WHAT IS AMBERMUSH?

 

WHAT IS AMBERMUSH?

        AmberMUSH is a themed MUSH set in the universe of Roger Zelazny's

Amber novels. Roleplaying is emphasized, and given some structure through

the use of certain rules from Eric Wujcik's "Amber Diceless Roleplaying

Game". While knowledge of the novels and ownership of the RPG is not

necessary, it is extremely helpful to have at least read one of the Amber

novels. The "Visual Guide to Castle Amber" also contains some information

that may be useful to players on the MUSH.

        The Amber novels are divided into two groups of five novels. The

first five are Corwin's Chronicles, and focus primarily on Amber itself.

The second five novels are narrated by Corwin's son Merlin, and focus

on the conflict between Amber and its opposite, the Courts of Chaos.

The novels are as follows:

1. Nine Princes in Amber                6. Trumps of Doom

2. The Guns of Avalon                   7. Blood of Amber

3. Sign of the Unicorn                  8. Sign of Chaos

4. The Hand of Oberon                   9. Knight of Shadows

5. The Courts of Chaos                  10. Prince of Chaos

In the universe of the novels, Amber and the Courts represent opposite

poles of reality. Amber casts "shadows" -- reflections of Amber in other

worlds, including Earth. Thus, almost anything you can imagine exists

in this world; magic and technology exist side-by-side, although the

power of each varies with the shadow. The world of the novels focuses

primarily on the intrigues between the near-demi-god royal family of

Amber, and the Courts of Chaos; on the MUSH, this has been expanded to

include other shadows.

        AmberMUSH is somewhat conflict-oriented; characters are usually

scheming for In-Character (IC) power, and it is hoped that players will

cooperate to create interesting, exciting stories. There are no "judges"

or "GameMasters" on AmberMUSH; players are expected to act like mature

adults and arbitrate their own conflicts, although the Wizards (the

administrators of the game) will occasionally hand down rulings. The

structure of the RPG rules also help to keep things ordered; there are

certain abilities and powers whose uses are known and circumscribed.

AmberMUSH is not combat-oriented; while fights do break out, roleplaying

a good "scene", rather than comparing numerical statistics, is intended

to be the goal.

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HOW DO I CREATE A CHARACTER?

        Character development is the central focus of the game, so it's

a good idea to spend some time thinking about your character history.

You can think of AmberMUSH as an interactive story, where hundreds of

separate story threads weave together to form a rich, complex tapestry.

Your first step, as a new player, is to try to figure out who you want

to be. At first, the choices may seem overwhelming; the Amber universe

literally encompasses anything you can imagine. As you first start to

form your character concept, keep in mind these basic rules:

1. The average character on AmberMUSH is somewhat unique, as he has

   discovered a way to escape the confines of his home Shadow. Such

   characters tend to be above-average (compared to a normal human)

   in at least one trait, whether it be intelligence, strength, affinity

   for weapons or magic, or some unusual talent.

2. "Killer" characters are a no-no. Just like in a face-to-face roleplaying

   game, it's not any fun if someone is capable of destroying the universe

   in the blink of an eyelid. The same is true of characters who are the

   "best at" X or "most powerful" at X. This is clearly going to be an

   untrue claim in the Amber universe, and you won't be able to support it

   with your statistics, so don't bother to try to create one.

3. Characters from the books do exist on AmberMUSH; you cannot play one

   without submitting an application to the Wizards. It is permissible

   to be part of the Amber royal family, or one of the Chaos Houses, but

   you must obtain permission from the appropriate party; this usually

   means submitting a character concept to another character you want

   as a parent. It is recommended that parentage be the _last_ thing

   you consider, when creating a character. The same thing is true if

   you're thinking of being a shadow of an Amber royal; you should ask

   permission first, and realize that it's quite likely not to be granted.

4. Characters strongly based on other game systems, or on other settings

   whose underpinnings run contrary to the Amber mood, are generally very

   difficult to play. Examples include Champions-style superheroes, Pern-style

   dragonriders, and WhiteWolf-style mages. Ultra-high-tech characters also

   tend to be very difficult to play, and characters from worlds where

   magic is all-pervasive will find their talents generally restricted to

   what's possible with the Conjuration and Sorcery powers.

