Me:I am avid gamer with over 30 years expereince. I played 7th Sea 1st edition back when it first came out and thourghly enjoyed it. Setting:The setting is a fantastical take on the European area, so you have an idea of what the people are like. The changes are just enough so that while similar, the countries in 7th Sea are their own vibrant places. There is great art work within the book to help bring this world to life within your imagination. With this extensive world, that shall continue to grow, the adventure posibbilities are endless. Want to play pirates? Great. Interested in playing a campaing similar to the Three Musketeers? Can do. Want to play a band of roving heros righting wrongs in the world? Absolutlely! Characters: Each character starts out with the five basic Traits at Rank 2 and gets two points to increase them, plus and additional increase based on your Nationality. You pick two Backgrounds that provide you with 1 point in five skills each plus 1Quirk per backgroud. Then you can add 10 more points to any of the 16 skills, to a maximum Rank of 3. You also gain advatages from your Backgrounds and have 5 points to spend buying more. You have a Virtue and a Hubris that will provide you with a game mechanic. When completed, each character is roughly of equal power to each other, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Mechanics: The changes from first to second mainly involve the game mechanics to make it more of a storytelling experience where the dice do not absolutely control the game. The Raises and Risks system allows players much more freedom in what they can attempt than many other games. Each Risk the player takes has a Reward of succcessful and a Consequence if failed. Each move the Story along. Just becasue this is focused on telling stories doesn't mean that death is not a Consequence in the game. Each character has Wounds and Dramatic Wounds (DW). DW's influence the game and when you have accumulated four, your character is Helpless - at the mercy of the Villian. Hopefully your friends will save you from most certain death at his hands. Final Words: Each game has a distinctive group that responds well to it and some that don't. Power gamers and min/maxers will find this is a very balanced system. This is not about being the most powerful character in the area, but rather this game is about telling the most fascinating stories.