Okay, I have to admit, before I get started on this review, that I love the whole swashbuckling genre: The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, almost any pirate movie (even Cutthroat Island…) and even movies like Dangerous Liaisons and The Mask of Zorro. I also like stories of the exploits of Arthur and his knights, English legends, Russian legends, heck, any kind of legends! I also like games that don’t commonly include such items as Wand of Fireballs and scalpels that do Mega-Damage, where you can buy magic items at any local shop.

In other words, I don’t particularly care for "common" magic. I have also been a GM for 23 years (Hey I am not THAT old, I just started GMing early, I was 10…) and have been through all of the phases from Monty-Haulism on… And I am still around to tell the tales (so to speak.. *SMILE*).

In all honesty, I was pre-disposed to liking 7th Sea. So with these "likes" and "dislikes" in mind, I will now review the GM’s Guide to 7th Sea. I will review the Player’s Guide at a later time as I feel that, as a GM, I should start with this one. Also, I haven’t seen a review of the GM’s Guide yet, and feel that many of the reviewers should have read this one before knocking the game. (By the way, I will not be following John Wick’s advice on how to review a game. Wick is one of the creators of the game. He writes a weekly column on http://www.gamingoutpost.com/ In one of his columns he stated that a review should be unbiased. I really can’t follow his advice on this one… Sorry John.)

Alderac Entertainment Group publishes 7th Sea. It is the 3rd game published by them, the first one being published in the Shadis Magazine called Hunters, Inc., the second being Legend of the Five Rings.

Okay, first of all, I will give you a little bit of general info concerning the setting and the game mechanics. I will not go into this in great detail at this time, as I will cover these subjects in my review of the Player’s Guide.

The world of 7th Sea (Theah) is basically Europe during the Renaissance. However, there are some differences. One of these differences is that the Church’s philosophy revolves around knowledge. Because of this, Theah is further along in the sciences including medicine, astronomy, et al. Each of the countries detailed is patterned after a real country. All of these countries have both internal and external problems, as all real countries do. These countries are patterned after their Earth counterparts’ most interesting eras: Avalon (England) is patterned after Elizabethan times, Montaigne (France) is patterned after Loius XIV’s era, etc. While many reviewers feel that this is just a cheap and easy way to write a background setting, I must disagree. You see it works. In all my 22 years of running many, many games I have only found a couple that do our real history any justice. The reasons mainly stem from the difficulty in being very accurate. Unless you have a Master’s Degree in History, who really cares, anyway? It is a game, after all. Besides, historically ‘accurate’ games are just asking to be slammed by any armchair historian that wanders by.

Here is why it works: All of the countries are detailed very well for the initial release of the product. There will be more detail forthcoming in the release of each nation book. While many cynics will tell you that this is just a ploy to squeeze more money out of the buyer, I once again would have to disagree. You see the reason why these countries are only fleshed out a little in the Player’s Guide and then a little more in the GM’s Guide is that if they were detailed completely, both volumes would be HUGE and very expensive. I prefer it this way as a gaming group could conceivable only need to buy the product that concerned the areas they were ‘adventuring in’ and not spend the extra cash unnecessarily. As these products stand, there is enough to get started. I know that my group had no problems. Also, as was stated earlier, the countries were patterned after real countries. It is very easy to gather history on many subjects and work it into the game.

Very simple. The system is patterned after AEG’s L5R game (one which I have never played but have heard great things about… One thing at a time, though…). It uses d10’s exclusively with a controlling Trait and Skill ranks. Simply put, you roll the number of dice of your Trait added with the number of dice of your Skill rank and keep a number of dice equal to your controlling Trait. With these dice you try to roll equal to or higher than a Target Number. The Target Number goes up depending on the difficulty of the task. One other thing to mention is that the die rolls do "explode". That is, if a 10 is rolled another d10 is rolled, and so on. (As a GM, I once rolled a total of 94 on 4 kept dice on a Villain’s attack on a player. The player declined to parry…)

