Enzo Borgia, yet again, found himself redirected in his admiration of Italy. He continued his travel from south-western Florence, riding hard for Pisa, where he met with the Via Aurelia, remarking on it's history and significance in ancient Rome to his escort, who in reply groaned and urged him to make haste. The party was still a fair distance from Pisa when the Borgia gave the order to advance off-road into a brush of forest, and set up camp - night would be upon the company soon enough, and the Borgia was too exhausted to continue. Two escorts were placed on watch duty for the first portion of the night, one eyeing the forest behind them, and the other, watching the Aurelian road from afar. As neither had their eyes on the camp, the flame that began to devour the tent they had assembled went entirely unnoticed until the Borgia, screaming wildly, emerged from within. Both watchmen temporarily relinquished themselves of their duties in order to stop the flames. The fires engulfing the camp would be visible from any passerby traveling the Via Aurelia in the evening.

Here is where you post military actions for your House. They should be in the following format:

House:

Commander of Forces:
Accompanying Family Members:
Number of Troops and Makeup by House:
Notes:

An example is as follows:

House: Medici

Commander of Forces: Giovanni de Medici (Tactician)
Accompanying Family Members: Achille degli Albizzi (Warrior), Niccolo Machiavelli (Covert).
Number of Troops and Makeup by House:
Total 6000
Medici of Florence 2000
Albizzi of Florence 1000
Alberti 1000
Machiavelli 1000
Bardi 1000.
Notes: The army is establishing a supply line as they move.

Niccolo Machiavelli spent his early mornings making the occasional visits to the many banks of Medici scattered through the Republic of Florence and the cities. While towards the public he merely seemed to be performing money transactions and withdrawals, he was in fact attempting to formulate contacts within the Medici Court and Banks. By wielding his spy web and making full use of his communications and information, Machiavelli took the time to figure out which of the Medici bankers would be the easiest to sway, the least loyal ones of them, the ones who would be willing to turn around for a good sum of coin. In the act of doing so, the Priori of Florence used his manipulative ways in an attempt to convince them into his personal service.

By day, the young Catalan resumed his journey. While he would make great progress under the sun, he knew he had partly failed in his endeavor. His burden came with a deadline; he had to be back at Rome with an answer soon enough, lest his kin mistake him for dead. Still, Enzo Borgia could not bring himself to forsake his adventurous spirit. More often than not did he catch himself in the wrong direction, following some assembled cobbles or ruin hardly recognizably man-made, knowing from the libraries of Rome their former glory since their creation at the hands of the ancients. This land was ripe with history in ways his homeland could never be. After his mounted escort persisted, he ceded defeat and the party ultimately reached the peak of the Via Cassia; Florence.

While within the Republic, the young Borgia would keep his movements discreet until he reached the residence of Machiavelli, where he would abruptly seek a private audience, to the alarm of his escort.

La Compagnia Bianca

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Familia

Nomen: White Company

Titles: Captain General

Statistics

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Members

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João Antônio il Ferreiro

^(Capitano Generale di la Compagnia Bianca)

Antônio, soldier of fortune and Condottiere Capitano-Generale, a Portuguese foreigner that contrived to find wealth in the misfortunes of ailing Italy and joined the Compagnia Bianca. In a maneuver far too familiar at-least to those disheartened Italians, the Condotierro Captain had initiated a coup d'état that through a slight slip of fate culminated in a slaughter. Scarcely a year has gone by since.

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Pierozzo di Ferrari

^(Capitano di la Compagnia Bianca)

Pierozzo is easily characterized as flippant at first glance, undisguised pride acting as bitter counterpoint. Carelessness pronounced enough to manifest as seeming naivety, especially in matters of social deference. Pierozzo's tongue is prone to cut, be it in plain insult, or veiled jest. Antônio's bastard child, his father's wealth went into his upbringing and his education is near the equal of any a lesser gentry house might provide.

The sacred city of Rome is not unlike many other cities of Italy, contrast to the Christian belief. The denizens - these 'Romans', are not beholden to the trials of their forefathers, and instead concern themselves with the intrigue and conspiracy Italy has fallen ill to. Still, these conspiracies are naught but whispers in the Holy City, as those plotters carefully try to avoid the watchful eye of the pious Vicar of Christ; the Pope.

In the cardinal palace of Borgia, such whispers are kept well-hidden.

Rome

The Cardinal Agostino found himself traversing throughout the sub-center of Leonine, where many of the Cardinals in Rome convened, within proximity to the Apostolic Palace, where Agostino knew His Holiness the Pope would be residing. Cardinal Borgia held little favor with Nicholas V, despite his fervent attempts to integrate into Roman culture. For this, Borgia knew he would be polarized; his friends were few, and his enemies were vast in their numbers. It is then that he made way to find the Cardinals Venier, Cybo, Della Rovere, and Parpaglia, to offer each an invitation to enjoy Borgia hospitality at Agostino's residence, intending to speak on the topic of the future of Rome. After he delivered these invitations in person, he would return to the palace only to prepare a feast worthy of the five cardinals.

(( /u/logical_inquirer, seeking to know how these NPC Cardinals would respond to this invitation, and whether they'd have anything to add.

