Pyramid Pick
7th Sea Player's Guide
Published by Alderac Entertainment Group
Written by John Wick
$29.95
7th Sea is probably the most-anticipated new roleplaying game of the year. And while I have a few minor nits to pick, for the most part this new game does not disappoint.The key to 7th Sea is the game world, a tremendous mishmash of swashbuckling, high fantasy, political intrigue, religion, secret societies, and sorcery called Theah. Where to start? OK, first off, Theah is Europe, sort of. The maps are somewhat similar, and the countries . . . well, there's Avalon, the island kingdom to the northwest really made up of three separate kingdoms, including the kilt-wearing Highlander-types to the north and the enchanted magical kingdom of faerie on the island to the west; and Montaigne, the seat of all culture in Theah (just ask them), ruled by the Sun King; and Vodacce, with cities built along a maze of canals, where intrigue and backstabbing are refined arts; and Ussura, the snow-swept steppes to the east where the simple peasants are one with the land (sometimes literally); and Eisen, the central kingdom ravaged by war and divided into smaller baronies, but still expert in the art of war and the source of many mercenaries; and Castille, the hot-blooded southern people . . . if you can't match these kingdoms up with their real-world counterparts, you're just not trying.
Castille is the home of the Vaticine Church, whose Inquisition is trying to stifle all other religions, . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: July 2, 1999
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