City of Amber
Core RulebookCore Mechanic
Roll d100 (2d10: one die chosen as the tens, the other as the ones) and try to roll under one of four Stats: Vitality, Willpower, Agility, or Cunning. Skills, situational advantages, or assists let the player roll twice and take the better result; disadvantages take the worse. Three Saves (Fear, Magic, Body) resolve the same way. Failed rolls, entering combat, and casting spells each add Stress; reaching 10+ Stress drains Vitality or Willpower and adds a Consequence, and a critical Save failure forces a Panic check against current Stress.
Best For
Groups who want a 1940s urban fantasy with horror undertones, where ordinary New Yorkers awaken to a hidden city of orcs, fey, and shades and pierce the illusion that keeps everyone else asleep. Built for one-shots and short campaigns driven by investigation, magical awakening, and dread.
Highlights
Amber level (1–10) is a double-edged progression: rising levels unlock new perceptions and career abilities (eventually including the power to command Grays), but falling to 0 reverts a character to a mindless Gray and hitting 10 retires them from play permanently. The Stress/Panic/Consequence cascade is the mechanical heart of the horror: failed rolls and entering combat each add Stress, hitting 10+ drains Stats and locks in a long-term Consequence (Haunted, Catatonic, Amber Dread, and nine others), and a critical Save failure forces a Panic check against current Stress. Career-gated magic means the same 20-spell list works differently across Careers: Street Wizards cast directly from randomly rolled spells, Artists bake spell effects into physical objects anyone can trigger, and Vagabonds redistribute Amber at personal cost. The Anchor (a mundane personal object worth two starting Amber points) makes every character's connection to the ordinary world a mechanical vulnerability.
Considerations
Setting is locked to the City: characters cannot leave, and the GM improvises everything beyond its borders. Career and Kindred lists are fixed with no guidance for homebrew options. Magic is heavily gated to Street Wizards; other Careers receive one or two minor spell-like abilities at most. The 49-page rulebook is rules-light by design and leaves substantial setting detail, adventure structure, and faction development to the GM.