Ooc: Age Of Kingdoms
- Thread starter emily123
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rengadeirishman
Built for comfort
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and mixed up the irish with someone else
Wolk
The howny wabbit
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Guys, I'm going to give up control of the Russes. I had fun with them, but it seems like a bit more than I can chew... There is so much I could write about that either I spend far too much time and energy on each post, or I end up with a very lousy post that has just a few dry sentences per category and isn't fun at all.
I'm a victim of my own perfectionism (and workload
). I can't seem to stop writing until I think it's pretty well described, so giving me a whole nation to write about is kind of like giving a kid twenty pounds of candy. 
I'll just hurt myself with it.
Now, that's one thing. Another is this:
What do you guys think about lighter roles? Right now we are all playing a nation each and if interaction is to happen it will be between nations. But what about other entities - like mercenaries, merchant companies, craftsmen guilds, spy guilds, etc? They could be similar to a country, but a bit fewer things to worry about.
I'm a victim of my own perfectionism (and workload
). I can't seem to stop writing until I think it's pretty well described, so giving me a whole nation to write about is kind of like giving a kid twenty pounds of candy. I'll just hurt myself with it.Now, that's one thing. Another is this:
What do you guys think about lighter roles? Right now we are all playing a nation each and if interaction is to happen it will be between nations. But what about other entities - like mercenaries, merchant companies, craftsmen guilds, spy guilds, etc? They could be similar to a country, but a bit fewer things to worry about.
rengadeirishman
Built for comfort
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- May 13, 2006
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up to you 123 your the GM
rengadeirishman
Built for comfort
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- May 13, 2006
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- 4,440
either way works for me
rengadeirishman
Built for comfort
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its good to be irish 
Wolk
The howny wabbit
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Alright, I finally got around to writing my new intro. Not sure how often I'll be able to post here, my work takes a lot of time, but here it goes.
The Family
Giovanni were a curious bunch. Not kings, nor ministers, they nonetheless could speak with the kings on equal terms and held far more power and wealth than any smaller monarch. The reason for this was their wide trading and money-lending empire, which spanned all over the Mediterrainean and was soon to be widened even further. Besides transportation, The Family also owned numerous industries and services in many different countries. Those industries sprung up largely thanks to the Giovanni investments, and now were bringing profits to the local rulers, as well as The Family. The curious thing about this empire was that the Giovanni needed not much military might to maintain it, although quite a bit of muscle was certainly present in many roles. They didn't force anybody to have the Giovanni as trading partners, instead simply being able to offer the kinds of rates and volume that no one else could. Nations allowing The Family into their ports as the sole trader (which was the only way the Giovanni agreed to do business, seeing all virtues of a monopoly) tended to prosper, which pleased their people and government, and a fair part of this prosperity also ended up in the Giovanni coffers.
As much as anything could count as a capital of The Family, it was the small independent town of Giovannia on the western coast of Italy. An old Roman villa retreat for the wealthy, it was now restored and converted into a palace for the Giovanni. Here was also the main vault, guarded by a small private army.
Nobody except the family and help were allowed inside the walls of Giovannia, and the latter never left until their life was over, being effectively slaves, although greatly cared for. It was this seclusion that gave birth to many myths about the Giovanni, one more extreme than the next: dark rituals, secret plans, awful orgies, witchcraft, vampirism, incest, harems, gladiator fights. Some of them may have been true. Whatever went on inside of the compound, however, it rarely came out to affect the outside, and the Giovanni prided themselves in being greatly professional business partners.
The Family
Giovanni were a curious bunch. Not kings, nor ministers, they nonetheless could speak with the kings on equal terms and held far more power and wealth than any smaller monarch. The reason for this was their wide trading and money-lending empire, which spanned all over the Mediterrainean and was soon to be widened even further. Besides transportation, The Family also owned numerous industries and services in many different countries. Those industries sprung up largely thanks to the Giovanni investments, and now were bringing profits to the local rulers, as well as The Family. The curious thing about this empire was that the Giovanni needed not much military might to maintain it, although quite a bit of muscle was certainly present in many roles. They didn't force anybody to have the Giovanni as trading partners, instead simply being able to offer the kinds of rates and volume that no one else could. Nations allowing The Family into their ports as the sole trader (which was the only way the Giovanni agreed to do business, seeing all virtues of a monopoly) tended to prosper, which pleased their people and government, and a fair part of this prosperity also ended up in the Giovanni coffers.
As much as anything could count as a capital of The Family, it was the small independent town of Giovannia on the western coast of Italy. An old Roman villa retreat for the wealthy, it was now restored and converted into a palace for the Giovanni. Here was also the main vault, guarded by a small private army.
Nobody except the family and help were allowed inside the walls of Giovannia, and the latter never left until their life was over, being effectively slaves, although greatly cared for. It was this seclusion that gave birth to many myths about the Giovanni, one more extreme than the next: dark rituals, secret plans, awful orgies, witchcraft, vampirism, incest, harems, gladiator fights. Some of them may have been true. Whatever went on inside of the compound, however, it rarely came out to affect the outside, and the Giovanni prided themselves in being greatly professional business partners.
