So here's something that I've been working on for a while, usually in a fairly casual basis. Given that the latest installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise hits theaters today, it seemed appropriate to finally publish this.
7th Sea 2nd Edition - Converted Dueling Styles
A bit of background as to how this document came about: I had actually started this not-so-little conversion project way back in October 2016, long before the Explorer's Society option for publishing fan made 7th Sea material was officially a thing. It started out pretty small, consisting of only a handful of adaptations of 7th Sea's 1st edition Swordsman Schools into workable Duelist Styles for the game's 2nd edition. I did get a bit of feedback on the forum I initially posted the material at, some good, some bad, and some useful, but I ultimately chose to remove the material from that forum as things were starting to get a little too toxic for my taste.
One problem with the initial conversions was that I really didn't have a chance to play test these in mock combats as much as I would have liked. Part of the reason it's taken me so long to finish up these conversions and then post them is that I've tried to run mock combats in a preset collection of scenarios (Duelist Hero vs. small Brute Squad, Duelist Hero vs. large Brute Squad, Duelist Hero vs. strong non-Duelist Villain, Duelist Hero vs. weak Duelist Villain, and Duelist Hero vs. strong Duelist Villain) to see how they shook out. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with how the various styles shook out. They're not perfect, but as Steve Kenson (a game designer whom I deeply respect) said with regards to RPG design, there comes a point when you've got to say "it's good enough" and release it, otherwise you'll be "working on improving" the material forever.
From the very outset, I never intended to do conversions of every single 1e Swordsman School that got published (and there were a lot of them). I mostly focused on the ones that I firstly found to be interesting and secondly that I could come up with something nifty for the style bonus. One thing I tried to avoid was rampant re-skins of style bonuses for previously published Duelist styles. If the only thing I could come up with for a style was a total re-skin, I simply dropped the the style. There are a couple of exceptions as those Duelist styles I felt had enough in-game flavor to warrant their inclusion even if the style bonus wasn't anything truly original.
I did add a few converted Advantages, such as a revamp of the 1e Exploit Weakness Swordsman knack and the Left-Handed Advantage, as well as a little something for the professional pugilists out there that prefer bare-knuckles to bared steel. I had considered doing a conversion of the Finnegan "Swordsman" School (aka Drunken Irish Boxing), but I ultimately opted not to, even if I did come up with a pretty nifty style bonus (which wound up being used for the Lucani style bonus instead).
Now, some of you may be aware that one of the initial releases for the Explorer's Society was the supplement "At Sword's Point," written by Rob Weiland. What you may not be aware of is that I wrote a pretty scathing review of the product on DriveThruRPG (it's the only review of the product so far), due to the vast majority of the dueling style conversions being either clunky to the point of "why bother?" or being unimaginative tweaks of styles from the core rulebook. I'm sorry, but if I'm going to take a Duelist style, I want to be able to do something that's not only cool, but isn't just a bland reskin of another style. For instance, Rob's take on MacDonald, a style that favors using the Highlands claymore is just the core book's Ambrogia using different Traits. There were a couple points where Rob and I had very similar ideas as to what a style's bonus should be (Lucani for instance). To be honest, had this product been any good, I would have totally abandoned this conversion project of mine in favor of the "official version." Yes, I gave it 2 stars, but that's only because I feel a 1 star rating is reserved for something that is complete and utter garbage that should have never been purchased in the first place.
I suppose one question that might crop up with regards with this document of mine is "why didn't you publish this as part of the Explorer's Society?" Well, there are two good reasons. The first is that I didn't feel this constituted an original enough work, since it's based very much off 1st edition material that belongs to John Wick. The second is that trying to get this published for sale when there's already a similar product out there just felt incredibly tacky, as well as disingenuous given the rather scathing review I'd left for the product. As to which one is "definitively better", Rob's "At Sword's Point" or my "Converted Dueling Styles," that's something I leave to the individual to decide. If a table wants to mix and match, pulling Duelist styles from both files, then have at it.
So, there's the story on the how and why regarding the creation and sharing of this little project of mine. I hope you find it useful, and that the Duelist style bonuses I've created don't prove to be more powerful than I anticipated.
As for the latest PotC flick... yeah, I think I'll wind up waiting for it to hit Netflix. The trailers did little to make me want to see the film, and as much as I've enjoyed seeing Johnny Depp's performance as Captain Jack Sparrow, I think the character has worn out his welcome for me.
Showing posts with label Swashbuckler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swashbuckler. Show all posts
August 29, 2016
7th Sea Pre-Made Heroes - Cedric Bisset du Verre
Since we started off with a surly, salty seadog of a pirate, I
thought I might switch it up a bit and present a character that is far
more urbane and cultured. After all, one of the core elements of the
swashbuckling genre are swashbucklers themeselves, men of good breeding
and education that are can cut you down with a well-timed jibe just as
easily as they could with their blade.
If any of the nations presented in 7th Sea could be said to fall in line with the romanticized ideal of the swashbuckling hero, then it with little doubt has to be Montaigne. Mirroring France just before the bloody revolution, Montaigne is a land where the nobility live the high life at the expense of the peasantry, but opportunities abound for those of noble ideals to do the right thing. And while the stereotype of a Montaigne noble is a vain fop that spends their time indulging in one passing fancy to the next, some of the nation's nobility are up to the challenge of representing the best that Montaigne has to offer...