Familia

Nomen (Family Name): Machiavelli

Nation: Republic of Florence

Signoria/City: Firenze

Titles: Priori of Florence

Members

Niccolo Machiavelli

Relation to Head: Self

Age: 45

Traits: Clever, Covert, Diplomat, Spymaster

Flaws: Martially Incompetent

"Niccolo Machiavelli, a philosopher, politician and writer, is a man of humble origins, and although unknown to many, is an extremely cunning and manipulative man who is willing to scheme his way towards his ambitions through vile deeds if he finds it necessary. Having established for himself one of the wider spy rings of Italy under his control, Niccolo Machiavelli is privy to many kinds of information even Kings and Princes would be unaware of. This is his strength, and perhaps his only strength; as while he serves the Republic of Florence and its ruler as an Advisor and Secretary, in the end he is but a vassal house with little to no titular power. Outside of politics, Niccolo Machiavelli is known to be a man of literature; having written in his time, many poetries, stage plays, and books."

Marietta Machiavelli

Relation to Head: Wife

Age: 32

Traits: Beautiful

"Marietta Machiavelli is the wife of Niccolo, a woman whom he married but has yet to have any children from. She is a simple housewife and when it comes to politics, the only talent she possesses is her natural beauty which is very charming and catches the eye of even those of noblemen. Niccolo and Mariette are rather distant towards eachother, as the former focuses himself entirely in the politics of Italy and has little time or interest in proving himself a husband."

Familia

!Crest: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Escudo\_de\_la\_familia\_Borja.svg/1024px-Escudo\_de\_la\_familia\_Borja.svg.png!<

Nomen (Family Name): Borgia
Nation: Papal States
Signoria/City: Rome
Titles: Cardinal

Statistics

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Members

Agostino Borgia
^(Agustin Ferrand Castañón i de Borja)
Relation to Head: Self
Age: 47
Traits: Diplomat
"Agostino, a Valencian native, was raised under Borja - a family in Spain with considerable wealth. His upbringing brought him what became a doctorate in civil and canon law, which prompted his elevation in the court of Aragon. Serving a position of diplomatic influence for a portion of his young adulthood, his connections with landholders in Italy on his King's behalf, as well as friendships made in the Holy See, resulted in him being granted his early bishopric. Agostino, who spent the next decade consolidating his newfound legitimacy in the Mother Church, was also a major spearhead of the perceived religious gap between Spain and Italy. It is still whispered that this was the only reason why a Spaniard bishop was granted a cardinalate. Regardless of the reason, once Agostino donned the cardinal's robes, he Italianized his family name, and had the full of his immediate lineage moved to Rome, where he made his residence. His ties to his homeland are somewhat severed, as in effort to appear Italian, he has forsaken the Spanish blood within."

Lorenzo Borgia
^(Llorenç Garçilaso i de Borja)
Relation to Head: Nephew
Age: 26
Traits: Leader
"Lorenzo, son of the late Vernaldino (Agostino's younger brother), was brought to the royal court of Aragon at an impressionable age. Consequently, Lorenzo has adopted vanity. Exposure to the marshals of Spain has brought him an overly eager militaristic mindset, however; in his pursuit for action and glory, he has created a name for himself as a young prodigy in warfare in Spain. Lorenzo had initially refused to leave his homeland for Rome, but ended up caught up in court drama and fled before his reputation worsened."

Enzo Borgia
^(Vicenç Leoncio i de Borja)
Relation to Head: Nephew
Age: 21
Traits: Clever, Maimed (Arm)
"Enzo, or Vicente, is the second son of Vernaldino, and the least known of the Borgias - to this, the youth makes a passion out of invisibility to public eye. His accomplishments are few and irrelevant, though he excelled in education at a royal court in all but physical training, where his meek frame was found to be inferior. While in Aragon, Enzo got himself involved in court drama, and his subsequent duel resulted in the injury of his good arm, which was indefinitely rendered useless. Since the scandal, he has chosen obscurity, though he serves his family still with his wits. Without much fuss, Enzo followed his uncle to Rome."

Constanza Borgia
^(Constânca Sperança i de Borja)
Relation to Head: Niece
Age: 17
"Constanza is the only living daughter of Vernaldino. While her relevance is little in weight, she is a member of the family, and kept in their Roman residence accordingly. It is said that she is to be betrothed, in which the receiving end is rumored to best not expect much from her - the girl is exceedingly mild in nature, appearance and spirit."

Sheet

Nomen (Family Name): Ludovisi

Nation: Papal States

Signoria/City: Spoleto

Titles: Duke of Umbria

Statistics

Imperium - 3

Legitimitas - 4

Nobilitas - 3

Fama - 1

Pietas - 5

Maleficum - 3

Relation to Head of House | First Name | Age | Perks | Flaws | Notes/Bio

Self | Giovani | 67 | Leader | Elderly | Born in relative peace, the heir Giovanni had time to thrive, honing his skills as the future leader of his household. As one by one his parents died off, he gathered himself a wife to hand off his name to the future line. Two strong children came out of his wife Anne before her passing at age 23 due to illness. The only hope in life he has is for his grandson Iacopo, whose fate may rest in the dangerous hands of those who wish to see him fall.

Daughter | Annibale | 45 | N/A | Blind | The parents of Annibale had always thought she would wed into the rich and powerful families that seemed to rule over god himself. It wasn’t until she was born that they learned the harsh reality of such wishes. Born blind in both eyes were easily scared away, wishing a wife who could take care of their children unassisted. Failing the duty she was birthed for, she now sits in waiting for her time of death, wasting away in her darkened room.

Son | Fiore | 41 | Drillmaster | Crippled Legs (Both) | Fiore maintains being one of the inspirations that the house Ludovisi can be proud of in terms of military might. As a strong warrior in his youth no man could beat him in a one on one duel. It wasn’t until his best man turned on him while dealing with a pack of thieves that he suffered the tragedy that would change his life forever. Both of his legs were torn apart, a form of torture that the criminals took pleasure in. It took a large bribe to bring him back to the hands of the Ludovisi family, and since then took drilling young recruits, hoping to live vicariously through them.

