Kategorie-Archive:Serenissima Obscura

Monsters are People too – Horror in Serenissima Obscura

Precariously perched on the bridge’s stone railing, Niómë peered through the window, the way she did most nights. “Tell the story with the Prince again”, she whispered, impatiently tapping the stone wall with one of her numerous appendages. Inside the house, the elderly woman sat down to tell the nighttime story to the assembled children. They all stared at their foster mother with vacant eyes, and really the story was wasted on the pitiful creatures. Their little souls had been sucked dry, and Niómë knew by whom, and that was just as it was.
Niómë herself, however, could well appreciate the stories, and here she learned all she could about the world beyond the murky waters of the canals, in which she lived with her brothers and sisters; learned all the things her mother had no time or inclination to teach her. Here she learned all about wolves, and witches, and best of all: princes.

Meet Niómë, one of the monsters in Serenissima Obscura. Niómë is a creature from the Venetian lagoon, with the upper body of a young woman and a lower body made of massive tentacles. She is a thing of nightmares that will snatch you from your bed and drag you into the canal. She is evil and completely crazy. But she is also a loving daughter and sister, who has dreams and wishes, who thinks and feels. She is a person, someone you will pity, if you see past her sharp teeth and murderous ways. Being so incredibly pathetic makes her even more horrifying.

Andreas and I have been developing RPG settings and adventures for ages, many of them rather dark or dramatic. In Serenissima Obscura, we create true terror by combining suspense, as well as horrific and eerie phenomena with actual danger. We also offer ideas on how to create a scary mood by using the environment effectively. But what we love most is our monsters and foes.

We very much enjoy creating backstories for even the lowliest creature in the shadows. We just find a monster with a set of motives and a history so much more interesting. It turns the creature into a character and incites the most vivid roleplay. As a GM impersonating such a being, you might not just attack the group, but will want to interact in some way. Or give the players the opportunity to witness the fiend in its normal habitat. By that, you can invoke nasty moral dilemmas within the adventurers. We know that in the end, it is „kill or be killed“, but a pitiable monster might make them stop and think for a moment: Is this poor wretch redeemable? Could this have been me, had I been born differently? Do I kill it instantly, or can I change it? Is it vile to slay such a poor creature? By making the characters relate to evil, they come to question themselves.

Ok, maybe your players are not into such psychological aspects of roleplaying and they will just be disgusted by Niómë.

So let’s talk about of the presentation of evil itself. The horror of any situation is strongly intensified, by making the monster more humane. Just remember the „Silence of the Lambs“: „Buffalo Bill“ Gump becomes so much more frightening as you watch him put on his makeup, talk to himself and give his victim something to eat. His insanity makes him unpredictable and heightens the suspension. Perhaps he will not kill the girl after all! And Hannibal Lecter himself! The striking contrast between what you know about him (eats his victims) and how he acts (polite and educated) makes you fear him most. If those two were just nameless and speechless murderers jumping out of the dark, the entire movie would have much less scary. Right?

Anyway. Serenissima Obscura will be full of fearsome situations and horrible creatures. You can use them in any way you like. If you just want to throw them at the characters for a good old fight, that’s fine too. We just want to give you as many options as possible.

To come to an end, let us get back to the lovely Niómë:

It was still dark in the narrow streets of San Polo, even though Pio Briani could sense the weight of night being lifted from the city. The moonlight provided little illumination, but then again Pio knew the way quite well. Turning towards the Campo San Polo, he heard that strange whisper again, just like the previous night: “My Prince”. He turned, panicked for some reason, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He made sure he wasn’t standing too close to the small canal at his back, and tried to see if there was anyone hiding in the shadows between the buildings. The last thing he heard before he was suddenly seized and dragged into the water was a wet scrabbling behind him, and the last thing he saw in a dim beam of moonlight before he lost consciousness in the icy water was a nightmarish face with a smile full of needle teeth mouthing “My Prince”.

Credits:
Blog by Melina Sedó
Vignette of Niómë by Andreas Wichter
Illustration by Simone Tammetta

Serenissima Obscura – Integrating non-humans into human society

Hello everybody. Here is Melina Sedó. We – I and Andreas Wichter – have been super busy in the past months and excited about our progress with our upcoming setting guide and modular adventure Serenissima Obscura.

As you’ve might already have heard, this will be a horror adventure set in Renaissance Venice, 1507.

Today, I would like to tell you a bit more about our alternative historical background: Our first adventure, The Straight Way Lost, was modelled after the historically accurate Renaissance Italy. It had its share of fantastical elements, but those were largely hidden, and on the surface the world seemed mostly the same as the one we can find in the history books.

