Examples of Play by forum/wiki/post games

[jibbajibba]

I have a slew of old play examples which i thought might be of interest as we have a slew of newbies.

When I kick of a PbM game each PC gets a lengthy intro. I try to do this to both set the tone of play but also to establish world settings.

This is the tale of Lysander. Lysander was a middle child, very ambitious who was through teh character generation process had ended up as Warden of Rebma. His buring ambition was to eliminate all sorcery from Amber.

When to utter dust we go,
Who his sum of deeds shall know?
When the names men call us by
Silent as our graves shall lie,
Potent from our deeds may be
Crown or cross of destiny.

The Vigil of the Man of Truth – Lysander of Amber

You sit in the throne room of Rebma. Before you in chains crouched on the floor is the Lady Sin-Chi. She has been accused of witchcraft. In Rebma these days this is the direst of crimes. Her accuser stands opposite. Lady Ng'Tse is dressed regally in green and silver, jewels from Jinn, the finest jeweller in all of Rebma sit at her ears and throat. The accusation she levels against her one time friend is that she did use witchcraft to seduce Lord Ng'Tse. The accusation is that Sin used a charm to make her appear like the other woman and then crept into Lord Ng'Tse's bed.
You are rather bored with the whole affair. Rebmans seem to you unduly preoccupied with sex and sexual relationships. If the various noble families of the city wish to rut with each other then what business is it of yours. The key to the matter is whether Sin was indeed practising magicks in your city You draw Axiom from its sheath. The golden blade shines but it shines with the natural lustre of a well crafted weapon and not with the pure light of truth. You lay the sword upon Sin's head nothing this woman is no more a sorcerer than you.
You look up at Ng. Her arrogance annoys you. "There is no sorcery afoot here. Your husband just seeks younger more attractive company." The look of affront on her face is priceless. You are set to sheath Axiom when there is a tug. You step towards the Lady Ng'Tse and lift the blade. It shines with an eldritch golden glow made all the more fantastic by the watery atmosphere of the undersea realm. The necklace holds an enchantment. You touch the blade to the silver there is a pulse along the blade's length and the spell is gone. A simple enchantment made to enhance the beauty of the thing. The necklace now looks less sparkling, less lustrous than once it did.
Sheathing Axiom, "you have no license for that enchantment Lady Ng'Tse. Take her away, a week in the cells and 20 lashes and bring me the jeweller Jinn." The Witchfinders take the screaming Lady Ng'Tse out of your sight. "You are free to leave Lady Sin-Chi. I would be careful of whose husbands you choose to bed in future. Some may seek a more personal revenge".
Yes Rebma is far more ordered now than it once was. Your rule here has been benign and the taint of magick has been all but driven out. It is possible that the charm on the necklace was placed there years ago. It was once common for the jewellers of Silver Way to cast minor enchantments on their wares to make them more attractive. A gem would have an unusual dept of colour, a silver chain might have extra strength or a certain extra magnificence. No longer though for such innocent uses of magic are the beginnings of far worse practices. Magick is insidious and once it gets a toehold however benign it might appear the battle against it is all but lost.
You turn your thoughts to other matters. You are worried by the implications of Ernaux's absence whilst he is away the Kingdom is exposed. The army needs a steady hand. Arden's return is interesting. No one can doubt he has the skills to lead the army but the temperament? Can you really trust someone with so little commitment someone who finds it so easy to just depart for shadow with never a word to anyone? Perhaps you muse it would be worth contacting Arden just to see where his loyalties lie. Failing that there are few candidates.
Prospero is skilled but has long let his contempt for Amber be known. Tyrone is still untried and though seems loyal to Amber has too much Chaos blood in his veins. Charity is obviously unsuited. That would mean looking to the Nobility. Perhaps some of your own allies in the Royal Houses of Amber? Or perhaps you should take over the Military yourself in Ernaux's absence just to prevent the kingdom from greater harm. It is not easy.
You received the agenda for the Sanctum meeting earlier that day and had already digested its main points.
The main tabled piece of business was the discussion of Caspar's plan to widen the Golden Circle to include the additional kingdoms of Kos, Bennan, Moor, Caanan and Yemra. Opinions in Amber differ and there is some suspicion that it is the queen, herself a princess of Kos that has suggested the expansion. However, important this might be the true matter that will dominate proceedings is the continued absence of the king and Ernaux. You believe Arden will be invited to attend as will Charity and Tyrone even though they do not hold wardenships. A breach of protocol you are still not entirely happy about.
So there is much to contemplate, but here comes the jeweller Jinn and he needs to be dealt with first...

