<I want to give you guys a quick summary of RPGs in general, the 7th Sea specifically and how

Ill
run it even more explicitly. I managed to get it down to nine pagesbut remember the actual book is
up over 300 pages, so its about as bare bones as I could make it. Explaining how to use Roll20
features will be the hardest part. Im didnt attempt that here. Hopefully, Iand some of the
experienced players that I hope joincan explain those things as we play in the first sessions.>
RPGs in general: If you are joining me and are a true rookie who hasnt played before, just think of RPGs
as collaborative storytelling with rules. Dungeons and Dragons is arguably the first and most famous RPG.
Most everyone has at least heard of it. It is currently in its 5th edition. In its current form it is considered
rules light. Games you may have heard of like Pathfinder or Traveler are considered rules heavy or
crunchy. We will be playing 7th Sea which is rules light, believe it or not and Ill be running it very fast
and loose even within those rules. If we end up with a player who is a rules lawyersomeone who knows
the rules in intimate detail and likes keeping things officialwell let him or her correct us. Otherwise, we
wont get too bogged down with them.
<flavor stuff: > What is 7th Sea?
Basically, its like Pirates of the Caribbean. The setting is an alternate version of the 1600-1700s Europe,
but magic and monsters exist.
There are many hooks or motivations for our characters to adventure in this world the book gives
lots of details, but Ill just give the headings: Swashbuckling and Sorcery, Piracy and Adventure,
Diplomacy and Intrigue
This hook is important for flavor so Ill leave it intact:
Archology and Exploration: Beyond the kingdoms of Theah lie the ruins of an ancient civilization, lost
centuries ago. Hidden beneath thousands of years of dust and the waves are vast cities of Lost Syrneth. Who
knows what ancient treasures remain, unseen by human eyes, untouched by human hands? Men and women
who call themselves archeologists are hired by the kings and queens of Theah to unearth these treasures
and bring them back to noble hands. Daring the perilous ancient ruins, these men and women are all the rage
in the noble courts and the subjects of romantic novels all across the land. Praised as heroes, they hope to
discover the secrets of the Syrneth in hopes that they may uncover the key to mans own origins, and
possibly the secrets of the universe itself.
The world were playing in is also important so Ill leave those details as well:

Thah
Theah is the continent where all the action of 7th Sea takes placea continent with many similarities to
17th century Europe. Shes ruled by a series of nation-states, which bear cultural and historical similarities
to particular European nations on Earth. While she isnt Europes twin sister, she is certainly a distant
cousin, which should make Theah more familiar and learning about her culture and history easier. There are
some important differences, however.
Sorcery: Sorcery is a very real power in Theah. Sorcery is powerful and dangerous, each type demanding
its own unique cost. It is a discipline that not all can, nor should, attempt to master, but when its power is
harnessed, it can change the fate of nations.
The Vaticine Church: Theahs principal religionthe Church of the Prophets, or Vaticine Churchhas
many elements similar to European Catholicism, but also some key philosophical differences. Aside from a
slightly different iconography, the Church embraces science as a means of understanding the Creators
world, and encourages the proliferation of knowledge through schools and universities. Because of its
efforts, Theans have made several scientific breakthroughs that would not occur on Earth until centuries
later. Unfortunately, the Church has a darker side, as well. Theah has only just emerged from the thirty
yearlong War of the Cross, a struggle between traditional Vaticines and a reform movement known as
Objectionism. The war involved every nation on the continent, and left the country of Eisen in shattered
pieces.
Nations: instead of races like in D&D stat bonuses come from the nations: The current nations of Theah
represent the whole of the civilized world.
Avalon: Green and enchanted, this union of three kingdoms has recently risen to the forefront of Thean
politics. +1 Panache or +1 Resolve (like the our U.K. corresponds to England)
Inismore: Inismore sits just to the west of Avalon, and while its culture may have similarities, the differences stand
out more +1 Panache or +1 Wits (part of Avalonits like Ireland in our world)

