Introduction:
Twenty years after Patternfall, there is peace and security in the
Eternal Realm. Random is ruling well and the Chaosians even have
a full Embassy in the Eternal City, even if they don't often
leave the compound.
But then the unexpected, the very unexpected happens. A large, fast
flowing river appears out of nowhere in Amber, running deep
into shadow. Weirdly, while the royal family and 'real people'
are taken aback by this, the main populace accepts the River Wyrr
as always having been there to begin with.
What does this mean? And is it only the first of other
returning Ghosts of the Past?
Ghosts of the Past was last updated Wednesday, February 12, 2003
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The World of Ghosts of the Past(hereafter referred to
as GOP)
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- Read the Prologue to Ghosts of the Past, where Scipio, in the middle
of a lovely picnic with a member of the Chaosian Embassy, is witness to
an unexpected event.
- Characters will be based on 175 points, advanced powers to be
negotiated with the GM. Players are strongly urged to send their
characters in advance, to give more playing time at the
convention. Characters created on gameday will only get 150
points. Character concepts are recommended to focus in and around
the Amber Royal Family.
- Character Parentage can be up to the player within reason.
(Strange stuff like children of Oberon or Dworkin will require GM
approval). If you want your parentage to be nebulous, unknown or
can't decide...you are asking to become a GM plot device. :evil
GM smile:
- Every character will be given a single extra bonus point to
be spent on what I call Excellence. Excellence is one trait or
skill that your character excels in, and in point of fact may be
the best at in the entire Family. The best musician, the best
cook, the best at couture. This is to make the sometimes
cardboard characters of ambercons have a little more color. This
is a trait that everyone knows about and your PC is known for. If
two characters were to by some chance pick the same trait, well
then I will consider them co-equals and equally above the
rest.
- Although Player character concepts are important, a character
cannot survive without powers! Powers available to a PC include:
- My email address is jvstin@aol.com
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- Amber is at the pole of the universe, the very icon of order.
The size of Amber itself is roughly that of a moderately large
Earth Nation.
- The centerpiece of Amber is Mt. Kolvir, the largest and
tallest mountain in the range which bears its name. The City of
Amber and the Castle Amber nestle against its eastern flank,
bordering the sea. Amber's harbor is legendary, and its
lifeline.
- Arden Forest is the domain of Prince Julian and covers much
of the land west and south of the city. Most if not all shadow
paths by land either end in the tangle of the mountains of
Kolvir, or most commonly wind up passing through Arden.
- To the east of Amber City are the counties and shires of the
Kingdom. Small towns and farming communities such as Bayle make
up the bulk of the open land. Although Amber does import some
foodstuffs, this is the 'breadbasket' of the Eternal Realm.
Toward the north of this region, the fertile land gives way to
rolling hills more suited for livestock than crops.
- Rebma, the City under the Sea lies about 10 miles southwest
of Amber. The sole land entrance is at the Staircase known as
Faiella-Bionin.
- The Isle of Cabra lies about 30 miles southwest, in a shallow
bay known for its rocks and shoals, a hazard to ships which must
necessarily pass through it to go to and from Amber Harbor.
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Finished just this year, the Chaosian Embassy is a large pyramidal edifice of
the yellow-orange rock called sunstone, sitting on the flanks of the mountain,
a forking path off of the main road up to the Castle leads to it. The
Embassy currently has about a dozen members including servants, the senior
diplomat is Lady Juuune (pronounced Juh-wune) Sawall, third cousin to Emperor
Merlin. She has several junior diplomats under her aegis, and assorted servants
to provide for their needs. No one besides the diplomats ever are seen outside
the walls of their embassy, and they are not often seen themselves, save in
Random's Court.
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Several days ago, the topopgrahy and geography of Amber changed in a way even
more severe than the corruption of Garnath, during the Patternfall War. A
river, sui generis, appeared apparently all at once, having its headwaters
at Jones Falls in the Kolvir Mountain Range, and running down through the
hills, through a slice of Arden and its shadows, and, apparently, into shadow.
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Much more information on this mysterious River remains to be determined,
especially by the player characters. Of pertinent interest is the fact that
as far as anyone can tell, non Royal residents of Amber seem to all have
memories of the River 'always having being there'.
- No kingdom is an Island, and Amber is no exception. The
Eternal Realm has trading and alliance treaties with a group of
shadow realms which lie on the outskirts of Amber. This group of
shadows is known as the Golden Circle.
- Examples of Golden Circle Shadows can be found at the Shadowwalker's
Guide to the Golden Circle.
- Amber is a realm which resists and indeed was created to
oppose chaos. Raising the Logrus is difficult to do without
attracting a lot of attention. Sorcerers must account for the
effects of the Pattern in their spells, as they tend to wither
away from the energies of the icon of Order.
Technology seems to be at the early Renaissance level, despite
efforts of some of the royal family to experiment with more
advanced technologies.
Ironically enough, using the Pattern is difficult in Amber. An
initiate must move physically away from Amber for miles before
shadowshifting becomes practical. Likewise, powers such as
probability manipulation and the like do not work as well in
Amber as they do in Shadow.
