I do not use the Amber DRPG rules by Phage Press, for those familiar with them. However, since they are a staple of Amber-role-playing, I make reference to them, and I do use their point values for artifacts, creatures, shadows, etc. The actual house rules here use a sort of FUDGE-inspired system of my own that is pretty simple.

ATTRIBUTES:
 Rated according to the following scale:

Feeble - equal to human rank
Poor - equal to chaos rank
Fair - equal to amber rank
good - equal to Julian in warfare
superb - equal to Corwin/Eric in warfare
exemplary - equal to bleys in warfare
legendary - equal to benedict in warfare

Each rank is roughly twice as good as the one before it. Thus, a typical 'fair' amberite is four times as good as a shadow human in strength, endurance, skill at arms, etc.

Corwin's endurance (legendary) is about 64 times better than a normal man, for example.

Explanation of Attributes:
Strength: raw brute muscle and ability to exert it. Does not always connote huge mass, but often this is the case.

Endurance: ability to excert oneself and to heal up quickly

Toughness: ability to resist pain and injury and other punishment. Does not relate to healing.

Psyche: one' sixth sense, akin to sensitivity of the soul, not intelligence. Empathy is another good name.

Willpower: resistance of the mind and mental toughness.

Perception: sensitivity with one's normal 5 senses.

Manual Dexterity: hand-eye coordination and digital ability with fingers.

Agility: overall whole-body flexibility and adroitness.

Speed: reaction speed and physical movment ability.


Attributes default at Fair, amber-normal. There are no buy-downs to lower attributes. Costs are as follows:

Fair (0)
Good (1)
Superb (2)
Exemplary (4)
Legendary (8)- you are allowed only one Legendary attribute.

Players get 10 points to allocate for this purpose.

NOTE: attributes do not have a DIRECT impact on things like combat, where SKILLS are the main thrust. But they can come into play in a SECONDARY role - ie, using Strength for a Bind, or Speed to react first or Agility to escape a grenade toss.

I assume that your attributes are fully set via maturity, and you are at your peak potential in mental and physical ability. Increases in strength, psyche and so forth are highly unlikely if not impossible.

SKILLS: On the same scale as Attributes. All Amberites are assumed to automatically be 'fair' in any skill that seems reasonable and logical. Thus, you only need purchase skills you are notable for.

Skills are half the cost of Attributes, unless they cover a broad grouping, in which they cost the same.

Ie, buying Swordsmanship costs 0.5 points for 'Good', but buying Armed Combat costs 1.0 point since it is a broad area.

You can buy skills that duplicate or overlap an attribute, such as Quick Draw (which is like speed) at 'exemplary' for 2.0 points.

Questions, ask me, I'll be glad to help with ideas or thoughts. This is a rough and quick system. Think colorfully.

You get 10 points for skills, but you MAY NOT buy Legendary rank in ANY skill related to combat or magic or power use.

It is acceptable to buy Legendary for things like Gambling, Dancing, Horsemanship, Falconry, Heraldry, Seamanship, etc.

I assume that you are rated at Fair for all skills that can be reasonably assumed for your PCs background and history. If you don't know something, just go and learn it and we assume you know it at Fair level of ability, that typical to the average professional who would use it.

Skills to be learned at levels above this, ie, Good, Superb, etc. are paid for after the start of game with XP. This is where you will spend the majority of earned XP. Still, don't expect super-fast levels of advancement, especially with high ratings like Exemplary and Legendary.

Most elders don't have super-high attributes, but rather are superior to young Amberites because of their vast experience as reflected in their skills.

Since this is a new system for you, and you may enocunter things in play you did not think of during PC creation, if during the beginning of play you wish to alter your skills, I will allow you to under my supervision.

As a note, Skills can augment attributes as well as be augmented by an attribute:

example 1. Bill has a strength rating of Superb. He can lift roughly 16 times the weight of a healthy male human. He also has a skill, Weight Lifting rated at Good. I would consider that he could lift even more wieght than his strength would indicate (maybe another 20% or so, I'm not worried about exactitudes). He can lift more than another player with Superb strength.

