Solidifying my idea
Okay, so I think that my Masquerade idea is coming together.
Nicolo Mastelli was born some time in the 1300s, in Venice. He was sold into slavery and ended up a house servant to a member of the Council of Ten. Nicolo was beaten near to death by another Venetian nobleman (or maybe a thug) when he delivered a message to the nobleman that was rather inflammatory. Nicolo's beaten, bruised and bloated body was thrown into a canal as a message, but instead of floating down river and being seen (as was the plan), he was picked up by one of the Nos of the town. That Nos tended his wounds enough to keep him alive and then Embraced him. From that point on, Nicolo was the servant to a new master. His sire kept him around as an errand boy, servant, and later on as a spy due to his aptitude with languages and skill at Obfuscate.
After a hundred years or so his Master made some political mis-steps and decided to leave Venice. There began several hundred years of wandering through the capital cities of Europe. They stayed in Rome, Geneva, Paris, Budapest, Warsaw, Prague, Athens, Berlin and finally London during the next 450 years, eventually moving to the New Orleans sometime around 1850 to escape Europe altogether. During the Civil War, they moved to St. Francisville because it was stable and safe, and have stayed there ever since.
Nicolo lives as an information broker within both mortal society and Kindred society (though for obvious reasons, he keeps those two business circles as distinct as possible), although his official job title is "butler" in the manor in which he lives with his Master. Ever since the Civil war his Master has been very reclusive, keeping to himself and allowing Nicolo to run the daily business of the manor. He has proven more competent at such business than even his Master (though it's hard to be less competent than a sire who consistently gets kicked out of court after court), and as such the last hundred years have been very profitable for them both.
Seeking:
* High society types (Toreador, Ventrue, Lasombra, etc) with whom he has cultivated a business relationship over the last few centuries, and who might need information on their rivals from time to time
* Street/Lower-class types (Brujah, Malkavians, Gangrel, Ravnos, etc.) with whom he can make deals, to open bureaucratic doors that would otherwise be closed in exchange for information
* Secret-hungry types (Giovanni, Tremere, other Nosferatu, etc.) who want information they don't have, have information of possible value, and would be willing to make deals for either
Camarilla or Sabbat loyalty means little in terms of doing business or making ties, though Nicolo ultimately owes allegiance to the Camarilla. If any of y'all are interested, let me know!
Nicolo Mastelli was born some time in the 1300s, in Venice. He was sold into slavery and ended up a house servant to a member of the Council of Ten. Nicolo was beaten near to death by another Venetian nobleman (or maybe a thug) when he delivered a message to the nobleman that was rather inflammatory. Nicolo's beaten, bruised and bloated body was thrown into a canal as a message, but instead of floating down river and being seen (as was the plan), he was picked up by one of the Nos of the town. That Nos tended his wounds enough to keep him alive and then Embraced him. From that point on, Nicolo was the servant to a new master. His sire kept him around as an errand boy, servant, and later on as a spy due to his aptitude with languages and skill at Obfuscate.
After a hundred years or so his Master made some political mis-steps and decided to leave Venice. There began several hundred years of wandering through the capital cities of Europe. They stayed in Rome, Geneva, Paris, Budapest, Warsaw, Prague, Athens, Berlin and finally London during the next 450 years, eventually moving to the New Orleans sometime around 1850 to escape Europe altogether. During the Civil War, they moved to St. Francisville because it was stable and safe, and have stayed there ever since.
Nicolo lives as an information broker within both mortal society and Kindred society (though for obvious reasons, he keeps those two business circles as distinct as possible), although his official job title is "butler" in the manor in which he lives with his Master. Ever since the Civil war his Master has been very reclusive, keeping to himself and allowing Nicolo to run the daily business of the manor. He has proven more competent at such business than even his Master (though it's hard to be less competent than a sire who consistently gets kicked out of court after court), and as such the last hundred years have been very profitable for them both.
Seeking:
* High society types (Toreador, Ventrue, Lasombra, etc) with whom he has cultivated a business relationship over the last few centuries, and who might need information on their rivals from time to time
* Street/Lower-class types (Brujah, Malkavians, Gangrel, Ravnos, etc.) with whom he can make deals, to open bureaucratic doors that would otherwise be closed in exchange for information
* Secret-hungry types (Giovanni, Tremere, other Nosferatu, etc.) who want information they don't have, have information of possible value, and would be willing to make deals for either
Camarilla or Sabbat loyalty means little in terms of doing business or making ties, though Nicolo ultimately owes allegiance to the Camarilla. If any of y'all are interested, let me know!