TheRPGSite

So get ready to start a new campaign.

My potential players asked "so what would my character want to do" In essence asking what is the challenge in amber if I am near to being a God.

I know I'll make things interesting for them but how do I explain what a character might want to do.

I laid out a few ideas such as seeking power, Exploring the universe and surviving what might happen.

I find it hard to explain personal motiavtions to new players. In D&D and othe r games its easy, kill the monster, level get better etc.

What am I missing in explaining what a starting character's goals may be?

Thanks for the help folks :)

My take on this is to establish actual functions in Amber. It's based on the fact that Random was looking for a Regency and Cain and Gerrard got to be Admirals of the fleets.
So I have various political positions the players can obtain. gettign these positions then becomes an aim they can have.
Mostly though I talk about their motivations to them and have them complete an Amber personality quiz.
then I get them to set 3 personal objectives. Decide what 3 things they are trying to do. Each one must involve overcoming a conflict. So they can't say improve my warfare, they can say track down the chaosite that killed my mother, they can't say master conjusration they can say ensure Eric thinks that is plotting with Chaos, or ensure I get to be Warden of Arden.
Each one of these objectives then gets an award of between 1 and 5 points. When you complete it you get that many experience points you can then spend on character improvements (I ditched the way Amber works expereince with ranks as it doesn't match the books for me very well).

The result of this approach is that each PC has personal motivations and objectives. this drives their personal actions , often brings them into conflict etc. then I add the NPCs and their plots at least one of which usually involved a multiverse wide event and we are good to go. ther eis usually too much for PCs to do rather than not enough.

Thanks jibbajibba

The first part sounds like it will be useful to impliment and I'll try that.

The Second part of having personal motivations is hwat I am having trouble getting across. I guess I could ask for specific background details they can use as sub plots.

Amber is just a hard game to grasp in some ways. It can be nebulous when you try to express it as a "You can do anything game". I am trying to avoid huge meta plots. I do have one to get them started and focus them to start with. I think That is a neccessity with newer players. Old hands at Amber can often come up with their own plots and I can just react to that.

If I can get them to develop even one Sub/Personal Plot idea I can work with the rest and let them slowly develop more as you said other youngers will have thier plots as well that may become issues.

I want a more cooperative game then the Basic Book presents but not completely. I see the youngers as being slightly less paranoid than the elders but having been raised by the untrusting they still have some of that in them.

Thanks For the Advice.  I think I can apply both ideas to at least get a start. Any other ideas will be appreciated. Sometimes different players need different approaches.

:)

jibbajibba is right. 'Jobs', so to speak, can help place a character in the setting. I recommend some of the additional auctions given in the book, like "Warden of Arden", but only if you're planning on a game without Amber Elders, or when the elders are taking a less significant role in the universe.

I find that players will find their own character motivations if you plant the seed in them of the Crown of Amber. It may be an utterly remote possibility, but letting them know that it's out there will at least get them going enough to find their own personal goals.

//Panjumanju

Agree with that. I tend to play with no elders just becuase I never like too many powerful NPCs about. So i have a whole polical structure in Amber. To aid that I introduce 2 new stats to be bid on in the auction.

Succession - how close you are to the throne, also acts a bit like Good stuff re reaction in Amber and with 'people who know'

Political Influence - this is used to determine the order PCs get to select political positions. The positions come with troops etc. and there is a hirearchy so Warden of Swords, might get to be the commander of all Ambers armies, under him might be the Warden of Arden who commands the rangers etc etc .... you can see how that works quite easily.

If you have the elders in play then its fairly easy for a couple of Elders with some power to give the PCs a mission. So the PCs are gathered by Random in the throne room he explains that there has been some trouble in a Golden Circle kingdom and the PCs are sent to sort it out quietly to avoid a diplomatic incident. A couple of PCs might already be sequestered by other elders to dig deeper into certain aspects. Once there the PCs uncover a larger scale plot backed by an elder, or a missing elder or Chaos or whatever and they have to decide what to do with the knowledge.
By this point in my experience the party falls apart as each PC starts to move towards their own goals.
That is the hardest part I find running sesisons with 5 PCs with 3 groups with opposing agendas. Makes for some quite sessions as everything just gets done through passing notes or phone SMS :) then I say right there is a combat and run that in clear. Then back to notes ....

