Chaney, Grimson's page

Presenting Kyle "Grimson" Chaney, repurposed alias for a new day.

Kyle “Grimson” Chaney

Also still around, willing and waiting.

"I've heard whisperings, but it seems... the Crown... has done its best to keep this quiet until now." Chaney said grimly.

Turning towards the king, he inquired "Any reports from scouts? Is the way lost? What of Trumps?"

Chaney let a slight smile creep over his lips. "My spies haven't informed me of any news from Rebma. Not that I have spies there."he intoned dryly.

"Chaney." the Warden of Arden bowed deeply as Majana introduced herself. "And the murmuring likely has to do with how closely we are seated... If I recall my early lessons, such a place of honor is reserved for family members, which I gather, would be news in at least one of our cases." he nodded, indicating Etzil. He subjected those lesser gossipers then with a disapproving eye, as if challenging them for questioning the crown's judgement.

Chaney returned the smile, but only out of duty as nephew. He nodded, responding "I assure you, Your Majesty, I have able men in place on the watch. This sort of gathering is... unusual... these days, and I wouldn't receive whatever purpose the conference is being held for second hand, especially if Arden needs to react." His eyes scanned the room, and, seeing others awaiting the King's attention, he wrapped up with "As always, the forces of Arden are at your disposal." and made a short bow, moving to the other side of the room.

His eyes flickered momentarily towards his mother, but diverted themselves before she could make eye contact with him.

Chaney arrived shortly after the trio, brushing a strand of unruly hair off his vest, and addressed the herald, "Now, what was the order of formality mother tried to browbeat into me those decades ago? Ah, yes, 'Chaney Barimen, of the House of Dybele, son of Florimel of Amber and John Gaunt of Cynosure, Duke of Eachester, Lord Protector of Cynosure, and Warden of Arden.' That ought to do well enough."

The herald nodded, announcing Chaney as he had directed. Chaney entered, sweeping the room with a smart, appraising gaze. He made eye contact with his mother, but chose to approach the King instead. Understanding the protocol, he awaited the King's attention with a stiff military bearing to his stand.

@Chaney, was that supposed to go in gameplay?

Well, the GM said to post it here or there, and I wasn't sure if I was there ahead of your "group" or not.

Chaney brushes a strand of unruly hair off his vest, stating, "Now, what was the order of formality mother tried to browbeat into me those decades ago? Ah, yes, 'Chaney Barimen, of the House of Dybele, son of Florimel of Amber and John Gaunt of Cynosure, Duke of Eachester, Lord Protector of Cynosure, and Warden of Arden.'"

Glad your still with us!

Chaney had been among the first to return, for, although he had been away for some time, his whereabouts had been no secret. No longer a rebellious youth, the man he had grown to be was ready for some heavy burdens of his own. His martial prowess had impressed even the King. In this light, it was only natural that Random should assign him a post close to Amber.

Chaney had no love of the sea, and a few choice insults of his youth still soured the Queen's opinion of him, making his staying in the Castle overlong a burden on them both. King Random decided on a course to satisfy them both and provide a safe border for Amber; he would place Chaney as Warden of Arden, a post not long ago abandoned by the King's brother Julian.

Chaney agreed to the post, in equal parts to escape the confines of the castle and to provide safety to those within. He set to the task before him with great urgency and pride, quickly gaining the respect and admiration of the Great Forest's soldiers. He found areas to reinforce, and began making some changes in protocol based on his struggles in the Demon Wars and other Shadow battles. These efforts filled the time it took for the others to arrive for the council.

-------------------

Chaney brushed the dust off of his cloak before laying it on the chest at the end of his bed. He had been hoping to meet more of his cousins before the council proper, but his duties in Arden had taken too much of his attention. Still, there was at least one encounter on the road through Arden likely to be remembered for some time to come.

As he dressed, he extinguished such thoughts. "The red one." he slipped the shirt on, tucking it neatly into his black trousers. Over this he pulled a black leather vest. The boots he wore were of a solid, military style, and were designed for maximum traction and protection against the elements. They had been polished to a smart shine. He considered his sword for a moment. "No. This is to be a meeting of friendship and greetings. Nothing that cannot be hidden. So," he turned towards an assortment of smaller blades, "this, the silvered, and ... the throwing daggers." He strapped the smaller blades in secure and secreted places under his garments and then took the time to smooth out the lines.

Chaney examined himself in the mirror, flipping a butterfly razor from the table into his hand. A small amount of stubble had formed, giving him an evening shadow. He made quick work of it with the razor. "Hate to be untidy." So readied, he placed a cap on his head. It was a stylized military cap with a demon soldier badge and a bright red feather. He nodded, and, after securing his chambers in the usual manner, walked into the hall.

