7th Sea (2e): A Wedding and a Funeral

[PixelatedPixie]

This game will be run using the 7th Sea (2nd Edition) rules.



Casimiro Orellana built his wealth as a trader, his knowledge as an explorer, and his fame as a warrior.  The third son of a Castillan Grande, he saw little hope of inheriting.  He left home at sixteen to strike his own way on a ship purchased with his family’s wealth.  The two decades that followed saw Casimiro venture to nearly every port in the known world, and a few beyond.  He traded fortunes, battled monsters, rescued fair maidens, and generally lived a life out of the storybooks.  He returned home when he learned of Montaigne’s invasion, and served with distinction as a Captain, and later Admiral, in the war. 

His brothers fell in the war, as did so many others, and Casimiro found himself thrust into a role he no longer desired.  He vanished, as the war finally ended, only to turn up months later with a Montaigne woman by the name of Anais.  His desire to marry her horrified many, but none were in a position to protest.



The sprawling manor of the Orellana family sat on a cliff overlooking the Vaticine Gulf.  It was a warm summer day, a soft wind blew in from the sea carrying the scent of the ocean, the sun was warm but not harsh, and in the distance gulls cried and protested.  It was the perfect day for a wedding, and the turn out was proof of that. 

The manor threatened to burst at the seams as hundreds of people mingled and chatted.  A dozen musicians played, spaced out so as not to clash.  An army of servants carried food and drink.  A few guards stood, half-awake in the soothing warmth of the sun.  In the distance a dozen ships sat anchored offshore. 

The wedding was as much a celebration of all Casimiro had done with his life as a celebration of his new union.  The guests had come from across the world, and all had stories of how they had met.

The screams cut through the chatter and music like a knife.  There was a sudden silence, save for the sound of screaming, then a panic.  The guards reacted as trained, and ran for the sound, but they had to push through a crowd that couldn’t decide what to do.  Some ran, some stood frozen, some tried to help. 

Still, it was not long before word spread.  Anais was dead, her tongue ripped out, and Casimiro was missing.

The characters, in general, would be friends and/or compatriots of Casimiro.  Though I am open to other ideas that explain how they are involved. 

SMUT
It will, potentially, have a good amount of smut, and will be rated nonconsensual-exotic.  Anyone interested has to be comfortable with that sort of content and its inclusion.  This could involve periods of captivity/slavery, nonconsensual sex, bondage, and so on.

APPLICATION
I will not be doing first come first served, and in general am looking for just a description of the character and not a full sheet.  I haven't decided how many characters I will go with, but I will likely keep things relatively small (5 to 6 would be ideal, though I am willing to start with as few as 3), I am also undecided on how long I will keep things open (it will depend on the level of interest).  Also, if you posted in the interest check thread please mention that in your post here!

I would like to aim for at least one post from everyone a week, possibly more (my own rate varies, but I should be able to post on weekends at the very least, and often more than that).  If someone doesn’t post for more than two weeks without notice, I reserve the right to kill off or otherwise remove their character (though obviously this will be dealt with case by case).

CREATION
Normal game creation rules.  I have the New World and Crescent Empire books and would consider characters from those if you can write up a reasonable background that explains their presence.


Thanks for reading!  Please post if interested.   Also let me know if I missed something!

[Foxy DeVille]

Woo hoo! Glad to see this is gonna happen. I posted in the interest thread and have a 7th Sea character I haven't had the chance to use... Martinique du Saint-Clair, a minor aristocrat from Montaigne who has become a popular courtesan thanks to beauty, charm, and the something extra she has under her skirts. She is also a spy for the Sun King and used a casual friendship with the happy couple to be invited to the wedding in order to gather what information she could about the other guests. Of course, circumstances have changed he situation and the murder of a Montaigne citizen is a mystery she must solve.

[HairyHeretic]

Tentative interest. The last character I put together was a Musketeer, which I'm not sure would be suitable for this. Are there any characters or concepts you want to rule out to start with?

[Imogen]

Tentative interest. The last character I put together was a Musketeer, which I'm not sure would be suitable for this. Are there any characters or concepts you want to rule out to start with?

Similar to Hairy, but instead of a musketeer a young physician/courtier dropping his position at court to see the world.

