Amber/System

Attributes
Attributes are important in HK Amber, as it is combat intensive.

Hiding your powers
Anyone with an Attribute of 0 or more may “hide” their attributes at will. This hides them from detection, unless the detecting party initiates an active scan of somekind (Eyeball Mk I is sufficient) and wins a contest of the corresponding attribute. With Psyche, you may also “hide” your Powers and Name. They then look like ordinary, unnamed, persons. If they want to “power up” their Powers, it takes a few seconds to do that. You may “hide” your Powers with up to half your Psyche, without powering them down.

Psyche
Used as an energy reserve for powers. A combination of psychic power, resistance and technique.

Strength
Used as a measure of fighting technique, strength and physical toughness. Is also used as a measure of general athletic prowess.

Endurance
Used as a measure of endurance, damage capacity (HP) and regenerative ability. It is also used to break up stalemates in conflicts.

Warfare
Used as a measure of firearms mastery, sneakyness and battlefield prowess.

Charisma
Used as a measure of social prowess, general friendliness and performance skills. Sample uses include lie detection, conspiracy and arena concerts.

Stuff
This may be bought as Good Stuff with up to 25 points or taken as Bad Stuff as a flaw, for up to an additional 25 points. It regulates your relation to the world. If things can go wrong (or right), they will. It does not affect your abilities (your "dierolls"), but sets the attitude of the world around you and the way things pan out in the long run. Bad stuff is contagious, while Good stuff is personal. If you fail with Bad Stuff, the situation will rapidly take a turn for the worst. If you fail with Good Stuff, there often is a way out. 25 points is a lot, either way.

Real things
Things that have a large amount of points invested in them, or are infused with great primal energies are Real, and thus have a Name. A place that is a source of Power points is always Real. Something that is Real produces effects that have a great impact on the world around it. Examples include The Four Golden Guns of Oberon, Suhuy the Sword and the True Pattern room, the Logrus Well, The Abyss, The Eternal City, Mimers cottage, and The Citadel of the Seven Powers. Damage done by Real sources invariably kill or destroy their targets if they aren't Real. Real targets are affected as if they were Unnamed, hit with normal weapons.

Named and unnamed
These rules also apply to places and things, to a lesser degree.

Name
Sometimes, a person that has done something important gets a Name. Characters with more points are more prone to becoming real, and characters with a Power that costs 30 points or more are always Named. Characters with a Name gain several benefits. Firstly, they are more resistant to trauma, especially to attacks from afar and trauma inflicted by natural phenomena. This means that ranged attacks do about half damage in Hong Kong Amber. All ranged weapons are classed down one row when creating Items of Power.

Unnamed
Unnamed characters are the extras of the world, the ones who are mowed down in the hundreds by Named characters. They take normal damage from all kinds of effects and are easy to manipulate with Powers.

Conflict resolution
When opposed conflicts are resolved, attributes are very important. If one of the opponents has twice the amount of the other, he wins within a short period of time. If not, both opponents have an opportunity to end the conflict at will by leaving, if they can. A long, ardous conflict ensues which the stronger one will probably win, eventually. Here, it is appropriate to roll a die and read the result. If the conflict is not resolved by roleplaying and the die roll, the conflict is turned into an Endurance conflict after a while. Here, both combatants get another chance to end the conflict. After this, if both have the same Endurance (within 10% of each other) both parties are exhausted. Chance and roleplaying plays an even greater role in this last phase of the conflict. Naturally, Stuff plays a large role from beginning til end. If the world can throw a Bad Stuff crowbar in your engine, it will.

Souls
Souls are divided into three parts: spirit, soul proper and intellect. The intellect is a construct of the brain and dies with it. The spirit is the part of the soul that contains feelings, passions and becomes a normal ghost if not properly taken care of, when the body dies. The soul proper, commonly called the soul, is what transcends and reincarnates, if the religion of the spirit allows it.

Powers
There is no way you can quantify all the Powers your players are going to invent. See the following as an attempt at drawing up guidelines.

Cost
The point cost of the basic Power.

Governing Attribute
The attribute used to regulate the effect of the Power.

Quote
“Like, im soo cool, ‘cause I’ve got these superhuman powers.”

Rules
Specifications, mechanics and examples.

