Ambercon US
 

What is Amber Roleplaying?

The Amber Diceless Role-Playing Game can be played in many different formats. At Ambercon you might find fully-costumed Live Action games, standard "table-top" games, or anything in-between. We also host indie games and other diceless and homebrew games that align with players' interests.

Erick Wujcik's "Amber DRPG" is based on a series of books by the late Roger Zelazny. If you're not familiar with Zelazny, he is one of the writers who led a "new wave" of science fiction in the '60s and '70s.

This game system is unique in a number of different ways. Firstly, and most new to players in 1991 when it was published, it is a "diceless" system. The diceless aspect works largely because of the unique genre setting. Almost all characters, modeled after Zelazny's immortal Amber family, will be physically superior to normal people and enormously difficult to hurt. Because of their levels of skill and ability, gained through long lifetimes, mundane tasks they attempt will be doomed to success or failure from the start. Either the character knows how to hotwire cars, or they don't. Either they can beat up three random muggers on the streets, or they can't. The GM can usually assess the likelihood of success quite easily. All that remains is to roleplay such encounters through.

True challenge takes place almost solely when player characters conflict with each other or with named NPCs or "cosmic powers." Then comparing relative stats and bringing other resources to bear becomes key to narrating the outcome of the challenges.

Random events occur when the GM decides to have them, or when players introduce them through use of specific powers and abilities, otherwise they don't. No dice required. Pre-planning scenarios that will integrate and give agency to every player character is key to a successful Amber DRPG event--hence the unique, pre-scheduled nature of AmberCon.

Because of the woolly nature of the system, complicated character sheets and vast skill lists are not necessary. There are 4 stats, and as many skills as the player wishes. The simplest approach is to write down a general character background and infer the skills from that as play progresses. Characters are as powerful in terms of knowledge and skill as the players want them to be, on the assumption that a player given enough free rope will eventually learn how to hang themselves with it without too much direct intervention.

There are other differences to this system, but the ones given above are the main ones.

In the Amber source novels, events take place in an effectively infinite number of different universes, with varying levels of technology or magic available. Players are advised to read the books, starting with "Nine Princes in Amber". While it's not essential to read the books before playing the game, it will help in giving them a shared "vocabulary" of characters, settings, history and events. There are 10 books in total, in two series of 5. They are quite short and easy to read.

That said, a series of 50 year old novels set in an effectively infinite number of universes gives a wide field for GMs' stories. Also, since the sets of books are confined to the points of view of only two characters (both somewhat dated in their outlooks, particularly in terms of sexism), there is a lot of room for GMs and players to interpret the points of view of the other characters not represented. That sister Corwin casually dismisses? She's a power in her own right, a manipulator, or an unrecognized badass! Hints in the novels, such as a mention that one character casually carries a hand grenade in her purse, or another who can apparently control giant, shape-shifting hunting hounds, become the grist for whole new "versions" of Amber.

Rulebooks

There are two rule books available, originally costing about $20 each. The first is called "Amber" and is the main rulebook. The second is called "Shadow Knight", and contains additional, supplementary rules. While they are out of print, you can still purchase .pdf copies through DriveThru RPG here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/1447/Amber

and here: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/1448/Shadow-Knight

A variation on similar themes is presented in a new, also diceless game, called Lords of Gossamer and Shadow. Many ACNW GMs have been running games using this cosmology. The books for "LoGaS" are still in print, and are also available at Drive Thru RPG.

Zelazny's Amber Books and other Resources

We also recommend the novels which started it all, though this isn't absolutely essential. They come in two series, The Corwin Chronicles and The Merlin Chronicles. These ten books have also been collected into The Great Book of Amber.

The Corwin Chronicles

  • Nine Princes in Amber
  • The Guns of Avalon
  • Sign of the Unicorn
  • The Hand of Oberon
  • The Courts of Chaos

The Merlin Chronicles

  • Trumps of Doom
  • Blood of Amber
  • Sign of Chaos
  • Knight of Shadows
  • Prince of Chaos

Short Stories

There are also a few short stories, which hint at new material. Since Zelazny died in 1995, we're never going to know how these ideas would have turned out. The following is a complete list, together with where they have been published. They can also be found in the collection of Zelazny short stories entitled Manna from Heaven.

  • "Prologue to Trumps of Doom" - (Amberzine #4)
  • "The Salesman's Tale" - (Amberzine #6)
  • "The Shroudling and the Guisel" - (Realms of Fantasy#1, and Amberzine#8)
  • "Coming to a Cord" - (Amberzine #10)
  • "Blue Horse, Dancing Mountains" - (Wheel of Fortune anthology, Avon mass market paperback edited by Roger Zelazny)
  • "Hall of Mirrors" - (Castle Fantastic anthology, mass market paperback edited by John DeChancie and Martin Greenberg. ISBN 0-88677-686-4)

Finally, there have been some supplementary works authorized by either Zelazny or his estate.

Choose Your Own Adventure

  • Seven No Trump by Neil Randall (From the "Crossroads Adventure" series. ISBN 0-81256-419-7)
  • The Black Road War by Neil Randall (From the "Combat Command" series. ISBN 0-44111-537-3)

Reference Books

  • Visual Guide to Castle Amber by Roger Zelazny and Neil Randall (ISBN 0-38075-566-1)
  • The Complete Amber Sourcebook by Theodore Krulik (ISBN 0-38075-409-6)

The New Amber Series by John Gregory Betancourt

  • Dawn of Amber
  • Chaos and Amber
  • To Rule in Amber
  • Shadows of Amber