Amber Underwood
Bite-sized worldbuilding and games of spreadsheet make-believe.
Amber Underwood (she/her) has been a freelance game designer and general dabbler (editor, project manager, community manager, publisher) since 2015. She is a warlock enthusiast most known for her work expanding the Spheres of Power subsystem for Pathfinder, and has experience with a wide variety of game systems.
Level Up: Adventurer's Guide. EN Publishing, 2021
Spheres Apocrypha: Martial Drawbacks 2. Drop Dead Studios, 2021
Spheres Apocrypha: Martial Drawbacks. Drop Dead Studios, 2021
Spheres Apocrypha: Martial Racial Traits. Drop Dead Studios, 2021
Stardrill Primer: Central. Self-Published, 2019
Spheres Apocrypha: Cognition Talents. Drop Dead Studios, 2019
Herbal Lore: Botany of the Barrens. Cobalt Sages Creations, 2019
The Worldwalker’s Handbook. Drop Dead Studios, 2019
Aethera Field Guide I. Legendary Games, 2019
Species Archive: The Kulvix. Cobalt Sages Creations, 2019
Species Archive: The Belaran. Cobalt Sages Creations, 2019
Places of Power: Fort Vigil. Raging Swan Press, 2018
Spheres Apocrypha: Dark Talents. Drop Dead Studios, 2018
Languard Locations: High City. Raging Swan Press, 2018
Languard Locations: The Shambles. Raging Swan Press, 2018
Languard Locations: Low City. Raging Swan Press, 2018
Legendary Races - Wyrmtouched. Legendary Games, 2018
Andrus: The City of Men. Drop Dead Studios, 2018
Aberrant Codex: Aberrant Allies. Cobalt Sages Creations, 2018
Village Backdrop: Echo Harbour. Raging Swan Press, 2017
Village Backdrop: Byrnfort. Raging Swan Press, 2017
Spheres Apocrypha: Destruction Talents. Drop Dead Studios, 2017
Places of Power: Godswatch. Raging Swan Press, 2016
20 Things #3: Wizard’s Tower. Raging Swan Press, 2016
The Illuminator’s Handbook. Drop Dead Studios, 2016
The Telekinetic’s Handbook. Drop Dead Studios, 2015
Some of these writing samples are excerpts from the works listed in my bibliography. Minimal changes have been made to the excerpts to allow them to stand on their own as writing samples that do not require the broader context of their source material.To view any writing sample, click the bolded title above the sample summary.
Fort Vigil is a system neutral tabletop gaming product. It details a small fort suitable for most medieval fantasy settings, a haunted locale designed to implemented in an existing game and serve as a point of interest. It includes its own characters and plots, as well as suggestions for how it can be incorporated into other stories.
The Worldwalker's Handbook is a tabletop gaming supplement for the Pathfinder 1e system, and is specifically an expansion of the third party Spheres of Magic subsystem. The excerpt presented here is an Incantation, a form of magic primarily designed as a game master's tool. Incantations are effectively plot magic, representing specific rituals or more involved magics useful in niche situations, such as a magic that might placate a specific local spirit, or a power to facilitate certain gameplay (such as a slow ritual to teleport back to a safehouse).
Introduction
As night falls and the moon's pale light begins to shine, an aging knight takes up watch on the walls of a humble fort. Silver figures drift through the clearing below, shining brightly amidst shadow and vanishing in the moonlight. The waters of the nearby lake turn black as the darkened sky, but the stars on its surface are not the same as the ones above: these stars are a path of shimmering dust, and a woman shrouded in grey walks them, emerging from the lake to extend her hand to the vigilant knight far above.This is the true nature of Fort Vigil, humble as it seems by day. The small fort is only manned by a token force and is seen as a soft retirement for the honourable Sir Arnhelm, but it is far more than that. Ghosts haunt the fort and its woods, some clinging to purpose and duty, others mad and unable to rest. With the guidance of the oldest ghost of them all, the Medium of the Lake, Sir Arnhelm speaks to each ghost in turn to give them what peace he can. But the Medium struggles to maintain her humanity, and the number of restless spirits only seems to grow.
The following section details one of the Fort's unique characters and how to portray her in a game.
