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The Abyss, infinite Amber Universes, and GM lazyness

Started by RPGPundit, July 30, 2007, 05:14:27 PM

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Warder

What i probably missed but wanted to ask, how do you handle time dilation? Can the PCs just jump into a Shadow with diffrent speed and then for example Shape-Shift to adapt and by that power manage to advance way faster? Just by that they could powerlevel, even if they only advance when competing with other of amberites or chaosites who says the ycant go in groups?

zircher

Sure, just like any of the major players in Amber or the Courts could.  Of course, that tends not to happen because pesky siblings, enemies, and ex-lovers tend to show up (if you're not making your own trouble.)  Corwin only got a vacation because he had major head trauma.  :-)
You can find my solo Tarot based rules for Amber on my home page.
http://www.tangent-zero.com

LarsonGates

The effects of time dilation are sort of explained in the rule books, and yes a PC or group of PCs can go to a fast time shadow spend 10 to 20 years training and then come back with enough skill to have an advantage in a given situation, with only a month or two having elapsed in that shadow (especially if that shadow is Amber, remembering that by cannon time flows 10 times faster at the Courts than it does in Amber). That is not to say they get a free ride. Whilst I manage what rates of time streams are available, characters can only gain and/or develop skills, powers, abilities if they have the CP available to spend, and they only get CP from progressing the story line in some manner. Now this progression may specifically relate to some goal of the character, or another character, or it may actually relate to some element I'd set up in terms of plot.
In relation to the "Elder Amberites" or at least those still around in my campaign they as a base have about 50 times the CP of the PCs, so a PC taking on one of the Elders has never arisen, even my NPC intermediary(who has about 5 times the CP of the PCs) generally won't mess with the "Elders", but that doesn't mean they're not prepared to stick 2 fingers up to them, ignore them, or be generally uncooperative.

Warder

Ok, advancing the story is great ill take that as advancing the CP.

I also agree that the Shadows threats and wonders dont get used enough, there should be things out there that can kill even the Elders or make them go nope and im outta here. For example when in the first book when Corwin and Random were traveling to Amber there was that car pile up. Something big was eating the cars. They were not interested in proceeding, not clear if it was because they wanted to reach Amber faster or because it was clear the monster was too big to kill. I guess its just not fun enough to go slaying Godzilla with a sword.