Renato Benso

Name: Renato Benso Titles: Captain of the Guard Knight Patrician Age: 23 Affiliations: The Most Serene Republic of Latium, The most honorable and noble house of Benso

Physical Description: Renato is of slightly above average height for most humans generally due to his noble upbringing with access to clean water, good food and medicine. While not muscular he is well toned from soldierly training and he generally keeps his hair short. Renato favors soldier's clothing. Such as trousers, tight shirts and a light cloak(for use as an off hand weapon) and leather riding boots. He rarely wears the traditional robes and heavy cloaks of the nobles.

Personality:

Haughty and refined. He is a stereotypical noble looking down upon the common rift raft from his ivory tower. He possesses a keen intellect which he is fond to impress upon others.

Renato is also a rather outspoken person even with other nobles and will try to take control of a situation if he believes it is place as a right of birth or station to be in command of the situation.

History: Renato was born into the noble merchant house of Benso, the current ruling house of the Serene Republic of Latium. He was born second-boy in the house and therefore his inheritance to the vast wealth of his noble house were already limited upon his birth.

Growing up he was afforded the benefits of a noble birth receiving a well rounded and classical education. Being that his older brother was already destined to lead the house and family business. Renato was destined to support the house in other ways and as he was growing up he was surrounded by tutors versed in the art of war. He would be in charge of the house's soldiers as his older brother would be in charge of the house and his younger brother the representative to the church.

In recent years he has been growing rather discontent with his place in Latium desiring to branch out and see new lands and establish outposts on which to bring about his own measure of wealth.

Having heard of the establishment of a Latium outpost known as Castra and the claims of vast wealth in this new world he commissioned the construction of a ship and prepared for adventure. His eventual goal is to claim enough wealth and fame for himself so that he may be able to establish a Cadet Branch of House Benso to continue his line in the proper noble trappings. Advantages: Winter's Edge(magical sword) II (rare +6 to all combat with the sword) - Not much is known about this magical blade. It has been in house Benso's possession for nearly 20 years and is of a modern design though its creator is unknown. It may not even be known whether the Benso family knew it was even magical when originally purchased but its perfectly keen edge and ability to withstand tremendous force and never rust has proven it over the years to be magical.

Wealth I (special) - Coming from an extremely wealthy family Renato has access to a large personal fortune. Though being a second-boy his own personal wealth pales in comparison to that of his other older brother and father.

Educated I (uncommon +2 to all academic rolls)- By being afforded a good education throughout his youth Renato is extremely knowledgeable on various topics.

Linguist I (uncommon +2 to all reading/writing/speaking rolls) - Growing up in a city of merchant and traders exposed Renato to many cultures and languages as a child. As such he has a natural ear for languages.

Ship I (special) - Regulus' Fortune - Renato Benso's ship for his journeys to far off lands. It is of new construction and generally designed more for the role of war than it is for trade.


 * Cannons - I Rare +3

Followers - Soldiers I (Common +2) - As Captain of the Guard for House Benso Renato has a loyal contingent of soldiers at his beck and call.

Followers - Sailors I (common +2) - Being a primarily merchant republic Latium has an abundance of capable sailors whom Renato hired to run his ship.

secondary character II - Lieutenant Amadeo Corsi (special) - Renato's right hand man and his bravo. Corsi is a cousin to Renato and grew up in the family household. He spent much of his formative years working on the Benso trading ships making him an excellent sailor as well as a noted fighter from fending off pirates. He now serves as Renato's trusted confidant and personal bodyguard. Advantages: merchant(uncommon +2) / Soldier (uncommon +2)

Story Elements:

The Most Serene Republic of Latium - The nation and city of Latium is a long standing Republic founded on trading and banking. For over a century Latium has been the center of commerce for the world and the benefited greatly from this wealth. The canalled streets of the city are considered a site to behold by all. (Think of Latium as a version of Venice)

The city is ruled by the Doge(elected for life) and the Grand Council which is made up of members of all the noble and patrician houses of the city. While the Doge can excercise extensive power he is generally kept in check by the Grand Council through a system of rudimentary checks-and-balances.

Latium's foreign policy is one of armed neutrality. They rarely meddle in other nations affairs or get involved in wars as wars are bad for business. They prefer their place as the traders and bankers of the world and use their neutral position to their advantage in supplying money and safekeeping for valuables to warring parties.

While many of the other nations are envious of Latium and its vast wealth and trading fleets they do no move to war with them as Latium serves an extremely useful purpose as a safe haven and a secured trader in times of war. Many nations, businesses and individuals allow Latium banks to hold and transport their money because they know that a ship flying its flag will not be attacked except by the most outlawish of pirates. Latium trading ships have even been known to sale through waters controlled by the Sireni unharmed.

House Benso - House Benso is one of the ancient noble houses of Latium. They claim to be able to trace their lineage back a thousand years to the original inhabitants of a long bygone Empire. House Benso is the current ruling house of Latium with Pietro serving as Doge. Key figures include:

Pietro Benso, 51, doge and the owner of the Benso Bank and trading fleet.

Marcello Benso, 26, first son of Pietro and Heir apparent to the fortunes of the house as well as the businesses. He is currently being groomed to take over the family business.

Renato Benso as described above

Orso Benso, 18 third son of Pietro. Cardinal of the church of Regulas and representative of the church for the family. He is one of the youngest cardinals ever appointed to the church. Many claim his position was bought for 20,000 ducats by his father.

Church of Regulus - Is an ancient religion centered around the god Regulus who is regarded as the god of fortune and commerce. For obvious reasons the church is extremely popular within Latium and serves as the state religion. The Church is ruled by the Vicar of Regulus who is considered to be the voice of god here on earth.

Legend has it that ages ago in the earliest days of the Mercian Empire when economies were still done by barter Regulus came down to this world and brought to the people the means of economy and commerce. First, he was worshipped as one of many gods but as time went by his church became more and more powerful and soon became one of the dominant religions of the world.

The Mercian Empire - The Mercian Empire was a vast Empire encompassing what is now Latium and much more for a period of over 1,000 years. They were renowned for their knowledge and technology as well if some would be believed their arcane arts(which still others claim where their downfall.) Approx. 1,000 years ago their Empire succumbed to internal decay and rot and collapsed in upon itself. The countryside is dotted with their ruins and many adventurers seek out their lost knowledge often to never be heard from again.

The Island of Capriano - Capriano is an island(approx. size of cuba) approx. 20 leagues to the south of Wayfarer's point. It was discovered only 15 years ago by Latium explorers and is now the site of a small trading and exploration outpost known as Castra. Few dare to venture inland on the island as reports of strange creatures abound though rumor has it if one makes it past the horrors of this world the lizardfolk inhabitants are rich in gold and magical artifacts.

Lizardfolk - The lizardfolk of Capriano are the indigenous species of the island. Few men have seen them in person as the Lizardfolk are reclusive and appear fearful of men and the few encounters with them have resulted in bloodshed. They lead a primitive existence worshiping strange gods and observing even stranger rituals. Some say they used to be the masters of a vast empire before they were struck down by their pagan gods for irreverence. Now, they are forever trying to reclaim the favor of their old gods through their rituals including that of sacrificing sentient beings.