[REGISTER] or [LOGIN] to browse without adverts

7 posts / 0 new
Last post
Bonhumm
Bonhumm's picture
Even more questions
questions

Hello all, here's more questions for you experienced 2nd edition players that you might shed some lights on.

 

 

Question 1:

In step 8 (details) of the character CREATION section (page 163), there is a section about Reputation that states:

 

Your Hero usually earns a Reputation over the course
of play—unless you purchased an Advantage that
lets you start with some Reputation

 

I find this confusing. It seems to state that (unless you purchased a Reputation advantage) you do not START with a Reputation.... but then why is this in the character creation section of the book? Everything before AND after this part applies to new characters.

So, do we begin with a Reputation (or many if you purchase the Advantage) or not?

 

------------------

 

Question 2

 

About the 'don't call it dodge' mechanism. (page 182)

There is a whole article that seems to be saying that I can just describe how I dodged an attack (and therefore its damage) and ta-daa it's done!

There is no mechanic description whatsoever. If I can just 'magic-dodge' anything, why would I spend Raises to mitigate received damages? Do I have to roll something? Does it even take a Raise/Turn to be done?

I must be missing something here.

 

--------------------

Question 3

Why would I ever care about the Trait 'Resolve'?

From what I can figure out, Resolve do not affect in any ways whatsoever you capacity to handle damage.

So, no matter if you are a 10 years old waif with 2 points of Resolve or a 7 feet tall viking with 5 points of Resolve, you get 4 Dramatic Wounds and that's it? (yeah, there is advantages to increase that but they are unrelated to the Revolve Trait)

-------------------------------

Question 4

Wealth points.

They removed money for a vague concept like 'Wealth' units? Ok, they gave some relative value exemples for the value of a 'Wealth' (and also demonstrated they have no idea how much a horse is worth) but still:

 

How do I use 'Wealth' units for, by exemple, bribes? 

One Wealth (the value of a 'good horse') might be enough to bribe Vilanova into telling you the time of the day but what if I want to bribe a sreet urchin for some informations? Do we use fractions of Wealth? If so then how are those fractions named?  Oh wait, I know: currency!

 

------------

Question 5

I can't find any mechanics about Contested actions. If I try to push open a door and someone else tries to keep it closed at the same time, how do I resolve that?

 

------------

Question 6

Is it just me or I can really kill Captain Reis in 1 Round if I bring 4 pistols and roll 4 Raises?

 

 

Thank you again for any feedback you can give.

 

 

 

 

 


 

0 votes
+
Vote up!
-
Vote down!
Donovan Morningfire
Donovan Morningfire's picture

Question 1: That bit of text is probably there to cover those Heroes that do start out with the Reputation Advantage, as well as letting players and GMs know that said Advantage doesn't have to be the only means for a Hero to earn Reputation.

Question 2: What that sidebar is saying is that a Hero (or Villain) can't declare their approach for the round in an Action Sequence as simply "I dodge!"  Dodging or otherwise avoiding damage is a reactive thing, and this game wants the Heroes to be more proactive during Action Sequences.  You can still spend Raises to reduce Wounds taken from an attack or consequence, but the sidebar is trying to communicate that 'dodging' isn't going to be the only thing your Hero should be doing.

Question 3: Given that Skills are not inherently linked to specific Traits, it's quite possible for a canny player to find plenty uses for Resolve.  It can be used with Brawling or Weaponry to account for how the Hero is gradually wearing down their foe's defenses, using their stamina to simply outlast their opponent, either literally wearing them out or being patient enough to wait for their foe to get frustrated before striking.  It can be used with Athletics or Ride to account for the Hero's stamina in outracing pursuit, or their single-minded determination not let their quarry get away.  It can be used with Sailing to account for how the Hero doesn't so much avoid the effects of a bad storm while aiding in various ship-based tasks but rather simply endures what the sea throws at her.  Use it with Convince to draw out a verbal debate to the point that the other person throws up their hands in frustration that you're so resolute in your stance on an issue.  One of the great things about this system is that with a little creative thinking, you can combine Traits and Skills in some fun and unusual ways that other RPGs wouldn't allow simply because they've dogmatically tied certain skills to specific ability scores.

Question 4: Most bribes for non-nobles are going to be fairly trivial, to the poiint that it's not really going to matter, and is instead going to be accounted for in the Tempt skill roll; at most it might count as Flair and grant the Hero a bonus die.  For nobles, you can probably just generalize what the spent Wealth Points mean, though a good description might warrant bonus dice for Flair, and mechanically it'd let you re-roll one die on a social Risk as per the bottom of page 164.

