Index | Above Us The Waves? | Creating a Character | Allies
Your character enters the Amber Universe complete with background, family, and a history. For a few points, there is the possibility of having staunch allies, friends and even doting relatives.
An Ally in Amber
While not a family member, an ally will be a familiar face in Amber. Examples are Court retainers, the royalty of nearby kingdoms, servants, sea captains, or soldiers in the forces of Amber. In many cases, an Ally will be someone with the power to influence affairs. In other cases, the Ally might be someone well placed to supply you with information. Or an Ally might just be someone who gives you total, unquestioningly loyalty. The more qualities you want an Ally to have, the higher the cost. A loyal servant will cost you one point (and will cheerfully pass on kitchen gossip); a loyal servant who will also serve as a cunning spy will cost two points.
Family friend.
These are members of the family of Amber, or of the Courts of Chaos, ranging from old Dworkin,down to young Merlin, who will regard your character as a friend. The friend is someone likely to go out of their way to help your character, to always look out for your welfare, and to tell you things they think you should know. 2 Points.
Chaosian or Rebman Devotee
In this game, a Chaosian/Rebman Devotee is going to be every bit as useful as an Amberite one, depending (to some extent) where your sympathies lie.
4 Points.
Amber Court Devotee.
Same category of relatives as "Family Friends," except they don't just like you, they love you. Which means they go to an awful lot of trouble for you. For example, they will be likely to observe you secretly, and may appear when your character's life is in danger. Devotees will risk their own lives, betray others, or even change sides in a conflict, if necessary, to help your character.
4 Points.
Naming Court Friends and Devotees.
Who will it be? Sorry, it's not up to you. Choosing your Family Friend is up to the Game Master. Worse yet, the Game Master isn't going to tell you who your character's friend really is. Amberites always fear that their fiends and loved ones may be used against them, so they will be reluctant to ever reveal their true feelings.
If, by some chance, the Game Master does mention the name of your Family Friend, remember, sometimes the Game Master lies.
