[7th Sea] A Harlequin Romance

[jburneko]

Someone on RPG.net once started a very amusing thread where people listed what they thought various RPGs would be if they weren't RPGs.  Someone posted, "7th Sea: If it wasn't an RPG, it would be a Harlequin Romance Novel."  Over last year my weekend group has born that out to be very true.

I've posted very sporadically about this game.  The main reason is that it's been going so swimmingly well that I haven't had much to say except, "Huzzah!"  But now that's it's almost over (we have only about one session left) I thought I'd take a moment to reflect over the entire process.

About The Group

There are five major players and one minor player.  Four of the major players are women, one of whom is my fiancée.  The minor player is the boyfriend of one of the major players.  He started coming because he was her ride.  Originally, she was getting a ride with one of the other major players but that player moved and it became inconvenient to pick her up.  He offered not to play since he didn't start coming until after the game was a few sessions underway.  He said he'd just observe.  But that didn't feel right so I gave him one of my minor NPCs so that at minimum he'd be a utility belt for the other PCs.

The stated schedule for this group is that we meet every other weekend.  But it doesn't work out like that.  We meet a lot closer to every third weekend and we've been known to have gaps of two months or even longer here and there.  So while the game has been going on for more than a year, I think it's run a total of eight or nine sessions.  Three of the players overlap with my weekday group which has met weekly (very regularly) and been playing a Ravenloft campaign over approximately the same amount of time we've been playing 7th Sea.

What I Did Before Character Creation

For those of you unfamiliar with the setting it will be useful to know that sorcery in the setting runs in the bloodlines of the nobles of each of the major countries.  Each sorcery is a unique set of abilities.  The Castilian (Spanish) and Eisen (German) sorcerous bloodlines have more or less been wiped out.  The Eisen ability was the ability to cause things to corrode and disintegrate by touching them.

Thus, I started with this idea: What if the Eisen sorcerous bloodline wasn't completely wiped out?  I also made a list of elements I really wanted to include.  The two top items were A Montainge Prison Island, An A Large Scary Syrneth Artifact.

So, I started flipping through my 7th Sea books.  I own every 7th Sea book up until the line changed its name to Swashbuckling Adventures.  I discovered something neat about the way the NPCs of Theah are constructed.  It's very easy to play connect the dots and create a web of conflicts and relationships that span the entire setting just by starting with a core idea and following the NPCs who have stakes in it.  Anyway, after a pared it down a bit I had this to work with:

I imagined a half-blooded Eisen sorcerer who was born to a Montaigne family after the mother had an affair with one of the last full-blooded Eisen sorcerers before he was killed.  When the powers of the child were discovered she was locked away on a Montaigne Prison Island.

Note: I made a mistake at this point.  I had the mother of the child make a deal with a Castillian priest who used the churches power to allow the girl to visit her mother under armed protection whenever her husband was away.  I think it would have been better to leave the child in the prison and make the mother a little more interested and proactive in rescuing her child permanently while trying to maintain her relationship with her husband.

Heilgrund, one of the Eisen warlords, has learned of this child and wants to kidnap her and have her breed with another half-blooded Eisen sorcerer that is loyal to him.  The goal is to make a full-blooded Eisen sorcerer child that Heilgrund can use as a weapon to conquer the other warlords.  The only problem is that it will take too long for the child to mature.  So, I imagined a large syrnth artifact that has the power to rapidly age a child.  Unfortunately, it also possesses the child with a syrneth spirit, but Heilgrund doesn't know that part.

For spice I sprinkled in a member of the Raliciare dedicated to tracking down and wiping out the final remnants of the Eisen sorcerous bloodline.  He is hot on the trails of the daughter in the Island Prison.

I titled the whole scenario Children of the Withered Rose.  The title is meant to refer both to the disintegrative powers of the two half-blooded Eisen sorcerers and to the war torn and crushed nature of Eisen itself as a nation.

Character Creation

Right off the bat, I put the following restrictions on character creation.

1) No Avalonian, Usuran, or Vesten/Vendal characters.
2) Preference for Montaigne and Eisen characters.
3) Every player must have one strong connection to another player.
4) Every character MUST take at least one Background (a 7th Sea mechanic similar to but not as straightforward as a Sorcerer Kicker).

Here's the cast I got:

1) Lisle Von Garechen, an older Vodacce Fate Witch who married into an Eisen Nobel family to escape her homeland and family.  Her husband and only son are dead.  Her other child, a daughter, recently married into a prominent Montaigne family.

2) Nicole Riche Du Parouse, the hotheaded daughter of a Montaigne noble family who fled her high society life to join the Explorer's Society.