This is an example of how a skill can augment an attribute. The same happens with Quick Draw for augmenting Speed. Or Running.

example 2. Mary has a skill of Good in Swordsmanship. She also has a Manual Dexterity of Legendary. In an even fight, if she performs a bind maneuver, and her opponent has less Manual Dexterity, I might allow for greater chance of victory.

This is an example of how an attribute can augment a skill. The same happens with Strength for augmenting Beat maneuvers, or Psyche for augmenting Hellriding.

Thus, this makes the interrelationships of attributes and skills important and wholistic. It also allows you to be creative and think a bit on your skills and how you describe them.

Some skills could be interpreted as innate traits, too, such as Long Distance Running, or Poison Resistance.

Some interesting skills could be:

Cutting remarks Eagle Eye Trick Shots (for guns/archery) Intelligence Operations Seamstress Card Tricks Weather Watching

Powers - these operate much like skills. Likely, you will only have power skills for Pattern, such as Shadow Walking, Shadow Manipulation or Royal Way. There is no skill for Blood Curse or innate qualities of having pattern.

If you want other Powers, you must talk to me. As a warning, I am not likely to give them. Most of what I read in the Coriwn books could be explained by approrpiate use of Pattern. Only Trump and Magic are available. Logrus and Power Words do not exist, and Shapeshifting is restricted.

POWERS: Ranked the same way SKILLS and ATTRIBUTES are. All Amberites begin with Pattern Initiate at 'fair' ranking.

Powers are treated as a kind of SKILL. Refer to the DRPB book rules for the breakdown of each Power for the type of skills available.

They cost the same as a Broad - category skill or full Attribute.

Example, you could buy 'Hellriding' at 'Good' for 1 point.

You get 1 free skill point to spend on your Pattern Power skills. You may use other skill points for this as well.

FREEBIES-
You get 5 additional points for things like Shadows, Artifacts, Creatures and Allies. You can transfer points from Attributes and Skills at a 1:1 basis at my discretion.

Shadows - cost .5 points each. There is no Primal Plane or other deliniation between Realm or Personal, each has their own perks and cons.

Artifacts - pretty much use the costs in the book, then half it to get the point cost here. If you take a magic item, be sure to talk to me to determine how you got it. Magic that works across various shadows is rare and unusual (you can always find a magic sword that works in a particular shadow or similar shadows, but it's hard to acquire one that works across ALL). I don't necessarily count certain qualities like Extra Hard as magical - it could be a property of material). In the books, we could only identify a select few: Granswandir, Julian's Armor and the Jewel of Judgement. Talk with me to discuss.

Remember, you are 'fair' in virtually everything, so choose those attributes, skills and so forth that are notable about him/her.

Example Character:

Corwin:

Strength: Good (1)
Endurance: Legendary (8)
Toughness: Good(1)
Psyche: Fair
Perception: Fair
Willpower: Good (1)
Agility: Good (1)
Manual Dexterity: Good (1)
Speed: Fair

Powers:
Shadow Walk: Good (1)
Hell Riding: Good (1)
Shadow of Desire: Good (1)
Block Trump: Good (1)
(remember, all other Pattern abilities are 'Fair')

Attuned to Jewel of Judgement (2)

Sword: Grayswandir (8)

Shadow: Lorraine (.5)

Skills:
Armed Combat: Superb (2)
Quickdraw: Good (.5)
Unarmed Combat: Good (1)
Dirty Tricks in Combat: Superb (2)
Leading Armies: Superb (2)
Leading Navies: Superb (2)
Seamanship: Good (.5)
Bardic Composition: Good (.5)
Driving Cars: Good (.5)
Dance: Good (.5)
Inspiring Speech: Good (.5)
Manipulating Speech: Good (.5)
Sarcastic Quips: Good (.5)
Nature Survival: Good (.5)

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