The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Lace&Steel is a swashbuckling fantasy game full of heroics and romance. It does what 7thSea failed to do (in my opinion anyway). Or at least it has the details I wanted in agame like 7thSea. Namely magic, much more than in 7thSea. That and fantasy races and a generally more fantastic and fairy tale like feel. The reason I mention 7thSea is not to bash it, though you see which game I think is better. Essentially, the two games cover the same genre and have similarities that I can’t seem to keep from pointing out.

First, the setting. It’s a world much like our own in the 1640’s. The focus of the setting is on a continent called Mittelmarch which resembles Europe in the period of the English Civil War. Like in 7thSea, the various nations that make up Mittelmarch have real world equivalents. Unlike 7thSea, there are hints about colonies and discoveries in a new continent and notes on the lands of Harabi.

There are different races that inhabit Mittelmarch. Players can choose from humans, half-horses, satyrs, harpies and pixies. Magic is present in the form of alchemy,artificiery (creation of magical items), astrology, demonology, hedge magic, illusion, mental discipline, necromancy and sorcery. Magic is varied and gives the setting a fairy tale like feel. There is a Christian Church in this world which, due to the very real presence of magic and nonhuman races, is much more tolerant and enlightened than the Inquisition prone one of our world. The setting is also slightly more sanitized than the actual 17th century (germ theory of disease, sanitized city management, healing magic) which suits me just fine. Overall, the setting is ripe for adventure. The main drawback is that there is only so much setting detail that can be stuffed into182 pages. The book lacks any maps and specific details on the different nations such as cities and geography.The descriptions of the nations are fairly brief, just enough to give you the idea. Unfortunately, as of yet, there hasn’t been any more material published despite the author’s enthusiastic comments. Gamemasters will have to flesh out a lot of detail about the setting for now. Don’t get me wrong, the book is stuffed with material and detail such as notes on interracial romance,clothing and everyday life. These little details makes it a fun read.

Now for the mechanics. Character generation is random and uses a Tarot deck to determine character dispositions. There’s also a nonrandom chargen system at the end of the book provided by Steffan O’Sullivan for those that prefer it. Tasks and combat are resolved by a mix of six sided dice and special dueling and magic cards. Tasks are based on characteristics and skills. Tasks like riding and dancing are done by rolling equal or less than a target number (based off of a characteristic and difficulty rating) on 2d6. Ranged combat is also done like a task. Melee combat is resolved using a deck of 52 dueling cards(provided with the book on uncut sheets). It’s supposed to give combat a more entertaining, dangerous feel that stresses skill. Sorcerous combat uses a similar deck of 52 dueling cards and works much the same way as melee combat. Casting noncombat spells is done in about the same way as a task.

Other things like mass combat and interpersonal relationships are also given rules. The rules for interpersonal relations are particularly interesting since a character’s investment in a relationship to a person, group or thing can have a distinct effect on a character’s self image. For example, if a friend is killed, a character’s self image will suffer. A low self image score effects the speed of healing and the amount of experience you gain. A character can also gain in self image. Lest I forget to mention, there are also rules for navel combat. That said, the mechanics are fairly simple and work well.

As for the style. The book is well written and entertaining. You can tell that the author has a real love for the genre and period (well, he does state that outright). The interior illustrations are done by none other than Donna Barr. The same Donna Barr that did the illos for GURPS Swashbucklers. Besides being one my favorite comic artists and writers, she has a knack for giving a swashbuckling feel in her illustrations and has created the definitive centaur for me.The cover is fairly understated (but who cares about covers?) and the book is small and may be overlooked on a store shelf. Don’t overlook it. Especially if you like the genre. It is one of those games that gets me excited. It makes me want to run a game as soon as possible.

Lace & Steel