[vonpenguin]

I'm thinking perhaps a privateer turned explorer from the highland marches who sailed with Casimiro for a time. Would something like that work?

[PixelatedPixie]

Foxy Oni
Sounds interesting!

HairyHeretic
There are no concepts I want to flat out deny . It would depend how they are spun.  If the concept doesn't work with Casimiro, we can always connect them to Anais if needed.  I left her background intentionally vague, though she would be a noble from Montaigne.

Imogen
Would he have a connection with Casimiro?  Or would we need to come up with some other connection to bring him into things?

vonpenguin
A privateer/explorer would be a good fit!

[Cold Heritage]

When you talk about being okay with non-consensual content and its inclusion does that mean a prospective player would have to be okay with that happening to their character, or just okay with it happening around their character and in the story at large?

[HairyHeretic]

Would the captain have traveled far enough that a character from the Crescent Empire or New World would be viable, or would they be a bit far out?

[Eobelle]

I have 1st ed 7th sea.  How different is 2nd ed?

[HairyHeretic]

The rules are a bit different, but if you know the first ed, the second isn't too hard to pick up.

There's been a bit of tweaking of some counties, and magic is changed in places.

[Imogen]

Would Malcyn's sheet transfer one on one, Hairy?

Also, perhaps Malcyn traveled with Casimiro not long ago, and maybe they were ambushed, and Malcyn worked his magic on the host which made Casimiro grateful enough to invite the youngster to his wedding? Alternatively, perhaps he is a distant relative of one of the bride's guests?

[HairyHeretic]

Would Malcyn's sheet transfer one on one, Hairy?

I think we just used the default character creation, though I'd probably need to read back through the OOC thread to be sure.

[Eobelle]

If it is like 1st ed, I'm in.  I'll look around for the 2nd edition books and familiarize myself with them. 

I'm interested in playing a Sophia's Daughter from Vodacce.

[HairyHeretic]

http://johnwickpresents.com/7th-sea-basic-rules/

You should find enough there to cover all you need. They put the basic rules up for free :)

[Eobelle]

Thanks!  I'll go over them and post back with a more involved concept.

[Eobelle]

Ok, after reading the 2nd edition books, I am moving towards a Jenny/performer (Or maybe Jenny/Courtesan, I'm not sure yet) who started off working the ship when Casimiro Orellana befriended her.  She then worked as a spy for Casimiro in Montaigne during the war, finding out when ships were sailing and where, so they might be pounced upon on the high sea. 

She may have been a part of his association with Anais, or Anias may have been a complete surprise, which would be shocking to the young confidence agent.

I'm not thinking much in the way of weapon skills for her, relying more on a quick wit and nimble legs to get out of any dangerous situations than feats of arms.  She'd still be a member of the daughters, though I am not sure about being from Vodacce... I need to work the character a bit more and see what makes sense for her personality.

[PixelatedPixie]

Cold Heritage
NOn-con would potentially be involving your character, though things can fade to black or some sort of work around is possible.

HairyHeretic
He would have, at least that was my goal in writing him up as an explorer.  So as long as you can come up with a reason for them to be in Castille the New World or Crescent Empire are options.

Imogen
Either option could work! 

Eobelle
Sounds good!  It would probably be better to go the spy route, and have Anais be a surprise.  I'll have to read up on Sophia's Daughters to remind myself more about them.

[Eobelle]

Cold Heritage
NOn-con would potentially be involving your character, though things can fade to black or some sort of work around is possible.

HairyHeretic
He would have, at least that was my goal in writing him up as an explorer.  So as long as you can come up with a reason for them to be in Castille the New World or Crescent Empire are options.

Imogen
Either option could work! 

Eobelle
Sounds good!  It would probably be better to go the spy route, and have Anais be a surprise.  I'll have to read up on Sophia's Daughters to remind myself more about them.

The best way to describe Sophia's daughters, I think, is as literal militant feminists. 

I'll start character creation then! What do we do about our story?  It is a mechanic that I am unfamiliar with, and doesn't make much sense to me. Should we just leave that blank for now?

[PixelatedPixie]

If people want to write up a bit more for their characters we can probably get started before too long.

Eobelle

You can leave the story blank for now if you'd like, and we can develop it later.  If your character is attached to Sophia's Daughters I would assume her story would tie into that somehow, but it would depend on the backstory you end up writing for her. 