Daughter In Law | Lucrezia | 34 | Multilingual | N/A | French, Arabic. Wedded to Fiore was considered a miracle for Lucrezia, a former prostitute turned bar worker that seemed to catch the eye of the strong heir. Since then she has managed to birth one son, Iacopo.

Grandson | Iacopo | 17 | Clever, Multilingual, Beautiful | Martially Incompetent | Latin, French. Born from a great warrior and a former whore, his birth was heavily controversial within the family. It wasn’t until the baby was born that their opinions were changed - a beautiful and healthy young boy that helped secure the line for future generations. It was no doubt that the boy was gifted, taking up many subjects from a young age and exceeding in most of them. He managed to learn French from Lucrezia and Latin from the ancient texts that his grandfather bought from overseas. His stance on religion is unwavering, considering his only duty in life is to be a loyal servant of god, and hopes to one day meet him on the gates of heaven. Though strongly talented, his naiveness and innocence towards the outside world may very well be his doom.

There is now the option for playing single characters in this rp, rather than just an entire House. These are known as Alternate Characters, or Alts for short. Alts are essentially characters from already claimed Houses that you can play with the player of the House's permission. Alternate Characters get a bonus of 3 House Creation Skill Points to spend just on that character. This is to add an incentive for taking on alts in your House.

To play an alt, the following must apply:

1. You must be active on a House Claim.
2. The Owner of the House must approve your playing the character.
3. The House your alt is from must be from a different region than your main House.

The following rules apply specifically to alts:

1. Alts cannot be the Head of a House. If the Head of House dies and they inherit, they must choose between dropping their main House and dropping their alt.
2. Alts cannot be created for the purpose of assisting in overthrowing or otherwise hurting their House. If you are suspected of doing this, you will be warned, and may need to drop the character. Multiple violations will result in banning.
3. Alts cannot be created for the purpose of assisting your main House Claim in any way. This is a form of metagaming, and will not be tolerated. If you are suspected of doing this, you will be warned, and may need to drop the character. Multiple violations will result in banning.

Remember that at the end of the day, whether or not your Alt is approved relies on the approval of both the Mods and the main controller of the House. Work with them to make sure that your timelines match up, and that your character fits with their ideas for the House.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DeAwIJ7gfKcooucoxSaYUDWFVNPhsG1Qvq6VvT1GrqQ/edit?usp=sharing

Familia

Nomen (Family Name): Di Savoia-Piedmont

Nation: Duchy of Savoy

Signoria/City: Signoria of Savoy, Signoria of Piedmont

Titles: Duke of Savoy, Dauphine of France, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Count of Geneva

House Characteristics:

• Their daughter, Charlotte, is married to the Dauphin of France. When his father dies, she will be queen of France.
• The family has custody of the Shroud of Turin, a relic that brings pilgrims from the far edges of Christendom. This improves the economy, and pious standing of the House.
• The current Duca’s father, Duca Amadeus VIII abdicated the Ducal throne, and was crowned Antipope in Basel in opposition to Pope Eugene IV’s attempt to bridge the great schism. He was antipope until the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III forcefully ended his reign in 1449, only 5 years ago. It’s extremely doubtful that Pope Nicholas V has forgotten that a Di Savoia opposed his Papal power up until recently.
• Anne of Cyprus, matriarch of the House and essentially the Duca in all but name, has a pang of nostalgia for her home country of Cyprus. Thus has a knack for throwing expensive and wasteful receptions for Cypriot lords, where she decorates castles, holds feasts, and gives them expensive gifts. This extravagance has pushed both the Nobility and Peasantry of Vaud into protest. Including the family branch of Di Savoia-Vaud.
• Despite having no power to govern the region, the Ducal family lives in a castle in Vaud. This could be beneficial to escaping their own provinces’ instability, but could be detrimental if the Signorias of Vaud wish to seize the family.
• Louis and Charlotte have an incestual love between them, and Charlotte could be pregnant with Louis’ baby. This would mean absolute disaster and scandal for the family if this was found out. It could also mean that the future King of France wouldn’t be related to his father at all, but would be a Di Savoia through and through, despite being an incest baby.

Statistics

Imperium 7

Legitimitas 9

Nobilitas 7

Fama 3

Pietas 2

Maleficum 6

Members

Self/Duca | Ludovico | 41 | Multilingual-French | Poor Strategist

Despite being titular and De Jure head of the House Di Savoia, Duca Ludovico seems to have no grasp on what goes on in his Duchy, nor does it seem that he wants it. The sentimental Duca has left the affairs of state to his capable wife, so he can write poetry, fund artists, and oversee the construction of buildings that will make their mark on the Duchy forever. As time goes by, it seems he’s more and more disconnected from the Duchy, and more and more a puppet of his wife.

Duchessa/Wife | Anne | 35 | Multilingual-French,Multilingual-Greek, Covert | Financially Incompetent

Anne of Cyprus was always a vengeful and spiteful sort. Her life in the court of the King of Cyprus was not a happy one, as she knew what her fate was: to be married off to some powerful man in Europe that she would have children for. However, it seems the tables have turned. While her husband is very much in love with her, and despite herself, she feels an affection for him, it seems she’s running his affairs more and more. She knows her fortune, and she takes full advantage of it, using her sickly and pious son Amedeo as the face of the Duchy, while she secretly pulls the strings of power that were handed to her by her husband. She’ll be damned if she goes back to the life of a loyal subservient noblewoman, and she’ll be damned if her siblings get the throne of Cyprus, or if they force her off the throne of Savoy.

