Thus, the castle really did suffer an explosion, and King Random took advantage of that to do some major renovation. There are a bunch of small apartments on the second floor now, for the use of 'incoming' Amberites.
Thus, outside of the poles, it is a shadow by shadow thing. Entirely random. Shadow A can have a few artists, while Shadow B may not have heard of it. In general, if a shadow is well endowed with magical forces, then Artistry is more likely to have been developed than technological shadows. The second way Trumps can come about is a mystical one. If an artist can completely catch the noumenon, or vital essence, of a subject, then the work becomes endowed with the ability to join its real counterpart. In other words, a Trump. The artists who manage this of course generally have no idea of the potential, and the experience often drives them mad or reclusive. (Van Gogh, example par excellence).
Thus, you do not necessarily need a higher power to be able to draw Trumps. Trumps are not a major power in and of themselves. They are of a different order. Trumps are ART. And thus can do unexpected things...
As far as a Trump card, standard size, I never liked the idea of 2 days to make them. Sorry, I do not think so! There are several reasons for this dislike, and the foremost is, it is not good for the story. Look at the following example.
However, when in an active state(actually in use), A trump is far more durable and potent. Since the energies of trump are actively flowing through it, the card gains a much greater ability to withstand harm.
What do you need to make one? Paint, paper...ha ha. Can you walk into an arts and crafts store and get what you need? Yes, you can. The main thing is the artist himself or herself. High quality materials are desirable, of course, for the durability problem. But, literally, the magic ingredient in the process is the Trump artist.
Still, you might want a model, if possible. Aesthetic reasons, for one thing. Also, it makes the process somewhat easier and less draining. It is not absolutely necessary.
How well do you need to know the person. The more, the better. It is difficult to produce a trump of someone you just met. Even with a Fiona-sized Psyche, it can be done, but it isn't easy and failure is an possibility.
However, I rule that, almost as habit, TA's often start getting impressions of people and places around them, naturally, as a habit. Of course this would not work running through a forest away from a castle, for example. It takes some leisure to do. This natural inclination can be enhanced by stated concentration on the person or place, as well as 'mentally' designing your prospective trump beforehand.
In theory, you could pull a Brand and design a trump of someone you never met in any fashion, but he spent a long time researching his quarry, and I am sure he did not take 3 hours to draw it, and certainly his first draft was a failure.
Justin, on Earth, takes out his trump of Jeanne and concentrates on it. Jeanne, who is in the gardens of Castle Amber, gets the feel of a Trump contact. She stops and opens her mind to the contact.
Now, both of them can see the immediate area around the other. Justin can see Jeanne is in a garden...and Jeanne can see Justin is in a club. Sound, however, is something only transmitted to Trump Artists. So, Jeanne would generally not hear the loud music, but could see people dancing in the background, and Justin could not hear the buzz of a bee bothering Jeanne.
When two people "speak" in a Trump contact, generally it is mind to mind communication, unless the person favors speaking aloud in contacts. Thus, Jeanne's cousin Indigo, who was standing next to her, would never hear what Justin has to say...and would only hear Jeanne if she verbalized her words.
The standard stuff. One point (non-royals) allies are entirely up to you. Be creative! Any higher ones are up to me. Note that Chaos Devotees are not needed for eligibility to navigate the Logrus. Those who take Amber Devotees as noted above are strongly recommended to bank points if they haven't walked the Pattern, but are planning on it.
You cannot generally find anything higher than 4 point items. Advanced Conjurers can do 8 point powers, and sometimes you will find such potent items, but not intentionally.
Basically put, there are none. Come advancements, players can simply say they want 8 points in Psyche, or 2 in Endurance. Players can generally only know how other players fare in the stats by simply testing them in that stat...
Go back to my Amber Page