Logrus Page

Introduction

While Amberites tend to think of the Logrus as 'The Chaos Pattern', it is not.  The Logrus is ancient, and if Chaosians are to be believed, predates the Pattern.  Whether or not this is actually true, it certainly wasn't made in the same way the Pattern was.  In fact, the way in which it was made remains unknown, though some Chaosians claim it is the shed skin of the ever-changing serpent, continuing to ever change, allowing those who walk through it to be reborn by passing through the holy flesh of the Serpent.  Others just say it's a Construct with Delusions of Grandeur.

Whatever its origins, it's now a large maze which twists and bends around, drifting round the Abyss from Shadow to Shadow following some path which is either random or follows a pattern so deep that no one can comprehend it.  The Courts of Chaos move with it, although they continue to touch the Abyss wherever the Logrus roams. The opening to the Logrus itself always remains in the Ways of the Keeper of the Logrus... at least, that's the official line.

Whoever walks the Logrus and lives gains power over shadow and a vastly extended lifespan, assuming they don't die horribly during the initial fit of madness...

Initiation into the Logrus

Walking the Logrus is fairly easy.  All you absolutely need is the Ability to Shapeshift.  Of course, it helps if you have the Blood of Chaos, as non-Chaosian Shapeshifters frequently freeze up and die in the process, but you can survive a Logrus walk without the Blood.  Of course, Amberites can survive having all their limbs hacked off too...

What the Logrus looks like varies by time of day, time zone, your blood pressure, the price of tea in china, etc, but it's always some variation on a long twisty tunnel which bends around in all dimensions without ever crossing itself, full of constantly changing conditions.  This is why you need shapeshifting--you have to let your body automatically adapt to the changes, or you will die.  Many people carry items with them, which will then be empowered by the Logrus, assuming the item isn't destroyed...

Once you reach the exit, you are a raving lunatic, but you now have the power of the Logrus.  Most people instinctively use it to run off into Shadow to some shadow which matches their current insanities until they calm down.  A few fools try to eat the Keeper of the Logrus and have to be smacked down.

Most people eventually recover from this insanity. Mostly recover, anyway. High Psyche usually helps and lets you recover faster.

Just having walked the Logrus confers three big benefits. First, you become Real, with the benefits thereof. Second, your lifespan is greatly extended, in some cases to immortality. Third, you become immune to the various ill effects that most people suffer around Chaos energies.

Summoning The Sign of the Logrus

This is the first thing everyone learns to do with the Logrus, as it's needed for practically every power in Logrus Mastery.

You learn to call the Sign up before you, a twisty disk with many tendrils radiating out from it. The Sign is invisible to the naked eye, although its presense will give anyone with any psychic sensitivity a creepy feeling. By waving your arms about, you can 'put on' and guide the tendrils of the Logrus about. Both the Sign and the Tendrils are invisible and have no substance, and about all you can do with them at this point is use them to make psychic contact with people who are within eyesight of you by touching them with a tendril.

Logrus Sight

The Summoned Sign of the Logrus can be used as a improved sensory organ which one looks through.  It provides "sight" in a great many more spectrums than are normally available and can be "fine-tuned" by it's user to meet the demands of the situation.  The user can see Magic, Pattern, Logrus, Trump, as well as many things which are hidden.  He/she can use it to analyze any of the above things to gain greater information regarding them. (This is most insightful if he possesses the power to be analyzed).   Things can also be seen to be either of Shadow, of Amber, or of the Courts of Chaos.

Logrus Scry

The Logrus Master can actually use Logrus Sight through the tips of her Logrus Tendrils.  This makes searching through Shadow much more reliable, since the Master can decide if the item that is latched onto is really what she wanted without having to drag it all the way back to herself.  She can also engage in combat with the Tendrils at the other end in an effective manner.  Logrus Scrying is mostly chaotic, as it has to follow the natural swirling of the Tendrils, at least until they latch onto something they were sent to find.  Then slower continuous extension can be done from that anchor point out in Shadow.

