Copyright ©1998 Jonathan Cardon
Amber DRPG is Copyright ©1991 Erick Wujcik

The Representation and the Vortex (R&V) is an example of a different write-up of Broken Pattern Imprint. It is still a watered down version of Pattern, but is very different. Partial credit for this write-up should go to Daniel Jacobsson who piloted the concept playing Wolfram my Heirs to the throne campaign. I have done some significant changes to make it fit within Shadowcaster rules, and to conform to this campaign.

On the shadow of Etincelles deep in the bowels of the earth below the Stronghold is a glowing field of energy known as the Representation. It is a slightly distorted version of the Pattern, further marred by a roaming glitch known as the Vortex. The Vortex is a random swirling to life and motion of a piece of the Representation. The Vortex wanders about the Representation in a note quite random motion. R&V attunement is a tricky process. The canidate watches carefully from outside for the vortex to reach one of the outer lines, temporarily breaching the Representation. The canidate must then walk a careful dance around the edge of the Vortex as it wanders the Representation. The canidate must simultaneously avoid stepping on the Representation as it resumes solidity, and drifting too close to the Vortex. This feat is complicated by the shifts in motion of the Vortex. One out of ten canidates survives to reach the center and become an initiate.

Etincelles itself is worthy of mention, as it is the backdrop of the power. The shadow of Etincelles is reflective of the cosmos as a whole, with the scale reduced from shadows to planets. So the planet of Etincelles is reflective of Amber, and the royal family of Etincelles reflects the royal family of Amber. Instead of ruling shadow, Etincelles rules a galaxy sized empire. The Patterfall war was reflected by an attack from alien Vortex Masters from outside the galaxy. This cumulated with a final battle, Abram (Oberon's shadow) attempting to heal the Representation, and Wolfram (Corwin's shadow) finishing the healing after Abram was lost to the Vortex.

Also note that the royal family of Etincelles considers their shadow to be the one true shadow. All others are just ripples on the pond. Their pattern is not "broken". It happens to be more reflective of true reality than the static unwielding copy that exists in Amber.

One of the goals given for the character Wolfram was to have a high tech feel to him. That is reflected in this write-up. R&V is meant to duplicate the main three abilities that most spaceships in science fiction would have. Namely:

(1) Some FTL Propulsion
(2) A big gun
(3) An energy shield

(1) Rippling through Space
The foremost ability gained to R&V initiates is the ability to Ripple through space. While similar to the shadowwalking ability of Pattern Imprint, Rippling is primarily used to travel inside one shadow. Used within a shadow, R&V is safe, fast, and reliable. The user brings the R&V to mind, and plots a course from one point of the representation to the other, bypassing the Vortex, and then follows the path. Depending on the distance crossed, the user may be able to ripple to their target in one hop, or have to take multiple hops.

Used to cross shadows (called Wadeing through the Ripples by R&V initiates), the user cannot chart a course before hand, but must instead draw close to the Vortex and constantly adjust on the fly. A mistake is rarely immediately lethal, instead a close brush with the Vortex can deposit the user on a random shadow. Depending on your Good to Bad Stuff ratio, this can still be dangerous.

Rippling through space is about as draining as trumping or shadowwalking, and has the added disadvantage that the user must first visualize the R&V. The primary disadvantage of Rippling through space is that it has NO ability to seek for shadows or objects of desire. The initiate is limited to moving to and from known areas. Rippling through space is about as fast as shadowwalking speed and depends on the Psyche of the initiate. There is a "Royal Way" option that moves slower but takes fewer hops.

(2) Manifest the Vortex
R&V initiates can summon the destructive energies of the Vortex. It manifests as a blast of raw energy that is usually rather destructive. The strength of the Vortex depends on the Psyche of the initiate. Manifesting the Vortex has some sideeffects. Magic becomes easier to work, and technology based items may fail. More importantly, rippling through space becomes more likely to slide into the Vortex. The Vortex is slower to activate than Pattern Defense.

(3) Representation Shield
Summoning the image around themselves, the R&V user can create a shield immune to Vortex energies. This shield also acts as physical and mental defense (similar to Pattern Defense) unlike the Logrus shield, the Representation Shield appears as a full bubble, where the user sits in the vortex at the center. A Representation Shield is slower to activate than Pattern Defense.

Initiates cannot simultaneously attack with the Vortex and defend with the shield. While it is slow to activate the Shield/Vortes, once done the R&V initiate can switch between them quickly. Fights between family members are long drawn out affairs, where each initiate tries to blast the other when the other has their shield down.

(4) Bloodcurse
R&V initiates can also preform a Bloodcurse. Due to the changeable nature of the Vortex, the curse is not constant in effect, and may change in effect over time.

Cost: Representation and Vortex Imprint - 30 points Please note that points are a judgement call. R&V is less flexible than normal BP imprint, but the Vortex is less deadly.

Other R&V Powers:

Impress: +5points
This is a limited form of conjuration in that it can only be used to Empower already existing items, and only R&V effects may be impressed. The usual use of this is to impress the R&V abilities upon a ship, and thus create a vessel with Ripple Drive, Vortex Guns, and Representation Shields. Like all Conjuration effects, Impression fades quickly when the object is moved across shadow.

Gateways +15 points
I had a reduced version of trump in the original writeup, that required a physical object at both ends of the trump connection, thus creating a gateway between the trump, but otherwise acting like trump. I need to review the Shadowcaster rules for Gateway and probably rename the power to avoid confusion.

Advanced Representation and Vortex + ???
For a long time this was overlooked in Etincelles, with the family either mostly interested in the obvious powers of Impress and Gateway. This was before Lucius (shadow of Brand) betrayed Etincelles and allied with the Vortex masters. Now several members of the family have investigated the Vortex more closely, and some have found new abilites therein.

Exaulted Representation and Vortex +??? +???
One exalted ability is known to the family at large. Donovan (shadow of Benedict) has perfected the art of Rippling to the point where he can do it almost instantly appearing and disappearing around a battlefield and in combat. He will disappear before you can touch him, stab you from behind be gone. Inside the family it is commonly believed that Donovan is unstoppable. Killing Lucius at the final battle against the Logrus Masters has only strengthened that reputation.