The Basic Roll

• All dice referred to are ten-siders.
• A roll of "Roll X, keep Y" or XkY means "roll X dice and add up the total of the best Y of them". eg. Roll 6k3 means roll 6 dice and total up the best 3.
• Under most circumstances, dice explode - that is, if you roll a natural '0' on a die, re-roll it and add 10. This process may continue indefinitely, but the die still counts as only one die when you Keep it. eg. Rolling 5k2 you roll 0,0,0,6,1. Re-rolling the 0's yields 0,7,5. Re-rolling the 0 yields 8. So the two kept dice are (10 + 10 + 8) + (10 + 7) = 45. As you can see, this system can yield high totals.
• When asked to make a test on STAT + SKILL this is always roll (twice stat), keep skill. eg. Sir Frach attacks a rascal, using his Finesse (3) + Attack (Fencing) (2). He rolls (2 * 3 =) 6 dice and keeps the best 2.
• To get better than average results, you may call Raises. A raise is a +5 increase to the target number for a test. This is added before you throw the dice. Sometimes the GM will add raises to your TN to reflect extra circumstantial difficulty.
• In an opposed test, each opponent rolls vs their opponent's (skill + stat) total * 5. If both succeed, high roll wins. If both fail the status quo is favoured.

Initiative and Time

In 7th Sea, a combat round takes an indeterminate amount of time. In each round you may take a number of actions equal to your Panache score, plus one nonaggressive action.

• Each round is divided into ten phases, numbered from 1 (earliest) to 10.
• At the start of each round, roll Panache dice of a given colour and one additional die of a different colour. These are non-exploding dice.
• Action proceeds from phase 1 to 10 in order, with characters acting when their actions come up. As each action is taken, its die is removed.
• Each character has an Initiative Total equal to the total of the dice they still currently have. Thus, as you use actions, your Initiative Total decreases.
• Instead of taking an action in a given phase, you may hold it to use in a later phase. You may only have one held action and it is not possible to hold an action from one round till the next.
• If you really need to, you can sacrifice two actions from later in the round to perform an interupt action in the current phase. Both dice are removed and replaced with a die valued as per the current phase. Refigure your Initiative Total as required.
• The nonaggressive action may be used either for an active defense (see below) or for any other action which is not an attack (GM's discretion). This stricture applies to any interupt action purchased by sacrificing the NA also.

Attacking and Defending

• Call Raises - these are either to target specific areas, to fulfill the needs of Swordsman Knacks, or to add extra damage dice.
• Attack Roll - this is Finesse + Knack where the Knack is an Attack (Type) Knack or an appropriate Swordsman Knack.
• Target Number depends on the opponent's Defense Knack. This follows the following rules:
  • Defense knack must be a parry if defending a melee attack.
  • Defense knack must be Footwork if defending a ranged attack.
  • Defense knack must be a movement knack such as Ride, Swinging, Swimming, Balance etc when performing the appropriate type of movement.
  • If using the wrong defense Knack, subtract one (1) from its value, both here and when making an Active Defense roll.
  • Overall TN = (Defense Knack + 1) * 5.
• Defense Roll - If the attack is successful, the target may spend a held or interrupt action, or any action due to occur this phase in order to make a roll of Wits + Defense Knack vs the value of the Attack Roll. A success equals successful defense.

Damage and Wounds

• 7th Sea weapons have a damage rating eg. Sabre, 2k2.
• Typical weapon damages are:
  • Fist 0k1
  • Improvised weapon - blunt 1k1*
  • Improvised weapon - sharp 1k2*
  • Shield bash 1k1
  • Dagger 1k2
  • Fencing weapon 2k2 (Foil, Rapier, Sabre)
  • Bow 2k2
  • Heavy weapon 3k2 (Sword, Axe, Spear)
  • Claymore 4k2
  • Crossbow 2k3
  • Pistol 4k3
  • Zweihander 4k3
  • Musket 5k3
• Hand weapons add the wielder's Brawn to the number of unkept dice used, ranged weapons (generally) do not.
• (*) Improvised weapons add unkept dice for size, but suffer penalties for their unwieldiness. They also break any time you throw a '0' on any of their damage dice.
• All weapons add one unkept die per Raise made on the attack roll. (Note that these have to be made specifically to cause more damage, raises made for other reasons do not produce this effect.)
• Total damage is added to the target's total Flesh wounds.
• The target must now roll Brawn k Brawn vs his total flesh wounds. If he fails, he erases all his flesh wounds and takes a Serious Wound.
• If he fails by 20 or more then he takes 2 Serious wounds. Note that with some weapons (eg. firearms) this number is reduced to 10 or more.
• Characters in 7th Sea fall into three categories:
  • Brutes fall over whenever they are hit. In fact, when fighting Brutes you can attack an extra one for each Raise you call on your basic attack roll.
  • Henchment are out of the fight as soon as they take a Serious Wound.
  • Heroes & Villains are crippled once they have taken Serious Wounds equal to their Resolve. They then lose 2 unkept dice from all their actions. When they reach twice their Resolve of SW's they are knocked out and are either dead or at their opponent's mercy, at the GM's discretion.

