ShadowNet: NPCs

NPCs (or Allies & Antagonists)

What other types of NPC's are there really in an Amber game? Dead? Well, ok, I suppose that is a reasonable answer. This area is dedicated to those fabulous NPC's who torment us, see us through those tight spots, and just generally make playing a little spicier.

NAME: Aleister Hale

PROFESSION: Noble

AFFILIATIONS: House Northrup, The Society of Masks

DESCRIPTION: Aleister Hale is the younger brother of Lucius Hale, the Baron of Northrup. Aleister is a little shorter than average with a slight build, black hair and a pale, fair complexion. He has a bookish nature and an inquisitive mind and it was this combination that lead him to the study of magic. At first Aleister did little but dabble in the Art but soon enough it was evident that he had a true talent. He has spent over half of his life honing that talent. Recently, Aleister has fallen in love with an ambitious woman with a great dislike for the Royal Family of Amber and the backing of several Noble Houses. She has taken him into her trust and has asked for his assistance in bringing down the Amber Family. He has happily consented.

HOBBIES: Speaking to the dead, summoning and binding demons, and writing poetry.

GAME INFO: Aleister is a powerful sorceror who specializes in summoning and binding demons, elementals, and other spirits to do his bidding. While not very impressive in a combat situation himself, Aleister always has between 4 and 10 demons, elementals or possessed minions around to fight for him.

CONTRIBUTOR: J.A. Dettman

SOURCE CAMPAIGN: Masks, Lies & Deceptions

NAME: Armis Lavel

PROFESSION: High Priest of the Leviathan, reformed criminal

AFFILIATIONS: The Church of the Leviathan, The Verdant Circle Society for the Aged, Infirm and Ill

DESCRIPTION: Armis is a middle aged man from the Verdant Circle Shadow of Nailati. He is of average height, in good physical condition with black eyes and hair the color of rust. Before creating the Church of the Leviathan Armis was a thief and a scoundrel, some believe that that hasn't changed despite Lavel's actions in recent years. Lavel claims that he was wandering in the wilderness, on his way to a new Shadow, when he was swallowed by the Leviathan and that he lived in its belly for a year and a day before he was allowed to return to Nailati to spread the Will of Leviathan. Since his return Armis has dedicated his life to building the Church of the Leviathan and to spreading his faith throughout the Verdant Circle.

HOBBIES: Gambling

GAME INFO: During his time inside the Leviathan Armis experience powerful visions that nourished him and instructed him in the Will of the Leviathan. The visions also told him of a titanic struggle that will be fought between the Corrupt Servants of Lyr and the Enlightened Followers of Leviathan. Armis prepares his followers for the battles that lie ahead.

CONTRIBUTOR: J.A. Dettman

SOURCE CAMPAIGN: They Might Be Redheads

NAME: General Melburne Feegan Ips

PROFESSION: Commander General of the Armies of Rebma

AFFILIATIONS: Rebman Armies, The Legion of the Sands

DESCRIPTION: Melburne Ips is a tall man, even for a Rebman, though not terribly physically imposing to those not aware of his position. He has the pale, blue-green skin of a highborn Rebman, deep black eyes, green hair cut extremely short. General Ips is well known for his blunt, no-nonsense attitude even in personal matters. He does not mince words and expects others to behave similarly. Neither does Ips suffer fools. He is the consumate military man; Rebma's version of Benedict if you will. He has served in the Rebman military for all of his adult life and has commanded the Armies of Rebma for the last 500 years.

HOBBIES: decorative fish breeding

GAME INFO: Ips is fiercly loyal to Rebma and its Royal Family. Not for any reason would he betray Rebma. He is often used as the Rebman reflection of Benedict and therefore often reflects the tradgedies that befall Benedict.

CONTRIBUTOR: J.A. Dettman

SOURCE CAMPAIGN: They Might Be Redheads

NAME:Lionell Krevik

PROFESSION: Castellan of Amber Castle

AFFILIATIONS: the Amber Royal Guard, the Armies of Amber

DESCRIPTION: Krevik is a short man with dark brown hair cut very short and the eyes of an eagle. Nothing escapes the Castellan's notice in the castle. Krevik is responsible for the Castle and everyone and thing in it. He reports directly to the Royal Family and is reported to by the Master of Servants, the Captain of the Guard, and the Master Clerk.

HOBBIES: Cards. Krevik has been trying to win at poker since Random taught him how to play.

