I might be reading this wrong but one thing that doesn’t sit well with me is how quickly longer action sequences can be resolved. You know, when you want a bit of ‘back and forth’, a bit of ‘ebb and flow’. For example:
Action Sequence: Storm and Sail
The Heroes are leaving Avalon on a ship bound for Montaigne. Though the weather was overcast, everything was going fine until about half hour into the journey a storm hit them seemingly from nowhere.
Cons
(i) Spend a Raise every Sequence to avoid being swept overboard
(ii) Spend a Raise every Sequence to avoid a swinging yard arm from crashing into you (3 Wounds)
(iii) Climb rigging [1] and untangle sail [1] so it can be pulled in. If not, ship ends up 5 miles off course and adds 2 hours to journey
(iv) Bail out water from deck every sequence. Once they fail to bail out 6 times the ship sinks
So if a player rolled five Raises he could narrate: "I duck under the swinging yard arm (1st Raise), whilst clinging to the rail to avoid being swept overboard by the wave (2nd Raise). When the opportunity presents itself, I leap onto the main mast and climb the rigging (3rd Raise) and untangle the main sail (4th Raise). Jumping down to the deck I pick up a bucket and help the crew bail out water (5th Raise).
I’ve a few questions
a. Though the above is an Action Sequence, it seems to be made up of Risks (short actions; I believe the game details Risks, Action Sequences and Dramatic Sequences) like avoiding being swept overboard every sequence and avoiding the yard arm every sequence. Is this how the rules were meant to be used? Is it the case that an Action Sequence is just a number of Risks strung together?
b. Assuming a character gets 5 Raises and narrates all the above actions during his first Sequence, all that’s left for the other players’ characters is to bail out the water sequence after sequence after sequence…which brings me to my last question
c. How long should the above Action Sequence last for? To me it seems a tossup between it being over in one Sequence (and as a result of only one player character’s actions at that) or they go on and on. Whether the Action Sequence goes on for only one Action Sequence wherein all the other players have left to do is bail out the water, or it goes on for another 5, 4, 7, 10, whatever rounds, and that seems empty, pointless.
I’m having trouble using the rules to construct my roleplaying scenes; I feel restricted by the rules when making scenes. In ordinary rpgs I can just write up a short descriptive overview and have the players (a) tell me what they do and (b) roll dice to see if they’re successful. With 7th Sea if I do that I run into problems as described above.
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die..." ~ Inigo
This is a good example of an Action Sequence....there are a few things that may help clarify what's described above.
1) Each "Round" the Heroes declare their Approach (What is it they are intending to do that Round) and their Risk Pool (dice) are determined by that Approach. This Approach is likely related to what event the GM is describing. In the above scenario, some of what you've described as Consequences could be spread out into different Rounds as 'crew goals'
2) A player with 5 Raises doesn't spend all their Raises at once for different things. Therefore, after spending 1 Raise to avoid being hit by the Yard Arm, the player has 4 Raises. So now anyone with 4 Raises goes an the players determine who goes first. So another player might use their Raise for one of the other Consequences/Opportunities.
Here's some input to make this type of scene feel more dramatic/swashbuckling...it requires a little more preparation but once you create the 'framework' you can use it for any type of Ship/Storm Scene.
1) I would create a list of all the things that could go wrong on a ship during a storm that will need the crew's attention. You've outlined some above as consequences, but each of those could be the focus of an entire Round. You could roll on a chart randomly each Round or choose one.
2) Now for each of these circumstances, you'll want to create several Actions that need to occur to solve the problem as well as Opportunities and Consequences (Some requiring multiple Raises) specific to that situation.
3) You can create some general Opportunities and Consequences that are available every Round until taken or that recur (Your 1 Raise to avoid getting swept overboard is a good one)
Let's use "Tangled Sails" as an example from above.
Risk: Tangled Sails
Actions Required:
Opportunities (Specific to this Risk):
Consequences (Specific to this Risk):
What this does is every Round feels different...the crew of the ship is trying to solve a problem. There are multiple "Actions" required for it to succeed so it takes multiple Heroes. There are also unique consequences and opportunities that give everyone a chance to participate.