Wolk
The howny wabbit
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I thought that's what I was doing. Nobody is in the Mediterrainian right now, so I thought I'd start with that, so we can play with others right away.
I can rewrite to make the trading empire a little bit smaller, but unless it's fairly substantial there's no reason for anybody to do business with it. Every kingdom is perfectly capable of building their own ships and doing thier own trade. The advantage I'd bring would be size and specialization, and you're asking me to get rid of it.
I can rewrite to make the trading empire a little bit smaller, but unless it's fairly substantial there's no reason for anybody to do business with it. Every kingdom is perfectly capable of building their own ships and doing thier own trade. The advantage I'd bring would be size and specialization, and you're asking me to get rid of it.
Wolk
The howny wabbit
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OK, gotcha. That's what I thought I was doing, though. Anyway... Tell you what, let me describe the people and the setup in general terms, and then you go ahead and outline the size of their business. It'll be easier than chatting back and forth for me to get exactly what you think is appropriate.
Here's the same intro toned down, and with references to the size of the empire removed:
The Family
Giovanni were a curious bunch. Not kings, nor ministers, they nonetheless sought to speak with the kings on equal terms and strived for far more power and wealth than any smaller monarch. The reason for this was their aspirations to a wide trading and money-lending empire, which would span all over the known world, and even sail to discover new routes, new lands, new riches. Already, they had something going. It wasn't humongous, by any stretch, but from these beginnings true greatness could be born. Besides transportation, The Family also owned some industries and services in several countries. Those industries sprung up largely thanks to the Giovanni investments, and now were bringing profits to the local rulers, as well as The Family. The curious thing about their business was that the Giovanni needed not much military might to maintain it, although muscle was certainly present in some roles. They didn't force anybody to have the Giovanni as trading partners, instead simply being able to offer the kinds of rates and volume that no one else could. City-states allowing The Family into their ports as the sole trader (which was the only way the Giovanni agreed to do business, seeing all virtues of a monopoly) tended to prosper, which pleased their people and government, and a fair part of this prosperity also ended up in the Giovanni coffers.
As much as anything could count as a capital of The Family, it was the small independent town of Giovannia on the western coast of Italy. An old Roman villa retreat for the wealthy, a small part of it was now restored and converted into a residence for the Giovanni. Here was also the main vault.
Nobody except the family and a few help were allowed inside the house, and the latter never left until their life was over, being effectively slaves, although greatly cared for. It was this seclusion that gave birth to many myths about the Giovanni, one more extreme than the next: dark rituals, secret plans, awful orgies, witchcraft, vampirism, incest, harems, gladiator fights. Some of them may have been true. Whatever went on inside of the compound, however, it rarely came out to affect the outside, and the Giovanni prided themselves in being greatly professional business partners.
Here's the same intro toned down, and with references to the size of the empire removed:
The Family
Giovanni were a curious bunch. Not kings, nor ministers, they nonetheless sought to speak with the kings on equal terms and strived for far more power and wealth than any smaller monarch. The reason for this was their aspirations to a wide trading and money-lending empire, which would span all over the known world, and even sail to discover new routes, new lands, new riches. Already, they had something going. It wasn't humongous, by any stretch, but from these beginnings true greatness could be born. Besides transportation, The Family also owned some industries and services in several countries. Those industries sprung up largely thanks to the Giovanni investments, and now were bringing profits to the local rulers, as well as The Family. The curious thing about their business was that the Giovanni needed not much military might to maintain it, although muscle was certainly present in some roles. They didn't force anybody to have the Giovanni as trading partners, instead simply being able to offer the kinds of rates and volume that no one else could. City-states allowing The Family into their ports as the sole trader (which was the only way the Giovanni agreed to do business, seeing all virtues of a monopoly) tended to prosper, which pleased their people and government, and a fair part of this prosperity also ended up in the Giovanni coffers.
As much as anything could count as a capital of The Family, it was the small independent town of Giovannia on the western coast of Italy. An old Roman villa retreat for the wealthy, a small part of it was now restored and converted into a residence for the Giovanni. Here was also the main vault.
Nobody except the family and a few help were allowed inside the house, and the latter never left until their life was over, being effectively slaves, although greatly cared for. It was this seclusion that gave birth to many myths about the Giovanni, one more extreme than the next: dark rituals, secret plans, awful orgies, witchcraft, vampirism, incest, harems, gladiator fights. Some of them may have been true. Whatever went on inside of the compound, however, it rarely came out to affect the outside, and the Giovanni prided themselves in being greatly professional business partners.
Wolk
The howny wabbit
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- Sep 21, 2002
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But we still haven't decided on the size of business they currently have. I understand that the sprawling Mediterrainean empire I tried for before is a bit too much. So tell me what you'd accept. Otherwise it'd be pretty awkward RPing them without knowing what it is exactly they're working with. 
