Capitano Luca Ferrante

Overview

Capitano Luca Ferrante is a 36-year-old Piedmontese mercenary captain who commands a small company of professional soldiers currently “between assignments” in Vienna. He and his men are nominally attached to the Kingdom of Sardinia’s Congress delegation as “security consultants,” subsidised through Morosi’s administrative budget and available for the kind of work that a diplomatic delegation needs done but cannot officially acknowledge.

Ferrante is not a thug. He is a professional soldier who fought under the Sardinian colours against Napoleon, was decorated for bravery at the Battle of Alessandria in 1799, and left the regular army when the peace made career soldiers redundant. His company is small (eight men total including himself), disciplined, and experienced in exactly the kind of close-quarters urban operation the party needs for the University assault: building clearance, room entry, hostage extraction, controlled withdrawal.

Physical Description

A lean, dark-haired man with the weathered face of someone who has spent more time outdoors than in. He has a broken nose that was set badly and a thin scar across his right forearm that he does not hide and does not explain. His hands are the hands of a man who has used a musket, a sabre, and a shovel in roughly equal measure. He wears civilian clothes in Vienna (dark coat, plain waistcoat, no embroidery) but carries himself like a soldier on review: weight forward, shoulders set, eyes moving.

Statistics

Skills

• Firearms (Musket/Rifle) 75%
• Firearms (Handgun) 65%
• Fighting (Sword) 70%
• Fighting (Brawl) 55%
• Stealth 55%
• Spot Hidden 60%
• Navigate 50%
• Intimidate 60%
• Military Knowledge 65%
• Italian (Native) 90%
• French 70%
• German 40%

Personality

Ferrante is a professional. He does not care about the cause, the politics, or the moral dimensions of the Brotherhood. He cares about three things: the competence of the plan, the safety of his men, and the reliability of the pay. He has no objection to dangerous work, but he has strong objections to stupid work, and he will walk away from any contract that looks like it will get his people killed for nothing.

He is quiet, direct, and unimpressed by aristocratic titles. He has fought alongside counts and princes and found them no braver and no more competent than the farmers’ sons in the line next to them. He responds to competence, clarity, and honesty. Bluster irritates him. Vagueness makes him suspicious.

He likes working with soldiers. He does not like working with amateurs. The distinction, in his experience, is whether the person giving orders has ever had to carry them out.

Instinct: Evaluate. Ferrante’s first response to any situation is to ask himself: what is the worst thing that can happen here, and can my men survive it?

Portrayal Note: Speaks French with a Piedmontese accent, clipped and precise. Does not smile easily. When he does, it reaches his eyes. Stands with his back to the wall in any room he enters. Asks about exits before he asks about the objective.

The Company

Ferrante commands seven men besides himself. For the University assault, he will commit himself plus four (keeping three in reserve as a withdrawal element). His men are:

Sardinian mercenary stat block (x4 committed to assault):

• Firearms (Musket) 60%
• Fighting (Sword) 55%
• Fighting (Brawl) 50%
• Stealth 45%
• Spot Hidden 40%

Sardinian SAN Tracker (Session 14):

Starting SAN was 50 (= POW). All four witnessed the Wächter at the Heuriger (Session 13). Estimated SAN after that exposure:

Theatre SAN costs (track per individual):

• Engine first sight: SAN 1d4/1d8
• Chorus Dead first sight: SAN 1d3/1d6
• Surgery-stage horror: SAN 1d3/1d6
• Each Chorus Dead destroyed: SAN 0/1

Group panic threshold: if 2+ Sardinians fail SAN checks in the same round, they break and flee the theatre. Ferrante (POW 65, SAN ~58) stays — too proud to run.

Equipment: Each man carries a flintlock pistol, a short sabre, a knife, and a lantern. Ferrante carries two pistols. The company owns a small armoury: additional pistols, a hunting rifle (Ferrante’s personal weapon, Firearms 75%), rope, grappling hooks, and a set of lock picks.

