"...Logrus. It's kind of a chaotic maze. Keeps shifting about. Very dangerous. Unbalances you mentally, too, for a time."
Merlin, Trumps of Doom
Since the beginning of time The Logrus has existed, it is a swirling mass of change, a twisted vortex of energy, ever moving, never the same way twice, different to all who view it. Somewhere hidden away in The Courts of Chaos lies the Cavern of The Logrus. It is a complex maze of tunnels which, like The Logrus itself, keeps moving and changing.
If one is a Lord of Chaos, a member of one of the Great Houses of Chaos, and a Shape Shifter, then one may attempt to Traverse The Logrus. This is done by entering the Cavern of The Logrus and trying to make it to its center. Only a Shape Shifter has any chance of surviving a journey through the Caverns of The Logrus, the caverns themselves change, the shape, size, and even the environment change as one traverses the caverns. Sometimes hundreds of degrees below zero or white hot, only a Shape Shifter can adapt to the quick changing environment of the Caverns. As the caverns change a roaring sound, coming the Logrus at the center of the Caverns, can be heard and leads the Lord of Chaos to its center.
Traversing the Logrus is extremely physically and mentally difficult, and kills or drives insane many who attempt to traverse it. For this reason, many who have the ability to traverse it, don't.
Those who make it to the center of the Cavern are then confronted with the Logrus itself, this pure chaos drives many insane or at least mad for a time, but imprints itself on those who view it permanently. Afterwards a character can learn to summon their personal vision of the Logrus at will and thereby gain control over the forces of Chaos.
Rank System:
The following is a list of abilities commonly known of among the Lords of Chaos. Characters can attempt to learn some or all of these abilities, depending on how many points they spend in The Logrus. There are many other abilities as well, although abilities other then those listed are possessed by the most ancient or enlightened of the Lords of Chaos and are generally not common knowledge. Characters wanting to have abilities above and beyond those listed here will need to have more then 50 points in the Logrus. The higher level abilities of the Logrus vary from initiate to initiate. The exact abilities a character can purchase will need to be worked out with the GM.
Some examples are: Creating creatures of pure Logrus Energy, Infusing Shadows with the forces of Chaos plunging them into a Dark Age of Misery and Death, Creating or Manipulating Shadows Storms (Easily Fatal), and other abilities involving Death, Destruction, and Chaos.
Shadow:
"There were no doors in the room, and he had to know all the local Shadow stress points, the Courts being opposite to Amber in this regard. While it's awfully hard to pass through Shadow in Amber, the shadows are like frayed curtains in the Courts-often, you can look right through into another reality without even trying. And, sometimes, something in the other reality may be looking at you. "
-Merlin, Prince of Chaos
Shadow is rated in circles from 1 - 10. 0 is Chaos, the areas that are directly within Chaos, and its dukedoms. 1st Circle is the immediate outlying areas of Chaos, the areas bordering The Abyss (the Rim), and the Shadows immediately surrounding Chaos, such as the Black Zone. This continues out to the 5th circle of shadow, where the Dancing Mountains and Ygg are located, it is the midpoint between Amber and Chaos. 8th Circle would be about where Earth is located. 9th Circle is the Shadows immediately surrounding Amber, such as the Golden Circle Shadows, and the Forest of Arden. 10 is Amber proper, including its baronies and other lands.
As a general rule, shadows that are closer to Amber or Chaos tend to be more powerful and more dynamic. Magic is common near both poles, although different, and both areas tend to breed mighty Sorcerers. The Magic's near Amber are mainly Enchantments, they take a great amount of time to prepare and last decades, while those near Chaos tend to be short lived spells, wild, chaotic, and deadly.
"I held to the Sign of the Logrus, which provided a magical way of seeing, granting a silvery, directionless illumination."
-Merlin, Knight of Shadows
Characters may summon The Sign of the Logrus for defense or Mystic Sight. Bringing the Logrus to mind adds the characters level in The Logrus to his Psyche for all Mental Defenses, and can be brought to mind in nearly no time. The Sign of Chaos also allows the character to see in the dark and view any mystical objects or energies in the area. Summoning the Sign of Chaos is the first step in using most of the other abilities of the Logrus such as Summoning, Traveling, or Creating Tendrils with the Logrus.
Shadow Seek:
"I would summon the Sign of the Logrus and continue my shadow walk, backing every step that I took with the power of Chaos."
-Merlin, Knight of Shadows
The ability allows Characters to move from their current shadow to any other they know of by concentrating on their goal and pulling themselves to their destination. They may transport themselves to any Shadow within their current Circle. Traveling to another Circle with this power is greatly fatiguing and an only be done one or twice before exhausting the character. Mystic or Warded areas will block this power if strong enough.
Logrus Tendrils:
"I reached out with my Logrus gauntlets and took hold of each of them by
the throat. I squeezed until they collapsed within my grip. I squeezed a
little longer, then released them."