GAME INFO: Krevik was a career military man before he was appointed to his current post. He often feels weighed down by the responsibilties of his position and has taken to drinking to alleviate that stress. Despite what some of his friends try to tell him, he vehemently disagrees with anyone who says he has a drinking problem. Krevik's alcoholism has not yet compromised his duties but if he doesn't get help soon it may.

CONTRIBUTOR: J.A. Dettman

SOURCE CAMPAIGN: They Might Be Redheads

NAME:Limik of Minobee

PROFESSION: Imperial Herald for the Courts of Chaos

AFFILIATIONS: The Imperial Court of Chaos

DESCRIPTION: Limik is a tall man of indeterminate age. He constantly wears the robes of his office, blood red with the Imperial Seal of his office. He often appears with pale blue eyes, dark hair and pale white skin. Limik is well known for his attention to detail, and his unerring sense of timing. He is also considered to be one of the most tactful and diplomatic persons at Court. Limik has served the Imperial Court as Herald for 140 cycles and has given up all House affiliations, much to the chagrin of House Minobee.

HOBBIES: gossip and minor gambling (mostly small wagers with other Court Officials about the outcomes of various duels)

GAME INFO: Limik is supremely adept in his duties to the Emperor and is as trusted as Imperial Vassals get. He is dedicated and loyal to the Empire itself, regardless of who sits upon the Serpent Throne.

CONTRIBUTOR: J.A. Dettman

SOURCE CAMPAIGN: They Might Be Redheads

NAME:Lita

PROFESSION: Private individual

AFFILIATIONS: None

DESCRIPTION: Lita is the manifestation form of the Pearl of Wisdom. There is a strong psychic connection between the two and the Pearl will defend her to the extent of its abilities. In appearance Lita is a very beautiful young woman in her mid-twenties. She has not existed for long so she is not very knowledgeable. All she knows is from the Pearl and it has limited experience with shadow travel.

HOBBIES: unknown

GAME INFO: none

CONTRIBUTOR: Marc Craven

NAME: The Moonriders of Ghanesh

DESCRIPTION: The Moonriders resemble humans physically except for their skin tones which are all a uniform grey color. A Moonrider is never without his steed and his steed is also the same grey color. Tribal nomads by nature, the Moonriders believe that those who are strong and who have earned respect should rule. Each Tribe is ruled by Chieftain who is elected by a tribal moot. The office of Chieftain is for life, although that is not necessarily a long tenure.

GAME INFO: The Moonriders are mentioned in the books, in passing.

"It was several years after the defeat of the Moonriders out of Ghanesh and your departure that Eric and I had a major falling out," I began.
--Corwin speaking to Benedict,
The Guns of Avalon

Every GM has a different idea of how to run these, or may wish to leave them alone for good reasons, but here is what we know. They had something against Amber in the past, or at least had some reason to attack a place that Benedict had reason to defend. This is the version which we are using.

The Moonriders were one of several indigenous peoples in the region when Dworkin created the artifact called the Pattern and for several reasons they have been upset ever since. They have been unable to actually encounter the artifact but have indeed attempted to take the Castle and the surrounding area by force.

Being a nomadic/low tech/barbaric (in true barbarian terms) people, they have only themselves and their steeds at their disposal to attempt to overrun the defending armies and loot/sack the area. After doing this a few times, Oberon killed their leader, and followed them back to their home shadow which he sealed with Pattern energy.

When they broke through that ( after choosing a new leader) and attacked again they were thrown back by Benedict, and then imprisoned again in their home shadow, via a different method involving the Jewel. It didn't actually seal the shadow, but twisted it in a Mobius strip which they couldn't get out of. Also, the time was slowed drastically in the Shadow making it perfect for the unleashing which occurred when the wave of Chaos was unleashed.

Again, most of this is actually campaign information from the Plague of Possibilities campaign.

With the Wave of Chaos which proceeded the fixing of the Primal Pattern, many things in Shadow were loosed. Previously Barred Shadows were unbarred, etc. This effect also re-set the shadow of Ghanesh. After the Wave of Chaos the Moonriders started heading out in war bands and attacking various targets in the shadow area just beyond Arden. Several bands have been seen in the area of the Golden Circle and one band of about 10 warriors somehow successfully navigated towards Rebma. A battle took place there in which a few Players discovered it was harder to mentally dominate a Horse than they thought. After a bit of experimenting the Amberites holding the area started dropping stone slabs on the attacking band, very heavy stone slabs, which disrupted their concentration, and also crushed them. Gérard had been seen slugging it out with one of the riders and did finally succeed in breaking its neck after a long struggle.

