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  Introduction
  There is more to 7th Sea than sword fighting. While swash-
  buckling is a core of the game, so is interaction at court.
  Would the three Musketeers have had any adventures had
  they not become agents of the Queen and run afoul of the
  politics of Richelieu? Would the dark games of Dangerous
  Liaisons have been so devious without the civility of court?
  Could the Count of Monte Cristo have truly gained revenge
  without gaining social power?
  This book is a mixed bag of systems and details to help you
  expand on life in the courts of Théah. It adds new rules and
  abilities for courtly characters that will leave the swordsmen
  in their wake at social occasions.
  We begin with ‘The Courts of Théah’, an
  introduction to life in the Thean court.
  This article details courtly life and the
  positions and titles that can be acquired
  by the ambitious. This is followed
  by detail on fashion in Théah.
  This article helps you dress your
  characters for court and figure out
  what they are wearing and how to
  repair the sword holes. The next
  article is an optional system to
  expand reputation. The system
  has come under criticism in the
  past, so this small expansion
  should help make more sense of
  character’s renown. Then for
  the courtiers we present social
  combat rules. This system allows courtly characters to trade
  wit with deadly masters of sarcasm for reputation. However,
  take care, in Théah words can kill as surly as a blade. Finally
  we present two articles originally published in Valkyrie
  magazine, but updated and revised for this book. Délicatesse
  is a new sword school suitable for courtly ladies, and Mirage
  reveals the secrets of one of the three lost bargainers’ arts.
  So welcome to court, but take care. Every move is watched,
  every lie examined and each breach of etiquette can mean
  ruin.
  The Courts of Théah
  In the Lion’s Den
  In many of the swashbuckling tales that Théah is based on,
  the heroes are agents of the King or Queen. This is little
  wonder, when the actions of the people in court, whether
  overt of clandestine, can change the fate of whole countries.
  The courts of Théah are full of possibilities
  for adventure and intrigue. In the
  halls of power the characters can
  gain the favour of the king, or find
  a dark patron looking to depose
  him. For these reasons, life at
  court, for all it’s grandeur
  and spectacle is not for
  the feint hearted. You
  have to know the rules, or
  the consequences can be
  fatal.
  So, what actually is the
  court? Put simply it is
  wherever the country’s
  Ruler does business,
  which means it can be
  moved from place to place. If the
  King decides to spend some time in the country, the court
  follows him. However, if he wants to spend some time on
  holiday and leaves someone else in charge for a while, the
  Noblesse Oblige
  A Book of Courtly Intrigue
  The Courts of Théah
  1
  Noble Titles in Théah
  11
  You Are What You Wear
  16
  Swordsman and Socialite
  20
  Are You Speaking to Me, Sir?
  26
  The Délicatesse School
  32
  The Lost Art of Mirage
  35
  Love and Marriage
  42
  
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  court stays where it is. This means that a lot of how a court
  functions depends on the Ruler. Each King or Queen gets to
  organise things as they like. There are certain traditions, but
  a Ruler can topple them if he is powerful enough to upset the
  status quo. Each court in Théah has its own rules and organi-
  sation. Knowing one does not make you a master of them all.
  In fact, just when you get to know one, the Ruler may be
  succeeded and it all changes again. However, it is not as bad
  as it may seem, many of the basic rules of court usually ap-
  ply to them all, and many traditions remain from their com-
  mon root in Numa. So find yourself something decent to
  wear and come join the intrigue, but leave your sword at
  home, it won’t help you here.
  The Wolves and the Lambs
  So who is to be found at court? Needles to say, there is quite
  a mixture, but for simplicity we can divide them into three
  main groups. The first group are those who are actively em-
  ployed by the Ruler as courtiers. The second group are those
  who are there to get the attention of the king, to gain a posi-
  tion for themselves or to ask a favour. The final group really
  don’t want to be there, as they are the hostages taken to en-
  sure the loyalty of other nobles.
  The Ruler is the undisputed centre of the court. There are
  many different kinds of Ruler throughout Théah, Kings,
  Queens, Emperors, Princes, Imperators and many more.
  What is important is that the Ruler is the person in charge;
  their decisions are what counts and the court must bow to
  their wishes.
  Every Ruler needs help to govern, and to do this there are
  many positions they can hand out to those they trust. Few
  Rulers need to have all these positions filled in their court. In
  effect these positions are a way for a Ruler to delegate re-
  sponsibility. Such courtiers act with the Ruler’s authority,
  and can command great power under their jurisdiction. So
  the Ruler needs to know there is someone there they can
  trust. The whole thing is a bit of a catch twenty two situation
  for the Ruler. If he appoints courtiers they may betray him,
  but without people taking some of the weight of government,
  the Ruler may have no time to watch for treachery. In many
  cases the positions at court follow a set tradition, and it takes
  a powerful Ruler to overwrite such practice. Courtly position
  is one of the perks of nobility, and they get very upset should
  the lord decide he no longer needs such council.
  Most of the positions are offered only to nobility, but that is
  tradition, rather than the rule. In history, many Rulers have
  elevated low-born friends to positions of power by awarding
  them trusted places on their council. However they must be
  ready for the consequences. Few nobles like to see what they
  consider their birthright to be handed over to the peasantry.
  However it does sometimes occur, and often purely for the
  purpose of upsetting the nobility; though sometimes great
  heroes of the people can make enough of a name for them-
  selves that everyone is happy with their appointment, Mon-
  tegue being the most obvious example in Théah.
  The positions available are many and varied, but they divide
  along two specific lines. Officers of the chamber are led by
  the Lord Chamberlain, who is concerned with the ritual and
  affairs of the Ruler themselves. Some Rulers create a ‘privy
  chamber’ for their more private affairs, with only the most
  trusted officers involved. The other set of positions come un-
  der the Lord Steward and cover the dealings of the Ruler’s
  castle and holdings. This includes all the domestic affairs
  such as kitchens and organising the logistics of balls and en-
  tertainments.
  In addition to the Lord Chamberlain and the Lord Steward,
  there are a host of other court appointments. While most cul-
  tures have different names for them, the offices themselves
  are very much alike. GMs are encouraged to mix and match
  from the list below and create other titles of their own. For
  instance, a court appointed sorcerer is an obvious addition
  for Théah, as is perhaps an ambassador for the Sidhe. All po-
  sitions at court are determined by the Ruler, and often used
  as a way to keep a trusted ally close, or keep and enemy
  busy.
  Some positions may seem like servants, however almost any
  responsibility can become a court title. A Master Cook could
  be slaving in the kitchen all day, or be a noble who plans the
  Ruler’s meals and never sets foot in the kitchen. So the list-
  ing below also covers many service positions that can easily
  become offices of the court. Many positions grant more title
  
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  than responsibility, only requiring the officer to keep some
  unimportant courtly trinket safe (although losing it can often
  be considered treason). However, such a position grants the
  courtier a reason and duty to remain at court near the Ruler.
  The potential of such ability cannot be underestimated at
  court.
  The Offices of the Steward
  Lord Steward
  Also known as a Dapifer (bearer of meat to the table),
  Seneschal or Major-domo. The Lord Steward is in charge of
  all castle affairs. He is served by the domestic staff and
  charged with the responsibility of keeping the Rulers house
  in order.
  Butler
  This is the head servant, so not really a court position. He is
  charged with seeing to all aspects of food service to the
  court.
  Doorward
  This is usually a low grade ceremonial position. Essentially
  the Doorward holds the keys to the front door and acts as
  gatekeeper. He decides who gains entry to the Ruler’s house-
  hold.
  Falconer
  With Falconry a popular sport, someone needs to look after
  the birds and see they are well fed. That is the job of the fal-
  coner. This is more the job of a servant, but might become a
  noble privilege if falconry is extremely popular.
  Panter
  This servant office originated as the person entrusted with
  the supply of bread and later involved oversight over the
  pantry. Ultimately the butler subsumed this function.
  Treasurer
  Also known as Cofferer or Comptroller. Served by various
  officer and clerks, the treasury organises all the finances of
  the court as well as making any disbursements required. This
  officer controls the purse strings and is usually a highly
  trusted member of the Ruler’s council.
  The Offices of the Chamber
  Lord Chamberlain
  This is possibly the closest advisor to the Ruler. He organ-
  ises courtly routine and sees to the business of statecraft. He
  is usually head of the privy chamber as well, and will be very
  offended if he isn’t. Such a state would show the Ruler trusts
  him with ritual rather than advice. A powerful Chamberlain
  is the master of court, often able to decide who does or does
  not see the Ruler. Many Chamberlains have grown fat on the
  bribes from the nobility that such an immense power can af-
  ford. The amount of actual titles under the chamberlain’s de-
  partment varies depending on how ritualised the court is.
  Françoise-Claude Noveau du Riché
  Lord Steward to King Montegue I
  Since many of l’Empereurs retainers either died in the Revolution
  or fled to Wische, Montegue needed to restaff the Palais on his re-
  turn to power. Francoise formerly worked for the Duke of Crieux,
  although he left his service well before the fall of the family. Hav-
  ing become used to the lifestyle of serving the rich and powerful,
  he welcomed the restoration of the noble classes and sought out a
  position in Charouse. Following a recommendation from a mer-
  chant friend, he has now become the head of the Montegue house-
  hold and the duty is testing his capabilities to the fullest. The King
  has proven to be a fairly easy master to deal with so far, preferring
  to do many tasks for himself and lacking the spoiled nature of
  most of the other Montaigne nobility.
  Françoise-Claude Noveau du Riché - Hero ( 7th Sea™ )
  Brawn 2, Finesse 3, Resolve 3, Wits 3, Panache 4
  Reputation: 43
  Background: Fear (Peasant Crowds), Hated Relative
  Arcana: Adaptable
  Advantages: Avalon (R/W), Barterer, Castille (R/W), Connections
  (Merchant Ally), Eisen, Keen Senses, Linguist, Montaigne (R/W),
  Théan (R/W), Vodacce
  Courtier: Dancing 1, Etiquette 4, Fashion 4, Gossip 4, Oratory 4,
  Memorising 3, Politics 4, Seduction 2, Sincerity 4
  Fencing: Attack 1, Parry 1
  Firearms: Attack 1
  Merchant: Steward 5, Haggling 4
  Rider: Ride 3
  Servant: Etiquette 4, Fashion 4, Menial Tasks 4, Unobtrusive 5,
  Accounting 3, Drive Carriage 3, Gossip 4, Haggling 4, Seneschal
  5, Valet 5
  Spy: Shadowing 3, Stealth 3, Bribery 4, Conceal 4, Lip Reading 4,
  Sincerity 4
  Streetwise: Socialising 3, Street Navigation 3, Shopping 4
  Françoise-Claude Noveau du Riché - Hero ( d20™ )
  Montaigne Courtier 5 / Spy 2 / Expert 4: CR 9
  
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  The Dean
  While it is not the most important religious post in the
  Ruler’s palace, this can be of great influence. The Dean in
  the local priest who looks after whatever chapel may be part
  of the palace grounds. He won’t be a bishop or anything
  grand as they have other duties. He is no higher than a local
  parish priest, although his parish is a little more important. If
  Vaticine it may be this priest that hears the Ruler’s confes-
  sion, but this is unusual as the Ruler would more likely go to
  a higher cleric. However, as minister to the congregation of
  the court, the Dean is in a position to know many secret con-
  fidences.
  Keeper of the Jewels
  This office sees to any royal jewels, such as the crown of the
  land for instance. Not only are such royal treasures important
  in statecraft, but they are usually unfeasibly valuable. The
  amount of them and value reflects the power and wealth of
  the Ruler and the country. The keeper himself wouldn’t be
  standing guard, but he will be responsible for setting guards
  and organising shifts. It is possible he may also have respon-
  sibility for palace guards, but that may be more under the
  auspices of a Lord Marshall. In some countries the royal
  jewels might be a couple of simple items. In other places,
  like Montaigne where you need several rooms to house the
  royal jewels, some require a specific ‘Jewel House’ for these
  precious items. If the jewels are stolen it is the responsibility
  of the Treasurer of the chamber to get them back, or suffer a
  terrible punishment. In Innismoor the O’Bannon has lost his
  crown on numerous occasions making ‘The Ballad of Bal-
  latyne’, the story of the poor keeper and his adventures try-
  ing to find the crown, a popular Innish folk tale.
  Treasurer of the Chamber
  This treasury position is the counterpart to the Cofferer in
  the Steward’s domain. While he does not see to the Ruler’s
  personal finances, this office makes disbursements for any of
  the offices under the Chamberlain. This makes him responsi-
  ble for paying the staff as well as footing the bill for royal
  pomp and ceremony. He may share some responsibility with
  the Keeper of the Jewels, as wherever the Jewels are kept is
  secure enough to keep the chamber treasury.
  Physician and Surgeon
  Even the greatest Ruler falls ill sometimes. When a doctor
  can hold the life of his patient in his hands, the job of who
  looks after the Ruler is an important one indeed. Many have
  been killed for failing to preserve the life of their liege, even
  when there was no way to save them. However, should a
  doctor gain the trust of a Ruler he often becomes a confi-
  dant, especially as he needs to know all the embarrassing de-
  tails of the Ruler’s life to ensure the correct treatment. Some
  Rulers surround themselves with doctors, others will have
  only one. Some Rulers also have the greatest doctors they
  can find to look after their mistresses, or even their dogs.
  Chancellor
  Essentially a chancellor is a secretary, or ‘head civil servant’,
  usually to a powerful monarch. However, the court can be
  littered with various chancellors, who all have secretarial du-
  ties to one of the many offices of the court. The power and
  prestige of the individual chancellor can be very varied. It
  depends entirely on the office in which he serves. Whoever
  serves the Ruler is best placed as an advisor and confidant.
  He may also be referred to as ‘the’ Chancellor, rather than
  Sir John Deeth
  Court Physician to James MacDuff
  Many disapprove of the position of the half-Avalon half-
  Highlander in the court of James, but few can argue with his medi-
  cal knowledge and skill. He is also a keen researcher and natural
  philosopher, although some critics say that his interests are more
  akin to witchcraft than the modern sciences. Certainly some of the
  techniques he has demonstrated during lectures in Kirkwall can be
  charitably called unorthodox and many do ask where from did he
  learn some of the ideas he espouces.
  Sir John Deeth - Hero ( 7th Sea™ )
  Brawn 2, Finesse 3, Resolve 4, Wits 5, Panache 3
  Reputation: 21
  Advantages: Avalon (R/W), Castille (R/W), Membership (Invisible
  College), Montaigne (R/W), Patron, Research Library, Spark of
  Genius (Medicine), Théan (R/W), University
  Background: Contentious Theory
  Doctor: Diagnosis 4, First Aid 5, Densist 2, Examiner 2, Quack 5,
  Surgery 5, Veterinarian 2
  Herbalist: Compounds 5, Cooking 3, Diagnosis 4, First Aid 5,
  Flora 5, Poisons 3, Quack 5
  Professor: Oratory 4, Research 5, Writing 3, Mooch 3, Natural
  Philosphy 5, Theology 2, Occult 4
  Knife: Attack 3, Parry 2, Throw 2
  Pugilism: Attack 2, Footwork 2
  Rider: Ride 4
  Sir John Deeth ( d20™ )
  Avalon Alchemist 8 / Courtier 2 / Field Surgeon 5; CR 15
  
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  just ‘a’ Chancellor. The remaining chancellors are the civil
  servants working among all the other departments, hoping to
  graduate to more powerful offices. Essentially, anywhere
  there is paperwork, you will find an academic Chancellor
  working to support the office. There is no formal structure to
  the work, so only ones who prove themselves can find pro-
  motion to higher office at the whim of the Ruler.
  There are two offices that deserve a mention, by way of ex-
  ample. The office of wardrobes, robes and beds organises the
  massive amount of ceremonial regalia used in statecraft. It
  oversees everything from the Ruler’s bed linen to his day
  wear. The office of Arms and Heraldry records the deeds of
  the noble families and their coats of arms. In Avalon espe-
  cially this is a renowned office, even if it isn’t that exciting.
  However, in the Glamour isles, the rather bookish
  Chancellor in this office in Elaine’s court has a
  reputation as a master storyteller, if of
  course you can convince him to
  spin you a tale. Each of these of-
  fices is not important enough to warrant
  more than a Chancellor at its head. However
  they are both important and necessary parts
  of the Ruler’s chamber.
  Ladies in Waiting/Maids of Hon-
  our
  With court clothing being as heavy
  and complicated as it is, no lady
  could manage to dress herself at
  court. So any royal lady will have a flock of ladies in waiting
  ready to assist her with her needs. Essentially these ladies are
  simply well paid ladies maids, but depending on the Ruler,
  they may be trusted confidants. In ‘The Three Musketeers’
  D'Artagnan’s lover Constance is such a trusted servant and
  works as a messenger and occasional spy for her mistress.
  The position also exists to allow noble daughters to enter
  court, given that many of the positions are reserved for men.
  If the lady is a noble she may be referred to as a ‘Maid of
  Honour’ to distinguish her noble status from the lower born
  ladies in waiting. The amount of trust and confidence given
  to ladies in waiting depends on the lady they serve. How-
  ever, very few politically inclined court ladies, from Queens
  to Baronesses have ignored the servant’s rumour-mill as a
  source of useful information. Especially as, while everyone
  takes note of where the Queen is, few take the same notice of
  her serving girls.
  Marshall
  There are two forms of Marshall in the court. The Lord Mar-
  shall is in charge of all military matters with regard to the
  palace. He commands the palace guard and is often a pri-
  mary adviser in martial matters to the Ruler. He ranks with
  the Steward and Chamberlain as a valued and trusted part of
  the retinue.
  A Marshall is a far smaller office, and like Chancellors there
  are many of them. Essentially, anyone leading a parade is a
  Marshall. Their real job runs parallel to the chancellors, in
  that they organise the people the chancel-
  lors are often doing the paperwork for.
  They make sure people are where
  they are meant to be, ‘floor man-
  aging’ parades and state events.
  Large parades may have many
  Marshals each leading a separate
  part, such as Trumpets, Minstrels
  or even Nobles. Nobles may not
  like to be herded around, but they
  like being told to just ‘follow the Mar-
  shall’ and they will be in the right place.
  Many Marshals have worked their way up
  from the lower orders, but there are many
  Marshall responsibilities considered fit only
  for the nobility.
  Knights
  While they may go by other names, Théah has plenty of
  knightly orders who also have access to court. Elaine’s
  Knights and the Kings Musketeers, especially the Lightning
  Guard, are directly responsible for the safety and well-being
  of the Ruler. Not just any soldier can join these orders. The
  more important the order the more the applicant must prove
  himself worthy of it. Only a rare few knights ever become
  anything more at court, but even as guards they have access.
  However, Montegue began as a musketeer, and we have seen
  how high he has risen by proving himself and his skills.
  
