Ambercon 2003 Quotes

"Twilight of the Superheroes" by Jesse Scoble and Mark MacKinnon

The meek did not inherit the Earth.
Welcome to the Twilight of the age. In the early 2000s, the governments of the world slowly collapsed and various social institutions crumbled in the face of accelerated social change. Almost by default, the superheroes took over. While the duties were unwanted and unasked for, the superheroes have become a new feudal royalty, offering a government and civic authority to those under their province. The world's citizens find themselves in an upheaval more abstract and bizarre than any period, yet every bit as violent as the worst social and civil revolutions. As their institutions disintegrate in the wave of change, they cling to the various superhero clans who represent the only anchor of stability in this rapidly altering world.

New states have sprung up across America, where distinct clans, or "Houses," have divided up the landscape. Although the Houses claim to be desireless of political power, each strives to impart its view upon the world, defending its people through aggressive politics and actions.

Cast of Characters

"I was smoking crack, so I wasn't human." -- Superman
"You weren't human to start with." -- Catwoman

"There's no security system." -- John Schippers, describing Dr. Deimos' space fortress
"Except for the fact that we're in orbit!" -- Kris Fazzari

"If I punch through the wall, I can still breathe." -- Superman
"How nice for you, spaceboy." -- Catwoman

"This is our planet. We all live here. If it blows up, it would be bad." -- Iron Man to Lex Luthor

"This looks like a job for Superman." -- Lex Luthor
"Isn't he vulnerable to magic?" -- Catwoman
"Oops. I forgot." -- Lex Luthor

"I'm ready to teleport out if it looks like this is going to blow up." -- Catwoman to GM
"Thanks for your concern." -- Captain America, strapped to the device in question

"If this hurts, feel free to scream." -- Dr. Deimos to Captain America

"I got suspicious when (Deimos) strapped me to the table, but by then it was too late." -- Captain America to the group

"It is a limitless source of energy which I someday will give to the world when I am ready." -- Dr. Deimos
"Not in the form of a bomb, I trust." -- Superman

"A Midwinter Night's Dream" by Jennifer Crice

Good King Random, still young in his reign, seeks to build family rapport and a sense of tradition in his yearly Winter Solstice celebration. Although the invitation is worded in the friendliest manner, the King will brook no refusal, and so your mother or father packs you up for a three-week stay in Amber.
You and your cousins are largely expected to be seen and not heard (and preferably not seen, either) unless called to a specific family function. Your days are structured with lessons and activities, but those can only take so much of your time and attention when the mysterious castle around you beckons.
In the darkest nights of winter, ominous shadows creep across floors, familiar corridors open into unknown passages, and glinting eyes - or are they teeth? - shimmer from deep within dim, ancient mirrors. Drawing close to your parent, you are aware of a tension within him or her, a thinly veiled hostility that you don't understand - and when you try to convince him or her of what you've seen, you feel the crushing weight of disbelief and disapproval.
Only two weeks, five days to go...

Cast of Characters

"I've been trying to get into the mindset of abusing children for the past couple of hours, and you guys are already abusing each other." -- GM to the group

"Is there a pool?" -- Mikel
"No, but there's a fish pond." -- GM
"You could swim with the fishes." -- Kris Fazzari

"Vern!" -- Bleys
"I didn't do it!" -- Veronica
"My soul mate!" -- Delilah

"You get a dressing gown. A very masculine dressing gown." -- GM to Arthur

"(Merlin's) like Corwin, only cute." -- GM to Maida

"(In Chaos) we have oozy things, and we have sticky things, but they're usually not the same things." -- Lorelei to the group

"(The guards) aren't looking for small children, they're looking for monsters or demons...." -- GM
"Me too!" -- Veronica

"The door is breathing on me!" -- Mikel to the group

"PLANETARY: 'Night's Black Agents'" by Christopher Kindred

1936. When dark forces threaten America and the world itself, Earth's secret heroes answer. They are Doctor Axel Brass; Hark; Edison; The secret agent; His Lordship; the Aviator; and the dark millionaire.
A pulp adventure game of dashing heroes, criminal masterminds, mad science, magic and dirigibles.
"It's a strange world. Let's keep it that way."

