Parenthood: Random

[RPGPundit]

Obviously, parenthood with Random is a "before and after" story.

I would imagine that it wouldn't be odd for there to be other bastards of Random lying around shadow, and he probably would have been just as careless with them and their mothers as he was with Martin and his mother.

So odds are that if we're talking about the "old" Random, you never got to know your old man at all.

Of course, if it was the "new", responsible King Random, that's another story.  You'd be motherfucking heir presumptive to the throne. You'd be in terrible danger, most likely.
And of course, you'd also be part of Random's ongoing campaign to set things right for all the "errors" of his wild youth.

I can see Random as being the typical teenage-twentysomething "rebel without a clue" who turns around and quits drugs, stops drinking, and/or finds jesus in his late 30s or early 40s, and proceeds to turn into one of those unbearably conventional (and on top of it, preachy) sorts who his own younger self would have despised as a "sell out".

And of course, he will want his boy to avoid making all the mistakes he made.  Between that and the fact that everyone and their chaos beast will be after the kid for what he represents to the line of succession, I could see Random becoming and extremely smothering and stifling parent.

And of course, then there's the question of what happens when one of his many bastards shows up in Amber after Random is king? Said bastard wouldn't necessarily be Random's heir (unless he has no kids with Vialle), but he'd be a significant player right away just by virtue of who his father is.  But would Random particularly even want him around?
Would he try to embrace his kid, take him on a nature hike and sing kumbayah to try to make up for having abandoned him decades earlier?
Or would he be cold and distant to his kid, seeing him as an unwelcome and embarrassing reminder of his "youthful errors"?

RPGPundit

[JongWK]

For some reason, Random makes me think of Knocked Up.

[Trevelyan]

I always get the impression that, as much as Random wants to be the "good guy" and make up for his wild past he's still not very good at it. He finds it hard to relate to Martin (consider the scene with the two musicians in the library which even Mr. "subtext? What subtext?" Merlin suggests was a difficult father and son moment). At the same time, Random is definitely all about the effort so once he gets over the shock of another child he'll try his best to make up for lost time.

A good stuff character born pre NPiA might hit on the trick of connecting with Random while allowing him to endulge in a little more of his wild side. Hitting the jaz clubs and poker tables with Random could help build a connection while also providing "dad" with a much needed chance to relax.

I'd hesitate to have a bad stuff older son of Random encounter a significantly different version of the king. Random's efforts to clean up his act, and by extension that of his family, provides far too much story fodder to ignore. Instead I'd make Vialle the problem. Let a bad stuff character encounter a queen pregnant and deeply suspicious of any older children of Random. She could put pressure on her husband to distance himself form the child and perhaps even take action herself (albeit indirectly) if the kid hangs around the castle too much.

A child of Random and Vialle is my first choice for someone with a lot of good stuff. They have a supportive and powerful family while still having potential to encounter all manner of problems from other sources.

[RPGPundit]

I really can't see Vialle as the "wicked stepmother" queen, though... I would think that from everything we've seen of her she'd want Random to have good relationships with his other sons.  Unless of course the PC in question was actually evil or tainted in some way, and Vialle knew this because of her weird sensory powers.

RPGPundit

[Trevelyan]

I really can't see Vialle as the "wicked stepmother" queen, though... I would think that from everything we've seen of her she'd want Random to have good relationships with his other sons.  Unless of course the PC in question was actually evil or tainted in some way, and Vialle knew this because of her weird sensory powers.

RPGPundit

That's why I'd throw in the pregnancy to spice things up. Vialle isn't the evil type, but hormonal women scare the living bejeezus out of me.