Welcome to Holy Question Mark [Amber Diceless RPG] CLOSED

[Rook Seidhr]

Welcome to Holy Question Mark
(a game of the Amber Diceless RPG)


Often called Holy Question Mark by students (and occasionally staff), the Socinian Institute of New York is a private Unitarian-Universalist boarding school. It has a reputation as an academic sweatshop, as well as having excellent fine and performing arts programs and a vigorous involvement in public service activities; students need not come from any particular religious background, but almost all the faculty and many of the staff are UU, and weekly chapel attendance is required. The Institute is a high school, comprising grades 9–12 and graduating an average of 150 students each year. Though many of the students come from wealthy and/or influential backgrounds, a majority of the student body receives some degree of need-based aid. Most such funds come from the Institute's general endowment, which is unusually large for a school of its size, though outside scholarships contribute as well. Founded in 1887, the Institute moved to its current location on Manhattan's Upper West Side in 2008, shortly after the monsters invaded. Dr. Nicholas Balthazar has been Headmaster since 2002.

…wait, what was that about monsters invading?

The vampires, werewolves, body-snatchers and insectoid horrors that appeared seemingly from nowhere in 2006, decimated the developed nations of Earth and largely destroyed less-wealthy countries, and now threaten the continued existence of the human race? Those? Yeah, Holy Question Mark is top-notch on physical security as well as academics and the arts, which is why so many rich, anxious parents stow their offspring there. Pity their interscholastic sports teams don't measure up to that standard, but with so much homework, who has time for extra practices?

So where do I come in?

You (the PC, that is, not the player) are 17 years old, in the 11th grade at Holy Question Mark, and there's something special about you. Even in a school of over-achievers, you stand out. It's…a little uncomfortable, perhaps? Especially since the Headmaster and the school chaplain seem to have taken a personal interest in you. Being noticed by the adults is never good.

Before you ask: no, you don't know about Amber or Chaos. You just know that you're special. Maybe you're the world's youngest chess Grandmaster, maybe you're headed for the 2020 Olympic fencing team, maybe things happen when you light a candle and chant the secret words. Maybe the pictures you draw are more than just ink on paper. Maybe you stared down a werewolf and made it flee in terror. The point is, at the age of 17, you're already a force to be reckoned with.

And there will be a reckoning. Because the monsters know you're special, too…

Amber Diceless RPG, huh? I've never heard of it.

It's a system game, but it doesn't use dice; your character has four main stats (Psyche, Strength, Endurance and Warfare) and possibly some Powers (such as Sorcery, Trump Artistry or Shape Shifting). The GM—that's me, Riveda—resolves conflicts between characters based on those stats and on how you describe your plans and tactics. In a fair contest, the character with the higher stat always wins; if that's not you, don't fight fair!

You will need a copy of the rules, which are available in PDF for US$12 at DriveThruRPG. You should also read at least the first novel in the "Chronicles of Amber" series by Roger Zelazny (Nine Princes in Amber); it's quite short compared to today's usual fare. Plan to read the first series of five books if you can, and possibly the other five books as well (though they're not as good). All ten wouldn't add up to one George R. R. Martin goat-choker.

OK, tell me more. Like, that Moraline quiz thing maybe?

• I'm inclined to put this game in Light, but I'd be willing to go to Bondage if people prefer.
• Game's open to all genders and sexualities.
• Plan on posting daily, if you possibly can.
• Y'all're welcome to sex each other up, but please take it to a side thread or PM or something so it doesn't slow things down. If you want to sex up an NPC, we can discuss, but be aware that I only do that sort of thing via IM, and be prepared to just fade to black if necessary.
• This is not a sandbox game, or won't start out as one. Things will happen, you'll deal with them, and new things will happen based on how you deal with them, probably before you're ready. You may feel a little beleaguered.
• Feel free to conjure up minor scenery bits—a fire extinguisher on the wall when you need one, for example—but don't invent NPCs or describe the school's floor plan or whatever without asking first.
• I'll be handling NPCs.
• Expect me to post several times a day if I possibly can.
• There will be one IC and one OOC thread.
• Contact me with questions on the OOC thread unless you have a specific reason to keep it quiet.
• No PvP; this is not a Throne War. Your characters are all in the same homeroom and have been since you arrived at the Institute (at least six months and up to 2½ years ago), so you know each other and have found a way to be polite to each other, if not necessarily friends.
• If you want to swear the Oath of the Drake I won't say no. Be respectful of your fellow players; don't be that person.
• Don't just assume that something will be OK with someone because you read their Ons/Offs and they say they like it. Communicate OOC.
• You are expected to post daily if you possibly can. If things happen and you have to miss a day now and then, that's fine, but if you're missing multiple days in a row, or slowing things down by consistently failing to post in a timely fashion, you and I will have to discuss how and whether to keep you in the game.
• New players will have to wait until their characters can be integrated into the plot.
• Third person present tense is my preference for group games, but if everyone prefers past tense then past tense it shall be.