Question 5: Contested actions are simply a form of Risk, and you compare the number of Raises the Hero spent on the action to the number of Raises the opposition has to spend.  For non-Villain opponents, you can probalby set a threshold similar to a consquence, or just use the Strength of a Brute Squad.  So with the example given of a Hero trying to bar a door to keep a Strength 5 Brute Squad from breaking through, you'd compare how many Raises the Hero got on their skill roll (we'll use Resolve+Athletics for this one) versus the Brute Squad's Strength.  The Hero gets 3 Raises, which means that 3 of the Brutes are kept from getting past the door, but 2 of them manage to make their way inside (exact description of how would be up to the GM, as the Brute Squad is effectively a consequence in this set up), leaving the Hero with a Strength 2 Brute Squad to deal with.

Question 6: It's possible, but the GM is free to spend Danger Points to alter the scene, or to give Captain Reis what amounts to plot immunity.  So presuming Reis doesn't cut you to ribbons after that first pistol shot, the GM could spend a Danger Point upon Reis taking that 4th Dramatic Wound and have them falling over the railing and into the sea, with the body naught to be found, and then some suitable time later have Reis reappear, fully healed and with a massive grudge against the Heroes.  Also bear in mind that what's fair for the goose is fair for the gander, and it's quite possible that a Villain could employ the same tactic on a Hero.

Dono's Gaming & Etc Blog
http://jedimorningfire.blogspot.com/

Donovan Morningfire
Donovan Morningfire's picture

Also, one thing to bear in mind is that John Wick is generally of the "small press indie gamer" mindset when it comes to the rules, and the book was written to give GMs a fair amount of flexibility in how to interpret things, preferably in favor of whatever makes the game the most fun for the GM and for the players.

This is emphatically not D&D or Pathfinder where the authors expect you as the GM to follow generally strict guidelines in terms of the rules; the current versions aren't as bad as 3.5 D&D with its "rules for everything and everything has a rule" mindset, but they do expect you to conform to a certain standard.

So there's probably going to be a lot of areas in 7th Sea where things aren't explicitly laid out or spelled out for the GM.  And that's not a bad thing, as it means you've got freedom as the GM to interpret things in the way that will be the most fun for your table.

Dono's Gaming & Etc Blog
http://jedimorningfire.blogspot.com/

Bonhumm
Bonhumm's picture

Not a big fan of strict rules either, but when you took a course of action 15 turns ago because you thought you had a solution to the problem and then find out that the GM don't agree with your interpretation, you are kinda screwed when falling from the 10th floor.

 

BluSponge blusp...
BluSponge blusponge@verizon.net's picture

Not a big fan of strict rules either, but when you took a course of action 15 turns ago because you thought you had a solution to the problem and then find out that the GM don't agree with your interpretation, you are kinda screwed when falling from the 10th floor.

Now wait, that's more about bad GMing than a bad game.  In fact, 7th Sea has a rememdy for that built in: consequences.  So in general, its really hard to pull the rug out from under a player because they know the consequences up from BEFORE they commit to the Approach.  And if the GM doesn't agree with your interpretation of an Approach, he should make it clear on the spot or add additional consequences, not screw you 15 turns later.

Unless, again, you've decided you can kill Giovanni Villanova or Captain Reis with 4 pistols and an average roll.  Word to the wise: "Are you sure you want to do that?" and any response that begins with, "Ok Cupcake..." are signs your idea is not good.

BluSponge blusp...
BluSponge blusponge@verizon.net's picture

Question 1:

So, do we begin with a Reputation (or many if you purchase the Advantage) or not?

It's an Advantage if you want to START with a Reputation.  Otherwise, the GM can award it to you through play.  

 

Question 2

There is no mechanic description whatsoever. If I can just 'magic-dodge' anything, why would I spend Raises to mitigate received damages? Do I have to roll something? Does it even take a Raise/Turn to be done?

You can spend a raise to counter a point of damage.  That's the dodge mechanic.  But you don't "dodge".  All of this is just semantics to break players from the "I hit you," "I avoid you hit" cycle.  They want you do describe it, embellish it, and otherwise make it sound cool.  But mechanically, you spend a Raise to cause a Wound ("I hit!") and a Raise to counter the Wound ("No you don't!").

 

Question 3

Why would I ever care about the Trait 'Resolve'?