The Highland Marches: The seemingly insignificant Highland Marches have played a pivotal role on the world
stage for centuries. +1 Brawn or +1 Finesse (also part of Avalonits like Scotland)

Castille: Headquarters of the Vaticine church, this fertile nation has recently fallen under attack from the
Montaigne to the north. +1 Finesse or +1 Wits (like Spain in our world)
Eisen: A proud land recovering from a thirty-year war. A nation of veterans, Eisen is also a land of horrors
let loose by three decades of mass murder. +1 Brawn or +1 Resolve (Germany)
Montaigne: One of Theahs most powerful nations, leading the world in art and culture even as its Emperor
crushes the populace beneath his thumb. +1 Finesse or +1 Panache (France)
Sarmatian Commonwealth: Two nations bound by a single crown, it is a democratic monarchy where all
people are equal, even kings. +1 Brawn or +1 Panache (Poland)
Ussura: A Nation torn between traditional isolationism and an ambitious ruler who will do anything to drag
his Nation into the future, no matter the cost. +1 Resolve or +1 Wits (Russia)
Vestenmannavnjar: A Nation of raiders and warlords who conquered the worlds economy by hammering
their swords and spears into coins. +1 Brawn or +1 Wits (Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark)
Vodacce: The former cradle of civilization, now split between seven merchant Princes whose complex
schemes reach every corner of the world. +1 Finesse or +1 Resolve (Italy)