Cast of Characters

Description quotes for The High

• The Ferrous Phantasm
• The Man of the New Century
• Child of the Blood
• The Locomotively Powerful Last Son of an Alternate America at War
• The Super-Swift Scion of Another World
• The Energetic Enigma
• The Inimically Idealistic Gentleman of Inestimable Might
• Towering Titan of Altruism
• Dedicated Defender of Decency
• Singularly Sinewed Stalwart
• Mysterious Caped Native of Another World

Description quotes for Elija Snow

• Astoundingly Accurate Annotator of Annual Antics

News flash: Daring Do-Gooder Diverts Dirigible
News flash: Blinding Blue Blur Bounces Blimp; Building Broadsided

"Tarzan, war profiteer." -- Scott Whitney
"If Burroughs had lived, it's the next book he would have written." -- GM

"I don't meddle in the affairs of Jenny and the High. That's between Jenny and the High." -- GM
"And very short-lived photographers." -- D.J. Hyland

"So, you're simultaneously profiting from the invasion of your country, and making sure it doesn't go too far." -- GM to Hark

"I have a carrier Yeti." -- His Lordship to ?

"Some of you are just a little sillier and stronger than I was thinking. And I don't know how that happened, because I looked at the cast list." -- GM

"Sending innocent animals into space?" -- GM
"If you want a chimp, I've got one." -- His Lordship
"The one from that Weissmuller movie. You hated him." -- Scott Whitney

"It's up to me, the locomotively powerful Lost Son of America at War." -- The High
"You must be stopped." -- Doc. Brass

"So, you leap to the top of the Empire State Building, a bright blue blur of energy and stuff." -- GM
"An energetic enigma." -- The High

"Ill Met in Amber" by Christopher Kindred

This is the city. Amber. A hotbed of intrigue, magic, swashbuckling adventure, and intrigue. It's a good place to live. And an easy place to die. A game of swashbuckling noir.

Cast of Characters

"So I'm coming back from sea and I know there's a carnival going on? Can I borrow a pen, I need to figure out what spells I have ready." -- Sean to GM

"I don't want to seem more human, I want to be feared, now go away." -- GM to Sarah Kindred

"Your sister and I rarely see each other." -- Varien to Madeline
"What, do you keep the lights out most of the time?" -- Scott Whitney

"It was hell for Eric to teach (Arryl) how to catch." -- GM
"I do not chase der stick." -- Arryl
"I do." -- DCI Garrett

"Where is my bodyguard! You might want to save me from the drunk horse people." -- Juliana to the group

"Max is icky." -- Garrett, complaining about why she can't get laid
"Only because you smeared me with alcohol." -- Max
"Daubed. Daubed at best, and only because you asked me to." -- Garrett

"I don't sleep on land because it doesn't rock, so I sleep on my ship." -- Wesley
"I can make your house rock." -- Garrett

"I'm going to stay at sea and just have sex with the crew." -- Wesley to Garrett

"Hobart is chased, but not with a 'T'." -- Jennifer Jackson and Sarah Kindred to the group

"Arryl boogies out of here." -- GM
"I don't boogie. I polka." -- Arryl

"Are we a team on this?" -- Garrett
"I know what happens to your partners." -- Max

"When the Queen Says, 'Go and Die...': Bright Blades and Black Hearts" by Christopher Kindred

"You are surrounded by beauty, by intrigue, by danger, what more can a man want?" - Aramis

Conspiracy. Romance. Brawls. Mistaken identities. Duels of honor. A man in black. A beautiful and dangerous woman. And the Cardinal's guards ever in pursuit.

When the Queen and Kingdom are threatened, it's "All for one-and one for all!"