Terms

Ferrante’s terms are straightforward:

• Fee: 200 Austrian gulden for the company (roughly £20 sterling). Half up front, half on completion. Freddy’s purse or Order funds can cover this.
• Scope: One operation, one night. Building entry, clearance, and withdrawal. If the party needs his men for longer, the price doubles per additional night.
• Casualties: If any of his men are killed, the deceased’s share goes to his family. The party covers this. Non-negotiable.
• Command: Ferrante commands his own men. He takes direction from the party’s operational commander (whoever that turns out to be) but retains the right to withdraw his people if the situation becomes untenable. He defines “untenable.” This is also non-negotiable.
• Supernatural exposure: Ferrante has not been told about the Engine, the Wächter, or the Brotherhood’s supernatural capabilities. His men are professional soldiers who will hold through conventional danger. When things turn supernatural, they will push through on discipline and momentum for a time, but if losses mount or the situation becomes obviously inhuman, Ferrante will attempt to withdraw his surviving men. By that point, however, they may be deep enough inside the University (particularly if they are in the sealed theatre or near the Engine) that withdrawal is not physically possible. A cornered mercenary company with no exit fights to survive, not to complete the contract. The Keeper should consider what the incomplete Engine’s effects are on people trapped in its proximity, because Ferrante’s men may be inside the radius when Herzfeld activates it in desperation.

The Introduction Scene (Session 11)

Morosi sends a servant to fetch Ferrante from his lodgings near the Naschmarkt. Ferrante arrives at von Thun’s within the hour, dressed in civilian clothes, and is introduced to Varrio in a side room. The conversation is brief, professional, and conducted in French.

Ferrante will ask:

1. What is the target? A building at the University of Vienna. Sealed rooms beneath the anatomical theatre. He will want to know the number of entrances, the expected resistance, and the layout if available.
2. What is the opposition? Guards, how many, how armed. He will want honest answers. If the party underestimates the opposition and his men pay for it, the contract is over.
3. What is the objective? Entry, clearance, and extraction of persons. Ferrante will want to know whether this is a rescue, a raid, or an assault. The distinction matters to how he deploys.
4. When? He needs at least twelve hours to brief his men and prepare equipment. A dawn assault on 11 August is possible if the meeting happens on the evening of the 10th.

If Varrio is competent and direct: Ferrante agrees. He appreciates that the Frenchman does not waste his time. Terms are settled, hands are shaken (not a contract on paper, which is how mercenaries prefer it), and Ferrante leaves to prepare his men.

If Varrio is vague or evasive: Ferrante pushes back. “I do not take my men into a building I have not been told about, against people I have not been warned about, for reasons I have not been given. Be clear, or I leave.” This is not hostility. It is professionalism. If Varrio clears the air, Ferrante stays. If he does not, Ferrante walks.

Combat Notes

Ferrante is the most tactically competent NPC ally the party will have during the assault. His experience is in building clearance and urban fighting, which is exactly what the University operation requires. In play, he should function as an NPC squad leader: the Keeper moves his unit as a group, Ferrante makes tactical calls (covering fire, breaching doors, holding corridors), and his men execute.

He is not a hero. He will not charge a Wächter. He will not sacrifice his men for the party’s objectives. He is a professional doing a job, and the job has limits.

Session 12 Update — Hired and Contracted (11 August 1814)

Varrio met Ferrante at the Blue Bottle tavern on the morning of 11 August, arranged through Morosi. Ferrante attended with his second-in-command and was hired on the spot.

Physical Description (From Play)

Short, sunburned, scarred hands, gold earring. A practical demeanour. The appearance of a man who has worked outdoors in hard conditions for most of his adult life. (Supplements the existing file description above.)

The Company Committed

Ferrante brought four men to the war council at the Heuriger: his second-in-command and two others. They are committed to the assault.

Assigned Role

Rescue team via the service entrance. Ferrante and Adrien will enter through the service entrance together and retrieve Caroline Hartley from the south corridor of the medical wing, ground floor.

Contract

The contract was formalised by Dr. Fischbein with indemnity clauses under Austrian civil law. This is unusual for a mercenary arrangement and reflects Fischbein’s instinct to protect the party from legal exposure. Ferrante accepted the written form; Fischbein holds the document.

