Many, many, (many, many) years ago when I first started playing 7th Sea and reading all the books, I remember reading the PHB in the section under Secret Societies and, as I read through Sophia's Daughters, thought "Swashbuckling Feminists? How cool is that?!?!" I also remember my disappointment reading the SD book. Gone were the Feminist ideals in favor of women who were doing the sidhe's bidding. And lets not forget the Son's of Lugh, and their game-breaking traits.
I will admit I lost interest in SD. It became more of a book I had to complete the set than a book I'd refer to. I can only recall one game (and a one-shot at that) that involved the SD*. But I never forgot the idea of Swashbuckling Feminists.
Cut to the beginning of the COVID lockdown. I had been working on Heroes of Altamira for over a decade at that point, and we were (and are) nearing it's end. People were asking me what the second campaign was going to be like and if I had any ideas for it. Then I thought, well, heck, I do want to use every secret society for this meta-campaign, so I ought to use SD. But the truth is, they are game-breaking. Their power to instantly tell who the heroes and villains are is going to ruin any attempts at subterfuge and this reliance on the sidhe will put a huge roadblock to the story I want to tell. But more importantly, I just don't like SD as written. I want the Swashbuckling Feminists I was promised...
And just like that, I had to start writing. Here is the culmination of my work, The First Tome. Please feel free to enjoy it and spread it around far and wide.
Oh and come join our living campaign (http://www.guildofsanmarcos.net). We'd love to have you.
Mark
*If you want to know how it went, read this book under the section marked, "The Feast of St. Columba, Numa, Tertius 30, 1650."