Many have heard that the Grimson was a PI like his father, and also that he spent decades hunting and warring with demons, but few know of his rise to pre-eminence in a certain shadow's Death Metal Hall of Fame under the nom de guerre Smilin'Jack. Over a hundred Battles of the Bands without a single casualty defeat.

Now who could do a thing like that?

Well, James, I'm willing to chip in two points. Customization-wise, I would enjoy a Trump of Cynosure and a Trump of Arden being added to my deck.

I've apparently a point or two to spare, and would be willing to go in on this, if it's allowed by the GM, that is (not sure on the logistics of sharing points for artifacts).

The site that was linked earlier with the family tree has a Properly Grande Castle Map

Amber has a way of wrapping itself into the hearts and minds of its progeny.

Yes, anything you desire is Out There.

Yes, most youngsters spend centuries exploring their desires.

But it's all shadow, and Amber is Real.

Now, should the Ape General be named Caesar, or Grodd?

Nah....

I'm good with the current state of this bid.

I agree on the need to keep the borders safe. A strong Warden and Admirals should be able to keep danger from ever reaching the City or Castle.

Security of trade routes is also of utmost importance.

Arden is vast and borders both the Real and the Shadow. It suits me.

As nice as it might be to consider being in charge of everything, I believe such an endeavor would tie up too much of my time. I'm interested in things close to home.

If I can maintain Arden, I'll drop my pursuit of the rest. If not, I may have to look at a less costly command, or drop out of such concerns altogether. The question is, then, do you all want me guarding Amber's borders or working outside of them?

I imagine different people might have different answers to that question...

1 for sheriff and 1 for captain

was waiting on the Viscount

Why, that makes Nikolas the most dangerous person of our generation.

EDIT: I'd not face him with anything short of a pole-arm, anyway.

See, now, James m'lad. This is your chance to shine. Make them pay for second and third place with Bad Stuff and see how well they survive without powers. You got the points, use it to hit them where they hurt.

The Attribute auction is war, son. Make sure they knew you were here.

Well, well, well, my math says this will soon become very interesting.

Two ties. Now that is unusual. I'll also note how our top dogs went just beyond my ability to bid without going into Bad Stuff....No further bidding on my end.

Picking your battles and picking the battleground are both essential skills.

I think what you really have as far as PvP comes down to two things: a) conflicts of personality, where one character simply doesn't like another, and b) conflict of purpose, where one character's goals conflict with another. Traditionally in Amber, actual attempts to kill another Amberite mostly only happen when the two cases intersect.

There are exceptions, of course, and defense of Amber as a whole generally overrides either situation.

In the books, one of the reasons one would not seek the death of a relative one considers an enemy is the death curse, where a dying Amberite can curse his/her killer.

Truthfully, even without being dominant in an attribute, you have intrinsic value as a being of power, and would be better served forging alliances than hiding. When you can call upon an ally of power, their strength is added to yours. When you hide away, only your own strengths and weaknesses are available.

But considering how many people our relatives have led through shadow to be slaughtered fighting wars, there isn't a whole lot of moral ground to stand on in the castle. :)

Good thing I always win at king of the hill, then. I can stand on narrow ground.

But morality, like Shadow, is mutable.

Each new attribute means a new thing or three crossed off my lists as strategy changes based on my best guess as to what people will do. This format of bidding gives me too much time think about things :)

Nah, pup, he means blood sacrifices.

Nor do I, by the appearances presented to the ignorant. ;[

Freudian Slip?

Ah, this is more of what I was expecting from the masters of mind and magic. And it does my heart glad to finally see cousin Etzil emerge from the shadows to reveal himself as such. Of course I had my suspicions what with him holding onto slim showings in the Arts Physical.

Would that I could emerge with such a surprisingly powerful mind of mine own. After all, I have fought demons and other purveyors of the arcane. But, alas, in order to best such champions in such a contest, I would have to sell mine own health short, or else temp the universe into delivering unto me dreadful hatred for exceeding mine grasp.

No bid. I am happiest to provide the lower plateau one must leap from to challenge these bravest and boldest of souls.

in other words....

"You &^^%^%s can have it, but you better think twice before using it towards harming me and mine,"

The thing about bidding high for Psyche is you run out of points for powers to make it as useful as it could be. And, really, except for my outrageously high initial bid for Warfare, this is in keeping with most of the other bids. Additionally, often Psyche is the first auction out of the gate, when points are ... more available.

That said, James would be a chump to let Alric steal first place for a measly 25 points.

Thanks for sharing that. The site has some pretty neat maps and info.

Mostly (half) brothers/sisters. Excepting Merlin, Rinaldo/Luke, and Martin, who are part of the next generation.

Also, I believe Random was Oberon's youngest known son.

Actually, Random is the King of Amber.

