Arden, I wouldn’t mind getting into an amber game although I have never played it before. I believe it works with skills trumping other skills and only one person can be the best in them all.
Dorkus, you are right on target with the Amber system. The ‘troupe’ would have a bidding process before the campaign started. Characters would be built to some point value. (Say 100 points). Folks would bid to be ranked in each attribute. For example, the attribute being bid upon is Strength. Everyone would enter secret bids to determine exactly how strong the party members are in relation to one another. This is repeated for other abilities.
I played Amber Diceless years ago and loved it. It was great as a one-on-one system, for those nights when 3 out of 4 of the group couldn’t make it. I’m also a Zelazny fan of no small water, so playing around in his world entertained me to no end.
Auctions are not a requirement. I hate them myself and a lot of the games I play in online don’t have them.
Being without a local gaming group these days, I get my fix in the online community.
There are several games gearing up now or accepting players that are announced here if you’re intrested in Amber. Additionally, the board has a good dozen or so GMs as members and they often draw from the posters to the board for their invitation only games.