STUFF YOU KNOW
THE MAJOR HOUSES:
HOUSE ASHOKA
Specialists in medicine and pharmacology; very good at shapeshifting, good at healing and diagnostic magic. (You might be able to "buy" a talent in this when you level up...) Allegedly Ashokaways* has vast plantations of medicinal plants.
Medium-sized house
Colours : White and gold
House Look : Pale skin, blonde hair, bright gold eyes. Tall and slender, with long surgeons fingers.
(* WAYS
A “Ways” is the usual term used to describe the dwellings of the Houses and important persons within the Courts of Chaos. A Ways is a community, colony and world within itself, and is built from different scraps of Shadow which take the Waysmaster’s fancy.
Ways belonging to a specific House take the name of that House, for example Channicutways or Helgramways. Within that, with the agreement of their Grand Duke, Logrus users may well have their own Ways, which will usually carry their name. However, sometimes they change the name to be a little shorter or less self-referential.)
HOUSE BARRABAN
Scholars, with a huge library
Medium-sized house
Colours : Orange and Brown
House Look : Dark skinned with red-orange hair and dark eyes.
The interior of BarrabanWays is very library-like, with many bookcases and framed ancient manuscripts and so on. Sound is very quiet and muffled there. Their actual libraries are staffed by librarian-demons which will research books for people, seeming to multiply until there are as many as are required for the task at hand. (You might be able to "buy" library research privileges when you level up...) There are locked sections of the House Barraban libraries too, largely in the historical sections.
HOUSE CARYX
A large house
Shapeshifting and living-item-creation specialists.
Members usually advanced shapeshifters and mages. (You might be able to "buy" a talent in this when you level up...)
Colours : Green and Black
House Look : Black skin, African features, curly black hair, green eyes.
HOUSE CHANICUT
Politicians, negotiators, and diplomats. (You might be able to "buy" extra talent in shapeshifting when you level up...)
Medium sized house
Colours : Red and grey
House Look : Tall and slender with pale grey skin, violet eyes and red hair.
HOUSE GALLOWGLASS
Builders. Very neutral, and highly trusted. They do not give out information on what they have built. (You might be able to "buy" certain very useful information about other Houses when you level up...)
Large house
Colours : Blue and grey
House Look : Light brown skin, blue or grey eyes.
The jailers of Chaos. They built Fortress Gantu as an inescapable prison Way containing everything from luxury cells to oubliettes. It is administered by them under the orders of the Crown. They use shapeshift-inhibiting drugs as a matter of course, though these are not always effective against advanced shapeshifters; if they do not work, the inmate in put into a hermetically sealed very clean cell with no rats or suchlike which they could use. They may be put into haunted cells where the ghosts or whatever prevent the inmate from sleeping. Some cells are cubes into which the shapeshifter prisoners are forced. Some cells are too small to stand, or lie in.
HOUSE HADARIC
Mercenary assassins, thieves and spies
Allegedly a smaller house
Colours : Red and Purple
House Look : Average height, average looks, pale skinned. Dark purple-black hair, Scarlet eyes.
They are often called upon to 'deal with' defectors from houses, and are alleged to keep files on essentially everyone of any importance in Chaos and beyond. Of course, getting to see these files, if they exist, is another matter altogether...
They also have a special House power - they are 'Ghosts', who can, with concentration, walk through solid matter [Some things are harder to walk through than others-- some can even harder it is to walk through and the more the 'ghost' can be hurt by it.] (You might be able to "buy" this power when you level up...)
HOUSE HELGRAM
Specialists in the ways of the Logrus (the powerful magical force of Chaos that is the symbol of the Courts). (You might be able to "buy" a talent in using this type of magic when you level up...)
Medium-sized house
Leaders of the plot with the redheads of Amber
Colours : Black and silver
House Look : Black skin with silver hair and eyes.
HOUSE HENDRAKE
Military specialists, who train the elite of Chaos, and often the nobles of other houses.
