I have an upcoming 7th sea campaign with some university friends. We are using the standard Corebook and Navigavia, an Italian expansion with new sorcery types. I wanted to play a Hexe character but there is this other sorcery from Navigavia that has some features that are thematically interesting for my Hero so I wanted to ask if, according to the rules, it was possible to mix sorcery advantages and, in a way, “multiclass”.

I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around 7th Sea as a system, and one part in particular really slows my games down:

Step 2: Consequences and Opportunities – After hearing the players’ Approaches, the GM is supposed to present the Consequences and Opportunities, including when they occur and any Time Limits.

In practice, I struggle with this step a lot. It slows down my games because I find it hard to come up with everything in advance. But then, when I read the Action Sequence Example in the rulebook, the GM doesn’t seem to front-load all the Consequences and Opportunities. Instead, it feels like they react more organically to what the players do.

So, am I misunderstanding how this is supposed to work? Should I be setting everything up in advance, or is there room to be more flexible? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi!
I was wondering - has anyone tried to perform a herculean task and create/sum up a 2nd edition timeline of Thean history? I mean, main events, wars, etc.
I know half of it is loosey goosey, the war in Eisen was over either five or twenty years ago, but it would be grand to have some kind of unified table for reference. Maybe someone tried doing that?

I recently acquired the final few books in print to get everything on this 7th Sea 2nd edition list:
Core Rulebook (2016)
Pirate Nations (2016)
Heroes and Villains (2016)
Nations of Théah Volume 1 (2016)
Nations of Théah Volume 2 (2016)
Crescent Empire (2017)
The New World (2017)
Lands of Gold and Fire (2017)
Secret Societies (2020)
Cities of Faith and Wonder (2022)
Land of 1000 Nations (2023)
Khitai (2024)

I've also backed the Kickstarter for the adventure module The Price of Arrogance.

Besides the 10 Adventures book, is there anything else currently in print for the 2E line?

Has Chaosium announced any plans for any new products for the game?

I'm looking for more ideas for moowoo tattoos. Anyone make any, or have some ideas?

I understand this is an existing product that just got translated, but my group loved L5R4, wants to try 7S, so I just finished reading it.

Spoilers:

I thought it felt a bit long, especially when there's a painful gross debuff stacking to make sure you never feel good about making progress. Doesn't seem like a suitable intro to the game since it whisks you away from home fairly fast. I have limited patience for tangled-web-of-conspiracy-who-can-you-trust scenarios just generally, so when they dropped one of those just before the home stretch I was like "ugh, no, skip".

Upsides, they seem to have thought about how to get the PCs to follow the story without feeling too railroaded, they try to give you enough about the NPCs that you and your group can understand what they want, and the art is uniformly nice.

They have a lot of sections where you can add flavor of three different types - supernatural, intrigue or progress - which seemed kind of neat. So you could get a scene like (I'm making this up)

• supernatural: a spirit attacks, if you defeat it it vanishes but [a letter] is left behind
• intrigue: the baroness sexily invites you to a game of cards, if you're debonair enough she gives you [a letter]
• progress: you find a mechanical puzzle box; if you manage to open it you find [a letter] inside

People with actual experience, what did you think?

Back with a conclusion to all my ramblings about Sophia's Daughters, and how I'm tweaking the secret society for my game! Putting it all together from Part 1 (which is here) and Part 2 (which is here):

• There was a woman named Sophia
• She was connected to the First Prophet, but otherwise very little is known about her
• The Book of Sophia and its followers were declared heretical by the early Church
• A secret society persists to this day, named after Sophia
• We want this group to have a public agenda of “empowering women”
• Their True Mission feeds into that public agenda
• In Gnosticism, Sophia is a divine feminine energy vital to mankind’s salvation

Witness Sophia is a clear reference to Mary Magdalene, and the Book of Sophia is Theah’s equivalent to the Gospel of Mary, a Gnostic Christian text that was declared apocryphal and left out of the Bible.

So What Is Sophia Daughter's Big Secret?

I think, in a post-"The Da Vinci Code" world, this kinda writes itself: Sophia was one of Theus' Prophets.

There's several ways this could be done. Sophia could have been the real First Prophet, for instance, and the man we know as the First Prophet was one of her followers who died in her stead. Sophia could have been the lover or wife of the First Prophet, and made privy to secrets only he knew - and possibly even mother to his children, as in the Jesus bloodline theory, making the "Sophia's Daughters" title literal. Maybe she just had the most complete understanding of his teachings, and upon his death, she was given a divine revelation to continue his work.

