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HelpSaphir's Renaissance KUY Congrats - Round 1
Rather a long time ago now, I ran a medieval royal congrats game - I had a great time doing it, and, inspired by my recent viewing (Medici: Masters of Florence) and reading (Paul Strathern’s The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, and Mary Hollingworth’s The Borgias: History's Most Notorious Dynasty), I thought it might be fun to run a similar game set in Renaissance Italy. It’s not going to be totally historically accurate, because (a) I am not a historian, and my knowledge is only as good as my Google searches, and (b) I don’t think it’ll be much fun for anyone if I get bogged down with all the minute details!
You’ll need dice to play: I tend to use http://www.brockjones.com/dieroller/dice.htm
You can play purely the naming/family element, or create a story to your game.
So…
The year is 1400. Italy is divided into many city states - some governed by Dukes, others nominally a democracy. The arts are flourishing, funded by the patronage of wealthy families: families like yours. Banking is a lucrative industry, and today, as throughout history, money talks. Whether it’s buying a title for your family, or bribing your way into the papacy, cash is just about the only way to guarantee your success and your safety in this world. As the new head of your family (may your father rest in peace), you must walk a fine line between caution and innovation, prudence and risk-taking, and ensure the glory of your ever-expanding family in the decades to come.
First, roll d6 for the city state in which your family is based:
1 - Florence
2 - Ferrara
3 - Milan
4 - Venice
5 - Genoa
6 - Siena
Then, roll d4 for the number of children your starting couple has to begin with. For their genders, roll d2 - 1 for a boy, 2 for a girl - you can choose their ages. Finally, choose names from the namebank for your couple and their children - if you wish, you can also include various other family members (siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles and the like) in your family unit, particularly if you’re wanting to play a more story-oriented game. The surname you choose for your family will be your main dynasty; your spouse’s family can be counted as your closest allies. Feel free to choose another surname to serve as your rivals, or any other backstory you want!
Namebanks can be found below:
Giovanni Antonio Piero Francesco Iacopo Bartolomeo Niccolo Matteo
Tommaso Filippo Bernardo Lorenzo Andrea Michele Luca Leonardo Biagio Niccolaio
Agostino Taddeo Luigi Santi Marco Stefano Mariano Dario Damiano Cipriano Martino Alessandro
Maria Lucrezia Maddalena Caterina Giovanna Giuliana Antonia Margherita
Salvaza Simona Filippa Pia Alessandra Cristina Piera Isabetta Bartolomea Tessa Diana Serena
Jacopa Gemma Catalina Marsilia Joanna Angela Leonarda Nicolosa Tommasa Giulietta
Andriolo Toscanelli Sarretti Frattasio Roselli Giardiola Ferri Pirovano Calzolai Meoni Delmonico Lucetti Morra Grazioli Einaudi Porcellato Vercesi Damasco Castagna Alfieri
Origin Events
I thought for the first round it might be fun to have “events” relating to the origin of your family. They’re optional, just for a little more interest/inspiration for stories! (I’ve left a little “historical note” under a few of the events, mentioning which family/families inspired this backstory, and which parts of it are or aren’t historical)
Roll d4:
1 - Pontifex Maximus
Papal conclaves are often tricky business: when neither of two factions of cardinals can get their preferred candidate elected, they may turn to a “compromise candidate”. This candidate is preferably old, pious, and apolitical - someone who will hold office for a few years and then kick the bucket, leaving a vacancy to be filled by whichever faction has managed to garner support over the years. Unfortunately for them, sometimes their compromise candidate rather outlives their expectations. A hundred or so years ago, your great grandfather was such a pope. Despite being 71 when he was elected, he held the position for almost ten years, and elevated several of his nephews to the rank of cardinal, allowing them to secure valuable diplomatic and financial ties. One of these nephews - your great uncle - founded the family bank, which has since been passed down through the generations (because, let’s be honest, who’s really obeying those rules about “clerical celibacy” anyway?). Your family still holds a lot of sway within the Church, considering the number of cousins, uncles, and whoever else still hold office there.
(Alfonso de Borgia was elected around the age of 77 as a compromise candidate in 1455 - he appointed his nephew, Rodrigo Borgia to the College of Cardinals, paving the way for him to become Pope Alexander VI and advance his children’s interests. The practice of appointing nephews (who were frequently illegitimate sons) as cardinals was fairly common.)
