Bellacqua is a great name but even greater with the meaning of it, my vote is on Bellacqua.

I'm fine with any name.  Tova is an outsider, and a small player, so I didn't expect him to be part of the family.  As I think about the part he plays, I suspect he was picked up as an expert in trades and acquisitions.  Maybe he was on the same expedition as the one that 'located' the water supply, and he earned a better role by showing the sense to keep his mouth shut and make up lies to avoid the non-House traders from catching on to what happened.

"Lying?! Tova would never lie!  Not to you: you are Tova's friend."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 19:51, Sat 04 Feb 2023.

That sounds good and accurate based on the little information I have on Tova.

In reply to Renzo Difamigli (msg # 15):

Why not both? ^_^

Both, both is good ^-^

House Bellacqua with Famiglia referring to the servants seems to be a good compromise to me.

On the subject of slavery: Up to you folks if you want to be a slaveowning house. It's a reality of the fictional setting but might be a bridge too far/upsetting out-of-character for some.

I think as basically the new kids on the block, your House may or may not be noble, but it certainly isn't rich nor exceptionally powerful. Yet.

As my madlibs stands using Renzo's input and the discussion thus far, bold means more or less agreed unless somebody vetoes:

The Great Merchant House of Bellacqua, was founded in the city-state of Tyr some 75 years ago.

This House is known for its interests in the water trade, its mastery of the traderoutes, pathfinding, and its haughtiness.

The House's largest, most powerful rival is Condotti which they crossed by contriving a feud between the Condotti and a powerful tribe of desert raiders that has gone on for years.

This Houses's closest ally on the Ruling Council of Tyr is Montagese, who is known for sorcerous dealings.

This House's guards and servants are known as the Famiglia and are some 50 men strong.

The House's ancestral headquarters and home in the city of Tyr is known as Il Mercato.

This House is either organized politically along plutocratic lines, with the current Merchant Prince or Princess of the house being Ser Orsino, formally, or Grande Papà (Big Daddy) within the family. Alternatively, the House is organized around autocratic primogeniture, with the firstborn child inheriting the title of Prince/Head of House/Grande Papa.

Note: Is anyone interested in their PC playing as the Head of House or should this be an NPC?

The sigil of this House is a Falcon. Its colors are seagreen and goldenrod.

The House's dark, most closely kept secret is a hidden vault of the sweetest, most succulent water in the world, prized by chefs and vintners. But this supply is running dangerously low, jeopardizing the House's future.

Cassilda prefers to rule from the shadows. Let Orsino play at being paterfamilias.

In reply to Cassilda (msg # 22):

Haha, fair enough. The power behind the throne.

I like a mercantile/plutocratic structure because of the upward mobility possibilities. Every/anybody can aspite to lead with all the resultant intrigue that implies. Likewise, I prefer an NPC head of house that we’re all vying to curry favor with and impress.

Do current family members even know the origin of that precious sweetwater?

Cassilda’s mystery suggests an impressive rumor machine and powerful mind bending sorcery.

I’ll need to change my name to DiBellacqua. Unless the GM wants to downgrade Renzo’s status to less than family, which is just more grist for role play.

Have been silent, but keeping up with the thread. I personally have no problem with Roland being a slave instead of a servant, if other people want to go that route. It only would fuel his wish for freedom and climbing out of his social status further, even if it would be a steeper climb.

In reply to Renzo Difamigli (msg # 24):

Your call about family vs servant.

In reply to Roland Rock (msg # 25):

And your call about servant vs slave, hehe.

Wanted to weigh in on slavery. It doesn’t work very well in a mercantile society. Slaves are too great an expense to feed and clothe and house, especially in a water-scarce ecology. You can skimp somewhat on clothing and shelter, even food, but everyone needs water all day every day.

There might be some slaves for certain purposes, but it’s better to keep an underclass to draw menials from and make them provide their own necessities.

I like the idea of the Great Merchant Houses seeing slavery as bad for business while the old blue blood Ancient Nobility maintains the institution for cultural/dogmatic/identity politics reasons.

To be clear: There are no longer technically any slaves in Tyr, but anything goes a mile outside the city walls.

As we talk about this, exactly how is slavery enforced?  Are there brands?  Marks?  I'm suddenly wondering whether part of Tova's background might involve being a former slave...

In reply to Renzo Difamigli (msg # 24):

I think Renzo should be an acknowledged bastard, permitted the use of the family name.

In reply to Tova Dan Yarblek (msg # 29):

Every city-state has a different practice. In Tyr, Nergal delighted in the suffering of slaves, almost like an artform. I'm thinking to this end he probably ordered branded prose descriptions of a slave's past, pathetic life and useful skills for future masters. Like the forced tattoo from the last Mad Max film.

Slightly gross: https://i.redd.it/p12mrv3kdp721.jpg

In reply to Cassilda, la Bella Donna (msg # 30):

Grazie, Donna.

So, let me get this straight:

Timpantallroth's character will be full-blood, and Renzo will be an acknowledged half-blood.

Cassilda is a vague female relation whose longevity might be due to rumored daliances with white (right handed) magic.

Roland Rock is a hardy house defender.

Do we not have a horribly corrupt and badass sorceror to compliment Cassilda the white?

So the brand might be covered?  Perhaps this was Tovas price?  Perhaps Cassilda helped to heal over the brand after the skin was painstakingly flayed off?

What price loyalty, though?

How does this look to everyone? Tried to make a consensus for anything still being pitched.

The Great Merchant House of Bellacqua was founded in the city-state of Tyr some 75 years ago.

This House is known for its interests in the water trade, its mastery of the traderoutes, pathfinding, and its haughtiness.

The House's largest, most powerful rival is Condotti which they crossed by contriving a feud between the Condotti and a powerful tribe of desert raiders called the Benduin, or Dustlanders, that has gone on for years.

This Houses's closest ally on the Ruling Council of Tyr is the Montagese, who is known for sorcerous dealings.

This House's guards and servants are known as the Famiglia and are some 50 men strong.

The House's ancestral headquarters and home in the city of Tyr is known as Il Mercato.

This House is organized ostensibly along familial bloodlines of primogeniture, ie firstborn inheritance. However, the inheritance is not guaranteed and the heir must demonstrate their viability by conducting Good Business. If they are less than successful, it is within the prerogative of the current Prince of Bellacqua (colloquially known as Il Padrino or Grande Papa by memebers of the inner circle) to adopt or select a new heir. The current Padrino is Prince Orsino, who has ruled the House for twenty odd years.

The sigil of this House is a Falcon. Its colors are seagreen and goldenrod.

The House's dark, most closely kept secret is a hidden vault of the so called sweetwater, which has certain restorative and culinary qualities with which the House made its original fortune. The origins of the sweetwater are mysterious.

Some AI generated heraldry.

This message was last edited by the GM at 04:07, Sun 05 Feb 2023.

That sounds great to me! I will begin writing out a backstory to fit this. Also, the AI art is a nice touch.

Cassilda could hardly be called a white magician, given that she has 5 Corruption (making her one of Arth’s most powerful sorcerers) and knowledge of the Aging, Demonology, Ghosts/Spirits, Necromancy, and Shadow spheres.

In reply to Cassilda, la Bella Donna (msg # 37):

And the unspoiled heart of an innocent, young girl...

[8 blank lines suppressed]

In a jar on her bookshelf.

In reply to Renzo DiBellacqua (msg # 38):

Sometimes a light snack is just the thing to keep a girl going whilst she practices the Dark Arts. ~_^

Our very own Elizabeth Báthory?