So as part of this week's series of pre-made heroes for the second edition of John Wick Production's excellent 7th Seas RPG, I now present a conversion of a 1st edition character that I very much enjoyed playing back in the day, even if the campaign he featured in didn't run nearly as long as our group would have liked (ah, the perils of a GM that gets too easily distracted with new campaign ideas). Still, this character was a lot of fun for me to play in 1st edition, and even though his one outing as a PC in 2nd edition didn't precisely play to his skill set, he was still quite fun to play and I look forward to future opportunities to step again into this particular role.
So without further preamble, I present to you a talented swordsman from a nation that is reputed to be full of talented swordsmen...
Estevan Santiago de Montoya, Castillian Duelist
Traits:Brawn 2, Finesse 3, Wits 3, Resolve 2, Panache 3
Backgrounds: Diestro, Duelist
Skills: Athletics 3, Convince 2, Empathy 2, Intimidate 2,
Perform 3, Ride 1, Scholarship 2, Tempt 2, Weaponry 3
Advantages: Disarming Smile, Duelist Academy (Aldana), Fencer, Quick Reflexes (Weaponry), Valiant Spirit
Arcana: Glorious (Virtue), Hot-Headed (Hubris)
Starting Reputation: 0
Starting Wealth: 0
Secret Society: Los Vagabundos
Languages: Castille, Montaigne, Old Thean
Personal Items: Rapier with a half-basket hilt, set of fine-quality clothing, set of traveling clothes
Appearance: Estevan is a handsome Castillian man in his very early twenties, standing just a bit taller than average, his figure lean yet possessed of the natural grace of a trained dancer and swordsman. His thick black hair falls just above his shoulders, with several loose strands floating in front of his dark brown eyes, a wolfish smile adding a dash of roguish charm to his youthfully handsome features; this combined with the style of Castillian fashion makes him quite dashing figure.
Background: Though born to the ranks of the lesser nobility, Estevan has always been an adventurous boy, raised on a steady diet of heroic tales told by his doting father, the alcalde of the small town that his family had overseen for generations. From a young age, Estevan often displayed the quick reflexes and sharp mind that were the hallmarks of a born swordsman. At thirteen years, Estevan was sent to live with his aunt in the port city of Altamira, where his brash and adventurous nature often led him into minor trouble, but never anything too serious. When of age, Estevan was enrolled into the prestigious La Universitad de Arcinega, and excelled just as much at his secular studies as he did his martial training at the esteemed Guild of San Marcos. Upon graduating with a minor degree and having become a member-in-full of the Duelist's Guild, Estevan feels confident that he is ready to face whatever challenge Theus may place in the road ahead.
Notes: Yep, he's a two parts Inigo Montoya and one part Zorro, and woe betide you if he has reason to draw steel against you. In this new edition, Estevan was still a fun character to play, and I very much used Antonio Banderas' turn as Alejandro in the movie The Mask of Zorro as an inspiration for both editions. Now Estevan might seem a bit foppish at first, but he's no slouch when the need for action arises; I used him in a few playtest encounters, including some combats, and he made it very clear to me that a well-built swordsman is freaking devastating in a fight; this boy was able to tear apart a Strength 10 Brute Squad in s single round with no assistance, and Brute Squads of Strength 5 or less are just as easily dispatched (Feint + Slash = demolished brutes). When I played him in a one-shot that my friend Eric ran, Estevan was largely able to solo the massive beast that was the primary adversary of the adventure, being the one to dish out the vast majority of the damage while taking very little damage himself, due in no small part to the Beat maneuver.
Of course, one neat feature of 7th Sea's second edition is that the Los Vagabundos have now gone global as a society, taking their Zorre-esque antics onto a larger stage, so it would very easy for Estevan to pop up in nations far from his native Castille. On the downside, the way languages are now handled means that Estevan isn't quite as fluent in as many languages as he was in first edition, though the only language he's really missing is his fluency in Vodacce. To that end, I've considered implementing a house rule for my games that ranks in Scholarship past the first provides fluency with another language rather than having it be reliant solely upon Wits. Granted, I could have picked up the 1pt Advantage that makes him fluent in just about every language in the setting, but I never saw Estevan as being an omniglot.
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