Advancing Powers
The Powers listed only include the basic forms of the Powers. To enhance a Power, you buy an Advancement of it. That is, a bonus or enhancement of somekind to the Power in question. Advancements normally cost 5 points, but some are so powerful they cost 10, 15 or even 20 points. Talk to the GM. Basic 5-point advancements that may be bought with all Powers include:

Extra Power Points
This Advancement increases the effect of your Power as if your Governing attribute was 10 points higher.

Extra Speed
This Advancement increases the speed of your Power by one of these categories: Year, Month, Week, Day, 3 hours, 20 minutes, 2 minutes, 10 seconds, instant, always on.

Less Effort
This Advancement decreases the effort need to apply an effect. When calculating power expenditure, your Governing attribute counts as if it was 20 points higher.

Subtle
This advancement allows you to use your Power without everyone noticing. Your power is invisible, and you count as if you had used half your effective Governing attribute to hide your Power. Extra levels of Subtle gives you an extra multiple per level.

Enhance
This advancement enhances your Power against a specific item. Examples include Magic Bolts that ignore Normal Armor, or Logrus tendrils enhanced against the Pattern.

Resist
This Advancement allows you to enhance your resistance to  a specific item with this Power. Examples include Sorcerous shields enhanced against Sorcery, or a Logrus Shield, designed to resist the Pattern (at least 10 points since the Pattern has the Advancement Enhancement against the Logrus).

Combo (X/Y)
This Advancement allows you to combine the effects of Powers X and Y. Have fun!

Drawbacks
Drawbacks can only lower the cost of a Power to 10.

Obvious
Normal Powers are visible to naked eye, but can be hidden. This Drawback makes it impossible to hide the Power, and its effects are noticeable Shadow-wide, if sensed.

Focused
This Drawback halves the scope of the Power. Focused bought twice quarters its scope. Next level makes the Power very narrow, about 1/10 of it's normal scope. Example: Elemental Magic (Normal), Fire and Ice (Focused), Fire Magic (Focusedx2), Fire Bolts (Focusedx3).

Chi Powers
Cost: 5 points per combination of Resist or Enhance and particular attribute. Governing attributes: Endurance. Speed type: 10 seconds. "Control, control, you must learn control." These powers count against the cost of Enlightenment.

Resist
Resist Chi powers doubles the margin the opponent needs to win in a Conflict. Resist Endurance also makes it possible to perform tremendous feats of endurance, and self healing.

Enhance
Enhance Chi powers lower the margin needed to win in a Conflict. The user simply needs to have more in an Attribute than the opponent to win a conflict. Enhance Endurance also allows for a limited form of Chi Healing, that allows the user to project his own Endurance and increase the normal rate of regeneration of the target.

Earthblood
Cost: 30 points Governing attribute: Endurance. Speed type: Always on. "None shall pass." The power of the Earth Blood is a purely defensive one. It cannot be used actively, and provides eternal life and health, and a supernatural stamina. It makes the user almost impervious to everything, giving the Blooded the same effect as all Resist Chi powers continually, and all margins needed to win against the Blooded are increased one step. Pattern effects tend to pass through the Blooded without effect, while Logrus effects tend to overload the Logrus used.

Enlightenment
Cost: 30 points Governing attribute: Psyche. Speed type: Always on, Travel: 2 minutes. "All things are one, and I am one with them." The equivalent of all Chi powers combined, with a transport possibility beyond even the Logrus. The Enlightened only needs to have more than an opponent in an attribute to win, and opponents need four times the Enlightened's attribute to win a Conflict. The Enlightened can also travel to any place he wishes to be in little time. This is because the Enlightened realises that all places are one, as all things are. The Enlightened is required to act in a certain manner according to his personal ethics to gain any abilities of his Enlightenment.

Attunement to the Jewel of Judgement
Other names: Pattern mind-walking, The Inner Logrus, Attunement to the Eye of the Serpent. Cost: 10 points Governing attribute: Psyche. Speed type: 2 minutes. Speed type: Weather: 20 minutes. "Through the looking glass." This is the power that links the Pattern and the Logrus. It consists of mind-walking the pattern in the Eye of the Serpent (aka the Jewel of Judgement), and thus gaining several benefits. Initiates of the Pattern and Masters of the Logrus can learn special techniques from this mind-walk. All Attuned gain the ability to change local weather, influence chance and sense Power effects. Attuned also become Named if they weren't. The weather may be changed at will, with a speed dependent on the Attuned's Psyche. This does not put any strain on the Attuned.

