This started by Jvstin and Ginger, the founding cast of Eternal City is:
the Boy, aka Stargazer, son of Logan, son of Caine, played by Glen
Demi Alysande, daughter of Florimel, played by GM
March, son of Gerard, played by GM
Melinda, daughter of Florimel, Deirdre, Ozmandius, played by Connie
Owen, daughter of Gerard, played by Anne
Richmond, son of Mirelle, played by GM
Shapir, son of Julian, played by GM
Four men, three ladies, there was a quickie auction with some fiddle. The GM bid in the auction for the four NPCs.
What does a GM hope for in a starting cast? Why did I participate in auction as NPCs?
I might do things very differently in my next (ha, ha) campaign, but the ATEC startup was looking for mingling dynamic among the same generation. Merlin and Martin were already going to be scarce, so I wanted a larger set of "in the know" youngsters to play off of.
Every PC was coming to Amber largely ignorant of their heritage. Relationships were going to start from scratch—so having a few folks around at the same 'age' was for chatting and discovery.
The expanded cast is here and represents some weaving of other realms attached to my campaign, such as Courts of Chaos, Empire of the Gleaming Banner, and a second group of Players joining after the out-of-state moves by Glen and Connie.
The Cassandra diaries detail the second group startup.
As a complication, there are signs in the Eternal City game that two other tangents to the game have casts that echo in it. Argent Rose and Bloody Grievance both inspire some bits that backstory with the campaign.