Characters

Set in mid-12-century Central Europe, Imperium Romanorum intends to be a venue for players to explore the complex interrelationship between nobles, both lay and clerical, and their more significant servants including the class of knights known as ministerialen or dienstmänner. The core focus of the game will be domestic economy, politics, and the everyday life of the members of these privileged ranks of Imperial society during the reign of Frederick “Barbarossa.” Since the game intends to be a reasonably accurate recreation of the society of the period, certain restrictions on characters will be imposed.

Character Types
All persons named in primary sources from the period will be considered Feature Characters. Those for whom sufficient information exists to paint a picture of their lives and personalities and their power and prestige will require potential players to research this and present it in an application. Those for whom we have only names or otherwise lack sufficient information to understand them as historical actors will be “Original” Feature Characters. Thus, all titled nobles, bishops, abbots/abbesses, prominent monks or priests, and ministeralen will be Feature Characters. Any other character not named in contemporary sources will be considered an Original Character. OFC applications will require that the character be named from sources, their title and heritage be traced, and a reasonable guess as to their wealth and power be made. OC applications are completely up to the player. Names of OCs will be required to follow onomastic rules for their places of origin or occupation. In the event that an OC becomes more significant, they become an OFC and an OFC application will be required.

Noble Character Application

 * 1) Player name
 * 2) Character name, Title, and House (e.g., Albert "the Bear" von Ballenstedt, Margrave of Austria, from the House of Ballenstedt; Henry “the Lion,” Duke of Saxony, from the House of Welf)
 * 3) Capsule description: Who is this person, and why am I seeing this app?
 * 4) Physical description: Two paragraphs maximum. Include the most salient physical features.
 * 5) Personality description: What motivates this person? How are they with others? Do they have any peculiar personality features that make them unique (this might have something to do with how they earned their nickname). Three paragraphs maximum.
 * 6) Relationships
 * 7) Other members of house
 * 8) Collateral relatives (related houses)
 * 9) Genealogy
 * 10) Bibliography

Non-Noble Character Application

 * 1) Player name
 * 2) Character name, occupation, and place of origin: For example, Ekkehard, Monk at Fulda, from Swabia
 * 3) Physical description: Per Noble App
 * 4) Personality description: Per Noble App
 * 5) Relationships
 * 6) Family members
 * 7) Bibliography

Feature Characters
Given the documentation of the lives of FCs, players desiring to play FCs must be willing to have the character to some degree spelled out for them, and conform to preconceived notions about how to play the character. The FC is special, and deserves to be treated with respect. FCs are expected to be played intelligently and reasonably often, demonstrate good judgement, character, and leadership, and be helpful OOC. An FC has full access to his/her familia's resources and personnel.

How to read this table:

Name is obviously the FC's name; ordinal and nickname are provided if present. Each FC name links to the FC's page, which gives their sheet, status, and biographical data.

Familia(e) are the "house(s)" to which a character belongs; these are family names, the patriarchal kin-groups that the noblemen of the 10th and 11th centuries had founded and whose many-great-grandsons now claim their lands and titles. Religious FCs belong to their birth family (given first; Henry of Mainz' birth family is not known) as well as the "house" of their church. Male non-religious FCs belong only to their birth family, while female non-religious FCs belong to their birth family only if unmarried, and belong to the husband's family if married. Each Family name links to a page with information about the family's origins, history and relations with other princely families, and possessions.

Title(s) are the title(s), in Latin, that a character holds (Kunigunde is a special case: she and Dietrich aren't married, so she doesn't get called Margravine (marchioness)). Where a title is disputed, a character's title is appended with a familial appelation (thus Welforum). The English and German equivalents, as well as the disposition of the title, its significance, and history are provided the page to which the title links.

Other FCs will become available as these slots fill.