First Son and Heir | Amedeo | 19 | Diplomat, Multilingual-French | Sickly

The first son of the Duca and Duchessa was always a pious, patient, and rather quiet child, excited to go to church, showing astute interest in scripture, and always throwing his support behind the church. Despite him being heir, there are fears he’d rather live his life in service to the church, rather than ruling his familial Duchy. Although his Epilepsy might prevent him from doing either.

Second Son | Louis | 17 | Multilingual-French, Tactician

The militarily competent and generally morally upstanding Count of Geneva has shown his competence, despite being second in line to the Duchy. His brother’s Epilepsy, despite tearing him apart as he watches it, gives him a sick sense of hope that it will be him that succeeds his father.

He remains unmarried, despite his mother pushing him to marry his cousin, Charlotte of Cyprus, heir to the Kingdom of Cyprus. However, Louis’ heart belongs to another Charlotte, his sister. Since they were children, Louis knew he was in love with her. When she was promised to the Dauphine of France, it broke his heart. However, on her wedding night she confessed to him, and he did in return. After commiting one of the most terrible sins, he made a vow to support her, and his family no matter what. If this was revealed to the world, the House Di Savoia would face a scandal never before seen in their History.

First Daughter | Charlotte | 16 | Beautiful, Multilingual-French

Charlotte was always seen as a happy, cordial, and polite young lady, perfectly fit for court life.

Despite her not being in line for the Duchy, Charlotte was considered her parents’ greatest achievement. At the tender age of 14, she was married to the Dauphin of France. Charlotte’s beauty seemingly won over the future King of France, and her position will undoubtedly give House Di Savoia much influence in the French court.

Other than this influence, Charlotte herself has… no attraction to her husband. She loved her family first, more than anything else. Perhaps in her time, her love has grown into something that perhaps shouldn’t be shown. Ever since she could first feel attraction, she felt it towards Louis, Her elder brother. The night of her wedding, she confessed her love for Louis, which he reciprocated. Then and there she promised to do everything in her power to support Louis, and her family, before committing one of the most taboo acts in human civilization. No one outside of Louis and Charlotte knows this, and were it to be discovered… ruin would almost certainly come to house Di Savoia. What’s worse still is that after Louis’ last visit, she hasn’t bled.

At the start of the game, there are a total of 24 Cardinals, 13 Italians and 11 foreigners. This number is not set in stone. A Pope may at any time name any number of Cardinals from any Catholic nation. (It is, however, extremely discouraged to name too many within a Pope's lifetime.) He may receive requests for Cardinals to be named from Kings/Rulers of Nations or powerful Houses. He is under no obligation to agree to these requests, as the Pope answers only to God. However, if he refuses these requests, the Papal States may suffer diplomatic repercussions.

Cardinals

Cardinals are named only by the Pope. They generally hold some other titles within the church, usually as bishops, abbots, or at the very least priests. Cardinals can live wherever they wish, and are not required to live in Rome. However, it is usually best for Cardinals to live within Rome or as close to it as possible, to increase their influence within the Holy See and so that they may participate in any votes in the College of Cardinals. Although the Pope technically rules over all of Christendom, a successful Pope delegates much of this rule to his Cardinals, assigning them to diplomatic missions and calling for votes within the College of Cardinals to decide on important matters.

Each Cardinal is assigned a Relation to the current Pope based on their mutual history and agreements/disagreements on various matters. This value will affect how the Pope interacts with each Cardinal, and how they interact with him.

Papal Elections

The true power of Cardinals is that every Cardinal has the potential to become the Pope, ruler of the Papal States and spiritual leader of all of Christendom. How does this happen? Well, after the death of a Pope, the College of Cardinals is called to Rome to vote for a new Pope. They are not allowed to leave until they have made a decision, and each Cardinal only gets a single vote. Each potential Pope may argue his case before the College, and discourse is encouraged. Espionage, threats, bribery, and the like are strictly forbidden. (And widely practiced) It is also forbidden to discuss the events that took place within the Papal Conclave.

A two-thirds supermajority vote is needed to elect a new pope. As stated previously, the Cardinals cannot leave the Conclave until a majority is reached and a new pope is elected.

The Papacy

The Pope is not simply the Ruler of the Papal States. He is, in no small terms, the spiritual leader of all of Christendom, or at least all of Catholicism. His decrees are final and apply to all of Christendom. The only person who can retract the decree of a Pope is that Pope, or in rarer cases a Pope after his death. Sovereign Rulers may in some cases deny the decrees of the Pope and even in rare cases raise up Anti-Popes, false Popes who are under the control of that Ruler. This generally causes great discontent amongst his people and foreign powers, and may lead to excommunication.

Excommunication is a significant power granted to the Pope and only the Pope. He may excommunicate anyone at any time. Excommunication represents the greatest sin of all: a complete divorce from the Catholic Church. An excommunicated leader will suffer significantly in his relations with both foreign (Catholic) powers and with his own people. Excommunication is rare and can be lifted if the person shows themselves to be truly repentant.

The Pope has many other powers. If one of your family members is elected Pope, research the powers of the Pope and talk to the GMs about what exactly you can do.

Welcome to RPG Italia, a free online roleplaying community set in the Italian City-States during the early Renaissance. Here you will roleplay as the Noble Houses of Italy, vying for control of the region's resources and landmass. We, the Game Masters, have split up Italy into various Signorie, translating roughly to Lordships or Baronies. Each Signoria is controlled by a different House, and is a part of a different nation, such as Venice, Milan, or Florence. In this roleplay you will control a single House (family) and attempt to build your House's economic, military, and political power. With concrete economic, military, espionage, and diplomacy systems, the possibilities are endless for how your House can rise to power... Or fall from it.

