Author: Avalon Sourcebook: Rob Vaux and John Wick; Montaigne Sourcebook: Kevin Wilson
Category: game
Company/Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group
Line: 7th Sea
Cost: $19.95 each
Page count: 128 pages, perfect bound, each
Playtest Review by Lisa Padol on 02/29/00.
Genre tags: Fantasy

Avalon and Montaigne sourcebooks for 7th Sea, along with a rant

Nations of Theah: Book Two: Avalon

by Rob Vaux and John Wick

Nations of Theah: Book Three: Montaigne

by Kevin Wilson

128 pages, perfect bound, each

$19.95 each

Grade for each: B

reviewed by Lisa Padol

Playtesters: Fred Herman and Joshua Kronengold

These two books have the same strengths and weaknesses, and the weaknesses are the more infuriating because of how good otherwise the books are. And they are good, make no mistake about it. Both books make their respective countries come alive, and both reveal secrets to the GM, real, world-shaping, world-changing secrets. The history and geography sections are as lively as the sections detailing a very rich group of NPCs, and enterprising GMs can find ideas for several adventures set in each country.

Both countries have their own flavor, and both books have useful advice not only about incorporating this flavor, but also about preventing player abuse of the system, such as the Avalon section explaining why PCs who hunt the sidhe with cold iron have a very short life expectancy, and about important differences between modern and Renaissance ways of looking at the world, such as the Montaigne section explaining why a Montaigne PC can travel companionably with Castillians, even though their two countries are at war. Both books have art ranging from decent to excellent, with no bimbo art, and both books have a clean layout. Both have tantalizing fiction vignettes at the beginning of each section.

Both also attempt to make some sense out of the sketchy background from the basic book. This is more obvious in the Montaigne book, where readers are told that certain military innovations are only beginning to come into their own, especially those involving magic. Practitioners of magic hid their abilities until recently, out of fear of the church. I don't buy it, but at least the attempt at a justification is made. Also, it seems that inheriting magical power may be more complicated than simple genetics. The Montaigne Emperor's oldest daughter is a full-blooded Porte mage, something the main books said is only possible when both of one's parents are full-bloode Porte mages. However, her mother was a Montaigne peasant, and, logically, either was not a mage or was a half-blooded mage. More intriguing, some of her other children have very little Porte magic. I hope that the folks at AEG explain the criteria for being able to do magic so that GMs know what the base assumptions are, even if these criteria are only a matter of the preferences of individual authors.

Both the Avalon and the Montaigne books have a map of their country's major city, but neither has a map of the country as a whole. This is an unfortunate oversight, as the maps in the GMs' Guide are small and well hidden.

Only one small section of each book is labeled off-limits for players. This is the section with the stats and secrets for the major NPCs. While I agree that players should not see this section, I do not think that they should see much of the rest of the books either. I do not think that Montaigne PCs would know the things revealed about the Imperatrice in even the "open" section about the NPCs, and I do not think Avalon PCs or their players should be privy to the entire history of Avalon, nor should they know Queen Elaine's dearest secret, which is revealed in the opening vignette.

What can the players see? About 30 pages in each book. This includes new swordsman schools, advantages, and backgrounds. In the Montaigne book, it includes new applications of Porte magic. In the Avalon book, it includes ten Glamour knacks, effectively fixing Avalon magic. I am glad that Avalon magic is now viable, but I do not appreciate that gamers had to wait for a supplement to fix the game. It may be a time-honored tradition of RPGs, but it is one the industry could stand to lose.

The books also have a section about using tarot cards to gain extra character points for PCs. This is 7th Sea's equivalent of L5R's background tables, using cards instead of dice. It's a good mechanism in theory, and it helped to round out Josh's Avalon PC and my Montaigne PC, but be aware of the pitfalls. First, it might be better for players to choose the results of Past and Present situations, rather than pulling cards at random. It took nearly the entire deck before Josh got results that made sense for his character concept, and in Fred's case, I think I just went down the list until I found something that worked. Second, while one does need to choose a nationality before using the cards, I recommend against assigning points to traits until after, as certain cards may cause a complete change in character concept. Third, as was the case with L5R, if you allow Avalon and Montaigne PCs to use the nifty stuff in this book, PCs from other countries will be at an unfair disadvantage until the books for their countries come out.

Okay, that's the calm part of this review. The rant follows.

7th Sea is not the only game whose creators have a timeline of events in mind, nor is it the only game marred by the presence of such a timeline. WW's Storyteller games and PEG's Deadlands have this problem, and the fact that I am not focusing on these games in a review of 7th Sea products does not mean that I think 7th Sea is the only offender.

It is possible do a game where the creators have a future timeline planned out, and L5R is an excellent example of this. The key is that the timeline for L5R is available to any GM who wants to use it. Better still, it is available free of charge on websites I seem to be able to find only by accident, but the important thing is that it is -there-. If I ever get around to running my planned L5R game, I can see what its creators intended, and decide what parts to use, what to discard, and what to modify. All of this information was available when the basic game came out. Another nice feature is that the official timeline of future events begins some years after the official opening of the game. This gives GMs breathing room.

An available copy of the creators' master plan and breathing room: The first is essential, the second a damned good idea. Alas, neither are present in 7th Sea.

The creators of the game and its supplements have a master plan, but they have no intention of revealing it. Just be aware that one specific Montaigne peasant is the only possible catalyst for the upcoming rebellion. Don't do anything with him. Oh, did I mention the wheels start turning on that plot in two weeks of game time? Not that I have the slightest idea of what might happen then; no one deigned to tell a mere gamer.

And did I mention that the Emperor's youngest daughter has a secret plan? The author of the Montaigne sourcebook even tells us what it is, but not upon what its success or failure rests. The 7th Sea authors may well have decided what happens in the official version. If you want to keep the option of playing in that version, make sure not to advance the timeline too far--the plan must be carried out in mere months. But then, the Montaigne peasant's plot begins in two weeks, so this shouldn't be a problem, right?

Then, there's General Montegue, who suspects that the Emperor sent him to Ussura to die. If he had proof of his suspicions, readers are informed, he would return at once to Montaigne to give the Emperor the coup he fears.

The very first adventure AEG published for 7th Sea, the one bundled with the GM Screen, part one of the only major adventure published to date, involves the PCs being instrumental in Montegue's discovery that his suspicions are correct. This is the adventure 7th Sea gaming groups across the country--heck, 7th Sea gaming groups throughout the world--have a better than even chance of playing or having played. So, are they all supposed to stop the game until the next chapter comes out?

The impression I get is that the authors have decided what will happen, which is fine for a novel, but not for a game. The usual excuse given to gamers is: "Well, you don't have to do it that way." I hope people understand why this answer infuriates me. Sure, folks, we spread information over as many books as possible, change the official world every so often, and plant seeds of a timeline we guard jealously, but what's the big deal? You don't have to do it that way.

Indeed. I wonder what would happen if gamers took that at face value. What if we all stopped buying this kind of product? After all, as John Wick said, you don't need anything but your imagination.

It won't happen, though, for the same reason that I am so angry: 7th Sea is a good product. If it weren't, I wouldn't care how obnoxious the marketing was; I would simply ignore the product. It is because the sourcebooks are good that I am furious about the hints of future events and the blithe assumption that my campaign can dance attendance on them. If the timeline of events were available, the problem would be lessened, perhaps even alleviated. As it is, this mars 7th Sea and its sourcebooks.

Nevertheless, the Avalon and Montaigne books are full of good material. If you are hooked on the world of Theah, despite the obnoxious marketing, you will want these books.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)