All right, so you've got everything laid out in mind for your character and what they're like, except for what to do with the stats and powers. Here's a brief explanation of the stats and what they're good for, followed by a recommendation for powers.
The following are also acceptable as points...
Amber Rank - equivalent to 0 points Psyche:Mental strength. It is the prime requisite for most powers, like sorcery and conjuration, and is useful when engaging in psychic battles.
Endurance:Necessary to have at least Amber level in order to walk the Pattern. Prime requisite in shape-shifting, and also affirms the character's ability to endure and heal. Those with a high endurance can run faster and longer, and outlast those in battle. This is also considered the tie-breaker if two players are closely ranked in a certain stat...for example, if player Joe is ranked #5 in Strength and player Sam is ranked #6, whoever has the higher endurance will probably win.
Strength: Physical strength. Prime requisite in most types of fighting such as karate, wrestling, brawling, etc. If you want a high warfare, make sure to get high strength as well.
Warfare: Combat skill; the ability to plan tactics. Prime requisite in weapon-based combat such as dueling with rapiers.
Out of the four stats, people tend to put heavy emphasis on psyche and warfare. However, I wouldn't recommend dumping heavy points in BOTH. You can't begin to imagine how tired I am of the goobers who say, "50 points to psyche, 50 points to Warfare, and the rest on Pattern. There, done!" The best characters are evenly balanced, with strengths and weaknesses that aren't overly dramatic. Of course, if you're playing a wizard type, you'd want a high psyche and endurance and would be fine neglecting strength and warfare. Warriors tend to focus on warfare, strength, and endurance.
As for what I would recommend in getting powers, GET PATTERN IMPRINT!!! This is by far the most useful power to have because it allows you to travel without relying on anyone else. It also helps you become better acclimated to the Amber environment because it guarantees that you'll get an Amberite parent who will come and explain the system to you in character. The other powers are fun and flesh out your character, but for a beginner at the game of Amber, I heartily recommend getting the Pattern as a base. You can get more powers if you want, but make sure you've got Pattern.
Below is an example of a brief character sketch concerning points, powers, and items.
Austin Sleaze - Lawyer/Thief/Trump Artist
Powers: Pattern (50), Trump (40), Conjuration (20), High Compelling (Conjuration + 5) = 115 points
Stats
PSYCHE: 30 TOTAL STATS POINTS: 30 + 15 - 10 + 0 = 35
TOTAL POINTS: 115 + 35 = 150 points. Yay! Now say you want more points. How do you do that? Contributions! Contributions can be just about anything as long as it's your own work and effort being added to the product. If you want to see some examples of what other players have contributed, see the Contributions page. Other contributions include helping out the GM with various duties. You'll have to talk to me about those, though, because I might not approve it if I don't think it's very helpful. Anyhow, contributions are worth 10 points extra at the beginning of character creation. If you continually update the contribution (send in new pictures, add new diary entries, etc.) each month, you'll get up to 10 points during the advancement time at the end of the month.
Advancement is the totalling up of your earned points during the month of gameplay, kind of likened to experience points. You can earn up to 10 points for your writing, which is based on factors including: keeping in character, interacting with other PC's, quality of posts (I do NOT want to deal with a million typos and horrible grammar!!!), quantity of posts (don't you dare post once a week and expect to get 10 points), and how interesting you make it for me as a GM. Contributions are also based mostly on quality, effort, and/or usefulness to the game.
Remember, I'm only an e-mail away if you have any questions. [email protected] BUT DON'T YOU DARE E-MAIL ME WITH BONEHEADED QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE EXPLANATIONS OF POWERS!!!! Other pages you need to read include the glossary, the rules, and a brief scan over some other character bios to get a feel for how they work.
Chaos Rank - equivalent to -10 points (weaker than Amber, but you get 10 more points to spend elsewhere)
Human Rank - equivalent to -25 points (HIGHLY recommended by the evil GM, because it is heavily frowned upon by the elders, and people WILL take advantage of extreme weaknesses...making it easier to torment you. Oh, and did I mention the 25 points you get to spend elsewhere? Just make sure it's worth it. Mwah ha ha ha ha!)
ENDURANCE: 15
STRENGTH: Chaos (-10)
WARFARE: Amber (0)