[Foxy DeVille]

My character sheet...

La Comtesse Martinque du Saint-Clair

Martinique du Saint-Clair (Montaigne Courtesan)

Brawn 2
Finesse 3
Resolve 2
Wits 3
Panache 3

JENNY
You seduce men and women for fun and profit.

Quirk
Earn a Hero Point when you resolve a conflict with
seduction or sexual wiles.

L'AMI DU ROI (COURTIER)
You are, literally, a favorite courtier of the King
of Montaigne.

Quirk
Earn a Hero Point when you leverage the King's favor to
solve a problem.

Advantages
Come Hither
Camaraderie
Connection
Dynamic Approach
Friend at Court
Joie De Vivre
Linguist

Skills
Aim 1
Athletics 2
Convince 2
Empathy 3
Notice 1
Perform 3
Ride 1
Tempt 3
Theft 2
Weaponry 2

The Moonless Night (Virtue: Subtle)
Activate your Virtue when you act behind the
scenes, from the shadows, or through a proxy. For
the next Risk, when you determine Raises, every die counts as a Raise.

The Witch (Hubris: Manipulative)
You receive a Hero Point when you try to get
someone else to do your dirty work for you, and
it backfires.

Story: Obligation (Reward: Inspire Generosity)
Ending: My Hero fulfills his promise.
Step 1: Travel far away from my family and home in service of my promise.

Born into a minor noble family, Martinique was initially assigned male but her body began showing more feminine characteristics as she aged and by fourteen she was presenting herself as female. At seventeen she became a courtesan to win favors for her family, becoming quite popular among the decadent nobility thanks to her beauty, wit, musical talent, and the something extra she had under her skirts. Over the years Martinique proved quite useful at gathering information for the Sun King and now at thirty-three has become a highly trusted agent of the crown.  A casual friendship with Anais got Martinique an invitation to the Casimiro wedding but she also has the ulterior motive of spying on the many important Castillans that will be in attendance.

[Imogen]

Basics

Malcyn de Toraille
Concept: Former court-healer apprentice
Nation: Montaigne
Religion: (covert) Vaticine
Reputation: selfless

Backgrounds

Doctor
You work to heal the sick and tend to the wounded.
Quirk: Earn a Hero Point when you tend to the injuries of a Villain or the innocents harmed by a Villain.

Courtier
You regularly attend the courts of your home Nation and act as a diplomat to foreign courts.
Quirk: Earn a Hero Point when you turn the tide of violence with charm and flair.

Advantages

Miracle Worker
Perhaps it was study with the Church or a local shaman, but you know wounds and how to deal with them. Spend a Hero Point and 1 Raise on your Action to heal another Hero: they regain 1 Dramatic Wound. You must be able to touch the Hero you are healing.

Time Sense
You always know what time it is. You know how long until the next sunrise or sunset, with less than a one minute margin of error

An Honest Misunderstanding
Spend a Hero Point to edit, redact or otherwise alter something you or another Hero just said, “reinterpreting” the words into the kindest compliment.

Friend at Court
When you are at a ball, feast or similar high society function, spend a Hero Point to reveal you have a close friend also in attendance.

Patron (Father Lairre)
Someone appreciates your work and supplies you with steady employment. You may spend a Hero Point to call in a favor from your Patron. This favor is typically political or mercantile in some way— your Patron might provide you a letter of introduction, or pull strings to get you into an exclusive party, etc. Your Patron may ask you for favors or have other expectations for you

Reputation - selfless
You determine what your Reputation is with a single adjective—”Honorable,” “Vicious,” etc.—When you use your reputation to your advantage in a social Risk, you gain 1 Bonus Die. A Hero can buy this Advantage multiple times. Each time she does, she can choose to gain either a new Reputation or to increase the number of Bonus Dice she gains when she invokes her existing Reputation.

Skills

Athletics: 2
Empathy: 3 (reroll any single die when you take a Risk using Empathy)
Perform: 1
Ride 2
Tempt: 1
Weaponry: 3 (reroll any single die when you take a Risk using Weaponry)
Convince: 2
Notice: 3  (reroll any single die when you take a Risk using Notice)
Scholarship : 3 (reroll any single die when you take a Risk using Scholarship)

Traits

Brawn: 2
Finesse: 3
Resolve: 2
Wits: 3
Panache: 3

Arcana

Virtue: Altruistic
Activate your Virtue to suffer a Risk’s Consequences in place of another Hero.

