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I had the advantage of meeting and talking with John Wick at a 7th Sea GM's seminar at Origins this year. I'd already bought the 7th Sea books, and went to the seminar because I was wondering "What the heck do I do with all this stuff?" Afterward, I also bought the GM screen. Out of all the games released this year, there were maybe only one or two that I'd been anticipating more.

Does it live up to my expectations? Yes. 7th Sea is a game set in a the year 1668 in the fictional world of Theah, which bears some similarities to Europe in 1688. There are analogues for England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and that stalwart of swashbuckling fiction, Russia. Characters can be nobility, daring swordsmen, sorcerors, pirates, archaeologists, merchants, clergy, whatever. I've had some friends nitpick, or repeat others nitpicks, about the fictional history ("There aren't any Jews! You can't have a Renaissance without Jews!" and "There's no Caribbean! You can't have piracy without a Caribbean!" are my two favorites), but can dismiss them by pointing out that this isn't European history and that there's enough that's different about it that assumptions about Real World history don't necessarily apply.

The rules are functional and essentially the same as the rules in AEG's game based on feudal Japan, Legend of the Five Rings. A number of d10s are rolled based on stat+skill, keeping a number equal to your trait. There are other complications, like Drama Dice and "exploding" dice (another name for an open-ended roll), but that's the system in a nutshell. It all works, although I find the rules can get awfully picky for the swashbuckling genre. For instance, when it comes to defense, being able to parry is only useful on level ground. Other skills are required for defense when on unstable footing, climbing, leaping, riding, rolling, running, swimming, and swinging. You can't parry from horseback, apparently.

The place where things really fall apart for me are the swordsman schools and the magic system. It costs a quarter of your available points to have your character be a licensed swordsman. In exchange they get access to some special skills and a couple of free ones. There's always two skills for free, plus an advantage, and you get a free membership in the Swordsmans Guild. You still have to pay if you want to learn any fancy swordsmanship skills. Essentially, someone buying a swordsman school is paying a lot of extra points for the chance to pay more points for the actual skills that they probably should have been taught in the first place. Perhaps the right to initiate duels as a member of the Swordsmans Guild is worth a lot of points.

I had high hopes for the magic system. I hadn't looked at it much before the seminar, and after the seminar I was hyped. John Wick had explained that, yes, you pay through the nose for the ability to use magic, but you start out powerful. Fantasy literature tends to have powerful wizards--only in comic fantasy do you have starting wizards who can cast one spell per day, so the wizards in 7th Sea are also powerful.

Except that they're not. You're paying through the nose for not much. Sorcery is inherent in the noble blood of 5 of the 7 nations, each nation having its own style of sorcery. It costs half your available points to be a full-blooded sorceror, for which you get 7 points to spend on sorcerous knacks, with none being raised above level 3 to start. This means you're apprentice level. An apprentice-level sorceror in the school of Porte can reach through a hole in space and bring specially-prepared objects to himself. Someone with an apprentice level in the shapechanging school of Pyeryem can change themselves in an animal form, maybe, if they don't screw up their roll. The potential for power is there, but it's not power like mages in fantasy literature, and it's not there from the start. And even at higher levels, it doesn't approach Gandalf or Merlin, or even the chaps from Unseen University. To be honest, a high-level AD&D magic-user has more versatility and probably more spellcasting power than a very experienced 7th Sea sorceror. There seems to be a huge discrepancy between what was intended and what was achieved.