Sure.  You go ahead and use Resolve as a dump stat.  That's cute.  Now watch me pile on the pressure and start calling for Resolve+Skill rolls.  I can EASILY see Resolve being used in dozens of social Risks, and not a few physical ones.  Just because you don't need it for the death spiral doesn't mean you don't need it.

 

 

Question 4

Wealth points.

Eh.  Do you want wealth accumulation to be a big goal of the heroes?  If not, this works fine.  Those minor bribes?  Just hand wave it.  You slip the bartender a few guilders and move on.  You want to buy the house a round of drinks?  Ok, that costs 1 Wealth point.  You want to bribe the Duke of Charouse?  Yeah, that's at least 1 Wealth.  You need a new sword because the BBG took yours?  1 Wealth.  It's very abstract, but it does work.

Rather than messing with fractions, just multiply everything by 10. I'd HIGHLY recommend this for pirate games where things like shares and carousing are issues.

 

Question 5

I can't find any mechanics about Contested actions. If I try to push open a door and someone else tries to keep it closed at the same time, how do I resolve that?

It really comes down to this: whoever wants something more bids more raises.  If someone every bids ALL of their raises, they win; unless both parties bid ALL of their Raises.  Note that if a Hero (or Villain) bids ALL of his Raises on a Goal, the Villain (or Hero) is free to spend his Raises on other things (like messing with the opposition).

 

Question 6

Is it just me or I can really kill Captain Reis in 1 Round if I bring 4 pistols and roll 4 Raises?

Nope.  First, it's Captain Reis, so f**k that.  Second, Guard brutes, because no.  Third, hello Syrneth force field, because it's f**king Captain Reis.  Fourth, I'm going to spend a Danger Point on that to make Raises cost 15 because...you know.  You know what, let's make that 2 danger points and Captain Reis' first raise to cause Pressure, because...again.  So now you have 2 Raises and have to spend 1 of those to overcome pressure, only to have a brute jump in front of your bullet.  Now pardon me while Reis spends a Raise to slice that brace of psitols off your chest, another to kick it over to a brute squad, and a third to command her men to set you on fire with a syrneth super soaker (see Daughter of Fate novel for details).  On the next round, first consequence is the brute squad with your three remaining pistols pitches them over the side.  I'm still gonna spend a DP to knock raises to 15.  And when you get that second shot off, I'll spend a Raise to either soak that wound with my Syrneth force field (I'm sorry, you can't find that in the books?  It's Captain f**k'n Reis!) or have another of my loyal brutes take a bullet for me – just to keep you guessing.  Oh, and the duelist?  He's still pissed because I spent a raise to cleave his sword in two with my syrneth crescent blade.

So no.  You can't kill Captain Reis with 4 pistols and 4 Raises.  Not if the GM is doing his/her job.

(I could also be a real jerk and just keep slicing the pistols in half each time you spend a raise to pull one.)

(Sorry, I don't mean to come off as snide with that response.  Yes, all things being equal you should be able to do 4 DW with 4 guns and 4 raises.  But villains don't play fair and neither should you.  Being conservative, Reis should be a 20 dice villain (10 Strength/10 Influence), and should on average be sitting on10 Raises in a round PLUS the crew, including a half dozen+ minor villains in the mix.  In that scenario, good luck getting off 4 shots.  And while the Syrneth force field isn't specifically canon, I'd use it anyway because it's Captain Reis!  You don't get to 10 influence letting pirates take shots at you.  So if your players are going to take a run at Reis because they've analyzed the game system and believe they've found a weakness, they deserve what they get.)

edit: if you want to be "fair," that syrneth force field needs a Danger Point to activate it.  But I'd just rule it counters a Dramatic Wound with a Raise because its Captain Reis.  ;)

Harliquinn Whit...
Harliquinn Whiteshadow's picture

Question 1:

So, do we begin with a Reputation (or many if you purchase the Advantage) or not?

It's an Advantage if you want to START with a Reputation.  Otherwise, the GM can award it to you through play.  

One of the things I tend to reward players with a lot (besides XP) are "Local Reputations". So if the group spends a few sessions in Eisen, clearing away a monster for the small towns, instead of just giving out "Reputation" on a grand scale, I give out Local Reputation (Eisen): Brave {You could make it a smaller area if it's likely the heroes will be back}. This gives out some tangible non-XP, non-wealth rewards that can help breathe life into certain areas of the game.

 

 

share buttons