5. Similarly, if you can't represent a power within the context of the

   AmberMUSH powers and abilities defined below, you shouldn't have it.

   Note that skills are different from powers; for example, it's reasonable

   for a character to have medical or locksmith skills, but not reasonable

   for characters to have eyes that shoot a ray of ice or a touch which

   turns creatures to stone.

        Every character on AmberMUSH has a "sheet" which loosely defines

his or her powers and abilities. Such ability and powers are based upon

those in the "Amber Diceless RPG"; AmberMUSH does not, however, strictly

follow the RPG rules, so you should rely on the on-line news to give you

information about what different powers are capable of doing. The RPG

rulebook does go into more detail than the news does, so reading it is

still extremely helpful if you need clarification on something.

        There are four abilities that all characters have. The first

is Strength, which is physical strength -- sheer raw muscle power, and,

to some extent, one's ability to absorb physical attacks. The second is

Endurance, which is constitution, one's tolerance for exertion, one's

ability to tolerate wounds, and one's rate of healing. The third is Psyche,

one's willpower; those with high Psyche are empathic and may have psionic

powers, including forms of mind control. The fourth ability is Warfare,

which is skill in battle; this is both mastery of weapons and mastery of

strategy. All abilities start at -25 points (Human Level). All players

receive a total of 200 points to spend on abilities and powers.

        Statistics are loosely classified into ranges, as follows:

-25             Human

-10             Chaotic

0 to 49         Basic Amberite

50 to 79        High-level Amberite

80 and above    Feature-level Amberite

        No two abilities may be more than 50 points apart; for example,

if your Psyche is -10, the highest any other ability may be is 40. If

you submit a character concept to the Wizards, and it is approved, this

allowed difference rises to 75 points. Also, once a month, Advancement

Points are granted; if your character receives APs, the allowed difference

rises by that amount. For example, if you have submitted an approved

character concept, and you have gained 10 APs, the biggest difference

in your abilities can be 85 points. Details on earning APs are given

later in this document.

        You can also use points to buy powers. The following powers are

available to new characters:

1. Sorcery (15 points).  This is the power to cast magical spells. In

   the Amber universe, magical spells must be carefully prepared ahead

   of time, and take time to cast. The strength of spell effects is

   based on Psyche. Sorcery is quite flexible, although slow; it can

   be used for attack and defense, enchantment, and even, to a very

   limited extent, healing.

2. Conjuration (20 points).  This is the power to create objects and

   empower them with special properties; this is the way to create

   "magical items".

3. Shape Shift (35 points).  This grants one the power to shift shape.

   This power is most commonly found in the Courts of Chaos, and it is

   a prerequisite to obtaining the Logrus Mastery power, detailed later

   in this document. Shape Shift is based on Psyche, but the change of

   shape uses a lot of Endurance. A shape-shifter can morph into any

   form he has studied; when designing a character, keep in mind that

   every form you use should have a story behind it.

        There are several other powers available to characters, but

they can only be gained through In-Character roleplay. They are:

1. Trump Artistry (40 points).  This grants one the power to draw cards

   called the Trumps, which allow communication and travel over long

   distances. It requires Amber-level Psyche. In order to obtain this

   power, you must find a teacher, In-Character, who is willing to teach

   you; you must also roleplay learning the art over the period of a

   few weeks.

2. Broken Pattern (30 points).  This allows one the ability to walk

   through Shadow. It is only available to those who do not have normal

   Pattern or Logrus power, and once one has Broken Pattern, one cannot

   obtain either the Pattern or Logrus power. It, too, can only be

   gained by finding someone who is willing to "sponsor" you.

3. Logrus Mastery (45 points).  This allows one to summon the power of

   the Logrus; it can be used for both attack and defense, and enables

   the master to walk through Shadow. Only those of the Courts of Chaos

   can obtain this power, and a teacher is needed as a sponsor. The

   Shape Shift power is a prerequisite.

4. Pattern Imprint (50 points).  This allows the character to walk through

   Shadow, and use, to a limited extent, the Pattern in attack and defense.

   Only Amber royalty -- descendants of Oberon -- can obtain this power. In

   order to obtain the power, you must first find an Amberite who is willing

   to be your parent. Then, you must find someone who is willing to teach

   you what you need to survive the initiation of Walking the Pattern; most

   Amber parents are willing to teach this to their children. Finally, you

   must find an In-Character way to access one of the Patterns; this usually

   involves obtaining the permission of the King of Amber. An Amber-level

   Endurance is needed to survive the initiation.