A large house
House of origin of the Hellmaids. (Female members of Hendrake only. When you level up, if you are not male, you may choose to be a Hellmaid. Hellmaids have some natural armor in any form, and do a little more ability to do damage, all the time. That is, with basic shapeshifting, the Hellmaid will be Resistant to Normal Weapons and have Extra Hard teeth and nails in Human form, while in monster form they will be Resistant to Firearms and have Double Damage teeth, claws or whatever.)
Colours : Black, white and grey
House Look : Muscular or athletic builds, with pale skin and black, white or grey hair and grey eyes.
HOUSE JESBY
Have extensive holdings in shadow and known to do much exploration in shadow. (You might be able to "buy" a talent in traveling in Shadows when you level up...)
Small house
Colours : Green and Gold
House Look : Dark skinned with golden hair and green eyes
HOUSE MINOBEE
Politicians, negotiators and diplomats. (You might be able to "buy" extra talent in shapeshifting when you level up...) (Yes, this is a lot like House Chanicut... House Chanicut and House Minobee are enemies, in one of those "we are too alike, one of us must go" situations...)
Medium sized house
Colours : Blue and Green
House Look : Royal blue hair, bright green eyes and pale grey skin
HOUSE SAWALL
Specialists in magic, and creating magical beings. (You might be able to "buy" extra talent in magic when you level up...) At odds with House Jesby and House Caryx. Known to explore through shadow for things of interest.
Medium-sized house
Colours : Black and blue
House Look : Pale-skinned, black hair and blue eyes
They keep records on everyone who they train in magic, which allows their magical signature to be recognized later, if necessary.
HOUSE SWAYVIL
A few of them know the secrets of entering the Logrus, and have control of it via one particular Swayvil, the Master of the Logrus. This is why this house is so important. Assaying the Logrus is a privilege granted by the Crown to individuals, it is not a right. They discovered the Logrus, and despite their best efforts, no other house has ever discovered its actual location. They know more of its secrets than any other house, even Helgram.
Colours : Black, gold and purple
House Look : Black hair and gold or purple eyes.
It is possible for a person to move from one house to another with sufficient justification; the precise nature of this justification varies from house to house and case to case, but can include marriage (these are often arranged, and often temporary-- say, just for a few decades) and defection...
MINOR HOUSES OF CHAOS
There are minor houses in Chaos too, still noble, but which are usually allied with one of the major houses. A few of the minor houses excel at certain things which the major houses want or need (e.g. brewing or distilling). However, there are some houses which are classified as minor in their importance even though they are as large as any of the major houses, which excel at trade and other 'common' things. This is a bone of contention... Thus Major House status is a very subjective thing.
AMBLERASH
BARIMEN
LANDOR
MAHAN
MALEBRANCHE
MORDAU
SEPHARIS
STILLINGFLEET
THRYSAN
The GM cam tell you more about a particular House, if you're curious, before you choose one... Just ask!
One more thing: The looks of the people in each House is how the AVERAGE person from that House looks. There are lots of exceptions!
THE BLACK ZONE: The Black Zone is the Chaos equivalent of Amber’s Golden Circle, about 18 worlds very near the Courts of Chaos that have things that the Chaosites value. All are spooky and weird. Demons are common (although not usually as common as more normal humanoids).
There are no treaties or mutual-regard pacts. The Black Zone is essentially a buffer of captured states.
One might almost see them as occupied territories with oppressed populations—but the people of each shadow within the Black Zone would have very different viewpoints on that.
Dueling: Duels are legal, whether to first blood, to the death, or anywhere in between. There are a number of schools of dueling (using weapons that only work in the courts and Black Zone), of course.,
The Grand Bazaar: a trading post of things from Shadow, run by House Minobee.
Cults: there are a lot of secret cults, some religious, some political, many both. Some are open secrets. Many are well-kept secrets. Some are officially forbidden (such as the cults of Amberite worship).
Society in the Courts: is very highly stratified and has tons of very byzantine social rituals. There are right FORMAL ways to do everything, including things like duels and assassination.
