In Amber there are four attributes that govern everything that your character can do. When attributes bid directly against one another the character with the highest attribute will win. There are ways to bring other attributes into play in a contest and while some call it cheating, others call it using your assets.
Attribute Rankings are:
Human - Normal human potential.
Chaos - Maximum human potential.
Amberite - Beyond human potential.
Ranked Amberite - Beyond even Amberite potential.
Strength
Strength rates the character's muscles, and therefore the damage that a character can inflict in hand to hand combat, as well as the character's resistance to damage. Normal Amberite strength is enough to lift and carry about 800 lbs.
Strength is a measure of unarmed martial arts prowess that a character has and includes everything from wrestling to obscure martial arts from the depths of Shadow that have yet to be named.
The Potential of Strength
- All hand to hand to hand combat that does not involve the use of weapons.
- The learning curve for all martial arts is very high. A character with high strength may be caught unawares by a trick maneuver once. After that the character will automatically compensate and the trick will not work again.
- Pure smashing, lifting, throwing, crushing, squishing, etc. power.
- Damage resistance. A character may ignore damage from two ranks lower than his score and will only take half damage from one rank below. Ex. A character with Amberite Strength may ignore Human and lower damage and will only take half damage from Chaos rated strength. The flair of this damage resistance is up to you. Weapons could shatter on your skin, bounce off, be caught and broken, etc.
| Rank | Max. Weight Allowance (lifted over head) |
| Human | Up to 400 lbs. |
| Chaos | Up to 600 lbs. |
| Amberite | Up to 800 lbs. |
| Ranked Amberite | Special |
Warfare
Warfare is the attribute that governs how well a character can form strategies and implement them by controlling the flow of a duel, chess match, troop movements, etc. Normal Amberite warfare is enough to plan up to fifth intention (two to five moves ahead of a base human opponent).
Warfare is also the measure of how quickly a character's reflexes are and is the attribute most often used in melee combat.
The Potential of Warfare
- All melee fighting or tactical movements.
- Less likely to be surprised. Characters with higher ranking in Warfare go first in the turn order and may have a sense of what those around them are going to do. This is not precognition, it is basing movements off of tactical positions. As such the immediate impression may be wrong and cause problems.
- Characters with high warfare may notice that there are gaps in adversaries tactics and deduct if they have secreted weapons and the approximate nature of the weapon based on how they move.
- Charisma/Troop loyalty. Characters with higher warfare are effective leaders. Troops will follow even obscure orders and fight to join the ranks of your fighting force. Your people will trust you with their lives and more.
- Weapon mastery. Through the use of warfare a character will be able to adapt how he uses any melee weapon (even improvised ones) even if he has never seen or used such a weapon before.
| Rank | Intention (strategy) |
| Human | Up to 3rd intention |
| Chaos | Up to 4th intention |
| Amberite | Up to 5th intention |
| Ranked Amberite | Special |
Endurance
Endurance rates the character's ability to continue to perform strenuous actions long after others have dropped from exhaustion. Normal Amberite Endurance will allow a character to stay up and function normally for four days.
Endurance also controls how quickly a character will heal and the effects of being injured. A character cannot walk the True Pattern unassisted with lower than Amberite Endurance.
The Potential of Endurance
- Characters with high endurance can ignore serious injuries and continue to act without impairment.
- Regeneration. Characters with high levels of Endurance will regenerate lost limbs and heal from grievous injuries quickly and without scarring.
- Characters with high Endurance may win confrontations simply by tiring out their opponent.
- High Endurance will allow a character to sustain multiple fatal injuries and still survive.
| Rank | Regeneration/Rest rate |
| Human | Heals from serious injury in about a month and may go 48 hours without resting |
| Chaos | Heals from serious injury in about two weeks and may go 72 hours without resting |
| Amberite | Heals from serious injury in four or five days and may go four days without rest |
| Ranked Amberite | Special |
Psyche
Psyche is the character's force of will and determines how adroitly a character can use Pattern, Trump, Logrus and Magic. Psyche also determines if a character has psychic powers in Shadow and how they manifest. Normal Amberite Psyche allows a character to have Basic Pattern, Logrus, Magic, and Power Words.
The Potential of Psyche
- Characters with high Psyche may gain Advanced powers (Pattern, Logrus, Trump)
- Characters with high Psyche will find that they often have psionic powers in Shadow.
- Characters with high Psyche may be able to win a duel before ever taking up arms against an opponent.
- Psyche allows a character to have a basic sympathy for the people around him allowing him to accurately read moods and subtle gestures.
| Rank | Ability |
| Human | Can use Shadow Powers only |
| Chaos | Low level psychic abilities in Shadow. Can use Shadow Powers only |
| Amberite | Major psychic ability in Shadow. Can use Basic Powers |
| Ranked Amberite | Special/Can use Advanced Powers in Pattern, Trump and Logrus |