Logrus Scrying gets harder the closer one gets to Amber. It also has the problem of Shadows; often the Logrus will find something that LOOKS like what you wanted to spy on, but which is really just a close copy.

Multiple Logrus Scry

The Logrus Master can now scan several locations at once with the Logrus, which can be very far seperate in shadow.  Once a scrying tendril is set in place, if one possesses Tendril Servants, one can instruct it to just keep an eye out on things and alert you when some set of conditions is fulfilled.  The more Psyche you have, the more places you can handle scrying at once.
 

Logrus Defense

With the Sign summoned to mind you can fill your body with the power of the Logrus, making it resistant to the effects of Pattern, Magic, Psyche, or other forces, but providing no physical protection. This can provoke feedback, but is generally better than whatever you were calling it up to protect yourself against. It requires concentration, although not total.

If one also has Solidify Tendrils, the Sign can be made into a shield of Power, blocking in any one direction, which is effective against physical, energy and most Magical attacks, but doesn't provide protection against Pattern, Logrus, Trump or Psyche.  You cannot use both techniques at the same time.

Extended Logrus Defense

One can now form a small dome or sphere with the Logrus to deflect attacks, keeping in mind that the dome will prevent you attacking out except with Logrus Tendrils as much as it will prevent things getting in.

If the Logrus Initiate also possesses Tendril Conduit, one can use this to extend the sign of the Logrus into other people if they are willing to accept you sticking a logrus tendril into them, so that they can be protected against Pattern, Magic, Psyche, and other invasive effects.
 

Logrus Mask

The Logrus Master now becomes adept at confusing any use of Logrus against himself.  He can feed false information to Logrus Sight and Logrus Scrying if he is of superior Psyche.  He can make himself or others appear to have as much, little, or none of Blood of Chaos or Logrus Imprint as he desires.  He can craft Logrus Tendril Servants (Well, assuming he knows how to make Logrus Tendril Servants at all) which don't radiate any Logrus energy to observors.  He can also deflect any use of Logrus to try to travel towards him or his location. Finally he can render the 'anchor' points of his Logrus travel tendrils unnoticable to those of lesser or roughly equal Psychic Finesse.

He can also work these arts against Pattern Users, but it requires a Psyche advantage.
 
   

Solidify Tendrils

One can now turn one's Logrus tendrils visible and solid, allowing them to be used for grappling physical objects. They are guided by Psychic Finesse, and possess Physical Strength dependant on (but not equal to) one's Psychic Power. Solid tendrils cannot be used to initiate psychic combat by either side.


Tendril Conduit

This power allows one to use non-tendril Logrus powers (Warping Shadow, etc) from a distance, using a non-material Logrus tendril as a remote terminal to do so. Magicians can also cast their spells through it. The Logrus Master can now attempt to force mental contact through a solidified tendril as if he were trying to force a trump.

Logrus Tendril Servants

This power allows the Logrus Master to separate a Logrus tendril, solid or dematerialized, and leave it to perform simple tasks. These can include housekeeping, labor, sentry duty, etc. They are not very good at combat and can have trouble making decisions, but are very good at doing repetitive tasks or following predefined choice paths.

The Logrus Master can also implant such a tendril into a Shadow person, making them an obedient slave. This cannot be done to Real people. Such minions fight and perform tasks at a somewhat enhanced level from their previous condition, but tend to have the sort of slack features and mindless stare one generally expects from shambling zombies; don't expect them to serve as infiltrators. If the tendrils are left in for longer than a few days, the minion will tend to develop many interesting mutations and possibily random fits of psychosis.

You can have as many Logrus Servants as you like, although the more there are at one time the less effective they tend to be, so most Logrus Masters limit the number to between 20 and 100.

 
 Logrus Madness

The Logrus Master can now extend a sort of psychic fog out from his body filled with mental Chaos. Ordinary Shadow folk will have their minds snap, becoming gibbering madmen. Real people will start hearing voices, seeing delusions, and having their senses play tricks on them. Logrus Initiates will just get an aggravating buzzing in their heads.