Secret Societies
The Nations are not the only powers influencing Theah. There are many more clandestine organizations
not beholden to nationality or religionthat move Thean politics, some unnoticed by even the most
observant scholars and statesmen. We wont do much with these yetif ever.
<This section is important its about stats and how to use them. 7th Sea has its own terminology that
can get confusing. Ill try to make it better>
When you want to take an action in this game it is called rolling for a RISK. All risks should have
CONSEQUENCES for failure. Some risks will have OPPORTUNITIES. If an action has no consequence
for failurethen its not a risk and the hero can perform it as she likes.
First well talk about Traits (the first stat that you use to build a dice pool. I included a D&D equivalent for
those new to 7th Sea)
Traits <just like D&D attributes except there are only five categories in this game>
Traits describe how quick, nimble, strong, resilient and charming your Hero is. Each trait has a rank: to
show how good your hero is at using the trait. Traits are typically ranked from 2 to 5. The higher the rank,
the stronger that characters trait. Your Hero has five traits. Lets take a look at each one.
Brawn is a Heros strength and physical power. <like D&D strength>
Finesse measures his coordination and agility. <like D&D dex>
Resolve is a Heros willpower and endurance. <like a combo of Wis/Con in D&D>
Wits measures how quickly a Hero thinks on his feet.<like a combo Wis/Int in D&D>
Panache is a Heros charm and personal magnetism. <like D&D Charisma>
*Every character will start with two points in each trait. You can then distribute 2 more points among
the traits any way that you like. Your nation provides you with one more bonus to one of the traits. 2
across the board + 2 however you like + 1 from your nation= 13 points in all.
Now, well talk about Skills (the second stat that you use to build a dice pool.)
Skills <These are the specific things that your character has been trained to do>
Skills represent training and education your Hero has gained in his past. Skills are things like diplomacy,
ride, or warfare. Like traits, skills have ranks. The higher a skills rank, the stronger that skill is. Skills
also help your Hero overcome difficulties and dangers, and are often added to traits. <example: you want
to punch a guy. You are strong so you add Brawn and Brawl together to make a dice poolmost of
these are common sense and you would use the skill + trait of the highest rank>
Where do you get your skills? Your skills initially come from the background that you choose. Your
background is what you did before you decided to become an adventurer. Every character chooses two
backgrounds. Every character receives one rank in each of the skills listed in her backgrounds. If one of
your backgrounds gives you a duplicate skill that means that you get to add an additional rank in that skill.
Some backgrounds are exclusive to the nation that your character is from. You also get 10 additional skill
points to distribute however you like. Beginning heroeslike ours--can have a maximum of 3 ranks for
any skill.
<Example: I chose Mercenary background and Performer backgroundboth have athletics skill, so I
get two ranks in athleticswhen I distribute my ten skill points I could put one more rank in athletics
bringing my total to three ranksthats as athletic as I can be for a beginning character. I have nine
skill points left>
Higher ranking skills get bonuses: With three ranks I would be able to reroll any single die when making
a risk (dice pool) that uses said skill.
Well take a brief detour and further discuss BACKGROUNDS: In addition to skills, backgrounds also
give the hero ADVANTAGES and QUIRKS. Well talk about quirks later, but for now lets look at the
advantages. Advantages are things that a commoner will never be able to do. Advantages have a point value
listed in the rulebook. If you choose backgrounds with duplicate advantages, you may exchange that
duplicate for a new advantage of equal point value. All of the advantages from your two backgrounds are
free. You get an additional 5 points to spend on other advantages. An Advantage with the Knack tag
requires a Hero Point to activate, but no Raisesmeaning that it doesnt take an Action, even though it is
probably activated on your turn. An Advantage with the Innate tag can only be selected at Hero Creation.
Now, back to Making a Risk: The dice pool simplified. Hopefully, you know a lot about traits and skills by
now. We can add those two stats together to roll our dice pool. Which they call making a risk. All you do is
take the two most relevant stats and add them together: 1 trait + 1 Skill. There are more modifiers to come,
but well stay simple for now. Example: Im punching a guy again so Im going to use Brawn + Brawl. I
have three ranks in each. That means I roll six 10-sided dice which is abbreviated 6D10. Lets say I roll and
get (10, 1, 5, 7, 4, 5) every set of ten means one success which is called a RAISE. In this example I can
make 3 raises. (10=1 raise, 5+5=1 raise, 7+4= 1 raise) I finish with one die (the 1) left over. Since I have
three ranks in brawl I can choose to reroll the 1. I reroll and get a 5. Not enough to make a raise, so its a
left over die. That leftover can be purchased by the GM for a HERO POINT the GM gains a DANGER
POINT for making the purchase (1 leftover die = 1 hero point for the player and 1 danger point for the GM.
The transaction is at the GMs option) Well talk about those points later.
Now that you know how to Make a Risk well talk about when to make the risk and more possible
modifiers. In the 7th Sea there are three distinct times to make risks:

GENERAL RISK: A single character wants to try something. If you play D&D this is very similar to a
skill check. The book example is escaping a burning building. The hero gives his INTENTwhat he wants
to dowhich is to escape the building. The GM gives the CONSEQUENCEwhat will happen to the
character should he take the actionin this case two wounds. The GM in this case comes up with an
OPPORTUNITYsomething extra the character can benefit fromin this case the character being able to
grab a secret document before escaping the fire. The GM determines the player should make his risk pool
from Finesse (2) + Athletics (3) lets look at some modifierspretend its the first time the character used
the Athletics skillthat would give him another + 1 to the die poolpretend that the player gives a good
descriptionthis mechanic is called FLAIRand it too can add +1I can also add a +1 to my die pool by
spending a hero point on myselfone of my colleagues can help me by spending one of his hero points on
methats worth a +3! So, in my example I now have a die pool of (2+3+1+1+3= 9D10) I roll 9D10 and
unfortunately, I only get 3 raises (successes)the GM and player trade leftover dice for hero/danger
pointsso, I now use the 3 raises to resolve the risk. It takes one raise to complete my intent of escaping the
burning building2 raises leftI could negate both wounds and lose my opportunity or I could negate one
wound, accept the remaining wound and grab the secret documentthere are still other options to consider
such as using 1 raise to create an opportunity for another player.
Next well look at how the book describes options for using raises.
You use Raises to take Actions, overcome the Consequences, take advantage of Opportunities, create
Opportunities for other Heroes, and inflict Wounds on other characters. On any given Risk, you can spend
your raises a number of ways. Here are the most important: A single Raise spent to take an Action
ensures that you do what you set out to doyour Hero succeeds. Raises spent to Overcome the
Consequences reduce the side effects, collateral damage, and harm to you caused by the Risk. Raises spent
to take advantage of an Opportunity mean your Hero gains the benefit of whatever benefit the
Opportunity offered you. Raises spent to create a new Opportunity means your Hero sets the stage for
another Hero to benefit from her action later. Raises spent to Inflict Wounds cause 1 Wound per Raise
spent to a character within reach of your Hero.

