31 Day Character Challenge: Amber Diceless Roleplaying

Can I make 31 characters-one for each day in December? I'm gonna give it a try! Not only that, I'll make a video for each one and give each game an "unreview."
The rules are:
1) I have to like it,
2) I have to have bought it, and
3) I must do my best to use E-Prime, a linguistic tool that forbids me from using the verb "to be."
Can I make it? Let's find out!
E-Prime: en.wikipedia.o...
Get Amber Diceless: www.drivethrur...

[@mistermakebelieve]

"I hate dice." You're the first person I've heard say this. I thought I was alone. I get why people like shiny, curiously shaped artefacts of fate, I have many. But they are a crutch. Consequence should be the result of a choice not modified probability.

[@normal6969]

I experienced greater joy from my clever successfull preparations, and in-character ideas which weren't correct for all the other PCs, than rolling 20 or 00. Like an one night stand to your true love. :D

[@matthewkagle2573]

I met Zelazny twice. The second time, he remembered me. One of the high points of my life.

[@lordabdul]

Nice! (did he remember you as "Hey, are you the guy I had security kick out last time? SECURITY!!!!" :D :D )

[@matthewkagle2573]

@@lordabdul Unfortunately not. That would have made it the absolute high point.

[@rbbergstrom]

While no game is perfect, Amber remains my favorite RPG of all time. I started a new Amber campaign a few months ago, for the first time in over a decade. We're 8 sessions in, and I keep asking myself: "Why did I ever take a break from this system and setting? It's at least as good as anything I've played or GM'd in the last ten years."

[@normal6969]

Just tell when you wanna do the next. I'm out of inspiration. :)

[@Carblesnarky]

One last bit, I have run a fair bit of Amber and yes PvP play is hard coded into it, however, I have had more than one game where the PvP elements are set to the side to face a common enemy or achieve a common goal. You can do that easily as well.

[@ClockworkOuroborous]

My ex ran an Amber game. It turned out the BBEG was Flora. She'd been playing the dumb, self centered blonde while playing Amber and Chaos off of each other.I've never played a game with more mind fuckery than that one.

[@RPGRelicHunter]

Rest in peace, Erick Wojcik, you are missed in the world of gaming.

[@normal6969]

But he lives on. :)

[@Zr0din]

Played this on College one semester. THEN read the books over the Summer. Then came back and RELALLY played the heck out of this game! Very fun when you get people that have read the books. That's the problem, I feel you REALLY need to know this world to understand and play it. I always played Chaos Lords! The GM was able to be more destructive and violent and more PVP with Constructs and stuff. I basically became the BBEG by the end of the game!

[@normal6969]

Yes, the books, definitely. It seems so innocent beginning with the amnesiac-cliche. Zelazy, Gailman, Pratchett.

[@asaskald]

TMNT is still one of my favorite game settings.

[@allluckyseven]

Amber was a very important system in my RPG... experience. It was pretty mindblowing at the time, having mostly played D&D and GURPS, and it influenced not just my plays, but my way of thinking RPGs ever since. Now after playing Amber, we played Pendragon. Now can you imagine having Pendragon influenced by the way of thinking, or mentality, I should say, of Amber? Not adding anything related to that universe, of course, but for example, on how players could create stuff and bring that into the fiction as truths.

[@kossowankenobi]

Too me it's next-level RPG. You can draw a straight line from Amber and Theatrix to Fate Core, and there's a huge difference between that ethos of diceless RPG and more structured, dice-based ones. But they can complement each other.

[@allluckyseven]

@@kossowankenobi Oh, absolutely. The Fate guys tell that that system came from them debating in a car trip on how to play Amber using the Fudge rules.

[@greyhawke115]

I love so much about the system but was never able to get into the PvP aspect as such an integral part. I would love to see rules that adapted Amber Diceless to more cooperative play.

[@normal6969]

@@greyhawke115 it's not integral, except in the first simple example play everyone should play first for fun. Even in there are other positions, like -Arden, a huge forest of the only land way out of the dimension-slice of Amber, with a hefty amount of forester-soldiers -City of Amber, with a huge seaport to different dimensions, and a sailship warfleet -Castle Kolvir, in a well defensive powition above the city, with elie guards and siege machines So in the Throe War there are sides to join, and positions to wager on. In normal play, the characters knew eachother and non-hostile, like in the books from Zelazny. Its mainly careful information-wagering, till the signs come and shut happens, then usually mostly cooperative. My PC helped people, asked about their stuff, he (Akitis Daires) was mostly about knowledge, and counted fights unnecessary. I remember him having an ordinary "very soft and deep looking" red rug in his office (totally not fitting the colors in there), which was edged around uneasily by everyone. :D

[@K_E_Robin]

Is Amber good for solo role-playing? I'm so exhausted by the lack of inspiring crpgs when I can't game on the table top with friends, so I want to give solo rpgs a shot.

[@JohnWickPresents]

Not really. No solo material available.