7th Sea is a good game. Everyone I know who has played it has a lot of fun. The Players' Guide is attractive, although there could be more words per page without any loss of readability. The packaging is beautiful. The meat of the system, though, could stand some improvement. The game's not horrible by any means, but it reminds me of a Jaguar with a Ford engine.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 3 (Average)

7th Sea Players' Guide
Author: Jennifer & John Wick and Kevin Wilson Category: game Company/Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group Line: 7th Sea Cost: US $29.95 Page count: 256 SKU: AEG 7001 Capsule Review by Kevin Mowery on 09/08/99. Genre tags: Fantasy Historical	I had the advantage of meeting and talking with John Wick at a 7th Sea GM's seminar at Origins this year. I'd already bought the 7th Sea books, and went to the seminar because I was wondering "What the heck do I do with all this stuff?" Afterward, I also bought the GM screen. Out of all the games released this year, there were maybe only one or two that I'd been anticipating more. Does it live up to my expectations? Yes. 7th Sea is a game set in a the year 1668 in the fictional world of Theah, which bears some similarities to Europe in 1688. There are analogues for England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and that stalwart of swashbuckling fiction, Russia. Characters can be nobility, daring swordsmen, sorcerors, pirates, archaeologists, merchants, clergy, whatever. I've had some friends nitpick, or repeat others nitpicks, about the fictional history ("There aren't any Jews! You can't have a Renaissance without Jews!" and "There's no Caribbean! You can't have piracy without a Caribbean!" are my two favorites), but can dismiss them by pointing out that this isn't European history and that there's enough that's different about it that assumptions about Real World history don't necessarily apply. The rules are functional and essentially the same as the rules in AEG's game based on feudal Japan, Legend of the Five Rings. A number of d10s are rolled based on stat+skill, keeping a number equal to your trait. There are other complications, like Drama Dice and "exploding" dice (another name for an open-ended roll), but that's the system in a nutshell. It all works, although I find the rules can get awfully picky for the swashbuckling genre. For instance, when it comes to defense, being able to parry is only useful on level ground. Other skills are required for defense when on unstable footing, climbing, leaping, riding, rolling, running, swimming, and swinging. You can't parry from horseback, apparently. The place where things really fall apart for me are the swordsman schools and the magic system. It costs a quarter of your available points to have your character be a licensed swordsman. In exchange they get access to some special skills and a couple of free ones. There's always two skills for free, plus an advantage, and you get a free membership in the Swordsmans Guild. You still have to pay if you want to learn any fancy swordsmanship skills. Essentially, someone buying a swordsman school is paying a lot of extra points for the chance to pay more points for the actual skills that they probably should have been taught in the first place. Perhaps the right to initiate duels as a member of the Swordsmans Guild is worth a lot of points. I had high hopes for the magic system. I hadn't looked at it much before the seminar, and after the seminar I was hyped. John Wick had explained that, yes, you pay through the nose for the ability to use magic, but you start out powerful. Fantasy literature tends to have powerful wizards--only in comic fantasy do you have starting wizards who can cast one spell per day, so the wizards in 7th Sea are also powerful. Except that they're not. You're paying through the nose for not much. Sorcery is inherent in the noble blood of 5 of the 7 nations, each nation having its own style of sorcery. It costs half your available points to be a full-blooded sorceror, for which you get 7 points to spend on sorcerous knacks, with none being raised above level 3 to start. This means you're apprentice level. An apprentice-level sorceror in the school of Porte can reach through a hole in space and bring specially-prepared objects to himself. Someone with an apprentice level in the shapechanging school of Pyeryem can change themselves in an animal form, maybe, if they don't screw up their roll. The potential for power is there, but it's not power like mages in fantasy literature, and it's not there from the start. And even at higher levels, it doesn't approach Gandalf or Merlin, or even the chaps from Unseen University. To be honest, a high-level AD&D magic-user has more versatility and probably more spellcasting power than a very experienced 7th Sea sorceror. There seems to be a huge discrepancy between what was intended and what was achieved. 7th Sea is a good game. Everyone I know who has played it has a lot of fun. The Players' Guide is attractive, although there could be more words per page without any loss of readability. The packaging is beautiful. The meat of the system, though, could stand some improvement. The game's not horrible by any means, but it reminds me of a Jaguar with a Ford engine. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average)

7th Sea Players' Guide