There are three more game mechanics that take away raises. IMPROVISINGthat means changing your
stated intentand UNTRAINED SKILLSthat means using a skill for which the character has no rank.
Using either of these mechanics will cost the hero one raise. Finally, PRESSUREthis is when a hero or
villain uses a skill to force a someone to act in a certain waycharm, coerce, convince etc.it costs an
extra raise to overcome the pressure and regain free will. Villains can put pressure on all of the heroes at the
same time.

The next risk type well talk about is the ACTION SEQUENCE. It is different from a regular risk because
all of the heroes and villains will be acting at the same time. This is mostly for combat, but there are also
possible environmental dangers/consequences/opportunities happening all at once. To start with you will
state your intent just as with a general risk. EXAMPLE: because they are my highest stats Ill choose
finesse (3) + weaponry (3) to begin my risk pool. I can still add the various modifiers for: first time use,
flair, my hero point, one colleagues hero point and any other that are applicable. Well pretend I wound up
with 8D6 to roll and ultimately made 4 raises. This initial number of raises (4) is effectively my initiative
score in D&D termsanyone with > 4 raises will be able to take his or her action before me. VILLAINS
win ties. THE BRUTE SQUAD always goes last. In this example I have four raises which I can spend
throughout round 1. I will pretend that I go first. I could spend all four raises inflicting 4 wounds to a
villain or to the brute squad or I could spend all four raises on a specific actionsince Im going first I
know that at least one wound is getting through and I know that if I spent everything on one action it will
succeed because the rest of the combatants dont have the raises to match or surpass mineOn the other
hand, I could hold raises in reserve. I may not want to spend everything at once. I may spend one raise to
inflict one wound/attempt a specific action/create an opportunity for my colleague and hold on to the others.
Why would I want to do that? For defense. 1 raise = 1 wound. If I spend all of my raises attacking, I wont
have any raises left to defend with. EXAMPLE: Its the beginning of an action sequence. I end up with
four raises again, and surprisingly I have the most and go first. I choose to use 1 raise to inflict one wound
on the brute squadtaking their strength down to four. For the brute squad the number of wounds that they
can take as well as the number of wounds that they can give = number of members in the squad. My raise
took them from a strength five down to a strength 4. The brute squad always acts last and never blocks
woundswith specific exceptions. Like in D&D specific beats general. I now have 3 raises left in the
round. The villain rolled three raises at the start of the round. Since villains win ties it will be his turn now
and he can spend any or all raises taking his actions. Lets say he spent 1 raise and attempted to give me one
wound. I use a raise to block that wound. I am now down to 2 raises for the round and so is the villainthe
villain would win the tie once againBUT my colleague also rolled 3 raises at the start of this roundits
now his turn and he gets to take his actions using any number of or all of his raises. The round continues
using this sequence until everyone has used all of their raises. At this point the remaining brute squads will
take their actions. Brute squads will always deliver a consequence of wounds equal to the number of
members in the squad. In this case all damage goes to a single hero. At the end of the round we will gather
dice and create new risk pools for round 2.
TIME LIMITS: A game mechanic that can take place during an action sequence is the time limit. The GM
will set a time limit at a number of raises. EXAMPLE: The barrel of gun powder will explode at 2
raiseswith a consequence of 4 wounds and 1 dramatic wound for everyone in rangethis would mean
once everyone is down to 2 raisesthe time limit is up and everyone left in range would take the
consequences.
WOUNDS AND DRAMATIC WOUNDS: Everyone marks their wounds on the DEATH SPIRAL.
Generally, characters have space for 4 normal wounds **** followed by one dramatic wound * This
sequence can be followed four times before the hero becomes helpless. However, specific beats general,
some characters have an increased death spiral, and some weapons can inflict dramatic wounds right away.
It costs one raise to inflict/prevent a wound. Dramatic wounds from firearms cannot be prevented. Firearms
inflict 1 dramatic wound + the number of raises spent to inflict normal wounds. Normal wounds can be
prevented the dramatic wound cannot. Taking dramatic wounds provides benefits and drawbacks as listed
on the character sheet. At the end of a scene all normal wounds are healed. Dramatic wounds will remain for
the entire episodeunless healing is sought out. A colleague can take wounds for another player by
spending raises. The damage is not negated, but taken by the acting player instead. Generally, if a hero takes
his fourth dramatic wound he becomes helpless and may be murdered by a villain. The helpless hero still
creates a risk pool for the round, but must use a hero point to take any actions. All characters and most
villains in this game are humans. Death in the sense of outright murder must be a deliberate action. The
villain will announce that he is murdering the helpless hero and spends one danger point and all remaining
raises to do so. The murder will happen at the very end of the round. Any remaining hero can save his
comrade by spending one hero point and cashing in all of his raises. The helpless hero cannot be targeted for
murder again during that sequence.

