Family Business

GM: Erik Hanson

Players:

Beth Bartley: Liliana Scarpelli: 15 year old Genoese noble seeking to marry into the Sforza family of Florence.

Joshua Kronengold: Ipolitto Sforza, a 14 year old noble

Lisa Padol: Roggerio, a musician and ex-diabolist

Matt Stevens: Rafael Marancini, Jewish Cabalist and advisor to Ipolitto.

In the wake of the Sforza victory over the Dorvinian family, a great festival was proclaimed. This would make people happy and show that the Sforzas had everything under control, as the Sforza household mingled with the people of its city, each member of the household accompanied by a food taster. After all, there might be one or two malcontents.

The noble families of Florence wanted to make it clear that they loved the Sforzas, and any appearance to the contrary was solely due to Dorvinian blackmail. Of course, many families had remained loyal to the Sforzas, such as the Donizetti family, and one family, the Peruzzi family, had forged an alliance with the Sforzas.

The Donizetti family was often called the Good Left Hand of the Sforzas. The Good Right Hand was Horatio Sforza, upstanding oldest nephew of Duke Sebastiano Sforza. No one was better for getting things done in a straightforward manner. But, for times when a Duke might need something a little more underhanded, the Donizettis were there.

The Donizettis assured Sebastiano, Horatio, and young Ipolitto of this, while Liliana watched, and Rafael and Roggerio attended the nobles. Indeed, said the Donizettis, it had not escaped their notice that Sebastiano had recently discovered that the Church had a boy whom it claimed was Sebastiano's son, and hence, his true heir, supplanting Horatio, who had previously been the Duke's heir. The Donizettis asked if this were true, if the boy would be recognized as a Sforza by anyone who saw him, and if Sebastiano wanted this tricky problem... dealt with.

At this point, Erik asked for reactions, saying that the Donizettis were good enough at reading people that they'd pick them up from the PCs, even if they were fairly subtle. I forget Liliana's reaction, but here are the others.

Roggerio's thought: I think you'd recognize him all too well.

Ipolitto's thought: If anyone kills my cousin, it should be me.

Rafael's thought: If Sebastiano goes in for this, there is no hope for him.

Sebastiano said that it was too soon to be thinking of anything like that, but that he would remember the offer and the loyalty of the Donizetti family.

After the Donizettis had left, he answered the question that was in everyone's thoughts, and quite clear on at least Roggerio's face.

Sebastiano: No, I have no intention of killing my son.

Out of character comments on Sebastiano turning down the Donizettis:

Beth: The question is -how- he says "no".

Matt: Yeah, he says "no" fine.

Rafael, much relieved, went to the Jewish Quarter of the city to meet with one of the rabbis of his acquaintance. The rabbi was glad to see him, for he wished Rafael to help with a family problem. His son, Herschel, was meeting a woman, and the woman was not Jewish. The rabbi knew little more, and did not know the woman's name. He had tried remonstrating with his son, to no avail, and hoped that Rafael might have more luck.

Rafael asked if he were supposed to say openly that the rabbi had told him to talk to Herschel.

Rabbi: If you wish for another reason, say that you are here to advise Herschel about the difficulties of serving in a gentile household.

Gentile = non-Jewish. I think someone made a Gentile / Gentle pun.

Rafael went to Herschel. Herschel said that he'd heard it could be quite exciting serving the nobility. Rafael explained that it wasn't always easy, especially when explaining to fashion conscious young nobles that one couldn't wear wool and linen together. He also told Herschel the tale of Grinkyville.

Rafael: Admittedly, this is not typical of working in a Gentile Household

Eventually, Herschel mentioned the woman he had met. Erik had not found a name for her -- like myself and Beth, he has trouble with coming up names on the fly. I suggested the obvious name for an Italian woman that a rabbi would not want his son to marry.

Herschel: Her name is Christina.

Rafael winced. Herschel went on to speak of her beauty and bravery, for her father had her guarded always, and she had to escape her guards to meet him. Surely, she was a woman of high birth!

Rafael: Herschel, I have to say that this is not looking good.

But, Herschel continued, Christina was resourceful, for she always seemed able to evade her father's guards to meet him. And they loved each other.

Rafael asked if Christina might consider converting to Judaism, and Herschel said that he had not asked. But, he could suggest the idea of converting to Judaism, and tell Rafael how she reacted. Full of misgivings, Rafael went home.

