Real Warrior Archetype

By Jason Langlois


Amber is a creation of Roger Zelazny, and it is used and referred to here without permission. The rights to an Amber role-playing game are held by Phage Press, and no one should consider my references here as an attack on those rights.


Feng Shui Amber Welcome to the Real Secret War. Don't forget to bring your sword.

So I got to thinking one dark night that it might be interesting to do an Amber game using the Feng Shui rules engine. I mean, Feng Shui is a fairly rules-lite game that can handle better than human characters interacting with Shadows and has a few mechanics for cross genre play. The background for Amber even meshed fairly well into the conspiracy-laden background of the Secret War, with scheming relatives and the lurking danger of Chaos. Thus, I have created an archetype to integrate an Amberite into the Feng Shui Secret War.

I tried to keep the 'type balanced with other 'types. I haven't play-tested it, though. If one were to run an Amber campaign using the rules, you could handle Chaosians using Supernatural Creatures with a few more skill points, Logrus as a special Sorcery Shtick, and Trumps as fancy walky-talkies that let you travel from point to point. I refer you to the Amber books for more ideas. ...

"I feared Benedict. All of us kids did. His Kung Fu was more powerful than ours, and we were scared of him for it. Even Dad was afraid. But, I had learned a few tricks of my own out in Shadow. ..."

"I sent another handful of blades into Brand's mooks, did a somersault over Caine and landed at the edge of the Pattern with both of my Trump-enhanced .50 Automags pointed at Bleys' face. "Tch, tch, Uncle... I didn't say 'Simon says.' ..."

"The four horned, thousand tongued devil-beast that had been Mandor screeched out the command to kill me before I could even put down my wine glass. I faked towards the door, then toppled backwards out the window with a laugh. As I plunged towards the bubbling cauldron of lava four hundred feet below, I concentrated on making it water..."

Amber. The One True Feng Shui Site. All Chi leads to Amber. Everything else is just a pale copy. And when you control a Feng Shui site of this power, everything just goes your way. And one family controls it. My family. The Chi in the Universe flows according to a Pattern, and your family just happens to own it.

You grew up in a family environment that makes dysfunctional seem like a compliment, with more twists and turns than an Ascended Lodge meeting. Still, you managed to survive and even got to walk the Pattern, attuning you to the Chi flow of the Universe. Some might consider you a god, but you know you're just an everyday demigod, trying to make it in a world full of backstabbing parents, conniving relatives, jealous and murderous Chaos nobles, and Shadows that would kill you just as soon as look at you. Not to mention overwrought authors who want to write about you.

Somehow you still find the energy to get up each morning and take on the day. You're no where near as good as your parents, but then they've got a few centuries on you. And always will, unless you find an edge. You've entered the Secret War looking for that edge -- maybe an ally or tool, or maybe just a bit of knowledge that will let you give the payback the fools so richly deserve.

Juncture: any

Attributes: Bod 5 Chi 2 Mnd 5 Ref 5

Add 3 to one primary attribute. Add 2 to a different primary attribute. Add 2 to a secondary attribute. Add 1 to a different secondary attribute. No attribute can be raised above 10.

Skills: One of Guns, Martial Arts, or Sorcery + 8 (=13)

A different one from above + 5 (10) [Amax 12]

Deceit + 5 (10) [Max 13]

Shaping + 11 (=11)

Add 5 Skill Bonuses.

Weapons: 1 weapon from appropriate juncture

Shticks: 1 shtick of the appropriate type (Gun, Fu, or Sorcery)

Unique Shticks: 1) You can use Shaping as per the rules in the Netherworld section, anywhere, as long as you are moving. However, if you shape things too much, it may spark a Critical Shift as you move through Shadows. The GM can rule that such a shift fails if it would derail a plot.

2) You are also very hard to kill, and have the effective benefits of Inevitable Comeback x 2, and a special form of regeneration that will allow you to grow back lost limbs and organs over a period of months.

Quick Shtick Pick: shticks: Signature Weapon. weapons: (69) sword (1850) sword (contemporary) M911A1 (2056) Godhammer

Wealth Level: rich


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