|
|
All of this, all of Amber, is due to one man, Roger Zelazny. I have enjoyed his stories immensely, and as you can probably tell, I am a great fan of Amber. And it is to this true creator of Amber, Mr. Zelazny, that I humbly, and proudly, dedicate the creation of this Unit. It is my fervent hope and desire that the works we produce here will do the inspiration justice.
You do not need to have read any of the Amber series to enjoy writing with us here. All one really needs is an imagination. Though based on the books, this is our world to play in. I must congratulate you if you've read the entire FAQ through. I realize that it is rather large. However, I feel that to make Amber seem real enough to write in, these explanations were needed. It is now up to you to take the basis I have laid, and fly away with the stories.
I am always open to questions and comments, even if you have no desire to write in Amber. If you do wish to participate with us, you will need to do a couple of things. First, notify my at my e-mail address (loviatar@interlog.com) below that you'd like to join us. Then you need to create a character with whom you will use in your posts and to interact with the others in Amber. For this you will need to create a Biography of the character, which we term Bio. It needn't be long, but should give myself and the other players an idea of what your character looks like, acts, certain mannerisms, skills and powers, and a bit of history could be helpful as well. You needn't reveal secrets, though I should be kept appraised of anything that may affect other characters in some way. The more information you provide, the better the rest of us can portray your character. You should also bear in mind who your character's parents are. Of this, there are three ways to play it. Your character may know who their parents are, one of Amber, the other most likely of Shadow, and had grown up in their care. Though they may not have had a loving childhood, they know of their origins.
The character may instead know of their parentage, but have grown up without one or both parents, much like Martin had. In this case, the character knows they are of Royal Blood, and may walk the Pattern. Finally, the character may have no idea of their parentage, and was either found in shadow by another Amberite, or by strange circumstances found themselves in the True City. You the player may also choose not to know who your character's parents are, and let it develop through the course of the story.
(*A brief note from the editor and site maintainer: It is advised that aspiring players read the long version of the character profiles for ideas and examples of character profiles. Not that your bio must follow a specific format, it's just nice to have a starting point.*)
Remember also when you write that all main characters created by people here have a certain script immunity. No one's character may be killed or seriously harmed by another writer without consent from the affected writer. Though the world of Amber is very dangerous and Machiavellian, you should remember that we are here to have fun, not kill off each other's characters. This doesn't mean you cannot devise deathtraps or put other characters into serious trouble, only that the character's creator has final say on what happens to their character. Certain supporting characters may also be immune to death, but must be specifically indicated by the character's creator. All other supporting characters are open game for anything your imagination envisions.
A note should be made of terminology used within posts. When you mail and post your part of the story, the subject header should be denoted with [AMBER] or [AM]. This will aid in differentiating the different units a writer may be involved in, as well as to identifying the post itself. A title for the post, much like a chapter title, is often used as well. For example, the subject header for the first Amber post was
Subject: [AM] Beginnings
As well, two important concepts are used, differentiated by the abbreviation
. For any out of character notes and the like,
, Author's Comments, notes are used. Some make
notes in mid-post, and it's helpful to identify when you go back into the post and thus
is used.
With the gradual but steady growth of Amber, I find it necessary now to lay down some administrative details to help prevent problems and misunderstandings in the future.
If any problems should arise, be it with the storyline, character portrayals, or even other writers, the problem should be addressed as soon as possible, rather than let it continue to go on. If there is a problem with the way your character is portrayed, then just a mention either privately or in a AC note should be all that is needed. If the problem persists and I haven't for some reason noticed it myself, bring the problem to my attention and I will take steps to correct the problem. Remember especially with new writers that they will not know all the intricacies of your character, and so may write something that does not go with the concept. These mistakes are quite common, and are easy to just point out and continue on with the story. I will be as democratic as possible, but if an agreement cannot be made, then I will be the one who has the final say.
Also, the policy of Amber is to accept everything that has been written. We do not allow re-writes of events unless it is the only possible solution, but that will be very unlikely. It is better for the story to come up with viable reasons for certain inconsistancies. A writer may not ignore previous posts and plot developments in favour of their own. Repeat offenders will find themselves without a group to worry about writing with.
There will be times when two writers post at nearly the same time, and both will most likely contradict each other in various ways. This is referred to as a cross-post. With some creative thinking, the two (or more) posts can be fairly easily meshed together. Once again, if the need arises, I will be the final arbitor.
There is only one world of Amber, unlike some worlds, which many have multiple units. As such, I will not allow people to have multiple characters within the Realm of Amber. This is not to say you cannot have Secondary characters or major supporting characters to write for, just that you the writer will only be identified through your one character. Such as myself. Zachary is my character, though I have a secondary character through Kristoff, and supporting characters through the elder Amberites and the Robed One. I also find that this allows the writer to delve more deeply into the one character they have here, rather than stretching themselves over many characters in the same general realm.
If for some unknown reason any problem persists beyond all this, or if a player turns to personal attacks, or a writer attempts to bend and skirt around the few rules we have here, I will be forced to take matters into my own hands. Though I would hate to do it, that writer will be banned from the group, and the character will disappear into Shadow. However, despite all this dire talk, I cannot ever see this happening. The group is just too good and too respectful to ever get this far.
Below is listed a selection of books and other resources of Amber. You needn't read any of these, but I do reccommend them for their value alone. They do, of course, provide more indepth information than I have supplied here. But in a world where anything is possible, information is only so useful.
> Christopher Ackney Zachary, Librarian of Castle Amber, son to King Random loviatar@interlog.com "It was a very foul blow, about four inches below the belt buckle, I'd say, and it left him on his knees."--Nine Princes in Amber
