GM Logs - 1999
| GM
back, Monday (Jan 4). Yeah. Right. Three weeks later..... |
Rumors
(Something wicked this way comes....)
"The Scion of Ember" (Updates on pause for player suspense. GM) |
|
| And
two more weeks.... Tuesdays and Fridays.... Sorcerous notes.... S P E L L I T O U T.... Stumped?...More NPCs wanted. Sorcery Addendum. Updates. |
||
| Spring
Break: GM loses Internet connections, Saturday (13th) thru Monday
(21st). GM sick. Got some kind of bug/allergy. Back to work. |
Any
non-player interested in the full story can e-mail me to subscribe
to the Lurker List.
|
|
| To
be continued..... |
||
| Have
a great Turkey Day! |
||
| Merry
Christmas and Have a Happy New Year! |
||
GM back on the 4th. Yeah. Right. Three weeks later......
Thank you players and lurkers for your patience. I grovel most humbly at this month-long interruption in our relationship. I've conquered work (for the next day or so) and am updating furiously. Those who have purchased characters with promised contributions, please make a payment. Keep an eye out for new gossip. Did everyone receive information on the Powers they purchased? If not, or if you have any questions, let me know.
I've noticed some confusion about various NPCs. Resolving this will be my next project.
And two more weeks ......
I must have done something really, really right OR something really, really wrong! It's taking you guys almost a full week to respond to my last post. (Hee, hee, hee, hee. >;) ) This dramatic climax signals the end of introductions and the beginning of SERIOUS play. From now on "you control the horizontal, you control the vertical, you control the destiny of your Emberite". I'll just pull the environmental strings.Players, you are invited to view/post/join the Amber club at http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/amber. "Amber: Enter the Royal Castle and feel the intrigue." Two other game groups are using this web-based bulletin board system to exchange information and ideas about Roger Zelazny's Amber. Since many of us have not read these books, please use the club to ask/answer any questions you have about the Amber universe. I'll even encourage you to ask them advice on your character's situation/moves if you wish. Just be aware that everyone (including your fellow players) can read the bulletin board messages.
I'm adding links to Amazon.com to the Amber/Game Source Books page. It'll be a couple of weeks before they're all there, but you can still do a search. This linkage is meant to provide an online source of the books I'm using for this game. This is not meant to imply that offline bookstores are impaired. O:)
Those of you who have invented NPCs, I need their stats ASAP. They do not have to be as comprehensive as your character questions are, but as full of information as you can. Remember, whatever you do not specify, I will mangle!
Tuesdays and Fridays are the new deadlines for receiving turns for posting on those days. I've sent e-mail about speeding up our turn around with affirmative responses. My personal deadlines for posts are: by 10 pm CST Tuesday and by 5 pm CST Friday. These reflect my access times to an on-line connection.
Has anyone else found some Amber websites to share?
I hope everyone's Valentines was as heart-full as mine.
Notes on Sorcery:
Please reread the information I sent you on the Magic Power of Sorcery. Some questions have arisen during game play (on my part) and are listed below. Please send the answers BEFORE trying to use this power. Failure to do so may result in fizzled spells or turn/action/post delays.
- Your personal style of spell-casting. Tell me what it is!
- Each character should have a unique signature to their spell-casting. This means that other Sorcerers and scholars (if they know about you) will be able to recognize a spell's creator. It also can make for grand/subtle special effects that enhance game play.
- These can be built into spells, or used as another lynchpin, defining the character's trademark.
- Pick something. Be creative. Examples: sparks, smoke, lights, glitter, radiance, unique colors, scents, sounds, complex gestures, etc.
- Creating your own spells. Please do!
- You are a Sorcerer/ess. Experiment with your Power/knowledge (with safety percautions described) as much as your character wishes. Development and growth of your Emberite is one of our goals.
- Follow the section on "Building Custom Spells". Describe your spell as listed on this website. Those who wish may receive Player Contribution points by allowing me to post your spell on this site, either anonymously or with full honors. If you have questions, please ask.
- Do not create a spell and expect to use it next turn. Casting time, memorization, and 'hanging' rules (below) apply to homemade spells also.
- Casting spells. Please e-mail me this!
- Your character MUST spend the time to memorize/hang/conjure in game time. If the spell's listed Casting Time requires three hours, your character must use three hours of game time to prepare that spell. (PLUS the time required to ready the lynchpins, mandatory and optional.) If an event occurs that interrupts the spell casting, not only will the spell be a loss but also consider the effects of a Power backlash. (Maybe that's why the majority of history's/literature's wizards are so secretive and nasty to visitors.)
