|
It's an alternate Amber, where the War turned out somewhat differently.
During the attack on Chaos, when Amber's forces were at the Courts,
a expeditionary force from one of the aquaphilic Chaosian Houses made
a bold strike on Amber...specifically on Rebma. Moire was killed,
Llewella resides in Amber, and these Chaosians now rule Rebma.
The War has ended, and Amber has demanded, as part of the peace treaty, a
status quo ante bellum...a return to the way things were, before
the War. However, the Chaosians in Rebma refuse to leave. What's
more, not everyone in Rebma is unhappy at the change in administration
either, especially the males, since the new Chaosian overlords do not
like the matriarchial system of Rebma and have begun making moves toward
more egalitarianism. Plus, Rebma was very much the dependency of Amber
before the War, and the new rulers want Rebma to be a free and
independent power of its own.
So...Amber is unhappy at this state of affairs, Llewella herself is
hosting a "Rebman government in exile", Chaos is unhappy at
these renegades, and Rebma itself is fractured between those
who like the new Rebma and its promises of becoming an independent state,
and those who want things to return to the way they were...
What part will YOU play?
|
| Status Quo Ante Bellum was last updated Sunday, March 07, 2004 |
The World of Status Quo Ante Bellum(hereafter referred to
as SQuAB)
|
-
The return from the Courts turned out to be bittersweet for the
triumphant Amberites. Word first came as they reached the periphery
of the Golden Circle, that something horrible had happened. The fact
that 10 years had passed while they were gone was not expected. The word
of war and battle here was more of a shock.
It was when they reached further into the Golden Circle that the true scope of what happened became
known. While they were gone, a Minor Chaosian House sent a force into the heart
of the Golden Circle. Amber had dealt with and watched the Black Road carefully,
the defenders left behind prepared for an attack on that front.
They did not expect a water-borne attack. Even more so, when the force switched
direction and moved to Rebma, Amber's navy was poorly equipped to dealing with
Chaosians who were more at home in the seas than on land.
Rebma, too, was not prepared for an attack by creatures and beings who could
free dive into Rebma rather than needing the stair. Moire was reported dead,
dying while fighting against the invader. Refugees were scattered throughout the neighboring
Golden Circle Kingdoms.
The Chaosian House Euphrates now held the City Under the Sea.
Llewella immediately assumed the mantle of the lost Monarchy in exile, Martin ceding
his claim to her in this time of crisis. And the young new King of Amber now had a newly hostile
neighbor, with a Queen born of that realm to boot.
Ten years have passed since the return of the Amber Royal Family. The occupation
of Rebma chafes more than ever, especially to the scions of Amber. To Chaos, too, for
the occupation of Rebma is a causus belli that might yet launch Amber to seek
retribution against the Courts.
Inside of Rebma, the Chaosians have wrought great change in this short time. The Matriarchial
system is gone, replaced by a more egalitarian government. For, why would
gender matter to shapeshifters? While many abhor their presence, others
welcome the changes they bring, and the hope of Rebma rising as an independent
power, completely free of Amber's influence. And others move with the tides,
serving their new masters as they would serve any in power.
Tensions have only risen in that time, between Amber, Rebma and Chaos
And things cannot remain on the knife edge forever. With such pressure
is a return to the way things were inevitable? Would you support, or
fight against a return to the status quo ante bellum?
- Characters will be based on 150 points. You may have
up to five points of stuff, good or bad.
Players are strongly urged to send their
characters in advance, to give more playing time at the
convention.
- Characters can be one of the following basic types:
- Amberite: A Scion of the Royal Family of Amber. Learn
more on the Amberite PC Page.
- Rebman: A Scion of the City Under the Sea. Of course
your loyalties, outward and inward are up to you.
Learn more on the Rebman PC Page
- House Euphrates: A member of the House of Chaos which dared
to and has taken control of Rebma.
Learn more on the Euphrates PC Page.
- Chaosian: Ambassador from the Courts, seeker of fortune, seeking
to support your brethren in Rebma, or sent to stop this madness before
another Patternfall War breaks out.
Learn more on the Chaos PC page.
- 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. An excellent musician, excellent
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.
This is very similar to the Everway concept of a "zero point power"
- Although Player character concepts are important, a character
cannot survive without powers! Powers available to a PC include:
- Trump, Sorcery, Power Words,
Conjuration are available to everyone. Except for Shapeshifting, the advanced higher powers
are generally not available. Please see the individual
character type pages for more details on available
and idiosyncratic powers (eg. Pattern, Logrus)
- Alternate Sorceries from the SB campaign are
also available
- If you'd like to use a power not listed here, or a variation
on one of the powers, talk to the GM and he (I) will see if we
can work it out.Also see the individual PC type pages for
more information on available powers and prerequisites.
- My email address is jvstin@mindspring.com
|
- 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.
-
At the base of Faiella Bionin, surrounding the Rebman Pattern is a tapered
hemisphere of magically aerate water approximately 5 kilometers in radius.
This is where the City Under the Sea, Rebma, lies.
Centered around the Palace under which the Pattern lies, Rebma is a circular
city where the denizens are as likely to swim as walk, where magical lights
keep the darkness of the deep at bay, and where the temperature is always
moderate thanks to the depth of the water.
A place of beauty and undersea wonder, now held by Chaosians not so very different
than the Rebmans themselves. Indeed, many Rebmans already have some limited
shifting ability, and some full shifting. Chaosian shifters are nothing new.
But a heavy price was paid in the capture of the City Under the Sea, and
although the rebuilding and growth of the city continues, the reminders that
the Queendom no longer rules are inescapable.
- 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 and Rebma are realms which resist and indeed were 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 icons 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. Technology in Rebma is considerably more backward
due to logistical difficulties. Things like forges must be worked magically
in Rebma in order to function.
Ironically enough, using the Pattern is difficult in Amber and Rebma. 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.
-
- Random
- The King of Amber. 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. It
is as if he is certain there will be martial conflict with
either Rebma, Chaos or both. Even those who know him well
can see the drive in him, more than before Patternfall.
- 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. It is not
well known how he feels about this conflict.
- 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. Does he even care about Rebma, if it does not
impinge on his world?
- 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. It is certain that the occupation of her home
city is a hurt that does not heal.
- 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. The rumors
that this is a mainly martial upgrade are...just rumors.
- LLewella
- Officially, she is the Queen in absentia of Rebma, the legitimate
holder of the Coral Throne. In reality, she is a Queen in exile, with
holdings in Amber and Shadow. It is suspected that she is willing to
do anything to free Rebma and her people, with or without the approval
of the rest of the Family
-
- 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.
-
- 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.
|
- 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, fifty years 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 strong
leadership. For the first time in 600 years, The Courts have not an Emperor, but an
Empress.
- All hail Empress Belissa Minobee, of the House Hendrake. With House Hendrake as the
House Royal, and their ties to powerful Houses such as Helgram and Sawall, this cycle has
already been predicted to be one of a Strong Emperor(Empress).
|
