7th Sea: Lands of Gold and Fire is a role playing game supplement published by Chaosium Inc. (originally published by John Wick Presents) for use with 7th Sea Second Edition. This is a regional supplement that describes a new area with new character options.
The supplement is available from DriveThruRPG for $19.99 although it was purchased at a greatly reduced price as part of a special bundle. There are three PDFs in the supplement; a high-resolution PDF, a low-resolution PDF and a single page map of the region. The supplement is also available in printed form from sites such as Amazon. The PDF is the version reviewed and has 211 pages, with two being the front and rear covers, one the front matter, one a note and thanks, one the Table of Contents, one the Index and Advantage List and one a copy of the map.
The Journal of Karlas Osuna is an introductory piece of fiction that gives a brief tour of the lands. There seem to be snippets from this journal in other places in the supplement.
The Introduction talks about Ifri, gives brief overviews of the five great kingdoms, considers the themes of the setting and has a glossary of terms.
Chapter 1: An Overview of Ifri starts with Truths of Ifri, which gives some details on the setting, faith, the Bonsam, an evil being, and the Jok and slavery. Geography of the Lands of Gold and Fire has a creation myth followed by details of the four major rivers of the setting, each with notable features. Following the major four rivers, underground rivers are mentioned. The Nommo, who live on the rivers, and the Island of Flame where the Great Rivers originate are in this section. The Bestiary of Ifri covers the various monsters, especially the abonsam, the servants of the Bonsam, and the Bonsam itself. Other creatures, including the Jok, are also covered.
Chapter 2: The Manden Kurufaba explains how the how the country, which is actually a coalition of four wealthy countries that do constantly jockey for power. Adventures in Manden and playing a hero are covered, as are the castes of the realms and how they function. One subcaste, based on the lowest, is serf-soldiers, who are conscripted anytime a war needs fighting. Customs and culture follow, including clothing, language, religion, which combines al-Dīn with the belief in the Ori. The government of the realm is next, which can be complex. and there is also a refugee crisis, thanks to problems in Mbey and Khemet. The International Kurufaba is located in Igodomigodo’s capital and the goal of it is to unite governments into ending war. Essentially, a United Nations. Manden names are followed by notable locations, which include specific places as well as the different countries. Current Relations describes how the country gets along with other nations, primarily those in Ifri, but also the Crescent Empire, the Vendel League and the Atabean Trading Company. Finally, two Heroes and two Villains are described.
Chapter 3: The Kingdom of Mbey explains how this once-great kingdom has now fallen to the Bonsam, thanks largely to the efforts of the Atabean Trading Company in undermining it. The kingdom is comprised of five nations and an overview of each kingdom in its current state is given. Ideas for adventures in Mbey are given, with the obvious one being opposing the Bonsam, as well as a glossary. Social structure, customs, culture, language, food, art, music, religion, sorcery, government, both before Bonsam and current, education, currency, military and names. Various notable locations are then given, each of which has a number of story hooks. Two horrors of Mbey are described, one with plot hooks, the other with story hooks; possibly the plot hooks are mistakenly titled. Relations with other nations in Ifri, as well as Montaigne and the Atabean Trading Company are next. Finally, there are two Heroes – oddly, given his actions, one is the Bour Ba – and two Villains are then given.
Chapter 4: The Kingdom of Maghreb starts by covering how this mostly desert nation came to be. There is a glossary of Maghrebi terms, suggestions on adventures in the country and heroes from it, its social structure, clothing, language, food, art, religion, sorcery, government, education, currency, military and names. This is followed by a number of notable locations, each of which comes with story hooks. Current Relations with other nations follows, mostly those of Ifri but also Montaigne and Vodacce. Finally, two Heroes and two Villains are detailed, again with story hooks.
Chapter 5: The Kingdom of Aksum starts by stating that Aksum is where the first life, the first humanity, the first maths, the first written language and the first recipient of a stool from the Jok happened. A kingdom that is an empire, through assimilation of other realms, Aksum was the most powerful nation on Ifri, but the recent war with Manden has caused problems. The current problems are followed by adventures in the nation and how to play a Hero from Aksum. Social strata, a glossary of terms, the organisation of the royal court, customs, culture, food, art, religion, music, sorcery, education and the military follow, along with names. Various notable locations are described, with story hooks, relations with other nations and fin ally two Heroes and two Villains, all with story hooks.
Chapter 6: The Kingdom of Khemet is the final kingdom covered. The kingdom currently has problems, in that days are shorter within the kingdom than without, and night can be a dangerous time. This is due to a curse and the actions of the land’s queen. Khemet’s history is followed by its current situation, adventuring in Khemet and playing a hero from the kingdom. Khemet has two primary social strata, and moving from the common people to the Most High is almost impossible, though there is a great range in the second strata. Death, dying, family, gender, art, music, food, language and religion are covered, and the gods of the Ennead are gone over in detail, though al-Dīn has become just as popular recently, due to connections with the Crescent Empire, and the Vaticine Church also has an influence. Sorcery, government, currency, names and notable locations are followed by current relations and, again, two Heroes and two Villains.
Chapter 7: Adventuring in Ifri has details on how to create a hero from the continent, which primarily follows the process in the core rulebook. There are new backgrounds, both general and nation-specific and new advantages in the character creation. Four new secret societies to join are then covered, followed by three new sorceries. Heka is the sorcery of Khemet and uses the ka of the living or, in its darker form, of the dead. This uses talismans and inscriptions based around the four elements.
Melbur is the sorcery of Aksum, which involves making a deal with an abonsam It is compared to Sanderis, of the Sarmatian Commonwealth. though dievai and abonsam seem to detest each other. Melbur involves major and minor favours, with seven different deals.
The Red Touch is the sorcery of Mbey and uses the power of the Jok. It is divided into seven Disruptions and a user has the power to twist reality.
Zahmeireen Weaponry is made from a special type of metal found in Mbey, stronger and lighter than iron. Weapons made from it have been wielded by both Heroes and Villains.
Abonsam and Vile Dice is a new rule that grants aid from abonsam but also gives Corruption; this is dangerous as it’s entirely possible for a character to become a Villain in a single Action. There is a section on duelling, which explains traditional single combat and has three new duelling styles.
7th Sea: Lands of Gold and Fire
The PDF is bookmarked, although not to the depth that it could be. The Table of Contents is to a similar level of depth and is also hyperlinked. The Index covers some of the major topics. Navigation could be substantially better, given the book’s length. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be mostly free of error. There are a lot of colour illustrations, up to two pages for chapter headers, that all appear to be custom. Presentation is very good.
The majority of the book describes the nations of Ifri. This has a different feel to both Théah and the Crescent Empire. In the former, there are a lot of nations; in the latter, essentially one. This is in between, with five nations described. With less of the book devoted to game mechanics, the nations are covered in more detail than they were in the core rulebook. There are new game options, with the major one being the new types of sorcery. Duelling is a bit different to Théah.
This is a regional sourcebook, intended to allow play in the region and the creation of characters from it. As such, the core rulebook is essential to use this one; there are not enough rules in this to play, or even create a character, without it. The supplement allows the system to be played in a different manner and with a different feel to playing in Théah. 7th Sea: Lands of Gold and Fire covers a new and interesting region and it can be found by clicking here.
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