Pattern Initiates
Attuned Pattern Initiates can manifest a personal pattern anywhere and anyplace, as if walking the Pattern (5). This makes the Attuned the center of a zone of Reality. Everything existing and created in this area becomes Real, as if it had been in the presence of the One, True Pattern (5). It also gives the Attuned the use of a Pattern Lens (5).

Logrus Masters
Logrus Masters gain protection from the Pattern by Attuning themselves (5), at the same time allowing them to fetch Real items (5). All damage done by their tendrils is Real, too (5).

Labyrinth Walking
Cost: 10 points. Governing attribute: Psyche. Speed type: Day. "I'm late! I'm late!" This is the ability to navigate the Labyrinth without a major (30+ point cost) power.

Logrus Mastery
Cost: 45 points. Governing attribute: Psyche. "Mine! All mine!" The Logrus Master is said to take on the Logrus when he acquires this Power. 1 in every 20 hopeful succeed in taking on this Power it is said, the rest either become powerful lunatics or just burn up from the inside. The Logrus comes from the venom of the Serpent as it bites the intended Logrus Master. All Logrus Masters “feel” eachother, and feel others with great (30+ points) powers. There are about 20 000 Logrus Masters at any given time. 2000 die each year, and are replaced by 2000 new ones. This does not mean that 38 000 people die each year, it means 40 000 are screened by the High Priest. The Logrus may be used in several ways, or combined with magical powers to make the magic Real.

Immortality
All Logrus Initiates become immortal.

Sponsor
Masters of the Logrus are expected to work taking care of a shadow in the sponsor Great Lord's studio, channeling power upwards to the Master's superior in the hierarchy of the studio. The Master also has an allotted amount of Source power that can be used as he sees fit. The hierarchy of the studios is layered and strict with the Great Lords at the top, and the Minor lords at the bottom.

Logrus Lens
Speed type: 10 seconds. The Master may summon the Eye of the Serpent, an evershifting, pattern-like construct that reveals all as it is supposed to be. Through the Eye all Real, Named, Sorcerous and Shapeshifted things are clearly visible.

Shadow Lens
Speed type: 10 seconds. The Master may alter his consciousness so that he “feels” the entire Shadow. He can then pinpoint Sources, see disturbances and find things easily.

Logrus Locator
Speed type: 10 seconds. The Master may "ping" the Logrus to find out his location in the Multiverse relative the Logrus. This gives location and range.

Power Conduit
Speed type: Instant. It can be used as a power conduit, transferring power from one point to another. The maximum amount power transferred is roughly the Master's Psyche Power Points x10 per second, and that is very draining.

Shadow Teleport
Speed type: Instant. By bounding to the Shadow’s edge, he may travel instantly within a Shadow. Shadow Travel Speed type: 3 hours. The Master can travel in the Multiverse, fastening a Logrus tendril at a destination and pulling on himself. This is most often done in short "hops" to avoid detection and cause less power expenditure.

Shadow Things
Speed type: 10 seconds. The Logrus may also be used to find and collect items in the Multiverse and bring them to Master or vice versa.

Logrus Defence
Speed type: Instant. The Logrus Master calls up the Logrus to defend against any kind of magical or mental intrusion, allowing the Master's thoughts and aura to become as chaotic as the Logrus itself.

Shadow Portal
Speed type: Week. The Logrus Master can create a conduit between two places in the Multiverse. This is both time- and power-consuming. The conduit will fall apart if no power is available to keep it open.

Body of Logrus
Speed type: Instant. The Master may internalizes the Logrus to gain the hardness and physical strength of it. This allows the Master to add his Psyche+half of his Logrus skill to his Strength when calculating damage applied and received.

Shadow Manipulation
Speed type: 2 minutes or more. The Logrus may be used to change anything in a Shadow, at will. This may cause the Shadow’s owner to be upset, though. Shadows with more points invested in them are much more resistant. Anyone in the Shadow with Logrus may resist. Shadows with Pattern Initiates in them are immune.

