7th Sea & Wolsung: Initial Impressions

I'm a huge 7th Sea fan. That's actually a big understatement. I've never met a system I like more than 7th Sea and I'm sure I never will--I like it so much that I have an entire website dedicated to 7th Sea rules! It's just so much fun, the world is rich and full of character. Player characters turn out unique every time, the combat system makes sense and has the heroic, cinematic feel you expect from a game of it's type, and best of all it's based (loosely) on our world's history. As someone quite engaged in history, I find that element to be the most fun. It's just a smart game and people who play it tend to be smart people.

Enter Wolsung. . .

So, when I found Wolsung recently, I couldn't help but be intrigued. Like 7th Sea, Wolsung seems to be loosely based on our world--at least insofar as it represents the Victorian era. It's a steampunk-type setting, which differs quite a bit from 7th Sea, but otherwise they feel very similar to me. Considering I've been playing 7th Sea since 2001, and it's my favorite system, I consider that quite the compliment. Then I started reading the rules set and it felt even more similar in so many aspects that I simply couldn't wait to try it out.

Don't get me wrong, of course, Wolsung is distinctively it's own system. It just seem that 7th Sea may have acted as an inspiration for some of the rules. Yet it's also clearly influenced by a rich tapestry of game systems, from fantasy to futuristic, which, when those elements are blended as they have been in Wolsung, make for something dynamic and wonderful. It's steam technology and cinematic action blended together with fantasy races, like elves, halflings, human, dwarves, orcs, ogres, and trolls. The do a beautiful job paying homage to early fantasy systems with their treatment of the world's races, all while remaining true to their own vision, and to our real-world nationalities--Elves, for example, are a blend of fantasy fiction and English fae lore.

Magic & Technology. . .

Another thing Wolsung does beautifully is their incorporation of magic and technology. Like early literature that seamlessly combines classical and christian elements in a way that makes you think their authors saw nothing wrong with incorporating two such elements--I'm looking at you, Beowulf--Wolsung manages to seamlessly combine magic and technology. The magic system isn't overly powerful, which makes it manageable for both players and the GM, and gadgets are useful, rather esoteric, offering players benefits that will actually come in handy during the game, like pluses to skill checks.

This is both something they've done similarly to 7th Sea, and something they've done quite differently. The magic system in 7th Sea is, at first glance, very weak. As a player grows acquainted with it, though, it becomes apparent that it's not weak, it's just. . . manageable. But technology isn't always a good thing in 7th Sea. Guns, for example, are an affront to the tradition of swordsmanship, and technology often means dealing with something completely foreign, like Syrneth Artifacts, which often have fantastic, rather than practical, purposes--one of my 7th Sea characters, Chantal, recently acquired a Syrneth Artifact that's only purpose is to indicate when the ring's wearer is near gold. While that has it's purposes, it's a far cry from the practicality of a bonus to skill checks. Although, in 7th Sea, well constructed characters often don't actually need bonuses, so maybe it's a fair trade.

Game Mechanics. . .

Yet, these are certainly not their only similarities. The game mechanics feels similar in a lot of ways, too. They're both d10 systems, yet Wolsung is substantial geared down from 7th Sea, making rolling much smoother. There are times when rolling in 7th Sea can hold things up, which hasn't been a problem in Wolsung. Like 7th Sea, Wolsung has a system of "Extras" that make the scenes feel more epic. In 7th Sea, they're called "Brutes." Either way, it's the same dynamic. They're there to be in the way, as something for character's to easily overpower, and there are few things more fun than beating the snot out of hoards and hoards of Brutes. . . or in this case, Extras. Taking raises to rolls in another mechanic they have in common, though unlike 7th Sea, raises in Wolsung are automatic--players get a raise for every +5 they roll over the target number, whereas in 7th Sea players must declare raises, which raise the TN by 5 each.

Something I really enjoy about Wolsung so far is the character write up. The Archtype > Profession system is fantastic and makes for a wide variety of unique character possibilities. My favorite thing, though, has got to be Achievements, which allow for characters to be heroic on their own terms and which account for a character's heroic deeds before entering the game. The whole system is nicely fleshed out, the use of cards and tokens--which are similar to drama dice in 7th Sea--the simple attribute and skill system, which is substantially more streamlined than 7th sea, the abundance of information about propriety and the world, the easy to reference wealth system. All a lot of fun and not at all overly difficult to grasp.

Ultimately. . .

I could probably go on and on. Both systems are fantastic and by virtue of my love for 7th Sea, I fell instantly in love with Wolsung. Yet I'm finding that each system is distinctive and powerful, more unalike than alike. Wolsung has just enough of that 7th Sea feel to reel you in and make you love it, before sharing with you the fact that it isn't all that similar, after all. Ultimately, if any system has a chance to rival 7th Sea for my affections, it's this one!