2 - A Particular Ardour
The pope is supposed to be celibate. Everyone knows this. However, with what some might describe as shocking infrequency, the pope is found not to be celibate. Everyone knows this, too. A woman, several generations ago, caught the eye of the supreme pontiff, and naturally they began a clandestine relationship. It is said that she bore him a son - this son, your great grandfather, was not given titles by his father, but instead simply a large sum of money. Being a clever, enterprising young man, he used this to buy a small but promising bank trading in a city up north, and grew it until it was a veritable financial empire. So, here’s to great grandfather and his disregard for the rules!
(This one is slightly more generalised, but Pope Alexander VI (yep, him again) had many mistresses while he was pope, including Vannozza dei Cattanei, with whom he had four children, and Giulia Farnese, described by Alexander & Vannozza’s son Cesare as having “a particular ardour”.)
3 - The Great Pestilence
A terrible plague struck the city, many years ago. A common enough story, one which can be heard in any place in Italy, or France, or Aragon, or any number of countries. It raged on for weeks, months, maybe even years. It killed thousands, devastated the economy, left the city and its people in ruins. And what did the noble leaders of the city do? They ran away to their mansions in the country, leaving the common people to die in filthy agony. Eventually, a man and a woman, having lost three children with two more lying sick on the ground, said enough was enough. They gathered the support of those who survived, and seized power, declaring that it was now a democratic city of the people. That was lovely, for a generation, until one of their two surviving sons married the only child of a very rich banker, inherited the business, and began pulling all the strings in the democracy. Ah, well, a few generations later and the people can’t even remember what it was like to govern themselves.
(There’s no particular historical basis for this one, there just happened to be plague in the episode of Medici I was watching last night!)
4 - Sometimes, the Sword is Mightier than the Pen
There are some rulers in the city, some ancient noble family. They aren’t very popular, but then, rulers never are. With time, they grow unpopular enough that the people throw their support behind the rulers’ greatest rivals, a family of fairly small time bankers with loud mouths and big ideas. The people want to install these bankers as rulers - the bankers refuse, seeing that they’ll just be deposed in a few years (there are a few brain cells behind those loud mouths). They do, however, loan a large sum of money to their preferred candidate for ruler. After a year of bloody conflict and the spending of many, many ducats, their man wins, and promises lucrative deals to the bank who helped him. Surprisingly, he follows through on his words, and soon the family of small time bankers are a family of big time bankers - one of the most successful in Italy, in fact, and with several marriages to the ruling dynasty of their city.
(Again, no historical precedent - I realised halfway through writing these that most families’ influence came from the papacy in some way or another)
Il nous faut de l'audace, et encore de l'audace, et toujours de l'audace !
http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/185597
My PNL!
You’ll need dice to play: I tend to use http://www.brockjones.com/dieroller/dice.htm
You can play purely the naming/family element, or create a story to your game.
So…
The year is 1400. Italy is divided into many city states - some governed by Dukes, others nominally a democracy. The arts are flourishing, funded by the patronage of wealthy families: families like yours. Banking is a lucrative industry, and today, as throughout history, money talks. Whether it’s buying a title for your family, or bribing your way into the papacy, cash is just about the only way to guarantee your success and your safety in this world. As the new head of your family (may your father rest in peace), you must walk a fine line between caution and innovation, prudence and risk-taking, and ensure the glory of your ever-expanding family in the decades to come.
First, roll d6 for the city state in which your family is based:
1 - Florence
2 - Ferrara
3 - Milan
4 - Venice
5 - Genoa
6 - Siena
Then, roll d4 for the number of children your starting couple has to begin with. For their genders, roll d2 - 1 for a boy, 2 for a girl - you can choose their ages. Finally, choose names from the namebank for your couple and their children - if you wish, you can also include various other family members (siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles and the like) in your family unit, particularly if you’re wanting to play a more story-oriented game. The surname you choose for your family will be your main dynasty; your spouse’s family can be counted as your closest allies. Feel free to choose another surname to serve as your rivals, or any other backstory you want!
