Venucci Republics

Culture

The Venucci Republics are in the temperate north of the known world. They highly value creativity and progress, and are known for having the most talented scientists in the world. The Venucci believe that scientific progress is the key to success, and as long as they keep making progress it’s only a matter of time before they become the dominant power in the world. Venucci greatly value success and deride failure, but while failure is derided, the only thing worse is stagnation, so there are always Venucci keen to invest in those with big ideas who are willing to try.

Names

Venucci first and middle names tend to be based on more extravagant English names or Italian or French names.

Examples: Guinevere, Percival, Giacomo, Chiara, Jean, Odette.

Venucci children have no surnames until they reach adulthood. Venucci who join a House use the name of their House as their surname, while those that don't join a house, or who are ejected from a House, choose a surname for themselves that they believe describes them. It's not uncommon for people to choose the surname of a parent or other person who taught them if they believe it also describes them. Some who join Houses after adulthood retain their chosen surname as a middle name.

Houses are either named after a significant figure in their formation, or a shared concept they hold as important.

• Chosen Surname Examples: Fierce, Ingenious, Vengeful.
• House Name Examples: Valjean, de Marco, d'Acier.

Politics

Venucci is made up of independent city states, each of which is ruled over by councils of representatives from influential houses and guilds in that city. The cities formed a loose political and military association in order to expand their influence and protect their interests. The Venucci believe that the best way to expand their influence is culturally, and historically accomplished much of their expansion by aggressively exporting their culture to their neighbours, until they were de facto integrated in to Venucci.

The main groups in Venucci society are Houses. These are made up of individuals with a shared interest, so may be purely political, based largely on profession, or a mixture of both. Children of existing House members must prove themselves to be accepted, and those that showed promise but fail are quickly removed; meanwhile adoption of outside individuals that show talent is common. Most Venucci are not full members of a House. Most Venucci Houses are quite old, but Clare is the exception, since many were created after the secession.

Geography

To the south of the Venucci are of course Clare and the Enclaves, with a natural border formed by the Fulcrum Mountains. While the Venucci would be delighted to explore the Western Sea, the frequent storms make it very hazardous; as a result the only sea travel of note is up and down the coast. The north of Venucci is the Lombard Desert, which resists all attempts to spread civilisation over it. To the east is a large region of dense tropical forest and swamps, which similarly resists civilisation. But the Venucci are confident that it's only a matter of time before these obstacles can be overcome by Venucci knowhow.

Look and Feel

Venucci like “finer” fabrics, colourful schemes, trim and patterns, and decorative adornments such as jewellery.

The aspirational Venucci look is western European Renaissance period, though anything from late middle ages stretching to Victoriana can work. Try to avoid anything that looks more modern than mid-1800s, so late Victorian styles would be less appropriate.

More fantasy-inspired looks like robes, gowns and cloaks are certainly acceptable, but please try to use (preferably non-fur) trim, colours and patterns so as to distinguish yourself from the Enclave cultural look.