Princesses in Rebma

         This is an event which I originally planned for AmberCon NorthWest 2005, and will be running again (though not necessarily the same) at ACNW 2006. The title is "Princesses in Rebma" -- i.e. a reversal of Zelazny's first Corwin novel, "Nine Princes in Amber". My opening description of it is:

The mysterious underwater city, the inverted image of Amber ruled by a powerful Queen. Long before the Patternfall War, Rebma had its own intrigues and clashes. This is a game of intrigue in the royal court of Rebma, in the heyday of Avalon before Morganthe's elopement. There may be visitors from Avalon or Amber, and Moire, Morganthe, Random, and Llewella are likely to appear (as PCs if chosen, or as NPCs otherwise). The focus will be the subtle intrigues over the future of relations between Amber and Rebma. This will an alternate history which could take events in a different direction than they did in the chronicles.

         Character Instructions: I can provide a variety of characters (including choices of the known characters Moire, Morganthe, Llewella, or Random), or you can send me character ideas in advance -- which could include almost any of the Amberites of the time, though a preference is for characters with ties to Rebma. A variety of power levels is possible. Character with less outright power will be balanced by superior position, knowledge, and connections.

Report on "Princesses in Rebma" at ACNW 2005

My convention report on the run of "Princesses in Rebma" at ACNW 2005, excerpted from my Convention Reports page.

An Introduction to Zelazny's Rebma

An overview of the canonical information about Rebma.

My Rebma

         There are a few key points which I extrapolate from. Queen Moire slept with Corwin without a thought, and there is no mention of any marriage or kings in Rebma. Further, she apparently considered that marrying Random for a year before he would presumably run off would be a good thing for Vialle's social status. From this, I am deriving a picture of Rebma as follows:

• Rebma is a strict matriarchy. Men may hold military positions of respect (though rarely as the highest officers), and they are barred from any political position.
• Whom a woman sleeps with is strictly her own business, socially and legally speaking. Marriages may be entered into as part of a personal relationship, but this has little legal or social force -- a relationship roughly equivalent to godparent status, for example.

         There are also Tritons in this background.

Links

         There are a few other pages devoted to Rebma, but they generally extrapolate in different directions than I do for this game.

• Rebma in "The Eternal City" by Arref Mak
  This is the closest to my vision of the city.
• "Amber Gazetteer: Rebma" by Tony Jones
  Another page on Rebma which compiles many quotes regarding it.
• Rebma in "New Blood, Old Wounds"
  This adds in male figures -- Merwyn and Morgan -- to the history, and adds a relationship between Eric and Moire. In short, it's changes contrast sharply with my vision.
• Rebma in "Reflections of the Mind's Eye"
  A campaign background including description of Rebma.
• Shadow Wars Rebma
  Background from a campaign which crosses over Amber and Star Wars elements.
• Westray.org's Amber Timeline
  A fair attempt at an Amber timeline, useful for relating the events in Rebma's history.