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Benedict wrote:Provided we can find a small boat at a reasonable price.

If you can't find a small boat at a reasonable price in Venice, I don't know where on Earth you could.

Benedict wrote:Now that Ferran revealed his oath to Ambrogio and the "inconvenience" of Giovanni's existence does he gets Vow (Minor) and Secret (minor)?

Hmm. Not yet, but I'll keep the idea in mind. It will go onto the sheet if the possibility of breaking the secret looks like it might impact on Ferran. For now, there aren't really any stakes set.



So is the plan to get a boat and head off ASAP?

Any other conversations you want to have before you go? Francesca, Giocomo, Rocco's gang?

Any instructions you want to have followed while you are gone, in regards to:
The meeting Giocomo is having with the council of forty in 3 days
Guards at the Acerbi estate
Rocco's gang
Master Gatti
Blasio?





Also, just a clarification on nomenclature before it gets more confused:

The name "Giovanni Pico della Mirandola" breaks down as:
Giovanni = Christian name
Pico = Family name
della = Italian for "of the"
Mirandola = the Dutchy the family holds

The current head of the house is Galeotto ii Pico, Duca della Mirandola (Duke of Mirandola), Conte della Concordia (Count of Concordia).
They put the generation number "ii" after the first name, not after the last name like in English. In conversation, this number would usually be dropped unless it wasn't clear from the context which you were referring to.

To address them personally as nobles you would refer to them as "Don Giovanni" and "Don Galeotto". The family name is only used when referring to the family as a group (eg. "We will invite the Pico's to dinner") and the title is only used when you are referring to the person's professional position rather than the individual (eg. "We need to report this to Duca della Mirandola").

It would also be acceptable to address X as either Dottore X, Maestro X or Professore X for Doctor X, Master X or Professor X respectively (Assuming they are qualified and you are talking to them in an academic context).


Where I have been using "Charles V" in conversation I should have been using "King Charles".

thirtythr33 wrote:

Benedict wrote:Provided we can find a small boat at a reasonable price.

If you can't find a small boat at a reasonable price in Venice, I don't know where on Earth you could.

True. After all the Acerbis will be paying for the blasted thing, not Ferran.

thirtythr33 wrote:So is the plan to get a boat and head off ASAP?

Any other conversations you want to have before you go? Francesca, Giocomo, Rocco's gang?

Ferran would like to have a private conversation with Giacomo regrading Rocco's gangsters. If it goes as planned Ferran will approach the gang. I believe it can be done in a day. If on the other hand Marco wants to leave now and not tomorrow, Ferran will wait till they rerturn from Mirrandola.

Benedict wrote:Ferran would like to have a private conversation with Giacomo regrading Rocco's gangsters. If it goes as planned Ferran will approach the gang. I believe it can be done in a day. If on the other hand Marco wants to leave now and not tomorrow, Ferran will wait till they rerturn from Mirrandola.

Well Marco suspects that's there is some foul magic going on. Magic involved or not, his father's getting worse, so Marco will insist on setting off as soon as possible. Unless there's something vital to do first.

I will explain what I have in mind. Heck, Ferran could actually say these things to Marco to arrange the meeting with Giacomo.

With Florence in revolt and the Emperor the Acerbis should strengthen their household for the coming crisis. So far Rocco's gang has been a thorn in our side. Now with Rocco dead the gang is more vulnerable to outside influence until the power vaccuum is filled. Ferran suggests that its in the best interest of the Acerbis to fill this power vaccuum, essentially enlisting a small private underworld army under their power. Before one of their enemies does. I doubt that Claudio was poisoned or bewitched by a random dude. Chances are the perpetrator is a nobleman, if not an entire noble house. Imagine Roco's gang under the command of this invisible adversary.