Cedric Bisset du Verre, Montaigne Dilettante
Traits:Brawn 2, Finesse 3, Wits 3, Resolve 2, Panache 3
Backgrounds: Aristocrat, Duelist
Skills: Aim 1, Athletics 2, Convince 3, Empathy 2, Intimidate 2, Perform 2, Ride 1, Scholarship 1, Tempt 3, Weaponry 3
Advantages: Disarming Smile, Duelist Academy (Valroux), Fencer, Friend at Court, Rich
Arcana: Foolhardy, Victorious
Starting Reputation: 0
Starting Wealth: 3
Languages: Avalon, Montaigne, Old Thean
Personal Items: Fine-quality rapier and main-gauche, fine-quality clothing
Appearance: Cedric cuts quite the dashing figure, with his lean frame and aristocratic features. His outfits are a mixture of fashionable and practical, allowing him to look his best while still having freedom of movement should trouble arise.
Background: The third child of a minor branch of the Bisset family, Cedric is still quite well off in comparison to most. As a lesser child, he's been granted indulgence from the family's patriarch to pursue whatever matters might be of interest to the young noble, enabling him to have a passing grasp of a variety of topics as well as become a talented duelist and socialite. Due to his lower station in comparison to his older brothers, it is Cedric who is most often sent out and abroad to handle matters of lesser importance for his family.
Notes: Back in first edition, being a swordsman in 7th Sea was something of a mixed bag. In the early going a swordsman character simply had a few more combat options than other PCs, but had to pay a hefty price, but as they got more experienced a skilled swordsman could be an utterly devastating opponent in a fight.
In second edition, the waiting time to be awesome in a fight as a swordsman has been dramatically reduced, as the combat options available to anyone with access to a Duelist school means that they are going to be a terror to their foes once they draw steel. While Cedric would prefer to present a far more refined image, he's no slouch when he decides it's time to fight, as he ably demonstrated during the one-shot I ran for my Friday Night Skype group as he pretty much owned the minor villain in a one-on-one duel (same scenario saw a PC completely obliterate a large Brute Squad thanks to the timely use of a particular Advantage).
It bears mention that Wealth is something of an odd thing in this version of 7th Sea. Being more of an abstract concept (not to unlike Wealth as used in d20 Modern), most PCs are assumed to be able to live fairly well (if not extravagantly), being able to acquire decent quality weapons, clothing, and items without much hassle; after all, time spent haggling over goods is time that's not spent swinging from chandeliers, trading insults and blows with villains, or wooing lovely young maidens. Since Cedric is very much a part of the upper class, he's not the type to really worry about money; what some might consider abject luxury he'd probably deem as barely adequate for a man of his station.
If any of the nations presented in 7th Sea could be said to fall in line with the romanticized ideal of the swashbuckling hero, then it with little doubt has to be Montaigne. Mirroring France just before the bloody revolution, Montaigne is a land where the nobility live the high life at the expense of the peasantry, but opportunities abound for those of noble ideals to do the right thing. And while the stereotype of a Montaigne noble is a vain fop that spends their time indulging in one passing fancy to the next, some of the nation's nobility are up to the challenge of representing the best that Montaigne has to offer...
Cedric Bisset du Verre, Montaigne Dilettante
Traits:Brawn 2, Finesse 3, Wits 3, Resolve 2, Panache 3
Backgrounds: Aristocrat, Duelist
Skills: Aim 1, Athletics 2, Convince 3, Empathy 2, Intimidate 2, Perform 2, Ride 1, Scholarship 1, Tempt 3, Weaponry 3
Advantages: Disarming Smile, Duelist Academy (Valroux), Fencer, Friend at Court, Rich
Arcana: Foolhardy, Victorious
Starting Reputation: 0
Starting Wealth: 3
Languages: Avalon, Montaigne, Old Thean
Personal Items: Fine-quality rapier and main-gauche, fine-quality clothing
Appearance: Cedric cuts quite the dashing figure, with his lean frame and aristocratic features. His outfits are a mixture of fashionable and practical, allowing him to look his best while still having freedom of movement should trouble arise.
Background: The third child of a minor branch of the Bisset family, Cedric is still quite well off in comparison to most. As a lesser child, he's been granted indulgence from the family's patriarch to pursue whatever matters might be of interest to the young noble, enabling him to have a passing grasp of a variety of topics as well as become a talented duelist and socialite. Due to his lower station in comparison to his older brothers, it is Cedric who is most often sent out and abroad to handle matters of lesser importance for his family.
Notes: Back in first edition, being a swordsman in 7th Sea was something of a mixed bag. In the early going a swordsman character simply had a few more combat options than other PCs, but had to pay a hefty price, but as they got more experienced a skilled swordsman could be an utterly devastating opponent in a fight.
In second edition, the waiting time to be awesome in a fight as a swordsman has been dramatically reduced, as the combat options available to anyone with access to a Duelist school means that they are going to be a terror to their foes once they draw steel. While Cedric would prefer to present a far more refined image, he's no slouch when he decides it's time to fight, as he ably demonstrated during the one-shot I ran for my Friday Night Skype group as he pretty much owned the minor villain in a one-on-one duel (same scenario saw a PC completely obliterate a large Brute Squad thanks to the timely use of a particular Advantage).
It bears mention that Wealth is something of an odd thing in this version of 7th Sea. Being more of an abstract concept (not to unlike Wealth as used in d20 Modern), most PCs are assumed to be able to live fairly well (if not extravagantly), being able to acquire decent quality weapons, clothing, and items without much hassle; after all, time spent haggling over goods is time that's not spent swinging from chandeliers, trading insults and blows with villains, or wooing lovely young maidens. Since Cedric is very much a part of the upper class, he's not the type to really worry about money; what some might consider abject luxury he'd probably deem as barely adequate for a man of his station.
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