A couple of days later, Benco di Peruzzi visited the Sforas. The Peruzzis had been enemies of the Sforzas, but had allied with them against the Dorvinians in return for having their noble rank restored. Now that it had been restored, Benco proposed solidifying the alliance. Perhaps his daughter, newly arrived in Florence, could marry the youngest of Sebastiano's nephews, young Ipolitto? He had brought the girl with him, Christina di Peruzzi. Ipolitto took one look, and was smitten.

Rafael groaned inwardly. He was then approached by two of Benco's men, Guido and Vito. Although these men had once been prepared to feed Rafael to Benco's pigs, and although they were neither educated nor Jewish, they were fascinated by Rafael and respected his learning.

They now drew him aside to explain a problem they hoped he could help them with. Since Christina Peruzzi had arrived in Florence, they had been charged with escorting her safely around the city. They had tried to do this, but somehow, young Christina had met and fallen in love with a Jew!

Guido and Vito could easily have hurt the man, but they didn't want Benco finding out they had let his daughter meet him in the first place. So, they allowed Christina to think that she had cleverly ditched them for short periods of time to have her meetings. But, clearly, this could not continue much longer. Perhaps Rafael would talk to Christina?

Meanwhile, Liliana spoke with Christina, learning of her passion for Herschel. She sympathized, but pointed out the realities of arranged marriages among the nobility.

Roggerio could see that Ipolitto was smitten by Christina. Alternately eager to speak with her and terrified to approach her, Ipolitto demanded Roggerio compose a song for her, refusing to give the minstrel guidance, yet criticizing every phrase he suggested.

Liliana noticed Ipolitto noticing Christina. Although not at all sure she would want to marry Ipolitto herself, far more of a kindred spirit with Horatio, and sensible to a fault, Liliana was irritated.

Liliana (to herself): Ipolitto never looked at me that way!

Sebastiano gave a noncommital answer to Benco. The Peruzzis left. Shortly thereafter, Liliana told Sebastiano what she had learned, reasoning, correctly, that while none of the Peruzzi party had overheard her conversation with Christina, the Duke would have been informed by either his magic or his spies.

Sebastiano: I'd wondered who would be the first to come to me about this.

He summoned the others and asked if anyone did not already know of Christina's passion for Herschel. Roggerio was clearly surprised, and Ipolitto was stunned.

Rafael (dryly): Such things have been known to happen.

Sebastiano: Well, that answers that question.

He briskly explained that, Herschel or no Herschel, Ipolitto was not going to marry Christina. The Peruzzis were no more than jumped up thieves and smugglers. While it was clear that Sebastiano knew how many noble families could be viewed in a similar light, he intended a better marriage for Ipolitto. Ipolitto, naturally, could not conceive of better, but he was too stunned to argue with his uncle.

Sebastiano also said that the Sforzas could not afford to for Benco to get offended with them for Christina's passion for Herschel. The Sforzas must not be seen to encourage it, and if someone, like Rafael, actively discouraged it, so much the better.

A day or two later, Herschel told Rafael that he had spoken to Christina about her converting to Judaism. She had suggested, wistfully, that he might become a Christian. She seemed willing to speak to Rafael. Say, at the festival?

At last, the day of the festival arrived. Ipolitto was courted by many nobles seeking to earn, remain in, or return to the Sforza's good graces. Food and drink were offered to the Sforzas and their known servants, and duly tested by the food tasters. Kosher food and drink were offered to Rafael. Ipolitto found it hard to concentrate on being gracious, especially when Christina walked by while one of the younger Donizettis was presenting him with a gift.

The gift giver followed Ipolitto's gaze and asked if the young Sforza wanted some time alone with the lady. Ipolitto protested that his intentions were honorable. Still, if he could just speak to her --

Donizetti: Of course. I'll take care of. Just remember that Francesco Donizetti did you a good turn.

Christina, meanwhile, went to a tent or pavilion of some kind. Guido and Vito let Rafael in to see her. Christina knew she was about to be Talked To.

Christina: Who sent you?

Rafael: Pretty much everyone.

He gave her the list.

Christina: You're very well connected.

Rafael: Believe me, I'm far more well connected than I'd like.