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  The Rest
  With the office of the Chamberlain being directly involved
  with the Ruler, everyone wants to be part of it. So there are a
  mass of low grade titles that mean very little but can grant
  access to the Ruler as part of the retinue. None of these titles
  get brought into council, or even see the Ruler much more
  than anyone else. But they are ‘at court’ which brings the
  promise of being noticed. The titles are pretty self explana-
  tory and include: Cupbearers, Sewers (officer of high rank in
  charge of serving dishes at the table and sometimes of seat-
  ing and tasting), Gentlemen and Yeomen Ushers, and
  Yeomen, Grooms and pages of the Chamber.
  Waiting in Line
  The largest and most varied group of court attendees are the
  supplicants. While all the offices of the court are there for
  statecraft and ceremony, without supplicants there is no
  business at court. The essential purpose of the Ruler attend-
  ing their court is to sit in judgement and rule their country.
  While the law courts see to most problems under the Ruler’s
  law, there are a few things they cannot deal with. This may
  be because there is no legal precedent for them to follow, or
  because the parties involved are too high a rank for anything
  but the judgement of a King. However people do not come
  to court simply for rulings of law. Many wish to ask favours
  of their lord, present gifts or introduce their sons and daugh-
  ters to society.
  Anyone who wants to see the Ruler will need an appoint-
  ment. These can only be obtained through one of the court
  officials, which can mean a lot of palm greasing. With so
  many people wanting to see the Ruler most people have to
  wait for quite some time. If your case isn’t urgent or you
  don’t have the bribes you could be at court for months. Even
  if you do have an appointment, the Ruler might just decide
  they don’t wish to hear any petitions that day and send you
  all home. There is nothing you can do about this.
  Even without bribery, social standing also determines your
  access to the Ruler. A few non-nobles might be allowed to
  see the Ruler, but this is not the norm. Each noble is a lord
  of his own domain and holds his own court for local matters.
  For someone low born to seek the king’s judgement over
  that of their liege lord is rather insulting. It suggests their
  liege is wrong or that only the Kings word will do, which is
  a great presumption for someone low born.
  However the system is not all bad. If you have been granted
  an appointment, you have leave to remain at court. In fact
  you have to remain at court, because if the Ruler decides he
  wants to see you, then you must be available in an instant.
  This means you can get as involved with courtly life as you
  wish. On a day to day basis this means you will be able to
  join the long queue of people waiting to stand before the
  Ruler. However if your appointment is not for a long time
  you are free to move around the other supplicants and gos-
  sip. The pageantry of the court is impressive, despite all the
  standing around you will be doing, and the conversations of
  the other courtiers are often worth overhearing. If you are
  lucky there will be a chance for you to get yourself noticed,
  which may raise your position quite considerably. Quite of-
  ten a young lady might catch the King’s eye or a young man
  might impress a Queen in just the same way, or a tale of
  heroism may reach the Ruler’s ears and he decides to meet
  the swordsmen in question.
  It may not be just the Ruler you can impress though. As you
  have time on your hands, a good few nobles and notables
  may ask for your assistance in other matters. If you have a
  reputation you could find a few patrons offering you tasks of
  a clandestine nature. Everyone at court has an angle, and
  need people to do the legwork so they can remain at the side
  of the Ruler. Few things you get asked to do will be illegal
  or wrong, you need to build trust for that sort of work. How-
  ever there is no doubt the patron will require discretion on
  your part. The simplest tasks are usually part of much larger
  schemes and can unravel easily with the wrong word to the
  wrong person.
  While you are waiting there are all manner of entertain-
  ments. How many you get to attend and how often will de-
  pend on your status. Balls and banquets are common for ev-
  eryone to join in. However hunting parties and days out may
  be more difficult to get involved in. Essentially there will al-
  ways be entertainments for the Ruler. How lavish they are
  will depend on the Ruler as well. The larger the gatherings
  the more people can go. All the invitations are handled by
  court officials, so again, bribery is often the norm. Rulers
  
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  very rarely have any idea who is being invited to their own
  parties.
  After all this time, and all the goings on, it is easy to forget
  what you came to court for. However, eventually you may
  get your moment to speak to the Ruler. In a formal situation
  you are simply allowed to approach the throne and make
  your request. The Ruler gives a judgement and that is that.
  However in some cases, usually when word of your plea or
  deeds has already reached the Ruler, you may be given a pri-
  vate audience. Such a meeting will probably be held outside
  the ‘office hours’ of the court, and be far less informal. In
  such a position it is far more likely you will get a favourable
  ruling as the Ruler has taken a special interest.
  Theoretically, when you have made your request, you are
  done and should leave. However, in the time it has taken you
  to see the Ruler you may have acquired any number of rea-
  sons to remain. Some people just stay anyway, waiting for
  someone to actually throw them out. Any noble of the coun-
  try has a certain right to attend the Ruler. It is also common
  for a Ruler to take a liking to someone and leave orders they
  are to remain. Then they get distracted with the next flavour
  of the week and forget to rescind the order. This allows
  many people to overstay their welcome for years.
  Trapped in Paradise
  Interestingly, not everyone at court wants to be there. The
  organisation of government means that local nobles have the
  power of life and death over their estates. They exercise this
  power in the Ruler’s name so he need not concern himself
  with local government. There just isn’t the time in the day
  for one person to rule every part of a country. Rulers cannot
  take away noble titles without seriously shaking the boat.
  However there are many nobles who they do not trust. Any-
  one of a sufficient status might have a claim to the throne
  making them dangerous potential enemies. With their do-
  mains being potentially far from court, how does a Ruler re-
  tain their loyalty? The answer is traditionally hostages.
  It is a simple arrangement, the Ruler requests the noble’s
  children to attend him at court. This is technically a great
  honour, to be sent to wait on the Ruler. So the noble in ques-
  tion will find it very hard to refuse. While the children are at
  court, they are a long way from home. While the noble does
  as he is told, the children will be safe. In fact they will be
  treated very well and may not even realise the reason for
  their new home. However if the noble decides to act against
  the Ruler his children could be forfeit, and few Rulers have a
  problem with ordering the death of a traitor’s progeny.
  Life at court for these children can be wonderful or frustrat-
  ing. When they are young it is great fun to be in such an ex-
  citing place. However, as they grow older they may wish to
  see the world or make some form of career for themselves.
  Unfortunately, anything that takes them from court will sim-
  ply not be allowed. They will also be watched almost con-
  stantly, in case their parents attempt to spirit them away or
  contact them about any misdoings. This observation could
  be subtle, or as overt as having a ‘personal servant’ follow-
  ing them everywhere.
  The time spent as a hostage varies quite a lot. Some tradi-
  tions may ensure that all children of the nobility spend time
  at court in the summer, the traditional time for insurgency.
  Other times the Ruler may only request the presence of a ri-
  val’s heirs when he doesn’t trust them. This means the chil-
  dren could be at court for a few months, or spend many years
  there.
  When the hostage is released, what happens will depend on
  their time at court. Some become close confidants of the
  Ruler or other nobles, having made friends and allies of their
  own. Some simply enjoy courtly life and opt to remain.
  However they could return home to plot with their parents,
  especially if their time at court has been difficult. Finally,
  they may simply leave to pursue a life free of courtly squab-
  bles.
  Life among the Gadflies
  Once you have access to court, you step into another world.
  Courtly life can be closed off to the daily affairs of the world
  to an incredible degree. No one wants to be the one to tell
  the Ruler things aren’t going well, so many courtiers spend
  their lives trying to maintain an illusion that all is well. This
  is fine in a place like Avalon where things are going well or
  in Vodacce where the Prince has his own spies to tell him
  the real story. However in places like Montaigne and Castille
  
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  it ensures that the Ruler is cut off from their people, leading
  to all sorts of problems. After all, if the Ruler doesn’t know
  what is going on, how can he make decisions about how to
  govern? Many courtiers would rather he didn’t make any de-
  cisions at all, and delegated all his responsibility to them.
  Then they could run things the way they wanted.
  With everyone trying to keep the Ruler as uninformed as
  they can, the ‘Ear of the King’ becomes paramount. Much of
  courtly manoeuvring is to ingratiate oneself with the Ruler
  so that he trusts your council above all others. Those who
  become the trusted council of a Ruler are in a powerful posi-
  tion. They can directly influence policy as the Ruler trusts
  their judgement. This may be due to the loyalty they have
  shown, or because they can travel outside the court to see
  how things really are. If they reach this position because they
  are noble and trustworthy, all well and good. However,
  many nobles and courtiers rise to such positions by simply
  ingratiating themselves with the Ruler. They are only con-
  cerned with expanding their own power and crushing their
  enemies. So their advice rarely works to benefit the country.
  As player characters become more involved in court, their
  circles of allegiance and patronage may spiral ever closer to
  the Ruler. This may mean they have the opportunity to gain
  the Ear of the King for themselves, or make the Ruler aware
  about just how bad the advice he is getting rally is. Unmask-
  ing a powerful courtier’s real motives can be rewarding.
  Many Rulers are very glad to be rid of an obsequious viper
  in their midst. However, the sort of courtiers who can get
  this close to the Ruler are very hard to unmask. Their plans
  will be obscure and well hidden, and even if the players do
  remove the courtly canker, they have made a very dangerous
  enemy.
  If you manage to remain at court, you’ll need somewhere to
  stay. Most palaces are designed with far more rooms than
  one Ruler could ever need. So those of sufficient station who
  are in need of a place to stay can often find rooms at court.
  This will be organised by the offices of the Steward, and
  again will rely on a little bribery. However, sometimes a
  Ruler may decide a certain courtier should be kept close, in
  which case the Steward has no option but to provide them
  with rooms.
  Once you have a place to stay, it is a lot easier to keep it. It is
  highly inappropriate to turn nobles out on the street. So as
  long as no one else of a higher station needs a room, you
  will have a place to sleep. For a noble this may not be as
  good as it seems. Quarters in the palace are usually a room
  or two, where most nobles own whole estates. The price you
  pay to be near the Ruler is to leave your own estate in the
  hands of lackeys. Few nobles can afford to do this for long,
  or remain in what is to them the frightfully small accommo-
  dations of the palace. So the court is mainly full of second
  sons and daughters who have little or no responsibility to the
  family estate. They often live in court to act as the eyes and
  ears of their older siblings.
  For anyone who does manage to stay at court, there is often
  plenty to do. For many Rulers the entire purpose of their
  court is to entertain them. Balls and banquets are rather
  common-place, as are weekends of hunting in the country.
  Often they will be in celebration of certain events, such as
  birthdays, but can be called for any reason. As mentioned
  above, getting invited to such gatherings is a trial in its own
  right, but often well worth the effort. Balls are simply dance
  parties, but for added interest they usually have a theme such
  as a costume party or a masked ball. Picking a costume to
  such events requires carefully thought, as you want to look
  good, but not look better or cleverer than the host. Banquets
  can follow a similar pattern, and often occur at the same
  time. While the guests dine they will often be entertained
  with music recitals and dance. Hunting parties are simply
  trips to the country for exercise. Usually the killing of ani-
  mals for sport is as complicated as it gets, but plenty of
  twistsare often arranged to keep the Ruler’s interest. Such
  things can also be done in costume or run to a theme, usually
  based on historical hunts. Sometimes the courtiers may find
  something different for the Ruler to hunt, such as a strange
  beast or even a more human target. However hunts are usu-
  ally simple affairs and often grant a better opportunity to get
  close to the Ruler in a less formal setting.
  When planning courtly entertainment, remember to think
  big. A life of Balls and Banquets may sound wonderful, but
  when you’ve done anything a lot of times it gets dull.
  Courtiers are continuingly encouraged to invent new and dif-
  ferent twists to the games to keep the Ruler’s interest. The
  
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  King likes chess? Why not organise a human chess game. He
  enjoys hunting? Why not find him some rare and different
  creature to hunt. Does he like to eat? What can you find that
  he has never tasted. These are questions that courtiers spend
  all day considering.
  Quite often visitors from other places arrive to pay homage
  or offer trade. To impress their hosts, many put on displays
  and entertainments from their native lands. Courts have been
  witness to dancing girls from the Crescent Empire, tribal rit-
  uals from the Midnight Archipelago and even poetry recitals
  from Cathayan nobles. That is in addition to the festival and
  spectacle of each of the Thean nations trying to impress each
  other. Entertainers are always in need in a court, and it is of-
  ten a good way to get close to a Ruler. If the Ruler is suffi-
  ciently impressed, he may adopt certain entertainers as com-
  panions and confidants for a while. While they are pleasing
  the Ruler, such entertainers can acquire favours beyond their
  wildest dreams. However, they had better remember their
  place. Those who forget they are simply ‘flavour of the
  month’ and not nobles of the court can make enemies
  quickly. However, those who know to leave before things
  turn sour can do very well for themselves indeed.
  This goes for pretty much anyone at court. When a courtier
  sees an opportunity he must be able to capitalise on it. If he
  fails to, such opportunities may not return. The trick is to im-
  press the Ruler with your talent, without looking better than
  the lord. In other words, if you can beat everyone else at the
  game, make sure you don’t beat the King. Plenty of
  courtiers, who were the toast of the court one day, have
  found themselves burnt at the stake the next. So tread care-
  fully. While court is full of wonders, and the potential for
  raw power is almost tangible, death and poverty can also lie
  in wait just as easily.
  The Courts across Théah
  Avalon
  The only formal court in Avalon is that of Elaine’s. The
  courts of King James in the highlands and the O’Bannon in
  Inishmore are very informal and sparse. Elaine rules through
  her Parlement, so few decisions of government are made in
  her court. Instead it is a place of music and art, and stories of
  Glamour and adventure. Since her fall and illness a cloud
  has fallen over the colour and elegance of her court. Many of
  her greatest knights are no longer present, they roam the
  country looking to create legends and stories they can use to
  bring the light of Elaine back to her court.
  Parlement itself is a strange environment, based on traditions
  like the Courts of former Kings but proud of its modernity.
  The House of the Lords is open to any landed gentry of the
  isles, or those appointed by the monarch to the chamber. The
  appointed positions include representatives of the Church,
  the law courts and also the merchants through the various
  Livery Companies of Luthon. Unlike in a Court where you
  plea your case to a single person, most matters that are
  brought to Parlement have been debated in private meetings
  or socialising in the Long Gallery well before anyone dis-
  cusses or votes on them. A very complex network of favours
  and influences pervade the corridors of power that make it
  difficult for those outside the system to enact their own
  plans.
  Castille
  The court in Castille is overshadowed at all times by the
  Vaticine church. Even after Sandoval acquires the Rex
  Castillium, the presence of the church is a powerful force.
  Castillian courtly ritual is bound by much tradition and for-
  mality as, to many in the priesthood, ritual is everything.
  While this weighs down the very air of the court with seri-
  ousness and propriety, it also lends an aura of authority and
  respect. Many who visit the court are surprised by this, being
  used to the passion and temperament of the Castillian peo-
  ple. It seems the usual Castillian passions burn with an inner
  fire when matters of church and state come to the fore. Out-
  side the capital in the leading Ranchos the courts are more
  vibrant affairs. However they still take the business of gov-
  ernment seriously and often debate issues like opposing
  thunderstorms.
  In Castille the Church itself as has its own model of a court
  in the form of the Concilio de Razon. This body of leading
  Church officials is designed to advise the King, although up
  until recently it basically ran the nation over the muted
  protestations of the young Sandoval. A supplicant with in-
  fluence to bring a matter before the Consilio and gain their
  support would find themselves in a strong position when it
  
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  was taken to the King himself, perhaps bypassing the wait-
  ing that many would have to do to hear their case being
  brought before the Court.
  Eisen
  The central court of Eisen is no more. In its past days it was
  a marvel of precision government. Everything had a place
  and courtly functions ran like clockwork. While the centre
  may be gone, it still serves as the model for the Iron Princes.
  Each of the courts of the Eisenfaust are courts in their own
  right. However, only Pösen, Sieger and Hainzl manage much
  of a model of good government and ordered courtly routine.
  Fischler is well organised but hamstrung by innumerable su-
  perstitions and odd rituals, which are all taken very seri-
  ously. In Freiburg, Trague simply did not hold
  court because he did not care, but Frau Probst
  has always done what she can. Wische is an
  empty place, with few left alive or sane to
  allow a court to function or even neces-
  sitate government. Heilgrund tries to
  ape the old ways of the Imperator’s
  court as heir to that position. However
  they simply follow the empty rituals
  with no understanding that
  those days have past. With the
  rise of the Schattensoldat, the
  court of Heilgrund has be-
  come more a dark and dan-
  gerous place to be.
  Montaigne
  There never has and never will be a greater court than Mon-
  taigne. Even in the darkest days of the revolution the court
  still flew with rumour and gossip, and men and women
  could live or die on the words of courtiers. The days of
  l’Empereur filled the court with decadence and grandeur,
  and much of that still remains. However in Montegue’s court
  the tones are muted as his people need to be fed. Even so,
  the Montaigne court is still a grand and decadent place.
  Power blocks of nobles seek every opportunity to return to
  the glory days or rebuild their power by destroying the repu-
  tations of their enemies. The court of Montaigne is the envy
  of the world, for its art, music and politics, and so to retain
  respect among nations they cannot let such things slide.
  Unwilling to throw away all of the reforms of the revolution,
  Montegue has retained the Parlement of the People set up by
  the Jacob’s Society. However, it is no longer the ultimate
  power in the nation and now includes the returned power
  bloc of nobles that had been suppressed during the murder-
  ous time of the Frenzy. The house can basically be divided
  into two main camps, those that favour the monarchy and
  those that still cling to the strongest ideals of the republican
  movement. Although this argument has lost some of its rele-
  vance in the new restored monarchy, it has lost little of its
  passion and energy.
  Ussura
  Perhaps the coldest and least entertaining court is that of Us-
  sura. The court of the Gaius is a place for busi-
  ness, not entertainment. There is very little
  pomp and ceremony, with very few
  courtiers, as Ussurans cannot abide
  useless people. That is not to say the
  court doesn’t have its share of en-
  tertainments and pageantry. How-
  ever under the current Gaius the en-
  tertainments have become a little
  crueller than past times. Each of the
  other Knias also holds their own courts
  when they are in their homelands and
  not staying in Pavtlow. The most impor-
  tant of these is probably Rurik, which is
  also one of the most traditional to the
  extent of being archaic. The court of
  Somojez is rarely opened as the Knias of that
  kingdom seems unwilling to engage with the nobility or the
  people on a regular basis. The courts of Veche and Molhyna
  have descended into fear and barely function, while Knias
  Tamara of Gallenia prefers an informal meeting of the im-
  portant members of her lands to discuss matters of state.
  Vendel
  The Vendel court is really the League, as such it has its own
  way of doing things. There is no Ruler of the Vendel court,
  meaning that power comes in the form of alliances and bar-
  gains rather than Kingly favour. The Vendel keep their en-
  tertainments and ceremony outside their ‘court’ meaning the
  League time is exclusively for business. However, to the
  
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  Vendel, this is the entertainment they most enjoy.
  Vesten
  The Vesten court may be powerless, but it remains strong to
  this day. It is now almost the complete opposite to the
  Vendel League. They have little policy to make, so their
  court is often exclusively used for entertainment. This enter-
  tainment and grandeur serves to appease the deflated ego of
  the Jarls, that they are still masters of their own destiny and
  Kings of the land. The Jarls especially enjoy gathering to tell
  stories over many, many pints of strong Vesten ale. Local
  matters are left for local lords, so rarely does the business of
  state interfere with a night’s drinking. The only matter of
  state the lords really discuss is how to rid themselves of the
  Vendel. The ale provides many worthy plans, but also en-
  sures they are forgotten by the morning.
  Vodacce
  While there is no central court in Vodacce, each Prince
  holds court in their own way. The decadence of the Vodacce
  courts is renowned throughout Théah, like an underground
  party everyone wants to get invited to. There are rumours
  about a few additional posts in the court of the Vodacce,
  such as ‘Court Assassin’. However few people have been
  able to report evidence of this, or, more likely, lived to de-
  liver it. Like any court, each of the Princes of Vodacce has
  their own style. Falisci courts resemble huge parties, while
  the Bernoulli hold more sombre and religious gatherings.
  Villanova changes his style on a whim to keep everyone on
  their toes. The death of Merchant Prince Lucani threw the
  careful social circles of Vodacce into chaos, but things have
  settled back down again although the power balances and
  therefore attendances of the various courts have notably
  changed. While Modavi came out of his little coup with
  more land and resources, few tend to favour his court as
  even in a land of intrigue few now trust the young Prince.
  The Crescent Empire
  The Crescents have no less diversity than Théah, but like
  Théah it has many similarities as well. Crescent court is at
  once both more advanced and far more decadent than west-
  ern culture. Crescent nobles enjoy making their courts places
  of learning as well as entertainment. They are often as im-
  pressed by a mathematician as they would a group of danc-
  ing girls. This means court is a place of scientists and inven-
  tion as well as splendour. However, the tastes of the Cres-
  cents can be darker than those of puritan Théah, and they de-
  light in slave dancers and entertainments that would shock
  most Theans. While this all applies mainly to the courts of
  Iskander and the main cities, the tribal lands are very similar.
  The entertainments on the plains may be less grand but the
  attitude and tradition is the same. The Crescents know the
  value of doing things properly, whether in a palace or a tent,
  and accept no less respect or formality. One special differ-
  ence with the Crescents is the segregation of the sexes, en-
  suring womn have little access to statecraft. However the
  women have their own courts that men cannot intrude on.
  Also, the ladies of the Harem have more of the Ruler’s ‘ear’
  than any courtier could hope for.
  Cathay
  The most refined courts in the world are in Cathay. Like the
  Crescent Empire, science is regarded very highly, but unlike
  the Empire ‘inappropriate’ entertainment is unheard of. This
  is not to say the Cathayans are prudes, they just do not see
  court as the place for certain forms of entertainment. More
  decadent or sexual pleasures remain behind closed doors,
  and away from the business of government. Statecraft in
  Cathay is the centre of a complex web of tradition and for-
  mality. Many people find Cathayan courts stifling in the ex-
  treme, as there is a tradition for seemingly every action. Not
  even the Empress can escape the power of the old ways, and
  is bound by them as much as any of the supplicants. While it
  is rare, people have been executed for the offence they gave
  with the wrong gesture at the wrong time in a Cathay court.
  Getting close to the leaders of Cathay is far harder than any-
  where else. Many layers of bureaucracy and tradition stand
  between you and the ear of the powerful. However, there are
  loop holes, and secret alliances that can allow you to skirt
  these barriers. However, most outsiders have little chance of
  insinuating themselves into th inner circles of the court.
  Noble Titles in Théah
  It is not enough for the nobles of Théah to just divide them-
  selves from the commoners. Throughout the centuries it has
  been equally important among them to decide who is the
  
