Parents?

[gabriel_ss4u]

Ooopsie, too many threads at the same time. Me very, very bad. Maybe I _should_ check my temperature.

Playing Amber is different enough, unless this particular campaign would have some very tight core concepts, I'd let them choose their parents. This goes as far as actually creating them, maybe with an auction all of their own. Build the genealogy before you actually play. It would ease the players who probably won't ever read the novels. It got some severe procrastinators and at least one dyslexic in my current group

You miss the whole concept, if you didn't read the books... play AD&D or something.... this is 'specialized' genre

And the players, if they can't get through 5 thin, awesomely written books, well, they aren't of the cloth that Amber players are cut from.

Harsh, but true.

[Trevelyan]

I'll usually pick parents, but I ususally let the players know who their parent is. I find repeat performances of the "who's your daddy" story idea a little dry.

Most PCs have a clear area of interest/speciality. If the PC has good stuff they often get a parent to match (the PC Warfare specialist with good stuff getting Benedict, the budding sorcerer getting Fiona, etc). If the PC has bad stuff the opposite applies (Mr. Warefare being forced to sit through hours of lectures frmo Mummy Fiona and taking none of it in, Mr. Spells being forced by Benedict to join the army on campaign). Neither of the above are universal and it's bad form to always take the same approach, but I generally take the PCs interests and stuff into account in some fashion.

I once had a player who made an opening bid of 10 in each auction with no further bids, bought basic Pattern and sat back with 10 points of good stuff. I was at a loss until he dicided to call this guy Fortune. I knew then that his dad had to be Random.

Which reminds me. ADRPG encourages the GM to pick-a-parent because such things are deemed to be outside the PC's power to influence. By the same token, has anyone ever considered picking a character's name for the player? Get the player to determine abilities and interests, but let the GM pick parents (as usual?) and then decide what that Amberite parent would most likely call their child.

[Eniko]

I find repeat performances of the "who's your daddy" story idea a little dry.

As a player, I'd have to disagree. "Who are my parents" is a recurring theme in pretty much all our Amber campaigns so far, and it's always interesting to find out who they are and the circumstances.

Of course, having it be the focus for the game, instead of an interesting little side thing is probably too much to do more than once.

Though occasionally it's nice to actually pick who your parents were and how you grew up in relation to them.

[Trevelyan]

As a player, I'd have to disagree. "Who are my parents" is a recurring theme in pretty much all our Amber campaigns so far, and it's always interesting to find out who they are and the circumstances.

It's not really supported by the source material. In the original Trilogy we meet two "next generation" Amberites, Martin and Merlin, both of whom are fully aware of their parentage.

In the Merlin series there are a few illegitimate offspring of Amberites (Dalt, Coral) and Wujcik raises the possibility that Jurt might be the son of Corwin, but Luke/Rinaldo certainly knows where he comes from.

It seems more likely for an Amberite to acknowledge and protect a legitimate child than to abandon the kid for his/her own safety. Nor does it seem reasonable for one Amberite to lay claim to the offspring of another (witness Benedict as proxy parent for Martin, whose real parentage was never in doubt).

And if you over play the possibility that a PCs parents might not be who he thinks they are then you reach the stage where no one trusts their upbringing. Even if that isn't the intended focus of the game the quest to discover parents often distracts players, and if it is a focus then we're right back in yawnsville.

Basically, I just don't buy it from either a genre emulation or positive game element point of view.

[gabriel_ss4u]

As far as the "Who's your daddy" story-lines go, I like them as they are interesting to see unfold, but don't forget...
Knowledge is power... and that tidbit is worth alot to the right people.

As for the Amberite 2nd Gen. knowing their parentage... well, the book encourages GMs to pick parentage, not necessarily keep that knowledge from them.
right?
though it is fun.

[Sargon]

Which reminds me. ADRPG encourages the GM to pick-a-parent because such things are deemed to be outside the PC's power to influence. By the same token, has anyone ever considered picking a character's name for the player? Get the player to determine abilities and interests, but let the GM pick parents (as usual?) and then decide what that Amberite parent would most likely call their child.

Oh dear god no!  it's a cool idea, but one of the best parts of Amber is that most major NPCs are named for me.  I like to consider myself a pretty good GM, but names can just be messy.

[newguy]

I would never allow my players to pick their own parents lol. For me one of the defining moods of the both sets of Amber books is that everyone else seems to know more about what's going on than the narrator. I would assume that if the books were told through someone else's POV from Eric on down to Brand (well maybe not Brand he always thought he had the one-up on everybody) they would think everyone else knew more about what was going on then they did.

Keep the players guessing & keep them suspicious of their siblings is how I always try to play. Now from a GMs point of view I look at their "stuff" after bidding and decide that way. If they really overbid maybe they're Brand's son or an incestuous child of Deirdre and Corwin. If they have plenty of good stuff maybe I'll throw em a bone and let them have Gerard or Benedict.

A player can feel free to include who they think or have been told are their parents in their origin story as much as want. Maybe it's true and maybe it isn't. This is Amber after all, lies and intrigue are a huge part of the game.