The following is questions and answers from the discussion group.

If your character had a theme song, what would it be?  I think Flavel's theme song would be something like Bach's Largo for Harpsichord or Albinoni's Adagio, but given that it has no lyrics, maybe that isn't quite fair. Another alternative would be "The Weapon" by Rush, or in a more mellow moment, perhaps "The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell & James Taylor.

What if you had the chance to put a single question to DWORKIN? What would be your question? Is there another Amberite, player character or non-player character, living or dead, you'd rather question? Who do you wnat to ask, and what is your question?  I'm not sure who Flavel would ask this question of, or if there is even a correct answer to it...

"Are the fates (those personifications who measure/spin/cut) a reflection of the purpose inherent within the realms? Are they the confrontation of the individual with the individual's body/mind/soul? Can it be that they are the impersonal forces of an uncaring universe or can the individual in some way direct his/her/it's own desires within the pattern of reality. Failing a good answer to the above...are they accepting job applications?"

At one point Corwin said; "...It is an academic, though valid philosophical question, as to whether one with power over Shadow could create his own universe. Whatever the ultimate answer, from a practical point we could." How would your character respond?  "Are we creating, or are we finding these places. After all, if shadow is infinite, then somewhere we can always find exactly what we are looking for."

What is your character's favourite food? Drink? What food do you hate? And why (for all three answers)?  Steamed Flamingo Tongues! He had it once as a kid. He always thought Flamingos and other water birds to be very beautiful. The idea of slaughtering an entire flock for a banquet meal was both horrifying and impressive. Not exactly a meal he would have every day. He only had it once back in House Abastillas. It was at a feast where some out of town nobility were being entertained.

His favorite drink is simply watered down wine with some honey mixed in to it. A typical roman beverage.

He dislikes heavy meat dishes and privately considers such fare barbaric. Prefers seafoods, and occasionally chicken and other fowl.

Everybody has some little item that they regard as somehow sacred. A piece of clothing, a memento of some event, whatever. What is your character's sacred item? Tell the story of how your character found it, or why it came to be important.  In his quarters at Amber castle, Flavel keeps a small framed photo on his desk. The photo showing a close-up of a hand laying in the dirt. The owner of the hand is not seen in the photo.

A long time ago when he worked as a trauma surgeon in a field hospital a shadow dwellor saved his life when the area he was working in came under artillery fire. Fortunes of war at all that. Flavel took shrapnel and lay exposed to incoming shells. The following moments were a riot of screams, acrid smells, and pain. Hands grabbed him and pulled him to a bunker. Before he lost consciousness he noted distantly the man's hand as he set him inside the safety of a nearby bunker. Whoever it was then ran back out into the artillery barrage to save the other wounded.

Later on some war correspondents took pictures of the area and the photos made their way into a popular national magazine along with the usual commentary article on the horrors of war. One of the photos showed several corpses laying off the side of the road in a makeshift morgue. The corpse on the extreme left of the photo was mostly hidden but the hand showed. Flavel recognized it as the hand of the man who saved him. He never found out who it was.

He cut out that portion of the photo and framed it where it remains on his desk as a reminder to him of the sacrifice some unknown person had made on his behalf.

Your character is the butt of a practical joke. Could your pc see the humour of it? Would your character get even? Does getting even mean staging another practical joke?  Try it and find out... :)

What was your pc like at the age of ten? Was your character a wimp, a bully, a nerd, a snitch, or a klutz? Popular or not? Write up a little description, and, if you like, a little day-in-the-life story about your character at that age.  At the age of ten Flavel was a short, skinny fellow with deeply tanned limbs and blondish hair bleached from days in the sun.

From early morning until noon he was tutored by greek slaves on issues of literature incompassing thari, latin, and greek, with some mathematics, biology, physics, and medicine thrown in for good measure. The heavier subjects of philosophy, political science, and war came later in his teenage years.

The afternoons were devoted to ride horses, running errands, and performing chores around the estate and the neighboring grape fields. Mostly busy work for an energetic child. Many times he accompanied his foster father as he went about his business and so he learned by way of osmosis some elements of business, and the operation of a large plantation.

Living amongst shadow dwellers he didn't have much competition with his peers. He occasionally wrestled and fought with his brothers though he learned early on to control his strength and temper when he broke the arm of a companion/slave in a friendly tussle.

At one point a germanic tribe of barbarians attacked the city. The third italic legion mustered in defense. Rather then follow his father's instructions in seeking safety he climbed a bluff and watched the battle. The brutality of it sickened him, and his punishment was such that he did not ever repeat his disobedience.

Does your character sleep well? If your pc has dreams, what kind of dreams are they?  Flavel oftentimes goes for 2 or 3 days at a stretch without sleeping only to crash and burn from the pace. He normally sleeps long and deeply when he does so.

Dreams? Typically not at all. Though lately many things have changed...

Imagine your character is stranded on a small "desert island" type shadow, with no immediate prospect of escape, and no natives bar the occasional unfriendly tribe of cannibals. One of your pc's Amberite relatives (or Chaosite/Shadow relative/friend) has been stranded with your character. Who would your pc most like that to be and why? Who would your pc least like it to be and why? Now also answer both questions from your point of view. :)  I would imagine Flavel would prefer having Shado nearby. She's pretty quick with a sword, and her company is anything but tedious.

On the opposite end of the spectrum Ryoden's company might get somewhat vexing after a while. Combine the attributes of the Professor and Gilligan and hang out on Gilligan's island watching her make a radio out of coconuts might drive Flavel to join the cannibals...:^0 Then again, it probably wouldn't be boring.