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  highest and lowest within their own ranks. This has led to a
  varied selection of titles that are based primarily on the
  amount of land the noble is responsible for. While the names
  change a little, most countries in Théah use pretty much the
  same system to divide their nobility. However, in addition to
  their noble title, each Lord or Lady may also claim a number
  of additional titles from their duties at court and other re-
  sponsibilities. In general, the longer a noble can make their
  official title, the more important they are. It is unlikely that
  player characters will ascend to the highest ranks of the no-
  bility, so this information is mainly for the GM to use for
  their NPCs. Many liberties have been taken with the histori-
  cal detail of the real world, but we shouldn’t have to point
  out that Théah is not the real world and different rules apply.
  It is also beyond the scope of this article to go into the noble
  titles of Cathay and the Crescent Empire. They have differ-
  ent systems, but more information can be found in their re-
  spective sourcebooks.
  Avalon
  The Avalon system is mostly derived from the Montaigne,
  but as the Montaigne have added many additional complexi-
  ties, people often look to the more comprehensible Avalon
  model.
  The head of state is the King or Queen, their children being
  Princes and Princesses. They are referred to as ‘Your
  Majesty’ or ‘Your Highness’, and technically control the en-
  tire country. Many children of nobility are awarded the title
  just below that of their parents as an honorary position until
  they inherit. Duke or Duchess is the next tier, and are re-
  ferred to as ‘Your Grace’. They control an area equal in size
  to a county. A Marquess and his wife the Marchioness are
  the next step down. They are referred to as ‘Most Hon-
  ourable’ and control the smaller shires. Below them is the
  Earl and his wife the Countess, they control an area similar
  in size to a city and its immediate environs. The Viscount
  and Vicountess are next and rule a city-sized area. Both
  Earls and Vicounts are referred to as ‘Right Honourable’.
  The last layer of Lordship is that of Baron and Baroness.
  They have only a castle or small city under their control. Be-
  low those ranks are the Baronets who are ‘noble knights’
  and like Knights (and Ladies) are nobility but not lords.
  Only Lords can sit in council with a King or Queen, but a
  noble can own land. Baronets and Knights are referred to
  only as ‘Sir’.
  In some cases titles can be shared if there is enough land to
  go around. For instance, a county is rather big, so for the
  county of Camlann there may be one Duke of Camlann, but
  several Earls of Camlann, and a few more Vicounts of Cam-
  lann. Only the Duke can refer to himself as ‘Camlann’ as
  there is only one Duke for each county. In the case of chil-
  dren given honorary titles, they may not have a specific area.
  The children of the Duke of Camlann will be Marquesses,
  but not necessarily Marquesses of Camlann.
  Castille
  In Castille all the nobles are technically of the same rank.
  They are all Dons, or Don?a if female, which is the title
  given to all landowners. However, the nobles were not con-
  tent with that and have adopted additional titles to differenti-
  ate. They still refer to themselves as ‘Don Alfonso’ for in-
  stance but often add a more Avalon style title so everyone
  knows how much land they control, such as ‘Don Alfonso,
  Duque del Aldana’. Adding the title is optional and only
  used for formal occasion or when you want to point out how
  much land you control. The interesting difference is that the
  land you claim need not be land you have direct responsibil-
  ity over. Nobles actually have roughly the same amount of
  land area under their direct control. So they claim domain
  over that of their children’s land as well. So our Don Al-
  fonso might not run a larger area than another Don, but he
  claims Duque as a title because his many children also have
  land, which as head of the family is his to command as well.
  So noble title becomes not only a measure of power, but of
  how high you stand in your own family as well.
  The additional Castillian titles are much the same as that of
  Avalon, so it is only necessary to provide the Castillian
  translations here:
  Duke – Duque / Duquesa
  Marquess – Marqués / Marquesa
  Earl/Count – Conde / Condesa
  Viscount – Vizconde / Vizcondesa
  Baron – Barón / Baronesa
  Baronet / Knight - Señor / Señora
  
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  Eisen
  Like everything else, the Eisen like to keep their noble titles
  simple. There was once an Imperator who ruled with the
  help of his Eisenfaust. The Eisenfaust are the equivalent of
  Dukes, but within their own areas have almost the power of
  Kings.
  However, this is still a large area for one person to manage,
  so there are two other Eisen titles in popular use. The ‘Graf’
  is equivalent to an Earl and rules an area about the size of a
  county. How many Grafs serve a particular Eisenfaust is en-
  tirely up to the Eisenfaust, but most have between two to
  five. Serving the Grafs are the Vizegrafs. This title was origi-
  nally given to administrative assistants and deputies of the
  Graf. However, now the term generally applies to the ruler of
  any city or town within a Graf’s province. A Vizegraf is also
  used to apply to the heir of a Graf, should the title be heredi-
  tary. While not many remain, the Eisen have the equivalent
  of a Baron called a Freiharr. However, there are very few of
  these left after the war, or enough land to warrant a title be-
  low Vizegraf. So Freiarr has mostly become a title of respect
  used for ‘a noble gentleman’.
  Montaigne
  As noted above, what is perceived as the Avalon system ac-
  tually comes originally from the Montaigne. Since the
  founding of the country there has been an official list of
  which areas granted title and how many such titles could ex-
  ist. This could be rather limiting if you wanted a title of your
  own. So the Montaigne began taking existing titles, and
  adding another title to explain how they are ‘not that Duke
  but another one’. As long as the additional title didn’t place
  them above the original title bearer, no one seemed to mind,
  as that meant everyone’s children could have titles of their
  own. This has meant Montaigne titles can be quite bewilder-
  ing, with all the sub-sets in existence many have wondered if
  it is possible for every Montaigne citizen of any birth to
  claim a title, despite the limit of the original list!
  The basic Montaigne titles are similar to the Avalon, and
  they are named below. Technically the head of state in Mon-
  taigne is the King or Queen, called the Rei or Reine in native
  Montaigne. However Léon’s arrogance led him to decide to
  call himself l’Emporeur making his wife the Imperatrice.
  Duke – Duc / Duchesse, who rules a Duché
  Marquess – Marquis / Marqesse, who rules a Marquisat
  Earl/Count – Comte / Comtesse, who rules a Comté
  Viscount – Vicomte / Vicomtesse, who rules a Vicomté
  Baron – Baron / Baronesse, who rules a Baronnie
  These titles as mentioned above are divided into a selection
  of different groups. Not every title is present in every group,
  it depends who wants what, and what they can safely claim.
  Noblesse d'épée (nobility of the sword)
  Which is also called noblesse de race or noblesse ancienne.
  These are the much-respected original holders of the title,
  old nobility who have ‘fought for Montaigne’.
  Noblesse de chancellerie (chancellor nobility)
  These nobles ascend their position by serving in high office
  in the court. While this group contains aged families who
  have served for generations, it also contains clever aca-
  demics who were given a title. This was usually for no better
  reason than that their new promotion placed them near the
  King who could only associate with nobility. So opinion is
  divided about the general nobility of this class.
  Noblesse de letters
  These people are usually friends of the King, granted a
  "lettres patentes" which basically says ‘I can’t think of a
  good reason to ennoble you, but you are a good friend of
  mine so have a title’. This is one of the least respected areas
  of nobility, but as they have the ear of the King it is best to
  play nicely with them. In some cases these "lettres patentes"
  were considered a source of revenue and granted by some
  Kings to anyone who could pay.
  Noblesse de robe (nobility of the gown)
  A noble who is granted his title due to service in an official
  charge such as magistrate comes under this title. This kind of
  service is not especially grand so produces Barons rather
  than Dukes. It is used as a reward to keep the lawmakers on
  the side of the King. Only the King can make law, but the
  magistrates are there to interpret and enforce it, so they need
  a potential reward for loyal service to keep them in line.
  
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  Noblesse de cloche (nobilty of the "bell")
  This is one of the lowest forms of nobility and is considered
  by some to verge on peasantry. It covers those nobles
  granted title for service as leaders of towns and cities as
  Mayor or the like. Such positions are often held by the mid-
  dle classes or well-respected commoners.
  Noblesse militaire (military noblity)
  A low but very respected class of nobility, this class refers to
  those who gain title from war and military operations. Gen-
  eral Montegue belongs to this class, and while it often con-
  tains lowborn nobles, they are all people who have shed
  blood or put their life on the line for Montaigne. As such
  their actions are a source of national pride and they are
  granted respect accordingly.
  Noblesse chevalresque (knightly nobilty)
  This very old group contains anyone who can trace their no-
  bility back to the founding of Montaigne. There are very few
  nobles of this group left, but they are among the most power-
  ful families in the country.
  Noblesse d'extraction
  This is an additional title that anyone who has been granted
  nobility for at least four generations can claim. However,
  very few do as to do so shows you can’t show off anything
  more impressive. Many of the Noblesse de Cloche change to
  this title when they can, but few others do.
  Montainge nobles have spent many years trying to make
  their titles more complicated. This has led to many rights de-
  pendant on rank, often of a petty nature. For instance, only
  Dukes could enter royal residences in a carriage and only a
  Duchesses could sit on a stool with the queen. These rights
  may seem petty, but any weapon and privilage in Montaigne
  can be used to devastating effect in the right hands. All such
  priviliages are designed to allow the noble to show off just a
  little more than his peers.
  In addition to the titles of the nobility, there are plenty of or-
  ders and other cliques that the nobles are party to. The Cour
  des Pair (Court of Peers) is a gathering of the heads of the
  six most important families. Who these people are is ar-
  ranged by unspoken agreement, and they have the right to sit
  nearest the King or see him, at his convenience, at any time.
  There are times in Montaigne’s history when the Cour des
  Pairs has run the country because of a weak King. More
  open to the rest of the nobles are the knightly orders. These
  orders are little more than gentleman’s clubs, but a few of
  the older ones have grown up from distinguished battlefield
  actions. However, few orders are made up of nobles with any
  battlefield experience, and a good few have never even held
  a sword before. In general, membership in such an order
  grants no more than a few contacts, and members agree to
  serve and protect one another. In practice, few members ac-
  tually look out for each other that much, but there are stories
  of the orders forming terrible secret conspiracies.
  After the revolution the nobility of Montaigne had rather a
  substantial reorganisation. However the system itself didn’t
  change. Plenty of revolutionaries promoted themselves to
  ancient titles and many older nobles managed to escape. Be-
  fore the restoration there was a plan to create a new group of
  nobility especially for those who had earned their title for
  actions in the revolution. However it would have created a
  dangerous precedent, as it would suggest that the old system
  was still appropriate, and that the new nobles were part of
  the old order. It was also proposed that all noble titles be re-
  moved and reallocated. However, if the old nobles were no
  longer nobles they couldn’t be tried and executed anymore,
  their ‘sin’ having been washed away. Luckily, the restoration
  made these vexing questions no longer necessary to the
  Montaigne and the old system with whoever survived and a
  few new faces rose up again just as before.
  Ussura
  Simplest of all noble systems is that of Ussura, and the sys-
  tem of the Gaius and the Boyars is well documented. How-
  ever the Ussurans do have one additional title, that of
  Dvoryan. This title is quite simply anyone who qualifies as a
  noble but has no land or direct responsibility. It is usually
  granted to the children of the Boyars, or granted as a mark of
  respect to those Boyars who retire and pass their power onto
  their children.
  Vendel / Vesten
  One thing the Vesten and Vendel agree on is keeping their
  society simple and efficient. The Vesten system is based on
  
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  hereditary and might makes right. All nobles with direct re-
  sponsibility hold the title of Jarl. They serve their clans and
  families in the name of the High King, should he return to
  take the throne. Nobles without direct responsibility, such as
  the children or heirs of the Jarls are referred to as
  ‘Huskarlar’ and are expected to serve their
  Jarl as bodyguards to prove their worth and
  strength as potential leaders. A third title that
  is rarely used is that of ‘Hersar’
  which refers to any other no-
  ble. It is often used as an in-
  sult as it implies the noble has
  birth, but has not or cannot prove him-
  self worthy of becoming a Jarl.
  The noble titles in other countries
  are based on who runs what
  areas of land. As the Vendel
  leave the running of the is-
  lands outside Kirk to the
  Vesten, they have no need for such
  titles. However, they have noticed that someone needs to
  be in charge of the day-to-day organisation of the country.
  So each city has a Mayor and all the towns and villages re-
  port to a ‘Watchman’ who governs that area. Both positions
  are simply civil administrators, law and order is left to the
  courts and the city watch. The Vesten areas are left to their
  own devices, and if trouble starts brewing the Vendel send
  in the Eisen Mercenries.
  Vendel nobility is simple; the ones with the most money are
  at the top. Birth does not make the slightest difference to the
  Vendel, if you can prove yourself in business; you are part of
  the club. The Vendel have no desire to ape Vesten nobility
  or create vulgar titles based purely on how much money you
  have. So the only titles they have are that of holding a Chair
  or a Seat in the Vendel league. They reason that anyone who
  knows business will be able to tell who is better than who, or
  they are not very good businessmen. So noble titles become
  unnecessary to the Vendel. This may make the Vendel seem
  egalitarian, but in fact their society is just as full of danger-
  ous politics. In fact their world is harsher than most as the
  real power brokers are not apparent until you are in the
  lion’s den.
  Vodacce
  There is only one power in Vodacce, the Princes. However,
  like the Eisenfaust, they too have a need to divide their king-
  doms so they can rule effectively. The Princes, which in na-
  tive Vodacce would be Principe or
  should a lady ever ascend to the title,
  Principessa, rule their realms like Kings,
  and have always been the highest no-
  bles in the country. They are re-
  ferred to as ‘Your Excellency’
  and their children are granted
  the title of Don or Donna.
  Like many other nations the Vo-
  dacce have adopted a version of the
  Avalon model, but they have
  changed its meanings to a vast de-
  gree. Like the titles of other coun-
  tries, lesser nobles are granted do-
  minion over a part of the
  Prince’s estate. However in Vodacce they
  do not mark this estate in land so often as in responsibil-
  ity. Many of the lesser nobles do own and run land for their
  lord, but rarely does that land equate in size to that of their
  equivalent in other countries. In true Vodacce style, few no-
  bles admit to their title. They are simply noble and that along
  grants respect. What they actually do for their lord is no one
  else’s business.
  The first and highest title is that of Duke (Duca / Duchessa)
  he is responsible for the military might of a Prince. They can
  but are no expected to lead troops into battle, but are more
  concerned with ensuring that the Prince has an effective and
  well trained army at his disposal, placed in strategic posi-
  tions across the country.
  The title of Marquess (Marchese / Marchesa) originally ap-
  plied to ‘the one charged with guarding the marches or bor-
  ders’. Now that meaning is taken less literally and applies to
  the Prince’s spymaster. These shadowy figures are rarely
  seen, but are feared almost as much as their Prince. Many of
  the ‘Lord’s Hands’ report first to these nobles. Needless to
  say, the Marquess’ fate witch wife has an important part to
  play in her husband’s work. However there are rumours that
  
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  the wife rather than the husband has occupied this position
  on the occasion.
  Possibly the oddest title in Vodacce is that of Count (Conte /
  Contessa). These nobles are given domain over a county on
  the mainland, but not by the Prince. These titles were given
  out to the most loyal Vaticine families by the Heirophant
  hundreds of years ago and remain hereditary titles. If a fam-
  ily dies out completely, which is a great rarity, the Heiro-
  phant decides on another family to replace them. Each Count
  is loyal to the Prince who controls his land, but not actually
  a vassal. His responsibility is to the people in his charge, and
  as such the Counts have protected their people from the rav-
  ages of Princely wars for centuries. However they all owe
  some form of fealty to their Prince, which is unavoidable. So
  each Prince sends a Viscount (Visconte / Viscontessa) to
  watch over each Count who rules in their domain. The Vis-
  count is effectively a Lord’s Hand with extra powers and a
  far more open portfolio. While they cannot make important
  decisions themselves, they can remind a count if any of their
  actions would not be in the Princes best interest. The Prince
  cannot remove a count he does not like, but he can see to it
  the Count is replaced by his heirs when he is found mysteri-
  ously deceased one day. With the recent fall of the Caligari
  and the expansion of the Mondavi, many Counts found
  themselves working under different masters. The Princes
  cannot replace them, but any Count who is going to remain
  alive knows not to cross their new Prince. Even so, politics
  and loyalties on the mainland are now a hotbed of deceit as
  some Counts sell out their old masters to gain favour, and
  others spy on their new lords.
  Baron (Barone / Baronessa) is the lowest form of landed no-
  ble. They serve the Counts, running smaller domains. How-
  ever, they are appointed by the Princes, even though they are
  directly responsible to the Counts. In the recent shifting of
  borders, many Barons found themselves replaced, but not as
  many as you might think. Those who were keen to keep their
  titles became a useful form of bribe revenue for their new
  Prince.
  In the cites of the mainland, the title of Patrician ( Patrizio )
  remains as a holdover from the days of the Numan Empire.
  A Patrician is essentially a Mayor who is appointed by the
  Prince of the region. Each of the islands has a Patrician as
  well, who runs the day-to-day affairs of the island on behalf
  of the Prince. They are extremely powerful figures, as they
  have the confidence of their Prince as well as power over
  their island home. Most often a Patrician has distinguished
  himself by working as a Lord’s Hand ( the Cavaliere del
  Mano) for some time, making them capable and dangerous
  men in their own right. The Patrician the Prince chooses to
  manage his island is usually the best of these spies and as-
  sassins, and not a man to be crossed.
  You are What You Wear
  One thing common to all the courts is fashion. There are no
  words to express how important this is for any courtier, be
  they male or female. While there is not enough space here to
  go into the subject in full detail this article is designed to
  give you a few hints and tips about your character’s couture.
  If you wish to discover more about Renaissance fashion
  there are plenty of books and information on the web. So
  take this as a rough overview to begin with and move on
  from there.
  Originally, fashion first began with the rise of the merchant
  classes. The nouveau riche merchants of the new ‘middle
  class’ wanted to ape the nobility in any way they could, us-
  ing their money to prove their equality. The best way to do
  that was to wear the same things the nobility wore. When the
  nobility saw they were being copied, they bought new
  clothes, so the merchants did the same and so it continues
  today. Often the merchants could afford more than the no-
  bles, so the fashion couldn’t change too much or other no-
  bles might be left behind!
  Another reason for fashion in court is to keep out the pre-
  tenders. Clothes are expensive, especially rich clothing. Em-
  broidery and lace are all made by hand in Théah and take
  many hours to produce. The rich noticed that if they kept
  changing their clothes, only other rich people could afford to
  do the same. If this drove out those who couldn’t follow the
  fashion, then they were simply weeding out the lower
  classes.
  
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  Most fashions follow the Ruler of the court. What they de-
  cide to wear sets the trend. Usually this is driven upon gen-
  der lines, the ladies wish to copy the Queen, and the gentle-
  men look to the King. However a particularly stylish individ-
  ual can set the trend themselves. Maybe they dress the Ruler
  themselves or they just always look good. Crown princes
  and princesses are a favourite as this sort of fashion leader.
  They usually have a younger style to their dress, but are high
  enough up the social scale not to upset the Ruler by setting
  the trend.
  So where do you go to get outfitted for court, and how much
  does it cost? Sadly in Théah there are no ‘off the peg’ cloth-
  ing stores. Everything is hand made and tailored to fit. What
  is helpful though is that the undergarments are usually the
  same and, to Thean eyes anyway, mass-produced. Under
  shirts are made in plentiful supply and usually fit most peo-
  ple in categories of small medium or large. Men and women
  often wear similar undershirts, with the ladies adding an un-
  derskirt and a corset. This means that the odours and dirt of
  the day are absorbed by the undergarments, which are
  changed, but the over clothes can be worn day in day out. So
  a gentleman might have a travelling jacket and trousers, and
  a formal jacket and trousers, but he would carry several
  shirts. While ladies clothing can be more complicated, it fol-
  lows the same lines, so the lady will only need to carry one
  or two dresses on her travels.
  For the noble in town it is a different matter. One set of nice
  clothes will just not do, but they have the time and money to
  visit the tailor. Adventurers are not often in one place long
  enough to have clothes made and fitted for them. They can
  usually visit a tailor and pick up a shirt or two, and have the
  sword holes in their jacket stitched up, but not to stay for a
  fitting or wait a month for the result. So many tailors can re-
  fit a jacket or dress to follow the latest fashions. A little more
  lace round the collar, a sash around the waist and a new lin-
  ing can adapt most garments to the latest fashion. This takes
  a lot less time, and is the best way to fit an adventurer for
  court. However the more sharp eyed nobles can spot an
  adapted garment at several feet and will gossip quietly about
  it with distain.
  If you have the time to have proper courtly clothes made,
  their appeal can add to your standing at court. Great tailors
  and seamstresses are very sought after and jealously guarded
  by the nobility. In general it costs a lot more money to hire a
  more talented tailor, but such expense grants the clothing an
  appearance bonus. This can range from +1 to +3 and grants a
  bonus to all social rolls at court, the same way as social rep-
  utation dice. Unfortunately, all the obvious garments must
  be of the same quality too or the lowest bonus applies. So a
  lady in a +2 dress need not worry about the quality of her
  underwear, but a Gentleman with a +3 coat will get no reac-
  tion if he is wearing his travelling trousers. Also, this bonus
  only applies to one social occasion, as the clothing is re-
  membered, and it would be gauche to be seen in it twice.
  Also, you suffer a penalty equal to the previous bonus if you
  turn up to the next occasion in anything that does not yield a
  bonus. Not being able to maintain fashion is nearly a bad as
  not managing it at all.
  To understand the current fashion and allow herself to dress
  properly and appropriately, the courtier must roll Panache
  and Fashion. The difficulty is usually 15, but being out of
  court, foreign or lower class can make it harder. If they man-
  age to dress appropriately each courtier can make a second
  Panache and Fashion roll with a bonus for finer clothes as
  above and for the ‘Appearance’ advantage, to see how good
  they look. Note it down for the duration of the function, and
  they gain +1 reputation dice in any roll against someone less
  well dressed. This even includes swordplay at court should
  you be so vulgar as clothes are seen to ‘make the man’.
  However, it doesn’t include rolls you make alone, such as
  lock-picking or shooting targets as there is no opponent to
  impress. The amount of difference between the rolls is unim-
  portant. For example, Henri rolls 17 and Jacques rolls 35 for
  one function. Jacques gets the bonus as he is obviously bet-
  ter dressed, but no one is stunned at the difference between
  the two. If you roll high, you will simply be able to lord it
  over more people. If you are the best dressed in the room
  you gain a +2 reputation dice bonus, but if the Ruler is pre-
  sent, or his wife, you may be in more trouble than that extra
  dice is worth. Players may wish to use this system out of
  court to see who is the best dressed, however the extra dice
  bonuses only apply at courtly, or at least social, functions.
  Below are the costs for some clothing in Théah. They are de-
  
