The unknown members of the family

[boulet]

So on one hand we've got quite a lot of knowledge on some of the princesses and princes of Amber. Be it factual, emotional or "historical" knowledge. Bleys tends to plot with his red haired fellows. Flora has an active libido. Benedict survived this long by a playing a low profile during succession turmoils. Fiona is spooking everybody with her arcane abilities. Gerard is the defender of Amber as a nation and an ideal. Etc...

But what of the less known members of the family ? Ok they appear here and there. But what do we know of Llewella except she enjoys living in Rebma and sometimes help with diplomatic missions ? What do we know of Deirdre except she wasn't a supporter of Eric and likes to wield an axe in battle ? Even Caine is quite a blank page to me. Obviously filling out those aspects is part of designing an Amber scenario or campaign and part of the fun.

Not having siblings myself I sometimes feel short on imagining how these characters interact and what personality to assign to them. How do you deal with this issue ? What external sources do you use to shape your own version of the Amber family ? How do you plan on playing their different roles so they feel different and real to your players ?

[RPGPundit]

Hmm, that's a tough one. In my own case, I've certainly based elements of Amberites on family (and occasionally, friends or other people I've known). For all its fantasy elements, Amber is essentially the story about a family.

But I don't think the key is coming from a big family (though I can see how being an only child WOULD be a disadvantage in this case).
The key, to me, is the dysfunctionality of your family. The more dysfunctional your family is, the better you will generally be able to understand the Amberites.
It also helps if you come from an upper class dysfunctional background.

But yeah, look around you; look at people you know. If that fails, look at famous historical sources: the Kennedys, the Julio-Claudians, etc.

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[darciesdaddy]

One thing we do know about Dierdre is she isn't nearly as fond of Corwin as he is of her. I don't remember any hint of her showing affection to Corwin, and when Random and her find out that Corwin has no memory, she is instantly prepared to ditch him, while Random wants to stay and help.

When I GM an Amber game, Dierdre usually secretly despises Corwin. That explains a lot of the trouble he goes through, since the person he loves the most is trying to screw him behind the scenes.

[RPGPundit]

That's an interesting point, darciesdaddy.  It could certainly be that Deirdre actually can't stand either of her brothers, thinking both of them to be sick fucks; but while Corwin is infatuated with her because of his own personal infatuation, Eric is only infatuated with her because Corwin is, making him slightly more despicable in her eyes.

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[darciesdaddy]

Exactly.  In my game, the reason Eric banished Corwin to Earth was because he had done 'something horrible' to Dierdre (It was pretty clear just what it was, but none of the three ever said anything beyond that). Dierdre actually wanted Eric to kill Corwin, Eric refused. Corwin either never recalled the incident (maybe because Eric made extra sure that this particular memory was wiped out) or didn't want to admit what a bastard he really was when he told his tale.

Flora, by the way, was on Earth less to keep track of Corwin for Eric, than to make sure Dierdre didn't find him.

[gabriel_ss4u]

I have had the blessing of my GM having given great personalities in play to the Amberites from the books, and out of them.
Caine;   the ultimate ninja type, shadowy and dangerous, cross that with a terrible pirate and a spy network to rival Osric's.
Sand;   Mistress of dreams, keeper of the Spikards, and queen of the Fae.
Delwin; similar, but her check & balances.
any of the others, just imagine scenarios in your head, how they would react in situations, their personality starts taking form.
YOU CAN DO IT!

[RPGPundit]

On the other hand, when Merlin met what seemed to be Deirdre at the "french bar" in Undershadow, it seems to suggest that Deirdre had in fact seduced Corwin back when he had lost his memory. So maybe it wasn't as one-sided as it looks at first glance.

Of course, that's supposing that was Deirdre. Merlin doesn't recognize her as such; Erick seems to assume she was, but all we really know is she had deep blue eyes, loved Corwin, and had to be either a pattern or logrus ghost.

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