From: mfterman@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Mutant for Hire)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Amber Sorcery: I. Shadow Magic
Date: 4 Sep 92 19:45:29 GMT
Reply-To: mfterman@phoenix.princeton.edu (Mutant for Hire)
Organization: Mutant for Hire, Inc.

Okay, looking over the Amber books and looking at the RPG, I have 
decided that I really do not like the way the RPG handles magic, 
and am working out a new system that captures the books a little 
better, as well as my own views on the system. There are some 
inconsistancies with regards to magic use and Amberites. Aside 
from the redhead trio, it looks fairly obvious that none of the 
rest of the princes and princesses have any magical abilities. 
However, Corwin does use magic at one point, and was reputed to be 
a sorceror when he was in charge of Avalon.

To balance out these conflicting ideas, there are two breeds of 
magic. One is Shadow magic, that is, magic that is purely 
indigenous to that particular Shadow. This magic drawing on the 
magical energies of that Shadow, is fairly simple to work, 
especially for someone who is of a higher reality. Unfortunately 
the magic only works in that particular Shadow and Shadows close 
by to it. Then there is high sorcery, which works everywhere and 
is loosely affiliated with the flow of energies between the Logrus 
and the Pattern. Tapping into these powers at the base level can 
be done by anyone, but requires some connection to a primal source 
in order to be a full magician of the art, such as the Pattern, 
the Logrus or the Broken Pattern.

In order for a particular effect to work across all Shadow, to the 
places of Amber and the Courts, a spell or artifact needs a power 
that works across all Shadow, which means either the Pattern or 
the Logrus to form the powering effect. In general, its easier to 
inscribe the Pattern on an object, as its a fixed inscription, 
than to create an effect that moves and twists on the object like 
the Logrus. A magic sword may function in Avalon, but it needs the 
Pattern like Greyswandir if its going to be potent everywhere 
beyond that of an ordinary sword.

Corwin, I postulate, was a sorceror of the magic of Avalon. That 
explains why he used a spell to attempt to drive off a demon, but 
at no other time ever tried to use magic for anything no matter 
how trivial. He could use it there, because he was sufficiently 
close to his Shadow of Avalon for the magic to work. Elsewhere, he 
knew his magic wouldn't do anything, so he didn't bother using it 
at all.

Why was he a sorceror there and not of Pattern magic? Well, 
Amberite magic is a lot harder than that of magic to a particular 
Shadow. Corwin threw that spell at a demon by just invoking words 
from memory, while Merlin when preparing his magic had to work out 
lynchpins, hang it in his Logrus vision, and worried about the 
spells going stale. Whenever powers involving the Pattern were 
invoked, there was generally a nasty drain of energy involved. 
Presumably Avalon's magic was easier to access. Not to mention the 
odds that Avalon's magic was less secretly guarded, or at least 
easier for Corwin to discover. One can intimidate a shadow wizard 
into giving lessons, but Dworkin or Oberon is another story.

To this end, if a player has a Shadow that she/he spent points on, 
then that player can have the option of being a full fledged 
magician in that realm. After all, if it was a high-tech realm, 
there'd be no problem of the player using high technology in that 
realm. Of course, none of this magic will work outside the Shadow, 
unless you were nearby. (GM options if there are separated Shadows 
where this magic will work)

There is evidence that high sorcery is a universal system of magic 
that works across Shadow, as Julia and Merlin, of the Broken 
Pattern and the Logrus traditions use the same spell to unstick 
statues of Sharu and Jasra respectively. Also the magic ritual 
used on Jurt is the same as the one used on Brand. However I 
postulate that each spell ultimately takes into effect one of the 
primal sources, or an echo thereof. Merlin recognized the spell, 
but it need not have been identical. In a battle its hard to tell.

The problem with this magic system is that doing anything takes a 
lot of time and effort and you'd better either have the spell 
prepared in advance with lynchpins or be out of sword range for a 
good chunk of it. Out of swordreach a person with prepared spells 
can take out a swordsman. Within sword range, it works the other 
way around. Magical items and creatures don't quite have that 
problem, on the other hand, they have to be created by an expert, 
which is why there are so few of them.
-- 
    Martin Terman, Mutant for Hire, Mad Scientist, Priest of Shub-Internet
    Disclaimer: Nobody else takes me seriously, why should you be the first?
mfterman@phoenix.princeton.edu mfterman@pucc.bitnet terman@pupgga.princeton.edu
"Sig quotes are like bumper stickers, only without the same sense of relevance"