From: tmurray@socrates.umd.edu (Tony Murray)
Subject: Re: Amber: Question
Organization: University of Maryland University College
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 1992 15:26:03 GMT

ericg@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu (Eric Chris Garrison) writes:

[ About a PC walking the Pattern and asking to be taken to a person
instead of a place ]:

>My opinion is that it should not work.  I hate to use the books as
>an example, but several things could have been short-circuited if
>that sort of thing worked...

I suggest letting it work if there's a good reason for the Pattern to
do so....Given that the Pattern is sentient, it is at least reasonable
to suggest that it can and does honor some requests based upon its
own needs.  If someone gives a vague enough (or normally impossible)
request, the Pattern can choose to help out or not.

If a person wants the Pattern to take them to another person, and
the 'target' is hidden in a special way...protected against Pattern...
something extra powerful or whatever...there are other options...The
Pattern may see it to be in its own best interest to give the PC
what she wants (or something similar)....In the example I've just 
given, for example, since the target is unreachable, perhaps the
Pattern will take her to the nearest analog...like a very close
Shadow of the target.  Whatever works best for the Pattern...and
therefore...the Game.  And just because the Pattern chooses to allow
it to work once does not mean it will always work.

[examples from books deleted]

>All book examples aside, I think if I were GMing an Amber campaign
>I'd disallow that sort of thing, since it makes it near impossible
>for a character to hide from other characters, and NPC villians
>would be in the same fix, which could really hose some plots.

But it sure makes things more interesting!

>GM: "OK, Lysifer tells you Winona was captured by a masked stranger
>   from her chambers.  What are you going to do?"
>Mervyn: (yawns) "I walk the Pattern while Lloyd here stays in Trump
>   contact, and ask the Pattern to send me to her. I grab her before
>   anything can happen, and Lloyd pulls us back."
>GM: "Uh, case closed."

That's IF you allow the character to walk the Pattern so easily.
In my game, only one PC has ever tried to walk the Pattern after
already having Pattern Imprint.  Walking it successfully a second
time is *not* a sure thing, and Player Character's should NOT be
complacent nor overly sure about such a thing...Especially if they
have 'bad stuff.'  In my game, the PC who walked a second time
should think thrice (and have an ace up her sleeve) should she want
to do it yet again. Walking the Pattern is dancing with death, and
PC's should never forget this.

>You get the picture.  So the example is weak, it's just that it can
>throw a real monkey-wrench in a GM's plan to have the characters have
>such an ability.  

This is where we really disagree.  I think it's wonderful that
Player Characters CAN throw a wrench into a GM's plans.  It's
happened to me countless times, and it is not for lack of planning
on my part.  In every one of those occasions, it has made the job
of GMing more fun for me, has been satisfying for the players, and
has added something extra to the game itself.

In the games I run, I know what *other* people...what Non-Player forces
and characters...are doing on a basic timeline, but if one of the
PCs happens to manage to work it so that they contact one of those
persons or forces, things change, and I have to deal.  I don't set
out a script and expect things to go a certain way...It's nearly
impossible in a game universe that give many of the PCs access to
infinity! :) :)

-- 
--Tony Murray (tmurray@socrates.umd.edu)
  Graphics Illustrator
  University of Maryland University College

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc