The Inside Scoop on Gaming

7th Sea is a recent game from AEG set in a world much like Europe of the 17th century. But with some changes.

The game engine is modeled off of that used in AEG's well known RPG: Legends of the 5 Rings.

I'll split this into system and setting.

*****************************************************
System:
*****************************************************

7th Sea uses a skill based system where skills come in packages. The individual items most gamer's will think of as skills are referred to as knacks and the packages are referred to as skills. While in some ways this may lock concepts into paths other than those desired it also serves to give a broad range of abilities without making one go through hundreds of useless 'soft-skills' that will never come up in play. In most cases the individual knacks are tailored to things you're likely to see your character using at some point.

The same could be said of the stats/characteristics. Referred to as 'traits' in 7th Sea. Each one is solidly integrated into the game mechanics. Particularly in the area of combat, where gaming mechanics tend to need the most clarity in their results.

The game uses 5 of these traits. Unlike it's sister game L5R it does not split these down into any sub-traits. This allows enough definition without forcing in soft-traits or more traits than are easily kept track of. The traits are not the common 'str-dex-int-con-cha' sort of routine but rather each seems to cover a broad range of concepts that stem more out of a 'heroic' motif than a 'physical' one. Such as traits like 'Panache' which defines how 'heroically special' you are as well as determining your number of actions in a combat round. This helps to give the game a cinematic feel. Which is really what it's genre is all about.

All abilities in the system are rated on a 1-5, occasionally up to 7 scale. PC's will never see above 5 save for in one or two very rare special cases. These numbers determine the number of d10's one rolls to succeed at a task. When the dice are rolled some of them are kept and some discarded. This amount being determined by traits and a few other factors. You shoot for a high total and have target numbers to determine success. The target numbers seem a bit high but dice can 'explode'. Meaning that a roll of 10 is re-rolled.

An average PC's knack and trait ratings will give 61% success on an average task and 29% on a hard one. Assuming these two become a GM's most common base target numbers. One nice feature of the GM's guide is the presence of a probability table breaking down the chances of success with various trait, knack, and target numbers. This should make it much easier for a new GM to know where to set things. My figures above are of course taken from this table so I'm assuming the probabilities table to be accurate here.

The overall mechanics are low on complexity and generally fast feeling. The biggest possible stumbling block to speed of play in terms of game mechanics comes from the system of dividing rounds up into phases. A character then moves on a certain number of these phases and which is determined by the initiative roll made every round. Though how many remains constant. This sort of system has won games like Champions both much praise and criticism. 7th Sea's method of doing it allows you to burn multiple actions for special feats or changing the order you go in. A nice innovation but it may serve to slow things by adding more items to a player's list of decisions. Still in all other areas the game mechanics are quick enough that shouldn't become a significant factor.

The rules are split across two books much like AD&D was. However rather than give complete rules to things like combat or skill resolution in the player's guide they give enough for a player to get by and then follow up with all the 'secret mechanics' the GM would be doing 'behind the screen' in the GM's guide. This results in a lot of sections that describe the nature of a skill then end by letting you know the GM has more information in the GM's guide. This can cut down on rules-lawyering. But it could also lead to players unsure of how to use their own characters in some situations.

The mechanics are designed to encourage a certain play style. You'll get the best results if you ham it up and play a truly heroic and cinematic game. This is not a game for people who like dark themes. Combat is heavily cinematic.

There are 'brute squads'. Minor NPCs, in combat they can be attacked in groups letting Heros strut their stuff by making quick work of them as they seek out the Villain for that final epic duel. Wounds are in terms of flesh and dramatic and neither is lethal. A Hero only dies when a villain delivers that final 'coup de grace'. Hero's should remember of course that Villains have the same edge. A unique feature is that movement rules in combat are based on vertical motion rather than horizontal. When on a level plain you can go to anywhere that you could logically reach. Jumping up and down however has a simple system to it in order to encourage those chandelier swinging and balcony jumping scenes.

Character Creation:

This is a major issue in any game system selection. 7th Sea uses a point based non random system with no character classes, levels, or alignments. It fleshes out a character in terms of traits (characteristics) skills/knacks, advantages, backgrounds, and Arcana.

You can preview a character sheet online at http://www.7thsea.com/CharacterSh.htm.

There are two 'major' skill packages that almost resemble character classes. These are having gone to a swordsman school or possessing sorcery. These can end up costing anywhere from 25% to 40% of a character's points. It's possible to have both but prohibitively expensive. However even without a swordsman package a mage in this game is not limited to 'sticks & knives'. Nor for that matter do most characters even need to take either package.

Points are either set at a base number for everyone or the GM can use the 'ensemble system' and set a oddly dividing total that the players must then decide together how to divvy out. Some GM's on the game's mailing list have recommended not making the exact total clear until the players have spent it all in order to ensure the cooperation this method was designed to achieve. A novel approach that helps to build teamwork that will hopefully see imitation in other systems as well.

Advantages are much like in other systems. Little things that give your character an edge. Backgrounds are what many systems call disadvantages or flaws. What makes them unique in 7th Sea is that a player doesn't get points back for them; instead they have to pay points to get them. A Hero then gains more experience in any game in which their background comes up. This way there's still a reward for them. But it's a reward that comes with use. So no more 'soft-disads' that players get knowing the GM will skip over them and thus getting freebie points. A truly innovative approach.

Arcana is almost where the traditional advantage/disadvantage system comes into play. Arcana define core elements of a Hero's nature and destiny. They are based around the major arcana of the Tarot but no knowledge of the tarot is needed to use them. They are split into Merits and Hubris. A Hero can have either one Merit or one Hubris, but not one of each and not more than one. Though they can have none of either which is what most of the world's people have. A merit costs points and a hubris gives back the same amount of points. Players can activate their Merit in the game by spending a 'Drama Die'. Doing so gives the GM a Drama Die. Likewise the GM can force a player to roleplay their Hubris by spending a Drama Die but in so doing the player does not themselves gain a Drama Die.

The Drama Die are a pool of dice each player gets at the beginning of each session. They can be spent in a number of ways to influence die rolls or to activate Merits and some forms of sorcery. Unused Drama Die become experience points at the end of the session. In this way a player becomes directly in control of how much they will get each game.

Putting it all together I found the mechanics to be very impressive. The game flows together well and is fast and easy to learn. It makes a very tight fit to it's chosen genre and you come away feeling Heroic.

Which brings us to:

*****************************************************
The Setting:
*****************************************************

7th Sea is a pseudo Europe. Set in a time much like our 1668 but with some very noted differences:

There are equivalents to England/Ireland/Scotland (Avalon Alliance), France (Montaigne), Spain (Castille), Germany (Eisen), Italy (Vodacce), Dutch/Viking (Vendel/Vestenmanavnjar), and Russia (Ussura). The world map also shows regions that seem to be Middle East and China equivalents. There is however no known New World or Africa nor any mention of them even being planned for the future in the books. Nor are there any minor ethnic groups like Jews and Gypsies. Nor any eastern Europe outside of the Russia like nation of Ussura.
There is magic and several fantasy like monsters. The magic runs in the blood of the noble families of all but Castille and Eisen.
Technology such as guns and medicine is a little ahead of Europe of the same time period.
Women are a lot better off. In many nations they are equals of men. But in all they have varied options and a game does not need to make special cases or leaps of logic to include female PCs. Yet this is not done at the sacrifice of the genre's romantic nature. It's just that in 7th Sea either gender can be the hero or the delicate beauty or even both in one.

The setting is presented in very rich detail. About half the total content of both books is setting material and genre explanations. For the players there are generally overviews of major details which in the GM's guide get further information and a 'behind the scenes' look. This is a nice tactic but it can make reading the GM'S guide like being told the ending of a movie you're looking forward to going to see if you only plan to be a player.

Both books go through a lot of trouble to explain how to play a heroic team based game in the 'swashbuckler genre'. A lot of this advice is useful to even the most experienced gamer.

There are a few flaws in the game when it comes to the setting. The world is presented as a small round continent surrounded by water. There are no known other pieces of land mentioned. Yet for some reason sailing vessels are developed for deep sea long term voyages rather than just coastal shipping.

Some of the artwork in the Pirate supplement hints at Africans and Asians. So there must be some plan there somewhere. If the two nations on the map but not covered in the books are a China and Middle East/Africa equivalent then they seem geographically too close for such an ethnic divergence. There is no middle region between them and the 'Europeans' full of people who look somewhat halfway in-between like we have here on Earth.

Despite these flaws the setting is very well presented and captures the feel of the genre very well. The bulk of the differences between the world of 7th Sea and our own help to make it a setting more appealing to a late 20th century gaming audience's needs and tastes. It is very much the world of the myth of Swashbuckler's, Musketeers, and Courtiers rather than the reality. A romanticized version.

*****************************************************
Conclusions:
*****************************************************

This game is a must buy. Having done so I just can't see myself without it. The advice to players and GM's alike is invaluable. The system is fast and fun without unneeded complexity. The setting make me feel like I am there. It makes me feel like the dashing hero of a Swashbuckler tale.

This is perhaps the first RPG game in a long time that I have sat down and read cover to cover and been enthralled the entire time. Feeling that "I want to play NOW!!!" bug throughout the reading of the game.

If I could rewrite RPG net's rating system I would use:

System: 5
   Playability: 5
   Speed: 5
   Ease to Learn: 5
Setting: 5
   Genre Simulation: 5
   Sense of Disbelief: 4 (how much sense does it make given the genre)
   Richness of Setting: 5

*****************************************************
Resources:
*****************************************************
http://www.7thsea.com/
http://alderac.com/shop/7thSea.html

Player's mailing list: majordomo@darkedge.com and include "subscribe 7thSea" in the body
GM's mailing list: majordomo@darkedge.com and include "subscribe GM7thSea" in the body

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

7th Sea RPG (Player's and GM's Guides)
Author: Jennifer and John Wick with Kevin Wilson and the AEG staff Category: game Company/Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) Line: 7th Sea Cost: *$29.952 Page count: 502 SKU: 7001/7002 Capsule Review by Arcady** on 10/06/99. Genre tags: Fantasy	7th Sea is a recent game from AEG set in a world much like Europe of the 17th century. But with some changes. The game engine is modeled off of that used in AEG's well known RPG: Legends of the 5 Rings. I'll split this into system and setting. *************************************************** System: ************************************************* 7th Sea uses a skill based system where skills come in packages. The individual items most gamer's will think of as skills are referred to as knacks and the packages are referred to as skills. While in some ways this may lock concepts into paths other than those desired it also serves to give a broad range of abilities without making one go through hundreds of useless 'soft-skills' that will never come up in play. In most cases the individual knacks are tailored to things you're likely to see your character using at some point. The same could be said of the stats/characteristics. Referred to as 'traits' in 7th Sea. Each one is solidly integrated into the game mechanics. Particularly in the area of combat, where gaming mechanics tend to need the most clarity in their results. The game uses 5 of these traits. Unlike it's sister game L5R it does not split these down into any sub-traits. This allows enough definition without forcing in soft-traits or more traits than are easily kept track of. The traits are not the common 'str-dex-int-con-cha' sort of routine but rather each seems to cover a broad range of concepts that stem more out of a 'heroic' motif than a 'physical' one. Such as traits like 'Panache' which defines how 'heroically special' you are as well as determining your number of actions in a combat round. This helps to give the game a cinematic feel. Which is really what it's genre is all about. All abilities in the system are rated on a 1-5, occasionally up to 7 scale. PC's will never see above 5 save for in one or two very rare special cases. These numbers determine the number of d10's one rolls to succeed at a task. When the dice are rolled some of them are kept and some discarded. This amount being determined by traits and a few other factors. You shoot for a high total and have target numbers to determine success. The target numbers seem a bit high but dice can 'explode'. Meaning that a roll of 10 is re-rolled. An average PC's knack and trait ratings will give 61% success on an average task and 29% on a hard one. Assuming these two become a GM's most common base target numbers. One nice feature of the GM's guide is the presence of a probability table breaking down the chances of success with various trait, knack, and target numbers. This should make it much easier for a new GM to know where to set things. My figures above are of course taken from this table so I'm assuming the probabilities table to be accurate here. The overall mechanics are low on complexity and generally fast feeling. The biggest possible stumbling block to speed of play in terms of game mechanics comes from the system of dividing rounds up into phases. A character then moves on a certain number of these phases and which is determined by the initiative roll made every round. Though how many remains constant. This sort of system has won games like Champions both much praise and criticism. 7th Sea's method of doing it allows you to burn multiple actions for special feats or changing the order you go in. A nice innovation but it may serve to slow things by adding more items to a player's list of decisions. Still in all other areas the game mechanics are quick enough that shouldn't become a significant factor. The rules are split across two books much like AD&D was. However rather than give complete rules to things like combat or skill resolution in the player's guide they give enough for a player to get by and then follow up with all the 'secret mechanics' the GM would be doing 'behind the screen' in the GM's guide. This results in a lot of sections that describe the nature of a skill then end by letting you know the GM has more information in the GM's guide. This can cut down on rules-lawyering. But it could also lead to players unsure of how to use their own characters in some situations. The mechanics are designed to encourage a certain play style. You'll get the best results if you ham it up and play a truly heroic and cinematic game. This is not a game for people who like dark themes. Combat is heavily cinematic. There are 'brute squads'. Minor NPCs, in combat they can be attacked in groups letting Heros strut their stuff by making quick work of them as they seek out the Villain for that final epic duel. Wounds are in terms of flesh and dramatic and neither is lethal. A Hero only dies when a villain delivers that final 'coup de grace'. Hero's should remember of course that Villains have the same edge. A unique feature is that movement rules in combat are based on vertical motion rather than horizontal. When on a level plain you can go to anywhere that you could logically reach. Jumping up and down however has a simple system to it in order to encourage those chandelier swinging and balcony jumping scenes. Character Creation: This is a major issue in any game system selection. 7th Sea uses a point based non random system with no character classes, levels, or alignments. It fleshes out a character in terms of traits (characteristics) skills/knacks, advantages, backgrounds, and Arcana. You can preview a character sheet online at http://www.7thsea.com/CharacterSh.htm. There are two 'major' skill packages that almost resemble character classes. These are having gone to a swordsman school or possessing sorcery. These can end up costing anywhere from 25% to 40% of a character's points. It's possible to have both but prohibitively expensive. However even without a swordsman package a mage in this game is not limited to 'sticks & knives'. Nor for that matter do most characters even need to take either package. Points are either set at a base number for everyone or the GM can use the 'ensemble system' and set a oddly dividing total that the players must then decide together how to divvy out. Some GM's on the game's mailing list have recommended not making the exact