3) Genevieve Riche Du Parouse, sister to Nicole and the last obedient unmarried daughter of Guy Riche Du Parouse.

3a) Jacqueline (can't remember last name) loyal bodyguard and closest friend to Genevieve.  Note: She was created using the henchman rules for Genevieve, so technically she's an NPC.  However, over the course of the game she has become so pivotal that she's basically Genevieve's player's second PC.

4) Renaux Valroux, reckless young and very bored Montaigne aristocrat betrothed to Genevieve in an arranged marriage over river trading rights.

5) Eva (again, can't remember last name) Eisen born warrior woman who serves as the shield man for Nicole's archeological team.  She was also raised in Lisle's household.

The PC's Backgrounds and How I Used Them

Nicole had Treasure Map.  No problem, it leads to the big scary syrneth artifact that Heilgrund is after.

Lisle had True Identity, the fact that she was a Voddace fate witch born to the Callegari family.  This was trickier.  First, I decided that Lisle's daughter was a half-blooded fate witch and had just started developing her powers shortly after marriage into the Montaignian family.  I had also decided that the Montaignian family the daughter had married into was the same one with the half-blooded Eisen sorcerer locked away on the prison island.  Finally, since the head of the Callegari family is obsessed with syrneth artifacts I decided that he was after the syrneth artifact as well.

Genevieve and Renaux both took the betrothed background, which was taken care of since they were betrothed to each other.  But Genevieve also took the Assassin background.  So, for flavor I invented an Inish assassin who was out to kill Genevieve.  I had also decided that his tactic was going to involve attempting to befriend Renaux to get to her.  I had not yet decided why.  I just liked the image of an overly friendly Inish man who deep down inside was very evil.

Eva took Orphaned, which initially I was kind of stumped as to what to do with.  Because she was tied to Nicole and her treasure map I put this background on the back burner to think about later.  I'm glad I didn't force the issue because it became one of the more powerful and central backgrounds of the story.

How I Started Things Out In The First Session

I had Lisle's daughter send Lisle a letter talking about the strange powers she had begun to develop and how very frightened she was by them.

I had Genevieve and Renaux meeting for the first time when I have Heilgrund's henchman burst in an attempt to kidnap Genevieve (he wants to use her as leverage to get at Nicole and her map).

Finally, I had Julius Callegari attempt to steal the Treasure Map from Nicole and Eva.

Highlights and Major Turning Points of the Story (Note: This is a rather lengthy recap of an entire years worth of play.  Feel free to skip to the bottom markers if you're not interested.)

*------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Genevieve disguises herself as boy and she and Renaux hide out on Nicole's expedition.

The man who attempted to kidnap Genevieve, Odel Herrickson, tries to join the crew of Nicole's ship as a cook.  Eva dines with him on pretense of testing his cooking and reveals her Orphaned background to Odel who mentions that he has a friend with an interest in Genealogy.  Ultimately, Eva and Nicole turn Odel down on his offer to be ship's cook.

Liam O'Conner (the Inish Assassin) tracks Renaux and stows away on Nicole's ship.  Nicole duels him for the privilege of staying on board.  He wins and doesn't get thrown overboard.  He butters up to Renaux never realizing that the "cabin boy" is really his intended target.

Lisle convinces her daughter that she must keep her powers secret especially from her military husband who she fears will just try to use her daughter to his own ends.

On the voyage to the island Renaux realizes that he is really in love with Jaqueline Genevieve's bodyguard!

Lisle meets and carries out a hesitant romance with Adrien Reingard (the Ralliciare member out to kill all Sorcerers).  Her daughter who wishes her to be happy again spurs her on.

On the island Nicole and Eva decide to destroy the syrneth artifact to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.

Liam and Renaux are captured but escape and take over the ship of a rival Castilian explorer.

Nicole, Renaux and Eva leave the Castilian for dead on the island and sail back to the mainland with two ships.  Note: Nicole's player swaps out her Treasure Map background for Nemesis so we all know the Castilian Explorer will be back.

Lisle discovers the truth about the illegitimate sorcerous daughter but a little too late.  The girl is found dead with all her blood drained.  Adrien visits Lisle and explains he must return to Eisen and asks that she visit him.  Lisle requests that Adrien take her servant, Hans, back with him.

Nicole, Renaux, Genevieve, Jacqueline and Eva return to the mainland.  Eva re-encounters Odel who explains that he works for Heilgrund and that Heilgrund wishes urgently to speak with Eva.

Renaux confronts Heilgrund about his servant attempting to kidnap is bride-to-be.  Heilgrund apologizes and agrees to make reparations.

Heilgrund reveals to Eva that she is in fact child of Eisen sorcerers who were killed because of their power.  He says that while she does not display any power herself there is a chance her children will.  He requests that she agree to a marriage with an Eisen half-blooded sorcerer.  Eva says that she wishes to meet the man first.

Thinking the danger is over Genevieve drops her disguise and Liam attempts to kill her.  He is defeated and captured by Renaux and Nicole working as a team.

Eva writes to Lisle and asks that she come join her at Heilgrund's castle.  Lisle says farewell to her daughter and heads back to Eisen.

Liam escapes but is caught by Renaux.  Liam tells Renaux that he is giving up and leaving to return home.  He gives Renaux a journal and says everything will be explained in it.  Renaux lets Liam go and discovers in the journal that Renaux's father some years ago murdered Liam's fiancée.

Heilgrund asks Nicole about the island and syrneth artifact.  She denies its existence.

Lisle arrives at Heilgrund's castle.  Heilgrund offers her lands and titles in exchange for her aid in convincing Eva to marry.  Lisle declines stating that Eva has to make up her own mind.

Nicole discovers that Baltezar (the Castilian explorer left on the island) is out to ruin her academic reputation by filing a suit that claims she infringed on his exploration rights by coming to the island.

Renaux, Genevieve and Jacqueline return to Montaigne where his father heavily scolds Renaux.

Genevieve writes a letter to her father requesting that Jacqueline be formally adopted into the family.  She says she refuses to marry Renaux unless her request is carried out.  Her father agrees.

Eva meets and falls in love with Gunter (the half-blooded Eisen sorcerer).  But Gunter seems distant and fearful.

Lisle discovers that her servant Hans never returned to Eisen.  She goes to visit Adrien but finds signs of a struggle and evidence that he may have been kidnapped by Montaigne soldiers belonging to her son-in-laws regiment.

Nicole discovers that Baltezar is using his connections with a powerful scholar named Arcienega to ruin her reputation.

Nicole and Lisle travel to Occupied Castile to confront Arcienega.  They discover that Odel is in the process of selling out Eva and Gunter to Arcienega.  Arcienega says he has Adrien tied up in the basement because Adrien cut off his supply of Eisen sorcerous blood.

Eva discovers that Gunter is already married and that Heilgrund is holding his wife and daughter prisoner to force Gunter into the new union.  Gunter confesses that he never really loved his wife and has fallen quite hard for Eva.

Renaux travels to Avalon to track down Liam.  He makes a deal with Liam that involves ruining his wedding.

Nicole cuts a deal with Arcienega in which she agrees to get him more Eisen sorcerer blood if he refuses to deal with Odel and allows Lisle to question Adrien.

Eva sends letters to Nicole and Leisal requesting their aid in helping her, Gunter and his family escape.

Renaux confesses his true feelings to both Genevieve and Jacqueline.  Jacqueline is stunned into non-committal confusion.  Genevieve is heart broken and attempts to run away.  Renaux and Jaqueline help capture her and return her home where she sulks in her room refusing to come out.  Renaux's father is furious and requests that Genevieve's father come to calm her down.

Nicole tracks down and captures the traitorous Odel and returns him to Heilgrund.

Leisal helps Adrian escape from Arcienaga if he agrees to help get Heilgrund away from his castle.

Renaux confesses everything to Genevieve's father who suggests that Renaux marries Jacqueline instead after the adoption goes through.  Renaux's father will have none of it and suggests to Renaux that they have Jaqueline killed.  Renaux convinces his father to delay that plan.  The two noble fathers fight constantly while the three children try to work out a solution themselves.

While Heilgrund is away from the castle Nicole drugs some of the guards and helps Eva, Gunter and his family escape from the castle.

Adrian visits Lisle and tosses Hans's head at her.  He reveals that he's been tracking her and that both her husband and son died defending her whereabouts.  He was surprised when she led him straight to another prize the half-blooded Eisen daughter.  He then tries to kill her.  They duel fiercely.  Both are injured badly but in the end Lisle kills Adrian by impaling him her husband's sword.

*----------------------------------------------------------------------------------*

That's where things are now.  The next session will probably focus around Genevieve's and Renaux's wedding.  I suspect everything else with everyone else will also resolve itself.

What I think facinates me most about this is the revision and evolution of my original core concepts over the course of play.

Originally, I thought that the Montaigne family with the illegitemate child would be at the heart of the story.  They turned out to be rather irrelivant.  Same is almost true for the spooky Syrneth Artifact.