Hubris: Star-Crossed
You receive a Hero Point when your Hero becomes enamored with someone he really shouldn’t

Story

Step 1 : find a (potential) benefactor

Goal: Be accepted as an initiate with the Knights of the Rose & Cross

Background

Seventeen year old Malcyn de Toraille is the youngest son of  Eduard de Toraille and Anna-Mireille de la Saravin - daughter of the Marc-Léon de la Saravin, Count Girard. With his father a renowned merchant and importer of fine wines, and having a relative in Count Girard, Malcyn was introduced to Court at the age of twelve, the day when he started his apprenticeship under Master Healer Doctor Dumaulin.

Although he studied well and expectations of his future were high, a chance meeting with Father Lairre, a truly devout man, changed his views. Not only this, it was at this time when a childhood friend of Malcyn died due to a maltreated illness. Realizing his friend could have been saved if not for the harsh fact that to acquire proper care one needed fame and wealth, Malcyn started to second guess his career. He was still convinced he wanted to be a Master Healer, but his training slowly veered away from the mundane teachings of Dumaulin to the knowledge and wisdom of the Church.

When Malcyn turned seventeen, he voiced his desire to leave court. It was expected that he would seek a career in the Church instead, but Malcyn opted for a time-out, a time away from his comfortable surroundings to think about his future, and where to best apply his skills.

He had not been traveling for long when chance put him in Casimiro's path shortly after the war. Perhaps Casimiro saw himself in young Malcyn, or perhaps he saw the benefits of traveling with a physician, but whatever his motives were, the Castillian allowed the young man to travel in his company, and was glad he did when after an attack by bandits, Casimiro was gravely wounded. Fortunately for the Castillian, Malcyn proved to every bit the skilled apprentice he had claimed to be, and Casimiro survived. They parted ways shortly after when Casimiro claimed having personal business to attend to. Several months later, Malcyn received an invitation to Casimiro's wedding. Touched that the Castillian had not forgotten him, he accepted and traveled to the Orellana Family manor for the celebration.

[evilnerf]

Hello!  If there's still room, I'd be interested in playing a Sarmatian ambassador character I've got cooked up.  She's a politician, and I can easily see her wanting to come to the wedding to schmooze with movers and shakers and gets caught up in all of this.

[InoshimaLance]

Are you accepting newbies to the system?

[PixelatedPixie]

They look good from a quick read over Foxy Oni and Imogen!

evilnerf
There should be room if you would like to expand on her.

InoshimaLance
Potentially, with the understanding that I am not enough of an expert to really hold a newbies hand too much.  But the advantage of play by post is you can generally look things up if needed. 

[Eobelle]

 

Name: Viviana Brazzo
Description: Viviana is trained from birth to be quick and light on her feet, her pale lissome form slender and flexible from years of dance training and practice.  Black hair stands out in sharp contrast to her pale skin, and bright blue eyes shine out from that darkness, hinting at some foreign influence in her paternity.  Her voice is lower and duskier than one would expect from a pixie-like form such as hers, but Vodacce does not allow for long childhoods, no matter what station you were born into.
Concept: Fingersmith
Nation: Vodacce

Traits
Brawn: 2
Finesse: 5
Resolve: 2
Wits: 2
Panache: 2

Backgrounds

Jenny
Quirk: Earn a Hero Point when you resolve a conflict with seduction or sexual wiles.

Performer
Quirk: Earn a Hero Point when you use your crowd-pleasing skills for something more than making a few coins.

Skills
Aim: 1
Athletics: 3 (re-roll any single die when you take a Risk using Athletics)
Convince: 1
Empathy: 3 (re-roll any single die when you take a Risk using Empathy)
Perform: 3 (re-roll any single die when you take a Risk using Perform)
Sail: 2
Tempt: 3 (re-roll any single die when you take a Risk using Tempt)
Theft: 3 (re-roll any single die when you take a Risk using Theft)
Weaponry: 1

Advantages

Dynamic Approach
Spend a Hero Point to change your Approach during an Action Sequence or Dramatic Sequence.

