I have added a selection of some of the 24 great games which were run last year. This will also give you an idea of the description format we would like for any games you might be running at Clan Amber 97 - as you can see we're fairly easy about what you wish to include.
A FEW GAME DESCRIPTIONS FROM CLAN AMBER 96
In the heart of the universe created by Corwin's Pattern lies Paris. The Paris of the Thirties. Where artists throng the cafes of Montparnasse and torch singers sing their sultry songs in the many famous jazz clubs. A wondrous Paris. And this is your Paris. Created by the dreams of your father, Corwin, Paris is the centre of the universe. No matter how far you travel in Shadow, the beauty of Paris always calls you back. But now a beautiful and deadly stranger is asking the kind of questions best left unasked. She knows more about your father than is healthy - for herself and for you - and the kind of questions she is asking could shake Paris with more than just scandal. The answers will drag you out from the jazz clubs to face the darker underbelly of Parisian life. You may not like what you find.
This is a story of neon lit hotel rooms and mysterious femme fatales in the grand tradition of Film Noir. This is a story of Amber Noir.
Slot: Sunday
Type: One-off
Number of players: 6
You are a child of Corwin, raised in the city of Paris. Amber is but a story. Characters are built on 100 points; 5 point stuff limit, no advanced powers. Details of life in Corwin's city will be sent out before the Con to help you in design.
"...The flame of resistance must not and will not be extinguished."
—Charles De Gaulle 1940
These were the parting words of King Corwin as he passed into exile with the remnants of Amber's armies. Amber lies under the jackboot of the Chaos armies whose banners fly arrogantly from the battlements of the Castle. The city seethes with Resistance and into this maelstrom do you enter. As offspring of the elders, you are the vanguard of the struggle to reclaim your home.
Slot: Friday Evening
Type: One off
Number of players: 6
120 Point characters. Maximum of 10 points of Stuff and no Pattern weapons. You should have an idea for a parent and you should avoid Dara (unless you really want her as mother). Characters are advised to have Pattern, though this is not compulsory.
Treachery is in the air. In a long abandoned Castle Amber, questions are asked, suspicious glances are cast, and "trust" is a word that has disappeared from the vocabulary! Sixteen Amberites with more hidden agendas than you can shake a Pattern sword at. Is this a recipe for bloodshed or are you smart enough to trust the right people? The fun filled freeform of deceit and distrust. And, no, you can't all be Mr Black!
LET'S GO TO WORK.
Slot: Saturday Day
Type: Freeform
Number of players: 16
Amberites only; 100 points; 5 point stuff limit; no advanced powers.
The general stared across a bleak plain made acrid by the use of magic. Heat haze blurred red earth and purple sky into a soft rainbow horizon. He turned, wearily to his shorter, shiftier brother, a cacophony in coloured leathers. Sprawled amongst a heap of scattered maps, Random stabbed his finger in them furiously, as he had done for most of the afternoon.
"The campaign is crazy, unwinnable. You know it, his bloody majesty knows it, and you can be sure our tentacled friends know it. Eventually you'll all die, and for what, a madman's whim?"
"Promises, promises, Random. In any case, crazy is a relative thing. The King wants your head, yet you are here."
"You're not going to turn me in, are you?" A dagger twitched nervously and the taller prince smiled at him, without the merriment and malice of former years.
"Not if I can help it, and if you leave now." But a gleam of curiosity briefly lit features too pale for campaigning.
"Why did you really come?" The card player had no cards left but the Ace.
"There's some of us, you know, planning something. Its our last chance, before there are none of us left. If you would join us, we could get revenge for the past twenty years, for Martin, Benedict and the others. Afterwards, if you wanted to go for it I would support you." A line of sweat ran down the general's brow, running dark into hair the colour of embers.
"You offer me the crown?" A cool voice edged with hope but ragged. His right eye twitched minutely with a stab of violent pain.
"No, no, I cannot do other than this. Leave now, Random, or I cannot guarantee you safety." Random stared at the fragile features and feverish eyes, smelled stale wine and the hint of old blood.
"What has he done to you, brother?"
"What has he done to us all?" he croaked, before a silver net closed around his mind and a little girl's voice sobbed in his head. Tears left streaks of pallor in the sweat, and he turned sharply away.
"Better go now, little brother. He has found us." He flicked a card end over end over his shoulder so it landed amongst the maps. The hated net closed around him, crushing, cutting, spoiling good and bad memories alike. The girl screamed, as if dying, and he wished without hope that she would. He shivered inwardly. Turning with terrifying purity, he launched a spear from his hand, straight as a sunbeam at Random's retreating back. It dissipated into a shower of rainbow sparks as he left, leaving only the card lying face down in a puddle of blood. Bleys bowed his head in his hands and wept.
