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First introduced in 1999, the 7th Sea RPG has undergone some significant changes over the years, including major rules changes and transitioning through several publishers. More recently, current owner Chaosium licensed out development of 7th Sea to French publisher Studio Agate, who announced plans for a major update.
Now, the official 7th Sea 3rd edition has finally arrived on Kickstarter. This new version of the game promises to incorporate player feedback and also offer a level of backwards compatibility that we haven’t seen before. The crowdfunding campaign runs from now until April 10th. Below, we draw our swords and cut into all the details.
What is the 7th Sea RPG?
7th Sea is a fantasy TTRPG set in Théah; a sprawling continent inspired by 17th-century Europe. It’s a world of epic swordfights, political intrigue, secret societies, bloodline sorcery and adventures on the high seas. Tonally, the game owes much to the cinematic versions of The Three Musketeers,The Count of Monte Cristo and Pirates of the Caribbean.
The rules of the game reflect this flavor of high drama, with players rolling pools of ten-sided dice, then grouping them into sets called “Raises” to overcome challenges, with the system rewarding creativity and storytelling over tactical minutiae.
The first edition of 7th Sea was published in 1999 by Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG), with much of the core mechanics created by noted game designer John Wick (no relation to the Keanu Reeves character of the same name). Despite strong sales, several awards and a relatively stable fan base, however, the game eventually went out of print, with AEG quietly dropping support.
In 2016, Wick’s own company, John Wick Presents, relaunched the game with a second edition after a record-breaking Kickstarter. The new edition revised its rules to emphasize cinematic storytelling over some of the crunchier mechanics from the first edition.
In 2019, Chaosium (best known as the publisher of the Call of Cthulhu RPG) took over production and distribution of 7th Sea, continuing to expand the second edition line with new books and settings. In July 2025, Chaosium announced that French RPG publisher Studio Agate (who had previously worked on French translations of the game) would be taking over development of the game, with Chaosium retaining the license.
What’s included in the 7th Sea 3rd Edition?
The new 3rd edition of 7th Sea is not a complete reboot and will in fact remain fully compatible with the 2nd edition rules, maintaining the “Roll & Keep” core mechanic and refining and rebalancing other elements of the rules. It will also introduce new character “Paths,” which offer additional in-game attributes. In addition, it will include two custom d10s: one color for your action dice (representing what you accomplish) and another for your wound dice (when you take damage over time).
Studio Agate has also said that in terms of the lore of the game, the 3rd edition will advanced the timeline of the setting by 10 years, with a number of major changes occurring to the social and political fabric of the various nations and factions which dominate the continent of Théah.
The new edition will also include significantly more scenarios and campaigns than were previously available for second edition, making it easier for new Game Masters to get up and running without having to do a ton of prep.
Studio Agate has also noted that the changes to the 3rd edition were inspired in large part from survey results which were collected via their Patreon and involved over 1,000 individual responses. A playtest of the new rules is also currently underway, with Phases 1 and 2 launched in 2025 and Phase 3 now open to Kickstarter backers.
What are the backer options for 7th Sea 3rd Edition Kickstarter?
The there are three primary products included in the new Kickstarter:
- Corebook: A 200-page book which contains the updated third edition rules.
- Secrets of the 7th Sea: A Gamemaster Guide with expanded rules and advice for running campaigns.
- 7th Sea Starter Set: A box set containing simplified rules, dice, a GM screen and pre-made character sheets.
Additional accessories, including a collector’s box, pin, maps and tokens will also be available as extras.
Backer options vary, depending on which of the core products you want to get. Prices are currently in Euros, but estimated USD amounts are below:
- Corebook (~$47 USD): Includes the printed 7th Sea 3rd Edition corebook, its PDF and the Starter Set PDF
- PDF Collection (~$70 USD): A fully digital bundle with the corebook PDF, Secrets of the 7th Sea PDF and Starter Set PDF
- Essentials (~$105 USD): The main print bundle with the corebook, Secrets of the 7th Sea GM book and Starter Set
- Essentials Limited Edition (~$140 USD): A collector-focused version of Essentials with limited “Montaigne” editions of the books.
- Deluxe Edition (~$187 USD): Expands the limited Essentials tier with a GM screen, dice, character sheets, maps, hero points, and a deluxe storage box.
- Collector Box Set (~$280 USD): Includes everything in Deluxe plus metal hero points, a cloth map, nation pins, resin dice, and a collector’s box in a slipcase.
- Patron of the 7th Sea (~$815 USD): Includes the full Collector Box Set and lets backers collaborate on creating an official NPC for the new edition.
Why we’re excited about 7th Sea 3rd Edition
- The return of an RPG classic: With 30 years of lore behind it and a solid fanbase, this new edition marks the return of an iconic tabletop role playing game.
- Backwards compatibility: The ability to run the 3rd edition rules with 2nd edition materials means you can still get plenty of mileage out your old books.
- Stunning artwork: 7th Sea has always stood out because of its incredible art and design, and from what we can see with the Kickstarter, it looks like Studio Agate is continuing that traditon.
- More swashbuckling fantasy action: With pop culture franchises like the Three Musketeers and Pirates of the Caribbean still as popular as ever, 7th Sea fills a void we haven’t really seen in recent TTRPGs (with perhaps the exception of Pirate Borg).
Final Thoughts
In many ways 7th Sea feels like an overlooked TTRPG that’s never really had the fanbase it deserves. With a new 3rd edition now sailing into port, however, it seems like there’s plenty to be hopeful for. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story in the days ahead and will update this page with new information as it’s made available.
In the meantime, you can back the new edition from now until April 10th on on Kickstarter.