Well OK, but how do you want to accomplish this? We can't just approach and tell them they're working for us from now. I suppose we'd have to pay them and pay them well (and sooner or later somebody will give them more gold). Second, what would they be expected to do? House guard? I'm not sure that's what thugs like them will fancy. So we would have to let them roam the streets. And that means they're 100% gonna bring some troubles, and the worst case scenario is they reveal to authorities the connection with us.
Having more men is good, but you'd have to find a way to seize control over them, make it quick and make it safe for Acerbis. Actually, my suggestion is this: FERRAN should become a gang leader himself (hey you gutted Rocco, maybe their rules state that now it's your turn to lead the group). Preferably without any obvious connection with Acerbi family (something like Soranzos -> Rocco -> gang, so: Acerbis -> Ferran -> gang). You wanted to make a name for yourself, why not a gang leader? Good start.
But I suspect you'd have to convince them that your leadership is exactly what they need to start prospering. I believe their main motivation is gold, you'd have to prove that you know how to earn some proper money.
Anyway, I'm afraid that would be a time-consuming task. For Marco, every single day of unnecessary delay is not acceptable. He wants to help his father before it's too late, even if we lose an opportunity to enlist those thugs.

Benedict wrote:Ferran would like to have a private conversation with Giacomo regrading Rocco's gangsters.

I think we can skip over this conversation OOC. I can only really see it going one way.

Giacomo wants nothing to do with the gang. He seems them as untrustworthy and could tarnish the Acerbi's good reputation. (There is also probably a subtle implication he thinks the same of Ferran or perhaps all of the lower class)
He says he would rather use the legal power of the Venician government if suspects can be found or else hire reputable mercenaries like he had posted at his father's bedchambers.

Would Ferran still want to try to meet up with the gang before leaving? That would be complicated enough to require playing out.

thirtythr33 wrote:Would Ferran still want to try to meet up with the gang before leaving? That would be complicated enough to require playing out.

When (that is if ) we come back.

Having a gang is a double edged sword for Acerbi household and Ferran being the gang leader doesn't insulate the connection too well as he is getting pretty tight with Marco and that can bring some trouble later on (which is of course fun).

Still, a gang like this has connection around the city that law enforcement doesn't have. If the gang practices smuggling like Cirillo has heard, then that can be extremely important in coming crisis. This sort of aspect of the gang could be groomed especially as Ferran happens to be a sailor If the rumor was untrue, we could hire some appropriate men to actually create a smuggling crew with added hands of this gang. Let the gang finance themselves and possibly provide some help that keeps them loyal to Ferran. In addition to this, the gang runs gambling dens that can grow to other vices that can be later groomed for intelligence gather (and blackmailing) against internal and external foes of the Acerbi family.

The problem here is that Ferran needs at least a bit time to establish himself as a head of this gang and nominate a second in command for the times he is absent. This will be a bit problematic later on as this second in command will likely want to keep his position as a boss when we get back but besides it being interesting, there is nothing we can do about it.

I really have to agree that if that gang is left alone they will be trouble for all of us as some of them will have resentment towards us for what we did to their fellow gangers.

I say we give Ferran a day to try and get a control over the gang. Meanwhile we get our boat and provisions. Preparations will take some time anyway so it might not be such a big deal anyway.

Marras wrote:and Ferran being the gang leader doesn't insulate the connection too well as he is getting pretty tight with Marco and that can bring some trouble later on

Well Blasio Soranzo and Rocco had a nice deal that worked, can't see why we couldn't recreate this. Better yet, don't even tell the thugs that they're working for Acerbis (if they don't know about the connection, they cannot disclose it). Let them do their usual job with Ferran as the head. And when need arises, Ferran will tell them to rob or assault a noble - coincidentally, the same noble who's a threat for Acerbis
But if that's too risky, a gang is always a good source of info. Obviously his men will report to Ferran, and Ferran could secretly share this knowlegde with Marco, and Marco with Giacomo - profit. And it goes the other way around, Marco could have informations valuable for Ferran and his gang.
Technically, only two persons need to know about the mutual pact - Ferran and Marco. That should be pretty safe.

There is one thing you don't take into account.

Rocco was working for Blasio (most probably) for coin, not out the goodness of his heart. That's why Ferran wanted to have a serious talk with Giacomo. If Ferran is to make a beneficial connection for the Acerbis with those thugs he needs to know what monetary-specific deals he can propose.

Ferran views so far Marco as a bit naive, yet a good and trustworthy fellow. For Giacomo however he is forming an entirely different opinion: that he is either a deceiving fool or a buffoon: "He says he would rather use the legal power of the Venician government if suspects can be found".

Yeah, right. And tomorrow pigs will fly. Especially if the perpetrator of the plot against the Acerbis has a stronger footing with the Venician government than the Acerbis.

