Lorenzo's Blessing

PLEASE NOTE THIS GAME BEGINS AT 19.30 (LIKE ALL EVENING GAMES)

Florence, 1492.

The Italian city states, with Florence to the foremost, have led an artistic and cultural revolution. Humanist philosophy and a reborn interest in Classical society have spread throughout the elite. Great artists are famous and in heavy demand, with states vying to have better painters, palaces and philosophers than their neighbours.

But Italy is under threat from without. The young French King, Charles VIII, desires the wealth of Florence and the other city states and has laid claim to the Kingdom of Naples. His armies are ominously poised in nearby Savoy. Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, although distracted by tall tales of a new way to the Indies, also claim Naples as their own. To the East, the Ottoman Empire continues its relentless expansion, with only Venice and the Knights of Rhodes slowing its progress.

And Italy is more a fashionable address than a united entity. The rulers of the City States are as liable to side with outsiders as each other and more often reliant on hired mercenaries, the Condottiere, than their own troops.

The recent surprising election of the Spaniard Rodrigo Borgia as Pope has increased the uncertainty, but it is events in Florence itself which may trigger an explosion.

Lorenzo de' Medici, nicknamed 'The Magnificent' with good reason, is dead. Rumours talk of assassination, although the official explanation is that he succumbed to a longstanding illness.

Although technically a Republic, Florence has been a Medici state in all but name for decades. Lorenzo had the powers of a Duke or King, but held only the title of First Citizen. However, many do not consider his eldest son Piero capable of holding the Medici banking and merchant interests together, let alone the State.

Some call for a true Republic, while others clamour for religious control by the charismatic Dominican vicar-general Savonarola - a man who preaches against the Pope and holds bonfires of vanities.

Now many of the great and the good gather in the Medici Palace after the funeral. The deals done and schemes hatched here will certainly decide the future of Florence - and may change the world.

This is an historical game with no mystical or supernatural element and based on the history, events and social mores of the time. Some potential players may therefore have legitimate concerns about how the Catholic Church of the time is portrayed and / or the role of women at the time and in the Church - and therefore should consider not signing up for this game.

Costuming is optional but encouraged. The 'Art' mechanic in the game will consist of taking and printing digital photographs of players / characters.

Background material and cast list will total about ten pages, character sheets will be about four pages. Rule and mechanics will be minimal.