        There are other powers available, and there are Advanced and

Exalted levels of some of the powers; these must, however, be discovered

through roleplay. Keep in mind that Advanced powers usually cost at least

20 points more than the Basic-level powers, so you might want to save

some points when creating your character.

        These powers are presented to give you an idea of what is available.

When designing a character, you should first think about story, rather than

numbers; fit the powers and numbers to the character, not the other way

around. Some helpful things to think about:

1. Where do you come from? Is it a place of magic, technology, or both?

   Is it peaceful or warlike? What did you do before you blundered out of

   your own Shadow? What was your childhood like?

2. How did you obtain your current powers and abilities? What skills do

   you have, and where did you acquire them?

3. What's your reaction to travelling Shadow? Do you still return to your

   home world? How do you currently earn a living?

4. What do you look like? How do you normally dress? What is your favorite

   food? Your favorite drink? Your favorite type of music?

        Please note that many Shadows, as well as Amber and the Courts, are

interested in characters who are guardsmen, court-bards, chamberlains, and

so forth. If you were born in Amber but are not part of the royal family,

you might be minor nobility, or be one of the many artisans and guildsmen

who populate the city; if you were born in the Courts, but not into one

of the prominent Houses, you might be the servant or assistant to an

important Lord. Not everyone will be from a Shadow world. It is generally

to your advantage to look around AmberMUSH and see what the current Shadows

are; if you can fit a character concept into an existing location, it will

give you many more opportunities to roleplay. You should, however, check

with the proprietor of a place before declaring your character originates

from that world.

        Some characters may have been born into the Amber royal family, or

into one of the major Houses of Chaos. In order to obtain such parentage,

you must pick a parent on the MUSH and convince him or her to accept you

as a child. Each of the Amberites and Houses have their own methods for

doing this. At the very least, you will be required to submit a detailed

character concept and history, and the parent will usually want to see

some proof that you're able to roleplay well and won't be an embarassment.

In general, it's easier to obtain second- or third-generation Amber

parentage than it is to become the child of an Elder Amberite; if you're

doing this, however, beware -- if your parent has not walked the Pattern

and has not been confirmed as being of the royal blood, it's possible that

he might not turn out to be part of the family after all.

        Amber or Chaos parentage is usually the _last_ thing you should

think about when generating a character, since there are far more people

looking for parentage than their are parents. If you do decide to try for

"special" parents, you would do well to research the MUSH history of the

parent you want, and suggest ways that their character history might hook

into yours. Different parents look for different types of children; the

best way to improve your chance of success is to create as plausible a

reason for your existence as possible.

        Finally, don't discount the possibility of being related to someone

not of Amber or Chaos blood. While being related to someone in Shadow doesn't

confer the same advantages, it does provide your character some immediate

hooks into roleplaying situations, and such hooks are always valuable. Ask

around the MUSH for people looking for relatives.

        It is strongly suggested that you not set up your sheet for a

while. Instead, look around the game, consider your character concept,

and figure out how your character fits into current MUSH situations.

Once you have a solid of idea of who you want to play, and how that

character meshes into the story, then you can start giving some thought

to the specifics of his powers and abilities; the RPG information above

has been presented just so you have some idea of what it's possible to

create. Note that you don't have to spend all your RPG points; most

people reserve some. But once you buy a power or attribute, you can't

remove the power or lower the attribute, so you should wait until you

know what you want before trying to set up your sheet; this generally

means waiting until your character has been accepted into the staff of

a Shadow, hired himself out to someone, gotten the parentage he wanted,

or the like.

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WHAT ARE THE "RULES" OF THE GAME?

        AmberMUSH stresses cooperative roleplaying. Therefore, it will

generally be up to players to decide the outcome of situations that

characters find themselves in. If you find yourself at an impasse, you

are certainly welcome to ask a Wizard, or another player, to moderate.

        All players are expected to keep up with the news entries and

the bulletin board. Important announcements are posted to the bulletin

board, including changes in the rules; ignorance is not an acceptable

excuse for breaking a rule. News is the first resource for determining

what is legal within the game. If news doesn't contain what you need,

consult a Wizard, or the Amber RPG; beware that for basic powers, if

news doesn't say you can do it, you probably can't do it.