Primal Chaos
It is easy to create Primal Chaos, but very hard to stop it. Primal Chaos eats at everything, destroying it. To stop Primal Chaos in a shadow you need a margin of 10 times the Primal Chaos starter's Psyche. Destroying it also works, with it's obvious drawbacks.

Combos
Speed type: Always on. The Logrus may be used freely in conjunction with Shapeshift and Magical Powers.

Drawbacks
The Powers of the Logrus are not subtle. Anyone in the same Shadow as the Master will notice him if he uses the Logrus, with the exception of the Logrus Lens. All effects except the Lens are not subtle at all, and cause major ripples in the weave of reality. (Drawback:Obvious). The Logrus also drains the user, causing him to become more and more mad as he uses the Power. Logrus Masters don't become tired, they become lunatic instead. A Master without Shapeshift always has his body distorted by the Logrus, but can reform in a few moments (Speed type 2 minutes).

The Power of Logrus is not very diminished anywhere, but lessens near the Pattern. Shapeshift is a common combination with the Logrus because of the destructive effect the Logrus has on the body. It allows the Master to more easily keep cohesion when using his power.

Sorcery
Cost: 15 points. Governing attribute: Psyche. Speed type: 20 minutes. This is the ability to manipulate magical energies through complex interactions with the world. This is a toolbox filled with spells and rituals that can do anything given enough time. Most effects take a few minutes, but they can take more or less depending on the diffculty of the effect.

Focused Sorcery
Cost: 10 points Governing attribute: Psyche. Speed type: 10 seconds. This is a more intuitive, less spell-based approach to magic. By lessening the scope of your area of expertise to about a quarter (for example Fire magic). This prohibits some kinds of effects with the sorcery in question (Fire magic can't normally repair or heal things). Focused Sorcery can be Advanced to gain a broader scope, first to half, then to normal scope.

Demonic Powers
Cost: 10 points. Governing attribute: Psyche. "Anything your heart desires." Speed type: Varies, most often Instant or Always on. These are special powers that have are used by the Demons of the Underworld. They pay full cost for the first Demonic power and count the rest as an advancement of the first, paying 5 points less for them. Examples include Folding, the power to slowly make a place Real in the Underworld (30 points ,Speed type: Year), Magical bolts (10 points, Damage Psy, Speed type: Instant, 1 Advancement)

Lesser Demonic Powers
Lesser Demonic Powers typically have a cost of -5 to 5 points, including a drawback (most often classic demonic flaws). Examples include red, glowing red eyes that give you nightvision (5), large black claws (x2 damage) that hinder your grip (0) or warty, demonic hide which makes you resistant (half damage) to fire and susceptible to cold (double damage) (-5 points). These Powers always cost at least 1 point when bought as enhancements.

Pattern
Cost: 50 points. Governing Attribute: Psyche. "The Power of Fate." Pattern Initiates feel the presence Real things, Named things, Sources and of others with great (30+) powers in their line of sight and proximity. You or your target must be moving to be affected by the powers of the Pattern.

Sponsor
Someone with the Pattern must sponsor you for you to be allowed to walk the Pattern. Elders enjoy playing games with Initiates sponsored by someone else, as it is a way of scoring status points.

Shadow Walk
Speed type: Day. Within a day or two, you can get anywhere in the universe. You can seek for anyone and anything, as long as it is not Real, although you can travel to a Real place once you have visited it.

Hellride
Speed type: 3 hours. The Initiate can press his abilities to get there faster. This is very tiring, and causes backwash in the form of bad luck, strange coincidences and weird occurences.

Probability Control
Speed type: 10 seconds. You have absolute control over small, localized random events. Weather is still out of your reach, although groups of people are not.

True Fate
Speed type: Day. You may create a fate of your liking, and cause it to happen. This includes “sending” letters to anyone, or causing a “random” meeting between yourself and someone (even Named people). Your control is limited to that things will happen, the time and place is random. This may be used to create bad luck or accidents, or good fortune and romantic meetings.