Gunter originally started out as being loyal to and more evil than Heilgrund himself.  I assumed that Gunter would turn on Heilgrund once any kind of power was available to him.  But then I changed my mind.  I decided that Gunter was a kind man under Heilgrund's control.  It was mid-game during Eva and Gunter's first meeting that I realized he was already married.

Adrien started out on the trail of the illegitemate daughter.  Everyone knew he killed her but at some point I decided that wasn't his original goal.  I decided that his original goal was the Fate Witch hiding in Eisen and I tied him to the demise of Lisle's husband and son.  I decided that by following her he accidentally stumbled across the daughter.

Finallly, in my mind, Liam was originally working for someone else.  I didn't know who and I didn't know why.  Then, after playing him a while I decided that he was only working for himself but I still didn't know why.  Renaux's player talked about his father a lot and then just one day it hit me that Liam was all about revenge for something Renaux's father did.

Hope that was interesting.  Questions and Comments are of course wellcome.

Jesse

[Ian Charvill]

What strikes me is the amount of tweaking you've done of your existing material to take into account the PCs and what they've done during the game.  My 7th Sea campaign featured a lot of this as well - partly in response to the way Backgrounds work.

A quick question: did you use the 'Other Hundred Points' to allow the players to indicate rough ideas about campaign direction?

[jburneko]

No, I didn't use "The Other Hundred Points."  While I find the idea interesting I don't think it would be particularly useful.  There's the old idea that people are very bad at articulating what they really want.  Also, because I'm trying my hardest not to railroad in the least it would be very hard for me to engineer say 10% action, 50% romance, 40% intregue based on an unstated group consensus on what that means.  Neither myself nor the players can predict how they're going to feel about the situation evolving in the game.  The Renaux falling in love with Jacqueline was totally player engineered and created mid play.  It is now the focal point for those three characters.

You draw attention to my use of retro fitting to accomidate Backgrounds.  It's interesting because I find Backgrounds very useful for setting up Situation but it turns out they're very unweildy for developing or resolving situation because they are tied to concrete concepts and roles for people or objects to play.

Consider this example.  Nicole had the Treasure Map background.  She followed it, found the artifact, destroyed it and went home.  Is her Background resolved?  One one the hand she's no longer pursuing the contents of the map but on the other hand people were still after the map and the artifact.  The map has even played a role in Eva's escape.

Here's an even harder one.  Genvieve has the Assassin background which spawned Liam.  Liam's Assassination attempt failed because of Renaux's actions.  Liam gave up pursuit because he was defeated so badly.  Finally Liam has become an ally at Renaux's request.  Is Genvieve's background resolved?  Can one PCs background become resolved through another player's actions?

See, Liam is still around just like the Treasure Map.  He's still an important character but his role has changed from his original stated purpose but Backgrounds are fixed concepts.  The situation has not been fully resolved but the starting function for Liam as created by the Background has.

Jesse

[Ian Charvill]

The thing that I found useful about 'The Other Hundred Points' wasn't so much what players voted for as much as it was me as GM making an overt statement that what the players wanted from the campaign mattered, and mattered right from the beginning, not as play went on.

But you're right - it would be difficult to really apply during play.

I've found backgrounds to be useful in my game, but I've kept them quite fluid.  One PC started with a low level curse from a fate witch.  The turned into a high level curse from Fleischwulf, which has been one of the main threads of the campaign.  The fate witch stuff was just abandoned by the wayside.

Another PC started with a background of Defeated but some months of play and one duel later, the background now reads 'Enemy' (or Rival, I'd need to check my notes to be sure).

Another PC had a Hunted background.  That got resolved aggresively and the Background is no longer extant.  Case by case, from your examples, the 'How I'd Do It' would be:

[I guess what I'm doing in mechanical terms is giving players big XP bonuses for resolving their Background, but restricting those experience points to be spent on other Backgrounds]

'Treasure map' could be resolved or become 'Hunted' if you see dramatic mileage from people being after her map.

Genvieve's 'Assassin' background...

Finallly, in my mind, Liam was originally working for someone else. I didn't know who and I didn't know why. Then, after playing him a while I decided that he was only working for himself but I still didn't know why. Renaux's player talked about his father a lot and then just one day it hit me that Liam was all about revenge for something Renaux's father did.

Well, here you've made Genvieve's background all about one of the other PCs, so it's no wonder the other PC was instrumental in disolving the plot.  I'd tend to swapping 'Assasin' out for 'Jilted' at the same level.

The other obvious thing is that what if Liam fell in love with Genvieve after seeing her jilted?  There could be some mileage there.