        Roleplaying is expected to remain tasteful, especially in public

areas. Please remember that when roleplaying in a public area, you have

an audience, and your actions should, if possible, create something

interesting for the audience to watch. Excessive gore, pointless use of

phrases normally deemed offensive in polite company, and sexual situations

that couldn't be shown in a PG-13 movie will probably both annoy players

In and Out Of Character (IC and OOC). Such behavior is likely to get you

reprimanded by the Wizards, and witnesses may choose to express their

displeasure IC (an Elder Amberite who's just had his meal ruined by you

isn't unlikely to deprive you of essential body parts).

        AmberMUSH characters tend to congregate in bars, coffee-shops, and

similar establishments. One of these establishments, the World's End Bar,

often simply referred to as the WEB, drifts around Shadow, but can always

be found off the Hall of Mirrors. There are many other Shadows which can

be entered from the Hall of Mirrors; it serves as a travel nexus, allowing

players who are not able to walk through Shadow an easy means of IC

transportation between locations.

        In order to use a mirror in the Hall, IC, you must gaze at it and

concentrate. As you look at a mirror, you will see the area it is a  gateway

into, and slowly you will see your reflection appear in the  mirror, as the

scene changes around you. Thus, people cannot be pushed into mirrors, nor

can one run into a mirror to escape a pursuer; it is a transportation medium

which requires standing still and concentrating.

        Another way to travel is by use of the Trumps. A trump artist can

create a Trump which is a picture of a place. If a character is in possession

of such a Trump, he can be transported to the place by concentrating on the

card's image; it takes several seconds of concentrate to effect a transport,

although certain masters of the art are capable of creating gateways which

work faster. There is a second way to travel via the Trumps; if you are in

contact with another character via a Trump, you may offer to pull the other

character to your current location, and vice-versa.

        The final way to travel is to walk through Shadow. This is a slow,

laborious process, in which the character slowly changes the landscape

around him, until it looks like the place that he wanted to go. A desired

item can be found this way, and the most skilled are even able to find

specific people this way. However, this method of travel is only available

to those with Pattern Imprint, Logrus Mastery, or Advanced Shape Shift.

It is possible, however, for those without the power to follow others

through Shadow.

        Using the MUSH @teleport command to travel IC is frowned upon

on AmberMUSH; generally, you should be using one of the methods of

transport detailed above to get where you need to. For this reason,

players should not set the JUMP_OK flag on rooms; if the flag is found

on an object, it will be removed.

        "Fair IC play" is a very important concept on AmberMUSH. There

are numerous ways to "cheat" on things. Don't do it; eventually, someone

will find out. There are no winners or losers on the MUSH; you should be

concentrating on the storyline, and if someone out-manuevers you, you

should be gracious enough to allow them their victory -- although nothing

stops you from plotting your revenge.

        Some characters on AmberMUSH are more powerful than others. You

will normally hear these characters referred to as the Major and Minor

Features. This includes characters from the books, as well as a few

others, such as the Lords of the Houses of Chaos. The most powerful are

generally the Elder Amberites -- the sons and daughters of Oberon. Not

only are they centuries old, with abilities that far surpass normal

humans, but they regard the "lesser" denizens of the universe much as

humans regard insects -- curiousities, usually annoyances, to be swatted

when they become overly irritating. Cross one of the Elders, or one of

the Chaos Lords, and, unless you have many allies, you will probably

regret it. However, these characters exist in order to further the plots

of the game; the feud between Amber and Chaos, and the internal feuds

of both the Amberite family and the Chaos Houses, are all common knowledge,

and you can frequently play powerful characters off each other.

        AmberMUSH holds as the central tenet of its roleplaying style the

concept of "consent". In particular, you cannot be killed without your

agreement; more generally, things which afflict permanent damage should

not occur without your consent. However, in the majority of roleplaying

situations, you should not be invoking the consent rule; if you roleplay

your way into a bad situation, you should, in general, take the consequences.

While nothing prevents you from paging your opponent and complaining about

the situation, asking for a set of consequences different from the ones

he had in mind, keep in mind that attempting to weasel out of a situation

that you got yourself into is likely to irritate other players. The way

to avoid unpleasant consequences is to avoid doing the actions that lead

to them.

