Ugh. I tried. I really did. But after 90 pages of setting that's presented like you're supposed to already know the history, I couldn't take it anymore. Or maybe it's the fact that nearly every enumeration is sevenfold. Think I'm kidding? The Seventh Empire has existed for seven centuries and is divided into seven regions. After fighting a war on seven fronts, it's dying, so people are heading for this mysterious alien Dyson Sphere they've just found, which has seven planets orbiting within it and was colonized by a group of humans who promptly built seven cities. The name of the Dyson Sphere? Septimus.

Also, if the Dyson Sphere is 1AU from its star, which is established very firmly, how are there seven habitable planets within the half-AU they have left to move? I don't normally insist on good science in a science fiction setting because it's fiction, but if you're going to give me all these measurements, don't expect me to overlook that they don't make sense.

I find that the game idea is amazing, and most of it is very well written out. But I agree with Gary on the Steel Helix part, and the whole being unable to create characters thing. I'd love to learn more about the universe here, and have some examples of adventuring here. Along with giving character creation. Please fix this. I want to try and play it.

Bill Coffin's Magnum Opus Septimus is yours for the asking. Using the D6 system you can now play in this far future setting of a dying empire and a huge Dyson's Sphere.

This book is the ultimate in expression of the D6 system. Everything you need to play for years is here. Like the characters, there is so much to uncover here that it would take a group years to run out of ideas. If you area fan of Dune, Foundation or of the D6 system, then this really is a must have.

Nothing turns me off a game faster than a vague, confusing character generation system. You are told you get 18D to divide between your six Attributes, and how many you can put in any one attribute. Ok, clear. But then you are told to "prioritize" your other abilities, like Skills, Modfications, Resources, but not told how many dice this prioritization gives you for each. If I make Skills my top priority, how many D do I have to divide between them? How many skills? How do I determine at chargen how much Resources and nanotech I get? Where I come from? No word that I can find is devoted to these pressing questions. At the very least, the information is unclear. Also, something called "Steel Helix" is repeatedly mentioned as effecting the setting but is never simply explained.

A confusing mess of a game that at first looked really cool.

L'univers est intéressant et permet une très large façon de jouer.

Really, the thing with Septimus is that it's a fancy sci-fi setting with everything. It's gonna be a long read. That's one of the only downsides. The others are that the power system is obtuse (thanks to the d6 system, which I enjoy massively otherwise), and there's a few spots where the text will merge with the background images and cause a minor headache.

Other than that, it's great. That's all I'll say. The setting is massive and intriguing, with a mix of post-apocalypse and soft sci-fi. It's a great game, and it's worth picking up.