TL;DR Summary:
- Late Medieval-Fantasy, political intrigue and military. Magic optional.
- Set in a place much like 14th-15th century Italy; many city states fighting it out for supremacy.
- Fictional Setting - Rossaterri, the small city and home of the ruling Corneli family.
- Male role and female role; I'm playing the male. Female lead is expected to be strong and devious.
- The Contessa di Rossaterri, (insert Italian first name) Spada (her maiden name, meaning 'sword'), recently widowed, needs help holding her lands. If we use magic in the setting, she may, perhaps, be a magic user.
- Sir Geoffrey Falbrooke, a foreign condottiero (mercenary general) is exiled from his homeland and has spent a few years fighting in campaigns elsewhere.
- Advanced Standards; 2 Paragraph minimum, probably more.
In Character Info:
Conti Donato Corneli of Rossaterri is dead of an illness, leaving behind a widow who is beset at all corners by those who wish to absorb her land into their holdings; while there are many mercenaries throughout the land, few will take employment under a woman and take orders without trying to overcome her and take the lands for themselves. And yet, she has to find someone to help her fight her enemies; a capable woman, the daughter of a condottiero, she consults a family friend who recommends a man, a foreigner, known as "The Gambler" to fight as her condottiero, her mercenary general.
Sir Geoffrey Falbrooke, the Gambler, is an exiled Vendish noble. Because of the scandal of his marriage and the political enmity between him and certain members of the Vendish court and his own quarrels with his father, he is unwelcome back in his homeland, where his wife has taken up with another man and his family has disowned him. Nonetheless, the King of the Vendish Isles, Hugh III, owes his crown in part to Sir Geoffrey's brilliance in fighting the brutal Regency War and helps him establish a free company in the Cities of the Sun Coast. A drinker and a cad, he is a noble-born warrior with the cunning of a fox who fights his battles with his brains and can turn the odds of most any battle with the brilliance of his maneuvers. When the call comes to come to an unknown land, Acalia, a place rife with warring city-states, he agrees to come and fight, for the lure of riches. He already is established with the city of Tarbaz, through which much trade passes. There, he just recently finished his five-year contract wherein he fought the wars and gave the boy Sultan of the city, who inherited too early, a much-needed education. Now that the Sultan is of age and capable of fighting his own battles and Falbrooke needs, in order to flourish, patronage in Acalia. Rossaterri's trade contacts are floundering due to the instability, but trade from Tarbaz would bring new life its port.
Sir Geoffrey Falbrooke, the Gambler, is an exiled Vendish noble. Because of the scandal of his marriage and the political enmity between him and certain members of the Vendish court and his own quarrels with his father, he is unwelcome back in his homeland, where his wife has taken up with another man and his family has disowned him. Nonetheless, the King of the Vendish Isles, Hugh III, owes his crown in part to Sir Geoffrey's brilliance in fighting the brutal Regency War and helps him establish a free company in the Cities of the Sun Coast. A drinker and a cad, he is a noble-born warrior with the cunning of a fox who fights his battles with his brains and can turn the odds of most any battle with the brilliance of his maneuvers. When the call comes to come to an unknown land, Acalia, a place rife with warring city-states, he agrees to come and fight, for the lure of riches. He already is established with the city of Tarbaz, through which much trade passes. There, he just recently finished his five-year contract wherein he fought the wars and gave the boy Sultan of the city, who inherited too early, a much-needed education. Now that the Sultan is of age and capable of fighting his own battles and Falbrooke needs, in order to flourish, patronage in Acalia. Rossaterri's trade contacts are floundering due to the instability, but trade from Tarbaz would bring new life its port.
Out of Character Info:
I think the IC speaks for itself in that the characters are somewhat established, and the setting is suitably Italian; this is all based on the situation that prevailed at the end of the Hundred Years' War between England and France. After the war, many men formed Free Companies (Sir John Hawkwood comes to mind here) and found employment in Italy's city-states as warriors, some of them even achieving very high rank and a couple of them (such as Francesco Sforza (English "Forceful") becoming rulers of the cities (Milan in Sforza's case) outright. The Contessa is only recently married and just as quickly a widow, but she's trying to keep her lands together against more dangerous opponents on the outside. Her father was a Condottiero before he was a Duke, but he is dead now and she has to look out for herself; she can expect little help from the rest of her family, who have problems of their own. Instead, she is forced to look to outside help.
It helps if there is a knowledge of politics and history, and maybe an interest in courtly intrigue; I would like to develop Rossaterri as the RP goes on, doing a little nest-building as part of the plot along with the personal interactions. Perhaps the place has problems, and is a fixer-upper. The direction this new regime under the Contessa is in your hands, perhaps, and you will take ownership of the setting somewhat. The plot, of course, will be the personal interactions between man and woman, foreigner and native, in a chaotic and malevolent environment of conspiracy and assassination. True to 15th century Italy, I might well establish a Catholic-esque Church, whose machinations will be keenly felt throughout the country.
The requirements are listed above; I would like to see a sample of writing before committing to doing this plot with anyone; no offense, I just want to make sure we're a good fit for each other. This is a collaborative plot, so if you like to build things, imagine things and brainstorm, then I'm the player for you and this is definitely the plot for you. How much fantasy we throw in, magic and the such, is up to our discretion, but I'd prefer to keep it low-magic. However, if you'd like, we can make the Contessa a witch/wizardess/sorceress. That would be a cool twist as well as giving the enemies around her a reason to whip up the hate and distrust.
It helps if there is a knowledge of politics and history, and maybe an interest in courtly intrigue; I would like to develop Rossaterri as the RP goes on, doing a little nest-building as part of the plot along with the personal interactions. Perhaps the place has problems, and is a fixer-upper. The direction this new regime under the Contessa is in your hands, perhaps, and you will take ownership of the setting somewhat. The plot, of course, will be the personal interactions between man and woman, foreigner and native, in a chaotic and malevolent environment of conspiracy and assassination. True to 15th century Italy, I might well establish a Catholic-esque Church, whose machinations will be keenly felt throughout the country.
The requirements are listed above; I would like to see a sample of writing before committing to doing this plot with anyone; no offense, I just want to make sure we're a good fit for each other. This is a collaborative plot, so if you like to build things, imagine things and brainstorm, then I'm the player for you and this is definitely the plot for you. How much fantasy we throw in, magic and the such, is up to our discretion, but I'd prefer to keep it low-magic. However, if you'd like, we can make the Contessa a witch/wizardess/sorceress. That would be a cool twist as well as giving the enemies around her a reason to whip up the hate and distrust.