It is a game set in 1527 in and around Venice about politics, skulduggery and war. So far the players have dueled with rapier for justice of a lady's lost honor, laid an ambush for blackmailing thugs and cut off the head of an extortionist gang. They now venture from Venice to hopeful find some clues pertaining to a political poisoning, taking them closer to the frontline of the war in Italy. Still to come are Barnaby Pirates, a revolt in Florence and some dark magic. I should be able to integrate any type of new character easy enough if you are flexible on a Story Aspect or two.
This is part of the original pitch I had for the game when it got started:
A city based campaign seems to fit BoB very well. You get to have a based of operations and access to your contacts and stuff without having to carry it around on your back. People get to wander off and follow their passions instead of always having to be joined at the hip. You don't get to just walk around armed to the teeth all the time, so good planning is rewarded.
I think Venice is a city particularly well suited for daring escapades. Chases down narrow alleys. Leaping out 2nd story windows into the canals. Duels on bridges by moonlight. Dumping bodies in the rivers to be swept out to sea. Lots of merchants looking to cut a deal. Venice is a little strange in that it wasn't run by hereditary nobility, but a circle of powerful merchants who elected their Doge (Duke). Very capitalistic and corrupt but also extremely wealthy. It says a lot about a society when the penalties for theft were more severe than for rape or armed assault.
As for the time period, I like having the Italian Wars going on in the background but not necessarily as a focus of the campaign. The city states and countries in these wars made and broke alliances every other season; something I think would trickle down into the way the merchants of Venice would be conducting their business (pretending to be like the nobles making war is fashionable you know!). It's a time when the Arquebus and pike block were just starting to really come into it's own, but cavalry knights were still a major part of the armies of the time, creating an interesting tension between the old and new ways of warfare. The Renaissance is just starting to really kick into gear in Italy, producing great artists like Michelangelo and thinkers like Leonardo da Vinci. Yet it's still backward enough that a large portion of legal disputes were settled by Honor Duels and Trial by Ordeal.
If you want to know more just ask me, browse the game so far or check out some extra setting info here:
http://www.grandheresyforums.com/viewto ... f=17&t=163
heroes to join us soon. 
