The Rogues Gallery

I've been having some fun playing with AI generated images of the leaders. They are mostly based on the backgrounds for each character, mashed-up with some characteristics of the player. Merging the players actual faces in was a bit creepy. 

Below are the background stories for each of the city states 

Lo Sconfitto, The Defeated One of West Gallomagna

Lo Sconfitto is a child of the back streets who rose to power through the Unions. Having 'squeezed the balls' of the ruling elite he led a national strike which morphed into an armed revolt. The industrial workers grabbed the weapons that they had so studiously produced before they were delivered. Using these they occupied the palace, the major powder mill and the soap factory. Although the Prince fled, he was captured, wearing women's clothes at the East Gallomagna border and his accompanying retinue of loyal Lords (and their mistresses) were all put to the sword. That was six and a half years ago. Initially Lo sconfitto promised the plebs that everyone would be equal. However, it soon turned out that some were more equal than others! To divert plebian attention Lo sconfitto embarked on a viscous expansionist campaign... Drum roll, fanfare, and dramatic dum dum dum! Will your territorial ambitions benefit from an alliance with the mighty Lo sconfitto; or will you perish - impaled on an East Gallagna pike?

 

Nicolas Flamel, The Alchemist of Roccamurta

General Pizarro laboured up the final steps of the Tower of Vitriol, its copper spire glinting in the morning haze. From this highest perch in Roccamurta, Patrician Flamel surveyed his domain — a city of gilded domes, smoke-belching foundries, and frescoed halls where science and sorcery danced in uneasy alliance. Beyond the battlements, the plains of Fiorento stretched like a canvas awaiting blood and brilliance. “The merchants have returned,” Pizarro rasped, bowing low. “The news you expected. The City States stir — war is coming.” Flamel did not flinch. He had long foreseen this. The rival cities; gilded Virezza, martial Gallomanga, and the heretic enclave of San Barzano had played at peace for too long. Now, with Roccamurta the region’s foremost supplier of gunpowder, fire-lances, and alchemical charges, war promised profit, prestige… and progress. For Flamel, war was not merely conquest it was a crucible. His life’s work, the Philosopher’s Stone, neared completion. Rumors spoke of rare reagents hidden in the vaults of many cities. if war brought him access, then Roccamurta would rise not just as a power, but as a legend.

 

Leader; Franco Carlivero, The Pirate King of Taverno

Franco Carlivero the self-styled pirate king of Taverno, sighed and shook his head, This will never do, he thought. In front of him the rag tag force that comprised the Taverno militia stood unsteadily to attention. Their once smart yellow uniforms and armour mostly missing or looking shabby. A soldier dropped his musket and slowly keeled over, to the sniggers of the other ranks. Where am I going to get some decent troops from? Franco brooded. After many years of successful naval ‘wealth redistribution’ activity, times were changing and the sea wasn’t providing the easy pickings it once had. The need for a new business venture was giving him a headache, or was that the wine? A real army was needed! The sorry bunch in front of him were not going to be able to obtain the plunder needed to maintain the coffers, or his wine cellars. Also, some nearby city states were getting similar ideas, an army was essential to keep them in check too. Just then some loud foreign singing came from one of the many inns lining the main street. Oh yes! The Germans! A large number of Landsknecht troops were on R&R and making good use of the facilities. Franco knew the size of their bar tab was huge and getting bigger.  They would take little persuading to join him on his new business venture. He would offer favourable plunder sharing terms, say 30% to them?  Was that too generous? Franco swaggered off to the Landsknecht HQ bar and soon found the commander, “Nice hat you have there! Perhaps I could interest you in my new dice game. It’s called Ones…” In the square, one of the militia finally asked “can we go now? I need a wee”.

 

General Aurelio Scarpone, The Serpent of Virezza

Nestled along the opulent northern coast of the Italian peninsula, Virezza has long thrived as a nexus of wealth, intrigue, and influence. Renowned for its labyrinthine banking houses and silver-tongued diplomats, Virezza built it's fortune on the lucrative silk trade, controlling key routes and brokering deals with unmatched finesse.  But now, recent encroachments by neighbouring states - seeking to bypass Virezzan tariffs and undermine its monopoly - have sparked fierce tensions.  Accusations of espionage, trade sabotage, and broken treaties now swirl through the marble halls of Virezzan power. With its coffers full and its pride wounded, Virezza has prepared for battle - not merely to defend its silk empire, but to reassert its dominance in the region where steel must now rival cunning. Leading Virezza’s march to war is General Aurelio Scarpone, a tactician as calculating as the bankers who fund his campaigns. Once a diplomat himself, Scarpone blends battlefield precision with psychological warfare, exploiting rival weaknesses with surgical finesse. His reputation for turning negotiations into traps has earned him the nickname 'Il Serpente di Virezza' - the Serpent of Virezza - feared as much for his devious mind, as for his sword on the battlefield.

 

Father Savoranola, Prince-Bishop of San Barzano

Once just a sleepy hillside city in which nothing ever happened (except for it’s miraculous escape from the ravages of the Goths. The legend says that the Tribune Barsanius, left with no legions by the wicked Emperor Julian, prayed to our Lord as a Gothic host approached. A heavenly mist arose, masking the valley which lead to the city. The Goths wandered lost through the pass until crossing a bridge, the bridge collapsed tumbling the host into the tumultuous torrent below. Only three Gothic children survived and Barzanius donated them to the cathedral as its first choir. Although later cruelly executed by the pagan Julian, Barazanius lives on as the revered San Barzano), the arrival of Father Savoranola has stirred the populace into a frenzy of religious reform and resurgence. Schooled by Machiavelli and the teachings of the pious early fathers of the Church, Father Savoranola’s oratory has roused the people, driven out the lazy priests and brought fervour, certainty and civic pride to San Barzano. Now San Barzano stands ready to impose reform upon all neighbouring states that follow the lax morals of the Borgia Pope, or whose nobility are an insufferable burden upon it’s people, down with art, down with entertainment and amusement, repent and accept the true teachings of Savoranola and the imposition of morality through the armed church of San Barzano! Oh, and remember, no one expects the San Barzano inquisition….