As a separate special note, these are not TOTALLY mindless creatures they do know that they are tough in combat and love to wage it.. They also respect strength. They rule by strength. If someone actually called out a challenge to single combat with the leader of the raiding parties the rest of the Riders would respect the outcome. Even following the victor as their new leader if possible. (note, in the Plague game, Dalt has succeeded in defeating one of the Clan leaders and he is now considered head of the Clan and he is using it for his own purposes.)

The Moonriders, and their horses, are immune to the direct influence of all powers, including the Pattern and the Logrus. This means that a Moonrider cannot be unseated by a Logrus Tendril but can be effected by an earthquake caused by a Logrus user. A Moonrider also has the ability to extend their area of Immunity to a certain extent. Although very useful, the use of this ability requires concentration on the Moonrider's part and will slow them down just as concentration does anyone else.

The horses of the Moonriders are notable also in that they are just as resilient to powers as the riders. They share a symbiotic relationship with their riders; if one dies the other will be disoriented and perhaps more vulnerable. The horses are similar to Morgenstern: Hard to catch, hard to hit, hard to damage.

CONTRIBUTOR: Shawn Entsminger & Ahmad Abdel-Hameed

SOURCE CAMPAIGN: Plague of Possibilities

NAME: Nerene

PROFESSION: Princess

AFFILIATIONS: The Royal Family of Rebma

DESCRIPTION: Nerene is a tall woman of 24 with sky blue hair, pale blue-green skin, and deep violet eyes. She is athletic, and well trained in the arts of self-defense, although her passion is military prowess. Her ire is easily aroused and can get the best of her in a fight. Easily one of the most military minded of the Queen's children she is often urged to be more genteel. General Ips is Nerene's idol and one of her primary role-models; he often is the example by which she deals with people.

HOBBIES: knitting (she finds it relaxing, but usually refuses to admit it)

GAME INFO: Nerene is being groomed as the Queen's heir now that her older sister Morganthe is dead. Nerene has no love for the Amber family, Random in particular. She is often seen at court by her mother's side. When she is not at court she is usually studying either politics, history, diplomacy, or the military arts.

CONTRIBUTOR: J.A. Dettman

SOURCE CAMPAIGN: They Might Be Redheads

NAME: The Most Exalted Legion of the Majestic Sands, R.P.X.

PROFESSION: Veteran's Association

AFFILIATIONS: Independent

DESCRIPTION: The Legion of the Sands admits distinguished veterans to its ranks. It counts among its members important Rebman officers, politicos and businessmen, as well as retired foot soldiers and pikemen. The Chapterhouse will always welcome a tired warrior with a cool drink and good company. Meetings are restricted. There are mysterious initiation rites and several "circles". Passwords. Secret handshakes. Pancake breakfasts. Spouses suspect the meetings to be excuses to drink too much liquor and tell war stories until all hours of the night.

HOBBIES: Chatcharjee (a.k.a. Rebman Backgammon)

GAME INFO: think 'Masons'

CONTRIBUTOR: Britt Scharringhausen

SOURCE CAMPAIGN: They Might Be Redheads

NAME: Tindall

PROFESSION: Prince

AFFILIATIONS: The Royal Family of Rebma

DESCRIPTION: Tindall is a young man in his 30s with midnight blue hair, pale blue-green skin and eyes the color of jade. Athletic in appearance, Tindall is most often found among the books and scrolls of the Royal Library. Trained in the arts of a Rebman gentleman Tinadall knows his way around a sword but prefers diplomacy to violence. Tindall's mother is his greatest idol and the fact that he is a disappointment to her wounds him greatly. He often seeks to impress the queen with his diplomacy and sheer depth of knowledge but is usually disappointed with the results.

HOBBIES: Mathematics

GAME INFO: Tindall is one of the most knowledgeable people in Rebma when it comes to the history and politics of that realm. As the Queen's third son, Tindall is exspected to wed a noblewoman of his mother's choosing to keep Rebma strong. While he may not like this arrangement Tindall understands it and accepts it.

CONTRIBUTOR: J.A. Dettman

SOURCE CAMPAIGN: They Might Be Redheads