"Bound Logrus," a new power for 'Amber Diceless Roleplay'

I wrote these rules way back in 1997, when a regular player in my campaign asked me to come up with an equivalent to "Broken Pattern" for characters from the Courts of Chaos.  The rules for "Broken Pattern," of course, can be found in Shadow Knight (pp. 12-15).  Enjoy!

Bound Logrus

Bound Logrus is the Chaosian equivalent of Broken Pattern-- a Shadow-form of the Primal Logrus which has been tainted by the presence of Pattern.  Chaosians will recognize it as a modified copy of their own Logrus from the Courts-- except that the tendrils of this form of Logrus are securely bound by fragments of the Pattern, severely limiting both movement and flexibility. Some Chaosians derisively refer to Bound Logrus as "Crippled Logrus" or "Shadow Logrus."

Bound Logrus cannot be assailed like its unbound counterpart in the Courts; it is impossible to creep along the thick web of Logrus tendrils without encountering bits of fragmentary Pattern along the way (and therefore destroying oneself in the process). Likewise, there are no gaps (or cracks) to crawl along, as is the case with Broken pattern. It is effectively impossible to gain mastery of an entire Bound Logrus.

Mastering sections of a Bound Logrus is a different story, however. The bound tendrils are weak and anesthetized, and may be subjugated in a simple contest of wills (this is a Psyche battle; treat individual tendrils as having a Psyche of Chaos and an Endurance of Human). Once this contest has been resolved, the character may, if victorious, compel that tendril's ongoing servitude.

Note that there are several known manifestations of Bound Logrus in the Shadows immediately surrounding the Courts (and that any Shadow containing Bound Logrus is a Shadow of the Realm).  Because Bound Logrus is a perversion of the Primal Logrus, many Shadows containing versions of it were located and destroyed under the reign of King Swayville; those that survive will surely be guarded by magical wards of one sort or another. Although King Merlin will likely be more tolerant towards Bound Logrus practitioners, there are still many within the Courts who view it as a detestable, vile, and loathsome art-- and who care little about official policies of tolerance. Most Chaosians see the very taint of Bound Logrus as a crime punishable by death.

Basic Tendril Mastery

10 Points. Or free, if the character already has Logrus Mastery or Advanced Logrus Mastery. Purchase of this power also confers a one-time, 10-point discount when buying one of these 'higher order' powers later. (Note that being a Tendril Master doesn't preserve the right of non-Chaosians to purchase Logrus later on; the character must still have Shape Shifting or a Court Devotee to purchase Logrus powers after character creation).

Tendril Mastery Abilities

Tendril Servant. Mastering a single tendril of Bound Logrus confers control over that tendril, which will begin to take on some of its master's personality (and may eventually even develop into a distinct individual). Such a servant will be assiduously faithful to its master, save where such loyalties put it at odds with the Primal Logrus-- and even then, a tendril servant will steadfastly avoid betraying either Logrus or its own master. For game purposes, a treat tendril servant as Human in all four characteristics (with the Item Powers of Mold Shadow Stuff, Shadow Seek, and Alternate Form/Shape). Remember that the servant is a creature of chaos-- and that contact with the Pattern will ultimately destroy it. The tendril servant also begins play with the equivalent of three points of Bad Stuff, which essentially transfer to its owner's Stuff total; the tendril may be improved with character advancement points if its master chooses to spend them in this manner. Tendril servants are normally bodiless entities, although they can assume material form for brief periods of time if needed. mentally summoning a tendril servant to its master's location takes twenty to thirty minutes, and it usually takes another ten to fifteen minutes for a servant to assume physical form (most servants choose to remain immaterial whenever possible).

Shadow Manipulation.  A Tendril Master can extend his or her tendril across Shadow, in much the same way that a Logrus-user can. The individual tendril can then be used either for transportation, by pulling oneself along it, or to retrieve an item from a neighboring Shadow. The major disadvantage to this form of Shadow manipulation is the time requirement involved; in addition to the time needed to summon his or her tendril servant, the master must wait patiently while the tendril searches and probes adjacent Shadow for whatever it seeks. Unlike the Logrus-- which has many, many tendrils spreading out equidistantly throughout countless Shadows-- use of a single tendril can take several days (or even many weeks) to search out a few nearby Shadow realities. Worse yet, a single tendril can only provide direct access to Shadows which immediately border its master's location; traveling across several successive Shadows requires repeating the entire process for each Shadow crossed. Using a single tendril, a journey from the Courts to Amber could easily take from five to twenty-five years, depending upon the route taken and the obstacles encountered.  Needless to say, this is not a method of travel preferred by most Chaosians; most tendril masters tend to use Trump to get around in Shadow.

