Swashbuckling in Freeport! (Adventure Help)

[Sangrolu]

So anyone a Freeport fan here? 7th Sea/Swashbuckling Adventure Fans could help, too. Or anyone with a good eye for a plot.

I'm porting the Swashbuckling Adventure adventure "Four and Twenty Blackbirds" to Freeport (I'm using Fantasy Craft, but that's really not important here.) The adventure is loosely based around many of the ideas of the 24 TV series: massive twisted conspiracy hatch to bring about mass mayhem, with heroes being run through the wringer on a strict timetable.

The part I am having trouble with, and could use a little help with, is this. The adventure is based on the 7th Sea word Theah, which features analogs of the Catholic Church and Protestantism. One of the three conspirators is in the city to wreak havoc on the "Objectivist" church at behest of the "Vaticine" church.

But the Freeport setting (and the world I put it in) don't assume such a powerful central religion. I thought about just swapping in the Church of the Sea God (actually, I use the Book of the Righteous pantheon, if it matters), but the feel is off a bit.

Does anyone have any other ideas of what a very skilled assassin and a small group of revolutionaries could want to do in Freeport?

[timemrick]

I've played in one brief 7th Sea campaign, several years ago now, so my knowledge of Theah is pretty limited, and I'm not at all familiar with the adventure you name. However, I do know quite a lot about Freeport, having compiled fan errata for the setting, proofed and edited a number of titles, etc., so I'll give this a shot.

Although you're using Theah instead of the optional world setting described in The Pirate's Guide, you may wish to take a look at that chapter's entries on Hexworth and Tagmata. Those two nations have a history of intense religious conflict, which has some strong similarities to the Catholic/Protestant strife on which much of Theah's religion is based.

A Continental-based Inquisition has been part of the Freeport "canon" since Hell in Freeport. It was formed centuries ago to root out necromancers and other supernatural threats to the security of the realm and the souls of its people, and like the historical Spanish Inquisition, soon became a force for terror rather than salvation. The Inquisition is now the real power in its home nation, and it continues to meddle in other nations' affairs, including Freeport's. However, it has very little true power in Freeport itself. (See The Mouth of Hell in the Pirate's Guide for the fate of the single Inquisition church ever built in Freeport.) I have no idea how easily that meshes with the religious climate of Theah, but that's the closest you're going to get to real-world Church-versus-Church warfare in the World of Freeport.

Finally, as a major trade center and a haven for scoundrels of all sorts, Freeport is a natural hotbed of international intrigue. If two nations (or religions) have a quarrel, then you can bet that they have agents in Freeport working to bring the other down. Much of this espionage remains behind the scene, but occasionally it erupts into open warfare in the city's back streets.

[Sangrolu]

Although you're using Theah instead of the optional world setting described in The Pirate's Guide,

Actually, that's pretty much the opposite of what's happening. I use more than what's provided in the Pirate's Guide, but basically use the PGTF nations as a starting point (though don't use the geography as written.)

I'm basically adapting the events of the adventure, scrapping Theah-specific backstory and replacing relevant details with those appropriate to a moderately close-to-canon freeport.

Two of the factions were pretty easy to place. One is an arrogant noble from the Ivory ports, the other is from the same unnamed Scandinavia-analog that Alfhild comes from.

A Continental-based Inquisition has been part of the Freeport "canon" since Hell in Freeport. It was formed centuries ago to root out necromancers and other supernatural threats to the security of the realm and the souls of its people, and like the historical Spanish Inquisition, soon became a force for terror rather than salvation. The Inquisition is now the real power in its home nation, and it continues to meddle in other nations' affairs, including Freeport's. However, it has very little true power in Freeport itself. (See The Mouth of Hell in the Pirate's Guide for the fate of the single Inquisition church ever built in Freeport.) I have no idea how easily that meshes with the religious climate of Theah, but that's the closest you're going to get to real-world Church-versus-Church warfare in the World of Freeport.

The Church of Retribution is a thought, as a culprit, but who/what would they target in freeport that would be particularly bad for the city at large? Must think.

Thanks for the thought.

[Nate Christen]

What if the Church of Retribution suspected that a high-ranking member of the Church of Knowledge was a serpent person, and took the steps it deemed necessary to eliminate such a threat?

-Nate

[Sangrolu]

Hmmm. Maybe. That would explain part of the plot points. Perhaps it would help if I laid out the plot points I need to support:

1) * sent an agent to Freeport
1a) Who is mistaken for another agent, temporarily detained by an "inquisition"
1b) Who was implicit in poisoning members of the Captain's Council and Merchant's guild.
1c) Is using 1b as a leverage point to get a certain book that the Merchant's Guild has possession of.
2) * has revolutionaries in Freeport
2a) Who are targeting some building or structure
2b) At the time the PCs cross their path are trying to kill an innocent woman in said structure
2c) Structure is perceived as important to Freeport and is NOT the lighthouse.

1a is obviously very much in line with the Inquisition/Church of Retribution. The rest I have a little trouble with.

Sure, if the Church or its agents decided that the Church of the God of Knowledge (using Tinel from the BotR in my game) was a Serpent Person in league with demonic forces, they might target it for destruction.

But I'm not to sure why they would cooperate with an arrogant Ivory Port noble to poison major merchants in the captain's council and merchant's guild. I could assume they had some very bad intel (and the noble was willing to risk their retribution if it came out), but I'd prefer a bit more natural reason.

I'm honestly thinking the Mouth of Hell itself might be a better target for the building and the innocent (since the Church of Retribution would both take it as an affront AND there really are demonic forces there, per one of the plot points), but still am having trouble making a good reason they would want the book and would poison the council members.

Thanks for your help. I start this adventure in like 2 hours, but the players might not get to the details for 2 weeks.

[Nate Christen]

Here's another thought. Marcus Roberts is a Council member with connections to a network of spies on the Continent. What if the Church of Knowledge was behind the plot; they wanted to eliminate Roberts and have a serpent person take over his place in order to take control of his informants.

This could relate to the Ivory Ports noble if that person was an azhar; both (s)he and the serpent people might be looking for information about opening a portal to another plane.

The book could be a captain's log, a journal or something similar, with details related to the location of such a portal.

-Nate

[Sangrolu]

For those who might be curious, here's what I did.

IMC, though Freeport is closest the the continent, it's a jumping point/hub to other nations/cultures. So I sort of decided that Freeport is the center of a so-called "syncretist" movement. When the Freeport material mentions "the temple of the sea god", that's seriously what lots of Freeport natives actually say. They see most sea gods as the same being with different names/faces. So while I use the Book of the Righteous deities for the best known names, Shalimyr's temple has slowly become a stopover for followers of Ahto, Poseiden, or whatever your local Sea Deity is.

While this has mostly been a practice only at the most basic lay-worshipper level, the artist being targeted by the inquisition has made her name making murals that blend different cultural styles that has caused these sorts of unified view of deities to spread, much to the chagrin of more conservative sects.