7th Sea Combat

[Leitz]

I will keep this updated, hopefully it helps answer some questions.

In shipboard combat, "Balance" determines what an enemy need to hit you. (Unless you are Swinging or Leaping) That is your Passive Defence (PD). If they make that roll, you have the option to take two of your later actions, or one held action, and do an Active Defense (AD). Your AD is Wits + Defense Knack.

Name	Initiative	Resolve	Passive Defense Skill	Passive Defense TN	Active Defense Skill	Active Defense Roll	Offense Skill	Offense Roll	Damage
Blue John	4d	4	Balance	10	Parry (Fencing)	4k3	Attack (Fencing)	4k3	5k2
Mad Dog	2d	3	Balance	20	Parry (Improvised Weapon)	3k2	Attack (Dirty Fighting)	5k2	2k1
Jean-Jacques	4d	2	Balance	15	Parry(Fencing)	4k2	(Attack)Fencing	4k2	3k2
Sailor	1d	1	Balance	10	Parry (Improvised Weapon)	2k2	Attack (Improvised Weapon)	2k1	1k1

[Leitz]

7th Sea Combat Example

Renaldo has taken affront at Antonio's flirty attentions to a lovely shared female acquaintance. Insults are flung, some hit home, and swords are drawn. Neither man is particularly strong or skilled.

- Initiative: Pananche 2
- Hit Points: Resolve 1

- Passive Defense: Footwork 2

- Active Defense Trait: Wits 2
- Active Defense Knack: Fencing (Parry) 2

- Attack Trait: Finesse 2
- Attack Knack: Fencing (Attack) 2

- Damage Trait: Brawn 1
- Damage (Weapon): 2k2

Name	Initiative	Resolve	Passive Defense Skill	Passive Defense TN	Active Defense Skill	Active Defense Roll	Offense Skill	Offense Roll	Damage
Renaldo	2d	1	Footwork	15	Parry (Fencing)	4k2	Attack (Fencing)	4k2	3k2
Antonio	2d	1	Footwork	15	Parry (Fencing)	4k2	Attack (Fencing)	4k2	3k2

Both men roll Panache in d10 for initiative. Renaldo rolls 1, 6 (total 7), and Antonio rolls 6, 9 (total 15). Counting starts at 1 and goes up, so Renaldo goes in 1, and both men go in 6. Since Antonio has a higher Total for his Initiative dice rolls, he goes first in 6, then Renaldo. Finally, Antonio goes in 9.

Renaldo strikes first, smiling at his lady (?) love as he hopes to skewer Antonio quickly. He rolls 2, 3, 6, and 7. He Keeps the highest 2 for a total of 13. Antonio's Passive Defense is 15, so there is no hit.

Antonio, willing to wait for the prize (?) of an unchaste kiss, goes first in 6. He stifles a fake yawn and holds his action.

Renaldo feels that he's starting to lose face, and attacks again. This time he rolls 1, 2, 3, and 10. The 10 explodes, and Renaldo rolls a 4, giving him a 17 (3 + 14). This overcomes Antonio's Passive Defense.

Antonio must now decide, take the hit, or attack twice? Valuing his unprick'd skill, he attempts to Parry (Fencing). He rolls 4, 5, 8, and 9, Keeping the highest two dice for a total of 17. Since he must get "Equal or Greater Than" (shaidar, that's ">=". ) the Attack, he successfully parries.

Now Antonio attacks. He rolls 3, 6, 7, and 9, for a 16. Renaldo cannot defend, he has no actions left. Antonio rolls 3k2 Damage, 4, 8, 10. The 10 explodes, and Antonio rolls another 10. This further explodes, and he rolls a 5. That means he deals 33 ( 8 + 25) Flesh Wounds to Renaldo.

Alas, Renaldo only has a 1 Brawn, it takes little strength to lift a wine goblet, no matter how full. