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Any D&D/D20

Shadowrun

World of Darkness

Palladium

Other (feel free to post about it)

[Tawa]

I've decided to scrap not-Europe in favor of just making a game set in the real world. I'm confident that I know enough about the early 1600s to not have to hide behind "this is a fictional setting" excuses if I screw something up, I think.

Any system recommendations for a three-musketeers style game? I set serious Pathfinder or D&D considerations aside relatively early after making this decision, but not sure what to use now. I'm leaning toward first-edition 7th Sea with Théah surgically removed, but I'm not 100% sure. It seems alright, and I like the focus on roleplaying, but the insistence on "Heroes" and "Villains" rubs me the wrong way, and after reading the relevant sections of the rulebooks multiple times, I'm still not sure I understand what a "Raise" is or how combat actually works. The skill system also reeks of AD&D "fighters are physically unable to hide" syndrome.

2nd editon exacerbates the "heroes/villains" thing and has terrible injury rules, so definitely not inclined to use that one. Worst comes to worst, I might just rip the guts out of the "Swashbuckling Adventures d20" rulebook (7th Sea's attempt to ride the D&D 3rd Edition train) and use that to homebrew up new Pathfinder stuff, but I'd like to explore other options first.

[Harry Baldman]

Burning Wheel could do you fine for that purpose, the time period fits and the lifepath system is the best, although that one also has a fairly bad injury recovery system to contend with (though one that would be pretty easy to houserule away, as Burning Wheel itself recommends for any undesirable parts of its rules, including magic and such).

[Mephisto]

Something like Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies might work as well, if you're into rules-light.

If you like more crunch, there's All for One: Régime Diabolique (Savage Worlds) and Honor + Intrigue (standalone).

[Tawa]

Thanks for the suggestions! I think I'll be going with 7th Sea in the end for this one; I've gotten a better handle on the mechanics following some closer reading, and working on replacing the built-in setting with the real world is turning out to be quite fun. However, I'll definitely keep the games you guys mentioned in mind for other games in the future. Burning Wheel in particular sounds like a really good system; I've been kind of generally looking for something nice and versatile that doesn't require a ton of game balancing skill to modify for original content.
On that note: any ideas for real-world "secret societies" for use with 7th Sea? They're not necessarily secret--several of the ones in the base setting are just public-knowledge organizations with elaborate membership requirements--but they act as a kind of adventure hook-meets-friends in high places roleplaying mechanism. I've jotted down a couple paragraphs each for the Dutch East India Company, the Teutonic Order, the Royal French Musketeers, and the Jesuits, but I can't think of anything else. I'm looking for relatively powerful organizations that wouldn't put too much of a burden on characters going off on wild adventures but would make a good way to advance the plot or inject additional drama. Secular or Protestant organizations would be especially appreciated, since I've got 3 majority/exclusively Catholic organizations on the list there. Only other requirement is that it existed as of 1628.

[GiglameshDespair]

The lizardmen illuminati, of course.

[MrWiggles]

So, I am trying out for an actual play podcast, for Shadowrun podcast. Its called "Without a Net". I would really like to do that.

[scriver]

What year is it again? Iirc it was the 30 years war, so intelligence and spies for each of the armies (whoever is important). They wouldn't have names of course, but I'm sure intelligence networks existed.

If you're in Catholic country - Protestant resistance groups, and if you're in Protestant land - Catholic ones. They'd both be in contact with the relevant armies that support them, of course.

I can't remember if the Witch Processes were over by this time, but if they weren't, or you're okay with stretching them, Inquisition. Doesn't have to be Catholic, iirc some of the weirdest, shittiest stuff went down in Protestant German states.

[smjjames]

What year is it again? Iirc it was the 30 years war, so intelligence and spies for each of the armies (whoever is important). They wouldn't have names of course, but I'm sure intelligence networks existed.

Tawa said early 1600's, though he's said before that it could be right at the start of the 30 years war or right before.

edit: oop on gender

I can't remember if the Witch Processes were over by this time, but if they weren't, or you're okay with stretching them, Inquisition. Doesn't have to be Catholic, iirc some of the weirdest, shittiest stuff went down in Protestant German states.

Don't know about Europe, but there was the Salem witch trials in 1692.

[Harry Baldman]

The Unity of the Brethren are pretty good fits for a Protestant secret organization, they were actively persecuted along the course of the Thirty Years' War and everything! You can probably also throw some varieties of Calvinism in there, early Amyraldism kind of fits the specified timeline, for example, but really there's enough Protestant offshoots to populate a setting like this many times over. Don't know what 7th Sea in particular requires, of course, but there's a lot of fun to be had with pulling relatively obscure historical entities and giving them fun conspiratorial motives.

[Tawa]

Thanks for the suggestions!

she

[scriver]

He probably thinks your picture is in british

[Kagus]

He probably thinks your picture is in british

What? That doesn't make any... ohhh.

[smjjames]

Thanks for the suggestions!

she

He probably thinks your picture is in british

Can be hard to tell on the internet, sorry.

[Egan_BW]

Often you can figure it out by looking at the person's profile.

[Rolan7]

Or just use the ambiguous they/them.
Like that scrub Shakespeare.

Edit:  Or do like Wizards of the Coast and switch between male and female pronouns in 3.5, supposedly randomly.

I don't recommend this action