Drama Dice

1. To add +1k1 to any given roll except a damage roll.
2. To recover from being knocked out. Note that you will still be crippled and that, regardless, you will not get any actions until the following round.
3. To activate your Virtue or to activate a Villain's Flaw.

Useful Knacks

• Attack(Type) - Allows you to attack with a weapon of a given type. The common types are Fencing, Heavy Weapon, Polearm, Knife, Archery, Firearms, Pugilism, Improvised Weapon and Dirty Fighting.
• Parry(Type) - Defense Knack for use with a weapon. These are the same types as above, more or less.
• Throw(Type) - Used for throwing attacks with a weapon of given type.
• Reload(Type) - Reduces the reload time for a weapon of given type by a number of actions equal to the value of this knack.
• Defense Knacks - Movement Knacks for defense are Footwork, Riding, Leaping, Swimming, Rolling, Sprinting, and Swinging.
• Sidestep - If you succeed with an Active Defense you may reduce the value of one of your remaining action dice by the value of this knack.
• Eye Gouge - Causes barehanded damage and increases the target's next action die value by 1 + 1/raise made. If this puts it above 10 the action is lost.
• Throat Strike - Increase TN to hit by 15. Causes an automatic Serious Wound instead of normal damage.
• Uppercut - Barehanded attack. Add 2 unkept dice damage if successful. Drops your TN to be hit to 5 for the current phase and stops you using and Active Defense.
• Set Defense - (polearms only). Classic D&D "set spear vs. charge". Add the target's Initiative Total to the damage rolled against them. Ouch.
• Jab - Barehanded attack. Add +10 to the TN to hit and roll two separate attacks. Only takes one action.
• Ear Clap - Barehanded equivalent to Throat Strike. Same mechanics.
• Wrestling Knacks - Grapple, Bear Hug, Break, Escape, Head Butt. Rasslin' combat a go-go.

Swordsman Knacks

• Exploit Weakness (School) - Represents one's understanding of a given school's strengths and weaknesses. If fighting someone from that school, whomever has the highest EW may add the difference in bonus unkept dice to all their Attack and Active Defense rolls. You start with an EW only in your own school but may add them with experience fighting other schools.

• Beat - Roll Finesse + Beat with a number of Raises equal to your opponent's Brawn. If successful, he cannot make an Active Defense.
• Bind - Used to trap an opponent's weapon. Roll Finesse + Bind as a normal attack to lock your weapons together. To free his weapon your opponent must take an action and roll Brawn + Parry vs your Brawn + Bind.
• Corps-a-corps - Get close and pushy. Roll Finesse + Corps-a-Corps to attack. Does barehanded damage (0k1) plus knocks the target prone.
• Disarm - Usable after an opponent's attack misses your Passive Defense. Roll Brawn + Disarm vs his Brawn + Attack. Success knocks his weapon away. With two Raises you may end up holding the weapon.
• Double Attack (Type) - As Jab knack but may be used with Type weapons.
• Double Parry - Use in place of a regular Parry. If successful then you receive a Virtual Drama Die for a number of phases equal to your rank in this knack.
• Feint - As Beat, but using a number of Raises equal to your opponent's Wits.
• Lunge - As Uppercut (see previous section) but for melee weapons.
• Pommel Strike - Roll Finesse + Pommel Strike as a regular attack. Causes 0k2 damage and lowers the target's TN to 5 till the end of the next phase.
• Riposte - Allows you to simultaneously Active Defend and Attack. Half your normal knack for each, then add your Riposte dice to these where you will. (Each level in Riposte adds + 1k1 to EITHER attack OR defense roll.)
• Tagging - Roll Finesse + Tagging in a regular attack. If successful you either gain a virtual drama die till the end of the current battle, or force the target to lose a drama die till the end of the current combat.
• Taunt - Will be more fully explained in the Repartee System section, which is still to come. Basically, it gives a bonus to infuriate and distract an opponent.