18. Court Companionship and Confidantes

Court Companionship

1. In order to keep up with events in Rome, a character is expected to have Court Companionship (CC) every month. One who does not will be considered to be out of touch with Court news, thus suffering a loss of status. The SP loss is a cumulative -2 SP per month since the last month in which the character had CC. Hence a character who has not had CC for 3 months will suffer -2 SP the first month, -4 SP the second month and -6 SP the third month. Months spent on a Mission or in prison do not incur this penalty, any pre-existing penalty being suspended during such time and renewing thereafter.

2. CC is not automatic. It must be ordered as a weekly action.

3. CC may be obtained by spending a week with a Court Companion or at a Salon.

4. If CC is obtained at a Salon, it costs the character 2*SL in Ducats.

Court Companions

5. By far the best and most consistent method of assuring CC and a certain amount of SP per month is by having a Court Companion. Court Companions must be sought out, won, supported and may even become a character's Confidante in time.

6. Success at seeking out a Court Companion counts as CC for that month, as does visiting or attending an event with that Court Companion. Simply having a Court Companion is not sufficient to fulfil the monthly CC requirement.

7. Court Companions have SL and may be Brilliant (B), Wealthy (W) and Influential (I).

8. Attempting to seek out a Court Companion is a weekly action. Orders must indicate the Court Companion's name and the amount of money being spent, the minimum being 3*her SL in Ducats. The difference between the character's SL and the Court Companion's gives the chance of success as rolled on 1d6 and determined from the Court Companion Table. The following modifiers and failure rules apply to the roll:

+1 for every 3*her SL spent, unless the Court Companion is wealthy.

-1 if the Court Companion is already attached, -2 if an Unofficial Confidante, -3 if already a Confidante.

+1 if the character has won a Debate concerning the Court Companion that month.

An unmodified die roll of 1 always fails.

9. A character may not seek out a Court Companion at a party or a Club, nor any whose SL is more than 6 higher than his own.

10. Orders for seeking out a Court Companion should include the details of who the character will defer to, e.g. members of his own Faction. If all characters defer to each other, then only the character highest up the Greasy Pole will seek out the Court Companion that week. If a character defers to another, he does not incur costs for having attempted to seek out that Court Companion.

11. If two or more individuals simultaneously attempt to seek out a Court Companion and are unwilling to stand down to each other, each such character incurs the costs of attempting to seek out the Court Companion, but is ignored by the Court Companion. The competing characters have automatic cause for a Debate at the start of the following month.

12. Unless wealthy, a Court Companion costs 3*her SL in Ducats every month in upkeep, even if a character is on a Mission or in prison.

13. A character gains 1 SP per month for having a Court Companion, an additional 1 SP if the Court Companion is Brilliant, plus the difference in SL between them if the Court Companion's SL is the higher.

14. If a character has a Court Companion, she will use her Influence on behalf of him in accordance with the Court Companion Influence Table.

15. Upkeep for a Court Companion is paid and SP received by the character who last successfully sought her out.

16. A character may only have one Court Companion at a time.

17. If a character already has a Court Companion and succeeds in seeking out another, the original Court Companion is left. If he fails, there is a 1 in 6 chance that he will have been indiscreet, causing her to leave him. If there are grounds for a Debate due to two or more characters seeking out the same Court Companion simultaneously, each will lose any existing Court Companion.

18. If a Court Companion is not receiving visitors due to drunkenness earlier that month or is out with another character, the suitor has wasted a week. No attempt is made and no cost incurred.

19. Stealing another character's Court Companion gives automatic cause for a Debate, as does an indiscreet attempt at seeking out another's Court Companion, Unofficial Confidante or Confidante. An attempt will have been indiscreet if the Court Companion was at home with another character when the suitor called or upon a roll of 1 on 1d6 whenever any other attempt is made upon an attached Court Companion.

20. In the post-monthly phase there is a 1 in 36 chance that the SL of an attached Court Companion, Unofficial Confidante or Confidante will go up by 1.

21. The SL of a Court Companion cannot exceed 21 and no extra influence is gained for those with an SL over 18.

Confidantes

22. For a Court Companion to consider becoming a character's Confidante, the relationship between the two must have lasted for at least the last 6 consecutive months. The character's proposal is a weekly action costing 15*her SL in Ducats. The prospect of success is the same as for an attempt by that character to seek her out. That die roll may not be modified. On a roll of 1 there is a 50% chance that the Court Companion will end the relationship. If the proposal is successful, the Court Confidante becomes the character's Unofficial Confidante.

23. After a successful proposal, the character must, within 6 months, announce and hold a party to formalise the relationship as that of Confidantes. Before the party can take place, the character must have a Palazzo or larger property. The party lasts an entire weekend (the cost and SP results are doubled). The guest list for the party must include everyone of the character's own Faction and everyone of the character's SL and above, with the exception of members of his enemy Faction. The host may also invite any other guests he would normally be entitled to invite to a party. As a consequence of the party, the host character goes up 1 SL and receives 1 favour from the Confidante, or 2 if she is Influential, of the level specified in the Court Companion Influence Table.

24. Once the party has been held, the host character may not end his relationship with the Confidante or seek another Court Companion during the currency of that relationship.

25. If the party does not take place within 6 months of a Court Companion becoming an Unofficial Confidante, the Court Companion will terminate the relationship.

26. If an Unofficial Confidante is successfully sought out by another character, the earlier relationship is ended and there are grounds for a Debate between the two characters.

27. When seeking out a Confidante, a character must choose whether to be discreet for not. If discreet, he gets CC but no SP, whilst the other character gets FC but loses 3 SP each month. If the other character is on a Mission, the SP loss is held over until his return. If the successful suitor chooses indiscretion, he gets both CC and SP for the Confidante as if she were his Court Companion, whereas the other character loses half his SL in SP each month. If the liaison is indiscreet, every month in which the new relationship continues gives rise to fresh grounds for a Debate between the two characters.

28. If a Confidante is successfully sought out by another character, the earlier relationship continues, but there is a 1 in 6 chance every month that the new relationship continues that the Confidante will transfer her allegiance to the successful suitor. Should the Confidante transfer her allegiance, the earlier relationship ends, there is cause for a Debate between the two characters and all three parties involved lose 1 SL through the scandal.

29. The new relationship ends at the end of the last month in which the successful suitor spends time with the Confidante.

Court Companion Table