Come Hither
Spend a Hero Point to lure another character into a private room and later leave said private room without him, removing him from the scene. He may be rescued after you’re long gone.

Virtuoso
You gain 1 Bonus Die when you make a Perform Risk using dancing.

Inspire Generosity
Spend a Hero Point to convince another character to grant you an object you want at no cost. They might give you something they already have or go to some lengths—legal or illegal—to procure the item, whatever is the easiest way for them to get their hands on what you want.

Perfect Balance
Spend a Hero Point to move across a thin beam, jump from one place to another, or otherwise perform a feat of perfect agility and balance.

Poison Immunity
Poison never affects you, aside from some potential mild discomfort. If the poison would ordinarily kill you, it might cause you only to vomit instead, but there are no additional effects.

Second Story Work
You can spend a Hero Point to locate a way into a building or restricted area. You can bring up to one other character along with you, but everyone else has to find their own way in—or wait for you to open a path for them.

Arcana: The Fool

Virtue: Wily
Activate your Virtue to escape danger from the current Scene. You cannot rescue anyone but yourself.
Hubris: Curious
You receive a Hero Point when you investigate something unusual, especially if it looks dangerous.

Story
Maybe lost love, for the Fate Witch she left behind in Vodacce?  Or Romance for a new woman or witch she may have met while spying?  Or vendetta against someone who kept her from Vivana?  I’m not sure, because I want something that will happen in the game.

Reputation Easy?  Maybe Resourceful? Flexible? (in all senses of the word) Again, I’m not sure...

Secret Society
Sophia’s Daughters: Loyalty 2

Backstory
Vivana Brazzo was born into a poor family in Vestini lands, who sold off their infant to a fattoria per bambini, a baby farm, to pay off their debts.  The farm, Danza della lume, was famous for the girls that it raised… not as courtesans, no that was for the high class, educated beauties.  Danza della lume created what were jokingly called cortigiana di lume after the school.  Cortigiana di lume were dancers that entice men to underneath bridges to fuck.  Long lengths of silk or metal hoops were suspended in the bridges so dancers clad only in festival masks or a strip of cloth about the face could dance to the reedy strains of accordions or hurdy-gurdys; ballet shoes and gauze clad forms moved in the pitch black underside of the web of aerial highways, with an arm or leg poking out into the moonlight to attract a passerby for some “ombreggiato cazzo”.

Vivana took well to her adopted family’s trade, climbing higher and faster than her sisters on the precarious bridges and spires of the Vestini islands.  She performed for hundreds of masked balls, watching the actual courtesans smirk at her brazen performances and unmasked body.  She seduced without words, spoke the poetry of the body, and sang the silent song of lust with her eyes… and had a body that was not out of reach.  Soon she was in and out of the shadowed rooms of Fate witches, courtesans, nobles and the like; easily spidering down to a balcony anywhere on the island, and flitting away just as quietly afterwards.

Viviana’s lithe body and fearless attitude so got her into places she should not have gone, for reasons she should not have had, and soon found her lithe form out to sea, on the first ship that could carry her.  Her natural balance and fearlessness made her an ideal topman, and soon brought her into contact with the gallant Casimiro.  For almost an entire year they sailed together, until an assault on a coastal fortress clued Casimiro into how much more valuable to him a woman like Vivana was over a mere topman.  Not only did she manage to open all the gates from the inside, be she had exact information about the inner workings of the fort from a woman she had seduced the night before.

A fingersmith in both senses of the word, Casimiro sent Viviana into Montaigne to discover when ships were sailing and where, to find and copy orders then place them back from whence they came, and to operate under the nose of stuffy nobles who were looking for dashing male spies or femme fatales looking to seduce them from their duty… not scullery maids escaping nude up the chimney with the taste of their wives still on their lips, and the copy of a frigate’s cruising orders stashed in her pussy. 

Now with the war over, Viviana began looking to use her web of contacts that she created with Casimiro's help to smuggle fate witches and courteseans out of Vodacce, and to help with the empowerment of women in Castille, Montaigne, and the rest of Théah... And a wedding invitation from her old friend could be just the thing to allow her to talk to her old friend and other heroes about the injustice still thriving in the world.  Perhaps she could convince him to help her out, as she once helped him.  Plus, who knows who else could be invited to such an occasion?

other pictures (some NSFW)