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Well after literally months of waiting it finally arrived in the mail, my copy of the Eisen sourcebook for 7th Sea. After perusing all 128 pages of the sourcebook I have only this to say, nice. Not thrilling but nice. Now before the flame war begins and I get raked over the coals for my “attacks” on this game book, allow me to explain.

First lets start with the interior. The art for the most part is up to the usual high standards that AEG places on their products, it is all black and white, (not that that is a bad thing) and the cover however is a full color plate taken directly from the core rulebook. (Which is par for the course for the Nations of Theah line!) The text is divided into 4 sections. Eisen, the first section, is the primary locales and information text. It is a pretty meaty section offering a lot to players and GMs as far as differing locales in the nation of Eisen while at the same time giving you a great deal of info. A worthwhile chapter that can also be useful to players looking for source on a Germanic culture for other fantasy RPGs such as D&D3e, or Rolemaster. Again there are no horrendous surprises that will send you in to a tizzy left with an unyielding desire to play an Eisen next time you play 7th Sea. But all in all, it’s an informative section. The Next section, Hero as they call it, is a veritable Who’s who of the main NPCs of Eisen, many of these of course being examined in previous texts, but they now include their full stats along with a few new NPCs. Again a highly useful chapter especially for GMs planning to set up a scenario in Eisen, and using the nations nobility, or famous personas.

Chapter 3, drama, is probably the chapter that makes this book most intriguing, as it is the chapter that includes all of the new rules that are available to Eisen players including new combat schools, Rules for the destiny spread (which is a tarot card based personality generator, similar to the family history charts in the L5R Clan books or the lifepath in Cyberpunk) Also this section gives new weapons backgrounds skills, and of course information on Dracheisen and a wealth of new mass combat rules that make the book a worthy addition to your 7th sea library.

The final section, courage, is more or less a GM’s only section that is meant to give a bit more in depth information on the dangers of Eisen along with secrets of the NPCs from the hero section. This section also includes maps, and the obligatory templates of standardized starter characters.

So as you can see there is nothing particularly wrong with Eisen, It is a solid book and a worthwhile reference for 7th sea players and gamers looking for a Germanic culture for their own FRPG. But the book does not really make the Eisen any more interesting as a people than they were before, there are no real shocking revelations, or innovations made that make the Eisen. I would recommend this book to any players planning to run Eisen characters, or players/GMs who are already collecting the entire nations of Theah series. It is a nice sturdy and utilitarian book.

Eisen
Eisen Playtest Review by Jamie Herbert on 02/02/02 Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 3 (Average) A book that is as the Eisen people, Study, Utilitarian and no surprises Product: Eisen Author: Kevin Wilson Category: RPG Company/Publisher: Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) Line: 7th Sea Cost: 19.95 Page count: 1281-887953-06-x Year published: 2000 ISBN: 1-887953-06-x SKU: 7204 Comp copy?: yes Playtest Review by Jamie Herbert on 02/02/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Historical	Well after literally months of waiting it finally arrived in the mail, my copy of the Eisen sourcebook for 7th Sea. After perusing all 128 pages of the sourcebook I have only this to say, nice. Not thrilling but nice. Now before the flame war begins and I get raked over the coals for my “attacks” on this game book, allow me to explain. First lets start with the interior. The art for the most part is up to the usual high standards that AEG places on their products, it is all black and white, (not that that is a bad thing) and the cover however is a full color plate taken directly from the core rulebook. (Which is par for the course for the Nations of Theah line!) The text is divided into 4 sections. Eisen, the first section, is the primary locales and information text. It is a pretty meaty section offering a lot to players and GMs as far as differing locales in the nation of Eisen while at the same time giving you a great deal of info. A worthwhile chapter that can also be useful to players looking for source on a Germanic culture for other fantasy RPGs such as D&D3e, or Rolemaster. Again there are no horrendous surprises that will send you in to a tizzy left with an unyielding desire to play an Eisen next time you play 7th Sea. But all in all, it’s an informative section. The Next section, Hero as they call it, is a veritable Who’s who of the main NPCs of Eisen, many of these of course being examined in previous texts, but they now include their full stats along with a few new NPCs. Again a highly useful chapter especially for GMs planning to set up a scenario in Eisen, and using the nations nobility, or famous personas. Chapter 3, drama, is probably the chapter that makes this book most intriguing, as it is the chapter that includes all of the new rules that are available to Eisen players including new combat schools, Rules for the destiny spread (which is a tarot card based personality generator, similar to the family history charts in the L5R Clan books or the lifepath in Cyberpunk) Also this section gives new weapons backgrounds skills, and of course information on Dracheisen and a wealth of new mass combat rules that make the book a worthy addition to your 7th sea library. The final section, courage, is more or less a GM’s only section that is meant to give a bit more in depth information on the dangers of Eisen along with secrets of the NPCs from the hero section. This section also includes maps, and the obligatory templates of standardized starter characters. So as you can see there is nothing particularly wrong with Eisen, It is a solid book and a worthwhile reference for 7th sea players and gamers looking for a Germanic culture for their own FRPG. But the book does not really make the Eisen any more interesting as a people than they were before, there are no real shocking revelations, or innovations made that make the Eisen. I would recommend this book to any players planning to run Eisen characters, or players/GMs who are already collecting the entire nations of Theah series. It is a nice sturdy and utilitarian book.