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  signed as a general description rather than a definitive one.
  Fashion through the ages is a far larger topic than can be
  covered here. However, this should give you the basic feel
  for what your characters are wearing. The costs for items that
  grant appearance bonuses are listed as well. Unfortunately
  the masters of the craft are often jealously guarded, and play-
  ers may have to work hard for a patron to be allowed to use
  their tailor. Many patrons will be happier for you to marry
  their daughter than borrow their tailor! However the GM
  may allow the players to come across an undiscovered talent,
  who will be much cheaper. Introducing the new seamstress
  or tailor to court could be a campaign in itself. The estab-
  lished masters of the craft never take kindly to an interloper,
  and the people who rely on their skill are powerful indeed.
  Second to the cost of clothing is the time needed to create
  them. In the tables below the cost is noted in guilders and
  followed by the amount of days it will take to create it. There
  are more items and accessories listed in the Player’s Guide
  on page 166. If the buyer wants the item quickly they can
  pay half as much again to have it finished in two thirds of
  the time it normally takes. This is the extra cost required to
  get the tailor to put aside all other work and prioritise a par-
  ticular client. If two nobles are using the same tailor and
  both need their garments quickly the gleeful tailor may insti-
  tute a bidding war. Some ladies may choose to wear gentle-
  man’s fashions. In this case they simply use the gentleman’s’
  table. With everything tailor made, it is rare that a lady
  swordsman’s choice of apparel will cause any problems. The
  notes on clothing are not exact, as each culture in Théah has
  a slightly different and distinctive clothing style. However,
  while a jacket is very different in Montaigne and Avalon,
  both countries have jackets and their costs are comparable.
  Gentleman’s Garments
  Shirt & Underwear – Men’s underwear is quite simple, but
  with the shirt likely to be on show their underwear can be
  quite elaborate. On their bottom half, men wore a braies or
  chausses, both a kind of tied-on pair of hose.
  Trousers – This item is pretty standard, and is more like a
  pair of leggings compared to its modern counterpart. The
  trousers are usually tucked into boots in most fashions, ex-
  cept in court when wearing shoes. Some gentlemen such as
  Highlanders and Vesten wear kilts. In such a case use the en-
  try for Skirt under ladies fashion. It may be different, but the
  costs and times are the same.
  Jacket – This is a short jacket as favoured mainly in Vo-
  dacce. It is worn over a shirt, but some men go without a
  jacket in hot weather, or when duelling.
  Coat – Much like a jacket, the coat is simply a little longer
  as favoured in Avalon and Montaigne.
  Levels of Expense
  Travelling – Plain and hard wearing. They are the standard most
  adventurers will want as they last.
  Standard – Fit to be ‘Sunday best’. It isn’t high fashion, but is
  worn for show rather than to work in like travelling clothes.
  Cheap fabrics are used, but more colours and occasionally lace
  are used. This is the standard ‘formal’ apparel for adventurers,
  but not good enough to pass as a noble.
  Fine – This is the minimum level of attire you can wear at court.
  Usually expensive fabrics are used, but they go easy on the heav-
  ily fashionable elements. This means it can often be worn regard-
  less of current fashion.
  Elegant – So well made as to grant a +1 appearance bonus
  Inspiring – So well made as to grant a +2 appearance bonus
  Exquisite – So well made as to grant a +3 appearance bonus
  Gentleman Clothing Table
  Numbers refer to cost in Guilders / number of days to make item
  Garment
  Travelling
  Standard
  Fine
  Elegant
  Inspiring
  Exquisite
  Shirt & Underwear
  1.5g / 3
  1g / 2
  2g / 4
  5g / 6
  10g / 12
  20g / 18
  Trousers
  2.5g / 5
  1g /4
  2g /6
  15g / 8
  20g / 16
  25g / 24
  Jacket
  2g / 8
  2g / 7
  3g / 9
  10g / 11
  15g / 22
  20g / 33
  Coat
  2.5g / 10
  2.5g / 9
  3.5g / 11
  20g / 13
  35g / 26
  50g / 39
  Cloak
  3g / 4
  1g / 3
  5g / 5
  10g / 7
  15g / 14
  20g / 21
  Hat
  1g / 5
  1g / 4
  3g / 5
  8g / 7
  12g / 14
  18g / 21
  Boots/Shoes
  3g / 4
  1g / 3
  2g / 5
  5g / 7
  10g / 14
  15g / 21
  
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  Cloak – While styles may differ, this item is essentially the
  same for men and women. More expensive versions use furs
  and thicker materials. Travelling versions are extremely
  thick and durable.
  Hat – Another unisex and common item. These come in all
  shapes and styles and are common wear for men and women.
  Boots / Shoes – Both these items cost the same usually.
  Boots use more leather, but shoes are more formal and usu-
  ally better made. Men tend to wear boots more often, but
  many court functions in Montaigne especially require shoes.
  Ladies Garments
  Undershirt / Underskirt - Ladies underwear in this age is
  many and varied. However this is assumed to be a simple
  undershirt and a plain shift. Women may also wear a braies
  like the men to keep her legs warm. Travelling versions are
  made of tough cotton, with more expensive ones adding lace
  edging. Very expensive versions will be made in silks and
  other fine fabrics. Even if no one is going to see them they
  are more comfortable, but some risqué fashions call for the
  underwear to show a little. Some ladies clothes require cer-
  tain underwear to hold its shape. Hoops and bustles are often
  worn under a dress to widen the skirt or accentuate the hips
  depending on the fashion. However, to keep things simple,
  these items are considered part of the cost of the dress.
  Corset – This item of underwear deserves a special mention.
  While it is usually functional, some ladies can afford to buy
  extremely expensive versions. The courtesans of Vodacce do
  not cover their corsets, and the fashion has cropped up in
  other places from time to time. The better the quality the bet-
  ter the boning and the longer it will last and maintain the fig-
  ure. More expensive versions also use better padding, mak-
  ing them a lot more comfortable.
  Top / Skirt & Dress – The dress has remained unchanged as
  an item of fashion for many years, even if it has never been
  quite the same. In some cultures a dress is not one item, but
  made and worn as a top and a skirt, even though the two of-
  ten look like one piece. If the dress is made of two pieces but
  meant to look like one it is still considered a dress. However
  if only one part needs replacing, then the dress counts as a
  Top/Skirt. Some fashions call for the top and skirt to look
  different, but this is usually only in lower class areas as it is
  cheaper to mix and match.
  Boots / Shoes – These are no different to their male equiva-
  lent, so use the prices above. In general ladies wear boots to
  work in and shoes on formal occasions.
  If you wish to have an article of clothing altered, it is a lot
  less expensive. The difference in the cost and the time
  needed to make the original item and the cost and time
  needed to create the desired item become the cost and time
  needed to adjust one to the other. You can only improve an
  item by one step, otherwise the alteration is too obvious, and
  the original item must be in a good state.
  After several fights, you may insist your characters need to
  get their clothing fixed. You can assume any damage they
  receive will have an adverse affect on their clothes. Certainly
  taking three dramatic wounds will require serious repair.
  Anyone who is crippled or knocked out should consider in-
  vesting in new clothes. However, only edged weapons tend
  to damage clothes. So the noble beaten unconscious by brig-
  ands can rest easy knowing he will not usually need a trip to
  his tailor upon recovery. Most repairs can be done for the
  cost of half a guilder for each dramatic wound the clothing
  has taken. The GM has the final say about any clothing that
  is irreparable.
  Ladies Clothing Table
  Numbers refer to cost in Guilders / number of days to make item
  Garment
  Travelling
  Standard
  Fine
  Elegant
  Inspiring
  Exquisite
  Undershirt / Underskirt
  1.5g / 3
  1g / 2
  2g / 4
  5g / 6
  10g / 12
  20g / 24
  Corset
  N/A
  3g / 7
  6g / 10
  12g / 12
  20g / 20
  30g / 30
  Top/Skirt
  1.5g / 8
  3g / 7
  5g / 9
  15g / 12
  30g / 24
  40g / 36
  Dress
  2g / 10
  5g / 12
  7g / 16
  20g / 18
  40g / 32
  60g / 45
  
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  Swordsman and Socialite
  The reputation system in 7th Sea does a good job of showing
  the level of renown your character has gained for their ac-
  tions. However, not every character gains reputation in the
  same way, or becomes well known for the same things. Also,
  reputation should show only the reputation of a character,
  not what they are really like. While Villanova may not care
  that he is known as a villain, plenty of other evil doers mas-
  querade as heroes. Unfortunately your rating as a villain,
  hero or scoundrel is defined by reputation, which makes lit-
  tle sense if reputation does not define the ‘real you’.
  So this new system is designed to help reputation make more
  sense. Rather than rewrite to the system completely, this op-
  tional adjustment uses the available rules by adding more
  detail. You may be happy using the original version, in
  which case there isn’t a problem.
  The adjustment presented here is very simple. Instead of
  having a single reputation, your character now has three.
  Each of the three reputation scores is used in the same way
  as before, generating reputation dice to be used in social en-
  counters. As before, you gain 1 reputation dice for each ten
  points of reputation you have. However, you can only use
  those dice for the right sort of situation. For instance, dice
  generated from Martial reputation cannot be used to impress
  a priest with your piety. The three kinds of reputation are as
  follows:
  Social – This is your reputation in society. It does not sug-
  gest you are a nice person, or a villain. It charts how well re-
  ceived you are as a courtier. People of high social reputation
  have the ears of Rulers and get invited to all the best parties.
  They are considered polite, well read and witty. Social repu-
  tation is gained or lost by duels of wit, not steel. Gaining po-
  sition and power within the court, or acting on behalf of no-
  ble patrons will also raise your social reputation. Social rep-
  utation dice are used in social occasions such as balls and
  parties, or when you are dealing with those of a higher sta-
  tion.
  Martial – Each swordsman gains renown for himself. This
  rating is how well you are known for your mastery of the
  blade. Each duel you win or war you survive adds to your
  martial reputation. A high martial reputation marks you as a
  swordsman to be feared. Martial reputation dice are used to
  intimidate other duellists, and also to impress potential pa-
  trons who may be looking to hire a swordsman.
  Moral – finally this reputation determines how people see
  Social reputation comes in two forms, and each player must de-
  cide which applies to him. High social reputation is built in the
  court among the gentry. Low social reputation applies among the
  criminals and the peasantry. Nobles have less respect among the
  criminal fraternity, and the lower born must work much harder to
  impress a court. So each character has either high or low social
  reputation, and in any situation where they are in the arena of the
  opposite social reputation they must half their rating. So a peas-
  ant who has low social reputation at a level of 26 who visits the
  court, is considered to have a social reputation of 13. For the pur-
  poses of adding to subtracting to the rating, you use their higher
  rating as their reputation hasn't actually changed.
  It is up to the player which social reputation he chooses. Some
  servants may be low born, but become known in courtly circles
  (High) rather than their own neighbourhoods. A few nobles shun
  the court and, while still wealthy, gain (Low) reputation among
  the gamblers and thieves. Whatever reputation the character
  picks, the rules about halving it in the opposite area always ap-
  ply. No social circle allows you to play both sides no matter who
  you are.
  It is possible to swap your social reputation over to the other
  form, and it is just as hard no matter which you chose. The player
  must publicly side with the opposite arena and make it clear they
  are part of the other society. This may mean shunning parties or
  selling out old contacts. Either way, it will invite social death
  from the society they are leaving as a necessity. If the GM feels
  the player has successfully proved themselves to their new soci-
  ety by shunning their old one, they may swap to the other version
  of social reputation. Unfortunately the game effect of swapping
  social reputation is that their social reputation is halved perma-
  nently. Their new peer group has only accepted them not wel-
  comed them, and they have burnt their bridges with their old
  friends. As this is rather harsh, the GM should forgive any social
  transgression in the form of social reputation loss when a charac-
  ter is shunning their peer group. The loss of reputation is covered
  quite adequately by halving it when the change is cmplete. As
  there is no initial statistical benefit from changing sides, few
  characters will want to do it.
  
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  your moral character. Are you known as a villain or a hero?
  A high moral reputation suggests you keep your promises
  and you discretion can be assured. Moral reputation dice can
  be used to impress priests and monks that
  you are just and noble, or to show the
  Queen you are a discreet and trust-
  worthy agent.
  So when you put this system into
  action, you keep track of all three
  reputation ratings separately. A
  character with the reputations of
  Social 5, Martial 15, Moral -12
  is a reasonably renowned
  swordsman with the character
  of a scoundrel. They have 1
  Social reputation dice, 2 Mar-
  tial reputation dice and 2
  Moral reputation dice. Glamour
  sorcerers gain their glamour dice from their reputation. So
  they are allowed to generate glamour dice equal to all their
  reputation dice added together. If the above example was a
  glamour sorcerer he would have 5 glamour dice.
  The difficulties of reputation actions remain unchanged, just
  that the GM decides which of the reputation ratings is appro-
  priate. The effects of reaching certain reputation values such
  as the acquisition of patrons and enemies are defined using
  the highest of the three reputation ratings. The sort of patron
  you attract is therefore dependant on which rating that is.
  High social reputation characters will attract rich and power-
  ful courtiers, high Martial reputation characters will find a
  patron in need of a strong swordsman. Finally high Moral
  reputation characters will find themselves in the service of
  priests and devout nobles.
  Negative Values
  Just as before, reputation can reach negative values. Just as
  before these generate reputation dice, but they are not so
  useful. Obviously negative values demonstrate a severe lack
  of reputation in that area. So the dice generated from nega-
  tive reputation are used to remove unkept dice instead of
  awarding them as with positive reputation. The only excep-
  tion to this rule is when a negative reputation might be help-
  ful. For instance, Villanova has little chance of impressing a
  priest with his piety, but convincing a victim he has no prob-
  lem with torturing him for information should be a very sim-
  ple affair. Only the GM can decide when negative
  reputation might yield a positive result. In gen-
  eral you must assume it doesn’t help you at
  all.
  Usually the only negative value that
  can be helpful is the Moral reputa-
  tion. A negative Martial reputation
  shows you to be a bumbling idiot
  with a blade, and a negative social
  reputation marks you as crude and
  ill-mannered. A negative moral
  reputation shows you are regarded
  as ruthless and evil, which is occa-
  sionally helpful when trying to in-
  timidate. As reputation dice relate
  to Glamour dice for Glamour sorcerers, the GM may con-
  sider dice gained from negative reputation scores to be
  tainted with unseelie glamour. What that means in game
  terms can be left to the cruel nature of the individual GM.
  If a character has a reputation of zero in a reputation, it just
  means they have no reputation in that area. Many priests
  might be able to handle a blade, but will not have a Martial
  reputation. This just means his skills with a blade haven’t
  been tested or given importance, rather than he is regarded
  as having no Martial ability. As soon as his reputation drops
  to -1 however, he has begun to build a bad reputation and
  will begin to suffer for it.
  Awarding Reputation
  When you come to award or remove reputation points, the
  system is almost exactly the same. The only difference is
  which pool of reputation points is adjusted for any actions
  the character takes. The tables below show how to award
  points among the Social, Martial and Moral reputations. The
  difference here is that you can gain reputation across multi-
  ple scores for a single action. For instance, if you win a duel
  while behaving with great honour and civility you may gain
  both Martial and Moral reputation. In the same way you can
  lose reputation from multiple score. In other circumstances
  
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  you might gains and lose reputation across the board. For
  instance, if you win a duel but do so by with brutality and
  cruelty you might gain Martial reputation but lose Social
  reputation. You have proved yourself to be dangerous, but
  also crude and dishonourable.
  The original reputation system is a little cagy in some places
  about the exact amount of reputation awards that the GM
  should bestow. In general, one point should be the standard
  award. Two or even three point awards should be reserved
  for especially noble actions. However it is really up to the
  GM and he can award five or even ten points in a single go if
  he desires. It all depends how quickly he wants the charac-
  ters to rise or fall. High awards can also be offered for deeds
  that aren’t that great, but get a lot of attention. It may not be
  much of a deed to stop a lady falling into a puddle as she
  steps from a coach. However, if the lady is a princess you
  may well get reputation for it. Remember, reputation is for
  great deeds, but also for noticeable ones.
  The GM’s guide has a short guide on awarding reputation
  (p187-189). To help you decide on which reputation to
  award or remove points to, here are those categories revis-
  ited:
  Gains
  Battles - When using the mass combat rules (GM’s guide
  p176) the reputation awards are pretty clear. They should
  usually apply to Martial reputation. However each ‘Heroic
  Opportunity’ managed well and with honour could also yield
  Moral reputation as well.
  Craftsmanship - The rules for creating items of quality still
  work as they are in the GM’s guide. The award should go to
  Social reputation as they prove you to be talented and useful.
  If the item is a weapon it is possible the GM may award
  Martial reputation instead.
  Chivalrous Acts - These acts can gain the character reputa-
  tion in all three areas. Usually Moral reputation is the most
  likely. However Social reputation can be gained if the action
  involved someone of high status, and martial reputation can
  apply as well if swordplay is involved.
  Marriage - As described in the book the bride and groom
  earn each other’s reputation rank in points. These points
  should all be added to Social reputation.
  Romance - Most of the points awarded for romance will be
  Social. However a chaste and virtuous affair can often earn
  Moral reputation as well.
  Keeping your word - Without doubt, Moral reputation ap-
  plies in this instance. However, some bonus Social reputa-
  tion points can be awarded if the parties involved are of suf-
  ficient status. Those who keep the confidences of a King are
  noted indeed.
  Skill success and performance - Generally this will depend
  on the skills used. Obviously, uses of Martial Skills will
  learn Martial reputation. Anything else will earn the charac-
  ter Social reputation.
  Vendetta - The award here will depend very much on how
  the vendetta was dealt with. Finding and facing your enemy
  with honour can earn reputation in all the values. However,
  if (for instance) you get others to actually finish him off, you
  won’t gain any Martial reputation. If the Vendetta was some-
  how dishonourable or unfair you may end up losing Moral
  reputation. Villanova has made a habit of this.
  Losses
  Breaking a vow - Usually such actions lose Moral reputa-
  tion. If the other parties are noble there will be a Social loss
  as well. If breaking the vow involved backing out of a fight,
  Martial reputation could be lost too.
  Breaking things - The reputation loss here is usually Social,
  you clumsy oaf. However, should you prove clumsy while
  fighting you could lose Martial reputation. If the objects are
  holy or sacred in some way you could drop a few Moral rep-
  utation points. So be very careful when fighting your ene-
  mies in a cluttered church.
  Cowardice - 7th Sea is a game of heroes, so cowardice is
  treated harshly. Usually the loss will be Martial reputation,
  but circumstances may also force a loss of Social and Moral
  reputation. If the display of cowardice is particularly public,
  
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  or with a noble, then Social reputation will suffer. If the
  character should have acted to save others, such as not rais-
  ing a hand as children are abducted, then his Moral reputa-
  tion will suffer.
  Romance - Just as above, Social reputation is the first to go
  in a romance. Getting dumped is not a good way to impress
  people. However, beating a woman or anyone weaker than
  yourself will lose you Martial reputation for such bullying. If
  you behave especially badly, such as cheating on your part-
  ner or abusing them, then Moral reputation will drop as well.
  Unchivalrous acts - As above with chivalrous acts, the same
  applies. Reputation can be lost in all three areas, but mostly
  in Social and Moral. It all depends on what you do, who you
  do it with and how bad it is.
  What must always be remembered with reputation is that it
  only really applies when it is observed by others. If you mur-
  der someone in cold blood but there are no witnesses, you
  shouldn’t really lose reputation for it. After all, who is going
  to know? The same applies if you crush an opponent with
  your witty repartee and no one hears you. You won’t gain
  anything for your actions. Having said that, remember that
  you need only one person to know what you are doing to
  lose or gain reputation. Anyone who sees what you have
  done may talk and gossip about it. Remember at all times
  that reputation is awarded for what you are seen to do, and
  not what you are really like.
  However, 7th Sea is a game of heroes, and acts of evil stain
  the soul. So you may take away especially Moral reputation
  if characters do evil acts, even if no one notices. Obviously
  the reduction of reputation wouldn’t be as much as if the act
  had been witnessed. However, terrible actions leave some-
  thing with the character, making people distrust and shy
  away from them, even if they aren’t sure why. The same can
  be true for action of great worth and charity. However it is
  far easier to fall than rise up and GMs should be far happier
  to remove reputation than award it.
  Characters may wish to keep track of the highest and the
  lowest their reputation scores have reached, as it can have a
  bearing on how people see them. If a knight has a reputation
  of 30, he will not be seen as particularly special if he has
  previously had a reputation of 60. Anything he does will still
  be seen as just catching up with his previous self, and there-
  fore not as impressive. This counts for Villains trying to in-
  timidate people as well. Villanova with only one eye is still
  very dangerous, but having been bested by two women
  makes him a little less scary. So to represent this you must
  keep track of the highest and lowest scores you ever achieve.
  If the current score is the highest rating you have ever had
  you can round up when you divide the reputation by ten to
  see how many reputation dice the score yields. However, if
  the score is lower than your best score, you round down. So
  for example, if Axel has a Martial reputation of 46 (his high-
  est ever) he has 5 reputation dice. But if he loses a point o
  reputation making it 45 (which is lower than his highest ever
  score) he rounds down, now only getting 4 reputation dice.
  If he gains 2 points he is at his best ever reputation again
  (47) and rounds up for 5 dice.
  Heroes Villains and Scoundrels
  In the original system, a character’s status as a Hero, Villain
  or Scoundrel is defined purely by reputation. Under these
  rules this is no longer quite the case. After all, how the rest
  of the world sees you has little bearing on the sort of person
  you really are. Under this system the worst villains can have
  the best reputations, and the darkest deeds can sometimes be
  thought the work of heroes. Each character is assumed to be-
  gin as a Hero, unless they take the Scoundrel advantage,
  which obviously marks them as a scoundrel. As before, a
  character that manages to become a Villain is retired.
  Hero is the default state for all player characters and all char-
  acters begin as Heroes. This state allows them to gain as
  much reputation as they can and also grants them one addi-
  tional drama dice. Fortune favours the hero after all, espe-
  cially in 7th Sea.
  The next state of being is the scoundrel. Here the character is
  basically good, but often only when it suits him. His motives
  have become a little more mercenary, but he usually comes
  through when he is needed. Characters can begin the game
  as scoundrels by taking the scoundrel advantage. However it
  doesn’t work the same way as it used to. Instead of begin-
  ning the game with zero reputation, you begin with -10
  