The Start of the Game

The year is 1454, after the Peace of Lodi. House Sforza has been publicly accepted as Dukes of Milan by Venice, Venice receiving a significant amount of contested land in return. The Medici have been established as the de facto rulers of Florence and the wealthiest House in Italy, while a pious man from a minor Italian House sits as Pope. France threatens invasion from the West, and the Ottomans remain a constant looming threat from the East.

Game Masters

This RPG is run by a series of Game Masters, who control the various aspects and mechanics of the game. The Game Masters are, to put it succinctly, the Gods of the world. Everything from the economy to the plagues across Europe are controlled by and vigorously debated amongst the Game Masters. Once a Game Master or group of Game Masters have made a decision, the decision is final, and can be treated as canon. The only exception to this is if a major decision is made by a Game Master without consulting the rest of the Game Masters, in which case the decision may be retconned by the group as a whole. If you have a major question about the world, the mechanics, or the game in general, asking a Game Master either through modmail or the community discord is a good idea. Any post that has to do with specific mechanics of the game, such as the economy or the military, should tag the official Game Master reddit account, /u/ItaliaGameMaster

The Guides

I have written several different Guides to assist you, the player, in navigating the mechanics of Italia RPG. Here are the links to all of them that exist currently, for the sake of your convenience.

House Creation Guide

Roleplay Guide

Economy Guide

Diplomacy and Espionage Guide

Military Guide

Time and Travel

Time passes differently in RPG Italia. Rather than having a simple ratio of real life time to in-game time, we have opted to go with a less structured passage of time, wherein time passes more quickly when nothing is happening and more slowly when there are many events going on. At the beginning of each in-game year, the GMs will announce a tentative end date for that year. This may change slightly depending on the events that happen within that year, if time needs to be slowed down or sped up because of certain events, such as a feast or war. They will make announcements whenever the year end date has been changed, so that everyone knows and can prepare accordingly.

As time does not have a set speed in RPG Italia, it is difficult to decide travel times. For the moment, we will use a simple "reasonableness standard." As long as your character gets there in an amount of in-game time that seems reasonable, we won't have a problem. Instantaneous travel will not be tolerated, unless it is within the same Signoria. If you have a question as to how much time travel might take, ask a GM.

New to roleplay? Never played something like this before? Just curious as to the style of roleplay that we look for here? Well, you are in the right place. In this guide we will be exploring the actual roleplaying aspect of this Roleplaying Game, as opposed to the concrete mechanics of the game.

As explained in the 'Introduction to RPG Italia' thread, this is an RPG quite unlike standard pen and paper RPGs, video game RPGs, or even the usual online roleplaying forums. In a way, it is a mixture of all three, with forum-style roleplay, video game-like economics, and pen and paper-style mechanics. As a result, the roleplaying experience is designed to be a different specimen from any of the three, where you can enjoy the concrete mechanics of a game while still having a story-focused roleplay setting.

Making a Post

When making a roleplay post, it can be useful to go through the following checklist to make sure that the post is up to community standards.

1. Does the post violate any of the community rules/standards? If so, it needs to be changed accordingly. (Community rules and standards can be found linked in the sidebar.)
2. Does the post attempt to control any characters that are not within my family or under their direct control? If so, then it needs to be changed, or confirmation needs to be gotten from the player of the characters you are attempting to control.
3. Does the post attempt to control matters that are out of my control? If so, it needs to be changed, and likely /u/ItaliaGameMaster needs to be tagged to control the aspects of the game that you are looking to change.
4. Does the post accurately and descriptively portray my House's characters as I have portrayed them in the past? If not, it may need to be changed.
5. Does the post have enough story/roleplay to go along with the mechanics? If not, it may need to be changed. (Posts such as "My character attempts to build a church in Firenze." are heavily discouraged. Instead, roleplay your character speaking to the architects of the church, designing the church themselves, speaking about building the church to a local bishop, etc.

As long as it meets the community standards, the specifics of any given post are primarily up to you. Is it a post that mostly focuses on the inner workings of your character's mind? Is it a character development post wherein you communicate with a mentor? Is it an interactive post or letter where your character interacts with another player's character/s? The choice is yours. However, keep in mind that once a post is submitted to the subreddit, your characters' actions within that post become canon, and cannot be changed except for in rare circumstances.

Roleplaying with other Characters

When roleplaying with characters that you do not control, whether they be Player Characters or GM controlled, it is important to consider that you do not control their character's actions. Generally inter-character roleplay is done through back and forth comments, with one person starting the roleplay with an initial post. If the roleplay is taking place in a public place or a place with other characters present, then other players may join in with their characters. However, if it is in a private setting other characters need permission to join.

If you wish to interact physically with a character, such as shoving them, stabbing them, etc, you must either get permission from the player of the character to do so or contact a Game Master and have them roll to see if you are successful in your action.

If you wish to interact with peasants, architects, or other GM controlled characters, you must tag /u/ItaliaGameMaster in the comments and inform them of who you would like them to play. In some circumstances you may control individuals outside of your family, usually when they are directly under the command of members of your House. An example would be a seneschal or captain of your Lord's Guard. However, the GMs can take control of these non-family characters when necessary, so they are not completely under your control.

Style and Language

Writing style obviously varies greatly between players, and there is no problem with this. However, it is important for the sake of immersion and roleplay value that you keep your in-character speech relatively medieval. Don't use modern terminology, and try as much as possible to have your character speak as they would in the Renaissance. Out of character speech can be more modern if you wish, but try to keep it grammatically correct.

