7th Sea (role-playing game)

7th Sea is a "swashbuckling and sorcery"-themed tabletop role-playing game by John Wick. It is set in the fictional world of Théah, a fantasy version of 17th century Earth. Originally published by AEG, 7th Sea is currently published by Chaosium.
Setting.
The "7th Sea" RPG is set in a world that draws direct influence from the literature of 17th century Europe. Each country in the world can be compared to a European kingdom but is an exaggerated representation. Sorcery is a large part of the world with many types available to players. The dominant religion in the world, the belief in Theus and his prophets, is based on a form of Gnostic Christianity and features a parallel of the Spanish Inquisition. There are also references to the Knights Templars, Masons and the Invisible College of scientists.
All major European powers have their representations in Théah. Avalon (England), Castille (Spain), Montaigne (France), Eisen (Germany), Ussura (Russia), Vendel/Vestenmanavnjar (Netherlands / Scandinavia) and Vodacce (Italy) are the main cultures of the game. There is also Inismore (Ireland), Highland Marches (Scotland), the Crescent Empire (Ottoman / Arab), Midnight Archipelago (Caribbean and North Africa) and the secretive Cathay (China / Korea / Tibet). The second edition introduced another nation, the Sarmatian Commonwealth (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth).
History.
Originally "7th Sea" materials were published using a d10 (roll-and-keep) dice system. The game was fairly well received. Some of the game's later supplements included information about the game's world that dramatically affected its flavor, including an extensive and rather Lovecraftian background to sorcery. Some people felt that the later supplements were unbalanced and broke the mood of the game.
In 2000, "7th Sea" won the Origins Award for "Best Roleplaying Game of 1999". The setting also inspired a collectible card game.The card game was discontinued in 2005, and the role-playing game subsequently went out of print.
In 2001, Studio G published two comic books: "7th Sea – Absolution" and "7th Sea: Prelude to Ruin".
In 2004, Alderac switched to the d20 System and re-branded the game "Swashbuckling Adventures". After poor sales of the three Swashbuckling Adventure d20 books, a series of hybrid books were published which supported both systems. Alderac no longer publishes books for the system although a series of electronic books has been released by volunteer writers through the AEG website.
In 2015, Alderac Entertainment Group announced that they had entered into a deal with John Wick Presents, effectively transferring the publication rights for the 7th Sea to John Wick. AEG will still retain limited rights to publish undisclosed products. Wick successfully crowd-funded the campaign the second edition of the game on Kickstarter on March 13, 2016, with the first book – the new core rules – coming out in June of that year. Later that month, the "7th Sea Explorers' Society" was launched on DriveThruRPG to allow fans to self-publish material for the setting.
On November 12, 2017, a separate effort raised money for "7th Sea: Khitai", the East Asian-inspired counterpart to 7th Sea. The rate of publication proved to be unsustainable, though, and in November of the following year Wick was forced to lay off his staff and defer further publication for the line.
On April 2, 2019, Chaosium announced that they had acquired the rights to the 7th Sea product line along with the Second Edition and Khitai Kickstarters from John Wick, including back stock of books published so far. Work on the line has since resumed.
Publications.
There are two editions, the first edition published in 1999, and the second edition in 2016
The Nation Books.
Each of these books details a particular nation, expanding the culture and potential characters to be found there. There is also a lot of detail on the various non-player characters (NPCs) that can be found in the country as well as their secrets.
Secret society books.
"7th Sea" is also full of secret societies. Each of these books expands the information found in the Gamesmaster's book and adds several new abilities and schools for player characters.
Adventures and campaigns.
There are a few published adventures and one large city campaign. The Erebus Cross campaign is a campaign that takes the characters across the whole of the world of Théah. It is published in three parts. Each of the books of the Erebus Cross also contain information on the Explorer's Society.
The Blue Books.
When the nation and secret society books had been completed, AEG redesigned the cover style of the game line. These blue books are still designed for the Roll and Keep system but don't follow any form of series like the others.
Swashbuckling adventures.
AEG added "d20 system" statistics to the later books of the "7th Sea" line in an attempt to increase its popularity. The first three releases were pure d20 books to bring d20 players up to speed. The line then continued with dual statistics for both rule systems.