Rafael explained the physical danger Herschel would be in if Christina did not break things off. Christina protested that her father would not permit harm to Herschel once he knew, not realizing that her father a) was not a wonderful person to begin with and b) would probably have Herschel killed himself if he knew what was going on. I'm not sure whether Rafael convinced her of either of these, but he did convince her that Herschel was in danger, so she headed to the Jewish Quarter to break off with him.

Rafael updated Guido and Vito. The duo immediately supplied him with plausible deniability.

Guido and Vito: Right, we understand. She gave you the slip, too.

Roggerio was disturbed by having a food taster. He understood why the nobles needed them, and he wasn't about to go against Sebastiano's orders, but it felt wrong to have one himself. Still, he was enjoying the festival until he felt a tap on his shoulders. Turning, he saw his old friend and mentor, Renier.

Renier was a diabolist, as Roggerio had once been. The two had been friends for the past few months, despite Roggerio's change of heart. Recently, however, Roggerio had helped thwart one of Renier's schemes by distracting his circle of Diabolists with a friendly social call so that an item they held could be stolen and replaced by an apparently identical one.

Renier had by now learned what had been done and easily guessed Roggerio's role in it. He apologized to the musician for attempting to strain Roggerio's loyalties, and Roggerio protested that Renier had never forced Roggerio to any action. The two passive aggressived at each other, Roggerio almost holding his own. But at length, Renier made it clear that the Diabolists would avoid Roggerio so as not to strain his loyalties. When Sebastiano heard of this, he was troubled, and he interpreted Renier's meaning as, "When next we meet on the battlefield, it will be as enemies." Depressed, Roggerio decided to get drunk.

As Roggerio succeeded in his goal, Rafael made his way to the Jewish Quarter, reasoning that Christina had broken off with Herschel by now, and that Herschel might need some words of comfort. He arrived in the middle of a commotion and learned that, as Christina was speaking to Herschel, some men came, driving her off and giving Herschel a light pummeling, warning him to stay out of what didn't concern him. Then, the men left, chasing Christina. Herschel had run after them as soon as he had caught his breath.

As soon as he heard this, Rafael hurried in the direction in which Christina, Herschel, and the thugs had been seen heading. The thugs worked for the Donizettis, and they had been told to herd Christina in a particular direction at a particular time.

Shortly before that, Ipolitto received a note to be at a fountain in a particular public square at a particular time. He made his way there, and, after a brief wait, a tearful Christina nearly collided with him. As Ipolitto held the trembling 13-year old, she told him of her encounter in the Jewish Quarter.

Christina: Do you think that there really are people who want to kill Herschel?

Ipolitto was spared from having to answer that. Herschel arrived, followed quickly by Rafael. Herschel assumed, admittedly with some justification, that Ipolitto had set things up to take Christina from him. He was ready to fight the young Sforza.

At this point, Roggerio wove drunkenly across the square and saw this. Naturally, he decided to help Ipolitto, who certainly wouldn't lower himself to fight Herschel. As he attempted to square off against the other man, Ipolitto drew himself up, using his own form of intimidation. Josh dubbed it "Do you know who I -am-?"

Herschel lost his energy and his defiance.

Herschel: It's true. You nobles really can take whatever you want.

By now, Peruzzi men, including Guido and Vito, had shown up, wondering what was going on and what they should do. Liliana took charge of them, telling them to escort both the weeping Christina and herself to the Inn of the Four Winds, whose proprietor was Christina's brother Simon. The men did so, puzzled, but relieved.

Somewhere in there, Roggerio came to understand who was troubling Ipolitto.

Roggerio: Oh, you're Herschel!

He talked Herschel into getting a drink of kosher wine and regaled him with tales of Ipolitto's ill luck with women. Well, two tales. Well, they were more like examples of women Ipolitto couldn't have, but one did happen to be Christina.

The Sforzas came out of the entire situation looking surprisingly good and owing the Donizettis. After all, they had not ordered violence against Herschel. Ipolitto did not marry Christina nor seek to punish her beloved's momentary impertinence. And Christina and Herschel agreed that it was clear that people would seek to harm Herschel if they remained involved, and that they had better stop meeting. Rafael breathed a sigh of relief.