The final risk type to talk about is the DRAMATIC SEQUENCE. This is largely dealing with Non-player
characters in a set piece apart from exploring ruins and the like. Its more for making negotiations, sneaking
into a fancy party, breaking and entering or anything like that. This is not a unique feature to 7th Sea, but
they did create game mechanics that work a little differently than they would in D&D. First, the GM sets the
scene and tells the players roughly how long the sequence will lastif the player actions go well. If
characters fail the scene can quickly turn into an action sequence. As before players choose their approach
and form their dice pools with Trait + Skill + any bonuses. You roll for raises; you can use these raises to
take actions, avoid consequences, and take advantage of or create opportunities. Here is where the
characters can safely split the partyso long as they have raisessearch for information, and even
manipulate the scene. Once the character is all out of raises he doesnt roll again in this case, but he can
continue to participate in the sequence.
Thats all for risksnow well go back and talk about HERO POINTS and the DANGER POOL. This
game mechanic allows the heroes and villains to do some special things. Its like inspiration in D&D 5th
edition, but characters will constantly be gaining and spending these points. So, how do you get the points?
All heroes start the game with one pointA Hero gains additional points when: Either he or the GM
activates his Heros HUBRIS, He chooses to say, MY HERO FAILS, His Hero acts in a way as
described by his QUIRK, or when the GM PURCHASES leftover dice from the risk pool.
Activating Hubris: Hubris comes from the ARCANA bit on your character sheet. Activating itor the
GM activating it for youusually puts you in some sort of danger, but will earn you a hero point. Arcana
also gives you a VIRTUE: is the good side of the arcana. You can activate it for the benefit listed. Virtue
also is used once per session.
My Hero Fails: the player does not roll dice and cannot spend Raises to overcome Consequences and
produce other effects.
Quirk: The quirk comes from your background. A player can earn only 1 Hero Point per session per Quirk.
Since everyone has two quirks you can earn up to 2 hero points each session.
GM PURCHASE: Talked about it before, but the GM can by any leftover dice from the risk pool. For each
die the GM chooses to buy in this fashion, you gain 1 Hero Point...and he gains 1 Danger Point.
Now what can you do with the points? Add one bonus d10 to his roll before a Risk. A player may spend
multiple Hero Points in this fashion on a single Risk. Add three bonus d10s to another Heros roll before
a Risk. This represents the first Hero helping the second in some way, even if it is only moral support; a
Hero can only accept help from one other Hero at a time. Activate a special ability on his Hero Sheet. A
player may spend multiple Hero Points on different special abilities on a single Risk. Take an Action while
Helpless. A player may spend multiple Raises on this Action, just as if they were not Helpless.

