KickStarter 7th Sea 2nd Edition

[Havoc]

And here are the VERY INTERESTING first news taken from the mailing list from the very hand of John Wick. Everyone up for opinions? Let's talk about it!!
Welcome to the Year of 7th Sea!

Hey folks. This is John Wick. I just wanted to thank all of you for taking the time to sign up for this mailing list. We’ve got some exciting news to announce!
In short, 2016 is going to be the “Year of 7th Sea.” We plan on releasing not only a new core book, but new sourcebooks as well. And not just sourcebooks about the Théan nations, oh no. We’ve got huge plans for the world of 7th Sea. Just huge. And we’ll get into all of them, but before we do, let me say this again:
Thank you for letting us know that you’re looking forward to a new edition of the game.
It’s been sixteen years since I last visited the shores of Théah and a lot has changed. I’ve changed, you’ve changed… and Théah has changed. Yes, the continent has undergone some transformations in sixteen years. I suspect you’ll want to know about them. And you’ll also want to know what’s stayed the same. Let’s you and I take a trip across the continent and take a look at some old friends… and some new ones.
My Loyal Crew
First, let me talk a little bit about who’s going to be leading us on this little jaunt. There’s me, of course, but there’s also Mark Diaz Truman. He’s running all the business aspects of the project. Mark’s been in charge of the money matters at JWP since our first Kickstarter, way back in 2012. He’s organizing and designing the forthcoming 7th Sea: Second Edition Kickstarter, and when we launch, he’ll be handling any issues or questions that come up.
Second, there’s the design team: Mike Curry and Rob Justice. Mike and Rob have been friends of mine for a long time and ran the Bear Swarm Podcast for years. They both have keen minds and great insight into what makes a good RPG tick. The three of us have been working on the revised system for 7th Sea (more on that in a moment) and we’ve been talking a lot about how the world.
We’re planning a beautiful book too… so we’ve got some great folks putting together the final layout. Our art director is Marissa Kelly, responsible for the Epyllion game about little dragons and art director for a whole bunch of other companies, including Evil Hat and Storium. Thomas Deeny—you might know him from the new Firefly RPG from MWP—will be handling the graphic design of the Kickstarter and Quick Start.
The More Things Change…
7th Sea: Second Edition is going to see some changes from the first edition. When folks ask me, “What kind of changes?” I often invoke Battletar Galactica. I was a huge fan of the original show—I was ten years old when it came out—and I’m a fan of the reboot as well. In the new BSG, we still had Adama, Apollo, Starbuck, Cylons and everything I loved about the first show. Sure, they had new faces—and in some cases, new genders—but they were still those same characters, just with an updated feel. New special effects, new writing, new cast but same show.
7th Sea: Second Edition is going to feel a lot like that. All the Nations are still there—Avalon, Castille, Vodacce, Ussura, etc.—but a few of them may have slight changes. Three of them have undergone slightly deeper changes. Eisen is going to be a whole lot scarier, for example. When you come across a small town of terrified villagers who look up to the castle on the hill where “the countess” lives… you’ll know you’re in Eisen. Ussura is getting a political facelift plus a new kind of sorcery that replaces shapeshifting. And the Vestenmennavanjar… well, let’s just say you don’t have to choose between “awesome merchant prince” and “awesome Viking raider” anymore; you can have both at the same time.
We’re also adding a new nation to the list: The Sarmatian Commonwealth. I’ve visited Poland twice—going again this year!—and every time I go, I hear the same question: “Why is there no Poland in 7th Sea?” After getting asked this question about a dozen times in an hour, I spent some time researching 17th Century Poland and my answer to that question is now, “Because I was an idiot.” I made a promise the last time I was there that if I ever re-did 7th Sea, I would include Poland. Well, I’m keeping that promise. I’m very excited for the Commonwealth and after you see what we’ve been doing with its politics, sorcery and history, I think you will be, too.
A New Engine
But the big question on most people’s minds is this one: “Are you using d20’s or Roll and Keep?” The answer is... neither.
I love R&K. I helped design it back in the day. But the fact of the matter is, rolling a handful of dice and keeping two of them… isn’t very swashbuckly. If I want to feel like Errol Flynn, if I want to feel like the Dread Pirate Roberts, if I want to feel like Captain Jack Sparrow, I want to throw a handful of dice and use all of them. And that’s the new system we’ve designed for 7th Sea: Second Edition.
We’re still using Trait + Skill (the “Traits are too important” folks are going to be very happy) and we’re still using Raises. Except now, you make Raises after the roll. Which means you get to feel like a Big Damn Hero.
We’ve still got Brute Squads and Villains, but we’ve refined how they work. In fact, a lot of the new system can fall under that category. “We’ve refined how they work.” The new 7th Sea system is fast, elegant and dynamic. It isn’t overly simple and it isn’t like one of my “Little Games.” But I feel it captures the cinematic feel we were going for with the first edition of the game, but didn’t quite reach. RPGs have changed a lot in almost 20 years, and I want 7th Sea to still stand out!
The Kickstarter
I can’t give you an exact date for the Kickstarter just yet, but I can tell you that you should keep your spyglasses on late January/early February. As in, the last week and first week. Yes, it’s that close.
As for when you’ll get a book in your grubby, swashbuckling paws… we want to release the book at Gencon. We’re working ‘round the clock to meet that goal right now. We might miss it… but I’d love to see all of you with 7th Sea: Second Edition books in August. That would put a real big smile on my face.
Expect more updates like this in the next few weeks as we put together the Kickstarter, finalize the system, and put out a Quick Start. Please let your friends know that this email list is the best way to way to get all the newest 7th Sea gossip...
2016 is the Year of 7th Sea. Oil up your swords, lift up them sails and run out the guns! It’s going to be a fantastic year.
Take care,
John Wick

