7th Sea

So, You Want to Tell a Story!
The John Wick game 7th Sea is a departure from my usual fantasy RPG tastes. For one thing, there are guns. And it's a story-telling game. Essentially any game can "tell a story", even Monopoly. (One can easily recount the various acquisitions and improvements made on the Monopoly board during play and basically tell a story of the game.) In 7th Sea there are specific mechanics which are designed to facilitate the story-telling aspects and divide control of the story between referee and players.
Inspired by 17th Century Europe, the fantasy continent of Theah adds magic and some monsters to the mix, but otherwise is surprisingly recognizable as 17th Century England (Avalon), France, Germany, Poland, Russia, Italy and Spain with the names changed and perhaps a lot more swashbuckling added. As is suggested in the cover illustration women in Theah enjoy considerably more freedom and equality than their historic counterparts, but there is also more than a superficial resemblance to the historic setting and literature (Three Musketeers, Scarlet Pimpernel) which inspires the game.
Pirates certainly play a part in the setting, but the term "7th Sea" actually refers to the world beyond the horizons, both aboard ship and in terms of the understood physical and material world. Magic is real in Theah and each country seems to have its own particular brand of magic practice. This is a game that takes setting seriously. The description of Theah takes up the first 100 pages of the core rules and most countries have their own regional book as well.
Character creation is concept driven. There are no classes. Players are encouraged to imagine the character they wish to play and work with the referee to generate a PC reflecting that imaginary concept. A list of twenty questions is used to help nail down who the character is and what they are about. Traits include Brawn, Finesse, Resolve, Wits and Panache. Add skills, advantages and a hubris and a virtue and you have a character. There isn't a lot of room for min/maxing.
Character advancement is tied to achieving personal goals, like finding a lost friend or regaining the family honor and preventing the evil guys from growing stronger. Characters are expected to act "heroically" and that means doing right not wrong. Playing a dastardly pirate will take considerable "tweeking" on the part of the referee in 7th Sea. If "pirate" is your passion, think the Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride, not Blackbeard.
Game play consists of the referee setting the stage by describing a situation. The players develop the action through dice rolling and description. The dice mostly allow the players to take make decisions and take control of the action describing what happens. If the dice are unkind, the referee describes what happens instead.
A scene might go something like this:

Your nemesis, the cardinal, has gained possession of a certain incriminating letter, written in your hand. You suspect he has it hidden in his personal apartments and you are determined to get it back. You announce your intent to sneak into his apartments and retrieve the letter using your Finesse trait and Thieving skill. The referee states you must roll to succeed. A single success is required to open the lock on the door. A second success is required to bypass the guard and do so without being observed, and a third success will allow you to pick the lock quietly, so as to not alarm anyone inside the apartment, should it be occupied. One success is required to achieve each of the results and you may choose which ones if you roll fewer than three successes. You agree to this and roll the dice. You have four successes! Not only do you accomplish all of the above, but you may also add that upon opening the door you immediately spot the damning letter lying in plain sight where the cardinal has obviously been careless.  

Knowing how to make decisions at the table and being able to improvise when needed seem quite necessary for the referee of 7th Sea and are probably quite helpful to players as well. I can see how a creative group might really enjoy this game once the fairly simple rules are mastered. Story still happens at the table during the game, but 7th Sea takes it in a different direction from White Box...or does it?