-Merlin, Blood of Amber
Characters who have summoned the Sign of Chaos may then form Tendrils out of the sign. These Tendrils have a Strength equal to the Psyche of the character, and may be used to perform any normal action, they may be used to grab, choke, or move objects, etc. The Strength of the Tendril can be increased if needed by drawing upon moe energy from the Logrus. Doing so is very strenuous and can tire even a Lord of Chaos within a few minuets.
The Tendrils of the Logrus are normally unseen but can be viewed by another with the proper magic. The Tendrils can be used as probes to be sent any where within normal range, with them the caster can gain any information he normally would be able to obtain by touch or any 6th senses he possesses. Logrus Tendrils are stronger then steel and regenerate any damage taken quickly, they can be harmed however by strong magic or enchanted weapons. Any Damage inflicted on a Tendril will be felt by the creator to some extent and will drain him as well. Actually having a Logrus Tendril severed would be as shocking to a characters system as actually losing an arm, although no permanent damage will be done.
Logrus Tendrils cannot be used to manipulate Mystic of Enchanted objects, contact with such items will Damage the Tendril, possibly stunning their creator.
Tendril Summoning:
"I closed my eyes and visualized an image of the Logrus
shifting, ever shifting. I framed my desire and two of the swimming lines
within the eidolon increased in brightness and thickness. I moved my arms ,
slowly, imitating their undulations, their jerkings. Finally, the lines and
my arms seemed to be one, and I opened my hands and extended the lines
outward, outward through Shadow."
-Merlin, Trumps of Doom
Characters may summon nearly any item found in Shadow using the Tendrils of the Logrus. This is done by first summoning Logrus tendrils and then sending them out in shadow for the desired item, once found the Tendrils pull the item back to the character into his hand or anywhere within line of sight. This takes about 1 second per detail desired. Elements themselves such as fire or wind may also be summoned.
Summoning an item from outside the characters current circle of shadows takes much longer then summoning those from nearby shadows.
Items that are too heavy for a characters Logrus Tendrils to pull cannot be summoned, nor can items that are held down or otherwise restrained. Enchanted objects cannot be summoned, contact with such items will shock the character, possibly stunning him completely. The farther out something is in Shadow the more difficult it is to summon that item. Few Lords of Chaos can summon an item from even halfway across shadow, and none are known that can summon items from one pole to another. When summoning Elements the amount that can be summoned is determined by the Psyche of the character.
Logrus Death Bolt:
"I extended both of my apparently empty hands, my invisible strangling
cord writhing into position in my left, an unseen Logrus death bolt riding
my right. It was one of those times when courtesy demanded professional
standards."
-Merlin, Blood of Amber
Characters may directly attack enemies using the Tendrils of the Logrus as a weapon. Combat is based off of Warfare, but unless the target has some means of perceiving the Tendrils he will not be able to Defend himself very well if at all. These attacks do Damage based on the Strength of the Tendril. Armor protects normally against these attacks, as will The Pattern or any other Mystic Defense. Such defenses can be overcome but not easily.
Logrus Healing:
"Then I checked his chest wound again and covered him up.
I wondered about some of the Logrus healing techniques I knew in theory
but had never had a chance to practice. He was looking pretty pale, so I
decided I had better try them. When I'd finished, some time later, it seemed
as if his color had returned to his face. I added my cloak to the blanket
which covered him. I took his pulse again and it felt stronger. "
-Merlin, Blood of Amber
These are very complex techniques where the tendrils of the Logrus are used as scalpels and tools to heal those that have been wounded. The Logrus master uses the tendrils to clean and close wounds as well as feed energy into the wounds to help them heal. Using this skill characters can add their points in the Logrus to the Endurance of the target to help in healing. Each use of this power will last a day, and must be redone each day to continue to help the patient.
Summon Primal Chaos:
"The image of the Logrus turned black before me, becoming a seething
blot of inky turmoil. An awful feeling of disruptive power surged through
me, an enormous destructive force that threatened to overwhelm me, to carry
me into the blissful nothingness of ultimate disorder."
"The boulder became one with the turmoil, joined it and was gone. There
was no explosion, no implosion, only the sensation of great cold winds and
cacophonous sounds."
-Merlin, Blood of Amber
The most powerful and deadly skill a Logrus Master possesses. With this skill a Logrus master sends out a tendril and then draws on the terrible powers of the Logrus to summon Primal Chaos through the tendril. The Chaos appears from the tendril as a thick, boiling gray cloud of matter which instantly absorbs and destroys anything it comes in contact with. NOTHING can withstand the damage done by Primal Chaos for even a moment. Primal Chaos usually starts out as a small confined roaring cloud of matter or wind that quickly spreads and grows in size until its initial energy has been exhausted.