Oberon abdicated the Throne, and the Unicorn (speculation says she is Oberon's mother) gave the Jewel of Judgement to Random. Pretty much everyone who mattered decided at that point that meant Random was chosen as King.

Before that, when Oberon was thought to be dead, Corwin's brother Eric was the Regent (and then King), and he and Corwin had fought over the throne, resulting in Corwin's blinding and imprisoned. After a few years in prison, Corwin had managed to regrow his eyes and was rescued by Dworkin.

Heh, or you could always use the Warfare Savant excuse "I anticipated that you might attempt to control my mind at some point, and I have set up certain countermeasures. If I don't deactivate them in twenty seconds, let's just say you'll have to pick up your own brain before pulling mine apart. Do you think I have it in me to resist your probes for twenty seconds?"

Indeed. Corwin mentions having been a sorcerer, but seems to have moved passed his dabbling in arcane arts.

I think our preferences are similar as far as all that goes. I tend to play more martial characters, but enjoy the dynamics of the Attributes and Powers systems much more than those of the item system. I'd much rather have deadly skill with any weapon than a single (or dozen) deadly weapon(s).

I'd much rather have someone throw their Mindblender on Puree spell at me than look into my eyes and have me dance monkey dance.

You could also get way better results than anyone bidding in Endurance by spending 23 points on conferred Endless Stamina and Regeneration.

I agree that turning on the "Christmas Tree" lights is against the spirit of Amber.

Like Etzil mentioned, I prefer it if psychic contact requires something to initiate. I'd also like it if, like wounds, a high Endurance can potentially undo psychic surgery after time, and/or, if, as shown in the books, walking the Pattern can undo that sort of thing to some degree. Gives you an opportunity to have your revenge, same as if you were wounded in a physical fight.

It's not uncommon for GMs to say something like "Klingons are known for strength and battle prowess, so most are going to be Chaos Ranked in my game, with some Amber Ranked legendary types."

It's certainly not unheard of for characters to seek out Shadows of Desire with more powerful creatures to create their armies with.

Heh. I have similar pains about Psyche from previous games, Etzil. A lot of games put magical combat more on a Merlin scale than a Corwin one. Or worse, make it so mere eye contact makes you a meatpuppet for the #1 Psyche character.

-------
Alric,

The ADRPG book desccribes Human, Chaos, and Amber Rank more or less as follows:

Human: Joe schmo from planet Earth. Nothing special; an extremely dangerous proposition since even competent shadow people are better than you.

Chaos Rank: Pinnacle of normalcy. Olympic Gold Metallists, Champion Boxers, Fencing Masters, Chess Grandmasters.

Amber: No weaknesses. You're simply better than Shadow people. Better even than the best most worlds have to offer, and better than the rabble of the Courts of Chaos. Simply put, the only people who can best you are those who are Ranked.

True(Etzil), but that doesn't let me suggest that Alric is a little princess :P

Are we in a Kill Bill scene? There are ninja everywhere!

I'm good at where I'm at; with beard of this magnitude, Alric surely couldn't possess great strength.

I don't see the trickle bit in my little guide, but I follow the concept. Leads me to another question though; do we have to spend all of our points? I assume more "trickle in" so we can get Artifacts down the road, but if after the auction, the secret buy-up phase, and then saying "I'll take Words of Power and a Personal Shadow," if I still have points left, can they be banked for future purchases (say, adding Guardians to my shadow or making a little slave or magic sword Artifact)?

Any points you have left over are banked as "Good Stuff". "Good Stuff" indicates that the universe looks out for you to some degree. You'll get more lucky breaks, (Shadow) people will have a better first impression of you, etc. If you overspend, you instead get "Bad Stuff". Your reach has exceeded your grasp, and the universe will punish you (even with a single point of "Bad Stuff").

After character creation, our advancement pace will be set by the GM. When he says we have some points to spend, you'll give him a total sum of Bad Stuff you might be willing to take to get what you want, a list of things in priority order you want, and whether or not you'd be willing to take Bad Stuff to get each particular item on your list.

So, say you were willing to take on up to 5 points of Bad stuff. You'd say that, and then say "I want a magic ring, a beautiful tiara, and a pony. I'd take Bad Stuff for the ring, but not the tiara or the pony."
If you could afford the ring, with or without Bad Stuff, you would get it, but if you couldn't afford the tiara or the pony without taking Bad Stuff, the GM would inform you of that.

Generally the rules suggest that you never quite know how many points you're getting or even whether or not you've accumulated Bad Stuff once you've said you'd accept it. But the universe will let you know about the latter.

Hope that helps.

It appears skill at arms was a necessary counter to the superior physical power of my cousins. I won't be bidding higher, although my mysterious workout routine might see me buying up to a secret rank if you all make it cheap enough for me :)

Good Question!