The blade Axiom is worth a quick description. Worked out between the player and me it's tied entirely into the character concept.
Deadly Damage ( - contains a tracery of the Pattern the sword was forged in Rebma.
Physic sensitivity to sorcery (1) revealed though a glow to the blade, Dissipate named and number spells (4) contact with the blade against an item with hung spells or spells hung in mystical construct will dissipate the magic It addition minor charms and enchantments placed into an item by magic can be removed.  - this is where the item creations rules are so strong as we came up with the concept by mirroring the cost of items that can hang spells.

[jibbajibba]

From the Same Game - Royce who was the Amber Spy Master known as Warden of Seals.

A nosy old giant lived in the skies,
He poked his fingers in so many pies,
One day when away, too long did he linger,
Upon his return, they'd eaten his fingers...

Old Amber nursery rhyme, told to children who poke their noses in where they are not wanted.

People rave about the sunset over the harbour, but for you it's the dawn that is the best time of day. You are sitting on your balcony. A pot of hot coffee sits on the table next to the first cigar of the day and a bundle of reports for your attention. Over to one side stands Rector. Rector is a most average man. He could be any age from 30 to 55. he is of average build and average demeanour. It is almost as though he were deliberately designed to be as forgettable as possible. There is a distinct chance that this is in fact the truth of the matter. Rector is the captain of the King's Messengers. His role is so secret that apart from his five direct reports the King and you, the Warden of Seals, no one else even knows that the King's Messengers have a captain.
He is waiting for any changes to standing orders. Let him wait, it is after all what he is good at. You take a good chug of the dark, black coffee. It is perfect, strong and bitter just as you like it. The first report is an agenda for the forthcoming Sanctum meeting. The major item was to be the discussion of Caspar's plan to expand the Golden Circle states to take in five more shadows. You call it Caspar's plan because he is the one that has proposed it but you don't need to be Warden of Seals to know that it is the Queen, Cassandra, that is the originator of the proposal. You suspect that the King's continued absence will actually dominate proceedings that and the decision whether or not to appoint a temporary Warden of the East to take control of the Army until Ernaux returns. You are in two minds here. Obviously, the army needs a leader especially if the danger is as great as Oberon fears but to appoint a new Warden just feels like you are playing into someone's hands. You suspect its because that is just the type of move you would try. Remove the Commander in Chief, get a new one appointed through whom you seize control of the military and launch a perfect Coup d'etat. You put this document to one side determining to deal with it later in the day when it can have your full attention.
The next is a report on events in the city. Each morning you receive reports on six topics. The City, anything that is happening that seems at all untoward. The Castle, changes in staff anything the princes are up to. The Noble Houses, what are they after who is making deals with who. You have an agent on crew of the Tempest, Cailin's flagship for the Navy. You have an agent in the Duke of Staves, Captain of the Rangers of Arden, personal staff, you would have preferred to have an agent in Etienne's own staff but he only trusts those damn Seekers and won't even consider other advisers. And the last report is an overview of Golden Circle activity. (Note – these six reports are about all the network can cope with. You can switch reports to other stuff, investigate individuals movements etc but at the end of the day there are limited resources. You could of course look to expand these if you so wished.)

The City report seems pretty bland. The gossip is all about the poet Kimber who has taken the city by storm and has become the idol of all young women even knocking the feted Cailin from that vaulted perch. However, something does catch your eye in the detail. It looks like there is some indication that another well developed spy network is at work in the City. Messengers have witnessed a few odd patterns of behaviour that might indicate something is going on. This is fresh news and so there is little detail on it.

The Castle report has a lot of detail about the Queen. You have asked them to focus on her in particular as you are concerned about her activities and her continued dabbling in politics. She is obviously worried about her position in Court. She was brought to Amber from the Shadow Kos which is adjacent to the Golden Circle kingdom of Thassa, well as adjacent as shadows can be to each other. As a result of this she has few natural allies in court although she is attempting to win over more and seems to have formed numerous alliances. Caspar, who you know has Castillian sympathies although he is not of any House officially, is a close advisor to Cassandra. But she is also in consultation with Fortinbras of the House of Burgundy who she has asked to advise her on her position in the court vis a vis being the King's consort if the King should not return. Now this propensity for playing both ends of the game seems rash and you think she is a little out of her league here in the Real World. She has made another error which is to become romantically entangled with Mandragore, Master of the Queen and as such captain of the Queen's guard. Now as of yet nothing had "happened" but agents report that the couple are growing ever closer and Mandragore is in danger of making a mistake he will almost certainly not live to regret.

The Noble investigations you have asked to focus on Serant, Duke of Arches and Chief Justice of Amber. Serant is of an obscure branch of the Burgundy he is deemed as above reproach by everyone. A serious level headed fellow he has been in the post for decades and his judgements are consistent and well considered. Further digging reveals that he lives in a manse just outside the city on the face of Kolvir. The House has been in his family for centuries and is picturesque without being too imposing. Serant is unmarried and has a small staff of loyal servants. Penetrating this group has so far proven impossible. His one passion outside the Law is his dogs. He breeds hounds and has a reputation in such circles of being very knowledgeable. In short there is little to learn as yet and you will need to expend more energy in this area.

Also amongst the Nobility there are two other instances of note. The future role of Bartock of the House of Romanov and the reappearance of the House of Marm. Bartock fought well at the battle of Angels and distinguished himself again. A trusted ally of Ernaux he recently excused himself from Ernaux's war council and is believed to be looking for a position in the Sanctum. It is expected that he will be nominated as Duke of Thrones and take over running the Royal Guard. There are also rumours of a possible romantic entanglement with your sister Charity. The two have dined together several times and seem to get on particularly well...
The House of Marm is a more difficult issue. The history of the House is well known (see the noble houses pages on the website) but recent rumours about their re-emergence are difficult to trace. Yes a few ships in the harbour have been reported as flying their colours a white horse rampant on blue field but trying to trace these errant ships has so far proven exceptionally hard. It's obvious that someone in the navy is allowing the ships to pass and dock unregistered and the Messengers have orders to chase down the details on this. But underlying all this subterfuge it's difficult to see why anyone would want to restore a disgraced house and what the various parties hope to achieve from their actions.

The Tempest set sail two weeks ago bound for points unknown accompanied by a small flotilla of fast ships. Overall administration of the Navy was passed to Geris of the House of Feldane who had held the role until Cailin had returned from Shadow. It appears that Cailin has strong ties to the Feldane House though the detail of their nature might merit further investigation. Geris was refusing to give out information but you took the precaution of having a Messenger installed on the crew as soon as Cailin was granted the position. So the ship has been doing a tour of the Northern fleet inspecting the various Golden Circle kingdoms and ensuring that the squadrons in each location, usually about 12 ships, are in good order. Cailin visited Desault first where he avoided the amorous clutches of King Joshua's daughters and then headed for Kashfa where he had a private audience with Queen Jasra. The ships are now idling in the port of Thassa after the frigate, The Locksley, broke a mast rounding the cape of Kashfa. The purpose of the trip seems to be to inspect the fleet and ensure they are ready for war. Cailin seems determined and serious about his position. In Desault he demoted Captain Dover who was in overall command owing to a lack of discipline.

The news from Arden is much quieter. The only story of any note is that of a continuing hunt for an animal or creature of some type that seems to strike at the full moon. The population of Arden is sparse there are a few villages but mostly its virgin woodland. An area is put aside each Year as King's Forest. This area can be used exclusively by the Royal family for hunting etc. The location of the zone changes each year. A group of minor nobles were there with permission of Thomas, no doubt a favour granted graciously by your brother for support in some future scheme. At night their camp was attacked and 2 of them killed. The survivors reported seeing the vague dark shape of a large wolf but beyond the tight confines of their camp they could find no trace of such a creature. Rangers were sent to investigate but they too could find no tracks. The matter has been bought to the attention of Etienne. Your sources tell me that these types of attacks have been occurring every now and then for months and that Etienne has been unable to track the creature.

As for Golden Circle news Cailin's visit has been the big story and the demotion of Captain Dover has spread through the fleets in the other kingdom's so a lot of sprucing up is being done. The other big item is the expansion of the Golden Circle to include Kos, Bennan, Moor, Caanan and Yemra. Some are in favour as it expands trade and their established position gives them an advantage, however most seem to think it weakens their special relationship with Amber. Hannif, The Sultan of Solat, is the most vocal in opposition, at least through his prime minister as Hannif has not himself made a public appearance for decades. Solat has prepared a diplomatic mission which is about to depart for Amber to petition The Sanctum not to allow the enlargement to occur.

(Note – you will receive bullet point summaries of these reports each month. You can change who is being looked at or ask for more information in these reports on specific details).

You look up. Rector is still standing waiting for your commands. You stand, stretch and take a cigar from the humidor. Lighting it you give Rector his orders telling him of any changes in the focus of the reports. He nods. There is no need to repeat anything and nothing is written down. Rector's memory is formidable. You gesture to the reports on the table Rector takes then all apart from the Sanctum Agenda. They will all be destroyed.