[@K_E_Robin]

@@JohnWickPresents Alright! I think it could been fun though. 😀 Maybe another diceless rpg like Everway would work? Utilizing the Everway cards for creating adventure scenarios for my character. 😀

[@normal6969]

By the way, would you mind to list your house rules? You mentioned you wished to do changes to the game. Ours were simple: -gave STRength body precision, how well your body executes the impulses from your mind -from WARfare, you get your mental precision and quickness This leans inverted amounts from STR/WAR from heavy attacks, like a sofa, or your fists, while chess is purely mental (exept if you try to steal the pieces, kidnap the opponent's cat, making his wife call him hysterically while in the match, the usual stuff of chess-play in Amber). We had a lot of interesting world extension thru 3 generations of players - Highlander in Dune, 2 enemy Patterns of magic/tech, when the Abyss attacked and I saved the main antagonist for knowledge, first try of Vampire from White Wolf, or the hilarous Throne War at first time. It's essentially with as much as lot of rules you can fit comfortably, do a story together.

[@therealwildwildwest]

Dice show random events, the uncontrolled in the world.

[@normal6969]

in AMBER. failure shows that you have unknown information. Or you being reckless. Or preplanned to get some important attention. Both kinds of game systems are fair. Diced ones play a bit strategically, and you never argue about the rules. :) This diceless is about a story you will enjoy, with others. :) I mean it's rare to read about a legendary archer who shot his friend in the back accidentally.

[@mrtin9128]

Amber is one of my favourite systems. The group I played with generally eschewed pvp to stick to a more traditional party structure. On picking parents: my first character had grown up in shadow unaware of his true heritage. Once he got to Amber he made a comment about Flora being the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. I realised what I'd said and asked the GM "she's my mom isn't she?" his grin was all I needed in confirmation.

[@JohnWickPresents]

DUDE! THAT'S MY MOM!

[@normal6969]

Anything not written in your character sheet, and paid with point could be partly GM machinations. My inner chaosite says: "Perhaps she used a psi-emitter to make you more friendly. Have you shared a lot of secrets with her?"

[@andersbackman3977]

Doesn’t this make the game even more tilted toward the charismatic PLAYER? I’m working hard on limiting referee fiat ie added morale rolls for NPCs AND players, a personality profile system for NPCS AND players etc.

[@brothervan3884]

I had given up on anyone playing and liking this game. On a whim I looked again and there was your video. Funny thing, my main character was a redhead psyche tank named Jayne. The GM made the mistake of allowing us to choose our non-Amber parent. I chose Clarissa and was able to keep her as Jayne's mother because I convinced the GM that Clarissa's machinations were not done. :D

[@alexxavier5408]

Much love for TMNT! How can you hate dice? Amber is a really good game system, but I have found that the game sort of requires a knowledge of the novels to play it. Not because of the rules, but because of the need to know what to "do." I love the idea of the GM picking the parents! Making a character solo means you didn't get to participate in the attribute auction. Oh, when you said "never trust a redhead" my wife, Amber, a red head just gave me (and you by extension) a very peeved look. I don't wanna die!

[@danielk7774]

I still have it, still use it and it was one of the best games ever written. It captured the fee of the books and still allows you to free-form and doesn't lock players in. 11/10

[@boydkleen5730]

My group preferred playing as the 4th generation like his second series. You were almost never the best in the universe, just your generation. There was more uncertainty and discovery during play. Especially as the GM had us do a blind Attribute Auction.

[@michal1743]

This is system that I think have longest amount of sessions and finished campaigns, and I like principles of diceless mechanics. But (and it is giant but) I hate part regarding conflict resolution. Because as I like the you are better than you win solution, but there is very little advice regarding how to solve the unnusual situations etc. Basically every GM has to create so much houserules that it is almost separate game. I had the pleasure of playing with good GMs though ;)

[@jeremiahganner3715]

Please make the video about PVP LARP

[@lordabdul]

Amber was also a mind opening game for me. I especially liked the character creation system where you bid against other players to be able to get the highest stat!

[@kossowankenobi]

Yeeeesssss. So many memories of evil Amber games back in University, made for some of our most memorable shared moments. Thanks for shedding some modern light on it.

[@normal6969]