total clear until the players have spent it all in order to ensure the cooperation this method was designed to achieve. A novel approach that helps to build teamwork that will hopefully see imitation in other systems as well. Advantages are much like in other systems. Little things that give your character an edge. Backgrounds are what many systems call disadvantages or flaws. What makes them unique in 7th Sea is that a player doesn't get points back for them; instead they have to pay points to get them. A Hero then gains more experience in any game in which their background comes up. This way there's still a reward for them. But it's a reward that comes with use. So no more 'soft-disads' that players get knowing the GM will skip over them and thus getting freebie points. A truly innovative approach. Arcana is almost where the traditional advantage/disadvantage system comes into play. Arcana define core elements of a Hero's nature and destiny. They are based around the major arcana of the Tarot but no knowledge of the tarot is needed to use them. They are split into Merits and Hubris. A Hero can have either one Merit or one Hubris, but not one of each and not more than one. Though they can have none of either which is what most of the world's people have. A merit costs points and a hubris gives back the same amount of points. Players can activate their Merit in the game by spending a 'Drama Die'. Doing so gives the GM a Drama Die. Likewise the GM can force a player to roleplay their Hubris by spending a Drama Die but in so doing the player does not themselves gain a Drama Die. The Drama Die are a pool of dice each player gets at the beginning of each session. They can be spent in a number of ways to influence die rolls or to activate Merits and some forms of sorcery. Unused Drama Die become experience points at the end of the session. In this way a player becomes directly in control of how much they will get each game. Putting it all together I found the mechanics to be very impressive. The game flows together well and is fast and easy to learn. It makes a very tight fit to it's chosen genre and you come away feeling Heroic. Which brings us to: ************************************************* The Setting: ************************************************* 7th Sea is a pseudo Europe. Set in a time much like our 1668 but with some very noted differences: There are equivalents to England/Ireland/Scotland (Avalon Alliance), France (Montaigne), Spain (Castille), Germany (Eisen), Italy (Vodacce), Dutch/Viking (Vendel/Vestenmanavnjar), and Russia (Ussura). The world map also shows regions that seem to be Middle East and China equivalents. There is however no known New World or Africa nor any mention of them even being planned for the future in the books. Nor are there any minor ethnic groups like Jews and Gypsies. Nor any eastern Europe outside of the Russia like nation of Ussura. There is magic and several fantasy like monsters. The magic runs in the blood of the noble families of all but Castille and Eisen. Technology such as guns and medicine is a little ahead of Europe of the same time period. Women are a lot better off. In many nations they are equals of men. But in all they have varied options and a game does not need to make special cases or leaps of logic to include female PCs. Yet this is not done at the sacrifice of the genre's romantic nature. It's just that in 7th Sea either gender can be the hero or the delicate beauty or even both in one. The setting is presented in very rich detail. About half the total content of both books is setting material and genre explanations. For the players there are generally overviews of major details which in the GM's guide get further information and a 'behind the scenes' look. This is a nice tactic but it can make reading the GM'S guide like being told the ending of a movie you're looking forward to going to see if you only plan to be a player. Both books go through a lot of trouble to explain how to play a heroic team based game in the 'swashbuckler genre'. A lot of this advice is useful to even the most experienced gamer. There are a few flaws in the game when it comes to the setting. The world is presented as a small round continent surrounded by water. There are no known other pieces of land mentioned. Yet for some reason sailing vessels are developed for deep sea long term voyages rather than just coastal shipping. Some of the artwork in the Pirate supplement hints at Africans and Asians. So there must be some plan there somewhere. If the two nations on the map but not covered in the books are a China and Middle East/Africa equivalent then they seem geographically too close for such an ethnic divergence. There is no middle region between them and the 'Europeans' full of people who look somewhat halfway in-between like we have here on Earth. Despite these flaws the setting is very well presented and captures the feel of the genre very well. The bulk of the differences between the world of 7th Sea and our own help to make it a setting more appealing to a late 20th century gaming audience's needs and tastes. It is very much the world of the myth of Swashbuckler's, Musketeers, and Courtiers rather than the reality. A romanticized version. ************************************************* Conclusions: ************************************************* This game is a must buy. Having done so I just can't see myself without it. The advice to players and GM's alike is invaluable. The system is fast and fun without unneeded complexity. The setting make me feel like I am there. It makes me feel like the dashing hero of a Swashbuckler tale. This is perhaps the first RPG game in a long time that I have sat down and read cover to cover and been enthralled the entire time. Feeling that "I want to play NOW!!!" bug throughout the reading of the game. If I could rewrite RPG net's rating system I would use: System: 5 Playability: 5 Speed: 5 Ease to Learn: 5 Setting: 5 Genre Simulation: 5 Sense of Disbelief: 4 (how much sense does it make given the genre) Richness of Setting: 5 ************************************************* Resources: *************************************************** http://www.7thsea.com/ http://alderac.com/shop/7thSea.html Player's mailing list: majordomo@darkedge.com and include "subscribe 7thSea" in the body GM's mailing list: majordomo@darkedge.com and include "subscribe GM7thSea" in the body Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

7th Sea RPG (Player's and GM's Guides)