Commentary

Being Jon' thoughts and opinions on various things 7th Sea. I also hope to cover Reputation sometime, but I'll have to do research first (others have talked about this already). And, I hope to give a short essay why the mass combat system much better suits L5R rather than 7th Sea.

On the Traits

I feel there is a bit of confusion among 7th Sea players as to what the Traits mean. I'll present my opinion:

Brawn - This isn't just how big you are, but also how tough and sturdy. A large man may be untested by the rigors of Heroism, and therefore have a 3 or even 2 Brawn, while your damsel in distress may have learned to save her own ass, and become strong, wiry, and wily enough to be Brawn 3 or even 4 (a Brawn 5 damsel probably had enough meat on her to never get in distress in the first place).

Finesse - This does not mean "Dexterity" or "Agility;" it means "Finesse." Someone with good Finesse can still be big and klunky or old and deliberate, but what counts is that their actions come off smoothly, as intended. Note that Fezzig is described as being a champion wrestler, and learned to quickly and firmly grab ahold of his opponents, something requiring Finesse.

Wits - this has nothing to do with Intelligence, Reason, or even Insight; this is entirely how quickly you think on your feet. A dull country boy may still have a high Wits, while many an absent-minded genius is known for slow reaction times. It is occasionally used as a default "mental Trait" out of necessity, but such circumstances should be minimized. Perhaps using a Knack as the Trait, instead of a Trait could help solve this (for instance, roll Tinker+Haggling to lower the price of a contraption, or Disguise+Fashion to pose as a foreign diplomat, etc. and so on).

Resolve - I think most people understand this one. It's probably the only one that fits into the classic Attribute spread. It just means your resistance to various temptations and compulsions, and shear verve of spirit.

Panache - Possibly the reason I wrote this section. I have seen so many people describe Panache as "the Initiatve Trait" that I want to scream. This has nothing to do with speed! Panache is pivotal to initiative simply because 7th Sea is a cinematic game, and everyone knows the cooler people always go first. A character with a high Panache should also have a high Cool factor. Of course, a character can be compelling or just plain cool and still have a low Panache; this represents a certain social ineptitude or lack of confidence (his cool factor probably comes from our observation of him as players).

Dumb Rule Revisions

Dumb Rule	Revision
Swordsmen trying to take a foreign school must pay 10 extra Hero Points. (PG 118)	Foreigners must pay thrice (three times) the cost of purchasing the language of the native country for the school. Accents may alter this cost, although the Linguist advantage may not.
Eisenfaust Journeyman ability. (PG 148)	After successfully using Bind (Panzerhand), spend an action and make a roll as indicated to attempt to break an opponent's weapon.
Kick knack mechanics. (PG 154)	If using this knack to kick instead of Attack (Dirty Fighting), add +1k0 to damage for successful attacks. During the combat phase that a character uses the Kick knack, his Passive Defense is 5. (It's essentially a Lunge/Uppercut for Dirty Fighting)
Aging mechanics (GM 167)	Characters must buy the Age and Wisdom advantage from the Invisible College book in order to obtain the benefits and penalties of aging. Additionally the penalties are measured in Raises, and the benefits are measured in Free Raises.
Kept Die penalties. (all over)	Change all instances of kept die penalties to rolls to unkept die penalties, except in the instance of Dracheneisen and similarly powerful mechanics.

Last updated: April 5, 2004
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