A Bride for Merlin
Character Backgrounds
The character backgrounds used for the Amber DRPG campaign A Bride for Merlin, run in Atlanta, GA, by Franklin W. Cain.

These are the types of character backgrounds that I envision.

Chaos:

Because of the nature of this campaign (and because of the wishes expressed by the initial players), most of the characters in this campaign will be Chaosian.

All Chaosian characters are required to have Shape Shift (or Advanced Shape Shift) and at least Latent Mastery of the Logrus, for a minimum cost of 45 points (35 + 10).

Demon:

For those wanting something even more exotic, I will permit one or two players to play a Demon character or other supernatural creature, if you can come up with a really good concept.

As beings of Primal Chaos, Demons are inherently magical. Therefore, all Demon characters are required to have all Power Words, for a cost of 25 points. Furthermore, all Demon characters are required to have Shape Shift (or Advanced Shape Shift), for an additional cost of (at least) 35 points. Thus, the minimum cost for a Demon character is 60 points.

Demon characters almost always have some form of natural armor and/or weaponry, and often have wings (or some other form of non-human locomotion). (See Special Abilities for the rules governing these special abilities.)

Many Demon characters share some affinity for the Logrus. Thus, a Demon character will be permitted to have some form of Logrus Mastery. However, a starting Demon character cannot have Advanced Logrus Mastery.

A Demon character cannot have any form of Pattern Imprint! . . . EVER!!

Other Supernatural Creature:

If a player comes up with an interesting character description for a supernatural creature, I will allow him to play that character. These characters will be permitted to acquire any special abilities needed just as for Demon characters (using the same rules). I will almost certainly require one or more additional Powers, based on the specific description of the character.

Shadow Folk:

Let's talk. . . .

Amber:

Anyone desiring to be of Amber heritage (or mixed Amber-Chaos heritage) will need to secure permission from the GM ahead of time. I will need a well-thought-out character concept, description, and background from you before permitting this.

All Amber characters are required to have at least Latent Pattern Imprint, for a minimum cost of 10 points.

Mixed Amber/Chaos:

These characters must meet the requirements for both Chaos and Amber. Thus, they must have at least Latent Pattern [10], at least Latent Logrus [10], and at least "basic" Shape Shift [35], for a minimum cost of 55 points.

Furthermore, these characters should also choose which is the dominant heritage. Those whose dominant heritage is Chaos cannot start the game with Advanced Pattern, while those whose dominant heritage is Amber cannot start the game with Advanced Logrus Mastery. (Those without a dominant heritage cannot start the game with either.)