THE SEVENTH SEAL
Since their beginning, self-proclaimed defenders of morality accused roleplaying games of encouraging Satan worship and the practice of black magic. It would therefore seem natural, that RPG publishers would keep as far as possible from subjects like faith, religion, occultism and esoteric thought in their games, so as not to give arguments to fanatical opponents of RPGs. And yet surprisingly a high number of systems put up a banner, not only drawing from Judeo-Christian mythology (Nephilim, Obsidian), but also enabling players to partake in the eternal war between Heaven and Hell. Some do it with a sense of humor (In Nomine), others with full seriousness and responsibility (Engel, Demon: the Fallen). A new RPG published by Creative Illusions, The Seventh Seal, joined the latter group a while ago.
The Seventh Seal: Roleplaying Game of Prophetic Revelations, as the game is named, takes place in the beginning of a New Millennium, when conflict between forces of The Almighty and The Fallen reaches its final stage – six seals have already been broken, signs heralding the coming of the Antichrist have been sighted, and mere decades, or even years separate us from the Day of Judgement. Angels with flaming swords will not decide the fate of the world, but humans, whose souls are at stake in the game.
Players take on roles of Sentinels, mortals gifted with incredible powers, fighting the minions of the Satanic Legion. They are the last defenders of humanity and its only hope for delaying the coming of Armageddon and destruction of our world.
The book, written by Mark Bruno, Edwyn Kumar, Scott Lynch and Scott Mitchell begins with an Introduction, where we find the basis of the system as well as a list of terms dealing both with the game world and the mechanical aspect of it.
Chapter One: Sinners and Saints, introduces us to the process of Anointing, in which a person chosen by one of the Archangels is given not only amazing powers, but also great responsibility. Thanks to the narrative of this chapter of the rulebook one realizes the bright and dark sides of Sentinels’ lives and also learns a bit about their allies and the enemies they have to face sooner or later.
Chapter Two: Signs and Portents, is nothing more than the history of The Seventh Seal game world. One might recognize some of its fragments from the Bible or history lessons, but only a few people realize to what extent the game’s history has been subjected to manipulations and outright lies. One also has the opportunity to learn the history from the very beginning, as being told by eyewitnesses – one of the angels who rebelled against God. We will learn about The Great Rebellion, witness the fate of The Six Beast Kingdoms, and realize the true meaning of seven seals, described by St. John in The Book of Revelation.
The next chapter of the book, The Chosen, deals with character creation. On the contrary to what one might think, not only just and faithful people are given the chance to become one of the Sentinels – among their ranks we find people of many dispositions. For some of them fighting Darkness has always been the prime motivation, for others it might be perhaps the last chance to atone for their sinful lives. Beside the wide selection of character concepts, the authors also familiarize us with the four Archangels and the impact the choice of angelic patron has on the character creation. The chapter also includes categories of Benefits and Detriments, helping to flesh out a character to make it a unique individual, which seems to be the standard in recently published RPGs. Here one also learns a bit about the powers that Sentinels have at their disposal (although the next chapter describes that matter in more detail), and is given a few sample characters to choose from.
Chapter Four: State of Grace, describes all that sets Sentinels apart from ordinary mortals, and what separates ordinary mortals from the Legion. Beside the marvelous Divinities, allowing Sentinels to perform miracles, one also is introduced to the concept of Grace and Insight. Although these powers are given to all humans, some trade them for the blasphemous power that the Adversary promises to his servants.
The fifth chapter of the book, Guidelines, is dedicated to the purely technical aspect of the game. The system for skill resolution, combat and health recovery strongly reminds one of the various World of Darkness games – and although there are some differences between them (for example, it uses six-, not ten-sided dice), the similarities are striking. All in all, the system is nice and easy to learn, a big plus for the authors. Beside the wide selection of Proficiencies, systems for combat resolution and health recovery, we also find a wide selection of equipment, and rules concerning developing characters with Experience Points (known in the game as Free Will).
Chapter Six: Revelations, is dedicated to the difficult, but rewarding task of running The Seventh Seal game, and creating scenarios (called Prophecies). Like any other RPG, the Game Master (or Prophet) should provide players with a good time, as well as interesting and exciting adventures. However, because of the topics the game raises, the GM must also take the religious beliefs and feelings of his players under consideration. There are useful suggestions useful creating and running different scenarios, a short overview of the current world situation and ready to use adventure seeds. The list of suggested readings that inspired the authors closes the chapter, although I doubt if many of them would be available in Poland.
Chapter Seven: We are Legion!, is the last section of the book which earns the authors my big applause. Various RPGs (mainly of the fantasy genre) contain a countless host of all kinds of demons, whose main purpose seems to be becoming another entry on the long list of beasts defeated by player characters. Creators of The Seventh Seal don’t limit this chapter to simply a list of demonic creatures and powers available to them but also includes essays detailing joining the Dark Side, the spells and rituals used by mortal sorcerers, and stats for a number of humans serving the Legion (often unknowingly) – from members of various cults and corrupted clergy, to sorcerers, occultists and serial killers.
There is an Appendix, containing most important tables and rules, and an Index, which allows one to immediately locate information. Another narrative concludes the book.
The Seventh Seal certainly isn’t a RPG I would recommend to beginning players – playing, and especially game mastering it requires a certain amount of maturity. The topics raised by The Seventh Seal might not be appropriate for young and inexperienced gamers; but those who seek something more in a RPG than just intellectually effortless entertainment, will not be disappointed.
The book itself is also rather nice to handle – of course one always prefers a hardcover with full color interior (The Seventh Seal is a soft cover with black and white interior illustrations). The rulebook has very clear structure and I’ve found only a few insignificant errors. Both editing and proofreading have been done very well. As for the graphic side, several artists, presenting a wide spectrum of styles, illustrate the book. Although not all of the pictures appealed to my taste, I’m certain that every reader will find some that will suit his preferences.
As for me, The Seventh Seal RPG deserves a strong A – I can’t wait to see the Polish edition.
We’d like to thank Creative Illusions Inc., for providing a book for review.
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