How should I make a character?

You should talk about your concept on this thread first. There will be a post with house rules, including character generation, when the time is ripe. I will say right now that there will not be an attribute auction; we're doing straight point-buy.

Note that, as mentioned above, your character has no knowledge of Amber, Chaos, or the infinity of Shadow to start; this war-torn Earth is all they know.

If you've played Amber before, you're probably aware that GMs tend to fall into one of two camps: "Powers GMs" and "Warfare GMs." I fall on the Powers side. Since there won't be a lot of powers to choose from to start, you might want to put more points in stats than you normally would, but don't put all your points in stats or you may find yourself a little bored. If you don't like the powers in the book, we can come up with something different. And remember: how many points you have in something isn't as important as how clever you are with what you've got.

What was all that stuff in red about "UNDER REVISION"?

At the behest of a couple of potential players, I was thinking about rewriting the scenario for a university setting. I decided to stick with high school.

[Rook Seidhr]

Currently approved players:

• Bowen, playing Ken Tachibana
• Empyrean, playing Maddy Summers
• LordRod, playing William Wake
• Meliai, playing Maple MacAlistair
• The Jackal, playing Morgan Storm

Still recruiting! (taking up to three more PCs, may close it at fewer)

[Rook Seidhr]

House rules, character creation guidelines and so on can be found on the game wiki.

Key points:

• 100 points. No auction. Limit 10 points Bad Stuff if you're a serious glutton for punishment; better to hold it to 5 or less. Likewise, please don't take more than 5 or maybe 10 points of Good Stuff.
• No Pattern or Logrus. No Advanced powers of any kind. Basic powers can be learned in 5–10 point chunks. There are several additional powers available (converted from Lords of Gossamer and Shadow, if you're familiar with that game).
• Your character's parents are, as far as your character knows, humans from this world. If your character was adopted—entirely your choice—then as far as your character knows, their biological parents were also humans from this world. No evidence suggests otherwise, except for the fact that your character is manifestly far above the human norm in one or more ways.

[Empyrean]

Interest marked, character idea incoming.

Her parents are Fiona of Amber and Mandor of Chaos.

[Rook Seidhr]

Her parents are Fiona of Amber and Mandor of Chaos.

In this scenario, I'm afraid, you do not get to choose your parents. In fact, as far as you know, your parents are ordinary Earth people.

You may choose to have your character be adopted, but that does not bear on this issue.

[Meliai]

Hmmmmm, so I played in a short-lived attempt at this game on another forum several months back and was planning on applying with the same character when Riveda mentioned he was giving it another go, but a large chunk of her character revolved around art and I noticed Empyrean mentioned interest in a musical/artistic prodigy in the interest check thread, so I might have to come up with something else.

Anywho, hello this is a statement of interest. I will figure out character stuff once I see what Empyrean's bringing to the table~

[Cassandra LeMay]

If the revision currently in progress turns out somewhere along the lines I hope for I am game. But even if not, I have two questions that may be of some small interest to other potential players as well:

1) Can players start with Artifacts or personal Creatures? If yes, would you put any limits on them, for example ruling out  creatures that are clearly supernatural (given how much attention they might attract) or items that are obviously very much outside the mundane (like, say, shapeshifting items)?

2) The Amber DRPG allows players to earn extra points for 'player contributions' in the form of diaries, artwork, and so on. Have you given any thought to that? Is something like that possible in this game, and if so, in what form? Or will players all just buy characters with the same points (which I assume will be 100)?