The Medium
Description: As this grey ghost moves her hair changes shape and positions like liquid and her flowing garments part and merge with her flesh until there is no telling the two apart. Her eyes are gleaming black pools that never close, but ripple and stir like water.Mannerisms: The Medium desperately clutches a talisman that might be a holy symbol, sometimes braiding its chain between her fingers and holding it before her in both hands. Other times she wears it about her neck while holding the symbol in one hand over her heart.Personality: An iron will and a solemn vow are all that hold the Medium together in the face of her growing amnesia and paranoia. On her good days she is wise and patient, faithfully guarding the lake, but other days she loses focus, staring into the lake's depths, and on others her paranoia takes over and she delivers wild threats to anyone who approaches the lake or nearby ghosts.Background: The Medium has guarded the lake and helped the ghosts for a long time indeed, so long everything else is a distant, fading memory. When she lived she was a spiritual leader, and her people raised the structure that would eventually become Fort Vigil. Years ago, she picked Sir Arnhelm as her successor and began training him so that she can finally rest.
The following section provides a list of hauntings, minor eerie events that can occur while players are within Fort Vigil to give it the appropriate atmosphere. A haunting can be selected randomly by rolling a six-sided die, or can be chosen as the game master desires.
Hauntings
| d6 | Event |
|---|---|
| 1 | Black liquid bubbles along the base of the fort's wall. Its touch is numbing and conveys the sound of screaming, but is otherwise intangible. |
| 2 | Heavy, halting footsteps show on the dusty path and bend the grass, stopping at the lake’s shore. |
| 3 | A ghostly hedgewitch aimlessly wanders nearby, vaguely aware of her state but unsure of what to do. She only lingers due to an adamant refusal to give up her existence or pass on. |
| 4 | A weathered boulder shines with a blue-tinged light, and anyone nearby can hear a chanted prayer and see water rippling over its surface. |
| 5 | Two thin strands of silver circle each other beneath a tree. Anyone who approaches hears a distant, merry song and feels a surge of affection. |
| 6 | With the caw of a crow, the scenery changes. The fields are barren, the rocks spattered with blood. A dying man slumps against a tree, covered in wounds. The scene vanishes as the man dies. |
The Motion Archival
Hidden far beneath the earth is a secret, ancient labyrinth: the dusty halls of the Ancestral Repository. Within its dizzying maze rest endlessly slumbering monsters, fabled treasures, forgotten mysteries, and the immortal guardians who watch over it all and keep it safe. Those in the service of these guardians know an incantation by which any object or entity of interest can be returned to the Repository from afar: The Motion Archival.
Sphere Warp; Effective Level 4th
Skill Checks in order - Knowledge (arcana) DC 20 2 successes, Knowledge (local) DC 20 1 success, Diplomacy DC 20 1 success
Casting Time 1 minute
Components S, V
Target one creature or object
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Will negates; SR: yes
Description
Granted only to the allies of the Ancestral Repository, this incantation offers an object or creature to the Repository and requests that the immortal guardians take custody of it. The incantation uses a circle of blood to call the attention of the guardians to the target, which is then followed by a petition to one of the guardians.The circle of blood must be created around the target at precise locations. Because of this, a creature targeted by this incantation must either be willing or helpless. Further, the circle must incorporate arcane symbols that give a short description of the target, and so creating the circle requires the two Knowledge (arcana) checks. When the circle is successfully created, a link between the target and the Repository is formed. Within the circle, a mirage of the labyrinth can be seen, and a petition can be sent through it. The petition must follow a complex protocol and address a specific immortal guardian appropriate to the target being sent. Understanding this protocol and the proper guardian to address takes a Knowledge (local) check, and then a Diplomacy check to make a convincing petition.After a successful petition, the target is teleported to the Repository.Backlash
One willing performer (either primary or secondary) must take 2d6 damage as they provide blood for the incantation.Failure
If you fail the initial Knowledge (arcana) checks, the incantation simply fails immediately as the link fails to form between the target and the Repository. Failing the Diplomacy check means the petition is rejected, and the target is not accepted by the guardians. If the Diplomacy check is failed by 5 or more, the incantation automatically fails if used on the same target again before one week passes.Curiously, failing the Knowledge (local) check does not prevent the target from being teleported, but means incorrect protocol was used or the wrong guardian addressed. This typically results in censure by the guardians (treat them as unfriendly the next time they are encountered), but sometimes may result in stranger results, such as an object being lost in a dangerous or unknown part of the Repository, a transported villain appearing in an insecure area, or the target arriving in a way that disrupts or adversely affects other archived items.Adaptation and Use
The Motion Archival is an incantation useful for securing dangerous villains, retrieving hard to transport artifacts, or sending important items to allies. It can easily be adapted for many uses, such as sending enemies back to a magical prison, ancient texts to a library, or even tithes to a god king.The intent of the incantation is to send important things such as artifacts or people important to a quest to a specific place. A GM should be cautious about allowing frivolous or frequent uses of this incantation, and should adapt it to a strictly limited number of places rather than allowing it to send items anywhere in the world.
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