I think, it was years ago) had higher Strength than Gerard. I (Finndo in disguise) had a higher Warfare than Benedict, and so on. It really challenged people's expectations.
After all, the Amberites are just the grandchildren of a renegade Chaosite (Dworkin), so why should they be the best at everything?

All this is beside the point, which is the Amber is a good game if you have a good group and a great GM, and can become a very bad game otherwise. I've been running D&D for nearly 20 years, and I wouldn't dare run an Amber game. I'm not that good.

--Seule