Amber
Amber, the Eternal City
Patron
The Unicorn
Monarch
King Random was chosen by the Unicorn upon the death of King Oberon
Recent Conflict
The Patternfall War, now safely over.
Gazetteer
Wealth and Power in Amber
The Pattern itself gives Amber certain natural benefits. As a center of reality, Amber is naturally a crossroads – all roads tend to lead toward Amber eventually. In addition, the land itself is continually enriched, such that agriculture can continue over hundreds and hundreds of years without the soil losing its richness. Mining is not similarly sustainable though, at least not on a constant basis. A great deal of ore is imported.
Much of Amber's wealth comes from mercantile trade through the Golden Circle and other shadow paths. Amber acts both as a trans-shipment center and as peacekeeper on inter-shadow trade routes, and the Crown benefits financially from both roles.
Amber's position as a shipping center combined with the Pattern's suppression of significant magical effects make it ideal as an inter-shadow banking and financial center.
Technology in Amber
Industrial manufacturing in Amber is extremely limited. The lack of functioning steam power, semiconductors, and efficient combustion makes it more efficient for industrial goods to be imported. In addition, while most static materials imported from shadow can retain their form and function (e.g. metallic alloys, carved gems, sculpted stones, polyester, rubber, neoprene, spider silk, etc.) materials whose function relies on chemical reactions taking place (e.g. photovoltaics, greek fire, photo-chromatic eyeglasses) or on the properties of chemical mixtures (e.g. gunpowder, fireworks, bioluminescence, and even aerosols) do not function when imported to Amber and may even break down when imported.
Magic in Amber
The solid reality imposed on Amber by the Pattern make the use of the royal family's Pattern powers difficult in Amber but has an even more deleterious effect on magic. A noticeable minority of Amber's inhabitants are able to employ different styles of magic, but the impact of magic in Amber is significantly less than in Shadow. Teleportation, dimensional travel, dematerialization, resurrection, and precognition do not function in Amber. Clairvoyance and divination are extremely difficult at range. Transmutation is also extremely difficult. Substances can be conjured, though conjured substances tend not to last. The amount of energy that can be released instantly by magical spells is also limited. For example, a fireball might encompass a twenty-foot radius, but a sorcerer attempting to produce a a fireball with a radius of 100 feet would most likely fail, and a sorcerer attempting a much larger fireball would probably both fail and die from the effort.
The limits of magical effects are not uniform. Some types of magic may produce effects that other types of magic cannot when used in Amber. For example, a dragon's fiery breath may burn hotter than a wizard's conjured flames, or a magical healing potion may not be as effective as a weir's regenerative healing. Additionally, magic that is either backed by the Pattern (probably employed by a Pattern Initiate) or particularly resistant to the Pattern's effects (probably employed by a Lord of Chaos) may have greater effect.
Amber’s military has evolved over time. At the founding of Amber, Oberon relied both on troops serving him directly and troops led by his vassals (most notably his Dukes - Chantris, Feldane, Karm, etc.) This included the Arden Rangers, who are answerable to their own Warden. As Amber's immediate circumstances stabilized and a trading economy blossomed the navy became the premiere branch of service, offering greater prestige and opportunity. More recently, Eric tried to substantially “modernize” the military, creating expeditionary forces, etc. and in general tried to re-vamp the military in Oberon’s absence to be able to adopt a more offensive posture (and to be able to act against any treasonous nobles).
This has evolved into a hybrid military along both feudal and imperial lines. The Crown relies heavily on provincial forces, but the traditional Home Guard is responsible for the defense of the capital. Expeditionary Forces are most often deployed in various specialist roles, or on missions into Shadow where their higher level of training helps them adapt to changing technology levels. The great houses of the nobility also rely on their provincial forces to maintain order and security in Golden Circle realms and other trading partner lands in which they have lucrative trade arrangements.