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  moral reputation, but a zero in the other two. Even if you
  have done nothing, there is still an untrustworthy aura about
  any scoundrel, until he learns to mask it with good deeds.
  You don’t gain the bonus drama dice of heroes, but because
  every girl loves a bad boy you gain the same bonus as the
  ‘Dangerous Beauty’ advantage and if you have the advan-
  tage as well, they stack. Sadly you can never have a moral
  reputation higher than 40, as no one believes you could be
  any better than that.
  If you don’t begin the game as a scoundrel, you can still be-
  come one later on. First you must gain a moral reputation of
  -10 or worse. You need not keep it there, but you must have
  crossed the line at some point. Next you need to do three
  ‘despicable deeds’. These deeds are the sort of thing that will
  gain you negative moral reputation, but need not be too aw-
  ful. Here are a few ideas of the sort of thing that counts:
  Cheating a friend, Doing a good deed only because you will
  be paid, Bullying the weak, Abusing someone who loves
  you, physically or emotionally, Stealing especially from
  friends, Accepting Bribes and any other form of corruption.
  These actions are not necessarily evil, but they are despica-
  ble and unpleasant, not the stuff of heroes. The character
  may lose reputation for such actions, but only if they are
  caught. Whether reputation is lost or not, the actions still
  count. Having committed such actions they remain with the
  character forever. Stains on moral character do not fade
  away. However a character can try and rid themselves of
  such stains by selfless acts of good will. Each time the char-
  acter does something that would earn them 3 or more reputa-
  tion for a single act, they may erase one of their despicable
  deeds if they choose not to add that rputation to their score.
  However, they can never be completely free, and cannot re-
  move the stain of their first ‘despicable deed’. No matter
  how many despicable deeds you commit or repent, once you
  have taken a step on that path you cannot entirely erase the
  experience, and so your character will always have one
  ‘despicable deed’ under their belt. The moment they commit
  a third despicable deed the character becomes a scoundrel.
  An extremely negative moral reputation can also turn a char-
  acter into a scoundrel. Should moral reputation reach –40
  the character becomes a scoundrel, if he can get that low
  without becoming one already. This only really applies if the
  character has earned the reputation with low deeds. If the
  reputation is not deserved, the character having been the
  stooge in other’s plans the GM may allow the character to
  remain a hero. However, plenty of heroes with such a tar-
  nished reputation often decide to just give up and go with
  the flow, becoming scoundrels anyway.
  Once a scoundrel, it is still possible to become a hero again,
  albeit a possibly tarnished one. First they must erase all three
  of their ‘despicable deeds’ as noted above. Of course they
  will always be considered to have at least one, no matter
  what they do, but they must try to erase all three. This must
  all be done while they have a positive moral reputation. If it
  drops below zero they do not regain all they have repented,
  but they cannot repent any more until they have reached at
  least 1 moral reputation. When they have repented all their
  transgressions they must also rebuild their reputation. To do
  this they must gain a Moral reputation 10 points higher than
  they have ever had. So a knight who managed to gain a
  moral reputation of 50 before his fall must gain a reputation
  of 60 to become a hero again. However a scoundrel who has
  never had a better reputation than 0 need only build theirs to
  10. This may sound unfair, but the greater the fall the more
  you need to prove, to yourself and others, if you intent to
  mend your ways. To repent changes the character on the in-
  side, but they must also change how the world sees them
  with open and obvious acts of heroim.
  Becoming a villain is also not dependant on your reputation.
  Firstly you need not be a scoundrel to become a villain.
  Heroes can fall to villainy just as easily as a scoundrel after
  all. The system works just the same as a hero becoming a
  scoundrel. However the deeds needed to become a villain are
  far darker. These ‘wicked deeds’ encompass the most terri-
  ble parts of human nature, including murder and torture. As
  with scoundrels a character must commit three ‘wicked
  deeds’, but these are far worse than ‘despicable deeds’. A
  few examples of wicked deeds are: cold-blooded murder
  whether attempted or successful, Torture, Murdering chil-
  dren by accident or on purpose, Rape and Mutilation. Essen-
  tially, murder and intense cruelty are potential wicked deeds,
  and when any character has committed three of them they
  become a villain, and therefore an NPC.
  When it comes to deciding whether a deed is despicable or
  
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  even wicked, it is the GM that has the final word. However
  each time a character risks such an action they should be
  warned that it may taint their soul. The GM should give the
  player a chance to decide on a different course of action. If
  the player still insists on committing the despicable or
  wicked deed, then they cannot say they were unaware of the
  consequences.
  Wicked deeds are so terrible that there is no way to cleanse
  the soul of their taint. No matter how far apart they are, or
  how much repenting a character does, such evil remains with
  them forever. The only true recompense they can make is to
  never act in such a way again. This may seem harsh, but they
  always have the choice about their course of action, and
  therefore no one to blame but themselves. Just as with
  scoundrels, the GM may rule that a suitably low moral repu-
  tation is enough to cause a character to fall to villainy. Any
  character who reaches –70 moral reputation has certainly
  made a life of questionable activities. If they do not begin a
  concerted effort to reform, the GM can decide they have
  fallen, no matter how many wicked deeds they have commit-
  ted. However this should not be as straight forward as be-
  coming a scoundrel. Being a villain in 7
  th Sea is to embrace
  true evil, so even a nasty criminal may not qualify after a life
  of stealing and corruption.
  Once a character is a villain they are an NPC, but there are a
  couple of other rules to note. The first thing is that unlike
  scoundrels there are no limits to the reputation values that a
  villain can acquire. Secondly, while Villanova may revel in
  his villainous reputation, there are plenty of evil manipula-
  tors who manage to convince the world they are saints. Both
  villains and scoundrels can often learn to hide their nature
  from detection, so good is their mask. When someone such
  as a male scry sorcerer or a cold reader attempts to perceive
  their true heart they may roll dice equal to their positive
  moral reputation dice. A character with no positive moral
  reputation has not built a façade and so cannot cover their
  real feelings. The person wishing to divine the true nature of
  the villain or scoundrel must then make a wits roll, with the
  cold read knack if applicable, using the reputation roll’s re-
  sult as their difficulty. If they fail the roll the villain’s heart
  remains secure and the scryer is none the wiser.
  For example, Richard Allen, Avalon scry sorcerer and so-
  cialite is trying to divine the true nature of Vincent Leveque
  D’ur at a ball. Although Vincent is a cold hearted villain, he
  has built a moral reputation of 35. This gives him 4 dice to
  resist Richard’s perception and he rolls 5, 8, 2 and 9 for a
  total of 24. Richard has a Wits of 2 and no Cold Read
  knack, he rolls 2 and 10, which explodes and yields a 6 for a
  total of 18, not enough to beat 24 though. The façade Vin-
  cent presents is too clever and even the magical senses of
  Richard show Vincent to be the hero everyone believes him
  to be.
  It is possible for a villain to become a hero again, but there is
  no system to do so. For such a fallen person to reclaim their
  better nature should be the subject of a heroic quest. Crea-
  tures so fallen as Villanova or Reis rarely return to the light.
  Converting Existing Characters
  It is simple to convert existing characters to the new system
  as their reputations are built on all the same deeds with both
  systems. A standard reputation in the old system is the sim-
  ple combination of Social, Martial and Moral actions. So
  each player simply divides a positive reputation among the
  three new scores in whatever way they feel is reasonable. If
  they have no reputation, their Social, Martial and Moral rep-
  utations will all remain at zero.
  The problems come with negative reputation. In this case
  you take the negative points and assign them to the three
  scores as above. Anything assigned to Moral reputation
  should be considered negative, and the GM may insist a cer-
  tain amount of the points are assigned to the negative score.
  The original rules assume negative reputation applies more
  to moral reputation. However an especially bad swordsman
  or courtier may apply negative values to Martial and Social
  reputation. The point here is that not all the negative reputa-
  tion points need be negative under the new system. The GM
  may allow character to give themselves negative reputations
  in one area to spend the points on a positive reputation in
  another. In general, as with any conversion, the GM and
  player should work together to make a reasonable adjust-
  ment rather than slavishly adhere to the exact numbers.
  
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  The only two advantages affected by the changes are
  Scoundrel and Citation. The adjustments to Scoundrel have
  been explained above and Citation is no more complicated
  than before. Just as before, the advantage grants 10 reputa-
  tion points at character creation. Under the new system you
  pick one of the three reputations for those points to apply to,
  depending on the deed. The advantage can be taken up to
  three times but not twice for the same reputation, earning the
  character reputation in any or even all of the three new repu-
  tations.
  When it comes to NPCs things are just as simple. Decide
  what the most important of the three reputations is to that
  NPC and give them a score equal to their old style reputa-
  tion. Then give them a reputation equal to half that score in
  the other two reputations. This is a general guideline, to help
  you convert things on the fly. For important NPCs you can
  simply give them whatever you feel is appropriate, after all,
  you are the GM. Their status as a hero, scoundrel or villain
  remains unchanged, but you may wish to turn some reputa-
  tions positive or change others completely.
  In general this system should allow you to reward players in
  different ways and grant a little more flavour to reputation in
  general. In many player groups there is a mixture of martial
  and courtly characters, which will all have reputation for dif-
  ferent things, useful in different ways. However, if for in-
  stance all the characters are musketeers and working in the
  same way, a single reputation score may suit things far bet-
  ter. You may feel the original system works fine, in which
  case keep it. Take from this system whatever parts suit your
  game.
  Are you Speaking to me, Sir?
  In the salons of Théah, words can be as dangerous as steel.
  Those unarmed with wit can often find themselves the tar-
  gets of scorn and derision. This may seem inconsequential,
  after all anyone can deal with a few insults. However, the
  masters of social duelling are not looking to just upset a tar-
  get or appear rude. Their jibes can strike the very heart and
  confidence of the strongest swordsman. Those they crush
  can be cast from society, made to doubt their abilities or
  even driven to suicide with such cutting words.
  If you watch the gentile world of the Montaigne or Vodacce
  court you may be forgiven for seeing only elegant soirees
  and polite society. However those who know the intrigues of
  the courts can see a world of vicious war and treachery that
  leaves plenty of victims wounded or dead. The salons be-
  come battlefields no less bloody than the mud-soaked fields
  of Eisen and Castille.
  Deadlier than steel
  Social combat involves duels of wit and insult. The combat-
  ants must never appear rattled or overtly rude in their be-
  haviour, but the rules for what qualifies as such change de-
  pending on the social class and wit of the contestant. The
  rules system works in a very similar way to physical combat,
  but involves the edge of the tongue rather than the blade.
  However, do not make the mistake of thinking it is any less
  dangerous. There are not very many masters of this art, but
  you would do well to be polite to them should you meet
  them. Social damage can ruin reputation and even destroy
  the confidence of the loser.
  When you enter social combat, you roll action dice depend-
  ing on your Panache, just as you do for physical combat.
  Most social combat is resolved using Wits, but damage is
  absorbed by how well you carry any insult with your
  Panache.
  Attacks are made using a Wits roll (instead of Finesse) and
  adding a skill depending on the situation. Some suggestions
  are:
  Etiquette – to shame someone not part of the prevailing culture
  Fashion – to attack the dress sense of the target
  Gossip – to wound from afar (for passive defence use Unobtrusive)
  Oratory – general attacks
  Sincerity – for outright lies
  Socialising – for more bawdy put downs and drinking games.
  These skills should be enough, but you may want to expand
  the list with, Acting (when copying another’s style) Bribery
  (when making deals), Incitation (for attacking crowds),
  Scheming (for any political attacks) and Seduction (an op-
  tion if the opponent is a paramour).
  
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  Unless otherwise stated, the passive defence is calculated us-
  ing the same skill as you are being attacked with. There is no
  separate dodge skill for social combat, and you can only
  fight using the same weapons as your attacker. This is the
  reason many duellists take the initiative in social war as they
  can choose the territory. An active defence uses that same
  skill coupled with Panache. An option allows you to make
  use of Cold Read with Wits (difficulty 20) to get the measure
  of an opponent before a contest and gain a +5 bonus any at-
  tack or defence rolls during the duel. However, if you fail
  the roll you make a wrong assumption about your opponent
  and suffer a -5 penalty instead.
  So, just like in physical combat, you roll to attack when you
  have an action in a phase, and attempt to score damage. If
  you beat the opponent’s active or passive social defence, you
  score damage.
  Reputation can be very useful in social combat as well. Each
  combatant gets additional dice for the duration of the combat
  equal to their social reputation divided by 10. In other
  words, they may use their reputation dice for each combat as
  an additional dice pool. Each of these dice may be used as an
  additional unkept dice on any roll during the combat, but
  when used they are gone. The dice return for the next com-
  bat, whenever that may be, and do not count as spent reputa-
  tion dice. This makes those with a high reputation score very
  dangerous contestants who can bolster their wit with the
  weight of their social power.
  Social Damage
  Social wounds can be just as dangerous to a character as
  physical ones. These wounds represent the damage done to
  the victim’s self confidence and standing. When a character
  engages another in repartee, there is ample opportunity to
  destroy their self confidence and send them running from the
  room in tears. Social wounds work in a very similar way to
  physical wounds, but use different attributes.
  Any social attack does damage equal to the Wits of the at-
  tacker, adding their Panache in unkept dice. So a social at-
  tack from a person with Wits 2 and Panache 3 is a 5k2 at-
  tack. This attack damage is dealt in Snipe (flesh) wounds
  which can lead to Social (dramatic) wounds.
  Each time a character takes snipe wounds they must roll
  greater than the total of snipe wounds they have received us-
  ing their Panache (just as Brawn is used against flesh
  wounds) or receive a Social wound. How a social wound ef-
  fects a character depends on their Wits, much like the way
  Resolve controls the effects of Dramatic wounds.
  An additional effect of social wounds is that they cost repu-
  tation as well. Anyone who takes a social wound loses three
  points of social reputation instantly. Reputation can also be
  gained from a social attack. Anytime you socially damage
  someone of equal or higher social reputation you gain two
  social reputation points, if they have less social reputation,
  you gain just one point.
  When a character receives social wounds equal to their Wits,
  their self confidence is crippled, and they cannot explode
  any dice. This applies to every roll they attempt as they have
  lost the belief they can do anything well, so shattered is their
  confidence. They are also unable to use any reputation dice,
  including the bonus dice for social combat. When a charac-
  ter’s social wounds are equal to twice their Wits their self
  confidence is utterly destroyed. They become totally cata-
  tonic, unable to do anything more than run away and curl up
  in a ball feeling utterly alone, unable to see or speak with
  anyone. They may even become suicidal. There is a 30%
  chance of this, modified by -5% for each point of Wits the
  character has to a minimum chance of 5%.
  Healing a social wound will stop this state of mind, but find-
  ing the opportunity to heal even one wound is rather tricky.
  A suicidal character will not necessarily instantly jump out
  of the window, but will actively plan their own demise and
  must be watched constantly. Even if a character does not be-
  come suicidal, the GM may call for another roll if they do
  not recover any social wounds after a week of this. If they do
  become suicidal they may have to rely on friends to save
  Variant damage
  You may wish to vary the rolls for damage, using the appropriate
  skills rather than the mixture of attributes. Such a rule would
  allow different forms of ‘weapons’ with different styles. For
  those who have a less subtle wit, you can rule that raw insult
  does a lot of damage, but can make the user look crass. So it
  adds 1 unkept dice to the attack roll, but increases the oppo-
  nent’s defence by 5 and always loses any ties on initiative.
  
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  them from themselves.
  Recovering self respect
  Healing social wounds either takes
  time or must be healed like any
  other wound. Few people con-
  tinue a social fight they are los-
  ing, and many run from the
  room as soon as they are
  wounded. After all, they have
  already been embarrassed, mak-
  ing it the perfect time to escape
  the contest.
  Healing can only occur when out
  of the duel, just like in a physical
  confrontation. In general, one so-
  cial wound can be healed any
  time a character does particularly well at something and
  thereby restores a little of their self confidence. This is best
  represented by healing one wound each time a character suc-
  ceeds a skill roll by 15 points or more. Healing wounds by
  support and friendship is also possible. Those trying to bol-
  ster the confidence of an injured friend may try making a
  wits roll against a difficulty of 5, plus their friends social
  wounds times 5. So if a combatant has received 3 social
  wounds, the difficulty to heal them would be 20. Each friend
  may try to make such a roll, but only one wound can be
  healed in this way each day. There is only so much that
  friends can do for you in such a case. Remember that the
  most telling blows in social combat contain an element of
  truth and cannot just be laughed off when they find their
  mark. The character’s total snipe wounds are considered the
  same as one social wound for the purposes of healing. They
  must be healed before any social wounds, but do heal natu-
  rally at a rate of 5 points a day. Such low-grade insults seem
  so much less important after a good night’s sleep.
  So, you can see that social wounds take a long time to heal.
  The GM is free to grant more healing whenever he feels the
  character has had a chance to regain self-esteem. An espe-
  cially nice GM might allow a wound to be healed if the per-
  son who inflicted them is badly injured in a social duel him-
  self. If they lose reputation they seem a lot less to worry
  about. You could even allow a good day’s shopping or fash-
  ion to heal the wounds of a lady or foppish gentleman.
  Schools for Scandal
  The masters of verbal battle are the
  Montaigne, Vodacce and Castil-
  lians, and they each have devel-
  oped schools of wit. Avalon has
  one too, but primarily for de-
  fence against such attacks. These
  are not schools in the same
  sense as swordsman schools, al-
  though they work in almost the
  same way. They represent the
  abilities of those who are simply
  very skilled in a particular style
  of verbal battle. You don’t usu-
  ally learn them formally from a
  teacher, more you learn how to fight by living in that sort of
  environment. However, there are many masters who can
  teach a young courtier how to deliver telling blows and de-
  fend himself at court. In such a way can the schools be
  taught, even though no one would consider them an actual
  school. However, each country has its own idea about what
  is polite behaviour, and this too has been a factor in develop-
  ing the schools.
  While each country has a school of social combat, it is possi-
  ble for them to have two or more. Different courtiers through
  the ages have refined various styles of verbal repartee in the
  same way that swordsmen have. So it is perfectly permissible
  to create more schools for social combat using this model.
  Take the swordsman schools as your model, and with a bit of
  lateral thinking, many can be adapted for social duelling. In
  all cases the cost of the school is 20 points for a native and
  30 for a foreigner. They all offer the skill of Courtier, and in
  lieu of a second skill offer three extra character points to be
  spent on the Courtier skill. As with Swordsman schools, the
  rules for mastery and grand mastery apply. Lady Jamis Sices
  du Sices is rumoured to be a grand master of at least two
  schools. The schools themselves do not have names but
  rather represent the nature of their courts, which is the true
  and only training ground for such an art.
  