Extremely skilled Logrus Masters can use this power in more subtle and controlled ways.

Like most things that affect the mind, the various primal forms of mental defense will help against it. 

Logrus Seek

The Logrus Master can now extend Logrus tendrils beyond his range of vision and into Shadow, homing in on the people or things he desires. Once he locates it to his satisfaction, he can pull it back to him. Searching in Shadow or Chaos for something with the Logrus has advantages and disadvantages.  The advantage to using Logrus is that you can find generic objects fast.  Grabbing any defined object, sword, a plate of food, a lantern, anything defined in a general sense comes quickly as the Logrus finds the nearest occurrence in Shadow and snaps to it. Unfortunately, the more specific you get, and the further out in Shadow you are, the longer it takes the Logrus to locate something.  If you are in a Medieval-type Shadow, trying to use a Logrus Summoning to get a specific piece of high-tech equipment will take a LONG while.

Shadow Travel

The Logrus Master can now seek for a particular place with tendrils, and then pull himself or herself through Shadow to get there, like a fish being reeled in on a line. This gets one where one wishes to go, but has problems. First, you have to actually find the place with your tendril before you can get moving, which means that journeys actually have two parts; first standing around getting your tendril to your destination, and then pulling yourself to it. Not the best for quick escapes. Second, the Logrus Master has little to no control over what Shadow is like between him and his destination; this would be more of a problem without Shapeshifting, but can still sometimes be fatal. Third, if there are hostile people on the other end with the power to percieve Logrus, they will have time to prepare a warm reception for you.

Because of this, Logrus Masters of this skill level tend to travel in many short hops instead of one big one.

Rapid Shadow Travel

This is the Logrus equivalent of Hellriding; you can now travel at seven times normal shadow travel speeds. Your tendrils will now automatically try to flow through places the Logrus feels you can live through.

Hostile Environment Exploration/Adaptation

This power has several applications.  First of all, during Shadow Travel, the Logrus protects the Logrus Master from the effects of his environment.  This enables passage through hideously deadly environments so long as the Logrus master keeps moving.  This can be extended to other people, but will slow down travel as the Logrus Master has to divert his attention.

Secondly, the Logrus Master's gear and that of anyone who travels with him adapts to suit the shadows he is passing through.

Thirdly, the Logrus Master can now travel into environments normally poorly suited for Logrus travel with greater chances of success and survival.  This chiefly consists of two situations:  the Abyss and the vicinity of the Pattern.  By tying a tendril to something near the Abyss, the master can use the tendril as a lifeline to escape the Abyss after diving into it.  This is commonly done either to find things which have fallen in/been thrown in or to explore if you're fairly insane, as all sorts of odd flotsam and jetsam can be found there.  Secondly, Logrus travel close to the Pattern normally slows to a hideous crawl. This improves things markedly.

Finally, this power helps in surviving Primal Chaos if one is exposed to it.


Extend Black Thread

This allows a character to create a 'cable' or small track of Chaos that leads through Shadow, and which people can use as a road to move along. This requires a large amount of concentration, and the Black Thread melts away shortly after concentration is broken. The width and Shadow-length of the Black Thread are dependant on the Logrus Master's Psychic Power.

Spending any amount of time on a Black Thread is very unpleasant to those not bound to Chaos, causing mutations in Shadow folk and weakness, disease, fits of madness and depression in others.
 

Open Black Road

This allows the Logrus Master to create a fixed highway, a Black Road, through Shadow. The Road does not require constant attention, although periodic repairs may be needed far from Chaos. It is otherwise similar to a Black Thread.

Opening a Black Road of any real length is extremely time consuming and requires a powerful mind, unless the process is backed up by some sort of suitable power source or done in a place where Pattern is very weak.


