[RPG]: Seven Leagues, reviewed by Mechante_Anemone (4/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13594.phtml

Sophie Lagace's Summary:

<p><i>Seven Leagues</i> is a very light, unconstraining system created to support role-playing fairy tales, from the myths of Antiquity to modern urban fantasy.&nbsp; It does this job very well and is easy for the players and GM to use.</p>

Go to the full review for more information.

[Wyvern76]

The task difficulty seems rather high from your descriptions. In the absence of circumstantial modifiers or narration bonuses, a character with a Virtue of 7, the highest possible, needs a 6 or better to succeed -- in other words, he'll fail almost half the time at average tasks. A character with an average Virtue of 4 will fail two-thirds of the time at average tasks, and almost half the time at even the simplest tasks (with a circumstantial modifier of +3).

I gather from your Actual Play report that narration bonuses are meant to be given out routinely, but even then it still seems like the odds would be against you most of the time unless you have a Virtue of 6 or 7. Is there something I'm missing?

Wyvern

[Mechante_Anemone]

A difficulty modifier of 0 corresponds to a "Pretty Hard" task. An "Average" task gets a modifier of +3, so with a Virtue of 7 you'd be looking for a roll 3 or more on a d12, not too much of a stretch. Narrative modifiers are indeed meant to be the norm, not the exception; if players are routinely missing out on getting at least a +1, then probably the group and/or GM is not feeling inspired and they would have more fun playing something else.

In addition, rolls are for challenges; most normal actions (including magical ones that fall under a Charm's purview) just work.

[Wyvern76]

Originally Posted by Mechante_Anemone

A difficulty modifier of 0 corresponds to a "Pretty Hard" task. An "Average" task gets a modifier of +3, so with a Virtue of 7 you'd be looking for a roll 3 or more on a d12, not too much of a stretch.

If +3 is "average", why do the modifiers top out at +3? Or did you mean to write "-3 to +6"?

Incidentally, I wouldn't have thought the number 13 was all that common in traditional fairy tales (as opposed to modern-day fantasy). Can anyone give examples of where it shows up?

Wyvern

[Mechante_Anemone]

Originally Posted by Wyvern76

If +3 is "average", why do the modifiers top out at +3? Or did you mean to write "-3 to +6"?

The circumstantial modifiers are listed on page 12 of the demo available from the publisher's site, and range from +3 to -6. The narration bonuses are theoretically illimited, but I can't see a GM letting them stack too far unless the players are being absolutely incredible.

[hieronymous]

Originally Posted by Wyvern76

The task difficulty seems rather high from your descriptions. In the absence of circumstantial modifiers or narration bonuses, a character with a Virtue of 7, the highest possible, needs a 6 or better to succeed -- in other words, he'll fail almost half the time at average tasks. A character with an average Virtue of 4 will fail two-thirds of the time at average tasks, and almost half the time at even the simplest tasks (with a circumstantial modifier of +3).

I gather from your Actual Play report that narration bonuses are meant to be given out routinely, but even then it still seems like the odds would be against you most of the time unless you have a Virtue of 6 or 7. Is there something I'm missing?

Wyvern

Yes. Most actions are simply accepted as so, by fiat. A modifier of 0 is for a difficult (i.e., uncertain) task.

[hieronymous]

Originally Posted by Wyvern76

If +3 is "average", why do the modifiers top out at +3? Or did you mean to write "-3 to +6"?
Wyvern

Here's the relevant passage and table:

"Consider that a character with a supernatural Virtue (7) would need to roll a 12 in order to make a roll at -6 (12 + 7 - 6 = 13). Hence a good guideline for assigning modifiers based on circumstances is:

Modifier Description
+ 4 or more Easy
+3 Average
+2 Not too hard
+1 Hard
0 Pretty hard
-1 Difficult
-2 Pretty difficult
-3 Problematic
-4 Very difficult
-5 Highly improbable
-6 or lower Nearly impossible

"Often actions in the context of a Tale will by default be “Pretty Hard”, as Tales are by their very nature dramatic and ofttimes arduous."

Originally Posted by Wyvern76

Incidentally, I wouldn't have thought the number 13 was all that common in traditional fairy tales (as opposed to modern-day fantasy). Can anyone give examples of where it shows up?
Wyvern

Two, off the top of my head:

"The Nordic gods invited twelve people to a banquet. Loki was not invited because he was a known troublemaker. But he came, uninvited, as the thirteenth, and brought ill-fortune with him. Baldur, the favorite of the gods, had to die."

In some versions of La Belle au Bois Dormant (Sleeping Beauty to anglophones), it is the thirteenth, uninvited fairy who curses Briar Rose.

[C.W.Richeson]

Another great review, Sophie! Thanks!

I think "One if by Land, Two if by Sidhe" is just an awesome name for a campaign.

[Gavinwulf]

Hello, I've played about a dozen tales with Seven Leagues and I'm happy to see it getting great reviews. I LOVE this game!

I just wanted to add a quick suggestion in response to this review.

I find it very convenient to pass out glass gems or poker chips to represent 'narrative modifiers' to my players. Then, when the conflict is over, I have them put them off to the side to tall later at the end of the Tale. That way the players are responsible for keeping track of their total narrative modifiers. We just count how many game tokens they've accumulated. It works very nice and we have no problem whatsoever keeping track of them.

[Mechante_Anemone]

Originally Posted by Gavinwulf

I find it very convenient to pass out glass gems or poker chips to represent 'narrative modifiers' to my players. Then, when the conflict is over, I have them put them off to the side to tall later at the end of the Tale. That way the players are responsible for keeping track of their total narrative modifiers. We just count how many game tokens they've accumulated. It works very nice and we have no problem whatsoever keeping track of them.

You know, that sounds like a good idea, especially since I keep giving an even +2 anyway. I'll try that next time I run the game (my players were just asking me about it last night.) Thanks!