The only other major thing to add is the use of Drama dice. Drama dice are given to players to reward good role-playing, plain and simple. These dice can be used for various things, including extra dice to roll when attempting a skill or feat. While AEG has been knocked for ‘stealing’ this system from games like Deadlands, I beg to differ: You see, other GM’s I have encountered and I have used systems similar to this for YEARS! I have always given "Fate" points, or "Hollywood" points or "Luck" points or downright "Gutsy" Points. This is nothing new and you young whippersnappers need to do your research before making accusations like this. These Drama dice make for some exciting game-play, believe me.

Jennifer and John Wick, who were the Art Director and Lead Writer respectively, created this 255-page manual. It was Co-Designed by Kevin Wilson with additional design and writing by Marcelo Figueroa, Patrick Kapera, Jim Pinto, Ree Soesbee, Rob Vaux, and Dave Williams. Dave Leri created the excellent cover art and Cris Dornaus did the Graphic design and Steve Hough. The interior art was created by a plethora of talented artists, as were the maps. The editors were D.J. Trindle, Janice Sellers, and Rob Vaux.

First of all, let me state that if you are a player, not a GM, you should heed the warning in the GM’s Guide and not read it! It would spoil the surprises that await you!

Each of the sections in the book begins with a Point of View. This is a story told from "point of view" of a citizen of Theah, whether it be an Archeologist, a Merchant, a Sailor, or other. These give good insights into normal people from varying walks in Theah.

(Throughout this review, I have called the world Theah. Actually, there is an accent on the "e" but, because of word processing restrictions, I have left the accent off.)

The first section, Theah, covers all of the countries of the world of Theah in greater detail than the Player’s Guide. First of all, it briefly explains that Theah is currently in a period of Restoration. Then it details each country individually. Each country’s description is accompanied by a map, giving more detail than the map shown on the inside cover of the Player’s and GM’s guides. All of the major provinces and towns are shown in this detail. Unfortunately many of these maps are obvious "scale ups" of the original map and therefore rather "fuzzy". They are however, readable so they server their purpose, I suppose (being a mapmaker by trade I am a little critical).

Included as well in this section are excellent descriptions of: the Sidhe, the fey race with ties to Avalon, The Vaticine Church, pirates, and cults, Cabals, and Secret Societies. Each of these give further detail into the world of Theah, giving information "for GM eyes only" that is invaluable to running a 7th Sea campaign.

Not only is each of the countries described in general, each is divided into several areas that are described in further detail. The People: their social strata, clothing, diet, customs, art and music, and names. Religion: the country’s view on religion and/or the Vatacine Church. Government: the type of government in control and how it works. Economy: what the economy is based on and what kind of currency is used. Towns and Villages: the major towns and villages are described. Military: the type of military that is used and the current military situation. Fighting Style: the individual fighting style preferred by the countrymen. And Current Relations: how this country feels towards each of the major countries in Theah. This is then followed by a section on the major NPC’s to be found in each country, their descriptions, their goals, and tips on how to role-play them.

This section does a nice job of laying the groundwork of a campaign while still allowing the GM a good deal of flexibility. It is important to note that, though this setting will ‘evolve’ over time, a GM is free to change what he or she will to match the group’s own tastes. I have never been one to stick to a strict story line. (I’m just a rebel that way…).

This next section is entitled Villain, though that isn’t entirely accurate. While it does further detail how to create a viable Villain, it also covers optional rules on character creation, how to handle Traits and Skills, and includes a Bestiary. There are some good rules for using Villain Arcanas, my favorite of all times being recurring: no matter what you do to get rid of this Villain, he comes back… So think you killed him and burned his body? Obviously an imposter.

