Ambercon 2008 Game Book Slot 2
Game Types
AA (Alternate Amber) - It's Amber...sort of (i.e. Ambermaniacs).
EL (Elders) - Characters will be Elder Amberites from the books.
FF (Freeform) - A game run in near real time, does not have 'traditional' game structure.
KF (Kid Friendly) - Game is appropriate for younger players.
NA (Non-Amber Game) - Game does not take place in the Amber universe and is completely unrelated to Amber.
NC (New Campaign) - The start of a new game that will continue at future conventions, usually with the same players.
OC (Ongoing Campaign) - A continuing campaign played from year to year, usually with the same players.
SM (Seminar) - Event is a discussion of a specific topic, not a game.
SR (Series) - A series of separate, self-contained adventures, set in the same universe, often with different players.
SW (Shared World) - Characters are from existing or defunct campaigns but their histories are modified so that they are all part of the same universe and are usually familiar with each other.
TW (Throne War) - Everyone tries to kill each other or form alliances to attain a goal.
UC (Unique Characters) - Characters are created specifically for this game world, as opposed to being from existing or defunct campaigns.
XO (Crossover) - Characters are from existing or defunct campaigns and arrive from different universes with their history intact.
2-098: Ahead of the Storm (UC, 5-7 Players) CLOSED
Description: You are a proud child of Amber, born in the golden age that is Emperor Benedict's eternal reign. Power is your birthright, duty your mother's milk.
For twenty years you and your small cohort of young scions have paid your years of service, have learned the ways of the empire. Today you step forward into the sunlight of adulthood, unaware of the storm that looms behind you, threatening to wash all away.
Benedict is the Emperor of Amber and has been such for nearly two thousand years. Think Rome ruled by an eternal Augustus.
Most of the other elders and characters from the books are long dead or missing.
You are Benedict's youngest children, born of his harem, raised to be fierce and duty-bound. He is a distant, demanding, god-like father.
Mechanics/Restrictions: No advanced powers. No artifacts. No sold-down stats.
Players must have e-mail access.
Character Generation: Before Con based on 100 points
Play Level: Any
GM(s): Eric Todd
2-052: Fighting Amongst Ourselves: Resolving Battles and Other Conflicts (SM, 3-15 Players)
Description: Every RPG has battles, even diceless RPGs. Although diceless may try to shy away from fights, or disguise them as some other form of conflict. Approaches to combat and other conflicts vary widely and can enhance or ruin the atmosphere of a game.
How does a GM create compelling storylines without letting the battle take over the game? Are there alternatives to resolving conflicts that don't seem arbitrary or contrived? If you had a past disaster, how would you handle it differently now? This will be a workshop on effective narrative strategies, mechanic variations, and interpersonal relations.
PLEASE NOTE we start the seminar at 10:00 am and everyone is welcome. Sleep in and come ready to share ideas.
Notes: Late start: 10 am.
Character Generation: Non-Applicable
Play Level: Any
GM(s): George Gitari, Rachel Holmberg
2-006: First Time GMing: Workshop (FF SM, 3-7 Players)
Description: Bring the Amber Diceless game you'd like to GM to this workshop and we will cheer you on and help find your unique answers !!
'First time' GMing butterflies caught and examined !!The slot will cover general topics and specific advice.
You can game sample scenes that address your questions.Topics may include:
GM as a relationship with Players.
How to manage time in a finite slot.
How to keep combat a clean process.
How to respond to Players that break your plot.
How to attempt 'mood' on the fly.
How to arbitrate advanced powers.
Balance GM experience versus GM prep time.
Rewards for PCs, rewards for Players.
Create NPCs who do not grab spotlight from Players.Questions sent in before the Convention will have 'play time' samples designed. Prospective GMs can also look here for 'partners' to share the GM tasks with. Use this slot to hook up with another person and share the GM load.
Notes: We will start at 10am. Grab a good breakfast and then join us. Be prepared to play as well as ask questions.