Then he stood still, arresting it at that point. Moments later, he
spoke. "I could simply release it," he stated, "letting it run wild. Or I
could give it a direction and then release it."
-Suhuy, Blood of Amber
Once Primal Chaos has been summoned there is no way of controlling it or stopping it. It will continue to expand and grow until it eventually fades away once it's energy is spent. How long this will take depends on how much was summoned initially and the strength of the surrounding Shadow. Primal Chaos will always be more powerful and last longer he closer to Chaos it is summoned.
For this reason one of the oldest laws in Chaos is to never summon Primal Chaos in the Courts themselves. Those who break this law are put to death.
Black Threads:
"A band of sheer, rippling blackness spread about us, widening. The Black Road, I suddenly thought. It is like a temporary version of the Black Road, in the sky."
-Merlin, Prince of Chaos
This is the chaos skill of leading others through shadow. To create a Black thread a Logrus master sends a tendril through shadow and creates a small path which others can follow going from his current shadow to any other he knows of. Such a path can be kept open for as long as the Logrus master is willing to concentrate on doing so. Other Logrus masters can help by combine their powers with the creator of the thread to help it reach farther and carry more along its path. Such pathways are called Black Channels. Travel time is 1 day per Circle of Shadow crossed by the Thread. The Black Road was a massive Black Channel created by the combined effort of dozens of Logrus masters, and opened by the damage to the Primal Pattern.
Logrus Servants:
"It is as if there is something dead inside them all. Their voices lack the thrust and dip of men chewing over their words and tasting them. They seldom do much with their faces, but wear them like death masks."
-Ganelon, The Guns of Avalon
Using the forces of Chaos characters may infuse creatures with Chaos, summon Demons to serve them or possess others, taking over their form. Many such creatures can be found in the service of the Lords of Chaos, Demons, Hell Hounds, Specters of Shadow, all can be created with this power. To create Logrus Servants, first take a normal creature found out in Shadow and simply infuse or infect it with the forces of the Logrus, this will transform and mutate the creature into a twisted thing of Chaos. Creatures formed this way are often driven mad and berserk. Characters can infuse a creature in a number of ways, granting them an increase in size, superior strength, demonic features, etc. The process itself takes only a few seconds after which the creature will begin to change over the next several minuets. The more Chaos a creature is infused with, the more powerful, and demonic, it will become.
Demons of Chaos can also be summoned with the Logrus. Demons come in all shapes and sizes, they also vary in power from nasty rodents to god like Arch Devils. Demons are rated in Circles of Power from 1 to 10. (There are myths of Demons higher then 10th Circle, but those are just myths...) In general, a Demon will have a number of points equal to 50 times their Circle of Power, but with no power or attribute higher then 10 times their Circle (except Strength), this might vary from Demon to Demon but is a good rule of thumb.
To summon a demon requires at least 1 hour per Circle of the demon. Every circle of Shadow from Chaos adds an extra hour to the summoning time. This time can be reduced, but it is far from safe to do so. Demons Physical stats vary, and can easily match or surpass those of a Lord of Chaos.
When summoned a demon must either be bound or otherwise convinced to serve the summoner. Without the proper spell a Logrus Master can usually dominate the demon through a contest of Wills. Once bound, a Demon is forced to perform it's tasks even unto death.(Although they commonly look for loop holes in the commands.)
Demons may also be convinced, bribed, etc., by the Logrus Master into service. (If they're smart enough to listen that is.) Most Demons of 4th Circle or lower often consider it an honor just to serve a Chaos Lord and would jump at the chance to become a loyal servant. (Hoping of course to be rewarded for their service.)
Summoning Example: Mandor needs a demon to hunt down someone for him on Earth, The person happens to be Luke. Mandor decides he'll need a fairly powerful demon to bring down the Son of Brand. (He's right) He decides to summon a 6th Circle Demon. (Which is pretty powerful. Few Human Sorcerers could hope to summon such a horror.) He is on Earth, so the summoning will take a base time of 6 hours (the Demons Circle.) + 8 (Earth's distance from Chaos.) Bringing his total summoning time to 14 hours.
Upon arrival Mandor uses his powerful Psyche to force the demon into his service, the outcome isn't even a contest and the Demon will willingly hunt down anyone for Mandor.
The Demon is your basic hunter/killer sort. Clever when hunting, and fast for a demon of it's size. Mandor's player discusses with the GM the type of demon he wanted and the GM then decides on the Demons attributes. Mandor describes the demon as a large, and tiger like. With a leathery, hairless red hide, and small spines running along it's limbs. The GM decided on the following stats for the beast:
Psyche: Amber
Strength: 160 Points
Endurance: 60 Points
Warfare: 60 points
Shape Shifting: 10 Points
Magic: 10 Points
Quite a monster, but probably not really a match for the Son of Brand.