Namebanks can be found below:
Giovanni Antonio Piero Francesco Iacopo Bartolomeo Niccolo Matteo
Tommaso Filippo Bernardo Lorenzo Andrea Michele Luca Leonardo Biagio Niccolaio
Agostino Taddeo Luigi Santi Marco Stefano Mariano Dario Damiano Cipriano Martino Alessandro
Maria Lucrezia Maddalena Caterina Giovanna Giuliana Antonia Margherita
Salvaza Simona Filippa Pia Alessandra Cristina Piera Isabetta Bartolomea Tessa Diana Serena
Jacopa Gemma Catalina Marsilia Joanna Angela Leonarda Nicolosa Tommasa Giulietta
Andriolo Toscanelli Sarretti Frattasio Roselli Giardiola Ferri Pirovano Calzolai Meoni Delmonico Lucetti Morra Grazioli Einaudi Porcellato Vercesi Damasco Castagna Alfieri
Origin Events
I thought for the first round it might be fun to have “events” relating to the origin of your family. They’re optional, just for a little more interest/inspiration for stories! (I’ve left a little “historical note” under a few of the events, mentioning which family/families inspired this backstory, and which parts of it are or aren’t historical)
Roll d4:
1 - Pontifex Maximus
Papal conclaves are often tricky business: when neither of two factions of cardinals can get their preferred candidate elected, they may turn to a “compromise candidate”. This candidate is preferably old, pious, and apolitical - someone who will hold office for a few years and then kick the bucket, leaving a vacancy to be filled by whichever faction has managed to garner support over the years. Unfortunately for them, sometimes their compromise candidate rather outlives their expectations. A hundred or so years ago, your great grandfather was such a pope. Despite being 71 when he was elected, he held the position for almost ten years, and elevated several of his nephews to the rank of cardinal, allowing them to secure valuable diplomatic and financial ties. One of these nephews - your great uncle - founded the family bank, which has since been passed down through the generations (because, let’s be honest, who’s really obeying those rules about “clerical celibacy” anyway?). Your family still holds a lot of sway within the Church, considering the number of cousins, uncles, and whoever else still hold office there.
(Alfonso de Borgia was elected around the age of 77 as a compromise candidate in 1455 - he appointed his nephew, Rodrigo Borgia to the College of Cardinals, paving the way for him to become Pope Alexander VI and advance his children’s interests. The practice of appointing nephews (who were frequently illegitimate sons) as cardinals was fairly common.)
2 - A Particular Ardour
The pope is supposed to be celibate. Everyone knows this. However, with what some might describe as shocking infrequency, the pope is found not to be celibate. Everyone knows this, too. A woman, several generations ago, caught the eye of the supreme pontiff, and naturally they began a clandestine relationship. It is said that she bore him a son - this son, your great grandfather, was not given titles by his father, but instead simply a large sum of money. Being a clever, enterprising young man, he used this to buy a small but promising bank trading in a city up north, and grew it until it was a veritable financial empire. So, here’s to great grandfather and his disregard for the rules!
(This one is slightly more generalised, but Pope Alexander VI (yep, him again) had many mistresses while he was pope, including Vannozza dei Cattanei, with whom he had four children, and Giulia Farnese, described by Alexander & Vannozza’s son Cesare as having “a particular ardour”.)
3 - The Great Pestilence
A terrible plague struck the city, many years ago. A common enough story, one which can be heard in any place in Italy, or France, or Aragon, or any number of countries. It raged on for weeks, months, maybe even years. It killed thousands, devastated the economy, left the city and its people in ruins. And what did the noble leaders of the city do? They ran away to their mansions in the country, leaving the common people to die in filthy agony. Eventually, a man and a woman, having lost three children with two more lying sick on the ground, said enough was enough. They gathered the support of those who survived, and seized power, declaring that it was now a democratic city of the people. That was lovely, for a generation, until one of their two surviving sons married the only child of a very rich banker, inherited the business, and began pulling all the strings in the democracy. Ah, well, a few generations later and the people can’t even remember what it was like to govern themselves.
(There’s no particular historical basis for this one, there just happened to be plague in the episode of Medici I was watching last night!)
4 - Sometimes, the Sword is Mightier than the Pen
There are some rulers in the city, some ancient noble family. They aren’t very popular, but then, rulers never are. With time, they grow unpopular enough that the people throw their support behind the rulers’ greatest rivals, a family of fairly small time bankers with loud mouths and big ideas. The people want to install these bankers as rulers - the bankers refuse, seeing that they’ll just be deposed in a few years (there are a few brain cells behind those loud mouths). They do, however, loan a large sum of money to their preferred candidate for ruler. After a year of bloody conflict and the spending of many, many ducats, their man wins, and promises lucrative deals to the bank who helped him. Surprisingly, he follows through on his words, and soon the family of small time bankers are a family of big time bankers - one of the most successful in Italy, in fact, and with several marriages to the ruling dynasty of their city.
(Again, no historical precedent - I realised halfway through writing these that most families’ influence came from the papacy in some way or another)
Il nous faut de l'audace, et encore de l'audace, et toujours de l'audace !
http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/185597
My PNL!
This message was edited 5/1/2019, 10:56 AM
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