Just making notes here as I listen to you, then I'll paste my stock-text in where I search to play it again. :) The thing is you succeed by your plans, foresight, and preparation, not merely because you optimized your numbers and rolled good. That is extremely satisfying. And the skill-tree comes from your background story. Can you pick locks? Well if you finished the assassin school in Ankh-Morpork, or was a clockmaker, it's possibble. Well, it not must be PVP but it can be PVP. For example I always kept my word, and always searched for reasons - that's why I helped my party, but saved the main antagonist of our campaign 3 times in the closing parts. :D Hoped you've read the other 5 books about Merling the son of Corwin too? Fiona! I see. :) Tell me about your house rules! Ours were STR governs what your body can do (so a swordfight is average of STR and WAR), and sorcery and conjuration was cumbersome, time consuming and unreliable, especially when changing shadows. Well, with Stuff, that also changes how the GM describes a situation. Good stuffers see everything optimistic, and badders pessimistic which not necessary true. Maybe with that many good stuff, you won't recognise real danger? ;) And stuff only affects real random chance only. Well, thank you for the video, and the good nostalgy I feel. (When we escaped Arrakis at last, we flooded it with an ocean. :D ) --- I have fond memories of this game, and I hope I can help another person to become a GM in it for me to play it again. :) AMBER DRPG. Let me tell you about the good and bad things about it! GOOD: -you don't have dices -actions succeed by preparation and good plans (with is much more satisfying than mere "rolled a good one") -the GM is always right (see? unless all your players leave you) -story focused everything -the rulebook consist a thin section of rules, and 4 times the examples for you to understand the really simple rules -the GM should read beforehand 2x5 books (about Princes of Amber series, and then Lords of Chaos books by Roger Zelazny), so cannot be hurried to begin the campaign (sorry guys, I'm reading) -anyone who hasn't read the books will be extremely surprised (a good trick if you forbid them to read those jewels - if anyone does, he will be the GM instead you) -multiverse with every possibility there could or couldn't be (sorry, in this reality wheels don't work) -you might think all of the players will be lost in those myriad worlds, but they won't (powers are working that way, plus centres of powers are important) -as a GM you will have fun by the players having fun (tell them which ability is the most important) BAD: -the storyline will be built on characters made, not the other way around (Joe haven't finished his character yet, so I must be reading these books, do you remember?) -first it's the best if you just hold a practice-session called "Throne War" (ours lasted 0.5 year real time, with sessions each weekend) -a houserule which almost a must: set Strength governing manual dexterity too (like the ability to do 7 backflips in a row, or martial arts) -the players must know that you are a fair storyteller, and everything you do has a reason behind it ( ;) ) -the ability auction is a nice idea, but we only used it when all the characters grew up together (Throne War) -only things bought from points are almost surely working everywhere, so non-humans mainly look funny, at worst cannot exist everywhere (but there are powers for that, the real point-bought ones) -sorcery and conjuration, you should make unstable, unreliable, time consuming, like making a complicated clockwork bomb - especially if they wanna bring it to another world - and tell them about it acting so, or else you will have a lot of headache We played it for 5-6 years, first with the princes in the throne wars, then their children, then their children. Old characters became NPCs. Some moments I remember fondly: -the nice, but ordinary rug in my office, described as "really soft and furry, it seems you can sink into it", nobody ever dared to step on it -a much better strategist will be attacking our castle, so I've set up one line of bad guards on the walls for fun, the better ones on nearby mountaintops with binoculars and signals, so we knew when he came -my star-dagger from the Planet Krull movie which was also my pet cat (for an evil genius) -from one of the players a real strange looking blade of his sword with a trump trap (I examine it!) -the same player's pet dragon which could look like him, and he could look like the minidragon (they killed both countless times, but always the wrong one)

[@bardotinhaooficial6879]

I NEED THAT RECORD

[@randomanswer4359]

Man...the only positive thing I can think of to say about Amber is that I loved Zelazny's book...because I hate almost everything about this game.

[@Carblesnarky]

One way I have always thought about Stuff in the Amber is it fills for the randomness of die rolls in other systems. It also gets more interesting when you look at Amber's experience mechanic and how your stuff can fluctuate as time goes on.

[@TheGreatJohnPlays]

I've never liked the Amber Sorcery system either. Any chance of a video on your house system for it?

[@JohnWickPresents]

We'll see. :)

[@john-lenin]

19:20 We finally learn the most important point.

[@herbertwilliam3348]

What does the Heinsenberg hat means?

[@JohnWickPresents]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGGtgYeddtmksNk

[@jackmalin2528]

No creative items/servants? kinda dissapointed

[@JohnWickPresents]

31 Good Stuff. :)

[@jackmalin2528]

@@JohnWickPresents yeah i know but items give more character to the well character :P Also always prefered characters from chaos ;-)

[@john-lenin]

So the system is Rock Paper Scissors

[@kossowankenobi]

It's more like "I have nuke because I outbid you for it in character creation, so your rocks, paper, and scissors are meaningless". Until you switch theater of conflict. Then they have the nuke (maybe?).

[@allluckyseven]

If you think your character has Rock and all the others have Scissors. But the game design part of my brain thinks that's an interesting proposition, though, having Traits rated as rock, paper or scissors...

[@JohnWickPresents]

No.

[@rbbergstrom]

It's more like the system is Rock Rock Rock... but, based on previous scenes, I suspect you have a larger and scarier Rock than mine. So I'm going to try to come up with a clever way to force you to play Scissors Scissors Scissors because I suspect that my Scissors are sharper than your Scissors. But there's nothing about Rocks that inherently beat Scissors, or vice-versa. It's about the size and properties of the Rock in question, or the Scissors in question if I successfully changed venues, and also about whether or not you were prepared for me switching this to a Scissors match. If I blindsided you with it, it's more likely to resolve in my favor. In fact, just to be safe, I should probably publicly challenge you to a Rock-duel at noon, really focus your attention on that upcoming Rock fight, and then sneak up and stab you with some poisoned Scissors several hours before the duel, maybe while you're having breakfast with your cousin, who's also secretly in on my plot to kill you despite pretending to hate me for the last 3 sessions.