Roggerio still felt guilty about his treatment of Renier and the other diabolists, and he regretted losing their friendship. He wrote a sad song about it all, to the effect of "Tomorrow, we must be enemies on the field of battle, but tonight, can we not share one final evening in friendship?" He played it by his open window, hoping that one of Renier's Diabolists might come by to listen, as he had when Roggerio had passed news and music to the Diabolists in the past.

However, the Sforza household learned of a new problem: Duke Sebastiano's food taster had just dropped dead. Presumably, it was something he ate.

Out of context quote: It's all that eating and drinking. It makes them hungry.

---

Analysis

IMO, with 20-20 hindsight, much of the earlier set up should have taken place at the festival. There was a certain amount of confusion as to timing, with players expecting to jump to the festival a couple of times before we actually did. In a session where we knew the premise was "There is a victory festival in Florence", there was a constant anticipation of the festival, and it was a little startling when the festival took up less of the session than expected. This was not a problem; I just think the session would have been stronger if the festival had begun earlier.

The scene with Rafael in the Jewish Quarter would have remained unchanged. The visit from the Donizettis could have gone either way, but I think I would have kept that pre-festival.

I passed this on to Erik, who said that he hadn't been sure how he'd fill in the time if he started the session at the festival. While it's true that he can often rely on the players to come up with things to do, he didn't want to count on this for a Rafael-centered episode, which I understand. Matt's a good roleplayer, but he sometimes wants explicit guidance from the GM, so Erik structured the framework of the session accordingly. Also, as he explained to me, he didn't realize at the time that we -- or, at least, I -- had expected the PCs to be "partying at the festival earlier in the adventure."

Josh would have liked there to be some time between Ipolitto's "meeting" with Christina and the arrival of the rest of the PCs. He freely admits that this is because he wanted more screentime for Ipolitto.

The denouement was a bit rushed, in part because it was getting late, and I think also in part because Erik wanted an ending that, if not happy, was more comedic than tragic. The challenge was that the set up closed off certain options.

At one point, Beth, Josh, and I noted that if Christina and Herschel eloped, leaving Florence without obvious Sforza support, the Peruzzis not only would not blame the Sforzas, but would also understand that a marriage between Christina and Ipolitto was impossible. Everyone would be happy.

Matt pointed out, quite correctly, that Rafael would not be happy. Herschel should marry a Jewish woman.

This was basically Rafael's episode, and Matt made a very believable Jewish scholar. There was no way Rafael would condone Herschel's behavior, but when he spoke to Herschel, he never lectured, ordered, or condescended. He made reasonable points, and one could see why Herschel would at least listen. In other words, Rafael was firm in his central beliefs, but not stupid.

I'd also pondered Roggerio's attitude towards the Jewish population of Florence. On the one hand, I'm Jewish, and not necessarily comfortable playing someone anti-Semitic. On the other, I don't like playing a modern person in Florentine clothes.

Roggerio, I finally decided, thinks Rafael is a good man. He has said, more than once, that if he does not burn in Hell, it will be in no small part due to Rafael's influence. But, Rafael is an individual, not the entire Jewish population of the city. And, as I can hear Avram saying, Rafael has "PC" tattooed on his forehead, although I try not to make that too big a factor.

On the other hand, Roggerio would probably be shocked if he knew that Rafael had cursed his friend Renier.

Roggerio probably buys into the stereotype of Jews being clever with money. Certainly, he stores most of his with Rafael's father, who is, IIRC, a money lender. Roggerio is unlikely to be part of a mob hunting down Jews or burning the Jewish quarter, but this is not due to any moral virtue of his own. No, it is because he works for the Sforzas, and the Sforzas would probably not tolerate such activities in Florence.

Separated from the Sforzas, if Roggerio happened to be caught up in the tide of events, whether he joined the angry mob or defended Jews from it would depend on who was around. Roggerio has "beta male" as a trait, and can be swayed by forceful personalities. It would also make a big difference whether Rafael or his parents were there.

In other words, I tried to follow the personality I had given Roggerio. He does not have the moral backbone that would make him a truly virtuous person. He does feel that he ought to be virtuous, especially after his actions as a diabolist. He has not thought at all deeply on the subject of Jews or Judaism. He is swayed by the individuals he knows, and by individuals with forceful personalities. But, he is capable, at least in theory, of making his own choices, and he is capable of being sickened by moral atrocities. This gives me a nice combination of freedom, playability, and guidelines for the character.