presents...
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The Princes of Vodacce have for centuries employed a cadre of loyal, trusted men to enforce their wills. These personal enforcers are known as as Lord's Hands. Each and every one is a strong, skilled player of the Game, and all are devoted to their lords. Their lords know this because their strega wives check the strands to be sure that it is so. The Hands of each of the current princes each have their own distinctive style, reflecting their prince's preferred method of operations. Bernoulli's Hands are often brutal but never cruel. Typically, first comes a warning. Then, there are one or more beatings if the warning is not heeded. Finally, some guys just don't take the hint and need killing. But the Prince has standards. You don't assault a man in front of his wife or children. You don't drag things out. Wham, bang, the thing is done. It is a regrettable necessity of Vodacce life, not something to enjoy. These Hands tend to have high ranks Brawn and Intimidation as well as their weapon skills. They are less likely to have Dirty Fighting or Pugilism - better to do the job more quickly with a baton. (Using pistols is contentious - it can be fast and nearly humane, especially if you shoot the guy right in the head, but well, the Vendel favor pistols and besides, guns are a low man's weapon.) Caligari's Hands cultivate a certain uniformity in appearance and a silent, menacing demeanor. Men who irritate Caligari just... disappear. The Hands come and take them away - the prince can always use more test subjects, after all. These men will have high ranks in Wrestling skills (to subdue and secure live victims) and are often armed with Syrneth devices from the prince's hoard. Falisci's Hands do not answer directly to their prince. Their captain oversees their daily operations. The captain, however, meets several times a week in private with the prince. How much the prince is told in these meetings is occassionally a matter of great interest - when popular men are targeted by the Hands, was it at Falisci's command or was the captain acting on his own initiative? No one is willing to suggest that the Smiling Prince can't control his own men, but the question lingers. And that's just how Donello likes it. His Hands all have ranks in Politics and Sincerity. Lucani's Hands, like their Prince, try too hard. The ones he sends with his foreign emissaries to distant courts, to promote Lucani needlework, are nearly parodies of Montaigne courtiers, all lace hankerchiefs and ready swords and quick eyes. It's never enough to discretely note the currents in the room and report back; no, these Hands end up in private libraries and studies, going through letters and ledgers. Sometimes, the risk is worth it. Often, it isn't. Back home, Lucani's enforcers try to ape the terrible creativity of Villanova's Hands' punishments. Sometimes, they get it right. Sometimes, they end up with a classic bungled Death Trap from which their erstwhile victim is sure to escape. Lucani's Hands have skills (usually from Spy, Courtier and Fencing) at high levels - they just cannot resist elaborate schemes which either require skills that they don't have, or else are enormously difficult. Hubrises and Wiles reflecting that would be appropriate. Mondavi's Hands are a vicious, amoral bunch under their courtier's masks, making up for their prince's cowardice with their own hair-trigger tempers and violent responses to insults. Not a few of Mondavi's lords are more afraid of the Hands than they are of Mondavi himself. A few have thought to use this fact to stage a coup - and ended up horribly killed by the Hands themselves, when suggesting the idea. Mondvi's Hands often have high ranks in Interrogation and Dirty Fighting skills. Vestini's Hands have reversed the traditional moral relationship between themselves and their devout lord. They are loyal to the last, and appreciate his piety, and so take it upon themselves to take those actions he is loathe to command. The prince is not so devout as to not accept these fait accompli when they are made known to him, and his conscience is spared the guilt of having ordered them. It was worked so far, but if the Vestini Hands go over the line one day, it is uncertain what the prince's reaction will be. To pick their targets and gauge their prince's reaction, Politics is a necessary skill. It also never hurts to have some Theology when explaining yourself to the prince. Villanova's Hands are considered to be the best, if only because it is prudent to allow Villanova the vanity. The Black Prince requires absolute competence, but also absolute obedience. If he tells a Hand to "get it done," it must get done - no matter what "it" is. That often requires a great deal of guile, resourcefulness, and bloody-minded violence. On the other hand, Principe Giovanni can be something of a perfectionist, leaving detailed instructions for certain missions - and he will be enraged if any instruction, any condition, is not met. If he bothered to tell you what to do, it was important. This kind of blind obedience often does not sit well with men who have the intelligence and cunning the Prince requires. It chafes. The wise Hands stick it out long enough to collect their generous salaries and kickbacks and then retire to the country or to an island apartment and stay scrupulously out of the Game thereafter. (Giovanni has a way of snipping dangling threads that catch his eye.) But few of this bold, rash breed are wise. Now, it's untrue that every new Hand has to prove his worth by killing an old Hand who's suspected of turning on the Prince. But that's only because, in addition to replacing those Hands, those who die faithfully in the line of duty must be replaced as well. Some of the new Hands are simply required to kill one of the Prince's other enemies. He's got plenty to go around.
New weapon: Baton
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