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  Avalon
  “Sir, I would love to trade insults with you, but I fear I would not
  get a fair return for my investment.”
  The Avalon practice a school designed to repel the attacks of
  others and remain calm and reserved. Years of domination
  by the Montaigne helped them develop this ability to accept
  overblown remarks with stoicism and refute them with po-
  liteness. The polite refusal to be drawn into a contest is diffi-
  cult to break. However, when the attacker is in no danger of
  reprisals, the weakness of the school becomes apparent. The
  opponent need only keep attacking until he gets through, as
  he is in little danger himself.
  Knacks: Bind, Fortitude, Wall of Steel, Exploit Weakness
  (Avalon)
  Apprentice: You gain +2 per mastery level to your passive de-
  fence.
  Journeyman: The difficulty to use any social knack against you is
  increased by 5.
  Master: You may have one free active defence each round, for use
  on any phase.
  Castille
  “Sir, I may be a liar, a cheat and a scoundrel, but I am also an ex-
  cellent swordsman and a passable shot, so I suggest you take that
  remark back.”
  The Castillians like to show off, and words are no different
  to steel. Castillian word play is loud and expressive; such
  duels often gather large crowds and can be quite entertain-
  ing. The Castillian word master knows how to use the
  crowd’s scorn to attack their opponent. The weakness of the
  school is the use of long and unusual words. They can make
  the duellist seem very well read and clever, but also make
  him more obtuse. Many opponents may not understand the
  insult and so are not affected; also the Castillian may embar-
  rass himself by using words that he is not as familiar with as
  he thinks he is.
  Knacks: Beat, Double Attack, Whirl, Exploit Weakness (Castille)
  Apprentice: If you are being watched openly by at least 3 other
  people of 10 or more reputation you gain +1 unkept dice to all
  rolls you make during social combat.
  Journeyman: You may do an extra point of snipe damage for ev-
  ery person of 10 reputation or higher who is actively watching
  your duel.
  Master: You gain 2 reputation points for any social wounds you
  do to an opponent regardless of their reputation.
  Montaigne
  “So shall we fight with blade or wit? I suggest for your sake we
  choose steel, as you can at least borrow a blade.”
  The Montaigne school is a nasty and vindictive one. Nothing
  is too low for a Montaigne duellist, and every word they ut-
  ter is barbed with poison. They excel at sending their ene-
  mies in tears from the ballroom with only a few offhand re-
  marks. However this also forms the weakness of the school,
  making them appear rude rather than clever which opens
  them to attack.
  Knacks: Beat, Lunge, Pommel Strike, Exploit Weakness
  (Montaigne)
  Apprentice: You may put an extra twist into your attacks, granting
  you and extra +2 to your damage roll.
  Journeyman: Your wit is so vindictive, once per attack you may
  spend a Reputation die to make an opponent reroll a successful
  social wound check.
  Master: Your attacks are now so biting that you do an additional
  snipe wound for every point you beat our opponent’s passive or
  active defence by.
  Vodacce
  “I would take you on in a battle of wits, but as a gentleman I could
  not attack an unarmed man.”
  The Vodacce are masters of the veiled insult. Their school is
  clever and underhand masking insult within complement and
  normal conversation. This can lead to the school’s weakness,
  as only a clever opponent can understand the subtle insult
  implied in the words.
  Knacks: Feint, Riposte, Stop thrust, Exploit Weakness (Vodacce)
  Apprentice: You are able to capitalise on your opponents mis-
  takes, if they miss your passive defence by 5, you get a bonus of
  +5 to your attack if you strike on the next phase.
  Journeyman: Your mastery of subtle attack grants to +1 to your
  Feint knack which may now raise to a maximum of 6.
  Master: You know how to play a waiting game, add 1 extra un-
  kept dice to your next attack for each phase you hold the action.
  These dice do not carry over to the next round.
  Courtesans
  “Why don’t you come upstairs with me? That way my other guests
  won’t have to bear your company.”
  The courtesans of Vodacce practice their own school of so-
  cial combat, which involves seduction as well as insult. The
  courtesan draws her opponent in with the implied promise of
  her wiles, and then attacks her enemy when his guard is
  down. It can be devastating, but anyone who remains cynical
  
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  of the ladies sudden attachment often fails to take the bait.
  Knacks: Double Attack, Feint, Pommel Strike, Exploit Weakness
  (Courtesan)
  Apprentice: You may add your rank in the seduction knack to any
  attack rolls you make.
  Journeyman: You can make anyone seem rude when they take an
  aggressive stance, they suffer a -10 penalty to any attack roll they
  make against you, but only if you have not yet attacked them.
  Master: Your control of the combat lets you roll an extra action
  dice each round.
  Pirate
  “I like the front of your coat. Shame I never see it when there’s a
  fight.”
  Pirates may not use the same gentile words as the Montaigne
  court, but social combat is just as important to them. In a
  world where reputation counts for all, no one likes to be in-
  sulted in public. Those who lose such pirate banter sessions
  often resort to fighting to restore their honour and respect,
  but the damage is still done. Pirate social combat is far more
  raucous and obvious than more refined versions, but no less
  telling. However its lack of wit allows the opponent to write
  off the insult as just the ravings of a drunkard.
  Knacks: Beat, Fortitude, Lunge, Exploit Weakness (Pirate)
  Apprentice: Your rather blunt attacks do an additional +2 damage.
  Journeyman: Your brazen nature allows you to only lose 1 rather
  than 3 reputation points when you gain a social wound.
  Master: Your brutal nature gives you a Fear Rating at +3 in social
  situations.
  As the same system is used for social and physical combat,
  the swordsman’s knacks also fit into social combat. These
  work in much the same way as they do in physical combat.
  However it should be noted that they are entirely different
  skills. An Ambrogia swordsman has no skill in the social
  combat pommel strike just because he is familiar with the
  physical variety of the knack. The list of swordsman’s
  knacks already in the game is extensive, but not all of them
  fit for one reason or another. However, you may choose to
  add and adapt some of the ones not used here. The swords-
  man’s knacks used are detailed below, and include a tagline
  to show how they can be used. The rules for the knacks are
  usually exactly the same as for the physical version. Any dif-
  ferences in their use are noted in their description.
  Dismiss ( Beat )
  “Well, I don’t know what you…”
  “Do be quiet dear boy; the clever people are trying to talk.”
  When using Dismiss you steal your opponent’s ability to at-
  tack or defend by attempting to dominate their personality.
  Often you speak over them or but into their conversation.
  This is very tricky to pull off without appearing rude. This
  knack uses Panache+Dismiss and you must raise equal to the
  opponent’s Panache rather than their Brawn.
  Shame ( Bind )
  “I’m sure that for men of good taste, such rude conversation is
  seemly”
  Although you cannot disarm your opponent very easily, you
  can force them into such a position that it becomes difficult
  for them to attack. The best way to do so is to suggest that
  trading insults is deeply unseemly. However, this binds you
  to the same situation, until one of you can think of a more
  subtle witticism with which to renew the battle.
  Again, this knack works as it does in the main rule book,
  however, Wits is substituted for Brawn in all cases. It is also
  work noting that you need not have a specific weapon to at-
  tempt a verbal Bind but as no one is able to use two weapons
  in such a fight binding leaves both combatants in the same
  position.
  Disarm
  “I am quite sure you would not be so gauche as to bring up that
  topic in such company.”
  Here the speaker attempts to prevent a specific attack by
  making it socially impossible for the opponent to use a po-
  tentially embarrassing topic against them. On a sucessful
  roll, the opponent is prevented from using a specified topic
  (ie. Fashion, Etiqutte) during the combat. Only one topic
  may be Disarmed on each opponent, any further use of the
  skill changes the barred topic instead.
  Quick Wit ( Double Attack )
  “I’m so glad you chose to wear that awful wig today, it distracts
  me from the horror of the dress you have chosen.”
  Here you attempt to use two insults at the same time. It is
  very tricky to find two that fit, and both are usually a little
  more crass than usual, making them easier to fight off. In
  combat this functions exactly as in Die Kreuzritter (p70)
  
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  Feint
  “That lovely dress must have taken ten maidservants to get you into
  it; of course I hear it only takes one stable boy to get you out of it.”
  This is an attack that seems to be made against on aspect of
  the opponent, only to shift at the last moment to attack an-
  other aspect, such as from fashion to sexual habits. This
  knack works the same was as the main rulebook, except that
  you use Wits+Feint to make the attack.
  Thick Skin ( Fortitude )
  There is no tagline to go with this knack as it simply repre-
  sents a resilience to taking insult. You have hardened your
  self confidence over time to better ignore the sniping of oth-
  ers. Just as noted in Ussura (p99) you can add +1 to any so-
  cial wound check for each level you have in this knack.
  Scathe ( Lunge )
  “Good Lord isn’t that the same dress I gave to my serving girl last
  week. Ah yes, here is the damaged hem that meant I couldn’t wear
  it. Really my dear, are you sure you are fit for such company as
  this? Nobody else is wearing a servant’s cast off.”
  When using this knack you insult your opponent with some-
  thing unspeakably rude, but difficult to disprove. This leaves
  them flustered by the cruelty and crudeness of your attack
  and rather exposed. As they need evidence to refute your
  claim they are also left badly socially damaged. However,
  your own overt rudeness leaves you open to a multitude of
  attacks from other quarters as your own wit and social grace.
  This knack works in exactly the same way as the version in
  the main rulebook.
  Cheap Shot ( Pommel Strike )
  “Are so many feathers on a gown really necessary for a creature
  that does not fly?”
  This knack is a sneak attack. Unlike its physical counterpart,
  it can only be used when you have the element of surprise on
  your opponent. Having said that, you need not leap up be-
  hind someone and attack them. If you have been watching a
  verbal combat and suddenly decide to chime in, then you
  may use pommel strike. When it is used the opponent is so
  shocked to be attacked when off guard they are left open for
  a moment. The attack itself is a short barb, designed as the
  prelude to a larger attack. This knack works in exactly the
  same way as noted in the main rule book.
  Riposte
  “Darling, that wig is so last season.”
  “Oh you are so right; I should never have copied your style.”
  This move allows you to take an insult thrown at you and
  use it to insult your attacker. In combat, this knack works
  just the same was as described in the main rules, just differ-
  ent attack and parry knacks are available.
  Side Step
  “Great Theus, what is that apparel you are wearing.”
  “Thank you my lady, it was made by the same seamstress that I be-
  lieve you engaged for your dress.”
  With this Knack you simply avoid the insult as it flies to-
  wards you, perhaps even by taking it as a complement. In
  combat this functions exactly the same as in Castille (p97)
  Interrupt ( Stop Thrust )
  “That jacket…”
  “…uses the finest silk. So much in fact there were obviously only
  the cheaper materials available for that sack you are wearing.”
  With this knack you simply get your insult in first. In combat
  this functions exactly the same as noted in Vodacce (p97)
  Filibuster ( Wall of Steel )
  “What lovely weather we are having this time of year, did you see
  that play recently…”
  The use of this knack means you simply do not stop talking.
  Your constant babble makes it tricky to get an insult in. The
  truly skilled keep changing subjects as well to further con-
  fuse the opposition. However, in this mode it is very tricky
  to level an attack yourself. In combat this functions exactly
  the same as noted in Invisible College (p79) except that you
  need not be using fencing parry as your passive defence!
  Barrage of Insults ( Whirl )
  “You, what sort of costume are you wearing, and you how dare you
  look at me that way, you pick your feet up idiot…”
  This knack is designed to work against Brutes by quickly
  picking out some failing in each of them in turn. In this way
  it has similarities to ‘Wall of Steel’. The comments are quick
  and authoritative, but often lack subtlety. In combat this
  functions exactly the same as noted in Castille (p96). Brutes
  in this case are often a group of inexperienced debutants ea-
  ger to win a social combat through force of numbers rather
  than skill.
  
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  Exploit Weakness
  Works exactly the same as it does in the main rules, and the
  style depends on the school you are against.
  The limits of Social Combat
  The ability to drive someone to suicide may sound very
  powerful, and it is, but social combat is limited in ways
  physical combat is not. For a start, you need to engage an
  intelligent opponent, in a language they understand. After
  all, no one can be truly insulted if they don’t understand how
  they are being attacked. In which case the GM may apply a 5
  point penalty to any target numbers a combatant rolls against
  when not duelling in their native language.
  It is also important to have an audience. Without anyone
  watching there is no reputation loss or gain for either party.
  It is also impossible to play to a non-existent crowd. So
  without the additional humiliation of society’s laughter the
  wounds delivered are not so telling. So without an audience,
  damage is rolled only with kept dice equal to Wits, you do
  not gain any extra unkept dice from Panache. While Social
  combat can take place in a bar or duelling field as much as a
  ballroom, the GM may disallow social duelling if they feel
  the circumstances are not appropriate.
  To finish, we should point out that this system is designed as
  an aid to role play rather than a replacement. So when using
  this system, it is vitally important that you do not reduce it to
  pure dice rolling. As each player makes an attack or defends
  themselves, the player should try and at least offer a sugges-
  tion for what their character is saying. If the suggestion in-
  cludes the right mixture of insult and intelligence then the
  GM should allow a bonus to their roll. This encourages them
  to role play as much as possible during such encounters.
  If you already play a game of verbal duelling with a group
  adept at word play and banter, then don’t change a thing.
  However, it is often the case that players create characters
  with far more wit than they themselves possess. Even the
  few players who occasionally manifest the wit of Oscar
  Wilde or Jane Austen can manage to maintain such a level
  for each game session. So at times like these this system is
  there to even the balance.
  The Délicatesse school
  History
  The history of Délicatesse begins in 1664 with a lady duellist
  of Montaigne called Arielle Valroux du Martise. In her ca-
  reer as a fencer, she became the nemesis to Duke Marcel
  Sices du Sices, a powerful noble of the Montaigne court. His
  men had failed to despatch the young women on numerous
  occasions due to her superior skill. So he hatched a dishon-
  ourable plan to rid the world of his enemy. Lady Arielle was
  invited to a ball in L’Empereur’s honour. This being a for-
  mal affair she had no choice but to attend in a full ball gown,
  completely unarmed, lest doing so offend her host or invite
  social death from the other ladies. It was at this ball the
  Duke's men attacked.
  Unarmed and almost unable to move in the bulky skirts,
  Arielle had to think quickly. Grabbing a sword from one of
  the guards she dealt with the problem of being unarmed. But
  the ball gown proved more difficult. Due to the changing
  fashions of the court, she had borrowed the dress from a
  powerful patron, Countess Roseline Étalon du Toille. To re-
  turn it ripped and torn was unthinkable, and could lose her a
  powerful ally. So she improvised a new style of swordplay.
  Instead of grasping a ‘main gauche’ in her left hand, as her
  Valroux training taught, she delicately grabbed her skirts to
  allow more movement. She used lunges and jabs to keep the
  attackers at bay and took great care to let not one land a
  blow to her costume. However this still didn't grant her
  much of an advantage. That was until she realised the cloth-
  ing she wore was at least designed with one movement in
  mind, dancing. Using the steps of court dance rather than a
  swordsman's footwork, she quickly dispatched her would be
  assassins, all of whom were unprepared for her new sword-
  play. She even managed to remove them without damaging
  the dress, all the time dancing about the ballroom.
  The Countess Roseline was impressed, as were the rest of
  the court, as she had seen the whole thing and marvelled at
  the duellist’s ability. So much so that she commanded the
  lady to teach this new trick to her daughter. The Countess
  wanted her daughter to be able to defend herself, but not go
  running about the country like a musketeer. Eager to keep
  
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  her patron happy, Arielle was forced to agree and worked to
  turn her improvised style into a full sword school. The
  daughter, Nicole, did well at the new school despite the fact
  that Arielle was making it up as she taught and many of her
  friends asked to join. Arielle tired of the teaching and
  quickly left the school when Nicole became a master, having
  discharged her duty to her patron.
  But as luck would have it, Nicole enjoyed the sword and
  teaching it, but didn’t want to become a swordswoman.
  Many young women became students at the school, but few
  dedicated themselves enough to become masters. The school
  remained a 'hobby' for Nicole and a 'play school' for nobles
  with nothing better to do. It was considered a ‘ladies fencing
  class’, and not worthy of a dedicated swordsman or woman.
  It was untried on the battlefield and sneered at by every
  other swordsman. That was until in 1667 and Eisen lord
  called Joseph Von Weisburg came to learn its ways. He re-
  alised the school allowed you not only to fight in a skirt, but
  also in bulky armour. He was right, and used Délicatesse on
  the battlefield to great effect, but not for long. He reverted to
  his usual style when he realised that other troops were laugh-
  ing at the 'dancing drachen' even when he won. His use did
  however give the school a little respect, but as it rarely
  turned out a duellist, any sneer against its honour went unde-
  fended.
  The school has very few dedicated practitioners. Vodacce
  courtesans are often visitors to the school, and think highly
  of it. However, Montaigne nobles do not want their daugh-
  ters mixing with such women, and Veronica Ambrogia
  works very hard to see her school remains the most popular
  in Vodacce. Nicole fights hard to see the school on her estate
  in Toille gain respect. Unfortunately, she does so politically,
  not by proof of arms and technique, so she remains unsuc-
  cessful. She works hard to gain favour and respect from the
  Swordsman’s Guild, but Veronica Ambrogia has continually
  blocked its acceptance as a sanctioned school. Still, it is
  rather fashionable to allow daughters to train at her school.
  Perhaps one day the school will gain respect when the ladies
  of the court and not the Musketeers repulse assailants at an-
  other ball.
  Weakness
  The weakness of the school is that it teaches the student to
  move as little as possible and keep the opponent at a dis-
  tance. Close fighting in a gown is very difficult, although all
  that corsetry does help posture quite a lot, and reducing
  movement reduces the worry of tripping on the skirts. An
  opponent who takes the fight to the student or makes her
  move to avoid such close combat has her at a disadvantage.
  Nicole Étalon du Toille
  Nicole began learning the school when she was 14, and three in-
  tense years later she was a master, albeit one who had never been
  in duel outside the training room.  During the revolution she found
  herself trapped in the Chateau du Soleil.  She was there to try to
  convince Anne du Montaigne to talk to her husband, Captain Jean-
  Marie, on her behalf.  Nicole hoped that if a few lady musketeers
  visited the  academy to study, she might gain more support in her
  attempts to get the school recognised. However, the revolution in-
  terrupted their conversation, even as the two ladies were getting on
  very well.  When musketeers came to spirit Anne away, Nicole
  saw a chance to distinguish herself.  So she joined Anne in her
  flight to Eisen, and finally tested herself in real combat.  By the
  time they reached Eisen, Nicole’s training had moved from the
  school to the real world.  She was horrified to have spilt blood, but
  she was even more glad to have survived the journey.  The experi-
  ence has made her and Anne very close, and she now acts as
  Anne’s unofficial bodyguard.  She has also taught many of the
  émigres her style. Nicole still wants to return to Montaigne and
  reclaim her family’s estate so she can build her school again.
  However, as one of the few heirs to the Étalon du Toille fortunes,
  her family is pressuring her to marry.
  Nicole is a pretty but quite average Montaigne noblewoman.  She
  dresses well in elegant gowns as befits her station, but her grace
  makes her sword training obvious to a keen observer.  However,
  she is a courtier before she is a duellist and has only fought to pro-
  tect Anne or defend the name of her school.  She does not always
  carry a blade, but usually has one close to hand.
  Nicole Étalon du Toille – Hero ( 7th Sea™ )
  Brawn: 2, Finesse: 4, Wits: 3, Resolve: 2, Panache: 3
  Reputation: 25
  Background: None
  Arcana: Willfull
  Advantages: Castillian (R/W), Eisen (R/W), Montaigne (R/W)
  Combat Reflexes, Indomitable Will, Noble
  Athlete: Climbing 1, Footwork 3, Sprinting 1, Throwing 1
  Fencing: Attack (Fencing) 3, Parry (Fencing) 3
  Firearms: Attack (Firearms) 1
  Rider: Ride 2
  Délicatesse ( Master ): Feint 5, Side-Step 5, Disarm 5, Exploit
  Weakness (Délicatesse) 5
  Courtier: Dancing 4, Etiquette 3, Fashion 4, Gossip 2, Oratory 2,
  Politics 1, Sincerity  2
  Nicole Étalon du Toille ( d20™ )
  Noble 3 / Délicatesse Swordswoman 5: CR 8
  
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  Skills
  Fencing, Courtier
  Swordsman’s Knacks
  Feint (Fencing), Side Step, Disarm, Exploit Weakness
  Apprentice
  The apprentice learns how to avoid bulky clothing getting in
  the way of fighting, gaining no penalty for fighting in bulky
  skirts and foolish hats. Although designed to be used dressed
  in ladies fashions, it also halves any penalty gained for fight-
  ing in armour. As the style of the school uses dance, a stu-
  dent of Délicatesse may use the dancing knack in place of
  footwork during any combat. She also gains +5 to her pas-
  sive defence against ‘Tagging’ attacks for each mastery
  level.
  Journeyman
  At this level a lady uses her dancing skills to allow her to
  change partners, even while fighting. She can defend herself
  from multiple opponents, not just her current ‘dance part-
  ner’. So she gains an additional active defence each round,
  which may be used against any attacker without penalty.
  Master
  To maxmise ease of movement, the Délicatesse master learns
  how to change hands during a duel by momentarily dropping
  her skirt. She can make this switch during any Phase prior to
  an attack and recieves a free Raise to her next attack roll or
  attempted Feint. Her TN to be hit also increases by 5 for that
  Phase only (in addition to the increase against Tagging at-
  tempts), but she may not attempt any Active Defences or use
  any Swordsman Knacks except for Feint until the end of the
  Phase, or until she takes another action that does not involve
  changing hands. Thanks to extensive training in this swich
  method, she does not suffer a penalty from wielding a
  weapon in her off-hand, and may benefit from the Left-
  Handed Advantage when using that hand.
  New Prestige Class - Délicatesse Swordsman
  The Délicatesse school is designed to allow a student to de-
  fend themselves wile dressed in ungainly flowing courtly
  dress. While it is of most use to young ladies wishing to use
  a blade and still wear elegant gowns, it is also useful for
  those burdened with heavy armour. The school uses dance
  steps to allow the practitioner to move naturally in their
  dress and avoid their opponent’s blade. However they must
  keep their enemy at a distance, because if the opponent starts
  to lead the dance, all is lost.
  Requirements
  To qualify as a student of Délicatesse, a character must fulfil
  the following criteria:
  Base Attack Bonus +4
  Feats: Dashing and Daring, Weapon Focus (Rapier)
  Skills: Perform (Dancing) 4 ranks, Sense Motive 4 ranks
  Special: This school is usually open only to well born female
  characters. Men and low born characters require the GM’s
  permission to be trained in this school.
  Game Rule Information
  Alignment: Any
  Hit Die: D8
  Class Skills
  The Délicatesse student class skills (and the key ability for
  each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Diplomacy (Cha),
  Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha/Dex), Ride (Dex),
  Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis) Swim (Str) and
  Tumble (Dex). See chapter 4 in the Player’s Handbook™
  for skill descriptions
  Skill points at each level: 4 + Int modifier
  Class Features
  All the following are class features of the Délicatesse
  swordswoman school.
  Weapon and Armour Proficiency: A student of this school is
  Level
  Base
  Attack
  Fort
  Save
  Ref
  Save
  Will
  Save
  Special
  1
  +1
  +0
  +2
  +2
  Elegance
  2
  +2
  +0
  +3
  +3
  Bonus Feat
  3
  +3
  +1
  +3
  +3
  Change
  Partners
  4
  +4
  +1
  +4
  +4
  Bonus Feat
  5
  +5
  +1
  +4
  +4
  Lead the
  Dance
  
