The RPG setting I really cut my teeth on in college/grad school was Eberron, run in 3.5D&D. In hindsight, 3.5 really doesn't deliver on the swashbuckling aspect that is meant to be about a chunk of Eberron (the other chunks being pulp, noir, and system compatibility).
There's little enough stuff out there for noir, so that's easy to track down. Does anyone have preferences for swashbuckling games?

Alternatively, I've read a good critique of kitchen-sink settings like Eberron or Golarion that they're so broad in scope that trying to fit them into one system is ludicrous. Has anyone ever tried running a game with multiple systems, depending on the storyline? Example: running Gumshoe for an investigative plotline after converting the PCs from a more conventional system.

Being a GURPS maniac, I would tend to use GURPS Swashbucklers (which has good generic historical information as well as GURPS rules for relevant equipment and techniques) and GURPS Martial Arts (for the fencing details).

So GURPS being GURPS, it presume it goes into details of the specific fighting styles and how they function tactically? Fascinating.

I like GURPS in principle, and have played a bit of it, but wasn't impressed by a Convention game with a 4-hour time slot wasted 3.5hours of it with the other players shopping for gear to go on the mission with.
Of course, that's the fault of the GM for not starting the scenario with the PCs in the field already, but it stuck with me.

Yes, there are detailed descriptions of different historical styles of fencing and which skills and techniques they trained, and differences in equipment and so on, and rules that make those meaningful in ways that make sense.

Inexperienced players and GMs will take hours to try to take advantage of such stuff, and shouldn't start there.

Whoever was running that GURPS convention game clearly hadn't tried that before. He should have told people to come with prepared characters, and had a stack of pre-made characters people could choose from and/or be assigned. He might've scheduled a character design session or forum if new people really wanted to make characters.

The GM should be experienced and/or stick to more basic rules at first. But even the rules in the Basic Set can make for a pretty fun fencing game, as they include good parry scores for fencers, a decent variety of swords, off-hand weapons, disarming, aimed shots and so on.

It can be discouraging though when inexperienced GMs try to plunge into GURPS. It seems a shame to me since it's not actually that complex or hard once it's more familiar. All the stuff in the later editions just adds a lot of noise. Even I find the 4e Basic Set to be too full of random stuff.

For Eberron? I'd use GURPS 4e, too - or, these days, Mythras:).

For general swashbuckling, I'd use Flashing Blades, Honor+Intrigue, or Le Pavillon Noir, depending on how heavy I wanted to go with the system;).

Flashing Blades nd Honor+Intrigue are both good.

My current favorite though is Pirates & Dragons from Cakebread and Walton. Based on their Renaissance d100 system. It does exactly what it says on the lable provides a game with pirates and dragons, and a few other fantasy tropes, in a not-Caribbean setting.  For those who like rules lite games it is also available for their OneDice system.

In a month or two, the Yarr! Pirate RPG Kickstarter should be sending out its goodness. When it hits, I will give you my thoughts on that one.

My go-to for Swashbuckling is Crimson Cutlass, its awesome but obscure.

I've also had much fun with 7th Sea, but I can't speak about 2e. It had a huge Kickstarter, so perhaps someone here can yabber about it.

The best swashbuckling game I ever saw was the Spanish-language Capitan Alatriste, whose rules were (heavily) derived from GURPS.

Quote from: RPGPundit;954941The best swashbuckling game I ever saw was the Spanish-language Capitan Alatriste, whose rules were (heavily) derived from GURPS.

Yeah, its fencing supplement is considered to be roughly as good as the one for Le Pavillion Noir. And that's high praise, given that reportedly, there were quite a few people buying Art de L'Escrime who didn't have the corebook, or weren't into RPGs at all:D!
(At least one of these is basically out of doubt: AFAIK, Art de L'Escrime sold more copies than the corebook. Thus, we can guarantee not everyone who bought it had access to the corebook:p).
Reportedly, the fencing supplement for Capitan Alatriste, Maestros de Esgrima, is almost as good. Can't say, as I'm really sorry that I've only been able to read exceprts on it posted in some review, years ago;).

Quote from: Spinachcat;954750I've also had much fun with 7th Sea, but I can't speak about 2e. It had a huge Kickstarter, so perhaps someone here can yabber about it.

Like Spinichcat, I have had loads of fun with 7th Sea, but the 1E "roll and keep" version and not the d20 "Swashbuckling Adventures" variety. I took a look at 7th Sea 2E but it looked like more of a narrative game to me (based on the free quickplay downloads) so I probably won't pursue it.

Wow. I had no idea that there were so many swashbuckling games besides 7th Sea. Being in Israel and rural West Virginia really knocks one out of the hobby loop! Thanks y'all!

Quote from: dsivis;954606Does anyone have preferences for swashbuckling games?

Yes!  Love em!  I've spent the past few years running Witch Hunter: The Invisible World, but we're taking a break to try out the new edition of 7th Sea.  In my teen library game, we are giving All For One: Regime Diabolique a spin.  And in the past I've run plenty of 7th Sea (1st edition) and The Savage Worlds of Solomon Kane (which is not quite as swashbuckly as I'd like).  So yes, plenty of preferences.

I'd suggest taking a look at Honor+Intrigue or All for One: Regime Diabolique if you are looking for something that can handle swashbuckling adventure with a dose of fantasy.  Witch Hunter can do that too, but it's a bit more focused on horror than the other two.  7th Sea (2nd edition) plays and feels different.  I've only played a handful of sessions so far, but it's been fun and the players are really liking it.  The mechanics are a bit more focused on genre and story than a lot of traditional RPGs, but I'm not sure I'd put it in the same camp as FATE or PbtA games.  The GM is still very much in charge despite some nods at player agency.  But if you want something rooted in traditional play, it may not be your thing.  HOWEVER, the core rules and setting are available for free online, so you can read it and test it out with your group if you don't mind getting a bit outside of your comfort zone.

Tom