My current favorite idea is that Sophia was the twin sibling of the First Prophet. She was vital to the movement, as they were both blessed by Theus with the same divine revelations, but he was the more gifted orator. Once he died, she carried on his message, sharing the final and complete revelations to their followers in what became known as the Book of Sophia.

Ultimately, their connection could vary from game to game, and maybe the truth is forever lost to time. But the group's Big Secret is that the man who we call the First Prophet was only one part of a pair – his full message could only be revealed by combining his words with hers.

Sadly, the Sophists and their message was intentionally suppressed by the patriarchal early church – refusing to believe that a woman could have had such responsibility, they had the Book of Sophia declared heresy. The full truth of Theus’ words were lost – or would have been, if Sophia’s followers didn’t keep them alive in secret.

Until her testament is shared, mankind will never be free of division, strife, sorcery, the Syrneth and the other myriad threats of Legion.

What Was Sophia's Divine Revelation?

I'm tying this into my ideas for 7th Sea's cosmology, which I talk about here. But my idea is that, beyond just a philosophical/theological message, Sophia was given a profound key from Theus to save all of humanity: she achieved physical and spiritual access to the all-powerful 7th Sea.

My concept for the 7th Sea is one tied to lots of Gnostic and alchemical ideas, but the short version is an extrapolation of what appears in the books. The 7th Sea is the prima materia, the aether of all creation. It is the thing that both alchemists and Vaticines are looking for: a direct connection to the perfect spiritual creator.

This would be the source of SD's Elixir of Life and other potions. Like the Rose & Cross, SD have some secrets to the alchemy of the human soul, but without the words of the true Third Prophet they can never perfect it. It would require both groups to take their secrets public for anyone to crack the true spiritual secrets of divine salvation that Theus has promised to mankind. And at the moment, mankind is just not ready to hear these messages. Both groups are trying to guide humanity towards that day, unbeknownst to one another.

But even with the Book of Sophia to guide them, the 7th Sea is still a font of uncontrollable power. The Daughters only use it sparingly, otherwise they are left vulnerable to madness. And maybe that led to a splinter faction of ruthless, immortal schemers, thinking they have been blessed by Theus when they've actually been corrupted by the false secrets of Legion ...

Sophia’s Daughters True Mission:

Whether or not they began as Sophia’s literal children, Sophia's Daughters have spent centuries acting in secret, subtly influencing the shape of Theah’s history where they can, and biding their time for when the world is ready to listen to the true, complete message of the First Prophet(s). And that can only happen when the world sees women as equal to men.

This goes back to their public agenda: empowering women. “Equality for all” is great, but vague; empowering women, who are still treated as property in much of Theah, is specific and political. And it’s directly actionable in a heroic game of swashbuckling adventure.

Knocking out a chauvinist Musketeer, robbing a sexist duke and giving his money to a convent that educates girls, rescuing a woman from her abusive husband and smuggling her to safety – all of these, individually, make someone’s life better. And big picture, you’re building towards a world in which Sophia’s words will be heard, and taken to heart as truth by the Church.

What Are We Keeping:

In many ways, SD remains largely the same:

• An underground feminist organization devoted to protecting and advancing women.
• Use of soft power, manipulation and sorcery to achieve goals.
• Underground railroad to rescue Fate witches (who in turn give access to their sorcery).
• Access to secret potions, including an Elixir of Life.
• Vast information network and details records from journals, kept in a great hidden library.
• Connection to the Rilasciare through overlapping social goals.
• Connection to water (but swapping out Scrying and Bryn Bresail with the 7th Sea)

What To Cut:

• Direct link to Sidhe. I don't think it adds anything good to either group: it makes SD less independent, reducing their agency, and makes the Sidhe more knowable and benevolent than I feel they should be.

What To Tweak:

• Their intentional engineering and releasing of the White Death plague.
• The Agiotage.

I think giving the White Death an occult origin is an interesting idea, and it does give SD an interesting moral complexity that is comparable to the Bene Gesserit of Dune. But I think if I were to retain it, I would make it the product of the Agiotage, reimagined as a radicalized, villainous splinter group of SD.