Character Generation: Pregenerated
Play Level: Beginner
GM(s): R.F. McCaughey, Kristen Schleick
2-044: God War (NA TW, 3-15 Players)
Description: You are a God. Or possibly Goddess.
You rule not just a world, but a whole Universe.
But something has gone wrong, Universes are colliding, becoming one space. When Gods go to war for control of the multiverse, who will win?Mechanics/Restrictions: Create a God, 200 points. Use powers from the books, or create your own powers. Use a God from a pre-existing pantheon, or create your own. Then pit your powers and followers against other Gods to see who is the best.
Players must have e-mail access.
Character Generation: Before Con based on 200 points
Play Level: Intermediate
GM(s): Sean McCabe
2-028: The Ides of March (EL TW, 6-12 Players) CANCELED
Description: King Oberon requests your presence (and that of one guest at your discretion) at the Annual Ides of March Masquerade Ball this season in the First City. Please RSVP as soon as possible to the Lady Calpurnia.
This year, the Ides Ball coincides with the Day of the Lamb, when the King gives amnesty to anyone under Amber's power. The King has declared that the one who wins the Guessing Game will be able to announce the lucky recipient of the pardon. Many will enter, one will win.
This year, as with all others, no red costumes are to be worn. You know why.
-----
In this game, the players will be elders, but no one will know (other than the readily apparent sexual identity and/or size depending on costume) who the other players 'really' are. During the Masquerade, there will be a Guessing Game of Remembrance (as in "Remember when") played by the players with one another. This game will be played out as remembrances by the players (potentially made up on the spot or rehearsed as you wish) of events from the past lives of their characters and the others in the Castle. These remembrances could provide clues to their identities.Mechanics/Restrictions: Any game mechanics will be standard Amber Diceless with the exception of stuff (see below).
Players will have the opportunity to select an elder and give a list of three events which they have participated in with other Amberites. Anyone not doing these two things by one week prior to Con will be given an Elder and a list of events in which they participated generated by the GMs, who reserve the right to make you miserable.
Anything that affects Amberites who are selected as PCs will be communicated to them via e-mail, along with a random tale or two that they may have heard elsewhere. You may use these events in your remembrances or come up with something amusing as you wish.
Additionally, Each player will be given a number of tokens that they can use to reward or punish others linked to these tales. These will act as good and bad stuff for the players. Extra tokens beyond those handed out at the start of the game will be awarded for creative, dramatic, amusing, poignant or interesting tales by the GM.
Players must have e-mail access.
Notes: Special Note: While there will be a game plot, I sincerely hope to spend as much time playing the remembrance game as possible (a big hit from Cons prior) and the game plot will be adjusted to the time remaining.
Character Generation: Pregenerated
Play Level: Intermediate
GM(s): John Lees, David McCreless
2-097: Musketeer! (NA, 3-16 Players)
Description: Participate in a playtest of the card game Musketeer. Musketeer is a game of swashbuckling tavern combat between the King's Musketeers and the Cardinal's Guard in 17th Century France, evoking the classic movies of yesterday and today. It is still in development -- hence the playtest -- and will be published later this year.
Mechanics/Restrictions: NOTE: This is not a role-playing game. It is a card game in the same category as Mayfair Games' Bang! It is out of the normal mold of Ambercon events, and is here by special invitation because the slot was depleted by cancellations.
Notes: A good event if you want to take it easy in this slot, as a session of Musketeer takes around 40 minutes, so we'll be doing several and people can drop in or out.
Character Generation: Non-Applicable
Play Level: Any
GM(s): Joe Saul
2-039: Once Upon a Time in the West - Dead Man's Hand (NA SR UC, 4-7 Players) CANCELED
Description: Paradise Falls was a great place to stop, the women are beautiful, the booze flows freely and the Gold slips through your fingers like rain falling upon the desert. But the Gold is running out. So, when a down on his luck Gambler puts up his last coins, a silver pocket watch and his diary as his last bet, you took it. He called and laid down two pairs, Aces and Eights. He was poised and ready to scoop up the pot, when your 3 Deuces hit the table. His gun hand folded as your sixes spoke first and you let him lay. You scooped up your winnings and slipped out the door.
Little did you know that fate had its eye on you, for the diary held an account of an old Spanish mine and the Watch contained a folded up map which pointed the way. The possibility of more gold it would seem has dropped into your laps, but Gold has a way of bringing the vultures out of the woodwork. Danger lurks on this hunt for treasure, and many would like to find it. And so the race is on....
Once Upon a Time in the West is a game which draws upon Spaghetti Westerns for its inspiration, it's all about who has the fastest gun, the toughest mind and the strongest will. Life is cheap in this world and death can be had for the price of a bullet. Sometimes the toughest person you have to face is yourself. Remember this as you sign up, and bloody fun will be had by all.
Mechanics/Restrictions: Once Upon a Time in the West will be played using the Dust Devil rules. Character creation will be at the Con or via e-mail before. Some knowledge of the rules will help play go smoother.
Players must have e-mail access.
Character Generation: Before Con based on N/A points
Play Level: Intermediate
GM(s): Tymen VanDyk
2-080: Rise of the Third Rose: A Tale of Three Kingdoms - Final Heresy (NA, 2-4 Players) CLOSED
Description: A Modern Urban Fantasy tale in the tradition of Underworld, Blood Ties, and Forever Knight. Players are Vampires, Changelings, and Prometheans at a time of civil war between the tribes of the supernatural. Will you work for peace, or victory? Can you embrace the Heresy of peace when so many of you were born of Vengeance? This event is part of an ongoing playtest. The specifics of the plot will be grown from the characters developed.
Mechanics/Restrictions: Played with diceless rules, but not Amber diceless; provided by e-mail. Please allow time to create characters beforehand. Players preferring to 'learn by doing' may provide a character description, and I will generate a character for them.
Players must have e-mail access.
Notes: I will start on time, and should break on time for lunch.
Character Generation: Before Con based on 50 points
Play Level: Intermediate
GM(s): David Vandenabeele
2-019: Treacherous Waters (AA SR UC, 2-6 Players) CLOSED
Description: A Dashing Blades of Amber Adventure.
King Oberon's fleet is ambushed on a diplomatic mission to a new world, and it is up the swashbuckling Royal Blades to save the day.
This is a standalone game in the Dashing Blades of Amber universe. Both newcomers and players from the other Dashing Blades game are welcome.
Mechanics/Restrictions: See http://ralf.org/~colomon/amber/dboa.html for full rules and info on the setting.
Players must have e-mail access.
Character Generation: Before Con based on 11 points
Play Level: Any
GM(s): Sol Foster
2-002: Welcome Home? (UC, 4-6 Players) CANCELED
Description: The warm aromas of breakfast gently rouse you from a glorious sleep.... What the? This is not your bed! Where are you? How did you get here? You were definitely not THAT drunk last night. That was last night, right?
Mechanics/Restrictions: There are infinite Shadows between Amber and Chaos, your character may be from any one of them. Characters may not be from Amber or Chaos. 125 points, no Pattern, Logrus or Trump. Any thing else is negotiable providing it fits into the story. Characters should have skills that a militaristic organization would find desirable.
Players must have e-mail access.
Character Generation: Before Con based on 125 points
Play Level: Any
GM(s): Stephen Acton
Campaigns for Returning Players Only
2-057: Emergence (OC, 2-15 Players)
Description: Last year, we left a group of people about to set foot on the road to the utter destruction of the universe. Or maybe they were getting ready to sort it all out. I never know with these characters.
Notes: Continues in slot 3, we'll order out again, if you're interested.
Character Generation: Non-Applicable
Play Level: Advanced
GM(s): Rae H. Williams
2-025: Under the Tyrant's Thumb (OC, 4-10 Players)
Description: Power corrupts, Ultimate powers destroys - Can the grandsons and granddaughters of Oberon survive Reynard, the ultimate Tyrant.
Character Generation: Non-Applicable
Play Level: Advanced
GM(s): Michael Kucharski