 

Duke Virellian Nocturne of Castellombra

Castellombra: The Veiled Principality Shrouded in perpetual mist and cloaked by ancient forests of black pine and whispering yew, Castellombra is a land where secrets bloom like nightshade and silence is a form of currency. Its people speak in hushed tones, and its ducal court is a theatre of veiled glances, perfumed letters, and cups never drunk without testing. At its heart stands Duke Virellian Nocturne, the last scion of the House of Thorneglass—a lineage said to descend from the poet-assassins of the Obsidian Concord. Virellian is a man of contradictions: a scholar of venom, a patron of melancholic verse, and a tactician who prefers whispers to war drums. His rise was marked by quiet purges and the rewriting of court histories, each stanza of his rule penned in ink and blood. In a world driven by conquest, Virellian sees expansion not through steel, but through seduction, subversion, and shadow. He believes empires fall not when their walls are breached, but when their dreams are poisoned. Castellombra does not march—it infiltrates. Its diplomats are poets, its spies are playwrights, and its armies are rarely seen until the final act.   Virellian’s motivation is not dominion, but legacy. He dreams of a world reshaped by subtlety, where Castellombra’s influence is felt in the lullabies of foreign courts and the metaphors of enemy manifestos. To him, conquest is crude. Influence is eternal.

 

Triumviri della Forgia of West Gallomaga

Esst Gallomaga, the landlocked twin of its coastal rival West Gallomaga, emerged from the industrial crucible of the Gallomagan heartlands. Once united under the Duchy of Gallomaga, the two cities split during the War of the Copper Standard, when West Gallomaga seized the port of New Virezza and declared independence. East Gallomaga, denied the sea but rich in ore and ambition, turned inward;  refining its foundries, fortresses, and philosophies of conquest. Today, East Gallomaga is a disciplined republic ruled by the Triumviri della Forgia—three warlords who each command a mercenary host and a seat on the Council of Iron. Their banners fly over mountain passes and river crossings, and their expansionist doctrine rivals that of their coastal kin. Though they share a common industrial heritage, the rivalry between East and West Gallomaga has become a generational feud, fought in valleys, trade routes, and the hearts of mercenaries. Giovanni della Rocca – leader of the Crimson pike, discipline  foot Cesare Malaspina – leader of the Black Gale, fast moving horse Alfonso di Taglicarne – leader of the Iron Maw, melee shock troops

 

Giovani Capocuco, The Wagon Lord of Montegrifone

High in the Grifone Mountains, the fortress-city of Montegrifone stands as a bastion of iron and discipline. Its sheer cliffs guard rich veins of ore, while its famed mercenary schools forge warriors as unyielding as the steel they wield. Contracts are sacred, loyalty is earned, and the city’s banner—a black griffon clutching a sword and hammer—reminds all who approach that Montegrifone thrives on war and industry. Giovanni Capaocuco, now Lord-Commander of Montegrifone, began life far from power. Born to a muleteer and seamstress, he worked as a humble wagoneer, hauling ore through treacherous mountain passes. When a rival city-state blockaded the trade routes, Giovanni led a daring supply run through forgotten smugglers’ trails, saving the city from collapse and earning the respect of its fractured warlords. Rather than fade into legend, Giovanni built on his newfound reputation. He brokered alliances between forge-masters, guild captains, and disillusioned commanders, uniting Montegrifone’s factions not through conquest, but coordination. His rise was marked by pragmatism, charisma, and an uncanny ability to move both goods and people where they were needed most. Now known as “The Wagon-Lord,” Giovanni rules from the Iron Spire with a merchant’s mind and a soldier’s heart. His leadership has transformed Montegrifone into a disciplined, contract-bound powerhouse—its mercenaries feared across the continent, its iron traded like coin, and its future steered by a man who once drove wagons through the snow.

 

Domenico Virelli, The Falcon of Fiorento.

Fiorento is a radiant city-state of marble courtyards and gilded domes, where artists, engineers, and schemers shape the future with elegance and ambition. Born from a rebellion against feudal stagnation, the republic thrives on invention and intrigue. Its Senate rewards brilliance in public works, military innovation, and political cunning, making Fiorento a crucible of genius and rivalry. Its pride is the Cavallieri dell’Ala, elite heavy cavalry renowned across the region. Inspired by the winged hussars of old, these warriors charge into battle with sweeping vanes arcing from their backs, their armor gleaming like sculpture in motion. Trained in both martial discipline and battlefield theatrics, they strike with precision and spectacle—symbols of Fiorento’s fusion of art and war. At their head rides Domenico Virelli, Il Falco di Fiorento. Once a celebrated duelist and tactician, Virelli rose through the ranks by leading a daring cavalry raid that shattered a rival coalition. His flair for battlefield drama and his razor-sharp instincts earned him command of the Republic and the adoration of its people. Virelli governs from the Palazzo dell’Inganno, balancing diplomacy and daring with the same finesse he shows in the saddle. Now, as tensions rise and old enemies stir, Fiorento stands poised to defend its brilliance with steel and strategy. The campaign begins with the thunder of hooves and the whisper of schemes.