Corwin's reign has been punctuated by murder and blood, much of it familial. The latest war with chaos is at a costly stalemate and the king lusts for vengeance for the murder of his son. Outcasts and rebels gather in Arden for safety but no-one is really safe from Corwin and Dara. Are you willing to risk all for the cause, or at least for your own self interest?
Slot: Saturday Evening
Type: One-off
Number of players: 6
Based on 150 points, 10 point stuff limit. No points for contributions, no Shadow Knight stuff. Characters should have some reason, any reason to join the resistance against Corwin. Amberites mostly please, but with the odd opening for Chaosite agents provocateurs.
The moveable feast of politics is on its way to the Court of the newly-crowned King Merlin of Chaos, where, as the saying goes, "If you survive the Coronation Ball, you're half-way to tomorrow."
Slot: Friday evening
Type: One-off
Number of players: 8
Characters will be nobility of Chaos or young Amberites from Random's Court. All powers are acceptable except generic 'Advanced' powers. I run all points as worth the same amount, so make your pitch. The characters will be based on 150 points and will be produced by auction on the day. This will be a real-time game.
Friday, 18 April 1986
The night air was cold. Dr. Eckhardt St. John Maitland, chief research scientist at the Top Secret Phoenix labs just South of Farnborough, thrust his hands deep into the pockets of his raincoat and wondered where the hell Paterson was. He had been standing in the car park of the 'Russet Stag' on Birnam Heath for over ten minutes now, and it was only a matter of time before someone saw him and asked what he was doing with that large black suitcase. Damn it, he thought, closing time was only half an hour away.
The sound of a car came to him then, drifting over the heath on a gentle breeze. Maitland could imagine Paterson's Jag gliding over the humps and through the curves of the country road like a drop of oil slipping down a waterslide. Smooth, unhurried and calm, so as not to attract any attention. The beams of the car's headlights were visible now, curling through the low, slow ground fog.
With a crunch of gravel, the Jaguar drew to a halt in front of him. The driver's door popped open and Paterson stepped out. They faced each other across the roof of the car. Maitland took the time to examine Paterson's face closely. His hair was grey, slicked down with something that smelled like citrus. The bags under his washed-out blue eyes were pronounced. His cheeks were puffy and his large nose looked like a button that had been pressed deep into a stuffed pillow. The imperialist American media liked to pretend that spies were handsome and glamorous, but in real life this was rarely the case. "You took your time, Comrade," Maitland said, as he handed over the heavy case.
The phone wakes you up in the middle of the night. You are instantly awake and alert, because that is the way you have been trained. You pick up the phone.
"Yes?"
"Pattern is active," a masked voice says. "Oberon's house at 7am." Then he hangs up.
Oberon's house? You think. The President wants to meet you at the White House. This must be serious. You had better get prepared right now. You'll never get back to sleep anyway.
Slot: Sunday
Type: experimental
Number of players: 6
Setting: Cold War Earth, 1986 You are a highly trained secret agent, combating the global menace of Communism. Two years ago you took part in an experiment code named Pattern. It was supposed to unlock the latent powers of the human brain, but it didn't go quite as planned. Many died or went insane. You are one of the few who were deemed a partial success, and have ended up with the subtle ability to influence probability, albeit only on a small scale.
Characters must be British or American agents, and are strictly human. Extremely talented and highly trained humans, but human nevertheless. Choose or invent your government agency. You'll need lots of toys. Watch some Bond films.
Amber is yours to rule as you see fit. All the Elders have left Amber and you have been in charge for a while. You squabble and vie for power and prestige in the centre of reality. The Crown, Castle Amber, Arden, Amber City and more are up for grabs as so stamp your authority over them. But lo, a visitor comes to spoil your squabbling and you have to deal with more than your rivals, your pasts have come a calling...
Junta! has the players wondering about more than simply what the next plot to destroy the Pattern/reality is or who their parents are. Ever wonder why the Elders are so hacked off at each other? Come along and see how you feel about somebody after ten lifetimes.
Slot: Saturday Eve & Sunday
Type: One off - possibly developing into a mini-campaign
Number of players: 6
Setting: Five hundred years after Patternfall Characters are to be based on 200 points, 10 point stuff limit. No points for contributions, no Shadow Knight stuff. All players must be Amberites and have at least Pattern. Its OK to be a Logrus user. Players should have an idea who their parents are (though it may be wrong) and they may not have their parents' Items. (So if you need a Pattern Sword, it will not be Greyswandiir). Free trump deck for all who reply within 14 days. A special bidding system will be used to determine the various influences and positions held in Amber. This will be detailed later.