Kickstarter. Sarmatian Commonwealth? Count me in!

 

[Havoc]

Btw. Kickstarter is starting 9th Feb.

 

[Havoc]

They have put out an early draft of the Quickstart. There's no character creation, but explains the rules pretty well. I like them more than 1ed. They are fast, reasonable (they fixed the reputation system, thank fucking god).

http://www.mediafire.com/view/lo5alhzbd18mmtm/7th_Sea_Second_Edition_Quick_Start_(8318097).pdf

 

[Andhaira]

Nice, did not know about this. Thanks for the heads up!

edit: All we need now is a new edition of Fading Suns, with a better, tighter crunch medium ruleset.

 

[Havoc]

Art from their site (I hacked one of them).

 

[Havoc]

Kickstarter is a go. Needed 30k. Funded in 10min. 200$ pledge (and eating ramen for a month) here I come!

 

[veevoir]

Good to see it start so strong. And good to see John Wick becoming a hardcore potato lover, hard enough to visit a con in Poznan regularly and putting Potato Stronk country in 2nd ed.

 

[Irenaeus III]

This is just gay

Anyone pledging is a faggot

 

[Havoc]

I BETTER CALL OF MY PLEDGE NOW!

 

[Melan]

In ~::most roleplaying games::~, you start off as a 1st-level loser who’s terrified of the goblin with a broken knife. In 7th Sea, you are a Hero, an icon of Théah ready to live and die for causes that matter. You can take on ten thugs with swords, knives, and guns all on your own. You don’t start off digging through old dungeons hoping to find a copper piece or two. No! You are trusted knight, a loyal bodyguard, or even… an adventuring queen herself. Right from minute one.

Wick, Wick never changes.

 

[udm]

Never forget

 

[Andhaira]

http://geekandsundry.com/tabletop-pirate-rpg-returns-and-breaks-records/

Wow! Most funded pnp RPG in Kickstarter history, and it still has 15 days to go!

Free quickstart is also available to backers only

Havoc

 

[Havoc]

If you don't want to be a backer, just back it for 1$, get the link to RPGDriveThru and cancel your pledge.

 

[Havoc]

The preview of the Core Rulebook is coming to backers. I will tell you guys if I find something great or disturbing.

 

[Havoc]

Found something Jaesun will like.

