''Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies'' is a role-playing game by

Chad Underkoffler Chad Underkoffler is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Chad Underkoffler had done some work for Atlas Games and Steve Jackson Games in the early 2000s. Underkoffler is known for his PDQ indie role-playing ga ...

, published by Evil Hat Productions in 2009.

Description

''Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies'' is a swashbuckling RPG set in a fantasy world of islands floating in the sky, which offers players the chance to heroically adventure across the heavens. ''Swashbucklers'' was an homage to the pulp swashbuckling genre, with a full chapter spent on the tropes of the genre. ''Swashbucklers'' included a fully original setting, of sky pirates in flying ships battling across a world where islands float in the sky. The game uses Chad Underkoffler's PDQ system, which shared some characteristics with ''

Fate Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

'' – such as its use of Fortes (or qualities), which could be freeform occupations, motivations, histories or organizations. Although ''Swashbucklers'' used PDQ, it was a new variant of the system that Underkoffler called PDQ#; for the first time, Underkoffler dramatically revamped his house mechanics, as PDQ# gave characters foibles and techniques and changed conflict into a more tactical system. Because of the specific needs of the setting, ''Swashbucklers'' also had a well-received ship combat system.

Publication history

had been working on a game about sky pirates as his first independent RPG for

Atomic Sock Monkey Press {{Unsourced, date=April 2023 Atomic Sock Monkey Press (ASMP) is a small press game company that publishes “ beer and pretzels” role-playing games and board games. The company is run by Chad Underkoffler, also known for his game columns on RPG. ...

, but put the game aside to develop '' Dead Inside'' (2004) instead. As a result of a business arrangement between Atomic Sock Monkey and Evil Hat Productions, Underkoffler was finally able to publish his game as ''Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies'' in 2009. The joint arrangement to produce the game went smoothly, although there was a disagreement over the size; Evil Hat's

Fred Hicks Fred Hicks is a game designer who has worked primarily on role-playing games. Career Fred Hicks discovered the ''Fudge'' role-playing game system while online and used it for his games based on Roger Zelazny's ''The Chronicles of Amber''. Hic ...

was ultimately able to convince Underkoffler to go with a 7" x 10" format, which was a little smaller than a traditional RPG.

Reception

Shannon Appelcline, in his 2011 book ''Designers & Dragons'', noted that this was a more traditional RPG for Evil Hat, and commented: "Whereas ''

The Zorcerer of Zo The Zantabulous Zorcerer of Zo is a fairy tale-themed independently published role-playing game created by Chad Underkoffler and published by Atomic Sock Monkey Press. The game allows players to take the role of fairy tale characters. System ...

'' had received some criticism for its rough development of superb ideas, ''Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies'' was a more polished game, showing the benefits of indie designers working together in a larger design house." After its publication, ''Swashbucklers'' received a Silver ENnie, and was runner-up for the Indie Game of the Year.

References

{{reflist Campaign settings ENnies winners Evil Hat Productions games Fantasy role-playing games Indie role-playing games Multigenre Swashbuckler role-playing games Role-playing games introduced in 2009