Cast of Characters

"You have an evil brother too?" -- Marcel to Christophe
"No, your brother is just insane." -- GM to Marcel

"Your (brother) has the power to cloud men's minds." -- GM
"No, mine has the power to cloud his own mind." -- Marcel

"Because in the Musketeers, the favorite pastime is guess the sex of your fellow Musketeers." -- GM to the group

"(Lupin's) big and strong, i.e. kind of fat, and he's willing to fight anyone, especially to the bottom of a tankard." -- William Gulstad to the group, describing his character

"(Christophe's) never been caught sleeping with one of his charges." -- Kris Fazzari
"But he did know the where the secret passage into the convent was." -- William Gulstad

"You should read Shakespeare in the original Portuguese." -- GM, speaking for Alvaro, to the group

"Besides, we're French, we're used to body odors." -- Lupin
"Since I came to Paris, it's very sad, I've had to bathe more often." -- Budimir
"By which he means he's bathed twice in the last year." -- Sol Foster

"So Patrick, what have you been doing since the GM last saw you?" -- GM
"'Studying.'" -- Patrick, making finger quotes
"You've invented the air quote?" -- GM

"Jeremy and I are going to run a spin-off game called 'When the Czar says, 'Go and Dance.''" -- GM to the group

"Are you bringing your best dress?" -- GM
"Yes, just in case I have to do any undercover work disguised as myself." -- Marcel

"I'm Damien Delmar, I'm here to see the love of my life..." -- GM
"...I've forgotten her name, but I'm sure she'll remember me!" -- Kris Fazzari

"You know, quiet like the Russian winter, in the middle of a storm." -- GM to Christophe, describing Budimir's quiet "subtlety"

"Dude you're my favorite Portuguese person." -- Patrick to Alvaro
"He's the only Portuguese person you know!" -- GM

"Where the Spaniard is Portuguese, the men are women and the sheep are scared." -- Jennifer Jackson, describing the game
"And the Queen says, 'Fetch me some cookies!'" -- GM

"To arms! To arms!" -- Marcel
"That's your rally cry? 'To arms. To arms?'" -- GM
"OK. 'All for one, and one for all.' Can we go now?" -- Alvaro, sounding bored

"I interpose my body to protect the Queen from any bullets." -- Marcel
"That's what the ladies-in-waiting are for." -- Sebastien
"You have so much to learn." -- Alexis

"What do I think of the (brigands') outfits?" -- Alexis
"They need tailors." -- GM

"I want a long sword." -- Marcel
"The man in black can help you with that. He even knows which end he wants to show you." -- GM

"I want to do damage to every single one of (the brigands) so that they know fear." -- Sebastien to GM

"When you say 'fashionably harm them,' does this mean you stain their cravats?" -- Alexis to Christophe

"You're going to fight a duel now? I've been insulting you for days!" -- Alvaro to Patrick
"I thought that was out of character!" -- Sol Foster

"The Musketeers are here. What are you going to do?" -- GM to Damien
"Flee the city." -- Kris Fazzari

"It's one thing for it to be illegal, it's another for it to be improper!" -- Christophe to the group

"I can't budge (Budimir). He's incredibly heavy." -- Kris Fazzari, speaking for Sebastien
"OK, maybe he isn't that heavy, but he's incredibly dense." -- J.P. Brannan

"So Sebastian is coming out of the closet, but he's bringing a lady with him?" -- Kris Fazzari to the group

"If the bar is not still standing when we leave, then we don't have to pay." -- Lupin to the group

"(The Man in Black) has a lovely French accent now." -- GM
"He does? I thought he was British." -- Patrick
"He got better." -- Kris Fazzari

"You're jumping from rooftop to rooftop like gazelles." -- GM
"Yeah, because gazelles often jump up on roofs." -- Sol Foster
"OK, reindeer!" -- GM

"It's not our fault, they stalked us first!" -- Coraline to GM, after trashing a bar

"Because really, you've accomplished all you can here at this establishment. You've drunk all the alcohol and destroyed all its furnishings, and driven away any possible future customers." -- GM to the group

"There's a finite number of pubs in this town." -- Alexis
"We can take them all if you'd like." -- Sebastien

"Lupin will reinforce the Queen's bodyguards." -- Lupin
"And by reinforce you mean...." -- GM
"Replace." -- Lupin

"What if we're being smarter than the plot is?" -- William Gulstad
"Oh, there's no chance of that." -- J.P. Brannan

"Morpheus Interrupted" by James Arnoldi

A question burns in your mind. "What is Amber?" Morpheus has the answers. He can help you reclaim the birthright which has been stolen from you. You are a prisoner of a war you cannot remember. Morpheus has shown you the door out but you must step through it. The choice is yours. Take the blue pill and you'll wake up safe and sound in your bed...as if nothing happened. Take the red pill and you can join the fight to save Amber. Amber is in ruins and she needs you. She needs you to rebuild and protect her from enemies hidden in Shadow, but first, you must wake up. It has been a year since Morpheus and his crew liberated Amber from the forces of Chaos, but they are still out there...in the desert of the real.

