Far Shadow
"Far Shadow" is our OOC convenience term for shadows which do not routinely have contact with Amber and the Golden Circle, and are some distance from Amber. It is not an IC term.
Sometimes, you'll want to base a permanent playgroup in shadow. This is distinct and separate from casual use of shadow; i.e., shadow-walkers can wander infinite shadow, do whatever plots they'd like in their own shadows, and so forth. A formal Far Shadow exists as a prop and an organization, and is intended to be a long-term place for people to play.
You want a Far Shadow if:
- You expect to have multiple characters with backgrounds tied to your shadow (and thus need an org, automated sign-off requests for backgrounds, etc.).
- You expect to have multiple people visit the shadow on a reasonably frequent basis, independent of you, and need permanent building of significant scope (as opposed to a stage or temproom or a room that can be owned out of your character's personal quota).
- You do not need RPG resources tied to the shadow. (For that, use a Silver Circle shadow.)
Far Shadows are subject to the following restrictions:
- They must be, broadly speaking, within the theme of the game. The more exotic the theme, the less it should be seen in Amber itself. (This applies particularly strongly to high-tech, which flat-out doesn't work in Amber, so please don't try to introduce it. This is a fantasy setting, and shadows should be broadly in that spirit.)
- They are for active use, though they do not need to be built. If you are just looking for an occasional background element or place to run scenes, you don't need one. (Any player with a shadow travel ability can invent a shadow for the purposes of temporary play and adventure; by contrast, the Silver Circle shadows are formal props.) You are welcome to use them as settings from characters to come from, permanent home bases for characters, places to run adventures and spend time in, and so forth.
- They cannot have a shadowpath. There may be isolated PC individuals who have shadow travel abilities.
- Initially, they do not have a current standing relationship with Amber or the Golden Circle, although one can be established in play.
To obtain a Far Shadow, do a +submit gm containing the shadow's name, and a brief description of it (which you should use for the prop's description when you receive it). A prop will be created for you. You can obtain an org when you have sufficient players for one.
It is the staff's intention not to become involved in the Far Shadows in any way whatsoever. These are strictly player sandboxes, and it is up to player propcos to make play happen in them.
The Silver Circle
"Some comments Martin had made to his host seemed to indicate that he was going to a place I knew of further off in Shadow — the block city of Heerat. We journeyed there and found this to be correct. He had passed that way."
"I am not familiar with Heerat," I said.
"A place of adobe and stone-a commercial center at the junction of several trade routes. There, Random found news which took him eastward and probably deeper into Shadow."
Benedict and Corwin, The Hand of Oberon
The "Silver Circle" is our convenience term for shadows which sometimes have contact with Amber and the Golden Circle, but which are more distant from Amber. The term does not exist IC; it is strictly an OOC categorization.
Silver Circle shadows are affiliated with one of the following:
- A player-controlled Golden Circle shadow
- An active major or minor (non-subprop) noble House of Amber
- A currently-played Feature character
That affiliation is known, OOC, as a "sponsorship". By "affiliated", we mean that the story of that shadow is connected to the sponsoring prop/Feature in some way, whether as ally or enemy or other significant tie, either past or present.
Silver Circle shadows are subject to the following restrictions:
- They are subject to the same requirements for thematic appropriateness, active use, and lack of a shadowpath that Far Shadows are.
- They must be resourced props (either a sub-prop of the sponsor, or bought with RES-PR).
- They do not have much, if any, relationship with Amber in a broader sense, although their tie to their sponsor can be deep if desired. (This is a freedom as well as a restriction, as it leaves the propco free to determine the shadow history without needing reference to external events or influence, save for whatever the sponsor asks for.)
It is the staff's intention not to become involved in the Silver Circle shadows in any way whatsoever. These are strictly player sandboxes, and it is up to player propcos to make play happen in them.
How to Get a Silver Circle Shadow
Do the following steps:
- Come up with a shadow concept, and work out an appropriate background with one or more sponsors.
- Use +request/alt to obtain a builder character or propco for the shadow.
- Have that alt use +rpg register, and use the background questions to briefly detail the background of your shadow. (Just put 'None' for the irrelevant questions.) Make sure to name any props or people that your shadow is tied to.
- Use +bg done to submit the background. This will allow the sponsors to sign off indicating their approval.
- When you've gotten the sign-offs, a GM will approve it.
Once you've gotten it approved, you have two choices:
- Contact the sponsoring propco and ask them to give you a resourced sub-prop of their prop.
- Use +sheet/buy to buy RES-PR. A prop will be created and resourced for you.
It is the staff's intent to approve any sponsored shadow that is not in grotesque violation of theme. We're putting the onus on the sponsors to look over things for reasonability — the sponsoring propco/Feature is essentially assuming responsibility for the new shadow dwelling under their umbrella.
No sponsor may sponsor more than one greater than their prop resource value in Silver Circle shadows. In other words, if your prop has a resource value of 3, you can sponsor 4 shadows. We will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
You Probably Don't Need a Silver Circle Shadow
To re-iterate: If your character has a shadow-travel power, you are welcome to simply make up shadows and go there, and do whatever you want in infinite shadow. Such places can be recurring, shared, etc. You can also build a room or two for it on a permanent basis, out of your personal quota, if you need to.
You only need a Silver Circle shadow if you need a resourced prop, i.e., you want RPG resources tied to your shadow. Similarly, you will need a Silver Circle shadow for shadow-specific gifts. However, if you just need a shadow for a playgroup, use a Far Shadow.