With their access to powerful secrets, and the infinite unknowable 7th Sea, the Agiotage may believe themselves above the concerns of mere mortals, and be willing to sacrifice millions over centuries to achieve their goals. They've accessed the 7th Sea recklessly, thinking they've been granted revelations far beyond their timid kin. But they've truly only left themselves vulnerable to the Demiurge-like corruption of Legion. All of their eugenics-like planning is obviously callous and calls for widespread deaths, in a supposed attempt to prepare the future for the Fourth Prophet and salvation of the chosen.

What Did Sophia's Daughters Accomplish Throughout History?

One of the big accomplishments of Sophia's Daughters was, basically, the Renaissance. After the fall of the Eastern Empire, Sophia's Daughters subtly but thoroughly re-introduced a lot of classic literature and writings from the old days of Numa, which had been thought forever lost to western Theah.

In real history terms, this is the massive influx of Latin translations in the 12th century. SD can't just outright release the Book of Sophia, but they could subtly influence this wave of enlightened learning from the past by adding tidbits here and there to new translations, etc. And the growing humanist movement directly serves their cause.

Another major milestone for SD was the trial of Jenny Malone. Thanks to massive efforts on their part, a female sex worker in Avalon was found Not Guilty for killing a nobleman in self-defense - which set a legal precedent across all of Theah. This was an absolutely enormous win, and only came about after massive exertion of influence, in politics and Sorte sorcery and centuries of subtle guidance from the shadows. Women, no matter their job or their class, were no longer seen as disposable.

I think that's it?

That's the gist of my plan to make SD a better fit in my own game. It's been fun to try and hammer out so far, even with it still being a rather vague and open-ended thing - I certainly don't have new game mechanics in mind, for instance. But I'm all ears for thoughts as always!

I was wondering lately if there was a big compendium "Book for the GM" about all the lore and secrets, and what's the big picture behind the veil ?

I know there was some pretty good and half-official GM secret book in the 1st Edition and a pretty good lore behind all that happens on the front scene, but I can't seem to find anything for 2nd Ed. I really love the system and the universe so far, but a lot of changes have been made compared to 1st Ed, on a lot of different matter.

(Stop reading here if you're not GMing, I'm gonna reveal some of the few plot secrets)

The Magics do not come from an ancient pact with the devil of the first ruling families but are cut in multiple categories : the bloodline magic (Porte, Sorte), the "chosen" (Glamor, Dar Matuski, Sanderis) and the dark knowledge (Hexen, Alqemia).

In the Secret Societies, Rose and Cross and DK seems to both have the knowledge that Legion took the place of the real 3rd Prophet, and try to protect the world now about that.

I see Dieva, Matuska (and her Husband) as "cousins" of the Sidhe (like same species), same as Aztlan's gods. Talking about Aztlan, we know that it was the birth place of the Syrneth (or their biggest empire) and that they banned ancient gods with machines, somewhere in the 7th sea.

There are few more little secrets too but I feel like all this is connected to something big that could give ideas to a mega plot but I can't find what it is. So I was wondering if any of you had any ideas or even theories to share that could make for a big story.

After untold months, Backers finally gotten word on the remaining Khitai stretch goals - they have been cancelled and those of us who paid money to get undelivered items will get a refund.

I am happy that Chaosium gave us an answer but admit I am still a bit bitter that the line ended in such a way.

I'm creating an homebrew setting for 7th sea, and for Braqualia (Italy/Vodacce) I created a new kind of magic, called “Idrovisione” that work with special salt. This is the link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12uv8iSQKS85TEHsuElOqH9AJ1CklBrbpuAETyWr6p7c/edit?usp=drivesdk Tell me what you think about.

I'm going to be starting a new 7th Sea 1st Ed game on Saturday 22nd February starting at 1.00pm GMT. Sessions will be held every 2nd and 4th Saturday each month, and each session is expected to last about 3 hours.

Currently I have 3 players, so could fit another couple in the game if anyone is interested. It will be set just of the coast of the Highland Marches where a new group of islands have just appeared and all characters will be members of the Explorers Guild set to investigate.
While set in the Triple Kingdoms, characters can come from any of the standard nations (not the Crescent and not Cathay).

I will be using Roll20 for character sheets and dice rolls, as well as maps if really needed, and Discord for voice chat in session, and text chat outside of session.

If you are interested please let me know here, or send me a DM on Discord to rinto8567

I’m back with Part 2 of my long-winded ramblings on Sophia’s Daughters!

In Part 1, I outlined my complaints about the SD sourcebook – how it deviates from the initial pitch of the group, at the expense of what was, in my opinion, a more interesting premise. And since I don't want to just throw rocks, now I want to get into ideas for tweaks and changes.

If you’re looking for more alternative takes on this group, here’s a link to user Sweaty_Constant4380’s really impressive full-length sourcebook. He also tried to “keep as much to canon as I could,” which is an admirable goal. I really recommend you give it a read! Link:
http://www.guildofsanmarcos.net/phpbb/download/file.php?id=551

My own plans have some similarities, but I’ve decided to deviate further from canon. In doing so, I'm hoping to harken back to the very first mentions of Sophia in 7th Sea - references that later disappeared! But first:

What I Look For In a Secret Society:

I think Theah's secret societies all function on a very Gnostic principle: esoteric knowledge.

All of the secret societies have a "public" agenda (even if the public doesn't know they exist - it's what the players will know about them). All of them also have a Big Secret or two, which you only find out by joining. And often, that Big Secret is connected to the group's True Mission - one that serves not only to re-contextualize that public-facing agenda, but also to re-emphasize it.

The public agenda is always true, but once you know more, it becomes even more true for you, because you know the Big Secret and/or you know the True Mission. This holds from the most conservative secret society, (die Kreuzritter) to the most radical (the Rilasciare), and the most practical (Los Vagos) to the most philosophical (the Rose & Cross)

• Die Kreuzritter : serve the Church, protect her followers : protect humanity from the Strangers
• The Rilasciare : humiliate the nobility, challenge the status quo : free humanity from Dominion
• Los Vagos : help El Vago protect the innocent : there is no one El Vago, we're ALL El Vago
• Rose & Cross : set a good example through heroism : inspire mankind's spiritual apotheosis

Supporting the public agenda supports the True Mission; following the True Mission leads you to supporting the public agenda - usually via some kind of heroic swashbuckling adventure! - and so on.

The Shift of Sophia's Daughters True Mission:

Based on the initial pitch, Sophia's Daughters looks something like:

• Sophia's Daughters : support women's empowerment : ????

Their True Mission was revealed in the SD sourcebook, but in the process their day-to-day mission changed into something a lot more general. Per the book:

• "... the Daughters have continued to seek the betterment of all mankind - easing suffering, closing rifts between nations, and promoting equality among Theah's citizens."

So now it's more accurately:

• Sophia's Daughters : ease suffering, promote equality : delay the coming of the Fourth Prophet

Credit where it's due: this isn't all bad! Those two do feed into one another, and this change does make SD more versatile, in terms of a GM working them into a story.

But again, I just don't like the loss of a most specific and intriguing public agenda, and how intrinsic the Sidhe became to the group (more on them later). So I'm going to come up with a new Big Secret and True Mission for this group, which ties back to "support women's empowerment" as the public agenda.

To find those things, I'm going back to the very first references to Sophia anywhere in 7th Sea:

The Early Clues:

Like I said in Part 1, I don’t know for certain the specifics of printing details. But my copy of the Game Master's Guide (which I assume is an early printing) doesn't have Sophia's Daughters at all. What appears instead, on page 123, is a section on "Heresies” – something that is not present in later printings.

Two of these heresies are particularly relevant:

• The Hellenites, based on a priest named Helena who was excommunicated and put to death for suggesting that Theus was not male, but was beyond gender. They are mentioned as having an olive branch logo - a logo that is later used by Sophia's Daughters, in the Player's Guide on page 84.
• The Sophists, described as an early cult of the Prophets, whose text, the Book of Sophia, describes a female counterpart to Theus - and was declared apocryphal. It says that "Sophism was a highly popular cult during the early days of the Church, but died out quickly - and mysteriously."

To my knowledge, this is the only time these groups were ever mentioned in any 7th Sea books. I assume they were pulled from the lore to simplify the game setting, and Sophia’s Daughters were intended to be their replacement, or rather an evolution of the same idea.

So Who Was Sophia in 7th Sea?

Aside from the Sohpia's Daughters sourcebook, a woman named Sophia is mentioned in the Church of the Prophets sourcebook, as one of the nine Witnesses to the First Prophet.

• "Finally, there was the woman Sophia from the border of the Empire of the Crescent Moon. Her background remains shrouded in mystery, but she followed the Prophet with unquestionable devotion."

We know AEG loved an unreliable narrator situation, so I take it we're supposed to see Oracle Sophia and Witness Sophia as the same person, despite their stories being mutually incompatible (i.e. if Oracle Sophia died immediately before the arrival of the First Prophet, it's kinda hard for her to then become his follower).

Regardless, it's clear that someone named Sophia was a pivotal figure tied to the First Prophet. And she was clearly either the founder of, or inspiration for, Sophia's Daughters.

Sophia in Real-World Gnosticism:

For added context, let me quickly, badly, summarize the clear allusion being made by everything Sophia-related in 7th Sea:

In Gnosticism, Sophia is a vital female counterpart to the male divine energies, and she is tied to both the spirit of the world and the divine spark within human souls. She is connected to the creation of a flawed physical world, but wants to fix that, and her redemption is tied to humanity’s salvation and enlightenment.

More broadly, the word "sophia" comes from the Greek for "wisdom," and is the counterpart of "gnosis" meaning "knowledge."

That Was A Lot Of Rambling.

Thanks for reading! If you're not sick of this yet, in Part 3, I'll share my pitch for Sophia's Daughter's Big Secret and True Mission, which takes them back to the initial premise, and which feeds directly into "support women's empowerment" and vice versa.

PS: Quick Sidhe Sidebar!

I think there's a pretty strong reading of the SD sourcebook where the Sidhe are just fully lying and manipulating Sophia's Daughters. The part about Bryn Bresail being the true "hope" for humanity doesn't mesh with either the Sidhe's view of humans as playthings, nor the setting's overall humanistic tone and themes.

But while I think that's consistent with the setting as established, I already don't like the canon, benevolent twist of SD. Making SD into dupes, misled by immortal sociopaths, is potentially far worse!

So anyway, in my version, Sophia's Daughters will have no connection to the Sidhe. I think it only weakens both groups. But I thought I'd mention this idea, in case it inspired anyone - maybe there's a great story in helping an ancient order finally realize the truth behind a centuries-long prank!

Hi all!

I'm running a 7th Sea in an entirely homebrewed setting. I'm trying to play off of how my players want to interact with the world, which tends to be talking rather than fighting.

The problem I'm running into is that many smaller encounters, especially involving Brute Squads, don't really lean towards Panache rather than fighting. Are there ways that you have managed to homebrew non-violent encounters with suitable Consequences and Opportunities? Especially with Brute Squads?

Thanks!

I'm still making tweaks to the setting of 1st edition for my game. I started with the Syrneth, and that whole thorny "why are giant evil grasshopper-men in my swashbuckling adventure?" You can read it here if you're interested.

And for my next trick, I want to tackle perhaps the most controversial secret society of 1st edition: Sophia's Daughters!

Once again, I'm trying to keep the parts of SD I find interesting and compelling, amplify what I think works, cut the parts that I think don't fit, and polish the whole thing to unify them with the setting. So, without further ado ...

What We Were Promised:

As I understand it, Sophia's Daughters either did not appear, or were not very fleshed out, in the first printing of the 7th Sea Player's Guide. But in the revisions found in the 7th Sea Compendium, they were described as follows:

• "Sophia’s Daughters: A union of Vodacce women seeking equality and political power by covert means."

They were then added, like everything else in the Compendium, to later printings of the Player's Guide. Here are some quotes from that, the Compendium and the Villain's Kit:

• " ... they test and train young women in matters covert and clandestine, then place them next to men in positions of power — pointing them in the proper direction."
• "Each member of the society is required to keep a detailed journal, sending copies to the nunneries controlled by the Daughters, where they are assimilated and organized into their great library."
• "An abnormally high number of the Daughters are sorcerers; it is even rumored that they have rejuvenating potions to extend their members’ lives."
• "Their leadership apparently has some long-term plan that requires specific women to be around centuries beyond their normal lifespan."
• "They work within the Merchant Guilds (particularly the Jenny’s Guild) to keep women safe and help lower-class women to better themselves. They support Queen Elaine, have powerful allies in Vodacce and placed young Ketheryna in Ussura."

This all brings to mind the Bene Gesserit of "Dune," another all-female group of secretive societal engineers, with preternatural abilities and plans spanning centuries. It's an intriguing set-up with lots of dramatic potential!

What We Got:

The group as described in the Sophia's Daughters sourcebook is, frankly, entirely different than what had been suggested before.

Here, SD are revealed as the oldest secret society in Theah, as well as the most secretive, most knowledgeable and most powerful, apart from maybe NOM. They are also easily the most important group in Theah, charged with nothing less than preventing armageddon.

Key to their origin and entire identity is that they are descended from the Sidhe, and maintain a deep, intrinsic connection with their progenitor, the Lady of the Lake. This was never before hinted at, and it is despite the Sidhe generally viewing humans as "occasionally fascinating playthings." And SD's new, Sidhe-influenced mission is to prevent the return of the Syrneth and the coming of the Fourth Prophet, two separate but linked events, which are both apocalypse scenarios for humanity.

And like I said, they're extremely powerful. Setting aside talk of game mechanics (particularly both version of the Scrying sorcery), just in terms of story: SD have agents everywhere, including Cathay and the Crescent Empire. They can spy on anyone, at any time, including the past and future. They still make frequent use of Bargainer sorcery, despite knowing it empowers their enemies. And they intentionally released the White Plague, killing millions ... but only to stave off the even-worse plan of their occultist nemeses.

Very different that the initial pitch, to say the least.

Why I Think That's Bad (and Even Worse Than You Might Think):

Listen, I genuinely don't like throwing around the term "Mary Sue." Yet that is certainly the vibe I get from Sophia's Daughters as presented in this book.

But the even bigger flaw, IMO, is that all of the above doesn't add to the initial pitch of a proto-feminist group fighting for equality in an inherently sexist 17th century. It completely replaces it.

The members of Sophia's Daughters are mostly women. This is not for any ideological reasons (more on that in a second). It's because the group is largely Sophia's descendants, who are mostly women. And only those women can access the magic of their bloodline. But actually, if an all-female group bothers you, the Sons of Lugh have their own, male-only bloodline with male-only magic.

So unlike every other secret society, members of SD are not really recruited - they're born into a secret magical family, and pressed into a secret magical war. And since their mission is so specific, and yet so vague (save the world and, like, be good), unlike every other secret society, they actually have no ideology, in any meaningful sense. The other secret societies all have clear political aims; Sophia's Daughters, originally one of the most obviously political group, had theirs removed.

The Jenny's Guild is important to them, but not because sex work can be inherently exploitative of women if run by men. It's because prostitutes are good spies. Fate Witches should be rescued, in part because they're glorified slaves in gilded cages, but mostly because their sorcery is really useful. Helping women like Queen Elaine reach and maintain positions of power is good, partly because they're capable or just leaders, but mostly because that gives SD more access to that power. They're all merely a means to an end.

Beyond the quirk of their gender-exclusive hereditary membership, their utility as agents or pawns, and a generic commitment to an "equality is good" moral system? Women actually aren't very important to Sophia's Daughters.

So What Happened?

We know the 7th Sea line went through a few different lead writers, and plans often changed. So I certainly don't think the "magically beautiful descendants of elves who know every secret and have every power" was always the plan.

I think we ended up with what we got, in part, because Sophia's Daughters was the last of the Secret Society books to be released, and the authors succumbed a bit to power creep. You've got to give players a reason to buy your new sourcebook, right?

Moreover, I think the writers ultimately succumbed to the fear that tabletop gamers - often an overwhelmingly male group, especially back then - just wouldn't be interested in a mostly-female secret society that is devoted to feminism.

So, I think they reworked an intrinsically political organization into something far more fantastical, yet anodyne. They leaned really hard into the meta-plot (that was already a strange fit for swashbuckling adventures), and cranked the strength up to make it appealing to even the most cynical power-gamer dudebro.

How Do We Fix It?

In a truly fitting twist for an ancient secret society, I think there are clues in the ancient texts! The earliest 7th Sea books have some hints to ideas, but sadly they have since been obscured and lost to time. So in Part 2, I'll talk about what those are, and use them as a jumping off point for a new pitch!​

I'm planning on starting the Price of Arrogance soon, and just finished reading it. There are a lot of NPCs to take care of at some point (villains or heroes' side) and a lot of ways to organise the campaign.

As the title says, do you use a specific tool or software or webapp to organise your campaigns ? Like the NPCs, the links, the little stories, images etc. ? I plan on mastering on Roll20 but I feel like there would be a lack of coordination for my NPCs.

Any recommandation ?

I'm hardly the first person to say that there are some elements of the Syrneth in 1st edition that don't feel like they fit the genre or themes of 7th Sea. The Thalusai in particuar, as presented in the sourcebooks, are an existential threat to humanity, and it's easy to see them tipping the game into hard sci-fi and cosmic horror.

Meanwhile, I see this game as deeply romantic, adventurous, and above all humanistic. People do matter; even in a world of absolute monarchies, the lowest commoner deserves justice and dignity. How does that mesh with the idea of giant, conquering bug-men from beyond the stars?

So I've made a few tweaks to the Thalusai in my own game, while also trying to emphasize the Gnostic elements and inspirations, with the goal being making them antagonists on more of a philosophical or even spiritual scale. If we're going to keep the Thalusai, then every victory against them is also a symbolic victory of human courage, reason and compassion over superstition, ignorance and nihilism!

So! Here are some of my thoughts:

Framing the Syrneth as the Gnostic Demiurge

Regardless of whether or not Theus exists and is a perfect, benevolent creator being (again, as we're in a humanistic setting, I'm not all that concerned with endorsing specific dogma), the material world was ultimately created not by Theus, but by the godlike Razdhost. Despite their powers, the Razdhost were deeply flawed, and thus their creations - the Syrneth - were also deeply flawed. That means their creations the Syrneth were lacking a divine spark or "soul" like humanity has.

In turn, I see the Thalusai as a sort of edit button created by the Razdhost - taking cues from things like Marvel's Eternals and similar stories, they were designed to erase the Razdhost's mistakes, so that the material world could be improved. Rather than being grasshopper-like humanoids, I see them as being more explicitly like locusts - at their full strength, they're akin to a biblical plague, an all-consuming force.

Eventually, the Thalusai slipped their leash and destroyed all of the other Syrneth, and came close to erasing all of creation. The Razdhost managed to seal them away, at the cost of their own destruction. Despite all of their flaws, the Razdhost were ultimately well-meaning, making them comparable to Gnostic figures like the Aeons (particularly Sophia) but also elements of the Demiurge, as they were the ones who created the imperfect physical world. The Thalusai, then, take on the Demiurge's role as source of corruption, ignorance and stagnation - the fundamental flaw at the core of the material world.

The Thalusai are Legion: Here's how the Good Guys can fight them, with Gnosticism!

Cue humanity's rise, and with their divine spark (perhaps the Razdhost's parting gift?), their ability to reshape the world with enough willpower/conviction. This is shown in the Rose & Cross vow, shamanism, alchemy, Faith and Miracle Worker advantages, etc. and again speaks to the Gnostic themes of the divine human soul ascending from the prison of a mundane, flawed physical world.

The Thalusai can only destroy and corrupt - they don't have the capacity to create and discover, like humans do, nor are they interested in doing so. So their current plan is to influence and ultimately corrupt humanity - cribbing some ideas from sources like Deadlands: if enough people believe that the world is a scary, unknowable place, it will be. Instead of a world of wonder and discovery, it will be filled with dangers and monsters and suffering. Whether or not this would let the Thalusai literally destroy the universe is, again, not really in the scope of my game. But every step away from a rational, compassionate and just world is a win for them.

This positions the Thalusai/Demiurge as the source of what the Prophets called Legion: the myriad forces that pull people away from the understanding and compassion of Theus, and keeps them clinging to the flawed physical world. Superstition and ignorance are among the Thalusai's chief weapons. So science and reason are, metaphysically, powerful forces of good in this world. Explorers and inventors and philosophers are literally saving humanity, right alongside the dashing Heroes who protect the weak and the downtrodden.

How the Thalusai work

The Thalusai's Bargain with the Senators of Numa was an effort to keep humanity clinging to mysticism and fear. I see sorcery as basically a bunch of cheat codes for reality that the Thalusai stole from the Razdhost. It's not a direct key to breaking any Barrier - I don't like the idea that Heroic sorcerers are unwittingly helping monsters to escape from hell - but it is a powerful tool to keep mankind collectively in the Dark Ages. A powerful elite wielding hereditary, supernatural powers that defy explanation helps enforce a regressive, exploitative social hierarchy. And that serves the Thalusai's purposes.