Tendril Weapon. All tendril servants have one alternate form which they may assume-- the Tendril thorn. This is something like a shimmering, immaterial blade with the properties of Invulnerable to All Conventional Weapons and Double Damage. The greatest disadvantage to using thorns as weapons is that they must be summoned before they may be used-- and often, a battle will be over before their arrival. Another disadvantage is that a thorn is destroyed by contact with Pattern-- and that it serves as a conduit, doing Deadly Damage to its wielder if it is held when this occurs. Thorns cannot be "sheathed;" when a Tendril Master isn't actively wielding the thorn, it dissipates rapidly.

Advancement.  There are two special advancement paths which are only open to characters with Tendril Mastery:

1. The character may purchase Advanced Tendril Mastery for an additional fifteen advancement points.
2. Characters who also have Chaos Devotees or are Shape Shifters may purchase Basic Logrus Mastery with a ten-point discount.

Advanced Tendril Mastery

25 Points. Or fifteen points, if character has already purchased Basic Tendril Mastery.

Advanced Tendril Mastery Abilities

Multiple Tendril Servants.  The Tendril Master now controls a portion of the Bound Logrus, rather than a single tendril. Effectively, this means that the master now has Named & Numbered tendril servants-- each with the powers and limitations discussed previously. Only one of these servants (the main tendril vine from which the others branch out) will have anything approaching an individual personality. This primary tendril will be Chaos-ranked in all four attributes, while the others are uniformly ranked Human. The servants now move at Engine Speed and fight with Combat Training. All other abilities and limitations of individual tendril servants are unchanged from Basic Tendril Mastery.

Shadow Manipulation.  Use of Advanced Tendril Mastery to manipulate Shadow is still a time-consuming process, though it has certain definite advantages over regular Tendril Mastery.

Advanced Tendril Masters have access to more tendrils of Bound Logrus with which to manipulate Shadow; this means that the master can extend tendrils into several neighboring Shadows at once, instead of making contact with them one-at-a-time.

Extending tendrils of Bound Logrus into several Shadows at once allows a tendril master to search for a particular item in Shadow relatively quickly, provided that the item being sought is immediately adjacent to the Shadow from which the tendrils' master is extending them. Using Bound Logrus tendrils in this manner is much slower than similar use of the Primal Logrus, while still being an improvement upon the time required to use regular Tendril Mastery.

Traveling through Shadow is still incredibly slow for an Advanced Tendril Master. The use of several tendrils at once certainly gives an Advanced Tendril Master more choices about which Shadow-path to take from any given point in Shadow, but the process of extending the tendrils and pulling oneself along them must still be repeated for each and every Shadow traveled though. It is now possible to select Shadow paths which are more of a direct route than before, possibly allowing a trip from the Courts to Amber in a single year or two, although this would be the Bound Logrus equivalent of a Hellride, and such a journey would surely be fraught with peril.  Similarly, Advanced Tendril Masters may now elect to take The Royal Road, although such a leisurely trip using Advanced Tendril Mastery could easily take several centuries to travel even the shortest of distances.

Tendril Weapons.  The Advanced Tendril Master can direct his Named & Numbered tendril servants to manifest themselves as Named & Numbered thorns. These thorns are now able to animate and fight by themselves if so bidden (using their ability to move at Engine Speed; fighting ability is based upon their Combat Training. Animated thorns can only exist apart from their master for a few minutes before dissipating, though this is certainly long enough in most instances to cover a successful retreat. Contact with Pattern will still destroy tendril-thorns, and the thorns will still conduct Deadly Damage to their master if this occurs, even if the tendril isn't being physically held by its master when this occurs. Note that an Advanced Tendril Master must still mentally summon the tendril thorns before they can be used.

Spell Storage.  An Advanced Tendril Master is Able To "Rack" Spells on his Named & Numbered tendril servants, effectively allowing him or her to Rack Named & Numbered Spells. Spells stored upon tendrils of Bound Logrus are subject to rapid deterioration (as described in the chapter on "Broken Pattern" in Shadow Knight); the spell Checkspell (found in the same location) can be used by Advanced Tendril Masters when this occurs.

Advancement.  Characters with Advanced Tendril Mastery may purchase Basic Logrus Mastery with a twenty-five point discount, which may not be combined with the ten-point discount conferred by Basic Tendril Mastery (i.e., the two discounts can not be 'stacked').

General Notes on Bound Logrus

Bound Logrus is inherently weaker than most other Powers in Amber Diceless. It is destroyed by contact with Pattern, and it is helpless against Trump, Logrus, Broken Pattern, and Abyss. Bound Logrus is stronger than Sorcery or Conjuration, however, and it provides some unique abilities for your players to take advantage of in your campaign world.