Parenthood: Eric

[RPGPundit]

Eric is an interesting case, IMO. He's one of those few Amberites who, as a parent, would be very caring and attentive toward his child.

But then, Eric is a really nice guy, really friendly; everyone says so. And everyone hates him anyways, because they all say that his "niceness" is really just an act he puts on, because its how he manipulates everyone.  Eric is like the "real estate agent" of Amber; he's all friendly because its what gets him what he wants, not because he actually gives a shit about anyone.  
Look at what happens when friendliness doesn't get him his way: the way he treats Random, or Dierdre, or especially Corwin.

In fact, he seems to be more short-tempered and viciously brutal with those who are closest to him by blood.

So its entirely possible that a kid of Eric's could be brought up with a really abusive relationship: being treated wonderfully as long as you do what Eric wants, being subject to horrible punishments and furious rages if you don't.  
But it could also happen that, with the PC, Eric has never done anything other than be friendly.   This could very well leave the PC feeling like their dad is the coolest dad in the world, only to end up hearing from everyone else about what a manipulative two-faced asshole he is, and how he doesn't care about anyone, and how terrible he is to those who cross him; leaving the kid wondering whether they're ALL wrong and Eric is really a good person, or whether the kid just never crossed Eric in a big enough way.  Played right, it could leave the kid wondering if all the love they thought they received was even real.

Of course, this is all a little different if Eric is already dead in your campaign: then either of the scenarios above can take a new twist.  Could the PC end up choosing to remember a nicer version of dear old dad than really existed? I mean after all, the kid was pretty young when Eric died, and 99.9% of the time Eric was all about pony rides and parties and taking you fishing and family BBQs; maybe the kid has just forgotten about that one single time Dad practically beat mom to death for something she'd done, or the time he took you into that dungeon to see the man with no eyes to remind you that you need to be good and do what daddy says.

RPGPundit

[Malleus Arianorum]

Eric's overarching hunger is for apperances. He obsesses over the crown, a largely symbolic honor. He puts his brother on display at the annual banquet not to gloat but to show that Eric is still the nice guy. Eric invited Corwin to the feast, gave him a haircut, even let him sit at the same table. And, on his death bed, Eric is such a nice guy, he doesn't even mind his life long rivarly. It's just a trifle compared to Eric's all consuming niceness.

You hit the nail on the head Pundy, everyone says Eric is a nice guy, because that's his "rug."

The kid could be distant. The lack of interaction would mean that Eric would be free to imagine that the kid thought Eric was a nice guy. The kid could be a hypocrite. Pay lipservice in public and keep antagonism private. That way it wouldn't matter even if people knew the truth, so long as Eric could pretend that everything was ok.

But the most exciting option is to have the sarcastic teenager. The one who points out the elephant in the room at every possible occasion.

[gabriel_ss4u]

Very cool thoughts on this guyz, I like...

I have an NPC son of Eric's IMC
Chadrick
Eric is more like Cardinal Richlue' (sp) as a church figure IMC for the Unicorn - and Chad NEVER measures up. (It gets comical at times).
But this, in time, has made Chad grow fast and hard, like Jurt kind-of, ...
anywho, he's one of the youngest and a pawn always, but he's starting to move up the scale of playing pieces, due to that strict, unrelenting dominant father-figure; Eric.

[Nihilistic Mind]

In my current PbP campaign, Eric is a great father with a loving relationship with his daughter. He is very likable, of course, but she hasn't discovered everything about him either.

Eric is great with appearances and hiding anything that makes him look bad... Like Corwin, for example.
If there's anything that brings the worst in Eric, it's Corwin; so banishing him to Shadow Earth or locking him away to be forgotten have been Eric's solutions so far...

[Syzygy]

Any son of Eric's who's not the absolute best at everything will be horribly mocked and ridiculed by his father.

Eric is the ultimate, high-pressure "you'd better come home with first place or not at all" father.