Marie de Médicis — Florentine Court Patron

Marie de Médicis — Florentine Court Patron

Marie de Médicis receives envoys in a Paris merchant house where Florentine bankers, French courtiers and visiting artists all seek her favour. She listens carefully, seldom offers an answer without a condition, and remembers every debt.

• Known as – the Florentine Lady
• Gender – Female
• Race – Human
• Occupation – Florentine financier, patron and diplomatic adviser at the French court
• Religious observances – Private household and temple traditions; no public priestly office
• Allies – Florentine banking houses, French court correspondents, artists and trusted advisers
• Enemies – Competing creditors, jealous courtiers and rivals seeking to control her correspondence
• Abode/ Base of operations – A private residence and counting house in Paris; family connections in Florence
• Nationality – Italian (born in Florence)
• Languages – Italian, French
• Alignment – Lawful Neutral
• Affiliation(s) – House of Medici, Florentine merchants and patrons of the court of Charles VII
• Close relationships – Her Florentine kin, trusted household officers and correspondents in the French court

Born to a powerful Florentine banking family, Marie de Médicis commands credit, correspondents and political influence in the French court of 1454. She is an adviser and financier, not a queen: Charles VII reigns with Queen Marie of Anjou. Her household arranges loans and intelligence for ministers who need money without openly approaching the royal treasury.

Marie knows that the wars have ended more quickly than the Crown’s debts. She seeks profitable positions in cloth, shipping, property and court patronage, maintaining links with Florence, Paris and the Burgundian towns. Her agents pay close attention to Richelieu, whose new influence threatens financiers unable to keep secrets.

Her Paris residence holds commissioned paintings, manuscripts and accounts written in three languages. Artists are welcomed, but the most carefully guarded room contains letters of credit and evidence of a disputed loan to a royal captain. An envoy who asks to see a painting may really be seeking the ledger behind it.

In 1454, a rival banker has accused Marie’s household of advancing money to the Dauphin Louis without the Crown’s approval. Richelieu’s investigators offer to close the inquiry if she reveals the names of her intermediaries. Marie instead seeks an independent courier who can retrieve the original accounts before either faction obtains them.

Marie de Médicis is an accomplished patron and an unforgiving negotiator. She protects those who serve her faithfully, destroys false documents when she can prove a forgery and has no intention of allowing Richelieu to make her household his private purse. She can pay generously for trustworthy investigators, but she requires evidence before she risks a name.

Marie de Médicis

Medium humanoid (human), lawful neutral

Armor Class: 15 (breastplate)

Hit Points: 110 (13d8 + 39)

Speed: 30 ft.

Skills: History +9, Insight +6, Persuasion +11

Senses: passive Perception 12

Languages: Italian, French , Italian

Challenge: 10 (5,900 XP)

Traits:

Credit and Connections. Marie de Médicis has advantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks made when negotiating loans, trade agreements or court patronage with financiers, merchants and noble households who recognise her influence.

Compelling Presence. Any creature that starts its turn within 30 feet of Marie de Médicis and can see her must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed until the end of its next turn. The charmed creature regards her as a trusted and influential patron.

Actions:

Ivory Ledger Rod. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage.

Patron’s Blessing. A charm set into Marie’s signet grants her or an ally within 30 feet an additional 1d4 radiant damage on their next successful attack.

Summon Courtier. Once per day, Marie de Médicis can call a loyal courtier to her aid. A retainer from her household arrives if able to reach her; the courtier remains in her service until dismissed or incapacitated.

Equipment:

Breastplate, ivory ledger rod, Medici signet ring, sealed letters of credit, 500 gold pieces.

Marie builds power through lenders, negotiators and correspondence. Her presence opens doors that a soldier cannot force, but her enemies include debtors, competing houses and Cardinal Richelieu’s informants. The surest way to gain her confidence is to protect a witness or recover an authentic ledger rather than offer flattery.