Extremely long, rambling post ahead.
These are quick bust concepts for characters for a ttrpg story I'm planning that hopefully I will get to play with my friends one day. (If not I simply plan to make more lore and perhaps dump it all into a narrative on ao3)
Last year, taking a manuscripts class, I spent a good portion of the fall researching a service book for an unknown flagellant confraternity. Based on some of the prayers it contains, it is very likely from Tuscany and more specifically the city of Pistoia. Like most cities, it dealt with its fair share of plague and famine during the late medieval age, but also faced conquest by neighboring Florence. Additionally, at the very end of the 13th century it was one of the major cities through which the Bianchi movement of flagellants processed. These Brotherhoods have long been of interest to me: the concept of self-abasement and mutilation in the name of peace. I read a lot on the "liminality" of these rituals (see Ronald F.E. Weissman working out of the scholarly tradition started by Arnold van Gennep) - these moments of group ritual which equalize all, suspending social hierarchy. That these movements and religious fervors became increasingly popular during moments of plague or war is quite telling! Additionally, I was in the height of my obsession with Pathologic at the time so... all that to say:
This ttrpg takes place in a mashed together conceptual reality of 12th-14th century rural Tuscany, heavily inspired by the city of Pistoia and its own unique geography and history. The concept of a "sick town" I obviously owe to Patho, and I really did just start by saying "what if everyone could get the Black Death, AND leprosy, AND the dancing plague, but also this is medieval Italy so theres obviously biblically accurate angels and demons and possessions." My loyalty to historical accuracy definitely has its holes but I do my best to research and not be too terribly anachronistic, unless it's to exaggerate certain effects of the horror, but this is all still under development after all.
My biggest inspirations here are, of course, my own obsession with religion and art history and southern Europe. As stated before, Pathologic is a huge inspiration, but so are Fear and Hunger, especially for its misrable atmosphere and dealings with higher beings/gods, and games like Blasphemous and Bloodborne.
The major theme as I've developed this has come to be "Do you know who you are praying to?" From the beginning it is obvious that the sickness here, though manifesting biologically, is obviously enhanced by something worse. I enjoy the concept of manifestation but taken up to a religious degree, that the prayers we shoot out into the empty universe are heard by someone somewhere, and that the worst of our thoughts can be heard by something powerful enough to make them true. And with that, I think I can now get into my characters!
Don Emiliano Merlo: My dear Emi is where it all started. He is a priest sent to the town by the Vatican to investigate the appearance of what the people have been calling "a Living Saint." He finds the town already in the throes of its many illnesses, and finds himself deeply entangled with the Saint (il Santissimo) on his mission to save others. He recognizes that this level of plague cannot be natural and has to be the work of something fouler, and he is inclined to work toward the spiritual salvation of this town. He is a highly sensitive soul, cut from a different cloth than many of the wealthier Roman priests and cardinals. His only issue now is that God seems to be deaf to his prayers, and he cannot figure out why.
Otello Aiello: Normally seen in full plague doctor garb, Otello is a well-known doctor among the common folk in the town. Lacking much religion, he represents a more scientific desire in solving the town's illnesses, though, as he watches things get worse, it is very hard not to sometimes wonder if these are bacteria or demons. He becomes close friends with Emiliano before falling out over disagreements regarding putting their trust in Santissimo, who Otello despises. He and Fortuna are married very happily, in an open relationship.
Duilio Boveri: A character based partially on the historical figure of Corso Donati. He is a wealthy Florentine who now forcefully controls the town after a recent Civil War. His relationship with one of my friend's characters for this game is something I am especially excited to develop: he is a young boy who works as a hired sword for Duilio, and his devotion to his "Master" has been very fun for me while developing this character more, as it falls within my favorite theme: obsession bordering on the religious.
Aldo: For plot reasons he remains mysterious, though he's one of my favorite characters. A young orphan boy who found his way to the town from the German states, he now works as a gravekeeper. He finds himself more at home with the dead; his mentality is something akin to Cotard's syndrome, though he is not distressed by his detachment from the living. He is antagonistic towards others, as seeing bodies simply left to lay in the streets amidst all the disease has shown him the lack of respect for "those like him." The townspeople dislike him for his attitude and find him offputting, as he tends to smell a lot like the bodies he spends time around.
Lady Fortuna: She is more commonly known in the public as the courtesan Properzia, and her biggest client is Duilio. Her real passion and life are as a fortune teller and a mystic, and though her husband calls himself a man of pure science, he cannot deny that what she divines tends to come to pass. She has more story significance, but her main function to start the game is to gather the players together and read their fortune, thus placing them all on this quest of fate. She starts as a tutorial character, essentially, but her importance will remain throughout.
Il Santissimo: As mentioned earlier, Emi is in town to investigate this figure, who appeared shortly after the diseases struck, promising help and miraculous healing. He is very taken with Emiliano, whether that is to the detriment of the poor priest is up to interpretation. The relationship between the two is what originally sparked this plot, they were my initial concepts: a beautiful miraculous being spawns in a town of death and disease, and here is man who loves everyone so much he blindly follows the promises of such a figure. Otello came in next as a counterpoint, his conflict with Emi over Santi creates the full spectrum.
I have two more important characters: a merchant, Pippo, and a flagellant, Giacomo. But I have no time to to draw recently, and they are both more elderly characters, and I am too much of a perfectionist to deal with the stress of drawing them now (I have always had trouble properly depicting agedness). But trust, there is more to come.
If you've read this far, I thank you for indulging in my rambling. I am always happy to talk more if you ever come across this post and it piques your interest.
