7th Sea: The New World 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 PDF of maps. The supplement is also available in printed form from sites such as Amazon. The PDF is the version reviewed and has 210 pages. Two pages are the front and rear covers, two the front matter, one the Table of Contents, one the Index and one the Advantage List. The map PDF is a single page showing the New World as well as the Atabean Sea, which is covered in Pirate Nations.
K’awil’s Run is a short piece of fiction set in Aztlan.
The Introduction explains that the “New” World of Aztlan is occupied by the nations that formed after the fall of the Aztlan Empire, nations in which the gods walk amongst the people. Théans arrived in the New World a little over a century ago and both lands have changed as a result, even though the Théans’ attempts at conquest failed very badly. There are brief overviews of the three Aztlan nations, the language and how to use the book.
Chapter 1: Aztlan covers the continent in general, not the current nations. It starts with a history of the Aztlan Empire and its fall, moving through to the present and Théan contact. The present covers research into Syrneth ruins, which Théans are involved with, technology, religion and trade, including an overview of the gods in general and their worshippers and the now out of favour practice of human sacrifice. The final section is an in-universe description of Aztlani monsters, which may or may not be accurate.
Chapter 2: The Nahuacan Alliance covers the first of the three modern nations of the New World. It starts with a history of the Alliance, which originated from four, previously warring, city-states, before moving onto the current nation’s government, with schooling, the law, military, the priesthood and the head of the Alliance. Politics covers the Alliance’s policy towards Théah, Kuraq and the Tzak K’ani city-states; Tzak K’an is a potential target, Kuraq is a potential threat and opinions on Théah are divided. Following this is culture, which deals with art, sports, the rather rigid social structure and cuisine. Religion covers the major and minor gods of the Alliance, foreign religion and sacrificial cults, which are no longer tolerated. Various important locations are followed by four Heroes and four Villains.
Chapter 3: Tzak K’an covers the second nation, though nation is a bit of a misnomer as the land is a collection of city-states of varying power. This follows the same layout as the previous chapter, starting with the origins of Tzak K’an and its history, through to the height of the city-states, the arrival of the Théans and the current strife between the different cities; the Tzak K’ani believe in a Great Cycle and so rise must be followed by collapse. Politics and the rulers of city-states, including different rites to gain different powers, priests and the military are next. Tzak K’ani culture, including food, language, writing, art, clothing, economy and environment are next, with some details on the scribal complex and an organisation that seeks to prevent the loss of codices. Religion covers the major gods and the Four Elementals and the ballgame, the important Tzak K’ani sport. Sorcery is followed by important locations and finally four Heroes and four Villains.
Chapter 4: The Kuraq Empire covers the last of the three nations. Again, the layout is similar, giving the origins and history of the Empire; most notably, when the Théans arrived and destroyed a city, the Empress undertook a ritual to become a powerful Venerable One, the spirits of the dead bound in their mummified bodies. In modern times, the Kuraq gods are being hunted down and killed. Politics covers Kuraq’s ideals and the role the Venerable Ones play, the relationship with the outside world and the resistance against the Empress’s rule. Culture covers the cities, the rural lands and the wild places in-between, and the Empire’s class structure, economics, law, government and art. The Empire’s religion is now devoted to the god of the dead, with the other gods dead or in hiding, and the primary sorcery is related to the dead. Important locations are followed by four Heroes and four Villains.
Chapter 5: Mechanics starts with making Aztlani Heroes, and the presence of Théan Heroes in Aztlan and Aztlani in 7th Sea. This follows the same process as in the core rulebook. There are new general backgrounds and backgrounds specific to each of the three Aztlani nations, as well as new skills, advantages, arcana, stories and secret societies. Details on two new sorceries follow. Wayak’ Kan is practised in Tzak K’an, a form of blood magic that pulls thinks called Ahpulul, unintelligent minor items called Baxan and more powerful ones called Pixan, with examples described. Wañuy Ñaqay is the sorcery of the Kuraq Empire and started off as a benign sorcery used to communicate with the recently departed but has since twisted. Users learn Manifestations and Turns, with an emphasis on dealing with the dead.
Swords, Ships & Secrets covers duelling in Aztlan; it isn’t as formal as in Théah but, after Théan contact, both regions learned from each other. There are five new duelling styles described. Ship History adds two new origins, Kuraq and Nahuacan Alliance, and a couple of backgrounds, together with new adventures.
Aztlani Secret Societies has four new secret societies to join, with their benefits.
Tzak K’an City-State Generator has a series of tables for generating such; they may be rolled on, picked from manually or used semi-randomly.
Hazards has rules for creating these, a new type of antagonist for a scene, which might simply be weather.
Adventuring in Aztlan is the final section and covers the core conflicts of the New World and running groups with Aztlan Heroes, Théan Heroes or a combination, together with adventure hooks.
7th Sea: The New World in Review
The PDF is bookmarked with major and some minor sections linked. The Table of Contents is to a similar level of depth and is hyperlinked, though the Index and Advantage List are not. Navigation, given the length, could be better. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are a lot of custom colour illustrations, up to two pages in size at the beginning of chapters. Presentation is good.
This supplement describes three major nations, though Tzak K’an is perhaps better described as being a region, as it lacks any central authority. In size, the Nahuacan Alliance and the Kuraq Empire are two of the largest nations described, perhaps the largest region to date.
The description of the monsters is one of the least helpful in any supplement, especially as it is described as being less than accurate. As with other regional supplements, the core rules are needed to play; though new options are introduced, the core book does have the rules needed to both create characters and play the game. Despite there being new material for ships, ships as a whole seem to be less important than they are in other settings; the Aztlan nations are very land-focused. 7th Sea: The New World looks at the nations of the region in an interesting way and can be found by clicking here.
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