The great thing about Villains in this game is that they are just as powerful (or more so) as the heroes! While a hero should be able to handle any Brutes or Henchmen that come along (unless they are in great numbers) a Villain is a whole other matter all together. Many of the Villain Wiles are stereotypical, and that is why they work so well. We all have seen these Villains before in popular movies, books, and legends. Many times these wiles are detrimental to the Villain as in the one who just can’t help but tell you what he has planned since "you are about to be killed anyway". Of course, the Hero always gets away and then uses the knowledge he has gained to thwart the Villain’s evil plot…

One of the things I like the most about this section is the part that talks about "The Other 100 points". You see, in character creation, in the Player’s Guide, players are given 100 points to created their characters, with each Trait, Skill, and Knack (as well as Backgrounds, Advantages and such) costing Hero Points. In "The Other 100 Points", the players divide 100 additional points among 5 areas of campaign interest. These are Intrigue, Action, Romance, Exploration, and Military. Once all of the players have divided their points, the GM averages these and determines where the group’s main interests lay. I also included myself in the formula with an equal voice. (I am a player as well, after all.) If the individual scores are kept as well this is a great way to plan story lines around each individual as well as the group. For instance, if Valliere (a Montaigne noble) placed the majority of his points in Romance, (and the others did not) then it would behoove the GM to concentrate a bit more on Romance with his character than with the others. My campaign panned out as follows: Action and Intrigue ran neck and neck, followed by Romance, Exploration, and then Military. Most of my stories are full of Action and Intrigue (mostly action as this just hedged out intrigue) with a smattering of Romance, some Exploration, and very few battles.

The Bestiary is a bit dry with usually only a paragraph or two describing each "monster" along with their basic stats. This leads me to believe that there will be a more detailed Bestiary forthcoming. While monsters don’t play a huge part in my campaign (other than a hungry river beast that swallowed a rash Vodacce swordsman), I would like to have seen more than 10 pages devoted to them in the GM’s guide. I guess I will have to wait patiently for more information. Since Theah is further along than Earth at that time and devoted to the sciences, something that would have been interesting here would have been a "Field Guide" written by an expert in natural sciences. You know, a general description of the creature, its habits and habitat, dissection drawings, strengths and weaknesses, that sort of thing. As I said, I am sure that AEG will make up for this in future products.

This section contains several points of interest for the GM. As it says in the introduction to this section: "this chapter is about rules. A whole lot of rules". These rules are in given in alphabetical order and detail such things as burning, drowning, falling, combat, ship-to-ship combat, large-scale battles, chases, explosions, and many more. Before continuing with the rules section, the author points out that any of the rules may be ignored or changed. It is after all, our game. It goes on to suggest that "Only force a player to roll dice if when his ability is in doubt". This is good advice and should be followed. Nothing slows down an action-packed romp more than making a player roll for every little thing attempted.

While the majority of these rules are pretty straightforward character stuff, there are a couple of things of particular interest. Mass Combat and Naval combat are among these. Mass combat consists of a simple chart modified by such things as whether your army is lightly or heavily engaged, if a Hero is using and Heroic Opportunity, and if your troops were winning or losing in the previous round. It is pretty simplistic and will raise the hackles of any hard-core war-gamers out there, but it works well within the framework of the system. I prefer this type of system because it is quick and easily understood. Any heroes involved can also have a major impact if they choose the correct actions.

Naval combat is treated pretty much like individual combat. The ships have the same Traits as our Heroes: Brawn (Cannon), Finesse (Crew), Resolve (Hull), Wits (Rudder) and Panache (Sails). Ships also have Drama Dice equal to their lowest trait. Combat takes place on a hex grid and movement is based on Wits. Initiative is rolled just like for heroes to determine when actions take place. Combat proceeds just like regular Combat and a Hero may add his or her skill in any action that a ship can take. Once again, this type of combat is quick and simple. It is detailed enough, however, to get the job done and allow your group to get on with other things.

A quick note: Combat in 7th Sea is quick in general, something that appeals to me a great deal. I am more concerned with story and if I can continue story without combat slowing down my momentum, I am one happy GM.