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- Random
- The King of Amber. His reign has been mostly peaceful,
despite tensions with the Courts. It's unbelievable that the once
young punk of the family would actually have any ability at
running the kingdom. The Love of a good woman does wonders.
- Benedict
- The General of Amber's Armies. Ever since the Patternfall
War, he's been engaged in training his troops, and himself, to
better suit them in combat against the varied and unusual forces
akin to thosefirst revealed in the Chaos campaign. It is clear that even
though Merlin holds the throne, Benedict is a cautious man.
Or perhaps he is expecting attack from an equally alien, but
different quarter. Benedict is a man of few words and fewer answers.
- Bleys
- Along with his sister Fiona, the magic-users of the family.
Unlike Fiona, he is the dabbler...preferring to be, as they say,
second best in everything.
- Brand
- The Mad Sorcerer, he who would have destroyed the universe or
rebuilt it in his own image. Dead, in the endless fall of the
Abyss.
- Corwin
- Ever since the tragic death of Deirdre, the Silver Rose has
several things to keep him interested and busy--namely, his own
Pattern and Universe. Not seen in Amber that much as a
result...but still, well remarked upon when he does appear.
- Deirdre
- Dead. Tragically fell into the Abyss with Brand.
- Fiona
- The Sorceress Supreme of Amber. Barely 5 feet tall, the acid
tongued mistress of magic always knows what is going on...and
possibly knows what you are thinking before you do...
- Gerard
- He is one of the few elders who truly puts Amber and the
people in it above his own personal gain. As long as you are
loyal to Amber you have nothing to fear from this gentle giant
but if you betray Amber.....well then you will find out what it
is like to go against a Mack Truck.
- Julian
- The conservative Lord of Arden
Julian's self control and coldness are legendary. He truly is
open and loving only with those he trusts...Gerard, perhaps.
Offspring, perhaps, too. That is about it. to all others, he is
the man in white armor. The man with the hounds.
His knowledge of his world, Arden, is as much as a human can
know. His hounds, his Rangers rule the paths, the roads and the
spaces between.
- Vialle
- Amber's Rebman Queen. By no means the weak half of the
relationship between herself and Random. She is known to have
some magical talents of her own, expressed through her
sculpture.
- Florimel
- Amber's Social Coordinator. She is also known for having
expertise and ability as, of all things, an Architect. As a
matter of fact it is rumoured that Random has asked her to come
up with plans for an expanded and enlarged Castle Amber.
- LLewella
- Usually seen more often in Rebma than in Amber, LLewella has
very strong ties to her half sister Moire. It almost seems as if
she actively prefers the World Below to the World Above.
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- Scipio, son of Flora
- Amber's consummate Diplomat, this son of Flora prefers to get
his way with diplomacy and honey coated words than by sword or
spell. Blond haired, charming and always polite, Scipio always
seems ready to talk his way into or out of a situation.
- Hadrian, son of Caine
- Amber's youthful and skilled Trump Artist. The son of Caine
and a noblewoman from the glacial, fjord dominated world of
DuMarque is far less sneaky and sinister than a son of Caine
might lead people to believe.
- The Player Characters who will be part of GOP will be listed
here.
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- Lord Henden
- The irrepressible and unflusterable Chamberlain of Castle
Amber. A fixture from the days of Oberon, Lord Henden continues
his eternal fight to maintain the orderly running of the Castle
Amber...even if he grates on the nerves of many, and rarely ever
backs down from anyone of lesser rank than the King.
- Commander Rylac Gerison
- The commander of the guards in Amber Castle, a red haired,
skilled swordsman still in the prime of his career. The
independent all-female guards called the Valkyries are a
permanent thorn in his side that he does not dare to remove...a
legacy and a memoriam to the lost Princess Deirdre.
- Michael
- The head of the Amber Kitchens, sometimes called (behind his
back) the "Second King" of the Castle for the regimented and
complete control he has over his domain. Even Lord Henden rarely
challenges the portly salt and pepper bearded man in his element.
On the other hand, with a judicious amount of flattery, he can be
a great ally...when one wants a special meal or a midnight
snack.
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- The Courts of Chaos are an island of relative stability in
the moat that forms the Abyss At the End of the World. The
longest lived and most successful civilization in the universe,
they were already old when a rebel son of a rebel house stole the
Eye of the Serpent.
And yet, some time ago, they lost a major war with Amber on,
ultimately, their own home territory. It is suggested that the
stress and strain of this is what led Swayvill, may his soul rest
in peace, finally take the final trip into the Void.
In the wake of the struggle for the succession afterwards emerged
new, and debatable leadership in the form of the young Merlin of
House Sawall.
Merlin greatly desired better relations between Amber and Chaos, and thus he
and Random have been building those buildings. New, built just this year
is the Chaosian Embassy in Amber, the first ever permanent diplomatic presence
of Chaosians in the Eternal Realm. The Ways of the Amber Diplomatic Mission
are currently being constructed at present in Chaos. There are rumors that
Random is looking to have members of the youngest generation to do tours of
duty there once it is completed.
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