Edit: I'd like to append a third question, now that I thought about this a little more:

3) When you say that players should talk about their concept here, do you mean background story, game stats, or both?

[LordRod]

I. Love. This. Game.

So more questions in addition to those being asked:

Our character might not know things, but can they be in the BG? For example, should we leave their BG entirely undefined (I'm guessing yes) or could they be from another shadow and have vague memories of somewhere else?

If in one world only, what about adding 'harry potter and the python' elements into their background that hint at things but are undefined? Re concept, I'm assuming you're looking for 'pre monsters' or can it also include perhaps fighting or dealing with said monsters before being enrolled in the school?

[yesiroleplay]

posting for subscription, and a couple questions.

The monsters appeared in 2006, that would mean when our characters were 6 years old (apparently we were all born in the year 2000 - significant?)  This means that we've lived most of our lives and basically all of our school years in a world with monsters.  What sort of horrors have happened in the New York public schools in this time?  Are there even big public elementary schools anymore?  If so what sort of security do they have, and how many students have been traumatized or monster-attacked in the schools?

I assume scholarships or invitations for students from less-than-wealthy family are offered because said students got noticed by the school administration.  How heroic, anti-heroic, or fantastic can our backstory or reason for getting a scholarship be?

Edit:  no attribute auction makes me a bit sad =( Rankings were my favorite part of the game

[Rook Seidhr]

1) Can players start with Artifacts or personal Creatures? If yes, would you put any limits on them, for example ruling out  creatures that are clearly supernatural (given how much attention they might attract) or items that are obviously very much outside the mundane (like, say, shapeshifting items)?

2) The Amber DRPG allows players to earn extra points for 'player contributions' in the form of diaries, artwork, and so on. Have you given any thought to that? Is something like that possible in this game, and if so, in what form? Or will players all just buy characters with the same points (which I assume will be 100)?

Both questions addressed in the draft character creation guidelines on the wiki (linked in post #3 on this thread).

3) When you say that players should talk about their concept here, do you mean background story, game stats, or both?

Backstory only. Don't bother including any speculation about your character's Amber (or Chaos) parentage. As far as your character knows, their parents are human. You may choose to have your character be adopted, but it has no bearing on this issue.

When I'm ready, I'll have you PM me your stats.

EDIT: LordRod, yesiroleplay, would I lose your interest if I moved the setting to a university, with the characters being 20 years old? Most other things the same—monsters invaded when you were all 6, etc.

[Cassandra LeMay]

Both questions addressed in the draft character creation guidelines on the wiki (linked in post #3 on this thread).

While I can understand why you break down the powers into smaller chunks, I am not sure what to make of the changed rules for Attributes below Amber rank, i.e. the rule against "buying down" attributes. Is that just to prevent players from amassing points from low attributes, or is that in place more to allow players to buy up their attributes one point at a time? If you say that that is just how it is in your game that's fine by me, but I figured asking can't hurt.

Speaking of buying up powers and attributes, can you give us a hint how fast or slow you imagine advancement for characters to be? It might help prioritizing powers during character creation.

Another question: Would you allow the High Compelling "add on" for Conjuration from the Shadow Knight rules? If so, what other Conjuration powers would it need as a prerequisite?

[Empyrean]

My character concept, which I was way too tired to explain last night, is this.

Madeleine is a young woman from high society. She's never known the dangers and privations of her war-torn world, sheltered as she was. From an early age she was into books and drawing, and her parents decided to send her to an arts academy at a young age. She learned the violin, and by the time she was old enough to be transferred to the Socinian Institute, she was a virtuoso in several instruments and a talented sketch artist and painter.

Personality-wise she's sweet, optimistic, and terribly naive. She's friendly, but introspective and prone to losing herself in daydreams and fantasies.

That was Maddy in a nutshell.

[Rook Seidhr]

While I can understand why you break down the powers into smaller chunks, I am not sure what to make of the changed rules for Attributes below Amber rank, i.e. the rule against "buying down" attributes. Is that just to prevent players from amassing points from low attributes, or is that in place more to allow players to buy up their attributes one point at a time? If you say that that is just how it is in your game that's fine by me, but I figured asking can't hurt.