In our games, the players and myself have agreed that while the number and general description of the Opportunities and Consequences are given, the mechanical notes are not revealed until someone spends a Raise. For instance, I would say "There's an opportunity to notice something about the mast' but not say what it is...or "There is a consequence that you'll get caught in the rigging" but what happens isn't revealed until someone doesn't avoid it.
Hope this helps! These types of "Action Sequence" examples are something I want to work on sometime.
John
Thanks for this Harliquinn, much food for thought.
I'd forgotten a character can only do one thing on his turn when there are multiple heroes in an Action Sequence. But what if the hero was on the ship on his own? No other heroes or npcs; a bit of an extreme example but it serves a purpose.
Would the hero spend all his Raises in one sequence/round would the scene pan out sequence/round by sequence/round with each Raise taking up an entire sequence/round?
I'm just not sure on the timing of when a hero spends his raises. I'm thinking if the hero is on his own, then
a] Player declares approach
b] GM tells her what to roll
c] Player rolls the dice
d] Spends Raises overcoming consequences and grabbing opportunities
e] Repeat a] to d] for the next Risk
I get this from page 178
If only a single Hero is taking a Risk at a time, the GM only needs to handle that one Risk and move on to the next Risk. But when multiple Heroes are involved, or when a Hero faces a Villain, or when all their actions are important all at once and seconds count, it may be time for an Action Sequence
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A related issue is one of time, and not knowing how to have scenes where the hero has to do something every sequence.
For example, a Risk seems to be a one-and-done thing. Leap from roof top to roof top to escape the guards (with a few consequences and opportunities thrown in for good measure).
But what about the stormy seas ship scene above? That yard arm is swinging back and forth and for all we know it can't even be fixed. So until the storm subsides they'll have to keep avoiding that yard arm.
I could just have it all resolved in one sequence, with Raises spend to fix the yard arm, bail out the water and unfurl the sail. But that condenses everything in one roll.
That doesn't feel very epic at all
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die..." ~ Inigo
I'm struggling to think of a situation where only one character is on the entire ship by himself...
I would still have different Rounds having different situations that need to be solved each with its own set of opportunities and consequences. One person for instance isn't going to be able to untangle sails and get them working again on his own in one Round.
True, but it was just an example. This might serve better
Take a fight for example, a hero fights 12 brutes. In any other rpg this would take some time (perhaps too much time but that's another issue), but in 7th Sea, that fight can be resolved in one roll. I know that's how fights are supposed to go because it simulates the skill a 'Hero' has, but I'm not really discussing fights, I'm using fights as an example of what my trouble is; having big honking scenes resolved with one quick dice roll and judicious expenditure of Raises.
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die..." ~ Inigo
Looking at it this way, a Risk seems to be a one-and-done thing. Leap from rooftop to rooftop to escape the guards (with a few consequences and opportunities thrown in for good measure). That's fine.
But what about the stormy seas ship scene above? That yard arm is swinging back and forth and for all we know it can't even be fixed. So until the storm subsides they'll have to keep avoiding that yard arm. Let's say the storm lasts three hours.
The three house can be resolved in one sequence, with Raises spend to fix the yard arm, bail out the water and unfurl the sail. But that condenses everything in one roll.
That doesn't feel very epic at all
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die..." ~ Inigo
Well a Risk is a single 'roll' basically. If only one Hero is doing a Risk, it's a simple roll for them. If more than 1 Hero is doing Risks, it's an Action Sequence. I used 'risk' incorrectly above, it's more a scenario. I may not have been clear but the Stormy Seas is an Action Sequence. These are divided into Rounds and each round can be focused on different things and the Heroes get to pick new 'Actions' (via an Approach) each Round.
If you make fixing the Yard Arm, Bail out Water and Unfurl the sail as simple opportunities or consequences requiring only 1 Raise then yes it would feel un-epic. If, however, you make each of those things a 'task' for the Round (or several Rounds potentially) then each of these can feel epic.
If the storm i meant to last hours and there's opportunity for Role Playing to break it up, I would recommend making it a Dramatic Sequence, where each Hero gets 1 Roll based upon their overall Approach. Then you could have moments of 'high tension' where Raises are needed and periods of time where RP and narrative can occur. It really depends on how much 'out of game time' you want it to take. If the storm is the entire gaming session, I would do a Dramatic Sequence. If it's just one scene in a gaming session, I would use Action Sequence.
John
Ok two questions arise from all this
Page 178: We divide an Action Sequence into Rounds. A Round is as long as a GM needs it to be. During a Round, every character gets to take Actions. An Action is a single activity resulting in a single result.
So on a character's turn, can they take multiple actions or one action? I ask because the rule mentions "...take Actions', then tells us an Action is a single activity, a single result.
Also, let me ask my question this way:
You're on a ship, the clouds suddenly darken (sorcery of a sort no doubt) and the heavens open. Torrential rain and winds batter the ship. There's a swinging yard arm the thunders back and forth every few seconds, the ship rolls alarmingly in the swells, threatening to throw you into the sea, and the helmsman is slumped over the wheel.
What do you do? <-- That is what I would say in a more traditional role playing game. But how would you as the GM, organise the above into an Action Sequence replete with consequences and opportunities in 7th Sea 2ed? Pretend you are constructing the scene for me, the player.
Perhaps if I see an example of how it's set up it will click.
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die..." ~ Inigo
Nope.
During a Round, every character gets to take Actions. An Action is a single activity resulting in a single result.
Key word is actions
So, perhaps more like this.
Round 1: 3 Raises. Avoid the yard arm (1), Avoid being swept overboard by the wave (2)
Round 2: 2 Raises. Climb the rigging (1). Begin work on the sail(1)
It sounds fast, sure... which gives you time to paint the narrative and be descriptive. But also remember that Player 1 may do something, then Player 2, then 3, then back to 1, then 3, then 2... depending on the amount of raises, and how they are spent. It's not just a quick "I do this, this and this. Done." unless YOU want it to be.
"Avoid being swept overboard by the wave (2)"
I thought you only ever spent 1 Raise to succeed at something?
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die..." ~ Inigo
A GM can set higher costs for actions, consequences or opportunities if they choose. In this case the GM is being nice and letting you avoid all 3 damage from being hit by the yard arm by spending 1 raise (normally takes 1 per wound avoided). Apparently they have chosen to up the difficulty of other tasks in return.
Ah yes, that makes sense. I remember reading you can spend multiple Raises to negate multiple wounds.
Thank you
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die..." ~ Inigo
Ok, so a ‘Risk’ represents one hero performing one Action per sequence, and that one Action can consist of 1 Raise or multiple Raises
An ‘Action Sequence’ represents two or more heroes performing one Action each, per sequence
So an Action Sequence is just a way to accommodate multiple characters taking their ‘Risk’ actions in the same sequence (one sequence being one round), and this sequence is organised by allowing the hero with the highest number of Raises to act first
Each sequence (each round) is comprised of Risks, Consequences and sometimes Opportunities?
Is that right?
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die..." ~ Inigo
Mostly correct...I hope this helps (and that I'm correct)
A "Risk" represents What problem the Hero is solving. A Risk is 1 Hero performing 1 Action that has the potential for failure, opportunities, or consequences.
- Example Risks: Getting from one rooftop to another, Attacking someone in a fight, Hold a door closed during an escape, Repairing a sail during a storm
The "Approach" represents How the Hero is solving the problem. The Approach involves choosing 1 Trait and 1 Skill and rolling a Risk Pool of dice.
- Example Approachs: Leaping across the rooftops (Finesse + Athletics), Slashing with a sword (Finesse + Weaponry), Staying low and moving carefully (Wits + Notice), Lashing to the mast and brute forcing it (Resolve + Scholarship)
An "Action Sequence" involves one of the following:
- Examples of first type: Two Heroes and the Villain each want to race across the room and introduce themselves to the Duchess first (Action Sequence, each Hero is making a Risk and chooses their Approach. One is going to leap over tables and land in a flourish (Finesse + Athletics), one is going to saunter over, tips his hat and compliment the lady (Panache + Convince), and the villain is going to make his way and strike up a conversation about a topic of interest to the lady (Wits + Scholarship). Everyone rolls their Risk Pool of dice, highest Raise goes first and in this case each participant is going to spend however many Raises they want succeeding on their individual Actions. There may be Opportunities or Consequences for each Hero/Villain that the players will have to decide if they want to spend Raises on as well. However, all Raises spent on "Succeeding" (Getting to the duchess first and making a good impression) need to be spent at one time. Opportunities may be to notice a more beautiful / charming / higher rank lady, Impressing the host of the party, etc. Consequences might be looking rude to other guests, accidentally insulting, bumping into, or offending a nearby guest, etc.)
- Examples of the second type: Any combat, chase, social gathering, ship in a storm, etc. scene in which multiple people are doing multiple things to accomplish their goal (Win the fight! Catch the thief! Keep the ship safe until the storm subsides)
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An "Action Sequence" is divided into "Rounds" (There is no set 'time' for a Round)
A "Round" is a period of time in which each Hero is taking 1 Risk. The Risk each round could be different for each Hero. In combat, one Hero may be trying to defeat the enemy, another might be watching for the guard, while another may be picking the lock on the door so the group can escape.
At the start of a Round, each Hero announces What they are going to solve/do/accomplish (Thei"Risk") and How they are going to do it (The "Approach"). Any additional Dice are added and the Risk Pool is rolled and Raises counted. The GM needs to assign/announce/allude to any Opportunities and Consequences for each Hero's Risk (There can be common Opportunities/Consequences as well that affect everyone in the Action Sequence).
Each Round, Heroes and Villains take Actions, secure Opportunities, and overcome Consequences.
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You can determine how long you'd like the Action Sequence to last. If it's meant to be a significant portion of the action in the gaming session, then you'll need to create situations in which the Heroes have a lot of things to solve. Each of these becomes their own Risk with a series of Opportunities / Consequences for each and each of these occupies a "Round".
- Example: Round 1 - The ship's sails need repaired...this might require gathering materials from below deck (Risk), climbing up the mast (Risk) and making the repairs (Risk). This could be one Hero taking 3 Rounds or 3 Heroes in one Round each doing one Action. Each Action may have Opportunities (falling down the stairs, getting hit by the hard arm, falling from the mast after making repairs).
If you'd like it to be shorter in length, then you could assign the different problems as Opportunities and allow them to be addressed in fewer Rounds.
- Example: Round 1 - The ship's sails need repaired. 1 Raise could be spent to repair the sails with materials on hand, an Opportunity is there to get better materials and make the repairs last longer, and a Consequence is not to fall off off the mast after doing the repairs.
It really depends upon how much action you want and how much narrative.
This was long winded but hopefully it helps!
John
Thank you very much John, that does help a lot!
This part clarified a lot for me "[Y]ou'll need to create situations in which the Heroes have a lot of things to solve. Each of these becomes their own Risk with a series of Opportunities / Consequences for each and each of these occupies a "Round"."
I've noticed there isn't really a rule for 'some recurring consequences' (like the swinging yard arm for example) in the core rulebook but the rules are so forgiving that it's fun trying to create one.
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die..." ~ Inigo
I have used 'recurring Consequences' and Opportunities to good success in the few games I've run. In one game, there was a masquerade ball in which a fire started...there were opportunities each round to help the guests to safety (1 Raise / Guest) and a recurring Consequence to keep the flames under control. They were 'escalating 5 Raises / Round' and each Raise spent by Heroes that Round reduced the escalation. If they spent double the current number of Raises of the fire it was put out completely that Round.
Great example
Thanks again!
"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die..." ~ Inigo