Cast of Characters

"Release me!" -- Soul Catcher
"The only kind of release I can offer you, you wouldn't enjoy." -- Vlad

"They are a dying race. Dying very quickly right now." -- GM to Soul Catcher

"First he was my companion, now he's everyone's Unicorn." -- Talia
"I wonder what he'd taste like?" -- Soul Catcher

"Those of you who have seen the Unicorn before are feeling a familiar feeling of awe and hope." -- GM
"Aeryn's not familiar with those emotions." -- Kris Fazzari

"Do you have Elric covered?" -- GM
"Oh frell yes!" -- Aeryn, pulse rifle leveled

"I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you above my submachine gun." -- Adrienne to Gaynor, as she shoots him

"You pick up Stormbringer and you feel as though your soul has been damned to hell for all eternity." -- GM
"Which Amberite are you?" -- J.P. Brannan
"Caine." -- Jill Pritts
"You hate when that happens." -- J.P. Brannan

"Apparently you're in my head." -- Vlad
"How do I get out?" -- Loiosh
"Start burrowing." -- J.P. Brannan

"Bleys. Works well with others, especially themselves." -- J.P. Brannan to the group

"The game is almost over. Unless you guys don't succeed." -- GM
"If we don't succeed, we're dead, so the game will be over anyway." -- Kris Fazzari

"We have to build an industrialized society so I can wear a new pair of sunglasses every week." -- Trent to the group

"Blaze of Glory: Shortest Route Between Two Points" by Sol Foster

France's trade takes a hit when impossibly fresh, high-quality wine and fruit from South America hits the markets of Southern Europe. Bleys thinks there's a good chance someone might be using his missing Trump cards. Can the Elite Guard quietly investigate the situation?

Cast of Characters

"Just remember, everything you saw in the drug-induced hallucination was real." -- J.P. Brannan to Liz Trumitch

"To the Shark tank!" -- J.P. Brannan to the group, after hearing that Jayne's recruiting

"So they know I'm giving a speech. How many actually show up?" -- Jayne to GM
"Not the smart ones." -- Kris Fazzari
"She doesn't want the smart ones." -- William Gulstad

"Are you as mad as this man looks? Than join me!" -- Kris Fazzari to the group, speaking for Jayne as she indicates an insane looking Philippe

"But we are the honored..." -- Jayne
"...dead." -- Philippe

"So you got 20 people with a death wish and no military training?" -- Kris Fazzari
"21." -- Liz Trumitch

"Do we get a steam boat that's actually a transformer?" -- William Gulstad
"Not as far as you know." -- GM
"It transforms from a steam boat to a fiery explosion." -- J.P. Brannan

"We're going to bring horses up the Amazon to ride in the jungle?" -- Lorianne
"Horses are easier to ride than jaguars." -- Robyn

"I'm busy dying, hurry up." -- Robyn to GM

"So instead of quickly dying, you're slowly dying." -- GM
"Great, I make sure she dies slowly too." -- Robyn

"I didn't know (Jayne) was convulsing, I could have been doing that this whole time." -- Liz Trumitch to the group

"What are you going to call the guys who survive that? Heat Stroke?" -- Edwin to Liz, commenting on the Sharks sweating in leather armor
"Hot Flash." -- GM

"Pleather armor?" -- Kris Fazzari
"What's the name for the survivor of that? The rash?" -- J.P. Brannan
"The chafe." -- Cal Rea

"...and the bearded, red-headed woman who looked like Bleys." -- J.P. Brannan to the group

"Don't tell the GM things that aren't helpful to us." -- Andy Ransom to Kris Fazzari