I hate it when players sell their characters' stats down to "Human" rank, so I'm making a rule against it. I also hate the idea that the baseline Amberite is 100% superhuman in every way.

Speaking of buying up powers and attributes, can you give us a hint how fast or slow you imagine advancement for characters to be? It might help prioritizing powers during character creation.

I'll probably give out advancement points at a rate of 1–2 per OOC week, depending on how much people post. The rate will be the same for all characters as long as their players are keeping up with the game.

Another question: Would you allow the High Compelling "add on" for Conjuration from the Shadow Knight rules?

No. The High Compelling rules are not in play. Much the same effect could be achieved by a combination of Empathy and Advanced Sorcery, though.

[Meliai]

It occurred to me that I can just copy and paste my character's write-up from the last game~
Everything subject to change, though Madeleine's background is almost the polar opposite of Maple's so hopefully no issues there

"Maple Charlevoix MacAlistair, apart from ‘that girl with the really unfortunate name,’ is probably best known for being the art director for the school paper (a position she somehow weaseled her way into despite it normally going to a senior) and for the camera she carries around like a badge of office. Her stint as the guiding force behind the paper’s look has been a bit…avant-garde. The poor Editor’s exasperation seems to endlessly amuse her.

Maple attends The Socinian Institute on an mix of academic and artistic scholarships. She’s bright, though not exceptionally so, and honestly her grades would probably be better if she didn’t pour so much of her free time into a stream of ever-changing artistic endeavors.

Unless you’ve given her a reason to be otherwise Maple is very friendly, though has a tendency to be forgetful and often comes off as a little spacey. Highly curious, she’ll try just about anything at least once. Maple does not always exercise the best judgement in these scenarios.

Maple hails from the neighborhood of Woodside in the borough of Queens, where her painfully Irish father’s family has lived since the early 1900s. Her mother, Elsinore, is a social worker in Child Protective Services, and her father, Flannery, does educational outreach for a local art museum (mostly after-school and summer art classes for children.) She is the middle of three children; her older sister, Magnolia, is in the military, and her younger sister, Willow, is a high school freshman. The family hovers around the border between working class and middle class. In 7th grade Maple earned a spot in a summer arts program for gifted students; the scholarship offer to Holy Question Mark came shortly after, blindsiding the whole family, who otherwise never would have been able to afford even a fraction of the tuition. Maple feels a bit guilty getting an opportunity like this where her sisters didn’t, and is determined not to take it for granted."

[Cassandra LeMay]

I hate to be a pain in the behind, but I have another rules question, th8is time about something you said on the wiki.

Combat with melee weapons and general athleticism will mostly be covered by Strength, with some input from Warfare.

Could you perhaps provide an example of how much Warfare will matter in melee combat? I would like my character to be good in combat (both ranged and melee), but I don't see her as stronger than Chaos or Amber rank.

Would this rule mean that Benedict (the fighter bar none) would actually be close to Gerard (the strongest of them all) in strength, given that Benedict would (most likely) beat Gerard in melee combat all the time? Would Benedict actually be stronger than Gerard if we assume he can beat him all (or most) of the time, all things being equal?

[Rook Seidhr]

Could you perhaps provide an example of how much Warfare will matter in melee combat? I would like my character to be good in combat (both ranged and melee), but I don't see her as stronger than Chaos or Amber rank.

Depends on the weapon. With something like a rapier or cavalry saber, it'll be 50/50, maybe even more Warfare than Strength depending on how you describe your tactics. With a claymore or battleaxe? Mostly Strength.

Would this rule mean that Benedict (the fighter bar none) would actually be close to Gerard (the strongest of them all) in strength, given that Benedict would (most likely) beat Gerard in melee combat all the time? Would Benedict actually be stronger than Gerard if we assume he can beat him all (or most) of the time, all things being equal?

