"Shrines of the Courts of Chaos"

By Andrew J. Talmedge, Jr.

In his "Merlin" saga, Zelazny describes a shrine-- apparently devoted to the
then-missing Corwin-- and later implies that this shrine is somehow
mystically involved with Corwin's imprisonment. Nothing more was ever
revealed about the shrine's origin, function, or use. When the time came for
us to address the issue in our game, this is what we came up with. These
rules for Chaosian Shrines have worked reasonably well in our campaign,
which has been going on more or less continuously since 1989-- but they
might easily disrupt less high-powered games with mere 100-point starting
characters. It is also worth noting that these Shrines do not serve a truly
religious purpose, despite their appearance or decor.

About The Shrines

Each Shrine is dedicated to an individual, usually an enemy or close ally of

its builder. Individuals can own more than one Shrine, but each Shrine must
be entirely devoted to a single subject. The construction and dedication of
mystical Shrines is generally frowned upon in the Courts, but occurs more
frequently than most Chaosians care to admit. Chaosian Shrines are a focus,
a toll that allows a shape-shifter to fully attune himself to the Psyche of the
Shrine's subject. This attunement can be used to influence the subject--
either by gently shaping the subject's destiny, or by attempting outright
control. While such Shrines are generally used to bring harm to an individual,
they can also be used to aid one's friends.

To use a Shrine for its intended purpose, one must first spend several hours
of meditation within. This concentration allows the shape-shifter to alter his
or her own Psyche, establishing a temporary link with the target. This link is
necessary to use any of the Shrine's other abilities. It is helpful if the Shrine
is decorated with relics of its subject. These can range from personal items,
to body parts (eccch!), to artistic depictions of the subject-- anything to help
the Shrine's owner establish a mental link with the Shrine's subject.

Chaosian Shrine (20 Points): A Shrine may be purchased once for each
intended target. Basic or Advanced Shape Shift is an absolute prerequisite
for the Shrine's effective use.

Abilities Conferred by Chaosian Shrines

All of the above abilities require several hours of deep, uninterrupted

meditation prior to use:
Sending of Omens: The character can send omens and cryptic messages to
the Shrine's subject. Such omens will always be vague, and usually slightly
menacing. The player selects the message that he wishes to convey, and the
Game Master decides what form the omen will take when it appears to the
Shrine's subject. There is no guarantee that the omen's target will recognize
the omen as anything out of the ordinary when it actually arrives, since the
Shrine's owner has no control over what form the omen actually takes. This
ability can only be used when the Shrine's subject is out in Shadow-- Amber
and the Courts are both too "real" to be affected by this power.

Attunement to Subject: The Shrine's owner develops a strong (albeit

temporary) attunement to the Shrine's subject, and is able to sense
whenever that individual is near. Even across Shadow, the character will
have a vague sense of "Shadow Direction" towards this individual, though
this feeling is not defined enough to allow precise tracking. When so attuned,
the character will also instinctively know when the Shrine's subject is in any
danger. This attunement will gradually fade if not refreshed periodically.
Please note that the attunement described here is a one-way attunement
only, and cannot be used by the Shrine's subject to identify the Shrine's
owner.

Scrying: The character can spy upon the Shrine's subject, even across great
distances or even between distant Shadows. If the subject's Psyche is Amber
or better, he or she will "feel" the presence of the Shrine's owner, and will
have a vague sensation of being watched; should he make the attempt, he
can resist being spied upon with a standard Psyche vs. Psyche battle
between them.

Subject Discomfort: Less an ability than a side effect, this is triggered

whenever one of the above abilities is used. The Shrine's subject will begin to
have premonitions of doom and gloom, and have difficulty sleeping at night.
This side effect can eventually lead to deep despair, and occurs even if the
above abilities are used by a character friendly to the Shrine's subject.

Combining Chaosian Shrines with Other Powers

When used by a powerful sorcerer or master magician, a Chaosian Shrine

can be used with increased potency and effect:

Sorcery: By first using the 'Scrying' ability (see above), the sorcerer can
cause himself to appear before the Shrine's subject as a shadowy, ghostlike
entity. The character will be visible to everybody present (not just to the
Shrine's subject), and is vulnerable Psyche and magical attack while this is
the case. This is a two-way street, however, as the character can also use
this ability to cast spells across Shadow. When the sorcerer is through casting
spells, he will reappear within the Shrine itself-- this ability cannot be used
for Shadow travel.

Conjuration: When used in conjunction with 'Scrying' (see above), the

character can summon artifacts/creatures to the subject's location. This
effectively allows the caster to summon across Shadow.

High Compelling: When also using the 'Scrying' ability (above), the character
can achieve several powerful effects. First, the caster can reach across
Shadow to affect the attitudes, emotions, and memories of any Shadow
beings at the subject's location. The caster can also attempt (with a standard
Psyche vs. Psyche battle) to alter the emotions and memories of the subject
himself. The character may also conjure beings with particular goals and
emotions (see 'Conjuration,' above) to the subject's location. In addition, the
caster can attempt to Geas the subject with a successful Psyche battle.

Ruminations and Advice

Some interesting variations of this material have presented themselves in

our group. One character is developing an Advanced form of this power.
Another has devoted a Shrine, not to an individual, but to Castle Amber itself.
A third has combined her Chaosian Shrine with her Advanced Trump Artistry
in ways that I'd never envisioned when I first developed the above concepts.

Your players will doubtless think of other, more dubious uses for this
nefarious power; it is incumbent upon the Game Master to prevent Chaosian
Shrines from overtaking the normal power levels of his or her campaign.

Although I originally intended the above rules to simulate Dara's Shrine to

Corwin from the "Merlin" books-- and therefore intended for Chaosian Shrines
to fill a somewhat sinister role in our campaign-- it is interesting that my
players immediately subverted the idea. The very first player in our group to
build her own Shrine dedicated it to King Merlin, to whom the player
owed considerable personal loyalty. Even though most of the above powers
were designed to be somewhat offensive in nature, this player quickly proved
them to be equally effective as a defensive item. The character was
repeatedly able to save Merlin from disaster, and could do so from a
distance-- so that neither Merlin, nor Merlin's many enemies, ever knew the
identity of his true benefactor.

~~A.J.T., Jr.
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