This short, paperback book contains two contrasting adventures for 7th Sea. They both have a good mix of the elements that go into making an enjoyable swashbuckling adventure. If you are looking for complex, wheel within wheel plots these aren’t the adventures for you. Both have quite linear plots that are fun to play without taxing the players or referee too much.
In “Music of the Spheres” a young musical prodigy is in peril. Can the heroes rescue her before she befalls a foul fait and l’Empereur’s displeasure? The players are presented opportunities to become embroiled in courtly intrigue as their heroes find themselves caught up in court life. The bright, cheerful court is effectively contrasted with the darker underside of the Montaigne at the climax of the story. The Montaigne sourcebook would be a definite advantage in populating the court during the players stay and describing the setting throughout their journey through Montaigne’s.
“The Golden Head of Korlak ur-Nagath” lures the heroes into a high seas adventure by appealing to a more avaricious side of their nature. The bait is the nine-foot tall, solid gold head of a mythical statue. Of the band of sailors that originally found it only two escaped. Can your heroes fair better in their exploits or will they fall foul of pirates or the natives? The Pirate Nations sourcebook would be useful for this adventure but certainly isn’t essential.
Of the two adventures “The Golden Head of Korlak ur-Nagath” presents more opportunities for action and high adventure. “Music of the Spheres” though opens up the possibilities of interacting with l’Empereur’s court and has a few fight scenes to break up the opportunities for role-playing.
Both adventures are a little short on detail in places but this should be easily rectified or you can simply advance the story with a little exposition. It should be possible to expand the length of the adventures by adding extra encounters. There are several occasions where hooks into other adventures could easily be added.
I have no quibbles about the quality of the artwork, presentation or editing. The writing is clear and the material easy to follow. The book achieves the high standards that are consistently achieved by AEG products. If you want a short adventure to run without too much preparation either of these should fill an evenings or twos gaming. With a little work they could be expanded to take a bit longer to play.