- You can only memorize ONE spell at a time. You may 'hang' spells only on Items/Creatures/Artifacts created by a Conjurer (see below). There may be a duration time limit. (i.e. Your memorized/hung a spell last night game time. Depending on the spell, current environment, character skill, Attribute ranks you will have to memorize/hang the spell again next week if not used before then.) Once used, the spell must be recast again to be available.
- You MUST describe the casting process, ingredients used, etc. Lynchpins MUST be itemized during this time. Lynchpins create spell flexibility. I feel they are small holes in the spell's structure that separate contact points, as in a modern day bomb. Once specified the lynchpin holes are plugged, closing contact points, completing the spell.
- Do not expect to write that your character "says all of the lynchpins and the spell is cast". You MUST specify the lynchpins. Unfilled or incorrectly filled holes can result in either a fizzled spell or an unpredictable one.
- Hanging spells. Please e-mail me this!
- You may 'hang' spells only on Items/Creatures/Artifacts created by a Conjurer. These can be special ordered, bought at a fair, a present, spoils of war/theft, purchased during the creation process, etc.
- You MUST recast a 'hung' spell once used. If your character does not spend the game time, the spell will not be available for use.
- Do not expect to write that your character "uses the spell 'hung' in the singing sword. What happens?". You MUST specify the spell, the item used to 'hang' the spell, and define the lynchpins. Unfilled or incorrectly filled holes can result in either a fizzled spell or an unpredictable one.
I hope that this clarifies the Sorcery game mechanics. If not, or if you feel a bit cheated, let's discuss it.
Okay. I feel obliged to spell out some GM advice. Read. READ. R E A D!
I get the impression from some of the player responses that you are not actually reading through the entire post. Some of you are missing entirely the changes being made to your characters. I suggest that you print out the posts sent to you (especially the ones since you entered Father's presence), grab some coffee and a doughnut, sit down and R E A D. Admittedly my posts are large but it is not from fluff. It's from the inclusion of pertinent details. (I think this comes from years of playing "ZORK".)
Like the lawyer said, "The real meaning is detailed in the fine print."
It appears that somehow I've stumped you again. Either that or you guys had a really great weekend. Or you did not receive the posts sent last Friday. OR you really hate the GM story so far and wish it would all go away. If any of the above, puhleeze let me know! I will still be sending a post today (Tuesday) to move the story forward a bit and maybe unblock that log jam.
More NPC players are wanted. These positions are for members of the mainland Ember City Town Council and members of the Castle's household. Play for these characters should begin at the end of March.
Sorcery Addendum When posting a spell cast, you can use the format below (once your character has spent the game time to either memorize or 'hang' the spell BEFORE casting).
- SPELL: Pressurized Lava - hung in my emerald ring as a sea water spell
- LYNCHPINS:
- (Magic of Shadow) Ember
- (Hand motions) location of opening - the triangle formed by my hands indicates the opening to be located 10' above and 10' in front of the first phalanx of the enemy troops
- (Hand motions) angle of exit - the tilt of my hands indicates a 30 degree angle of fall
- (Size of Lava Chunk) up to 200 pounds of sea water from a depth below 300'
- (Trigger) flow to begin when Dworken says, "Davy Jones' locker"
Out of Amber and into the universe of Star Trek. Gerry is asking for players for a fast-paced message board game for Star Fleet Academy Cadets. More info at: www2.spindle.net/slycendice/trekgame.htm. Jeepers!
Updates:
- Revised postal regulations to include Sorcery info.
- Updated GMlogs for the months of Jan/Feb 1999.
- Finished "Beginnings....". I will not add to this page again as it's intended to be an introduction to the game for Lurkers. Any non-player interested in the full story can e-mail me to subscribe to the Lurker List.
- Started Amazon link for resource books used in the game.
- Started NPC pages.
Well, most of March was a recouping effort. The first two weeks went great. We ended the story's introduction and started on Scene/Chapter 1. Then everything went downhill from there. The GM had Spring Break which means no Internet connections and another week of drowsy medication dosages due to a really mean allergy or flu bug. Players were in and out due to their Spring Breaks, illnesses or personal responsiblities.
Come on April!!!
Continuing to work on:
- Updating the Lurker Logs. Any non-player interested in the full story can e-mail me to subscribe to the Lurker List.
- Adding to NPC pages.
- Adding NPC players.
- Figuring PC points for the introduction.
