Welcome to Oaths of the Unicorn, a newly unveiled PBEM
campaign. Your GMs and hosts are FeliciaOlson and myself, Paul
Weimer. While Felicia is the creatrix of the idea and in many
ways its guiding visionary, I am devoted to the details. Thus,
since I have the experience and knowledge of HTML and other
matters, I handle this end.
Please Note: The Game often deals with mature themes and texts
that are definitely not for everyone. Minors and those easily
offended or repelled by such should NOT read any further. The GMs
do not profess advocacy of any of the events or situations in the
game. We simply want to explore a rather darker Amber than the
usual. Reader Discretion is seriously advised.
Oaths of the Unicorn is a game with a rather divergent concept
from the main. Much of what Amber is like in most games does not
apply here. The King is Oberon, there is the mysterious and
powerful Dworkin, and the players take the roles of the children
of Oberon. As Oberon slips toward what might be an untimely
demise, the player characters have learned part of their father's
legacy...in a bid to keep power, he has made it impossible for
his children to bear or sire children on shadow persons.
At the same time, a realm as old as Amber has come into view.
Amethyst, a realm seemingly derived from Tir, may hold the key to
the solution of Oberon's Legacy...or prove the most implacable of
foes for the Amberites. For Amethyst is ruled by Queen Titania,
and she bears little love for her brother Oberon's
descendants...
The World of Oaths of the Unicorn(hereafter referred
to as OTU)
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- Characters for OTU are based on 250 points, plus Pattern as a
given for free. Felicia and I justify this on the basis that most
of the player characters will be children of Oberon, and thus by
any classical definition, elders. Besides, since everyone else
will be of similar power, it is still a matter of equals, albeit
ones with more power than in many PBEMS.
- Character Parentage is primarily limited to children of
Oberon. If you want to play something different (eg. an
descendant of Titania or a child of a PC or NPC Elder, then
consultation with the GMs is mandatory. In any event character
design and insertion into the game does require some work, since
the GMs have, while keeping much of the milieu of Amber in terms
of geography intact, have basically reinvented the Royal Family
to our taste. This is not to say that you couldn't have a
character who was, say, Julian-like, just don't expect to
interact with him. :Grin:
- Although Player character concepts are important, a character
cannot survive without powers! Powers available to a PC include:
- Pattern (FREE, remember), Trump, Logrus, Shapeshifting,
Sorcery, Power Words, Conjuration. We do accept advanced levels
of all of the above.
- Dream
Walking,courtesy of the Strange Bedfellows Campaign
- Alternate Sorceries
from the SB campaign
- If you'd like to use a power not listed here, or a variation
on one of the powers, talk to the GMs and we will see if we can
work it out. We do, and have accepted new and variant powers from
the PCs! The GMs have a taste for discovering well designed new
powers. Other powers that might take your fancy are available on
my site at New Powers.
- My email address is jvstin@aol.com and Felicia is
available at fyrangel@speakeasy.net. Email
correspondence and turns should be addressed to BOTH GMs. PBEM
turns will and can come from either of us, depending on whims,
NPCs involved and the like. Felicia will likely do most of the
writing, and thus most of the turns will come from her. The game
is currently CLOSED to new players. The response to OTU
has been outstanding, more than Felicia and I could have
guessed.
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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 a wild, untamed, Primal Forest that 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.
- 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. The
printing press is still considered a relatively new and neat
idea.
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. The more advanced practitioners of
Pattern can alleviate some of these problems to an extent, of
course, but it is still far more laborious to do anything with
Pattern in Amber than in Shadow.
- For more information on the Player characters in Oaths of the
Unicorn, visit the Player Character's
site. You may also wish to visit the Oaths of the Unicorn Amber Family Tree
page for a better overview of the entire Royal Family Tree of
Amber, NPC and PC alike.
-
- Boedecea
- Oberon's First wife, Warrior Queen of the Shadow Rune
- Falcon (PC)
- Cernunnos
(PC)
- Sabre (PC)
- Arwen and Peregrine,
Twins (PCs)
- Adrina
- Lady Adrina of Alamut
- Solomon
- A mage, came to Amber in his late teens
- Feria
- Wife: Lady Feria of Begma, cousin to the King Raulf of Begma
- Nathaniel
- Admiral of Amber's Navy, eldest son of Lady Feria.
- Parsis (PC)
- Scipio
- Soon to be Prime Minister under the new King. Ladies man,
diplomat. Fraternal twin to Parsis.
- Alexi
- Protector of Arden. Feria died giving birth to him.
- Scaylene
- Concubine: Draconic Princess of Ravenna
- Angelique
- Tannim
- Malgorm (PC)
- Allanna
- A potent sorceress of Shadow Magica.
- Tyrance
- Successor to Oberon
- Alton (PC)
- Syren
- Reputed to be the most powerful magic wielder of the family,
or at least the most tempermental and manipulative.
- Gareth
- A moody artist who follows Syren in all things.
- Hope
- Snowden
- Courtesan
-
- Lyall (PC)
- Selene
- Lady Selene of Elysian
- Katerina and Persephone (PC), twins
- Roland(PC)
- Queen Delilah
-
- Laria
- Lysell
- Both of Delilah's daughters are delicate and gentle natured
ladies, easily led and told what to do. They are used to a
woman's place being at the whim of her husband.
- Elizabeth Barrett
- From Shadow Earth
- Gabrielle
- Studying Medicine on Shadow Earth
- Shiarra
-
- Dianeira(PC)
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- Tir is not all that there is in the realm of Tir Na Nogth.
For those who know the way, and find a method of entry, can learn
that the Ghostly City shares the space and realm with
someplace...else.
- The Realm of Amethyst is as old as Amber. Founded by Titania
when she and her brother split apart the serpents multi colored
eye. The Pattern of Amber was drawn with the Red Jewel of
Judgement. The Pattern of Amethyst with the blue Heart of
Dreams.
- Titania has ruled there for many centuries and her family is
large. Until recently, the (Amberite) Player Characters by and
large knew little of this realm, just as the descendants of
Titania knew little of the Amber Royal family. You can visit the
Introductory page to Amethyst,
or check out the Amethyst
family tree.
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- Under construction
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