Spoiler

 

[Havoc]

I'm not far into the book, reading for now the Nations. Nothing yet that made me go "THIS IS FUCKING STUPID", but there was some "This is some contradictory bullshit right here." One of the first things you read is that Theans are very diverse and accepting people, but when you start reading the Nations opinions of other Nations, this isn't the case at all. For one, an Eisen will think that someone from Avalon is a potential thief. How the fuck is that "accepting"?

 

[Havoc]

Oh and btw, the new logo looks like shit.

Compared to the Kickstarter one.

 

[Arrowgrab]

Oh and btw, the new logo looks like shit.

So, it's a NATO member state?

I mean...[url][/url]

 

[Andhaira]

The art for this is amazing; however I have always felt this setting did not need to include sorcery/magic at all. Swashbuckling, sword schools and piracy/ship rules would have more than sufficed. Maybe we could have had secret alchemy, or something like that. But instead we get some retarded pisionic bullshit, as well as shapeshifting...

 

[Havoc]

Psionic? What would that be? Shapeshifting is gone in 2ed.

 

[Havoc]

It's a Wick game. I'm going to ignore most of it anyway, but yeah, it's a correct assumption. Some people will like, some won't. I don't. Not because it encourages PvsGM, because my players know that I will royally fuck them over, if I ever want to. I don't need special mechanics to that. But the mechanics are just bad. A Villian with 10 Strength, an epic one, will take around 50 Wounds to defeat (every 10, he gets a Dramatic Wound, you need equal to Strength). That's a fuck load. This system MIGHT be good, but there's little to no explanation to it. What makes a small Villian? How to balance this? Nothing.

 

[Havoc]

Mechanically, yes. It's called Villainy, combined Strength and Influence.

Villainy
Villains do not have full character sheets, although they share a few elements with Heroes. A Villain has Arcana (both a Virtue and Hubris), just as a Hero does. They also possess Advantages, same as a Hero. They do not have Skills, however, and they have only two Traits: Influence and Strength. The combined total of these creates his Villainy Rank.
Strength is the Villain’s personal ability, intellect, charm, skill with a sword, ability to use magic, etc. It is her individual capability. If you took away the money, the political power, the goons, and put her in a room with a sword, this is what the Villain is capable of. A Villain’s Strength also determines how many Advantages she has.
Influence is the Villain’s money, resources, minions, political power, allies, etc. It is her ability to change the world to achieve her goals.
ome Villains have more Strength than Influence and vice versa. For example, Cardinal Richelieu has high Influence but low Strength. He isn’t any good in a fight, but he commands the most powerful nation in the world. On the other hand, his compatriot, Rochefort, has high Strength and low Influence.
The Princess Bride gives us another pair of examples:
Prince Humperdink and Count Rugen. Humperdink has a lot of Influence (he is the Prince, after all), but has no fighting ability whatsoever. Meanwhile, Count Rugen is a master swordsman and a deadly enemy. He has a great deal of Strength but his Influence is much lower.
We can go on like this. Prince John (the Phony King of England) in the Robin Hood stories has high Influence but low Strength, while the Sheriff of Nottingham’s Strength is probably higher than his Influence.
Villains can also have equal Influence and Strength. Nothing says a Villain has to have all of one and none of the other.

Ranks of Villains
When looking at Villains, their Villainy is a good indication of how powerful they are.
A Weak Villain (a middle-management gangster or a toady guard captain) is around Villainy 5.
A Strong Villain (a feared mercenary captain or a renowned assassin) is around Villainy 10.
An Epic Villain (the bloodthirsty general of an enemy army or the insane leader of a dark cult) is around Villainy 15.
A Mythic Villain (the greatest assassin the world has ever known or a demi-god champion attempting to take over the world) is around Villainy 20.

Using Strength & Influence
Whenever a Villain takes a Risk, he rolls up to a number of dice equal to Villainy Rank. Note that we said “up to.” A Villain never has to reveal his true power to Heroes…not until it’s far too late. Also note that a Villain typically only takes a Risk when trying to affect the Heroes—for most other things, the Villain simply spends Influence.
Yes, this means a Villain can roll as many as 10 to 20 dice for a single Risk. How do Heroes overcome such monumental foes?
The same way you eat a whale: one bite at a time.