http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntQOSkd3j_I

I don't know if anybody here is following the serie "The Tudors". But any 7th Sea fan should seriously  take a look, for obvious reasons. Mainly the great courtly intrigue game, but many much mores. For me and my gaming group, it was also a revelation. I know that the serie is sticking quite loosely on the historical events, even so, it's a place and point of view on history we will knew not so well. Indeed, we are french canadian. So we have the unique chance to be in touch with the english popular culture (mainly american - great tv series theses days, movies), but also with the french one (Movie too, and french-belgian comics, who are a very serious business and the most underrated narative art form in the world). It also mean that the history we learn is more american than european and the european one is mainly the french one too. So, to have a point of view on the beginning of the renaissance period on the english side is too great to be missed. The french cinema industry make many movies in the period between the beginning of the renaissance and the French Revolution, way more than the american and english one, and to see the quality of this serie (The Tudors), it's a real shame they don't do more.

It's funny to see also that in nearly all english movie/series presents french people/rulers as arrogants, vains and hedonists, and the frenchs ones presents english people/rulers as stiff, humorless and cold. But it's not like you will see clichés in cinema today no?

Anyway, the serie inspired one of us to make a real great court intrigue game. Basically, we are going back in the beginning of the Vendel-Vesten split, at this point we are re-making the 7th Sea History. There was three Vensten Kings who danced both with the Old Ways and the Vaticine Church, as there was theirs preferences and tastes. Now, the fourth king in this line is still a teenager and Vendel-Venstenmaanjar is ruled by a regency council, leaded by a Cardinal. The players are in the council.

Let me tell you that this is very hard to be a hero in the political game. In fact we have already assasinated the Cardinal, leader of the council, who wanted to put 3 of us out of the regency council because we where not fateful enough to the Vaticine to his taste (he was quite on the fanatical side to be honest). My character want to be a hero, a good guy. The problem is... I've taken the Righteous Arcana.

Mia Vestini: I got some bad news, the Cardinal want to put us out of the council.

Svenhamr Laërtson (Me): That bad, we should do something about it, but what?

Mia: I think he's going too far in is own agenda, and he don't like us anymore. So we should remove him.

Svenhamr: Remove him?

Mia: Permanently

Svenhamr: You mean?

Mia: Yes!

Svenhamr: No, no way! we're not like that, we are not murderers!

Mia: Come on! you spend three years of your life in Numa! You know that this is the way it is in Voddace.

Svenhamr: No but it's not our way! We will not "remove" him!

Mia: Do you have a better idea?

Svenhamr: Eeee... well... hmmm (trying to think quick to a better solution).

GM: As you cannot come with a better idea, I spend a drama dice, and as Mia's idea is the only one proposed who give you a solution to your problem, so it's, at the end, a good idea.

Actually I even came out with the plan, murdered myself the Cardinal, in the most unusual way possible, letting no one know it was me. My charcater is in fact the illegitimate son of a Novgorov duke and a Vesten princess. My mother gave me birth in Vesten, and my Ussuran heritage gave me pitch black hairs, and emerald green eyes. The cardinal was killed by a savage beast while he was on the move between two castles.

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Louis XVI: Make one of your famous spiritual phrase, about me for example!

Grégoire Ponceludon de Malavoie: My Lord! The King is not a subject.

Louis XVI: The King is not a subject! How admirable! This one merit you to join us.