Ahahaha now we get into game book vs. novels and all kinds of things that Amberfen have debated for decades…

• We know that Gerard is the strongest by far. We also see him depicted as slower than Corwin. That doesn't make him a lumbering brute with no grasp of tactics!
• We know that Benedict is the best general in the multiverse and an extraordinary swordsman. We know that he would have bested Corwin in a swordfight if Corwin hadn't played a dirty trick. Of course, Benedict was motivated as hell at the time, and Corwin wasn't willing to go for the throat. It's possible that if Corwin and Benedict had each been ready to kill the other, the fight would not have been so lopsided.
• We know that Gerard is a solid naval commander.
• We don't know how Benedict would fare in a swordfight against any other Amberite. In particular, we don't know whether Gerard would be able to beat him in a white-room Zweihänder duel.

I would say that Gerard has a good Warfare—one of the lower ranks among his generation, but well above "Amber rank"—while Corwin is probably third or fourth rank among his generation (lower than Benedict, Bleys and possibly Deirdre if you accept Wujcik's "Deirdre, Warrior Princess" hypothesis; higher than Caine, Eric and Random; we don't actually know about the others). Corwin is also stronger than Benedict—unlike Benedict, he pulls free of the Black Road grass without help—though not nearly as strong as Gerard.

My experience with HEMA tells me that fighting with anything heavier than a fencing weapon is more about strength than agility. Footwork is very important, but the ability to make a broadsword go where you want it to go comes mostly from muscle. The idea that Benedict could reliably beat Gerard in a killing fight with heavy melee weapons snaps my disbelief suspenders. And in a fight between a broadsword and a rapier, the broadsword has a big advantage—English duelists switched from broadswords to smallswords because the latter were fashionable, not because they were more effective.

Of course, Benedict is better able to take advantage of tactical positioning than anyone else; he has an almost infallible situational awareness (though forget that "constantly dodging invisible weapons" crap from the game book); in general, when it comes to any part of fighting that doesn't directly involve putting the pointy end in the other fellow, he is the best there is. So my money would still be on Benedict in a real fight against Gerard. If I were making book on it, though, I'd set the odds at eight to five.

If I were writing the game from scratch, I'd do the attributes somewhat differently. I don't want to house-rule everything—which some Amber GMs have done—but I feel the need to make this particular concession to reality.

[Meliai]

I voted either's fine, but if a tie breaker is needed I'd prefer high school. I feel like the self-revelatory aspects of finding out you're an otherworldly superbeing feels better with the kind of emotional development you generally see in high schoolers than (hopefully) more mature college students.

[Rook Seidhr]

As I said in my last post to the interest check thread, I am making the executive decision to just stick with high school. It makes my life easier, and four of you have expressed willingness to play in a high school setting, which is enough players to make the game happen even if no one else signs up.

My apologies to those of you who are not OK with a high school game. If someone wants to run a different Amber game, that's great, I encourage it and might play in it. This is the game I can run right now.

[Cassandra LeMay]

I wasn't aware there was a vote on it ongoing, but I guess it doesn't matter, as I have made my preference clear enough.

Guess all I can do is wish you all good luck, and success with this game. May you all survive long enough to graduate.  ;D

[Meliai]

Ummmm...just to be clear, there was a poll up briefly, before Riveda made an executive decision. Guess my last post looked kind of confusing out of context.

[Rook Seidhr]

Our character might not know things, but can they be in the BG? For example, should we leave their BG entirely undefined (I'm guessing yes) or could they be from another shadow and have vague memories of somewhere else?

If in one world only, what about adding 'harry potter and the python' elements into their background that hint at things but are undefined? Re concept, I'm assuming you're looking for 'pre monsters' or can it also include perhaps fighting or dealing with said monsters before being enrolled in the school?

Sorry it took so long to get back to you!

There is nothing in your character's history that suggests an otherworldly origin. They had an Earthly childhood with Earthly parents. It is possible that their extraordinary potential manifested early; it is also possible that it only came out very recently. For that matter, they may be in denial that there's anything unusual about them at all.

It is possible that your character was involved in the ongoing war in some way. Perhaps they are the only survivor of a town completely taken over by body-snatchers, for instance. Perhaps their psychic ability to detect monsters (assuming they have the appropriate Power and a sufficient Psyche) got them involved with a militia. Many things are possible—PM me with your ideas.

