As you're all members of the same merchant house, I think it's fitting that you all decide its basic tenets and ideals. The madlibs below should get us going. It's also important to think about who the current leader of the house is, and how the house is organized politically (democratic, technocratic, meritocratic, authoritarian, plutocratic, etc.)

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

This House is known for its interests in the water trade and its _________.

The House's largest, most powerful rival is _________ which they crossed by _________.

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

This House's armed guard is known as the _________ and is some _________ men strong.

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

This House is organized politically along _________ lines, with the current Merchant Prince or Princess of the house being _________.

The sigil of this House is a _________.

The House's dark, most closely kept secret is _________.

Since we're deciding as a group, I will put forward a few things I (the player) think would be fun.  I will use a different color "goldenrod" if I want to give Tova's opinion.  But I think you would all prefer me more than him at the moment.

I like the idea of the House as organized in a plutocratic fashion, so that earning coin and cutting deals leads to surprising rises and falls in prominence.  Meritocratic is wonderful, but slow.  Democratic implies some kind of high mindedness and social concern.  But a mercantile house does best when it makes money hand over fist, and being able to hold a member high for an incredible financial windfall, only to topple them when they are caught for fraud seems like a wonderful way to explore tumultuous storytelling tides.

"Of course, Tova would be happy to help others to prominence, as long as there was a nice cut in it."

I feel like we need a name.  Is one of you a member of the central family that founded this house?  Should we use your last name as the name of the house?  The Medici, the Borgias, the Alberti, the Sforzas, all wonderful names and great house names.

Or we could take our cue from the Hanseatic League (The Hanse), and form as a league of allied traders, so that we are really more satellite cells competing within the League to wrest control of the greatest portion of power and lead the House.

Just stuff to think about.

"Why not both?  Tova is eligible, and ready to marry into multiple families if that would help."

That fact that we found an oasis suggests that we did a lot of travel and trading even before we got into the water business.  I like the idea that perhaps we had two business models - one to transport goods for other houses safely for a moderate fee, and the other was offering expert guidance for houses that wanted to transport their own goods.  They could, of course, make their own path, but there were bandits and taxes that made that risky.  Between having some House agreements with outlander factions and keeping eyes on tradeways, we recorded optimal alternate tradepaths, tracked influencers among those outside of Tyr, and kept track of what was buying and selling what goods.

So we would have a good stable of strong mercenaries and guards, as well as expert pathfinders.

Entry into the water business has given us a stable capital income with which to now invest in developing our mercantile ambitions and perhaps try and seize control of key routes.  And we can use our finances to be indispensable to other mercantile investments, since we know generally what they buy and sell, and to whom.

"It is easier to get rich if you hold the purse strings, neh?"

But I am VERY VERY VERY open to other ideas of how we work, and Tova is really a small cog in whatever organization we make.  He doesn't really work well as a mastermind.

"Look at you, undercutting Tova like that.  Tova is cut to the quick.  Tova is very capable, and such talk will just drive customers away.  Come back.  Come back and have a drink with Tova.  It is from Tova's personal stock..."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:25, Thu 02 Feb 2023.

This message was deleted by the player at 19:44, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

reposting with my character name

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

This House is known for its interests in the water trade 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 tears.

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

This House's armed guard is known as the Bambilini (Little Kids) and is 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 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.

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

Water is heavy and gets used up, requiring a lot of effort and time, so maybe The Oasis isn't so far from Tyr and just hadn't been found before? Up in the mountains where wild tribes and/or fell beasts made merchants reluctant to venture? I don't know. It's hard to square.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:57, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

In reply to Tova Dan Yarblek (msg # 2):

Great ideas all of these, I'll let others chime in, but ideas presented so far:

- A plutocracy organized around mercantile ideology, perhaps an alliance of various interests.
- Masters of the desert traderoutes
- The House name Famigilia has been proposed by Renzo.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:51, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