        You should roleplay your character as if the consequences of your

actions could be fatal. Nothing is more annoying than a player who,

knowing that the consent rule will prevent him from dying, decides to act

recklessly, flaunting death. This is unfair to the other players who are

roleplaying with you. If you do it repeatedly, expect other players to

start refusing to acknowledge your IC presence; part of consent is the

right to refuse to roleplay with another person.

        Most situations of direct conflict are resolved via the comparison

of attributes; there are +commands on the MUSH for doing this. It is not

true that the highest attribute always wins; situational factors strongly

influence the outcome of a given conflict. Also, a single comparison of

attributes might amount to half an hour of roleplay; combat, in particular,

should be roleplayed, not based solely on numbers.

        OOC pages are very useful when a confrontational situation arises.

One useful method is to do the relevant attribute comparison, then talk OOC

with the other player to determine a final outcome. Then, roleplay your way

to the conclusion; if you've got an audience, make sure it's interesting to

watch. It's generally in bad taste to have loud confrontations in public

without giving the audience any clue as to why the confrontation is taking

place.

        AmberMUSH's time system is by definition difficult to define, since

time moves at different rates in different shadows. The closest thing to a

standard is "WEB time", generally equivalent to real-life Eastern Time.

However, since everyone is typing, certain actions will, by necessity,

take longer to happen. In particular, whenever you're roleplaying, you

should allow the other player adequate time to type a response. This is

particularly important in combat. Remember that spells take a lot of

time to cast, and the mirrors and Trumps all take time and concentration

to activate. It is not, for example, realistic to see an enemy and Trump

out in the blink of an eyelid.

        The use of extremely fast-time shadows is generally strongly

frowned upon. For example, if you are injured in a fight, don't claim to

have gone to your personal fast-time shadow, returning twenty-four hours

later completely healed because a month passed in your personal shadow.

While none of us enjoy being out of the action because we're stuck in

bed recovering, the solution to that is to avoid getting into fights in

the first place, or getting people to come visit your bedside.

        In general, whenever plotting a situation which is liable to

severely injure or kill another character, you should leave that person

some way out, or negotiate the situation ahead of time. If a character

willingly roleplays himself into a corner, this can be rather difficult;

the best way to deal with this is to OOC page, "If you continue your

actions, I'm going to be forced to react in a way that you probably won't

like; are you sure you want to do this?"  If you feel that a situation

is reaching an impasse, it's usually best to stop and figure things out

OOC; if there's a rules question, or if you feel that one of the roleplay

principles is being abused, you might want to consult a Wizard.

        Whatever happens, don't take it too personally. It's not uncommon,

for example, for characters to be attacked in a bar fight. This tends to

be true if, for example, you insult Amber in the presence of some of the

Amber royals. Thus, such behavior usually isn't smart, in a new character.

If, as an innocent bystander, you're getting dragged into a situation

you don't know how to handle, it's no crime to page the main characters

in the scene, to explain that you're new and you're not quite sure what

a good reaction would be. Usually the other players will be happy to

help. In the course of your adventures on AmberMUSH, you will encounter

many friends and enemies; play within the spirit of the game, have fun,

and remember that the evil guy dripping slime in the corner is in reality

probably a nice fellow with no particular grudge against you.

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HOW DO I GET STARTED?

        Once you create a character, read the news, and read the bulletin

board, your first step should be to hang out someplace public and get a

feel for what's going on. Look for someone to "hook" yourself onto. The

bulletin board frequently contains "Wanted" ads; consider answering one or

more of these, since by joining someone's staff, you are automatically

creating roleplaying opportunities for yourself.

        If you are unfamiliar with MUSH, you may wish to obtain a MUSH

manual. Documentation, client programs such as TinyFugue, and other useful

things can be found for anonymous ftp on caisr2.caisr.cwru.edu.

        The best way to figure things out is to play. Involve yourself in

plots. Hire yourself out to someone until you have a better idea of the

situations on the MUSH; there are dozens of ongoing plots, some minor,

some major, many feuds, many interesting stories of the past, and the

easiest way to get involved is to attach yourself to someone who's already

part of those stories.

        Enjoy!

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      Comments and corrections for this document should go to Deirdre.

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