Current Status (evening, 11 August 1814)

• Status: Contracted and committed
• Location: Briefed and preparing for the pre-dawn assault on 12 August
• Role: Service entrance, rescue team, Adrien’s partner for the Caroline Hartley extraction

Session 11 Update — Introduction Made (Afternoon/Evening, 10 August 1814)

Morosi introduced Varrio to the concept of Ferrante’s company at Countess von Thun’s salon on 10 August. Ferrante himself was not present at the salon. A breakfast meeting between Varrio and Ferrante has been arranged for the morning of 11 August to finalise the arrangement and discuss operational details.

Current Status (end of Session 11)

• Location: Vienna (lodgings near the Naschmarkt)
• Status: Available for hire, pending breakfast meeting
• Price: 100 Austrian golden or political intelligence (to be settled at breakfast)
• Commitment: Not yet confirmed — the breakfast meeting is the decision point

Session 13 Update — Wächter Witnessed; Price Doubled; University Assault Underway (Evening 11 August into Pre-dawn 12 August 1814)

Wächter at the Heuriger

Ferrante was present at the war council when the Wächter crashed through the pergola. He improvised a flaming napkin as a weapon — professional instinct under impossible circumstances. After the creature was killed, he doubled his price without discussion. Fischbein amended the contract.

University Assault

During the approach and entry, Ferrante shot a student guard without hesitation — no warning, no escalation, clean professional action. He is now leading the rescue team through the back corridors and Roman tunnels toward Caroline Hartley’s location, alongside Adrien, Katherine, and Nell.

Current Status (pre-dawn, 12 August 1814)

• Location: Inside the University, Roman tunnels, rescue team
• Status: Active, operational, committed
• Emotional state: He has now seen a Wächter. His threat model has permanently updated. He continues because the contract pays and he is a professional — but the price reflects what he is walking into.

Session Appearances

• Session 11: Referenced at von Thun’s salon. Breakfast meeting with Varrio arranged for 11 August.

Session 14 Update — Contract Fulfilled; Departed Vienna (Pre-dawn into Dawn, 12 August 1814)

Ferrante led the Sardinian mercenaries into the Sealed_Anatomical_Theatre as the vanguard of the rescue team.

Actions During the Assault

• Drove his sword into an ambushing student at the breach point — the first contact inside the theatre. Clean, immediate, professional.
• Physically restrained Herzfeld after Varrio’s feral attack left the professor faceless and thrashing. Ferrante hauled Herzfeld away from the machine by the scruff of his neck and held him until he could be bandaged and handed over.

Aftermath

Ferrante collected payment after the mission was complete. He gathered his surviving men and departed for the nearest bar. The contract — one operation, one night — was fulfilled.

Current Status (dawn, 12 August 1814)

• Status: Contract fulfilled; departed
• Location: Vienna (temporarily); departing the city with his company
• Operational: No longer attached to the party. The contract is closed.
• Disposition: Professional to the end. He walked into a theatre full of singing dead and a machine made of human flesh, held his nerve, restrained the man responsible, and left when the job was done.

[!info] Keeper Only Ferrante and his men are the party’s hired muscle for the University assault. They solve the “we don’t have enough bodies” problem cleanly and at a cost the party can afford. The real question is not whether they hold but what happens when Herzfeld, cornered and out of options, activates the incomplete Engine. If the mercenaries are deep enough inside the theatre at that point, withdrawal is physically impossible. Ferrante’s professional instinct (pull out when the cost exceeds the contract) collides with the reality that the exits are behind them and the Engine is in front. Cornered mercenaries fight like trapped animals, which is useful, but they also panic, which is dangerous. The Keeper needs to decide the incomplete Engine’s area of effect before the assault begins, because that determines whether Ferrante’s men are inside or outside the blast radius when it fires.

Relationships

• Employed by Signor Morosi — Morosi subsidises Ferrante's company through the Sardinian delegation budget.
• Hired by Adrien de Montferrand — Contracted by Varrio Harrowmont at the Blue Bottle tavern on 11 August. Assigned to the rescue team: service entrance with Adrien to retrieve Caroline Hartley.
• Attended War Council Heuriger Aug 11 — Present at the war council with his second-in-command and two men. Assigned to the rescue team via the service entrance.
• Contracted by Leopold Fischbein — Contract formalised by Fischbein with indemnity clauses under Austrian civil law.