Flims/games

[Sornas]

So, as we have several people here who have never played 7th sea, I thought it might be beneficial for us to all post a list of movies and/or video games that we think helps to set the theme for the game, this way, people who are unfamiliar with the game can go and watch/play them, and get a general idea of what the game is about.

I'll start, off the top of my head:

The Princess Bride (Of course)
The Musketeer
The Zorro films
The Man in the Iron Mask
The Count of Monte Cristo

[Gsquared1440]

If you like PC Games, check out "Sid Meier's Pirates!"

It's one of my favorites and can really get you in the mood for some high seas fun.  It puts you on a ship in the Spanish Main in the 16th, 17th, or 18th century .  Granted, there may not be much naval action in the LARP, but the port mini-games are just as good.  It's not daring-do until you challenge the captain of the city watch to a duel for harassing the bar maid.

[Chris]

Good suggestions in the original post. Those are the core ones I reference when I first pitch the game to unfamiliar folks. Thanks!

While the LARP will not be seafaring, a lot of great books and movies factor into 7th Sea's flavor o high adventure and drama. Moby Dick isn't far off in terms of time period, but Ahab is as pronounced as any 7th Sea villain, and the story is about high adventure at sea. Huzzah!

Master and Commander is a good series of books (and a decent film version was made of one of the books) that is also high adventure at sea, although it is also a bit off form the time period we are aiming for. It does depict seafaring in an interesting way, and it shows the military in a way that a lot of the aforementioned work does not. That's often important in Montaigne, Castille, and Eisen.

There are a great deal of plays that contribute directly or indirectly to the Wick's writing of 7th Sea's setting. Lots of Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre goes a long way toward explaining Vodacce, Aegeus, and Eisen. The White Devil and Measure for Measure alike feature tragedy and comedy with larger-than-life characters not unlike the heroes and villains of 7th Sea. These plays are also very period appropriate for 7th Sea.

Check out folk tales from Germany and Russia for flavor in Eisen and Ussura, respectively. There are also a lot of tales about faeries and weird things that help explain Avalon quite a bit. A lot of the monsters, folk tales, and supernatural stuff in Theah comes from these stories. Grimm's Tales are a good place to start, but there are other excellent collections that are more comprehensive. I recommend Jane Yolen's Favorite Folktales from Around the World.

[Chris]

This is a bit out of genre, but it applies to character backgrounds all the same: WESTERNS.

The best westerns have every bit as much drama and daring-do as any 7th Sea character or plot. They can be a good source of ideas for backgrounds or any part of a character's personality or being. Just as 7th Sea is a game about definite heroes and definite villains (with some wild card scoundrels  in the middle for good measure), westerns are often the same. The time and place differs, but the song remains the same.

I've had some folks use material from westerns before in 7th Sea, and to great success. Mark ran a killer session structured around The Magnificent Seven (itself a remake of Kirosawa's Seven Samurai, which, by the way, is another good genre for backgrounds). The PCs were five of the seven heroes of the tale, with two NPCs to help. It was pretty much just the seven of us against a Montaigne onslaught on a Castillain port left for dead. It was fantastic.

Characters in High Plains Drifter and Once Upon a Time in the West are good examples of backgrounds at their finest. I don't want to ruin anything about the films for those who haven't sene them, though, so I'll stop there. But here's a hint: Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood are FUCKING BADASSES. If you didn't already know that, I don't know what to say to you.

Anyway, here is a list of my favorite westerns. Remember: westerns aren't just for your grandfather!

Once Upon a Time in the West
Shane
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
A Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
High Noon
The Magnificent Seven
Hang 'Em High
High Plains Drifter
Unforgiven

[Chris]

Just going to go ahead a post this link that doesn't spoil Once Upon a Time in the West, but it does demonstrate the soundtrack to half a dozen backgrounds in 7th Sea: Dead to the World, Nemesis, Defeated, Vendetta, and so on. Classic stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL-X53ze5O0

Ennio Morricone rules.

[Chris]

Here's another film that fits well into 7th Sea's era and style: Rob Roy. One particular scene gives a good look at what a combat, particularly a duel, looks like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVaslN1NiT0

Spoiler alert: Toughness and Pain Tolerance are wise investments...

[Sornas]

How could I forget?!?

Monkey Island! (The Secret of/LeChucks Revenge/The Curse of)

Granted, it's not high-action, and is a comedy through and through, but for a more humorous look at Pirates, high-seas swashbuckling, and voodoo, there's no better source than Monkey Island.

I swear, if Kenneth goes away for whatever reason, I'm making a character inspired by Guybrush Threepwood...hell, I might make him an alternate anyway. XD  (And then Chris shanked me in my sleep...) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKWT5wW4gdY&feature=related