Set in Amber: Chargen

How do I build my sheet?

You will be starting with 100 points. You don't have to spend all of them, but the minimum you can spend is 4, as a minimum of 1 in anything. A 1 would be considered weak or childlike through most of shadow. A 3 would be considered average in many places, and a 6 would be considered noteworthy in Amber.

Your stats cost more each level. Buying level 1 costs 1. Then buying up to level 2 costs 2. So, level 6 will be 6+5+4+3+2+1, or 21. You are advised to think about weaknesses, strengths, and the amusement value of your character. The maximum value you may buy as a starting character is 10, which would be considered godlike, freakily, unnaturally high.

As well as stats, you will buy Statements and Bonuses, as below. Thse are a record of your history and your skills, or the thing you are known for being.

Sheet Points will be awarded 1 per session, whether you attend or not. However, only one advancement (stat, bonus, statement) may be made per session attended. You can earn points, but unless you are learning on-camera, that learning is insufficiently important to be on your sheet.

Examples of Stats and what they do

• Command: Easy intimidation, things that work through force of personality, violent solutions. Command can be used to break down a door, shout NPCs into obedience, sail straight through storms, and use very big weapons to end fights fast.
• Control: Precise timing and decisions, overpreparing events, long practice. Control can be used pick locks, to have the right answers to NPCs who ask awkward questions, to set sails perfectly, and to use weaponry suited to the opponent and the environment.
• Grit: Grit is about sticking it out, grinding through pain, staying awake despite the difficulties. Grit can be used to cut through doors with inadequate tools, to outlast the NPCs who would otherwise get in the way, to be the one setting the vital sail on the upper mast after the topgallant has broken, and to fight on despite exhaustion and wounds.
• Style Style is about being seen to do things right, an apparently magical mix of luck, timing and charisma. Style can be used to arrive just as a servant opens the door, to perform the dance of getting past NPCs without them realising you were not just being polite, to pull in the sails just before the squall, and to put a perfect riposte onto your opponent's wrist, shaming them without hurting them much.

Statements

For 5 points you can buy a statement such as 'I am a trained soldier' or 'I am an employee of the King'. By themselves they give no coded advantage, but they are the backbone of your sheet. You can have any number of statements that you agree with the GM.

Examples of Statements and what they do

• I am a member of an Esoteric Lodge: The PC will have access to people who know how the city works, and to other statements within the Lodge. Essentially they have a Masonic Handshake.
• I am a high-ranking member of my Lodge: The PC will have access to the inner libraries of the Lodge, and easy access to a narrow section of powerful people.

Bonuses

For 5 points you can buy a bonus such as 'I am better at brawling than most' or 'I am better at fast-talking than others'. These are always based on your statements, which must be used to justify them. A statement like 'I am a soldier' could justify weapons use, an understanding of tactics, or toughness, but it could not justify political acumen or magical understanding.

In general a bonus will either cover combat, or situations that do not require combat reflexes; about half of any conflicts in this game will be combat of some sort.

Examples of Bonuses and what they do

• I am better than most at tactics: Might be appropriate for an officer or a mercenary captain.
• I am better than most with wand combat: Only available for a trained sorceror or a mage who has made their own wand.