Although we are set in Italy, we are an English-language roleplay. You may use smatterings of words from other languages in order to increase immersion, but please keep the bulk of your writing to english. This is mostly for the sake of our GM's and player base, who are primarily English-speaking.

Links and Pictures

Any links should be to established, trusted websites such as youtube or imgur. Pictures should follow community rules and guidelines, and should remain sfw unless you have tagged the post as nsfw. As a whole, pictures and links should be used minimally, and only to increase immersion. Do not link to promotional content or anything that is not related to the roleplay.

The economic system is by far the most complex of the systems that make up RPG Italia. With that said, here I will attempt to explain how to make sense of the vast quantity of numbers that hit you upon opening the Economy Overview.

There are 4 base types of wealth. These are Coin, Food, Raw Materials, and Luxury Goods. Each of these wealth types has a value assigned to it, a value which you can see on the Info tab of the Economy Overview. When deciding Total Wealth, all the wealth types are converted to their value in Coin. Food, for example, starts out with a value of 6 Coin. This means that every 6 Coin is equivalent to 1 Food Point. This chart, which shows the relative values of all of the types of wealth, will be essential to gaining wealth. After all, prices fluctuate over time, and 1 Food may become equal to 7 Coin due to an increased demand and decreased production. If you bought food while prices were low, you could then sell it at a higher price and make a significant profit. Prices of various types of Wealth can and will fluctuate based on various events and other factors within the market, so it is best to keep an eye on this chart whenever possible.

What do each of the types of Wealth mean?

Coin = Amount of minted currency. Coin is used to pay for goods and services, as well as upkeep for ships, buildings, units, and the like. Can refer to any type of coin, as under this system they all have an equivalent value. Note that 1 Unit of Coin does not equal 1 literal coin in roleplay, it is simply an artificially defined metric from which to define value to goods. If people go unpaid, riots may start and soldiers and workers will begin to desert.

FP = Food Points. 1 Food Point is defined by the amount that an average citizen eats per year. As a result, each Signoria's net food production is their gross food production minus their population. Many signoria, especially large cities, have a negative Food production. This means that they must import food in order to feed their population. If the population goes unfed, riots may start and people will begin to starve.

RM = Raw Materials. Raw Materials are things like stone, wood, and iron, and are needed in vast quantities to build ships, buildings, roads, and the like. If you run out of raw materials, construction progress will halt until they are supplied again.

LG = Luxury Goods. Luxury Goods are things like textiles, glasswork, spices, and fine weapons and armor. Luxury Goods are used by nobility to place themselves above the rabble, and are used more as a sign of wealth and power than anything. Some buildings require Luxury Goods to build, noble feasts require a large amount of Luxury Goods to hold, and increasing significantly the amount of Luxury Goods that you have can increase your House's Fama. If you run out of or get low on Luxury Goods, you risk diplomatic penalties with other noble Houses, and decreased Fama.

There are two other values on the economy sheet that you will need to know. These are Trade Points and Labor. Neither Trade Points nor Labor carry over into the next year. In short, if you don't use them, you lose them.

Trade Points are necessary to transport goods from place to place and establish supply lines. The amount of trade points needed to transport an amount of goods is equal to (a+b)*(d/250) where a and b are the amounts of goods being transported and d is the total distance they are being transported in kilometers. It is important to note that Coin is transported at half the cost in Trade Points of other goods. So, if Coin is a, divide a by 2 before adding it to b.

For example, 1000 food being traded for 6000 coin over a distance of 500 km would cost 8000 trade points to transport. ((6000/2)+1000)*(500/250)

Many signoria will not have the trade points needed to trade all of their goods. This is by design. Because of this, you are allowed to purchase trade points from other signoria. This can be done for coin or other goods, or the trader can simply take a portion of all the goods being transported. It can also be traded for diplomatic favors. This will be a major source of income for Nations like Venice and Genoa, who have large fleets of trade ships and trade caravans to transport goods.

Available Labor is equal to the unraised levy pool of your signoria. This is to add an incentive to having troops unraised. Laborers must still be paid (5 coin per laborer per year) but they are paid significantly less than the average raised levy. (20 Coin per levy per year.)

Labor can be used for multiple purposes. Its main uses, however, are to boost the production of wealth and to speed up the building of structures and ships. Any amount of laborers can be assigned to a given job by commenting on the Economy Thread with your House name, the number of laborers being assigned to the task, the task they are being assigned to, and the amount of time (in-roleplay) that they are to be assigned to this task.

Another important aspect of the economic system is building and development. Each construction or development effort must have a roleplay post attached to it, where the player roleplays planning and/or overseeing the construction of the building, road, etc with one of their family members or an official representative of their house. You must include (Construction) in the title of your post or a GM may not see it. Once you have made this post with the specifics of your construction effort, a GM will comment with the materials/wealth needed, the time it will take (in-roleplay), and any other notes. You will likely have to hire an Architect for bigger projects (unless one of your family members has the Architect Gift), which will cost Coin in addition to the costs of the project itself.

Building warships does not take a roleplay post. You just need to comment on the Economy Thread with the amount of warships you would like to build. As long as you have enough raw materials, the GM will comment with the amount of time it will take based on the size and abilities of your shipyards.