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  proficient with all simple weapons and all non-exotic long
  blades. This school does not encourage the use of armour
  and shields.
  Elegance: At 1
  st level the student receives no penalty for
  fighting in courtly dress. Also, the Tagging feat cannot be
  used against a student of this school.
  Bonus Feat: At 2
  nd and 4
  th level the student receives a bonus
  feat as a fighter of the same level.
  Change Partners: At 3
  rd level the student is no longer sur-
  prised by attacks from additional opponents. She gains a
  bonus of +5 (to AC or skill rolls) to defend herself against
  attacks of opportunity.
  Shift of Lace: At 5
  th level the student may switch hands with
  their sword granting a +2 attack bonus but suffering -1 AC
  penalty.
  The Lost Art of Mirage
  In the land of Théah, mirrors have power. A sorcerer of Mi-
  rage has learnt to harness that power. No one is sure where
  the discipline originated. It is assumed to be one of the arts
  founded by the bargainers, and therefore as tainted as Porté
  and Sorte magics. However, the actual bloodline related to it
  is a mystery. It is most often found in Avalon and Mon-
  taigne, and has occasionally occurred in Vodacce. No other
  blood has produced a Mirage sorcerer yet. This selection of
  bloodlines has lead to different theories as to the origin of
  the power. Many Avalon believe it derives from glamour and
  the Fae. After all, the Sidhe are known in legend for using
  mirrors for magic. However, the actual powers bear similar-
  ity to Porté, leading to a Montaigne origin. Some say that the
  Montaigne have gained the power purely through their van-
  ity, and sold their souls to mirrors years ago. The last theory
  is that the talent is possibly a gift for the children of sorcer-
  ers who lost their souls to mirrors, and were born with a pat
  of their soul on the other side of the glass.
  Mirage works like any other Sorcery. It draws no power
  from a spirit like Glamour and Pyeryem and functions in
  similar ways to Porté and Sorte. In just about every case you
  need mirrors or at least a reflective surface to do your magic.
  This is another reason Mirage sorcerers stay quiet. The easi-
  est way to defeat one is to break all the mirrors you can find.
  The sorcerers themselves have worked hard to see their art
  fade from public knowledge. Even though the power shares
  nationality with other magicians, only those twice blooded
  can have the power with another. There are no full blooded
  Mirage / Porté Montaigne magicians. What you can have is a
  character twice blooded in Mirage and Porté, yet have only
  Montaigne blood.
  Like all other sorceries, Mirage has three levels and various
  knacks. They gain the same starting points and advancement
  rules as any other sorcerer. While Mirage should not be too
  unbalancing to ban players from using, as with all the lost
  sorceries it is really designed for NPCs. Carting around large
  mirrors is difficult for travelling adventurers. It is also a very
  rare power; something few people even know exists. For this
  reason it works better in the hands of a nasty enemy noble
  woman, manipulating her friends at court.
  Knacks
  Viewing, Farsight, Pastsight, Soul Stealing, Image Control,
  Shattering*
  Apprentice
  The Apprentice learns how to reach into a mirror. They can
  push their arm into the glass and leave anything they can
  carry inside the reflection. They can leave things in the re-
  flection in such a way that they can’t be seen by anyone
  viewing the mirror.
  Adept
  The Adept has learnt how to step into the mirror completely.
  They must be able to walk through the frame, they can’t
  shrink to fit. If the mirror is broken they are trapped there
  unless a master can bring them out. They cannot leave the
  room the mirror reflects, doors and windows just won’t
  open. If outside, reality just seems to blur and fade away
  where the mirror can’t reflect the real world. A room appears
  just as it would in the real world, only back to front. They
  can hide in the mirror, and be seen only when they wish, or
  by another Mirage magician of equal or greater rank. Using
  this power they can reach out of the mirror to touch a
  viewer, or attack their reflection on the inside.
  
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  Master
  A master has learnt to navigate the space between mirrors.
  They can step into one mirror, travel to the reflection of any
  mirror they know. There they can step out, or attack anyone
  looking into the mirror. The restriction is that to find the
  mirror they are aiming for, they must be able to picture what
  it is reflecting. Such a mirror is considered ‘known’. If it has
  been moved from the last time they saw it by more than
  twenty feet, or placed in another room, they can’t reach it.
  That is until they see it again.
  Knacks
  Viewing - This knack allows the user to see within any mir-
  ror they are looking into the reflection from any mirror they
  know. The difficulty depends on how far away the mirror is.
  5
  Next room
  15
  Next City
  10
  Next Village
  25
  Next Country
  Farsight - This knack allows the sorcerer to look into the fu-
  ture reflected by a mirror. You must be looking into the mir-
  ror that will one day hold the reflection you want to see.
  However, if you cannot get to the mirror in question, but
  know where it is, you can link to it with Viewing first. The
  trouble with this power is that you have no guarantee that
  the mirror in question will reflect what you want to see in the
  future. If it gets moved after you use it you are not going to
  get the result you want. The difficulty depends on the time
  you wish to view.
  10
   Tomorrow
  15
  Next Week
  25
  Next Year
  40
  Next 100 Years
  Pastsight - This knack allows the user to look at past reflec-
  tions from any mirror they know. The same rules apply to
  this knack as to Farsight, but for the past, not the future.
  With Pastsight you can only see what the mirror has once
  reflected. It doesn't matter if the mirror gets moved as its
  life’s reflections are stored within. However it is very frus-
  trating to forget it was in a different castle when what you
  want to look at occurred. The difficulties are:
  10
  Yesterday
  15
  Last Week
  25
  Last Year
  40
  Last 100 years
  Soul Stealing - With this knack a magician can drain the
  feelings and soul of a person into a mirror, rendering them
  susceptible to the commands of the sorcerer. The Mirage
  magician must be in contact with the person as they look
  into the mirror, or inside the mirror they are looking into. As
  long as these conditions are met, the actual mirror need not
  be the same one each time. Many people have fallen prey to
  this power believing that destroying a single mirror may free
  them of it.
  No more that once per day the magician may use this knack
  against a difficulty of the victims Resolve times 5. If they
  succeed the victim gains one Shadow Point. If they fail the
  victim realises something is wrong. For each full day the vic-
  tim avoids seeing their reflection in ANY mirror, they lose 1
  shadow point. However, to pass a mirror and not view their
  own reflection requires a Wits roll with a difficulty of total
  Shadow points times 5.
  Shadow points are good and bad for the magician. The vic-
  tim is extremely suggestible under their influence. Any order
  or desire they hear the magician say to them will be obeyed
  unless they beat their total shadow points times 5 with a Re-
  solve roll, whether they are aware of the enchantment or not.
  However, they have a +5 bonus to their roll if they are aware
  of their ensorcellment. Unfortunately, the danger is that the
  victim becomes more and more morose and depressed the
  more shadow points they have to a maximum of 5. Each day
  they must roll their Wits against their total shadow points
  times 5. If they fail they will attempt suicide by the most ex-
  pedient means. Once they have failed the roll they will auto-
  matically fail it next time it is called for, assuming they sur-
  vive, unless they lose at least one shadow point. However, if
  they still have any shadow points, they will have to roll
  again tomorrow. The magician may only have one victim at
  a time.
  Image Control - This power lets a mirage wizard to change
  the image reflected in a mirror they touch. It can be subtle
  (the colour of curtains) or huge (everyone looks ugly). The
  effect will last until the magician touches the mirror again.
  The Difficulty depends of the degree of change, and the size
  of target group. The difficulty is in the hands of the GM, but
  the following list provides a guideline. Many Mirage magi-
  
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  cians use this power to give themselves reflections.
  5
  Everyone has different colour eyes
  10
  All ladies see their worst feature slightly amplified
  15
  The men of the castle will all appear to have beards and wear
  ladies clothing.
  25
  Lord Mortimer will see himself hideously disfigured
  Shattering ( can only be learned at Adept onwards ) - This
  terrifying power lets the mirage user hurt someone by dam-
  aging their reflection from inside the mirror. They appear in
  the reflection attacking the viewer, damaging them while
  they can do little more than watch. The magician makes a
  knack roll against the victim's resolve times 5. Any shadow
  points the victim has reduces their effective resolve by one.
  If the roll is a success, the victim cannot take their eyes from
  the mirror. The magician is free to attack their reflection as if
  it were physical with anything to hand. They watch in horror
  as a stranger walks up to their reflection inside the mirror,
  and puts a gun to their head. After the attack, the hold on the
  victim is broken. This power puts a terrible strain on the
  glass. There is a 40% chance the mirror will break the instant
  the victim dies, which is bad news for an Adept.
  It should also be noted that the reflection of the Sorcerer
  themselves changes as they rise in grade. An apprentice has
  an odd reflection, almost as if theirs is only two dimensional.
  In many cases the reflection also looks a lot better than it
  should, such as a wart not being present. For an Adept the
  change is more noticeable. They appear to be transparent and
  ghost like, easily noticeable as very odd. A master has no re-
  flection at all, although they can see their reflection in the
  glass on the other side, looking out of the mirror.
  Game Master’s Secrets
  Even the Masters of Mirage are mostly unaware of the ori-
  gins of their power. The mirage bloodline has suffered from
  predators and antisorcery sects like the Rilasciare. As Mirage
  Magicians don’t know how to protect their own bloodline,
  they stay very quiet.
  In fact the originator of this power was one of Montanus’s
  brothers, called Estrenius. Like Montanus, Estrenius was
  also a senator, but that was where the similarities ended. Es-
  trenius was a fop and a weakling; he had been brought into
  the senate to effectively grant his brother a second vote. He
  agreed with everything Montanus wanted, and in return was
  allowed to preen himself as much as he desired. He joined
  Montanus as he bargained with the Syrneth, but spent the
  whole time cowering. When the bargain was struck, for all
  his new magical power, he remained little more than his
  brother’s tool. So much so, that any of Estrenius’s abilities
  and accomplishments are usually historically ascribed to
  Montanus. When the dangers of the new Vaticine church be-
  came obvious, Estrenius was the first senator to leave Numa,
  and he settled with his family in the area that would become
  Montaigne. From their new home, Estrenius used his power
  to support his brother’s family and did his best to retire from
  the spotlight. However, it wasn’t long before one of his de-
  scendants was not happy with playing second fiddle to Mon-
  tanus’s descendants. During the rule of Careleman, the fam-
  ily attempted to take what little power remained to the de-
  scendants of Montanus, thinking them an easier target.
  Unfortunately, the Estrenius family underestimated their rel-
  atives, and their desire to keep what little they had. After a
  very short family feud, the entire Estrenius family was forced
  to run for their lives. Sorcery was a mark of nobility and
  power, and the Montanus family knew that another sorcer-
  ous family could rise to challenge them again unless they put
  it down for good. They hunted down as many of the family
  as they could, forcing them to go underground in the form-
  ing nation of Montaigne. Some managed to run across the
  sea to Avalon and settled there. They severed all contact
  with each other to ensure their own safety and quietly disap-
  peared. Satisfied that they were no longer a threat, the Mon-
  tanus family left them alone. With the bloodline doing its
  best to hide among the people they lived with, the sorcery
  has quietly diluted into Montaigne and Avalon. Full sorcer-
  ers are rare, but have been known to crop up almost by acci-
  dent when the right families happen to produce a child.
  Like all other Bargainer’s arts, Mirage has an effect on the
  Great Barrier. Every use of Mirage allows the races on the
  other side to see through the barrier. Through Mirage, the
  Syrneth watch with envy the pathetic apes who stole their
  lands.
  
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  New Base Class - Mirage Sorcerer
  Mirage sorcery uses mirrors and reflective surfaces to scry
  and manipulate the souls of its victims. In the days before
  mirrors, pools and other bodies of water were used by the
  sorcerer, but nowadays, mirrors are far more use.
  Apprentice: The first thing a Mirage sorcerer learns to do is
  take control of the mirrors around him and what they see.
  They also discover how to break open the barrier between
  reflection and reality and pass their hand into the glass.
  Adept: By now the sorcerer is able to enter the glass them-
  selves, lurking inside the reflections of mirrors to spy and
  manipulate those who look within.
  Master: Finally the Mirage sorcerer can move between re-
  flections, moving from inside one mirror to the next. They
  learn how to draw the souls of their victims into the glass or
  murder them by tearing apart their reflections.
  Requirements
  To become a Mirage sorcerer, a character must be human,
  have some natural portion of Avalon or Montaigne blood,
  and fulfil the following criteria:
  Feats: Either Half Blooded (Mirage) or Full Blooded
  (Mirage). Take Half Blooded (Mirage) as his 1st level feat,
  which makes them a Half Blooded Mirage Sorcerer. The
  character may advance to 7th level, but no farther. A charac-
  ter may, at 1st level, take the feat Full Blooded (Mirage) as
  his additional 1st level feat which allows him to advance
  past 7th level.
  In non-Théan campaigns, Avalon or Montaigne heritage is
  not required, although the DM may assign other criteria
  based on the specific world.
  Game Rule Information
  Alignment: Any
  Hit Die: D6
  Class Skills
  The Mirage Sorcerer’s class skills (and the key ability for
  each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration (Con), Diplomacy
  (Cha), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate
  (Cha), Knowledge (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Profession
  (Wis), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis) and Spot (Wis). See
  chapter 4 in the Player’s Handbook™ for skill descriptions
  Skill points at 1
  st level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4
  Skill points at each level: 4 + Int modifier
  Class Features
  All the following are class features of the Mirage Sorcerer.
  Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Mirage Sorcerer is profi-
  cient with all simple weapons; he is not proficient in the use
  of armor or shields.
  Apprentice: At 1st level, the Mirage Sorcerer may select one
  of the following abilities: Attractive Reflection (the sor-
  cerer’s reflection appears to have +1 greater Charisma than
  the sorcerer), spell (the sorcerer may select one Mirage spell,
  which does not count against his maximum number of spells,
  though other limitations still apply) or Image Repair 1/day
  (by manipulating his image the mage affects the real world,
  Level
  BAB
  Fort Save
  Ref Save
  Will Save
  Special
  1
  +0
  +2
  +0
  +2
  Apprentice, Mirage Checks +1, Image Control
  2
  +1
  +3
  +0
  +3
  Viewing: Next room
  3
  +2
  +3
  +1
  +3
  Mirage Checks +2
  4
  +3
  +4
  +1
  +4
  Timesight: A Day
  5
  +3
  +4
  +1
  +4
  Mirage Checks +3
  6
  +4
  +5
  +2
  +5
  Viewing: Next Village
  7
  +5
  +5
  +2
  +5
  Mirage Checks +4
  8
  +6 / +1
  +6
  +2
  +6
  Stepping, Timesight: A Week
  9
  +6 / +1
  +6
  +3
  +6
  Mirage Checks +5
  10
  +7 / +2
  +7
  +3
  +7
  Adept, Viewing: Next City
  11
  +8 / +3
  +7
  +3
  +7
  Mirage Checks +6
  12
  +9 / +4
  +8
  +4
  +8
  Timesight: A Year
  13
  +9 / +4
  +8
  +4
  +8
  Mirage Checks +7
  14
  +10 / +5
  +9
  +4
  +9
  Shattering, Viewing: Next Country
  15
  +11 / +6 / +1
  +9
  +5
  +9
  Mirage Checks +8
  16
  +12 / +7 / +2
  +10
  +5
  +10
  Glass World, Timesight: 10 Years
  17
  +12/ +7 / +2
  +10
  +5
  +10
  Mirage Checks +9
  18
  +13 / +8 / +3
  +11
  +6
  +11
  Master, Timesight: 50 Years
  19
  +14 / +9 / +4
  +11
  +6
  +11
  Mirage Checks +10
  20
  +15 / +10 / +5
  +12
  +6
  +12
  Soul Stealing, Timesight: 100 Years
  
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  healing himself (only) of 1D4 hit points)
  Mirage Checks: When a Mirage Sorcerer wishes to make a
  Mirage check (as defined in the appropriate rules) he may
  add this bonus to the check.
  Image Control: At 1
  st level the sorcerer can twist the images
  that mirror shows others. To use this power the sorcerer
  must have uninterrupted contact with the specific mirror and
  concentrate as he lays his curse upon it. Ever after, until the
  magic is dispelled by the sorcerer or another mage the en-
  chanted mirror will reflects things as the sorcerer has com-
  manded it to. However, should he use the enchanted mirror
  for scrying purposes he can see the true reflection if he
  chooses to. The DC of the Mirage check the sorcerer must
  make depends on how far he wishes to twist the image.
  Subtle manipulation (Everyone has different colour eyes) DC 5
  Minor Twisting (All ladies see their worst feature amplified) DC 10
  Obvious Adjustment (The men of the castle will all appear to have
  beards and warts) DC 20.
  Major Manipulation (Anyone sees themselves hideously disfigured
  or stunningly beautiful) DC 25
  If the sorcerer wishes to affect only one person when they
  look into the mirror he must hold something personal of
  their while enchanting the glass and the DC is raised by 3
  points.
  Viewing: Upon reaching 2
  nd level the sorcerer can see the re-
  flection in one mirror that ap-
  pears in another mirror. So he
  may see what is reflected in a
  mirror in another house in the
  glass he is looking at in front of
  him. This functions in a similar
  way to any other scrying. How-
  ever as the sorcerer is targeting
  a mirror and not a person there
  is little anyone can do to resist the
  magic. Unfortunately this ability
  only shows the reflection of the
  other mirror, not anything specific
  in the room. So if the person you
  want to watch is not there or the
  mirror is turned away the sorcerer is
  powerless to see what he wishes to. As the
  character advances in levels the range between the mirrors
  gradually increases. The sorcerer must know the rough loca-
  tion of the mirror he wishes to target (it can be in a different
  location in a room, but it must at least be in the same room)
  and he must also have been in physical contact with it at
  least once. To use this power the sorcerer must succeed in a
  DC 15 Mirage check, and the power lasts for one miute for
  each point above the DC gained.
  Timesight: When the sorcerer reaches 4
  th level his viewing
  ability has advanced so far he can now look into the past or
  the future. The images a glass sees are stored within it for-
  ever, and a Mirage mage can access those images. This abil-
  ity works in the same way as Viewing, and can be done in
  conjunction with viewing to see images from another mirror.
  As the sorcerer improves in levels he is able to see further
  back or forward in time. The problem is that if the mirror
  didn’t reflect what the mage wishes to see, he cannot view it.
  Mirrors are often moved or adjusted as time passes. So the
  further back or forward you wish to go, the less chance you
  have of finding the image you wish to see. As in viewing, the
  sorcerer must make a DC 15 Mirage check to activate the
  power, which lasts for 1 minute by each point he succeeds.
  Stepping: At 8
  th level the mirage sorcerer learns how to
  break the barrier between this world and the mirror realm.
  He can now pass into the glass and walk inside the reflec-
  tion. Inside the mirror he can more around as if in a back-
  wards version of real life. However other people’s reflec-
  tions appear as ghosts to him. Those who look into the mir-
  ror can see the sorcerer unless he
  conceals himself with whatever is
  to hand. To pass into the glass the
  sorcerer must be able to fit
  through the frame, and he can
  take anything inorganic with
  him that he can carry. However
  the sorcerer cannot leave the
  confines of the reflection he is
  in, and should the mirror break
  he is trapped within.
  Adept: At 10th level, the Mirage
  Sorcerer may select one of the
  following abilities: Attractive
  Reflection (the sorcerer’s reflec-
  tion appears to have +2 greater
  Charisma than the sorcerer), spell (the sorcerer may select
  one Mirage spell, which does not count against his maxi-
  mum number of spells, though other limitations still apply)
  