Another area of interest is Reputation. This details instances that warrant reputation awards and losses and what can be done with Reputation. The Magic section explains magic a bit more and shows how to keep it in check in order to preserve game balance. The section entitled "How Does Magic Taste?" talks about how to describe the look and feel of magic effectively. It states that if the GM describes it effectively, the players will see it as more than a tool and begin to see the role-playing possibilities. ("You feel the air around you for cracks that you can pull open. Your hands slide into a crack in the air, which feels like sliding your hands into raw meat…")

This section is of particular interest to GMs (hence the name…). It is divided into several sections: Introduction, the 3 hats, and After the Game.

In the Introduction the 7th Sea golden rules are described. These are: #1 Have fun, and #2 If someone isn’t having fun, fix it. I like these two rules. I have never been much on rules-lawyering and despise people who are always shoving a book under my nose to the detriment of the story. This is why I find the philosophy of this game so appealing. If you don’t want to use a rule, then don’t. If you make a mistake, continue on. If someone isn’t having fun, do what you have to do make sure they do. Role-playing has been going on since we first gathered around a fire and told each other stories. It is far older than the written word and I am sure that stories were being told through gesture and grunts before the formal "word" came about. It is an insult to any decent storyteller to stop them and say, "but that isn’t how it’s supposed to be. It says on page 123 of the player’s guide…. Blah, blah, blah… Okay enough of that. *SMILE*

This chapter then goes on to detail the 3 hats: The Author Hat, which talks about how to write a story. The Storyteller’s Hat, which describes how to tell a story. And the Referee’s Hat that talks about the GM’s responsibility to make sure everyone is having fun and is treated fairly. These are all great sections with good advice in each one. Any GM, either experienced or non-experienced would do well to take these sections to heart.

"After the Game" talks about when and how to give experience points and how to evaluate the game session and story. It suggests talking to the group about their likes and dislikes concerning the story and how it turned out. It also discusses how the players can help you plan the next gaming session.

"Advanced Storyteller" gives techniques that are hard to use but helpful. It details such things as dream sequences, symbolic language, and parallel plotlines. It also goes into such things as "Dirty Tricks". I like this section as it gives advice on how to "cheat" for the sake of story, how to never let your player’s come up for air, and a couple of dirty dice tricks.

One thing that I gleaned form this section in particular is the use of Kharma Dice. At the beginning of the game I place some dice in the middle of the table and let the players know that these are their Kharma Dice. These can be used as a sort of "Player Veto". For instance, if a player is killed by a Villain’s musket fire, then a player (any player) can pull a die from the bowl and hand it to me saying "No way. THIS is the way it happened" (and then proceed to tell me that the ball just grazed the character’s skull or some such). The player has to explain how and why this happened if he uses a die.

On the flip side, I can put a "Bad Kharma Die" in the middle of the table if people are arguing unnecessarily, talking about the Football game, or otherwise detracting from the game. Then, if a player does something incredible due to a fantastic roll or even doing something that doesn’t require a roll, I can take the Bad Die from the middle of the table and say, "Sorry about that. You fail." What this does is keep the group focused on the game at hand. It also usually ends any petty bickering if I threaten the "Bad Kharma" with a look and shows the players that they are all in this together. Just because Player B caused the bad kharma doesn’t mean I won’t use it on Player A. I usually remove Bad Kharma Dice when a player or character does something selfless or deserving of merit. All in all, these sections have many tips and tricks that will help a GM put together a great game.

The 7th Sea GM’s guide is a great complimentary tome to the Player’s Guide. I like the fact that it was written solely for the GM and players are discouraged from reading it. The histories, the rules clarifications and suggestions, and the advice for GMs are invaluable to anyone running a 7th Sea campaign. I feed the Players in my group little tidbits of information concerning various things in the game using this book, in order that they get a greater sense that the campaign world is alive and dynamic. I have read and own countless volumes of game books and I can honestly say that in terms of playability, balance, and enjoyment, this book is among the very best of them.