[Rook Seidhr]

The monsters appeared in 2006, that would mean when our characters were 6 years old (apparently we were all born in the year 2000 - significant?)  This means that we've lived most of our lives and basically all of our school years in a world with monsters.  What sort of horrors have happened in the New York public schools in this time?  Are there even big public elementary schools anymore?  If so what sort of security do they have, and how many students have been traumatized or monster-attacked in the schools?

I assume scholarships or invitations for students from less-than-wealthy family are offered because said students got noticed by the school administration.  How heroic, anti-heroic, or fantastic can our backstory or reason for getting a scholarship be?

It is significant that all your characters were born in the same year, yes—in fact, they were all born between late January and early March of 2000. What the significance is, of course, will be revealed later.

There haven't been a bunch of school massacres. Yes, there are still big public elementary schools—in fact, smaller schools have often been consolidated, especially in rural areas, because it's easier to defend one big building than three little ones. There's no barbed wire, there are no machine-gun turrets, but armed guards are common everywhere; middle schools teach firearms safety and have armories for their students to store personal weapons during school hours. Whether the widespread arming of society has decreased monster-related casualities as much as it has increased accidental shootings and human-on-human gun violence is not 100% clear, but it has definitely helped against the monsters.

If your character is from a less-wealthy family, they may not know why they received an invitation to apply for admission and financial aid. It may simply have arrived in the mail, like an owl in the night. Or your character's parents may have said "We're sending you to this school in New York full of rich kids" and not discussed how or why; after all, your character was only 14 at the time. How many parents bother justifying their decisions to their 14-year-old children?

However, if you want your character to have done something specific to attract an invitation from the Institute, that's fine too. As I said in my reply to LordRod, your character might have been involved in the war in some heroic or tragic way. They might also have manifested a talent for magic—which is something I will address in an upcoming wiki post. I'll link to it in this thread when it's ready.

[Rook Seidhr]

It's been suggested that I should be more clear about what kind of story I hope for us to tell together.

The games I run are usually about unraveling metaphysical mysteries more than anything else. Expect more interpersonal tension than physical combat; expect magical weirdness; expect to be called on to save the world (more than one world, if the game runs long enough); expect surprises and revelations. There are likely to be elements of horror from time to time, but I would definitely not call this a horror game. Likewise, there will be slice-of-life elements, but this is not a slice-of-life game. I'd like to think the tone is close to the Amber novels themselves.

Everything in the Corwin books is canon—or rather, the books tell the story as Corwin told it to Merlin at the edge of the Abyss. Corwin is not a 100% reliable narrator, especially when the truth would make him look bad. Nonetheless, you may assume that, when your characters find out the big picture, it will match the Corwin books very closely.

Some of the things from the Merlin books happened. Most didn't. Make no assumptions there.

I do expect your characters to leave Shadow Earth; how soon that becomes possible will be largely up to your cleverness and your choices. It won't happen right away! Once it does happen, the nature of the game will change dramatically. We'll discuss that OOC when the time comes.

Another note on play style: when it comes to powers, stretch your limits! If something is on the edge of your abilities, I'm more likely to say "You can do that, but…" or "Well, maybe you could try this instead…" than I am to issue a flat-out "No." Ask in the OOC thread or in PM if you're not sure whether you can do a particular thing. Don't hold back just because you think something will break the plot—very little of what will happen after the game starts is set in stone.

Also, your character's powers do not necessarily work the same as anyone else's, even characters with the same words written on their character sheets. One character's Sorcery might take the form of prayer and meditation, while another might inscribe runic amulets. There is a lot of room to mess around with the rules-as-written, especially where it's stuff that doesn't appear in the Corwin books (either because it came from the Merlin books, such as Sorcery and Shape Shifting, or because the game designer just made it up).

Basically, we will be exploring the powers together as the game goes on, and what your character can and cannot do will evolve from what they try to do and how you describe them doing it.

Lastly, if I say "You have a bad feeling about that," it's a hint that the consequences of what your character is about to do may be worse than you, the player, will want to deal with. I don't say it often.

[hiddenwithin]

I'm with Cass above on this -- with the setting in high school, I will have to bow out. Just not the age I wish to play currently.

Thank you Riveda for the invite!

To the others, much luck and fun!

[Empyrean]

I found a couple of pics that might do for Madeleine. Also, I picture her personal colors as black and white.