Businesses are another important part of the economic system. Businesses are very costly to establish, but once they are established can over time provide an additional source of wealth for your House, one that can continue even if you lose your lands. Large, successful businesses such as the Medici Bank are rare, but can happen. The way that the business system works is that you decide a base amount of wealth that you wish to use to found the business. 10% of this will be the starting production of your business. Then, each year, the GMs roll to see how your business does, and by how much the wealth production increases or decreases. You can affect this roll somewhat by making roleplay posts about developing your business and/or investing additional wealth into the business. Note that each business can only produce one type of Wealth, and you can only have one business per House. The types of business are Banking (Coin), Agriculture (Food), Mining/Lumber (Raw Materials), Luxury (Luxury Goods), and Trading (Trade Points). Each type of Business is unique in the amount that your production fluctuates over time. Banking fluctuates the most over time, whereas Luxury fluctuates the least. If your Business begins to produce in the negative values (meaning it's losing you wealth) your business can declare bankruptcy to destroy the business. This lowers some of your House Stats. If you declare bankruptcy, you cannot start a new business for another 5 years. (in roleplay.)

This guide is not a full synopsis of everything the economic system is capable of. However, hopefully it has allowed you to better understand how you as a player can manipulate the economy to your needs as a House, and perhaps become one of the richest Houses in Italy.

Most of your actions as a House will use our House Stats system. This is a relatively simple but versatile system that can be used for all manner of diplomacy, espionage, and schemes. The basis of this system rests with 6 base stats: Imperium, Legitimitas, Nobilitas, Fama, Pietas, and Maleficum. What each of these stats mean is explained in the House Stats Description document. These 6 stats will represent your standing and diplomatic power as a House, and increasing them is vital if you wish to scheme your way to the top of the social pyramid of Italy.

These stats have a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 10, and will increase or decrease based on your actions as a House. Keep in mind that these are only examples, and the GMs may lower or raise your stats at their discretion with sufficient reason.

Imperium, as it represents your total power as a House, generally only increases when you gain more lands or significant titles. It decreases when you lose lands or titles. Imperium is the Primary Stat which effects all of your rolls.

Legitimitas represents your House's standing with the local citizenry, and generally increases when you gain standing in your home nation/signoria. Things like building major infrastructure, assisting the poor, and hosting public feasts increases Legitimitas. Anything which would hurt your relationship with the populace will decrease your Legitimitas, such as a starving/impoverished population, significant losses in battle, or lengthy and unpopular wars. Legitimitas is a Secondary Stat which affects local actions.

Nobilitas represents your House's standing outside of your own lands, and generally increases when you show your worth to the international community. Actions like marrying into major noble/royal families, holding private noble banquets, or showing great honor on the battlefield can increase your Nobilitas. Your Nobilitas can decrease if you are seen to be lowering yourself or acting dishonorably, or if you marry into lowborn houses. Nobilitas is a Secondary Stat which affects international actions.

Fama represents your House's prestige, and generally increases when you show off the wealth and power of your House. Actions such as patronizing skilled artists, purchasing large amounts of Luxury Goods, and building major architectural wonders can increase Fama. Fama decreases when you go for long amounts of time without luxury goods in your household, refuse to patronize famous artists, or allow major landmarks to fall into disrepair. Fama is a Tertiary Stat which affects prestige-based actions.

Pietas represents your House's standing with the religious community, and generally increases when you show piety and humility. Actions such as building religious buildings, donating to the church, and showing deference to the Papacy can increase Piety. Piety can decrease when you have run-ins with religious officials, allow religious sites to fall into disrepair, or make yourself out to be above the church. Pietas is a Tertiary Stat which affects piety-based actions.

Maleficum represents the strength of your House's spy networks, and its ability to perform illegal or shady acts. Actions such as successful assassinations, establishing spy networks, and successfully sabotaging enemy operations can increase Maleficum. Maleficum decreases when you lose spy networks, fail in a major espionage operation, or have your name connected to your illicit operations. Maleficum is a Tertiary Stat which affects espionage-based actions.

Now, how do these stats factor into the actual actions that you take? Well, each action that involves another House, whether they are controlled by a player or not, requires a roll by the GMs. It uses a basic d20 system, where they roll a 20 sided die, and add the Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary stats to the roll. The GM then decides the degree of success based on the result. If the action is being made against another House, then both Houses roll d20s and add their respective stats. The GM then decides who is successful based on the rolls and the situation.

For Example, the House of Machiavelli wishes to assassinate the Doge of Venice. The GM decides that the stats for this are Imperium (because you always use Imperium), Nobilitas (Because it is an action against a foreign power), and Maleficum. (Since it is an espionage-based action.) The GM also decides that, being a particularly difficult action (killing one of the most powerful men in Italy), it will require 3 successful rolls to successfully kill the Doge. Machiavelli rolls a 3d20, getting an 18, a 14, and a 20. He then adds to each of these rolls his Imperium (2), his Nobilitas (2), and his Maleficum (9). Next, the GM rolls for the House of Foscari to counter the enemy action. He rolls 3d20 and gets a 2, a 15, and a 10. He then adds the relevant stats for House Foscari. These are Imperium (7), Legitimas (5), and Maleficum (3). Based on the rolls for both sides and their stats, the GM decides that House Machiavelli has succeeded at 2/3 of the attempts. He decides that this means that although Machiavelli is unsuccessful in killing the Doge, the Doge is maimed by the attempt on his life, losing a leg. The GM then roleplays out the assassination attempt based on this information.

So, you wish to become one of the Noble Families of Italy? Well, the first step is to look at the Claims and Armies List. Here you can see which of the landed noble families have been claimed, as well as their army and fleet sizes and the population of the lands over which they rule. If you have read up on the rest of the systems, you may wish to also consult the Economy Overview sheet and/or the House Stats sheet, so that you can choose your House based on their Economic and Diplomatic power rather than just their military might. Once you have chosen a House, comment on this post with the following: "I claim the House of 'House Name.'" A GM will then make sure that the House is unclaimed and can be claimed. If so, they will comment "Approved" under your comment. You may then move on to the next step of House Creation. If you instead wish to create your own unlanded House or claim an unlanded Condottieri, you must first contact a GM, who will work out with you what your House's status is and where they are from. Then you may comment on this post with, "I claim the House of 'House Name.'" (Examples of unlanded playable Houses are major business owners, Condottieri, or Seneschals to a Duke.)