Serenissima Obscura builds on the assumption that Lorenzo de‘ Medici did not die in 1492 but formed an alliance with a mighty fae queen who begot two children by him. The survival of this major player in Italian politics has influenced subsequent world events and nothing is exactly as it was before: Non-human species walk openly among humans, magic manifests itself in plain sight and children’s tales are proven to be true. The European empires as well as the Italian states remain (so far) mostly unchanged. But the general outlook on society, some historical events, as well as influential personages, however, vary from the „real“ world. There is now even a half-elven pope!

In the past months, we have therefore explored essential questions like:
How does human society integrate new species? Are there different factions and which challenges do the „newcomers“ face?

For some species, life has become easier: half-elves, half-dwarves and even dwarves are now widely accepted and can function as proud members of society in many places. Even more so: The dwarven communities had for centuries resented the rejection by their human cousins. Had the dwarves not helped make the Roman Empire great and shape the Christian faith? Now those of dwarven heritage reclaim their rightly place in the communal bodies.
But not all are welcomed with open arms: Pure elves are still viewed with some suspicion by the humbler folk because they are suspected of strange powers to ensorcel humans. Spine-chillers about scary elf-witches are exchanged when humans gather in front of the fireplace. For many, the distinction of elves and fae is not obvious. Are they not the same, or at least serving the evil fae queens of old? This leads to elves remaining mostly in their enclaves remote from the human metropoles.
The existence of gnomes, nephilim and profondi (tieflings) is but a rumor. Their heritage and appearance inspires distrust or fear in most humans, which is why they continue to keep to themselves. Some profondi even believe that the exposure has rather done them harm and resent the egalitarian attempts.
We have also created a new species – the Children of the Lagoon – that are based in the Venetian area. These adept seamen, builders, and fishers form an integral part of our alternative history, but they too are still hiding from human society.
So this is not yet an egalitarian world. The following vignette highlights this inequity.

Ermesinda Montoya-Ferrer hurried over the empty Campo dei Mori. It was late at night, and she needed to get back home. All day had she been working in the tavern kitchen. Ettore, the dwarven landlord, was good enough to employ her, but he made her work hard and after the closing hour, Ermesinda had to clean up as well. But she should be grateful. Who else would employ a profonda with three daughters?
Life was not easy.
The family lost everything, when they had to flee from Granada in Spain. Their house, their savings, even the jewellery, that Ermesinda had inherited from her mother. Garrada, the youngest, was only just born, when they boarded the ship. Her beloved husband Guillén was dead, or so she feared. What else would the inquisitors do with someone who had not adhered to expulsion and continued to treat patients.
The voyage to Venice had taken almost two years, and the profonda hoped that the Serenissima would accept newcomers. Well, they did, but only those who came with the means to build an enterprise or with a fancy title. The wealthy dwarves and the noble half-elves did have not any problems being accepted as citizens, but she and her daughters remained unwanted strangers.
Ermesinda was still a young woman, only 36, but she looked much older and her horns were starting to grow big. Soon, she would not be able to hide them so easily anymore, and how could she then work in a tavern? How would she feed her children?
The profonda startled when she heard a noise behind her and turned around. Nothing. But she had heard about a group of radicals who went after the later-born and made them vanish. Ermesinda’s heart pounded. She would feel better when she was at home, even if it was just one room in an attic.

The sketch by Mark Smylie shows Ermesinda scrubbing the floor whilst noble ladies of different heritages walk past by her. We are eagerly awaiting the finished illustration.

But it is not only about the specific species. Life of a non-human will also vary a lot, depending on where they are based:

  • Spain has amended the Alhambra edict and expelled all non-humans from their territory along with the Jews and (from 1501 on) the Muslims.
  • The crown of France stands in clear opposition to Spanish policy. Not only does it form non-human battalions in which the special skills and talents of dwarves and elves can be exploited.
  • In Venice, a few old families have revealed their dwarven or elven heritage and their status as members of the „Libro D’Oro“ has been confirmed – after heated arguments in the Great Council.
    And how do the Ottoman Empire or Germany react? There is so much to consider that will influence the campaign. Be assured that there will be much to explore.

The setting guide also elaborates on Venetian society and politics and includes an extensive description of the city layout and sestieri – the six districts of the historical town. Apart from the adventure modules in real Venice as well as in the horror version of la Serenissima, we have prepared a multitude of adventure hooks for instant use. And there will be one or even two new character classes as well as new subclasses.

Next time, we are going to write about how society deals with the influx of magic and mystical occurrences into the world. And then maybe a blog about the horror aspects of our setting? But we would rather not reveal too much. But we might need therapy when we are done writing this. 😉

This is the first finished illustration by Anton Vitus showing the mature Lorenzo de‘ Medici with his daughter Bianca. We love her!