Studio Agate Takes Over 7th Sea From Chaosium

French publisher Studio Agate is taking over the development and creation of 7th Sea from Chaosium. The news was announced today by Chaosium, alongside a survey to help shape the future of the swashbuckling game. Per the press release, Studio Agate will launch a Patreon page that will give free access to developer insights and progress on future progress. A Kickstarter is also in the works to launch the "next chapter" of the game line.

7th Sea is a swashbuckling-themed game with a core mechanic involving a dice pool of d10s. Players determine the number of d10s they roll based on their trait and skill scores and then add the results together to create scores of 10 or more to make successes that can be spent over a round to influence the narrative or succeed in certain actions.

Studio Agate is best known for developing French language translations of RPGs, including 7th Sea. Last year, Agate successfully launched an English language 7th Sea product - The Price of Arrogance - via a Kickstarter that raised over $190,000.

Ownership of 7th Sea passed from AEG to Chaosium back in 2019. The ownership status of 7th Sea was not addressed in the press release, so it appears that deal involves publication rights and not outright ownership of the IP.

 

[Jeffzilla]

Only I wanted 7th Sea may be one of the best examples of how author's predjudices about real world and historical nations could be showed in fictional worlds. I don't want to spend my money to feel after I am reading propaganda against my own point of view.

That's a fair criticism which can be levied from various points of view against almost any fictional setting, I suppose.

I never felt like John Wick was trying to provide commentary on real-world history or politics with his Theah setting, apart from his explicit statement that 'slavery is bad and real heroes never condone it,' which seems like a given anyway, or perhaps ought to be. I always felt more like he was trying to create fantasy versions of the swashbuckling tropes which were popularized by movies from the so-called 'Golden Age of Hollywood,' which absolutely butchered history to make things more palatable for the audiences of their era, and that some of those Hollywood biases can be seen in the fictional setting of Theah if you look for them. But I also think you have to look for them if you want to see them. "Avalon" is not England, for example. The rule of real-world Elizabeth I never depended on her court's relations with the fey (or did it? Hmmmmm). There's enough separation between Theah and 17th-century-earth that I don't feel encumbered by real-world politics or history when running/playing the game, but that's just me, and I completely get how that might not be the case for everyone.

 

[DEFCON 1]

That's a fair criticism which can be levied from various points of view against almost any fictional setting, I suppose.

I never felt like John Wick was trying to provide commentary on real-world history or politics with his Theah setting, apart from his explicit statement that 'slavery is bad and real heroes never condone it,' which seems like a given anyway, or perhaps ought to be. I always felt more like he was trying to create fantasy versions of the swashbuckling tropes which were popularized by movies from the so-called 'Golden Age of Hollywood,' which absolutely butchered history to make things more palatable for the audiences of their era, and that some of those Hollywood biases can be seen in the fictional setting of Theah if you look for them. But I also think you have to look for them if you want to see them. "Avalon" is not England, for example. The rule of real-world Elizabeth I never depended on her court's relations with the fey (or did it? Hmmmmm). There's enough separation between Theah and 17th-century-earth that I don't feel encumbered by real-world politics or history when running/playing the game, but that's just me, and I completely get how that might not be the case for everyone.

Yeah, 7th Sea's fictional history of the land of Theah is very much a combination of famous personages and bits of 17th century history slightly fictionally tweaked and then combined with myths, lore, and stories from books and film of those eras to create a fantasy "alternative history" of Europe... very much seen through the eyes of Americans. But for the people who live in those nations that are being represented by a stew of stereotypes and tropes and seeing their true histories bludgeoned into fictious mythical lands that are not the truth but have just enough identifiable grains to make other people outside of those areas perhaps think there's actually something to it... I have to imagine that's irritating.

If the fictional character of Zorro (a pulp Spanish hero of the United State's State of California) can get turned into a "real" historical figure of 7th Sea's fictional Spain analogue of Castille, I can see why that could become a sore point for the actual people of Spain.

 

[Jeffzilla]

Yeah, 7th Sea's fictional history of the land of Theah is very much a combination of famous personages and bits of 17th century history slightly fictionally tweaked and then combined with myths, lore, and stories from books and film of those eras to create a fantasy "alternative history" of Europe... very much seen through the eyes of Americans. But for the people who live in those nations that are being represented by a stew of stereotypes and tropes and seeing their true histories bludgeoned into fictious mythical lands that are not the truth but have just enough identifiable grains to make other people outside of those areas perhaps think there's actually something do it... I have to imagine that's irritating.

If the fictional character of Zorro (a pulp Spanish hero of the United State's State of California) can get turned into a "real" historical figure of 7th Sea's fictional Spain analogue of Castille, I can see why that could become a sore point for the actual people of Spain.

Agree 100%. Like I said, I can see how what doesn't bother me might be problematic for others.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Some tropes or stereotypes may be not only offensive but potentially dangerous. Let's use this classic example, the cardinal Richelieu from Alexander Dumas' classic book "the three musketeers". Maybe we can use a trope a couple of times but we should avoid the abuse of the trope. Why? Let's use other trope, the femme fatalle. You can use a femme fatalle in your stories a couple of times, but if it becomes too usually, then it may be not right.

How would you feel if in a tabletop the main antagonist if the empire of the crescent moon, what sends their corsair ships to attack the coast towns to catch slaves? Can you understand now the potential risk with certain stereotipes?

About the character "el vago", I don't reject the concept but it is a horrible name. "vago" in Spanish languange means "lazy, somebody who doesn't want to work". Although I admit "Castilla" could be perfect if you want a campaing about rogues, scoundreals and outcasts because the picaresque novel has got its roots in the golden Spanish age.

Sorry, but I don't feel confortable when the antagonists are like ersatzs or expy of cardinal Richelieu. The secret society "the invisible college" is a clear example about because I dislike "7th Sea". (Please, you only have to search in the wikipedia "list of Catholic clergy scientist").

If the new publisher, Studio Agate, is French then I suspect the lore of Montaigne could be rewritten according their own "points of view".

I have read in tv tropes:

"Some Khazar (Remnants of the Mongol Empire) communities near Ussura and the Sarmatian Commonwealth are stated to have adopted Yachidism, the setting's equivalent of Judaism. This is likely a reference to the historical Khazars, a civilization of steppe nomads noted for being the only society in history to have ever converted to Judaism en masse".

Can you guess the potential risk if somebody created as an antagonist faction a Lovecraftian cult whose members are cripto-pagan Khazars? It could start like a homemade faction, but it could become too popular later.

* Has anybody imagine any time a homemade setting mixing World of Darkness (vampire, werewolf, mage, changeling, wraith..) and "7th Sea"?

 

[eyeheartawk]

The Castille stuff from 1e has long been known to be messed up on a bunch of minor to major issues. 2e fixed most of these.