What would be even worse would be Benedict. No conversation from the guy, plus he'd kill off all the cannibals leaving the place totally boring.

What is your pc's favourite fictional novel? What if your character's > choice was restricted to Shadow Earth books? What if the question was wide enough to encompass poetry and non-fiction as well?

For Shadow Earth Poetry would you believe Rupert Brooke's; "The Great Lover"? Although Dante's Divine Comedy would place a close second.

For fiction he would enjoy the writings of Lewis Carrol, Mark Twain, Dante, Edgar Allen Poe, Anne Rice and other such fare.

Non-fiction? Mostly reference books like the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics or Websters Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, etc.

Assume that your pc needed/wanted to spend some time, incognito, in a place like the Mythical Old West of cowboys, indians, gunslingers, pioneers and prospectors. Assume its around 1875, after the Civil War. Your character's stay will be for a matter of years. Describe what role and appearance your pc would adopt.  Flavel is a land surveyer for the railroad. Taking a couple of horses and donkeys with a load of supplies to plot out feasible tracts of land through the Nevadas where Silver mining is in full swing. So to theres a pressing need for connections between San Francisco and Oregon, and other parts of the Californias.

Mostly mapmaking and bits of cartography. Dealing with indian tribes and doing a bit of hunting and fishing. He's out in the wilderness for a couple weeks at a time. It's strictly work based on commission.

In between jobs as a land surveyor, he occasionally works as a sportsman when he's back in San Francisco. Of course, the term "sportsman" had more to do with gambling then any other more creditable occupation.

Everyone has at least one irrational fear or phobia, whather it be wasps, heights, horses, decapitation or whatever. Does your pc have any such feelings which fall into this category and if so, what?  Nucleomituphobia or Atomosophobia would be amusing. Syngenesophobia wouldn't be very workable in this game.

Personally I think anyone who had a strong fear would have a very serious problem essaying Logrus or Pattern.

How about a mild case of Coimetrophobia for Flavel? (Fear of Cemetarys)

Considering the desert island from an earlier question, what three things would your character wish to take with them, excluding items for escape?  His gold flute, shortsword, and shoulderbag.

Your character have a chance to save one person from all those that your pc knows. Who would it be and why?  Hmmm...if it's just the chance to save a character's life I'd pick Zeta as it would tear her hair out owing her life to a pencil-neck geek Amber Bard/Scholar. Taste the irony...

Saving the life of Emma or Clovis would also carry a certain satisfaction for similiar reasons.

Saving the life of the Unicorn would be cool from a certain Powermonger point of view...Hey Angela! How many points for the Unicorn as a Devotee?

If we are talking lining up everybody Flavel knows and saying one can be saved and the rest get flushed, Flavel would probably save Julia, both because of foreshadowed importance, and because he's now her father and children come first.

Strange as it seems, your character finds themself in need of the service of a hunter-killer beast from the realm of Chaos. Since it can take any form requested, and, in this case, it will be something of a calling card, how would your pc like it to look? Are there any particular powers, attributes, or qualities that such a thing should have?  In outline, a beautiful female form. Willowy and graceful, with long hair, and the scent of lilacs at night. Lacking in any depth or shading she is as if painted and lacking any third dimension to be perceived, though the outline is always full from any angle viewed. Instead of flesh her body is deep space black and full of stars. To walk around her still form is to view different stars in the night sky. Her touch is frozen death, and as she walks she leaves footprints of frost that steam briefly like dry ice. A cold wind blows from her in all directions. Her eyes are pits of blackness deeper then the night sky. A voice like a loon on a forgotten lake.

How would your pc describe those closest to your character? Does your pc have a best friend? If they do, why is that person their best friend?  This gets lengthy but Flavel has been around for over a century....

This is an easy one. Shado without a doubt. Lover, confidant, and a very good friend. They share the same language, culture, and feelings for each other.

Damien is very pleasant company and could turn out to be a great friend indeed. His military background fills a gap that Flavel sorely lacks. Hopefully Flavel can be of similiar service. Time will tell.

His immediate family he is very loyal to. Anthony, Faile, Dokiel, Anthony, and of course, little Julia.

Bleys, and Lisa he gets along with well. Bleys he mistrusts a bit. There is an air of cockiness to Bleys that worries Flavel at times. That red-head's ego, writes checks that seem impossible to cash at times. Only the fact that this Uncle is really damn good at nearly everything keeps Flavel from shying away from him. Lisa he feels protective towards.

Andrew Sawall is a person Flavel owes more then one favor too. He hopes to return some of the help this Lord of Chaos has given him someday. In some respects, Flavel could have been more like Andrew if he'd been raised in the Courts instead of first coming to Amber.

Then there is Lady Ryoden. Excentric, talented, wild, and wacky. Flavel hopes to build some constructs with this Minobee some day.

Kit. Unstable, impulsive, and utterly doomed. She came out of left field and thoroughly confused Flavel when she developed a crush on him. Just as quickly she came to ill end. Having experienced something of a medical retirement due to some poor decisions.

HAL. The computer in Lemuria. Flavel spent many years putting this bucket of bolts together. Its intelligent. It programs itself, it administrates a shadow, and it beats him in chess. HAL is the entity that asks him the tough questions, and keeps his paperwork in order.

If your character was suddenly plunged into normal, non-Amberish life, right here in the prosperous west of the early 21st Century, how would you most likely live? What profession would you pursue? Describe the probable lifestyle (vagabond, married with children, socialite, etc).  Flavel would drift into a professorship at one of the ivy league colleges. Learning and teaching, along with the occasional research trips into remote areas of the world.