Logrus Warp

The Logrus Master reaches into a creature with dematerialized Logrus tendrils and begins to deftly apply Chaos, changing them in some fashion. This is much easier to do to Shadow beings than real ones. People and creatures can be reshaped to new forms, granted great strength or speed, driven mad or given new personalities or delusions, or otherwise twisted in some way. The exact nature of the change, however, is hard to predict, and depends largely on the Psychic Finesse of the Logrus Master and how much time he is taking to make the changes. Primal Defenses will tend to prevent this from working, and the power of Pattern will actually reverse changes made if applied for long enough.


Warp Shadow

The Logrus Master opens a conduit between the Logrus and the Shadow he's in, allowing raw Chaos energy to pour in. A 'linkpoint' then forms in the Shadow, typically taking a form like a faerie ring, a dark altar, a haunted mountain, etc. From this spot, Chaos energy begins to seep outwards through the fabric of the Shadow, causing the land to warp and mutate as it goes. Shadowdwellers who remain within the affected zone are remade into minor beings of Chaos, gaining some measure of reality but becoming largely tied into the new paradigm being created. Creatures without a tie to Chaos who cannot be so easily overwhelmed (Amberites, etc) begin to feel unpleasant effects when inside such a zone, being afflicted with weakness, disease, fits of madness and depression, and changing moods and fancies.

The Logrus Master can easily rally and lead the realm so warped, making this a useful way to gain an in-shadow army.

The linkpoint must be regularly tended by the Logrus Master. If it is not renewed or if it is somehow destroyed, the Chaos energy will dissipate and the Shadow will slowly start to snap back to 'normal' as the Pattern reasserts the old form on it.

This power works poorly or not at all near Amber. It also works poorly near the Courts of Chaos, as the Shadows there are generally already too full of Logrus influence for much more to make a difference.


Evolve Shadow

The Logrus Master picks a desired end-form for a Shadow, and initiates a wave of changes and mutations that guide the Shadow to the new configuration. Simple changes can be achived relatively quickly; a Logrus Master who wanted a planet ruled by a Monarchy instead of a Democracy could rapidly inspire a coup that installs a royal ruler. Turning a shadow that used to consist of a single planet into a huge universe of systems is rather harder, and would generally involve some sort of cataclysmic universe-expanding event being set off. This is not a fast power and can take years to work in the harder cases. It is nearly impossible to use close to Amber.


Summon Primal Chaos

This releases Primal Chaos into a Shadow. Primal Chaos, a force in direct connection with the untamed Chaos at the remote center of the Courts, will bring total destruction to whatever Shadow it occupies. And that's what will happen, barring other intervention, because this power doesn't actually give you any way to stop it.

Primal Chaos grows weaker and harder to summon the further you get from Chaos.

Control Primal Chaos

You can now use your Logrus tendrils to contain and push back Primal Chaos, limiting its flow or banishing it altogether. This is easier to do the closer you get to Amber, where Primal Chaos is weaker, more sluggish, and less unstable. It requires a fair bit of concentration.

Bear in mind that Primal Chaos, by its very definition, is unstable stuff and can never really be reliably controlled or harnessed.

Logrus and Amber

The Logrus and most of its powers can be used in and around Amber. However, the closer to a Pattern one gets in Shadow, the weaker the Logrus becomes. No Logrus Master is going to relish pitting his Primal Power against that of a Prince of Amber within the very realm of the Pattern, as the Amberite is going to have an advantage in how easily the Pattern will slap down the Logrus.

Only a very suicidal or very desperate Logrus Master would actually try to call up the Logrus within the Pattern Chamber itself, as this is not only pretty ineffectual, but also a bit like taking a lit candle into a gunpowder mill.
 
 


Revised Logrus: 108 points total
 

LOGRUS IMPRINT [Chaos Psyche, Chaos Endurance]
* Blood of Chaos 
* Shape Shift: Control Primal Form

Basic Logrus--20
Logrus--45
Advanced Logrus--78
Master Logrus--108 (Cannot start with, but can acquire during play)
Exalted Logrus--108+ (As it is NPC only, there's no reason you should be seeing the powers you get)


Last Update April 8, 2006