The courts have a much more complex social structure than Amber does. On the other hand, there are things that they are much less "human" about; inhuman form is considered the correct shape to take when at the royal court (it's a faux pas to look like a human there).
Also, torture, Chaosite-on-Chaosite violence, erotic brutality, and the like are not tolerated.
They HAPPEN, of course. These are beings of Chaos, and hanging out with demons is absolutely nothing to them.
But such things are INCREDIBLY TACKY. Rude. Uncivilized. What are we, animals? We are the most superior form of life in the entire universe. There are rules, customs, traditions, and protocols for committing horrible atrocities! (And, frankly, they're so complicated that most people don't bother.)
If one were to, say, take offense to an insulting remark by a member of another noble House, one could, theoretically, murder them on the street a few hours later, cutting off their feet and feeding them their fingers before they die-- but is it not far more exquisite, instead, to plot against them for months, winning their friendship, biding one's time, and then casting a spell on them to make them think that everyone they see is an enemy? Or, mayhap, to release a small hive of brain-eaters in their bedroom? How much more sophisticated! To say the very least, one would certainly be the talk of the next social gathering, envied by all!
Demons: Demons are practically everywhere in the Courts. Most of them look like the inhuman forms of Chaosites. They're sort of like second-class citizens, a servant class (that are still valued much more than any normal human from Shadow would be). Demons don't mind being second-class citizens. They see the Chaosites as their royalty, recognize them as being their superiors (well, middle-aged Chaosites, anyway. They still think that Chaosites that are under 500 years old are snot-nosed kids who don't know anything, even though they might survive to be the demons' superiors someday).
Most of the demons one encounters in the Courts are affiliated-- or even, in many cases, official members of-- a particular House.
The Logrus: a shifting, three-dimensional maze. The Logrus appears as a tentacular force that must be navigated on a magical/mental level. Those who do so get extra magical abilities.
Negotiating the Logrus is extremely difficult and potentially fatal. Prospective initiates of the Logrus generally receive advanced training, but success is dependent less on knowledge than on will. In addition to the danger of dying, some who have attempted the Logrus have experienced permanent mental damage, though this fate tends to happen only to those who are weak willed. Luckily those who go insane usually only are in that state for a short period of time.
The Serpent: A very, very powerful magical entity, practically synonymous with chaos itself. Sort of the embodiment of the Logrus... or is it the other way around?
Amber: A few thousand years ago, Dworkin, of the very disreputable House Barimen, traveled about as far into Shadow as it was possible to travel, met a very magical Unicorn, entered into a partnership with it, and they had a child, a son, Oberon. Dworkin also created The Pattern, basically a sort of anti-Logrus, much as the Unicorn is a sort of anti-Serpent. The Pattern is in Amber, at the opposite end of reality from the Courts of Chaos.
The Patternfall War: About 50 years ago (although what is time, exactly, in Chaos?), The Courts and Amber came into conflict. One House helped sponsor an attempted overthrow of Amber using Brand, a son of Oberon, as a pawn. In the end,
--The Pattern, damaged by Brand, was repaired by Oberon, though this cost him his life.
--The rest of Amber's royal family invaded the Courts, partially because they were hunting Brand.
--The Courts surrendered, because of the high loss of life of the nobility. Amber accepted the surrender, because they, too, were suddenly mourning multiple family members of their own, particularly Oberon and his daughter Deirdre.
The Black Road: The Black Road started when Brand used family blood to damage the Pattern. The Black Road allowed Chaosites well-versed in magic to travel farther and with greater ease through Shadow than ever before. Then, a curse by one royal Amberite against his brother extended the Black Road so that it reached all the way to Amber itself, and made it even easier for all Chaosites to use, whether they were well-versed in magic or not.
When Oberon repaired the Pattern, this weakened the Black Road badly... but did not entirely destroy it, because there are some mirror-reflections of the Pattern that are still damaged. The Black Road is still used to explore the Shadows... even though it does not touch nearly as many Shadows as it used to.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:14, Sun 11 July 2021.