DANGER POOL: The GM has a pool of points, as well: the Danger Pool. The GM starts each game with 1
Danger Point for each Hero. Using Danger Points: Increase the total needed for a Raise by 5 for a Risk or
Round. This affects all Heroes in the Scene, add two dice to any Villains die pool*, activate a Brute
Squads special ability, Activate a Villains special ability. Murder. If a Hero becomes helpless, a Villain
can spend a Danger Point to murder that character.
* Can spend multiple danger points on this option only.

The advantages SORCERY and DUELIST ACADEMY have very detailed chapters in the rulebook. Im
not going to summarize them here, but to say that the different types of sorcery are exclusive to their nation
of origin. Only people from Eissen can use Hexenwerk and so on. Also, if you read through the sections,
theyre not that difficult. Most sorceries are activated with a hero point and a raise, and there is some cost
associated with using them. Duelist Academy gives different fighting maneuvers that a character who took
the advantage can use, and includes rules for dueling.
The last thing I will try to make sense of is STORIES. For the most part stories are goals for the individual
characters, and it will be best to begin with the ending in mind. The character should want to accomplish
something within the narrative, but more importantly, completing stories is how you level up. You can
only have one story going on at a time. These are the costs for rewards as written in the rulebook:
Skills require a number of Steps equal to the new Skill Rank. A new Rank 1 Skill only requires a single Step while
improving a Rank 4 Skill requires a five Step story.

Advantages require a number of Steps equal to their cost. A 1-point Advantage only requires a single Step while a 5-
point Advantage requires a five Step story.

Quirks require three Steps to change, allowing a Hero to change any existing Quirk to a different, or wholly new,
Quirk. You cannot have the same Quirk twice.

Arcana, both Hubris and Virtue, require four Steps in order to change. Heroes may only have one Hubris and one
Virtue each at any time.

Traits require four Steps to shift a single Rank from one Trait to another Traitso one Trait rises, and the other falls.

Traits require five Steps to increase by 1 Rank, but this can only be done twice.

Corruption requires five Steps to remove. Redemption is never easy or quick.

This is one of the games unique mechanics and it may be fun to follow each step to create the individual stories, but
we only have a limited amount of time to play. Im making the executive decision to reward each storythat is when
I think its time to level upwith five steps. You can use your five steps as you like. The costs and level caps will
remain as the book lists themEXAMPLE: traits could only level up twice and you can shift them for the cost listed
if thats what you want to do.

Finally, I copied and pasted the twenty questions from the book and removed the descriptions about how to
answer. If you have the time give a try.
1. What Nation is your Hero from?

2. How would you physically describe your Hero?

3. Does your Hero have recurring mannerisms?

4. What is your Heros main motivation?

5. What is your Heros greatest strength? Greatest weakness?

6. What are your Heros most and least favorite things?

7. What about your Heros psychology?

8. What is your Heros single greatest fear?

9. What are your Heros highest ambitions? Her greatest love?

10. What is your Heros opinion of his country?

11. Does your Hero have any prejudices?

12. Where do your Heros loyalties lie?

13. Is your Hero in love? Is she married or betrothed?

14. What about your Heros family?

15. How would your Heros parents describe her?

16. Is your Hero a gentle?

17. How religious is your Hero? What sect of the Church does she follow?

18. Is your Hero a member of a guild, gentles club, or secret society?

19. What does your Hero think of Sorcery?

20. If you could, what advice would you give your Hero?