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  or Image Repair 1/day (by manipulating his image the mage
  affects the real world, healing himself of 2d4 hit points). All
  these abilities stack with those gained from apprentice.
  Shattering: When the sorcerer achieves 14
  th level he learns
  how to hurt the reflections of others when he lurks inside a
  mirror. He must first chain the image by paralysing it within
  the mirror. This requires a Mirage check with a DC of 15.
  Should the roll succeed the victim must make a will save or
  be rooted to the spot outside the mirror. Now they have
  paralysed their victim the magician can attack their image
  like any other paralysed target. Unfortunately even if it could
  move the ghost reflection cannot harm the sorcerer within
  the glass. If the sorcerer fails to paralyse the victim he can
  still attack, but must deal with a moving target. When the
  victim is no longer reflected the sorcerer cannot harm them.
  All damage done to their reflection leaves no marks on them
  physically, but does damage as normal.
  Glass World: Upon reaching 16
  th level the Mirage sorcerer
  learns how to leave the confines of a single mirror and travel
  between reflections. He can enter the reflection of one mirror
  and pass into the reflection of another, then leave the reflec-
  tion of the destination mirror if he chooses. As with step-
  ping, the sorcerer must be small enough to fit thought the
  frame to leave the mirror. However he can visit the reflection
  of even the smallest mirror if he does not wish to leave it.
  This requires a Mirage check with a DC of 20 to achieve,
  and is a good way to escape a broken mirror. However the
  sorcerer must know the location of the mirror he is travelling
  to (in the same way as Viewing) or he cannot reach it.
  Master: At 18th level, the Mirage Sorcerer may select one of
  the following abilities: Attractive Reflection (the sorcerer’s
  reflection appears to have +3 greater Charisma than the sor-
  cerer), spell (the sorcerer may select one Mirage spell, which
  does not count against his maximum number of spells,
  though other limitations still apply) or Image Repair 1/day
  (by manipulating his image the mage affects the real world,
  healing himself (only) of 3d4 hit points). All these abilities
  stack with those gained from Apprentice and Adept.
  Soul Stealing: The most terrible power of a Mirage sorcerer
  is available at 20
  th level. This ability allows the sorcerer to
  steal away the will of a target. To begin the process the sor-
  cerer must be in physical contact wit the victim as they look
  into a mirror, or they must be inside a mirror the victim is
  viewing. The sorcerer then makes eye contact with the vic-
  tim’s reflection and makes a Mirage check with a DC of 20.
  If this succeeds the victim is rooted to the spot in terror and
  must make a will save against a DC of 20. If the save fails
  the victim gains a shadow point. Each shadows point re-
  duces the victim’s Level, Wisdom and Intelligence by one
  point against any mental attack the Mirage sorcerer makes.
  Should the victim gain a shadow point they remember noth-
  ing of the experience, except a terrible feeling of dread.
  Should they resist the sorcerer’s power they snap out of the
  state and are fully aware they are under mental attack. If the
  victim can go for a day without seeing their reflection, and
  make a will save against a DC of 20 (applying the penalties
  for shadow points) he can remove a shadow point. Unfortu-
  nately the victim must make a will save against a DC of 15
  to pass a mirror without looking in. The sorcerer can attempt
  to give a victim a shadow point once each day, but can do so
  as many times as they wish. However, when the victim has
  gained 5 or more shadow points he has lost too much of his
  soul for life to have much meaning. Each day he must make
  a will save against a DC of 10, and if he fails he will attempt
  suicide. So the sorcerer must take care if he wishes to keep
  his puppets working for him. The sorcerer may only practice
  this power on one person at a time, and the victim becomes
  more depressed and ill looking with each shadow point they
  gain. At any time the sorcerer can restore the victim by mak-
  ing eye contact with his reflectionas before and letting the
  victim’s souls return from the other side of the glass.
  Mirage Sorcerer Spells
  A Mirage Sorcerer may cast arcane spells according to the
  tables below. He is limited to casting a certain number of
  spells per day, but he need not prepare his spells in advance
  as they are part of his blood. The number of spells is deter-
  mined by his level, as indicated on the tables below. Wisdom
  determines the maximum spell level the Mirage Sorcerer can
  access, along with the DC of the spells he uses. To cast a
  spell, A Mirage Sorcerer must have a Wisdom score of 10 +
  the spell's level. He gains bonus spells based on his Wisdom
  score, and the DC necessary to resist his spells equals 10 +
  the spell's level + the caster's Wisdom modifier. He other-
  wise casts spells as a sorcerer, as per the Players' Hand-
  book™.
  
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  Note that these spells are all enabled by the Mirage Sor-
  cerer's control of reflections and images, and the subtle ma-
  nipulation thereof. A Mirage Sorcerer must have access to a
  mirror or other clear reflective surface to use his power. This
  is the only material component required for any Mirage Sor-
  cery. To affect a person with their power the Mirage Sor-
  cerer must be able to see their target’s reflection, but need
  not see the target themselves. Unless noted, the Player's
  Handbook contains complete descriptions for the spells.
  0 Level
  Dancing Lights. Creates torches or other lights
  Daze. Creature loses next action.
  Detect Magic. Detects spells and magic items within 60’
  Flare. Dazzles one creature (-1 attack rolls)
  Read Magic. Read scrolls and spellbooks.
  1st Level
  Alarm. Wards and area for 2 hours/level.
  Charm Person. Makes one person your friend.
  Hypnotism. Fascinates 2d4 HD of creatures
  Identify. Determines the most basic function of a magic item.
  Sleep. Puts 4HD of creatures into magical slumber.
  2nd Level
  Augury. Learns whether an action will be good or bad.
  Misdirection. Misleads divinations for one creature or object.
  Mirror Image. Creates duplicates of you (1d4+1/3levels Max 8)
  Obscure Object. Masks object to divination.
  See Invisibility. Reveals invisible creatures or objects.
  3rd Level
  Bestow Curse. -6 to an ability score, -4 on attack rolls, saves and
  checks; or 50% chance of losing every action.
  Clairaudience/Clairvoyance. Hear or see at a distance for 1 min/
  level.
  Hold Person. Holds one person helpless for 1 round/level.
  Suggestion. Compels subject to follow stated course of action for 1
  hour/level or until complete.
  Nondetection. Hides subject from divination/scrying.
  4th Level
  Confusion. Makes subject behave oddly for 1 round/level.
  Divination. Provides useful advice for specific proposed actions.
  Phantasmal Killer. Fearsome illusion kills or does 3d6 damage.
  Remove Curse. Frees object or person from curse.
  Sending. Delivers short messages anywhere instantly.
  5th Level
  Contact Other Plane. Lets you ask question of extra-planer entity.
  Dominate Person. Controls a humanoid telepathically.
  Magic Jar. Enables possession of another creature.
  Mind Fog. Targets in fog receive a -10 to Wis and Will saves.
  Scrying. Spies on subject from a distance.
  6th Level
  Analyse Dweomer. Reveals magical aspects of subject..
  Eyebite. Charm, fear, sicken, or sleep one subject as gaze attack.
  Find the Path. Shows most direct way to a location.
  True Seeing. Lets you see all things as they really are.
  Symbol of Persuasion. Triggered rune charms nearby creatures.
  7th Level
  Ethereal Jaunt. You become ethereal for 1 round/level..
  Insanity. Subject suffers continuous confusion.
  Plane Shift. As many as 6 subjects travel to another plane.
  Prismatic Spray. Rays hit subjects with a variety of effects.
  Mind Blank. Subject is immune to mental/emotional magic and
  scrying.
  8th Level
  Antipathy. Object or location repels certain creatures.
  Clone. Duplicate awakens when original dies.
  Maze. Traps subject in an extra-dimensional maze.
  Sympathy. Object or location attracts certain creatures.
  Trap the Soul. Imprisons subject within a mirror.
  9th Level
  Freedom. Releases creature suffering from imprisonment.
  Gate. Connects 2 planes for travel or summoning.
  Imprisonment. Entombs subject within fate threads.
  Soul Bind. Traps newly dead soul to prevent resurrection.
  Time Stop. You act freely for 1d4+1 rounds.
  Spells per Level
  Character Level
  Maximum Spell Level
  Total Spells Known
  1
  0
  3
  2
  1
  4
  3
  1
  4
  4
  2
  6
  5
  2
  6
  6
  3
  7
  7
  3
  7
  8
  4
  9
  9
  4
  9
  10
  5
  10
  11
  5
  10
  12
  6
  12
  13
  6
  12
  14
  7
  13
  15
  7
  13
  16
  8
  14
  17
  8
  14
  18
  9
  15
  19
  9
  15
  20
  9
  16
  
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  Spell Progression ( spells per day )
  Love and Marriage
  To finish with, no book on the nobility would be complete
  without a note about love and marriage. In the real world,
  marriage was a business affair; love had nothing to do with
  it. This is often the case in 7
  th Sea as well, but in the roman-
  tic atmosphere of Théah, marriage often occurs for love, and
  love more often occurs without marriage! Any noble charac-
  ters will be under a certain pressure to marry and carry on
  the family line. Some may find themselves married to a
  spouse they have rarely met ‘for the good of the family’. In
  game terms this can be a wonderful opportunity. Do the cou-
  ple find love after being thrown together, or perhaps tragi-
  cally do they fall for someone else? This is especially likely
  for Vodacce characters, and it is a good way to allow a Fate
  Witch to travel. If she is married to one of the other charac-
  ters, she is able to adventure with her husband.
  In general, do not sideline the romantic lives of your charac-
  ters. Romance is as much a staple of the genre as sword
  fighting. D’artagnan gets involved in the plots of the Cardi-
  nal because he fancies one of the Queen’s ladies in waiting.
  The Scarlet Pimpernel has to hide his secret identity from a
  wife he loves, who is beginning to tire of his foppish mask.
  Your characters will want romance, so don’t be afraid of it.
  It is a great way to flirt with other members of your group
  after all! However, remember that any romance that happens
  in the game is doing only that. Don’t confuse love between
  characters as potential romance between players. This is es-
  pecially true if one of you isn’t single, and even more so if
  their partner doesn’t game. They may not understand how
  your character’s relationship is nothing to worry about, when
  their exploits are filled with passionate romance.
  Just about every swashbuckling character should have a
  paramour. It is a lot more fun when it is a player character as
  well. Plenty of couples fight, explore and adventure together
  in Théah after all. If the paramour is an NPC, don’t sideline
  the character. Consider what your character really thinks
  about them, and you may realise they are destined for a far
  more intense relationship. Once you get going your character
  will be climbing out of their paramour’s window in the dead
  of night in no time. Hopefully they will do so before the
  spouse returns, as quite often in swashbuckling stories the
  paramour is married! To get you started, if you decide your
  character should have a paramour, or maybe more than one,
  you can roll on the table below. These are just starting ideas
  to help you kick start your character’s amorous adventures.
  You can roll or choose from either list, no one said you had
  to stick to your own gender when assigning a paramour after
  all. You can adjust the ideas below, change their sexes and
  invent you own ones if you like. Again, this is just a starting
  point, it is far better to decide on this sort of thing naturally
  through role-play.
  Female Paramours
  1. Gabrielle, the Jenny who refused to charge you that night
  2. Sarah, the waitress at the local tavern, who always smiles
  at you when she brings your drink
  3. Denevra, the mysterious beauty who won’t tell you any-
  thing but when you can meet again
  4. Eva, the sailor who dragged you to her room that night
  5. Minnette, the maid who sighs when you leave the house
  of her mistress
  6. Arielle the Musketeer, who has fancied you since you du-
  elled.
  7. Collette, the shy but quick witted girl, who you talked
  with for hours at the ball
  8. Isabelle, the sorceress who you found yourself mysteri-
  ously drawn to
  9. Eleanor, the courtier who smiled at you from behind her
  fan
  0
  1
  2
  3
  4
  5
  6
  7
  8
  9
  1
  1
  2
  1
  1
  3
  2
  1
  4
  2
  2
  1
  5
  3
  2
  1
  6
  3
  3
  2
  1
  7
  4
  3
  2
  1
  8
  4
  4
  3
  2
  1
  9
  5
  4
  3
  2
  1
  10
  5
  5
  4
  3
  2
  1
  11
  6
  5
  4
  3
  2
  1
  12
  6
  6
  5
  4
  3
  2
  1
  13
  7
  6
  5
  4
  3
  2
  1
  14
  7
  7
  6
  5
  4
  3
  2
  1
  15
  8
  7
  6
  5
  4
  3
  2
  1
  16
  8
  8
  7
  6
  5
  4
  3
  2
  1
  17
  9
  8
  7
  6
  5
  4
  3
  2
  1
  18
  9
  9
  8
  7
  6
  5
  4
  3
  2
  1
  19
  10
  9
  8
  7
  6
  5
  4
  3
  2
  1
  20
  10
  10
  9
  8
  7
  6
  5
  4
  3
  2
  
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  10. Nina, the princess who held your gaze all night, even
  when dancing with other men
  Male Paramours
  1. Allain, the beggar who rescued you from street thugs and
  tended your wounds
  2. Estaban, the sailor who knows all the best bars, and how
  to show a girl a good time
  3. Jerome, the man servant who flirts with you every time
  you meet
  4. Boris, the barman whose strong hands seem gentle and
  kind when he holds your hand
  5. Marcus, the swordsman whose cynical rudeness oddly
  makes you want him more.
  6. Magritte, the quiet duellist, whose silence intrigues you all
  the more
  7. Victor, the musketeer who treats you with far more re-
  spect and distance than you’d like.
  8. Alejandro, the fop who sends you a ton of flowers each
  day
  9. Oswald, the dashing courtier your sister married, who
  smiles too often at you.
  10. Pietro, the dark eyed prince who danced only with you at
  the ball
  So if it all goes well, you may find your character getting
  married. Most wedding ceremonies are pretty much the
  same. The bride and groom promise to stay together before a
  priest or official. He then blesses the union and declares
  them legally wed. Weddings are full of plot ideas, just go to
  one in real life and look around you! So you are cheating
  yourselves not to role-play out the happy occasion should it
  come about. The ceremony itself will depend a little on the
  religion of the couple. So to give you a starting point, we
  present the Vaticine version of the ceremony. This forms the
  basis of most other Thean ceremonies, and is the most ritu-
  alised. Below is the basic ceremony, but there are many su-
  perstitions that can adapt it. These are noted with numbers
  and explained afterwards.
  Vaticine Wedding Ceremony
  The ceremony begins with the Groom waiting in the church
  with his best man. He or his father must kneel before the
  priest and ask for the attendance of Theus at his wedding.
  Groom: Holy Father, I humbly ask that Theus watch over
  this, my wedding day.
  Priest: Theus watches us always my son. Stand with your
  bride and present yourselves before his grace.
  The bride arrives in the company of her father. Together they
  stand before the priest who blesses the congregation as a
  whole.
  Priest: Children of Theus. We are gathered here under the
  gaze of all to witness the joining of two hearts and families.
  May the blessings of Theus be upon you all on this happy
  occasion.
  Congregation: Thanks be to Theus.
  Priest: Know that in this house, and in all houses your hearts
  are open to the lord who sees into the deepest parts of all
  men. Witness what you see here with an open and joyful
  heart, and seek not to interfere with that which our lord has
  ordained and blessed. Know also that if there is any just rea-
  son that this marriage is unfit to put before the lord, verily he
  does know. He who holds a sinful truth should speak it
  openly and before those here present now, lest it burn in his
  heart and taint the union of these two blessed souls. If any
  here present know of any lawful and just reason why this
  union is unfit for the blessing of Theus, they must speak it
  aloud now.
  There is a pause for objections.
  After the groom has asked for the presence of Theus. He goes to
  the door and opens it. This is a sign for the bride to enter. The
  Groom returns to the altar to await her. In another tradition he may
  not turn until she arrives at the altar. Meaning he cannot see her
  before he gets there, or know if she is coming at all.
  Another tradition linked to this is that the mother of the bride or
  other close female relation comes up the aisle first. She looks at the
  groom and then returns to the bride waiting outside, supposedly to
  report that he is a catch. To ensure her good report the groom of-
  fers her a small gift when she comes to check him out, however he
  is not allowed to speak to her.
  
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  Priest: (to bridal party) The gaze and light of Theus is upon
  you, and the heart and law of man has blessed this union.
  Therefore I ask you to come before me and be joined as one.
  The Groom steps forward and turns to the bride’s father.
  Groom: I <his name> ask that I may claim the hand of your
  daughter. That I may shoulder the burden of love and protec-
  tion you have offered her until this day.
  The father puts the daughter’s hand in the grooms, and the
  priest covers both their hands with his.
  Father: I grant you that burden and joy, freely and with all
  my heart before Theus.
  The father steps back taking his place in the congregation.
  The priest then looks to the bride and groom and gets them
  to repeat the following to each other. The groom goes first,
  then the bride.
  (Exchange of Vows): I <Groom or Bride’s full name> take
  you to be my <husband/wife>. I promise to love you, honour
  you and cherish you with all my heart always. As Theus is
  my witness, no other shall lay claim to my body and heart
  but you. No other shall I stand beside but you. No other shall
  have my trust and love but you. I promise here before the
  grace of our lord that we shall be forever joined as one, in
  poverty as much as in bounty, in sickness as much as in
  health, until death part us. This I do swear before Theus and
  my family for evermore.
  When both bride and groom have offered their vows the
  priest wraps their hands with his scarf.
  Priest: You have come before Theus and made a serious
  promise to each other before him. His light shines upon you
  both, and blesses this union. You are hereby bound as one
  flesh before him, made one with each other and sealed with
  his glory. No force of man may part you; no power of earth
  can sunder what Theus has wrought. By the authority vested
  in me under the light of Theus I pronounce before all here
  present that you are husband and wife. Go forth as one to
  love and serve each other under the will of Theus.
  The priest unwraps the hands and the couple leave the
  church together. The ceremony is ended and the congrega-
  tion can follow after.
  A popular tradition is that of wedding rings. Only an engagement
  ring is required. This is because the bride usually comes with a
  dowry from her family, which the groom’s family has access to
  from the official engagement. Should the groom fail to marry his
  bride, she will at least have the engagement ring as compensation.
  So the ring is traditionally worth at least a month’s salary of the
  groom. Wedding rings are pretty common if they can be afforded
  by the couple. Often only the bride is given a ring, but sometimes
  the groom wears one as well. This is becoming more popular. If
  rings are to be exchanged the ring is placed on the finger of the re-
  cipient while their partner to be says their vows. The exchange of
  vows speech is begun with
  “Let this band be a token of the love I bear thee. As a circle never
  ends, so shall my love never fade. Let this ring forever remind us
  both of the promise I make to you this day.”
  For the romantics the priest may also add “You may now kiss the
  bride” at the end. The more traditional couple may opt for the origi-
  nal version of “Let those here present witness that you two are now
  one.” Both versions have always been assumed to be an allusion to
  sex. Now the couple are married they can finally jump into bed to-
  gether, although they may well have already done so, even in 1668.
  In some traditions the father adds the following cheery threat.
  “But if you should cast aside that burden, know that I shall come
  for you and deliver its full force upon you with the might of Theus
  to guide my hand.”
  Adding these words is sometimes just traditional, and sometimes
  taken as a sign that the father does not approve of the match.
  In some ceremonies the priest calls three times, one for each
  prophet, for any objections to be voiced. He uses the words –
  In the sight of Theus and by the wisdom of the first prophet, I
  charge you to speak.
  In the sight of Theus and by the purity of the second prophet, I
  charge you to speak.
  In the sight of Theus and by the fire of the third prophet, I charge
  you to speak.
  Then until the coming of the fourth prophet, you are charged to
  keep that silence evermore.
  
  7th Sea™ / Swashbuckling Adventures™ eBook
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  Credits
  Writing
  Andrew Peregrine
  Additional Writing and Editing
  Mark Stanton Woodward
  System Mechanics
  Andrew Peregrine
  Additional System Mechanics
  Floyd Wesel and Christian MacLeod
  Line Development
  Mark Stanton Woodward
  7th Sea System Creation
  John Wick, Jennifer Wick and Kevin Wilson
  7th Sea™ and Swashbuckling Adventures™ are properties of
  Alderac Entertainment © 2005. All rights reserved.
  Coming Next
  Sandoval’s Guards
  Details on the defenders of the Castillian throne and their
  relationship with the Church and other factions in the nation.
  Contains:
  • 
  History of the group
  • 
  Important NPCs in the Guards
  • 
  Updated timeline for Castille through to the coronation of
  Sandoval as Rex Castillum
  Eyes of the Peacock
  The secret police of the Crescent Empire divulge some of
  their secrets, unknown to westerners for decades.
  Contains:
  • 
  Details on the history and organisation
  • 
  NPC information on their leader and key operative
  • 
  The secret of their mysterious recruiting method
  • 
  Rules on flying carpets
  The Montaigne Restoration
  Details on the fall of the Empereur and the period of govern-
  ment through the Frenzy to the return of Montegue
  Contains:
  • 
  The fate of nobles during the Revolution
  • 
  Adventure seeds for all three periods
  • 
  NPCs in the new Montegue government
  • 
  New rules for the Language of Fans and Porté tricks
  Islands of Plunder : Midnight Archipelago II
  Explore new islands in the Archipelago, meeting their inhab-
  itants and also the changes that have occured during the
  dawn of the new Age of Exploration.
  Contains:
  • 
  New islands and towns including Utopia
  • 
  The fate of Ysabette and Rosemonde du Montaigne
  • 
  More adventures with Berek, Cosette and Reis
  • 
  Adventure seeds for the islands and shipboard hijinks
  • 
  Timeline for the exploration of the West
  
  7th Sea™ / Swashbuckling Adventures™ eBook
  46
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  The Open Game License
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copy-
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/7th Sea [multi]/1st Edition/08 Other Campaigns And Adventures Of Théah/7th Sea - Noblesse Oblige.pdf