"Why is there a gondolier in southern Italy?" -- GM, commenting on Philippe's disguise
"Because he has a lousy sense of direction." -- Kris Fazzari
"Does he have a gondola?" -- GM
"No, that was lost at sea." -- Cal Rea

"It looks like the office has been rifled." -- GM
"Is the money missing?" -- Lorianne
"No." -- GM
"It's missing now." -- Lorianne

"There's an important difference between this plane and the plane in your hallucination. This plane sucks." -- GM to Ewan

"It's not a ship, it's a sailing hand car." -- Zoe to the group

"Maybe we could lighten our plane by jettisoning our landing gear." -- Ewan
"That's not a bad idea, because what are the odds that we'll actually have a chance to land this plane?" -- Jayne

"We're losing weight, so we're cutting away everything that we don't need to have." -- Jayne to GM
"Like Jayne?" -- J.P. Brannan

"Time to invent duct tape." -- Robyn to Zoe

"We may have to rename the subtle team." -- Edwin to the group, after they rig a train to go really fast and fire a shrapnel cannon at a plane

"I thought the whole subtext of your speech was that Bleys was the sun and you wanted to sunbathe?" -- Cyrano to Jayne

"Scratches in the Alley" by Nicholas Fortugno and David Golden

Strange noises outside the windows, unnerving tags on the alley walls, dark omens through the tenements. Word on the street is that a clock is ticking, but then why do you feel like the bell's already tolled? Or maybe you just know that it's not what the future holds that you choose, but how you make that future your own.

In this game, players take the role of urban teens in this story of mystic investigation and shifting fates. Resolution will be decided using an experimental new Tarot-card story system.

Cast of Characters

"What kind of GM are you?" -- Murray Writtle
"A kind and gentle GM, who runs games set in an urban, hellish environment." -- GM Nicholas

"We need an exorcism" -- Sonya
"Yo, don't you need a bow-flex for that?" -- Monty

"You just missed Murray saying, 'Yo.'" -- Liz Trumitch to Emma Sansone
"And getting seriously dissed for it." -- Murray Writtle, in his lovely English accent

"Hey, anyone feel that shit? It went like this...." [waves vaguely] -- Ali to the group

"I think we should break the (magic) circle and call it even." -- Kendrick
"Yeah, I agree, Ken should break the circle and call it even." -- Monty

"What did you put on the paper?" -- Theresa
"I told you! It was harmony." -- Monty
"You wrote 'harmony' on the paper?" -- Theresa
"Fuck no! It was a symbol!" -- Monty

"If I'm not allowed to say 'yo', then you're not allowed to say 'chill.'" -- Doc
"I'm allowed to say whatever the fuck I want!" -- Theresa

"It's always the girls doin' the talkin' and the boys doin' the walkin'." -- Monty to the group

"To Live and Die in Texorami: For a Few Shadows More" by "Doc" Kindred

"Texorami was a wide open port city, with sultry days and long nights, lots of good music, gambling around the clock, duels every morning and in-between mayhem for those who couldn't wait." -- Random, Sign of the Unicorn

It's a place where steampunk technology meets magic and gunfighters. It's a place where Random coulda been in the Magnificent Seven. You're Random's buddies. Lord knows why. Naturally, there's gonna be trouble.

Random's rode off and there's a new kid in town....

Cast of Characters

"Before I have my second drink of the morning, I should put something more substantial in my stomach." -- Hank
"Like lead?" -- Daniel

"And why do you think they're all rat bastards?" -- Obidiah
"They're old, they're mean, and they bore easily." -- Martin, talking about family

"I go back to my room, is Suzie there?" -- Obidiah
"Yes, and she has a face!" -- GM
"...Is it her face?" -- Obidiah

Ambercon

Kris' home page | Kris' RPG page

  Hellriders have passed through here since March 22, 2004.

Done by Kris Fazzari.

Game descriptions taken from the Ambercon 2003 Game Book.

Quotes taken by myself, Dan Arthur, Deb Atwood, Tina Gilman, Leslie Lightfoot, Bridgette Ruggles, BriAnne Searles, Jeremy Zimmerman and many other anonymous donors.

Other web pages with quotes and/or commentary on Ambercon 2003 include:

Last modified on April 14, 2009 by Kris Fazzari.