I like the idea of a sandstorm driving one of the pathfinders leading a trade caravan off course.  After they battened down and waited out the storm, he realized how very far off course they were and recorrected the route using the sun and a few stable landmarks.  On the way back towards the projected path, they saw signs of various animal tracks all converging beyond a rise.  The caravan he was leading (not a Famiglia caravan) didn't have anyone who could read those signs, but the different tracks gave our pathfinder enough of an idea of what would draw so many kinds of animals.  He diverted the caravan, knowing it would add a day to travel, and he secretly left a series of markers on firm surfaces along the way back.  He explained to his employers that it was to help them keep track of leagues travelled, so they would get their money's worth.  In the end he sent a fast messenger back with a coded message to inform a fellow pathfinder of the route and that he suspected it lead to an animal watering hole.

The expedition from the House began even before the pathfinder's contract was up and he had returned to Tyr.  By the time he returned, he was informed that the watering hole was located, but even more important, it appeared to be fed by an underground spring, which meant it was stable and durable, and wouldn't easily dry up in a drought.

The house spent the greater part of a year working to conceal the watering hole, setting up decoy holes that might lead a competitor astray (into dead drops and animal dens), and then working out way stations to collect shipments and haul the water back from three different locations.  This allowed them to keep the true location secret, and to break up the transports enough to hide the fact that there was a real wealth of water available.

Many believe that there is a vault where the House keeps a secret stock of water.  This may or may not be true.  But water scarcity keeps the price high, and the small shipments they bring in individually help create the impression that there is only so much water available.

What happened to the animals who gathered at the hole?

Hmmm...

"Tova understands how rare water is.  That's why Tova drinks Boukha.  Would you like a glass?"

A secret cistern perhaps?

Maybe Tova was that pathfinder. And Renzo was in the caravan, making his way from his mother's caravanserai to his father's House in Tyr? And Tova had Renzo desert on a fast steed (giving out that he and the steed were lost to raiders) to bear the news to Famiglia House. Oh, and Renzo's father (Prince Hal to Tova's Falstaff?) was dead when Renzo got there. The find greatly boosted Renzo's standing in the family and got Tova a permanent spot in the household maybe.

In terms of the Oasis, it's located somewhat close to Tyr, in the desert to the south, about three days mounted on beetle or sunback. The House has been extracting water from it for about half a year. Everything else if up to ya'll.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:33, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

I feel Tova would be a great Falstaff.  I imagine he would be a good wanderer, and I envisioned him at first as the kind of merchant who had a revolving inventory of questionable items, and who cut deals to get people things they wanted that someone else owned.  I'm not certain he's good enough to find a path on his own, but I like the idea of stumbling into luck and having that lead to him joining the House.

Maybe Tova was with my dad when he met my mom. Lot of years ago. Young Tova.

Here’s a thought. What if most water on Arth is brackish, the remnants of saltwater seas. But this artesian oasis we contro has the purest, sweetest water imaginable. It’s a luxury water craved by the rich and by chefs and vintners. It goes for hyper premium prices which is what makes it so incredibly profitable.

Some of my thoughts:

If we're a noble House I think we should be organized like a proper one with a head of House whose first born becomes heir and such. If not, I'd be down for a Meritocracy or Plutocratic House.

I dig the name Medici, I also think an Arabian surname could be cool. Again, if we're not a noble House and more akin to an alliance it's not as important.

More areas of trade for the House sounds good to me. Transporting goods fits especially well with my character since he has wilderness experience and has protected several caravans and lead them through various areas of Arth.

The Sigil being a Falcon and the colors being green and gold sounds great to me!

I think the Oasis being regular water is fine, normal water would be hard enough to come by on a desert world.

Maybe Timpantallroth's character was the fateful pathfinder?

I could be down for that, also gives him an even better reason to come home.

Regarding names, my thought is that we should be House Bellacqua ("sweet water" in Italian).

(Famiglia refers to the household apart from its noble members... i.e., servants and slaves.)

Is the family noble or just rich and powerful?

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?