Thanks Panjumanju.

My first plot is basically a series of murders in amber that the yongers are sentto investigate. The elders are not seeing themas a serious issue but the nobility/citizens are asking for help. So they send the youngers. Of course not allis what it seems.

I have a few "jobs" open to place them in if they seem to be struggling, Parentage may also be an issue. I am doing a Post first series campaign with stuff pulled in from Merlin's series that I like.

Postions like master of the Castle Guard, Warden of Arden (Julian's title is Lord Guardian), Political Liaison (choas delegation is scheduled to arrive), King's Agent (working directly for Random) and any thing else I need to make up on the spot.

I think the "Job" idea will work does anyone else have any others?

thanks Again

Let is know how it goes, Artifacts of Amber.

//Panjumanju

This might be on the "not-as-helpful" side as some of the other more concrete suggestions for character motivations posted, but here it is:

It's okay to throw some of this back on the player's plate.  Try this response when asked, "So what would my near-to-being-a-God character want to do?"

You: "That's a great question! And I'm glad you're thinking that way about the game because Amber is ENTIRELY about finding your character's deep motivations and developing your own personal goals.  Imagine that you, the player, have just been granted an immeasurable lifespan, granted the ability to learn any skill or trade you want, granted the ability to meet anyone you want, even people that you make up in your head, granted great strength, intuition, and health...what would YOU do?  Try not to think about what would 'a' godlike being do, but instead what would 'YOU' do as a godlike being.  You don't need to answer right now, cause it's a big question and there's lots of possibilities, just sit with that idea for a while and exercise your imagination and indulge your sense of, 'what if?'  You'll probably happen across at least one or two things you might be interested in doing, and that'll be enough to get you started -- then you'll run into stuff I've planned for the game and we'll take it from there."

If you're lucky enough that the player comes back with THREE ideas, then you can say that the character has accomplished his first goal, is on the verge of accomplishing the second one, and has finally gotten all the pieces together to get the third one comfortably underway when the plot happens and gets in the way of his personal plans.

I will Panjumanju. Should start ina week or so. Feb 25th I think It is.

Actually Bird that is not a bad Idea. Presenting things to them in terms the can grasp may help. I keep saying God like beings but trying to emphasize that they are more like greek gods, flawed and all too human agendas.


Hopefully I have enough advice to pull it off. Been a long while since I ran a game. I am hoping its like riding a bike :)

Thanks again

Quote from: Artifacts of Amber;627454So get ready to start a new campaign.

My potential players asked "so what would my character want to do" In essence asking what is the challenge in amber if I am near to being a God.

I know I'll make things interesting for them but how do I explain what a character might want to do.

I laid out a few ideas such as seeking power, Exploring the universe and surviving what might happen.

I find it hard to explain personal motiavtions to new players. In D&D and othe r games its easy, kill the monster, level get better etc.

What am I missing in explaining what a starting character's goals may be?

Thanks for the help folks :)

Did you do the attribute auction with your group? Did you do the character quiz with your group?

I'm going to take a wild guess and say you didn't do at least one of these, because in most cases between these two things a player will already have a fairly good idea of what they're supposed to do in the game; and if they don't know it with those two points, then when you explain their parent (and how their parent treated them) that usually seals the deal.

RPGPundit

RPGPundit thanks for the reply

No haven't done those yet, game starts in like 5 days or so.

Actually I decided to run the game on a game night that was orginal just board and card games, while I enjoy them wanted to run an amber game so Through out I was starting an Amber game and two of the board/card players are gonna join. One is a long time RPGer with me and I think he will be fine the other has only played maybe once or twice in any RPD. He played with me once ofr about 6 sessions and shows promise as a player so I thought I would let him play as well. He was the one wondering about motivation.

