Posts made by Autumn

@Arkandel The short answer is "Nothing!", of course, but that's not very helpful.

I'd expect that doing that would give more flavor than even a very carefully crafted offstage setup (assuming that staff are good at playing the Princes). It brings with it the usual issues that accompany having very powerful in-setting characters run as NPCs, and it wouldn't surprise me if Amber players as a group are sensitive to some of those issues due to past history, but just because something has worked out badly in the past doesn't mean it can't work out well in the present.

Removing them from everyday life also runs the risk of suggesting that things that the Princes can't be arsed to deal with aren't particularly important. When they do come out, it's a special occasion, but does that make it less special when they aren't around?

I don't think there's a simple yes or no answer. It's about what you want out of a game. To some people Amber is the Princes and Princesses being awesome and doing the things that make them awesome. To other people it's less about those specific characters and more about the environment they exist in. Do I sound wishy-washy? It's probably 'cause I am, since I feel a little uncomfortable with both ends of the debate.

Inevitably, when you run an Amber game, you have two choices. You can make the Princes and Princesses be qualitatively no different from any other character, in which case people will object because an Amber where Benedict can get thrashed by someone no one's ever heard of doesn't feel much like Amber.

Or you can make them qualitatively different from other characters, in which case everybody else will be second-class citizens, and that also doesn't feel like Amber, because that's not really a setting that's about any of the protagonists willingly being second-class citizens. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

That was part of what led me to suggest having the descendents organized by bloodline houses -- so the ideas of Deirdre, Bleys, Llewella, Corwin, etc., were still in the setting, and their mythic archetypes and character stereotypes were things that could be invoked consciously by both players and by characters, without having the actual characters around to present their usual Hobson's choice. But I'm certainly not about to suggest that's the best way to do it.

I don't really have a strong opinion on what system to use, but I think that:

• It should probably be fairly simple to pick up; the Amber player base is not exactly habituated to nWoD levels of system complexity.

• It should be aimed to handle the conflicts that the game will be about, so figuring out in advance what those are should probably be a big part of it (e.g., Amber never came up with a satisfying way of handling military action, RtA tacked on the flagpole system as an afterthought, etc.)

• If it can avoid requiring staff intervention for everyday use, that's probably a good thing.

This might sound strange, but along with versatility, I like a little direction. Especially in games (cough, Mage, cough) where the number of possible options is not so much 'large' as 'overwhelming', I like having some ideas about what a good next step might be. I might still have a brainwave and decide that I don't really want to investigate the city manager's office or track down one of the mystical owls seen outside the Consilium headquarters just before the attack or bargain with the Mysterium for information stored in their secure library, and instead go off and do something completely different.

Sometimes when I'm told I can do anything at all I just freeze up and can't decide which sounds like the best right now. And while I very much appreciate a storyteller who's willing to indulge me if I decide to order something that's not on the menu, I also appreciate there being a menu if I need to ask for one.

@Arkandel said:

For instance playing a survivor of vast supernatural phenomena, a veteran mystic who's seen too much, can easily make it bland to actually hit the grid and find not much is happening. Those aspects of his personality won't be easy to come out while mixing it up with the random ghoul from next door whose interests include pop music and Call of Duty.

I try to stick to the principle that RIGHT NOW should be the most interesting period of my character's life, and make their backgrounds and thematic ties work toward that end. That doesn't mean they can't have been an international superspy or a world-famous fashion model-slash-actress or a member of the SEAL team that shot bin Laden, just that I have to come up with some reason why their life today is not just a series of wistful glances back toward when cool stuff was happening to them.

It's kind of like a remake of The Road Warrior composed entirely of the kind of ridiculous action sequences that have always been in Miller's mind but which the budget for the first two films didn't allow. So, if you go in expecting anything other than a clothesline of spectacular action sequences, you'll probably be disappointed. On the other hand, if that's what you want out of it, you definitely won't be.

You'll also be disappointed if you have any investment in the character of Max, since (a) this might as well be a completely new character who happens to share the same name and general demeanor, and (b) he's really a supporting character in his own movie.

edit: That sounds kind of like a criticism, and it's really not meant to be. I actually enjoyed it very much.