For those of you that may not have heard, Seven Worlds is a new
Savage Worlds setting coming to Kickstarter soon. It is written by Luis Enrique
Torres and published by Intellistories. You can get the Seven Worlds Test Drive at DriveThruRPG
here. The Wild Die Podcast did an interview episode with Luis but as of
this writing it is a Patreon supporter only episode. Here is a link to their Patreon page if
you would like to pledge your support to listen to the episode. I believe it
will be released to the public when the Kickstarter campaign goes live so you
may want to wait.
Right off the bat my first
question is, what sets this science fiction RPG apart from all the rest? First
of all it has the Atomic Rockets Seal of Approval. What
is that you ask? It is a highly sought after approval by Sci-fi writers, game
designers, and programmers. It's basically just an acknowledgement that the
fiction written is based upon real science and therefore more closely related
to hard Sci-fi.
My first impression of this
document is it looks really good. The layout by Thomas Shook is clean and
simple, I like it. The first page after the cover is the map of the known
universe. The map is usually the first thing I look for in Sci-fi settings.
This 2-dimensional map looks fantastic and has 7 colonized planets. Hmm, I
wonder where they got the name from? You can also go to their webpage at www.sevenworldsrpg.com and
get yourself a 3-dimensional map. I tried the Instant Reality InstantPlayer but
it seemed pretty glitchy to me. I have yet to try the Cortona 3d Viewer.
There are 6 pages of setting
background information (I like to call it the fluff). After looking for the
map, I then go looking for the fluff. This is where I get a good sense of how
the rest of the book will be written. The game starts out in the year 2217,
exactly 200 years after the Circle Foundation is created. There are two major
organizations, The Circle and The Brotherhood. The Circle, founded by Donovan
in 2017, is focused on space exploration, expansion, and protecting humanity
from the dangers therein. The Psion Brotherhood, founded by Michaels, is
dedicated to protecting and educating people with psionic abilities. These two
founders, Donovan and Michaels, were high school friends who had a falling out
over a girl named Melissa.
In 2021 Helium-3 fusion
reactors are invented and the search for a stable supply of this fuel leads the
human race to mine it from the gas planet Saturn in the 2050's. Around this
time Donovan passes away and his longtime partner Melissa gives his personal
notebooks which include theoretical formulas to what would become the basis for
an Interstellar Engine. In 2089 the first test of this engine is successful
with a 6 light year jump. Two years later an alien race makes itself known to
humanity. The N'ahili race arrived, attracted by the interstellar jump to
Barnard's Star, and shared coordinates of jump membranes to several new stars
within 12 light years of Earth (Sol).
Humans have now colonized two
new worlds and are eager for more expansion. The N'ahili come to the rescue and
provide more star coordinates. Now the known universe has expanded to 22 light
years from Sol and two more planets are settled. This second set of planets are
nearly identical to that of Earth making them important to humanity's survival.
In 2133 an unknown comet was discovered on a direct path to Earth. The
planetary defenses are able to break up the comet into smaller pieces but it is
too late. The effects of an impact induced nuclear winter will last until
around 2150. Evacuees are transported to the planets of Concordia and Bay Jing
making them equivalent to Earth in both population and importance. By 2165 the
N'ahili surprise us again with new coordinates which increase the human
presence to 30 light years from Sol.
This new expansion of human
kind brings on the settlement of 2 new planets of which one is important. It is
important because Concordia and Bay Jing both settle on the planet of Nouvelle
Vie. Conflicts between these two colonies leads to the first war humans have in
space. During the war, the Circle is instrumental in stopping war crimes mostly
by the use of the Stellar Communications Network. Widespread news updates keep
the warring planets honest, or at least as honest as possible during war. The
Brotherhood also plays an important role in the war by helping to prevent
atrocities through the use of "suggestion" and mind-reading without
direct mind-control. By 2181 the war is over but the government of Bay Jing is
secretly manipulating the population into blaming the Brotherhood which leads
to the Psion Riots of 2188.
This brings us to the present
day of 2217. Earth has now returned to its former glory and is seen as an equal
among Concordia and Bay Jing. Nouvelle Vie is still being torn apart by home
grown terrorists waging guerrilla war. The last colonized planet of Logan's End
has become the ultimate frontier world with exotic jungles and tourist
attractions. Recently, strange energy signatures have been detected in space
around an asteroid belt in the far reaches of Nouvelle Vie. Ships are
disappearing and stories are circulating about suspicious activity.
Included in the Test Drive are
new setting rules, skills, hindrances, edges, psionics, a new derived stat,
space ship combat, four pre-generated characters, and an adventure designed for
four players. This Test Drive doesn't go into creating characters or covering
all the new stats. It is meant to provide you with the necessary information to
play the included characters and adventure. Mental Toughness is the new derived
stat which is equal to two plus half of your Spirit. This is a measure of how
tough your mind is against Psionic attacks.
The two new setting rules are Microgravity
and Zero-G and Assistants. Microgravity and Zero-G reduce
the character's pace by half and cause a -2 physical action penalty. A roll of
a 1 on the trait die regardless of the Wild die causes the character to slip
and tumble in around in three dimensions (treat the character as Shaken recover
with Agility). Weapons that are not rated for Zero-G use cause the user to
become Shaken as before on an attack roll of 1 or 2. There is a -2 penalty for
using non Zero-G weapons as well. In Seven Worlds most characters own an
Assistant. This virtual assistant appears in your Augmented Reality (AR)
glasses, lenses, or on display screens. There are numerous functions the
assistant can help the hero's with. During combat the assistant can be
activated with the use of a bennie and perform a smarts trick, test of will,
generate an advantage/disadvantage, or use a special action. If the assistants
roll succeeds with a raise the player gets the bennie back.
There are 7 pages dedicated to
space combat in Seven Worlds. Right away that should tell you something. In my
opinion this is where Seven Worlds falls short. In a system that's supposed to
Fast! Furious! Fun! space combat feels way too crunchy for Savage Worlds. This
almost seems like a mini's game within a roleplaying game where distance and
facing are important. They do a good job of explaining how to do it and provide
examples but it's just now my cup of tea.
That was a highly condensed
version of fluff in the Seven Worlds Test Drive document. If any of that sounds
interesting to you then I encourage you to read it for yourself. I really hope
the final setting includes more fluff. I enjoyed Luis' writing and look forward
to reading the full setting once it is published.
Overall 9 out of 10 Lotus Masters recommend Seven Worlds.
