Part I:

Under Cover of Night

- Introduction -

Two men sat at a small table outside a dingy pub on a corner somewhere out in Shadow, apparently insensible of the rain that had driven the house's other patrons indoors. The taller man, swathed in a dark travelling cloak, spoke.

"So how went the battle?"

The smaller, fair man shifted in his seat and took a drag from his cigarette, sheltering it in his cupped hand. He blew the smoke over his right shoulder and answered.

"It was a victory for Amber. Oberon's brood "

"Hsh!" The taller man's head jerked in response to the name.

"Oh, please. You and your superstitions. Oberon's brood defeated the armies of the Courts. They have been forced to negotiate terms for their surrender."

"Brand?" The voice nearly cracked with strained hope.

"Dead. He fell in an endless pit at the edge of Chaos. It seems no-one ever survives the fall." Apparently oblivious to his companion's distress, the smaller man puffed at his cigarette once more.

"Why didn't he fly or Trump out?"

His mouth still encumbered, the shorter man could only shake his head. He took the cigarette away and stubbed it out, answering as he did.

"He was paralysed. Caine shot him in the heart with a crossbow before he fell."

"So what of Amber, brother? What of our home? A return to the Demon King's reign?" the traveller's voice was a mix of anxiety, hope and dread.

"Not quite. Oberon died. He gave himself redrawing the Blood Pattern."

"But this is great news! We are free!"

"Hah!" The smaller man's exclamation was his first sign of emotion. "You've grown weak-minded, brother. Nothing will change. One of his spawn will rise to claim the Obsidian Throne."

"But one of the less cruel ones? Corwin or Random?"

The answer came with an emphatic shake of the head. "Perhaps in a while, things may improve. A little. But in the meantime, there will be a war; and it is only our kind that will suffer."

The smaller man's bitter expression gradually softened as he contemplated the gently smoking cigarette butt in the ashtray. When he next spoke, he was nearly inaudible.

"This is so much worse than before."

Welcome to Blood of Amber. Forget what you believe you know. The terrible strength, blinding speed, indomitable will and endless life of a Prince of Amber are bought with the stolen blood of innocents. The City of Eternal Night has laboured under her Demon King, Oberon, for thousands of years. The townsfolk of Amber fear to leave their houses, never knowing who will be the next to fall to the appetites of the vampires that rule over them.

The Pattern is drawn in blood, a testament to the dark power of Amber's first Demon King, Dworkin, before he was murdered by his own heir. Through it, Oberon's "children," the men and women who have supped of his wives' blood and joined in the communion of the night, are linked to one another, and to the godlike power the Pattern offers to manipulate reality itself. The nations of the Crimson Circle offer a yearly tithe of their young men and women to feed the monsters' hunger, fearing the destruction with which the heirs of the Obsidian Throne could plague them.

And Brand? One of the youngest of the Demon King's brood, moved to compassion for the victims of his terrible family and penitence for his own actions, he tried to destroy the source of their power and end their lives, and his own. May he truly find rest in the darkness of the Abyss

The players are vampires themselves, the spawn of the Princes and Princesses of Amber. After Brand's nearly successful attempt to destroy the family, and the deaths or disappearances of the highest of the undead that rule in Amber, they must struggle to make a place for themselves in the new order, and decide what to do with the consequences of what has gone before.

This Site

The Blood of Amber setting is described further of the following pages:

Relevant Links

• White Wolf Games - Whose 'Vampire' game influenced some of the powers in Blood of Amber
• The Seven Deadly Sins

Send any comments to David Moore at davidtmoore {at} hotmail {dot} co {dot} uk.

The Alternate Ambers Page | My Amber Page

Copyright © David Moore, 2003. This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.

The font used for the Blood of Amber banner is called XmasTerpiece and comes from the DaFont.com Site.