Amber is sometimes hard to wrap your head around. I understand his apprehension. Most genre's are easy to describe and get a grasp of Amber despite its simplicity in my mind is complex for someone who has not read the books or played a lot of RPG's.

The other player has some trepidation but will jump on board and is willing to take the chance and will pick it up.

The Auction will be a silent one but with bidding. I find this keeps the competition in without the exculation of a normal bidding war. I think he is fairly competitive so this will draw him in. I will try to putthings in terms of books we have both read and that might help.

The Character quiz is not always easy when you lack a grasp of Amber itself as a concept. He's smart so he'll get it eventually I was just hoping for ideas on how to help him get it. :)

I let players pick parents and it cost nothing since parents are a double edge sword in my game. They may also choose not to be recognized as such as well which has it's own double edged factor. I will porbably suggest he choose to be recognized and such to have a better connection and have someone to talk to he can "Trust" in Amber.

Tring to run the youngers as a new generation not so untrusting as the elders but are still raised by untrusting parents. I see Oberon as having been a somewhat harsh father who bred mistrust in his children. We'll have o see how it works out.

thanks 'again

Well, definitely definitely do the quiz.  Its a huge part of establishing the pre-history of your campaign.

And I generally don't go with letting the Players choose their parents, but its true that any of them can be a double-edged sword.  The thing you should absolutely not let them choose but choose for yourself based on what you see happening in your campaign is just what kind of a parent the Amberite parent was; this helps a lot in setting up motivations and goals.

RPGPundit

Yeah I sort of have two/three aspects for each of the Elders. I can adapt to what type of player/character I have and use a parenting style that is very much that Elder just a certain aspect of that elder.

Thanks

When discussing this for Nobilis, the answer centered around that fact that being in charge is a huge hassle.

"I've had supply problems of every kind... I've had labor difficulties..."

The moment something falls out of place you have to race to put it back.

There's also the sandbox factor that the mortals are your little playthings, but not all players can take initiative in that context.

EDIT: Can I get a link to this character quiz?

I think they are just talking about the one in the base book, though I have seen others on line as well. Probably gonna have to work this weekend on one for my players, Start new game in about 3-4 days.  If I whip one up I'll throw it out for ya to see :)

Thanks

Quote from: Artifacts of Amber;630948I think they are just talking about the one in the base book, though I have seen others on line as well. Probably gonna have to work this weekend on one for my players, Start new game in about 3-4 days.  If I whip one up I'll throw it out for ya to see :)

Thanks

Yes, I was talking about the one in the book; though of course that's just a guideline that one can use to make their own quiz.

Lords of Olympus has its own character questionnaire, which is a different set of questions from Amber's.

RPGPundit

I'm gonna do a modified quizz but in more of an oral interview form. Instead of filling it out on paper I think it will be easier to just do it more like a job interview of what if's and such. Might get more from these players, overall, then a written quiz.

Thanks

Depending on the character i tried to get them involved in the diplomacy of Amer on one level or another.  Also i had Random send them off to 'Appreciate the Situation' which meant go there and tell me what the blundering heck is going on there.  

On an individual basis i also had a article called the Diners of Amber.  It was a thing written in first person by Bleys after Patternfall introducing the Place Trumps in the decks the players received.  This gave them places to go and things to see, if not actually people to go kill.  This weened them from hack and slash gaming and got them to explore more.

Oddly enough, encouraging players to have hobbies worked well.  One player wanted to be a musician so he sought them out in shadow.  Collections began and players sought items for them.  Adventure abounded and the game developed from there.

Quote from: Artifacts of Amber;631993I'm gonna do a modified quizz but in more of an oral interview form. Instead of filling it out on paper I think it will be easier to just do it more like a job interview of what if's and such. Might get more from these players, overall, then a written quiz.

Thanks

For me the quiz has ALWAYS been done orally, not written. Its a way simpler and I think better way to do it.

And always, if at all possible, with the whole group. I usually alternate questions to each player, so that one player answers but everyone else is considering what their PC would answer.

RPGPundit