Liam
An Amber character played by Franklin W. Cain
Liam is a character I play in an Amber campaign. The Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game is based on the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny, and is produced by Phage Press. The specific campaign wherein I play Liam is called "When the World Was New" and is run by Jeremy "Bolthy" Zimmerman.

If you are playing a character in this campaign, please bear in mind that some of the exact details mentioned within this document (mother's name, name of home Shadow, etc.) may not necessarily be known to your character.


Description:

"Usual" Trump Image:

Liam appears to be a young adult in his late teens to early 20's. He has medium height and a slender, athletic build. He has wavy, dark red hair and sparkling green eyes.

He is wearing a grey doublet over a shirt of blue and green, grey trousers tucked into black, knee-high boots, an ankle-length, grey cloak pinned at his right shoulder, and a grey cap, trimmed with blue and green, pinned with a feather of blue and green. He is armed with a rapier and main-gauche.

He is standing at the peak of Mount Kolvir at night. (The moon itself is not visible in this image, but the brightness of the image could lead one to conclude that the moon was full when this Trump was created.) He stands in a relaxed pose facing the viewer, with his arms crossed, and he is smiling or laughing.

In Person:

He usually wears two or three rings, but these rings are always small enough to allow him to wear his black swordsman's gloves. Both his cloak clasp and the feather-pin in his cap are cast so as to resemble a fox's face. All of his jewelry (the rings, the cloak clasp, the feather-pin for his cap) are of silvery metal and are set with blue or green gemstones, and his weapons are decorated similarly (with an appropriate-size gemstone in the pommel of each).

Colors:

Liam's colors are blue, green, and silver-grey.

Symbol:

Liam's symbol is a silver-grey fox's face with eyes of blue or green, that is possibly smiling or laughing, and is on a background of the other color (either green or blue).


Background:

Childhood:

Liam is a changeling. He was raised by a kindly old couple who lived in a cabin at the edge of the woods, having found him on their doorstep one morning.

During his childhood, Liam had several "friends" whom others could not see. These supposedly imaginary friends were anything but imaginary: they were the Little People. The Wee Folk spent many days with Liam, and they taught Liam his heritage: herb and plant lore; how to talk with animals; how to recognize faeries and their works; and so on.

It wasn't until his pre-teens that he was able to visit Underhill. There, he learned much more about his true people and their ways. He spent what seemed to be just a week, but when he returned home, he discovered that he'd been gone for years. Children he had known were now grandparents. The old couple who raised him were long dead, and their cabin was abandoned.

After weeks of unsuccessfully trying to find his way back to Underhill, Liam finally met with "The Puck" (Robin Goodfellow), one of his childhood friends. Puck told Liam that of his true nature, that Liam was a changeling, a child from the union of a man and a faerie, and that he must remain in the lands of Mankind until he had mastered his fae heritage. Puck further said that Liam's sire was a mage of great powers, and that this Man had left behind something for Liam, a painted card, which Puck now gave to Liam.

This card had a picture of the Man on one side, and a stylized white unicorn on a green background on the other side, and felt cool when Liam concentrated upon it. . .

His "Teen" Years:

Arriving in Amber about 15 to 20 years ago, Liam spent his adolescence in Amber, where he learned everything that Oberon required of all his children: weapons, riding, seamanship, military tactics and strategy, and politics. From Dworkin, Liam studied the Pattern and Trump Artistry. From his elder sister, Jordan, he learned about Magic. He journeyed to each of the kingdoms in the Golden Circle. He spent years exploring all of Amber, from the depths of Rebma and the heights of Kolvir to the far reaches of Arden, and, on many a moonlit night, he trod the streets of Tir-Na Nog'th.

The Present:

These days, Liam spends a fair amount of time in Amber. He also spends a great deal of time exploring far and distant Shadows. At any given time, he is just as likely to be present in Amber as not.

As with many other Trump Artists, Liam is an accomplished painter and sketch artist. In fact, he frequently carries a sketchbook with him to capture the images of the strange new sights he finds when Shadow-walking.


Personality:

Liam cares about "family". He cares for most (if not all) of his siblings. He tries to "keep the peace" between his siblings. (As he is of the "younglings", the last generation of Oberon's children, and because he isn't one of the best minds, or one of the best swordsmen, or one of the strongest, there is little reason to consider Liam a threat.)

Liam is almost insatiably curious. He loves learning for the sake of learning. He wants to know at least a little bit about everything, and to know a lot more than that about anything he considers "interesting".

Liam loves to see new places, peoples, and cuisines. He is a veteran traveler and explorer, and he loves a good meal.


Public Knowledge:

Liam is known to have Trump Artistry. He is also known to have some form of Pattern Imprint as well as some knowledge of Magic. He is also known to be familiar with industrial-era technology.

Liam almost always has at least one "spare" Trump deck with him, in one of his pockets or stuffed up a sleeve.

Liam's horse, Quicksilver, looks like it's made of silver or that it's been chrome-plated.


© 1998 by Franklin W. Cain