This is information needed to participate in the experimental PBeM game "In the Shadow of Greatness". Thanks for stopping by. If you have comments or questions, please eTrump me.

What is a letter game? It resembles a Play By Email game, but since there are a few things about PBEMs in general that I dislike, I use a concept that I read about years ago, invented (?) by Genevieve Cogman and Deb Atwood, who started a game in which they GM'ed their own characters and wrote letters about that to the other. It always looked a rather elegant gaming concept to me: no need for extensive contact between GM and player and no need for extensive contact between players. Why would that be an advantage? First, many email games die because the interaction dies. Someone drops out, people cannot continue their 'scene' because a link is missing. Others feel they cannot keep up with the required volume, or have a feeling that the whole thing is intolerably slow. The letter game can be a good alternative.

You do not need a GM. Everyone is required to GM themselves, that is, write about the woes that have befallen their PC as if they were writing it to other PC's. You can go as fast as you want, and there is no need to wait for other reactions before you continue your own. In that way, people who like to write once a day can still share a game with people whose lifestyle encourages writing once a week, or even once a month. After all, time flows differently everywhere in the Amber Universes. Then why share a game at all? Well, most people like an audience for their writing. And, even if the contact between PC's is indirect, they can still use bits and pieces from other PC's adventures and writing to use in their own adventures, or comment upon events when sending their letter.

This game specifically will deal with Amber fiction writing and world building. Letter gaming may not work for you if you need GM input to write about what happens to your character. Some players for instance prefer the sort of character that makes things unpleasant for others - they will not fit as well as the characters that are being harrassed by life, the universe and their relatives. Since you can grab the jewel, create your own pattern, become king of your universe anytime you want, you will need a little discipline to create your own opposition and failure, or your contributions will be incredibly boring for others to read. No conflict, no story is an old rule for writing and it definitely applies here. Obviously, the setting requires a reason for all those PC's to keep in touch which each other, that is why there is a cover story to get everyone started, and to find in-character motivation to share your adventures more or less truthfully with others. I'm aware that not all potential characters would accept the task, so you'll have to come up with a reason why your char does, or use another character for the game. The game also requires that you have enough room to make up your own adventures without taking into account every detail of another PC's story.

This setup ensures that you never need to interact with someone whose ideas of gaming do not match yours. Should the number of players become really large, you only are required to keep up with the parts of the campaign were you are currently active. Shared universes will require more reading than a solo universe ('solo' universes are not a feature of ITSOG). However, other PC's may read your contribution, though, and ask you questions or comment on it, so reading all contributions is certainly recommended if you would like to be as polite as to answer them.

What is the role of the GM? I am the ultimate referee if people's contributions in one universe are incompatible (normally, the first one to publish is canon, the next has to follow, but with email, you never know when something arrives, so I'd have to sort things out in that case. Also, I have to approve of each and every transfer between story lines, to keep things manageable. Certain plot elements concerning the Story Arc, Darkweir and the Elders you cannot expand upon. Also, if you're stuck and need someone to discuss the current direction of your plot, I'm there to make suggestions. I'm still considering whether or not to throw in an occasional plot device in 'Meanwhile' form. I think I'll just go with what the players like me to do. Oh, and I handle applications and bring people into the game, since that part needs to be coordinated. The backgrounds of PC's have to match the the first 5 books of the Amber story, and the PC's should be of Umbra. I will review the background to scan for certain problem areas and I may ask you to change things, though I probably won't. If you do a flashback of history mentioning another PC, you need to clear that passage with the other player.

The Setting is in the FAQ.

You're still here and interested? Wonderful. What you need to participate is send me:

a. character background (as restricted above) with Attributes arranged for 80 points.

b. a proposal for a back-story 'letter' or 'diary' sent to your fellow cousins. This should be what you have been doing immediately previous to the Trump summons by the Queen. The diary/letter does not need to be excessively long, just write what you would for a normal installment. Adult content is perfectly OK - if you are a minor, I'm not taking responsibility for your corruption, but since you are on the internet, you've probably seen a lot worse than we can ever imagine anyway. Just one caveat on this: you can include anything you want in the material, ie sex, torture, incest, blood and gore, but please gloss over the details of such issues and find a civilized way of describing what your character is doing or going through, so that the material is suitable for a wide adult audience. Note the Family Tree ref page for specific names in the back-story.

c. an indication how often you might write. I'm not selecting on a basis of how often you can write, since one of my reasons to choose this format is to encourage people to take more time and in that way create something of quality. However, once a year would be stretching it. My suggestion is to reconsider if you can't write at least 6 to 8 contributions a year (actually I hope most players will be producing a bit more than that).

d. an indication of what sort of direction your character might be going and what sort of adventures you would like. I don't need detail here, but I need to have a feeling for what you are developing and looking for.

I don't have a set deadline. Just take your time and get back to me when you've thought things through and have written something that feels right and has the right voice for your character. I don't intend to close applications anytime soon, which the setup sort of provides for.

When you're accepted (you will be under normal circumstances), I intend to have a mailing list up and running to handle the contributions very soon. The subject of an email for sending stuff is

ITSOG: charname: story placename/npc present

Just another note: all contributions are owned by the writer, of course, and not to be used outside the game environment without his or her explicit permission. Characters developed in this game can be used for other gaming purposes by the person who developed them, and by others only after explicit permission to do so.

If you have more questions, just ask them and eTrump me.