Looking down at the City you are briefly struck by how much work there is to do to keep all these desperate souls safe. You make a mental list of what you need to do today. You would like to take lunch with Charity it should be easy enough to arrange, although it's only nine thirty and she will not be up for another half an hour. You would like to try and get a meeting with Cornelius at some point though he is proving as elusive as the House of Marm (you might like to arrange this conversation directly with Cornelius and just report the general details to me, in case someone is having you followed ).
You take a long drag on the cigar and prepare to get to work.

Typical Stats for a King's Messenger (3 point characters)

Warfare – 5   
Endurance – 5       
Psyche – A       
Strength – C  

Follow Shadow Trail (2)

Skills (200 points)
Disguise (40)
Spycraft (40) – includes trailing, letter drops, surveillance etc
Riding (30)
Interrogation (30)
Cryptography (30)
First Aid (30)

[jibbajibba]

From the same game a very unusual character Trista. Not part of the Royal line she was a member of a Noble house.
Hugo that appears here as an 'agent provocateur' and was the source of Trista's trump artistry powers.

It was Trista's spy network that had crossed the Messengers and appeared in reference in Royce's Turn_0 above.

Trista – Turn 0

When night's black Mantle could most darkness prove,  
     And sleep (deaths Image) did my senses hire,  
     From Knowledge of myself, then thoughts did move  
     Swifter then those, most swiftness need require.  

In sleep, a Chariot drawn by winged Desire,  
     I saw; where fate bright Trista Queen of Love,  
     Her eyes like dark torches, still adding Fire  
     To burning hearts, which she did hold above,  

But one heart flaming more then all the rest,  
     The Goddess held, and put it to my breast,  
     Dear Cupid now shut, said she, thus must we win;  

He her obeyed, and martyred my poor heart.  
     I waking hoped as dream it would depart,  
    Yet since, O me, an unrequited Lover I have been.
Trista, Queen of Love – by Phillip (he may have been pretty but he wrote awful poetry)

*********************************

You sip a little more of the Desault brandy. It really is very fine indeed and the crystal sets it off just so. However, even these pleasures do little to improve your mood.
"Mort, you are not a fool and you must have come here expecting to receive the full vent of my rage. To allow one of our spies to be exposed to the Messengers is beyond reproach." [Note – the King's Messengers are the agents of the Warden of Seals, Royce, they are the very best at what they do which in theory is root out the enemies of Amber but in practice is to do the bidding of the Warden. Sometimes the two may overlap.]
"It is not as bad as you may believe, my Lady," this comment causes you arch your eyebrows. "Kell was new he only knew his own cell so we can limit the damage. If we can reassign..."
"Kill them."
"But Peters in particular has ..."
"Kill them all I want them dead by nightfall, two accidents and a knife fight or duel or some such. I leave the details to you."
"So be it, my Lady," Queasy knows better than to argue with you when it comes to protecting the secrecy of your organisation.
"How was he discovered?"
"As you requested my Lady we were tracking the movements of the Royal family in this case Cornelius. Kell had been assigned to keep a discrete eye on the apartments he keeps here in the city. Well it seems he was observed somehow and taken by the Messengers right from his post."
"We are of course sure it was them?"
"No doubt my Lady they left a little calling card. A sigil drawn in chalk. They do it when they want to warn people off." The sigil in question looks like an M with 2 horizontal lines through it. You do not doubt Queasy's assessment after all ex-Messengers are in very short supply, it's not a career you usually get to leave feet first. You have never probed too deeply into his past but suffice it to say he once took the coin of the Enforcer (this is the underworld term used to refer to Royce) but that was a different face and half a dozen names ago.
"So do we think that it was coincidence or does Cornelius merit special protection?"
"There is no such thing as a coincidence, my Lady." This is one of Queasy's pet sayings. "I will investigate the issue myself and report back to you." With that he bows to take your leave.
"Remember by nightfall Mort."
"Yes my Lady."
You return to the brandy and thoughts of the rest of your day. You have a number of small tasks to attend to You have been toying with preparing a trump of Mort to call upon him when needed but you know that this would be too great a risk in case it might be discovered. Instead you have been working on your own version of a Royal deck but have included your brothers, mother and father. In fact Zacharias was your first trump when you were working through the process. You are currently working on trumps of Cailin and Arden. They have both been away for so long that you have only recently met them and even then not for very long. Hugo has assured you that you can prepare a decent trump of someone after just one meeting but you are still having some trouble with this and need a few more meetings to get their likeness just so. Your deck currently consists of Hugo and six other members of the family [Note – you can specify which ones or even if you want say that she has done all that she has met which would mean only Dworkin, Serge(dead), Ariel, Tiberius, Sloane and Prospero would be missing] that you have met at various social gatherings. As you think about this you find you have been toying with the sapphire necklace given to you by Hugo. It is strangely comforting.
So you return you your sitting room to work on the Cailin portrait [Note – in might well be that she does not paint in her sitting room but as its raining outside that means she can't use the balcony and I need her near her rooms for the seemless lead in to the last bit. Let me know if she has a studio set up and if she keeps these trumps secret as I suspect is the case although she might be more open about her family trumps]. Outside the rain hammers down against the windows and the wind shakes them in their frames. As you have been taught you focus on what was for you the dominant feature, with Cailin it was his blue-grey eyes. With this fixed firmly in your mind you proceed to add a little more to the image. The cheek bones seem right and the nose and the hair. Yes this is definitely coming together. You can hear his voice, that infectious laugh and the wry smile that seemed to come to his lips unbidden. You have only met his briefly and only once at a Royal function given when he returned from shadow and was granted the title Warden of the Storms. You can certainly see why he quickly became the talk of the ladies of the Salons. After a couple more hours or so of work the trump is near completion.
[Note – I have already given you a breakdown of your trump powers but here they are again
Trump Artist (20)
10   Make Trump Sketch (only works within one Shadow)
    5   Mental, Verbal, and Visual Contact crosses Shadow
        5   Transport crosses Shadow – these are "normal" trumps
Trump Tricks (20)
    5   Blackout Trump (no visual image when using)
    5   Sense and Identify Trump Items
    5   Trump Caller Identification
        5   Trump Spying

