I've bitten the bullet and decided to run my first PBeM Amber game and am looking for a few more players. I currently have 4 players and am looking for another 4 or 5 who can commit to regular posting on the board which is at:-
http://www.encyclopediainfernalis.net/games/index.php
The board can only be viewed by members, so it is probably best if those interested in playing email me their interest at Gavken at btinternet dot com with a character name and rough character idea (2 or 3 lines). If there is still room in the game then we can get an account for the board set up.
The game will start at the beginning of next year (2nd January) to give people time to get their characters sorted and to account for the fact that people may be away over Christmas.
The game will be set about 2 years after Patternfall with the Elders very much busy doing other things. King Random is sending a team to deal with a tricky political situation in the Golden Circle, though Amber cannot be seen to be interfering in local politics. Characters will either be part of that team or will need some motivation to be interested in this affair. A brief synopsis is below.
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The Shadows of Eregnor and Begma have treaties of protection with Amber. With a disputes over both the succession of Eregnor and over the ownership of a small territory (currently in Begma) called Karvesh, senior figures on both sides are spoiling for a war.
To complicate matters further the people of Karvesh have always wanted independence from both Shadows, and there is a small but active resistance movement there who seek to break away. What is worse is that a new faction there called the Children of Secundus have started a campaign of terrorist atrocities to enforce their claims for succession from their neighbours.
The neighbouring Shadow of Kashfa is ruled over by Queen Jasra, who has expansionist designs of her own and is suspected of looking for an opportunity to step in and claim more of the Circle states herself.
The real problem with Karvesh is it's geography. Most Shadows are wholly inside contained by the Shadow they are in, but for some reason Karvesh is not. It is quite possible that an Amberite or Chaosite in the past has altered it so that it is split, but why they would want to do this is anyone's guess. Most of Karvesh is in its own Shadow, but there are parts within Eregnor and parts within Begma. So over the years both have laid claims to Karvesh.
The oldest claim to Karvesh is made by Eregnor as they invaded the Shadow as soon as they learnt how to move across Shadow. Eregnor has more of Karvesh inside it's Shadow and a second part of that claim is down to this fact.
However when Eregnor was in revolution some time ago Begma invaded Karvesh and signed a new peace treaty with the new ruler of Eregnor giving them title to the land of Karvesh. A year later a counter revolution in Eregnor deposed the Tyrant who had taken over and the new government refused to agree that the treaty Begma had was valid as it was agreed with a usurper. Eregnor promptly re-invaded Karvesh and defeated Begma in the battle of Kalatma Gorge.
Begma introduced trade sanctions against Eregnor for a time, but abandoned them after it was found they were hurting themselves more than Eregnor. They did not give up their claim to Karvesh however, and have persisted in claiming it is their sovereign territory.
Things have flared up again recently. The King of Begma is dying and the succession to the throne of Begma is in doubt. In a show of patriotism the contenders are promising glory and to reclaim Begma's sovereign territory if the council of regents selects them as the next King. Most vociferous is the bastard Prince Clayvar in wanting war to promote his cause, but his rivals Princess Leona and Prince Daffyd have joins in with calls of their own so as not to seem unpatriotic.
Meanwhile Eregnor is having troubles of its own. Prime Minister Coruso is in a weak coalition that is on the verge of falling apart. With rebels in Karvesh claiming independence, and a new terrorist force (Children of Secundus) there posing a real threat in Eregnor there is pressure on the Prime Minister to pour troops into the area to quell discord and be seen as a strong leader. But the main part of the Shadow of Karvesh is a jungle and virtually impossible to hunt out the rebels. Added to the fact this might provoke war with Begma the situation is currently very tense.
The leader of the resistance in Karvesh (not the terrorists) is a man by the name of Hagen Fontaine. He is supposedly a quiet intelligent thinker, though he rarely grants an audience with outsiders. He wants his homeland to be free from external influence and able to become a full member of the Golden Circle in their own right. He was imprisoned by the Eregnor authorities in jail for the past ten years but recently escaped and now leads the resistance.
To complicate matters even further the neighboring Kingdom of Kashfa is looking to gain advantage from this problem. Queen Jasra I has long been keen to extend her realm, and she has sent her son Rinaldo to help negotiate the peace. But Rinaldo's heritage is suspect at best since his father was the traitor Brand. With the powers of Pattern at his disposal he could very well influence the outcome in his favor.
So Amber is sending their own negotiating team to help sort out the little trouble in its backyard.