If Marco was second-in-command it would be different. But so far I guess it's Giacomo who pulls the strings for now. Unless Ferran misunderstood the whole thing, and Marco is capable of duplicity and manipulation towards his brother. We'll see. Let's get this trip done first.

PS1 Let's assume the conversation between Ferran and Giacomo occured exactly like thirty33 said. Ferran, Marco, and Cirillo perhaps could have an interesting talk regarding this situation (Rocco's gang, Giacomo's dismissal, etc) during the trip.

PS2 What about Giorgio and Karl? We treat them as NPCs, correct? Or they have conveniently merged in the background?

Benedict wrote:For Giacomo however he is forming an entirely different opinion: that he is either a deceiving fool or a buffoon: "He says he would rather use the legal power of the Venician government if suspects can be found".

Yeah, right. And tomorrow pigs will fly. Especially if the perpetrator of the plot against the Acerbis has a stronger footing with the Venician government than the Acerbis.

Well, his father is basically a judge and he hopes to follow in his footsteps. He knows Duke Gritti personally, as well as others who he has been working with for the war effort. Is it any surprise that he would prefer to do things the legal way, especially when the Acerbi family is the victim?

Benedict wrote:If Marco was second-in-command it would be different. But so far I guess it's Giacomo who pulls the strings for now.

Technically, Marco is the older brother but Giacomo has been more actively participating in politics and business.

Benedict wrote:What about Giorgio and Karl? We treat them as NPCs, correct? Or they have conveniently merged in the background?

They are NPCs I will take control of when required, up until a time one of their players returns if they choose to do so. All the specifics of their personalities and whatever happened in the game remains cannon. I'm just going to be giving them minimal screen-time unless a player specifically interacts with them. You could give them specific instructions, ask their opinions or even bring them on the trip with you if you like.

thirtythr33 wrote:

Benedict wrote:For Giacomo however he is forming an entirely different opinion: that he is either a deceiving fool or a buffoon: "He says he would rather use the legal power of the Venician government if suspects can be found".

Yeah, right. And tomorrow pigs will fly. Especially if the perpetrator of the plot against the Acerbis has a stronger footing with the Venician government than the Acerbis.

Well, his father is basically a judge and he hopes to follow in his footsteps. He knows Duke Gritti personally, as well as others who he has been working with for the war effort. Is it any surprise that he would prefer to do things the legal way, especially when the Acerbi family is the victim?

That'd make him naive at best, if not an idealistic fool. He should keep his potential enemies, in this case the gang, as close as possible, preferably under his control. And dispose of them at the earliest opportunity. The best thing would be to kill two birds with one stone, by playing the gang against the invisible adversary to have them destroy each other.

Tbh I hoped that Ferran could role-play the thing with him and convince him on the matter, after all Ferran IS a manipulator.

But I'm also cool at having that resolved out-of-play like we did. Both options can serve story advancement.

thirtythr33 wrote:

Benedict wrote:What about Giorgio and Karl? We treat them as NPCs, correct? Or they have conveniently merged in the background?

They are NPCs I will take control of when required, up until a time one of their players returns if they choose to do so. All the specifics of their personalities and whatever happened in the game remains cannon. I'm just going to be giving them minimal screen-time unless a player specifically interacts with them. You could give them specific instructions, ask their opinions or even bring them on the trip with you if you like.

If that is the case we could use a soldier with us, another here to coordinate things. Unless anyone has a better idea, Ferran proposes that Giorgio accompany them to Mirandola, and Karl stays put to organize the household troops.

Benedict wrote:Tbh I hoped that Ferran could role-play the thing with him and convince him on the matter, after all Ferran IS a manipulator.

Okay, I put up a thread. Do you want to just roleplay it, or run it as a full contest?

thirtythr33 wrote:

Benedict wrote:Tbh I hoped that Ferran could role-play the thing with him and convince him on the matter, after all Ferran IS a manipulator.

Okay, I put up a thread. Do you want to just roleplay it, or run it as a full contest?

Whatever suits you best. Either way I expect some RP in that.

I know I have not been exactly active here for quite some time. The situation IRL is currently something that prevents me from being more active here. It's not anything dramatic and hopefully the situation gets better after a while.

Meanwhile Cirillo can take a fuller responsibility as a doctor thus helping the relationship with his mentor.

Hopefully this is not a great hindrance to your game. Anyway, good luck with your quest, I'll be reading this when time permits!