It takes you approximately a day's work (10 hours) to produce a trump of someone you know well but four times that for someone you have only briefly met. A simple trump sketch would take perhaps an hour (4 hours for a one time meeting)]

"Lady Trista," it is Agatha. "I have laid out the White dress for this evening as you requested.
"Ah Agatha it is good that you have reminded me. When I get engrossed in my work I do tend to lost track of time. What do you think on the likeness"
"It is excellent my Lady. You almost feel you could reach into the picture and touch him. He is a very handsome man."
"Yes indeed though perhaps a little too short."
"I am sure he has no problems in that region my Lady."
"Away with you Agatha," you laugh. "Lay out the silver dress I have changed my mind about the white and see if you can find the diamond pendant Valdemar gave me on my last birthday."
"Right away my lady."
You feel a gentle mental probing. It is rather like a knock on the door. You recognize it at once as a Trump contact. You have learn the art of sensing who is calling before you answer just as you can sense which trump you hold without looking at the face. It is Hugo, who else as your family have not yet mastered the art of using them. You decide to accept the call.
"Trista, you look tired." When Hugo does not begin a meeting with a florid tribute to your 'everlasting beauty' you know he is in a foul temper or a great hurry.
"You catch me before my toilette Hugo. Though I think tired is a little unfair."
"It is about your meeting I wish to talk to you. I have heard that you are dining this evening with my brother Tyrone. I would warn you of some of his idiosyncrasies."
"Do go on."
"First he is not to be trusted."
"A trait you both share."
"No I mean even more so than I. He is a hoarder of information. In Chaos he was an Inquisitor of the Church of the Serpent, this makes him an expert interrogator and diviner of secrets. You must make sure you reveal nothing, especially in regard to our relationship. I would hesitate to reveal anything of your trump knowledge to him. He is a trump artist of sorts himself but lacks your skill or dedication."
"You think he might become jealous?" you scoff.
"Indeed he might and I have seen him kill men over smaller trifles than that. So be warned and be on your guard. I must go there are things to attend to here."
With that the trump contact abruptly ends. You have still not learnt to read Hugo and that last comment was particularly disturbing.
You attend to your hair and make up. The rain still hammering down outside. The carriage will take an hour to make the journey to the City. Oh how much more convenient if you could use a trump of Tyrone.
With that thought in mind Agatha helps you to dress. The silver was a perfect choice.
You take up an ermine cape, although the rain seems to be dying off at last, to guard you from the chill. You admire yourself once more in the mirror. How well the sapphires look upon your throat you think as you leave. Valdemar's diamond pendant lies forgotten on your vanity...

[RPGPundit]

Very interesting; though not my kind of thing.

RPGPundit

[jibbajibba]

As boulet and others can attest to it just starts like this and then becomes a more traditional wiki format with a Player/GM to and fro

I am trying to extract some examples of those but have been on a US trip where my evenings are filled with eating at expensive restaurants and drinking way too much in swanky bars.