Next, take a look at the Blank House Template and the Example of Completed House Template. In this guide, we will show you step by step how to make the former Template look like the latter completed House Info Sheet.

First, you must fill out the parts of the template that are already established. These would be your House Name (Nomen), Nation, Signoria/City, and Titles. If you are unsure about any of these, feel free to ask a GM, but most of this information can be found on the Claims and Armies List.

Next, you must fill out your House's statistics, which can be found on the aforementioned House Stats sheet. If you are a new/unlanded House, your stats will all start out equal to 1.

Finally, you must fill out the information on the actual family members that make up your house. This will require the House Creation Info. As you can see, you start with a total of 5 family members (including spouses) and 8 points to spend. You can spend these points on gaining additional family members, giving your family members Gifts, or a mix of both. If you'd like, you can also gain additional points by trading in family members for points or taking Flaws onto your characters.

Gifts vary in cost based on their perceived usefulness, and can provide your character and your house with a number of useful bonuses in various tasks. Flaws, on the other hand, give you additional points to spend on Gifts and Family members in return for adding negative traits to your characters, traits which will effect their ability to perform certain tasks. You can take as many gifts per character as you'd like, but you can only take one Flaw per character. However, keep in mind that spending too many points on one character could make them a future target for assassination by other players.

After deciding the names, ages, gifts, and flaws of each of your family members, you should write a short description or bio of them. It need not be lengthy, just something to provide a bit of flair to the roleplay. Most of the personality of each of the family members will be developed over the course of the roleplay, as they make life decisions and their gifts and flaws come into play.

Once you have detailed each of your family members, you can post your completed House Template on the subreddit, entitled, "The House of 'House Name.'" Then, a GM will take a look at your post. If you have completed everything correctly, and there are no clarifications that need to be made, the GM will simply comment "Final Approval." If there are things that need to be changed/fixed, the GM will comment with the changes that need to be made before your template can be approved. Once a GM has commented "Final Approval" on your post, you may begin roleplaying as that House.

Armies List

So, you wish to command the armies of Italy. Your first stop after this post should be the Claims and Armies List, which shows you how many men are commanded by each Signoria. (A signoria is simply a lordship, much like a barony or County in Germany.) You are immediately beset by a lot of numbers, numbers which will dictate the power struggles of Italy.

What exactly do each of these numbers mean? Well, let's start with the most straightforward: Population. These population numbers have been painstakingly calculated based on a mixture of modern and historical population numbers. This tells you how many people live within your signoria or city.

Next we have 'Max Levies.' These numbers will be at start equal to 5% of your signoria's overall population. There are ways to slightly increase the percentage of the population that you can use as a labor and military force, but for the most part these numbers will stay similar for each signoria, since they are based on overall population. These numbers may fluctuate based on losses in battle, enemy raiding, population increases/decreases, and the like. At its base Max Levies represents the maximum number of fighting men that you can raise to arms at any given point.

There are also 'Raised Levies' and 'Unraised Levies.' These numbers added together should equal your Max Levies. Raised Levies represents the current number of men that you have armed and ready to fight, whereas Unraised Levies represents the number of men that you have available in your pool that are not armed. Unraised Levies add to your labor pool, (explained in the economy section) and have a much cheaper upkeep than raised levies. Therefore, it may be a good idea not to have too many men raised at once, to lessen the burden of their upkeep on your coffers.

Next we have 'Ships.' These numbers represent the total number of Warships that your signoria has available. This number can be increased by building more warships, and decreases when you lose ships to storms or battle. Warships cost upkeep in coin, as explained in the economy guide.

Finally we have Army CV. CV Stands for Combat Value, which is explained in the document entitled Military System.

Military System Document

The Military System document provides a breakdown of how combat works for the player. As you can see, most of the concrete mechanics are handled by the GMs, while the player simply roleplays commanding their forces from a first person point of view. All of your actions in battle as a player will boil down to Battle Commands and Battle Actions, which are explained in the aforementioned document.

Military logistics, as explained in the document, boil down to supplying your army with the coin and food needed to keep it running. If they are lacking in food and/or coin, men may begin to desert your army, perhaps even over to the enemy side in rare occasions. Because of this, it is imperative to keep your army fed and paid, especially when they are traveling far from home. It can also be important to, if you are low on food or coin or just want to make sure that you don't lose any to bandits, send troops to patrol your supply lines. This decreases the chances of bandits and/or enemy raiding parties stealing your supplies before they can get to your army.

Raising and Disbanding levies is a pretty simple process, but a vital one. The core of it is explained in the Military System Document. It may be tempting to raise all your levies at all times, but it is important to remember that raised levies cost 4 times the upkeep as unraised levies, and only unraised levies add to your labor force. Therefore, if you wish to focus more on trade and prosperity, it may be a good idea to keep your raised levies low. However, leaving raised levies low leaves you vulnerable to enemy attacks, so make sure that you can defend yourself through other means if your raised levies are low. Levies take time to raise (an in-game week per 25% of your levies), so make sure that you plan ahead of time whenever possible.

Travel Times

The chart in the Military System document should be consulted whenever calculating travel times. It takes into account size of the party/army, how much supplies they are carrying with them, and whether or not they are establishing supply lines as they move. Traveling over mountains also increases travel times significantly, and certain mountains are impassable.