Resistance to Logrus
Speed type: Always on. The infamous resistance to the Logrus causes all Logrus Lords that touch a Pattern Initiate with a tendril to be wracked by spasms and pain, and all Logrus blood burns when touched by anything filled by the Pattern, like the bodily fluids of an Initiate (Advancement:Resistant against Logrus, bonus ability).

Advantages
True Fate and Resistance to Logrus works everywhere, without exception. Probability Control works almost everywhere. Pattern Initiates are very hard to kill, their chi is very strong. If there is any doubt as to their demise, they will return. The Multiverse conspires to allow them to live, or survive in some other way or form.

Drawbacks
The Pattern works better the closer you get to Hong Kong, but the Shadow Walk and Hellride don't work in Hong Kong. You have to travel outside Hong Kong city Limits to be able to start Shadow travel.

Subtlety
Speed type: Always on. The Pattern is very subtle (Advancement: Subtle two times) and is only noticed by anyone more powerful than the Initiate, and then only when actively seeking for intrusions.

Shapeshift
Cost: 30 points. Governing Attribute: Endurance.

Regeneration
Speed Type: Day. Allows the Shapeshifter to regenerate fully in hours instead of weeks. Highly dependant on Endurance (divide time by about Endurance/5+1, lower Endurance than 0 counts as 0). Shallow wounds and pricks will regenerate almost instantly.

Change form
Speed type: 2 minutes. Changing form does not change any of the Shapeshifters attributes and can add normal, non-magical abilities to the Shapeshifter. Claws and wings are OK, firebreath isn't. Full body change takes about 15 minutes, and total body mass may not be altered by more than 10%.

True form
Speed type: Instant. This is the form she was born with. She can always revert to this form at will, instantly.

Learned form
Speed type: Instant. This is a form she has learned to change into in a few seconds. To train a new form takes a day or two.

Combat form
Speed type: Instant. This is the Shapeshifter’s combat form, that she has chosen unconsciously. She may change into it instantly, reflexively, without thought or preparation.

Panic form
Speed type: Always on. This may or may not be the Shapeshifter's combat form, depending on what she does when she panics. The Shapeshifter may choose which of the two panic reactions she normally succumbs to: fight or flight. The Shapeshifter’s higher brain functions are taken over by the the body’s instinctive will to survive, when the Shifter is completely exhausted or becomes unconscious.

Unnamed form
Speed type: 10 seconds. The Shapeshifter may freely change into unnamed creatures and people.

Trump and Shapechange
Trump is based on form. When shapechanged things are contacted via Trump, there is "noone home", but there is always a contact.

The Word of God
Cost: 10 points minimum. Governing Attribute: Psyche. Speed Type: 10 seconds. The Speaker is able to produce any effect, but takes unsoakable Damage equal to the point cost of the effect that cannot be healed in any way but natural. Psyche is a buffer, and the Advancement: Extra Points counts as a part of The Word of God. This means that when the total cost of the Power hits 30, the Speaker counts as Named.

Trump Artistry
Cost: 40 points. Governing Attribute: Psyche. If a non-Artist carries a Trump card and receives a Trump-call, the non-Artist can divine if the caller is the one on the Trump card. This is not a contest.

Trump drawing
Speed type: Week. The Artist is able to make well-made Trump of high quality of persons. Not having a live model increases the Speed type one category. Never having seen the person increases the Speed type one additional category.

Fast Trump drawing
Speed type: Day. The Artist is able to make low-quality Trump.

Trump sketching
Speed type: 2 minutes. The Artist is able to make low-quality Trump that can be used once.

Trump caller ID
Speed type: Instant. The Artist can determine who the caller of a Trump call is.

Trump spying
Speed type: 2 minutes. The Artist only needs a simple attribute advantage to be able to spy on someone when using a well-made Trump without being noticed. When using a low-quality Trump it's a normal challenge.

Intelligent Items
Any item with more than 8 points will eventually become intelligent. Cause varies but most often its spirit is awakened.

Allies
1 point is equal to a shadow-wide amount of unnamed characters. 1 point is equal to a Named, 0 point character that is utterly loyal.

Shadows
1: A place where an individual with a Major Power has resided at least a year 2: A place where an individual with a Major Power has resided at least a decade 4; A place where an individual with a Major Power has resided at least a century 8: A place where an individual with a Major Power has resided at least a millenia