Similarly, since they couldn't prevent the spread of the Prophets' faith, they shifted to more insidious means. They work to encourage corruption, decadence and dogma over faith and reason. The Third Prophet and the Inquisition were a huge win, and they've exacerbated the schisms between the Orthodox, Vaticine and Objectionists (as well as the al-Din and Yechidi faiths, which I've imported from 2nd edition). Religious fundamentalists serve the Thalusai's purposes better than almost anyone.

On a more granular level: in my game, rather than having a device that gives them the illusion of a human form, my Thalusai can possess a dead body through some infernal combination of surgery and sorcery. (I see it as less about stitching a giant bug-man into a corpse, and more like pouring their spiritual essence into a vessel.) This could also be an origin for creatures like gargoyles, griffins, sirens, Syrneth beasts and any other number of monsters - Thalusai attempts to create and/or corrupt via mad science. This also shifts die Kreuzritter into more Solomon Kane-style monster/witch hunters, a subtle change that I personally really like.

Alchemy and the 7th Sea

Finally, I've framed the mystical 7th Sea itself as being the prima materia referred to in alchemy: the untapped aether of all creation. This was the power wielded by the Razdhost, and envied by the Thalusai; if humans could unlock its power, it could become both the Philosopher's Stone and Elixir of Life. But humanity as a whole is not yet far enough along in the Great Work to do so - the Rose & Cross are only just starting to learn the basics. Brief exposure to the 7th Sea grants visions; prolonged exposure causes madness. Some Syrneth devices tap into this energy (such as the great Syrneth engines in the Erebus Cross adventures), which is what makes them so profoundly dangerous.

The Blood Alchemy of the Invisible College is tapping into this power in a roundabout way - as its powered by sorcery, which were distilled secrets stolen from the Razdhost, there is a tenuous link to this all-powerful fifth element. But as it came from the Thalusai, it is ultimately tainted and won't ever reveal the true secrets of the universe. And much like the waters of the 7th Sea, it ultimately causes madness.

The End!

Whew! That was a lot, but typing it all out helped me organize my own thoughts. I hope anyone else finds something similarly useful or interesting, and I'm all ears for your thoughts!

Usual caveats when asking rules questions:

• John Wick is generally a little bit of a vague rules-writer, so it’s not always useful to approach the rules as one would a legal text.
• The Core Book itself expressly tells us that it’s about “Rulings, Not Rules.” So do whatever works best for your particular game.

That said, I’m asking 1) how do you think the following rules are intended to be used, and 2) how do you run it in your particular games?

The question is:
After a losejas has invoked a Major Favor or a Minor Favor they have not specifically purchased, and is still currently working on (and not yet completed) the task to repay the Favor… are they still allowed to invoke their purchased Minor Favors since they are part of the initial bargain they made with the demon?

I'm fully certain that the losejas cannot ask for an additional Major Favor or Minor Favor that they have not purchased until they complete the outstanding task. But the original Minor Favors have already been paid for, so to speak... so I'm inclined to think they would still be allowed. I'm curious for other opinions.

Pertinent excerpts from the CORE BOOK p.223 - 224:

DEALS

The losejas selects two Minor Favors for any Deal her dievas has, and can always invoke those Favors by spending a Hero Point. […] The bargain she made with the demon includes these minor Favors.

If the losejas wants to make a Minor Favor that they have not purchased, they can spend a Hero Point (and a Raise, if during an Action Sequence), to ask their dievas for such a Favor.
The typical cost for a Minor Favor that the losejas has not purchased would be something like...

• “The next time you are in Sperus, find a one-armed man named Markos. Buy him a comfortable pair of shoes.”

A dievas can always deliver a Major Favor, but it is costly.
The typical cost for a Major Favor would be something like...

• "Go to Carleon. Find Captain Horatio Oakes, of the Royal Avalonian Navy. Make certain that he loses his commission.”

If a losejas doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain, they cannot invoke any Favors (Minor or Major) until they do so.

My friends and I are planning on playing 7th Sea 2e. I was wondering if there was any consensus on what was the best adventure scenario to run. Any help would be appreciated.

I'm brand new to the game, but am an old hand at RPGs.

I am interested on getting feedback on the player stories driven advancement system. How well received by players is it, and what (if any) modifications have you made to adapt it to your table and style of play?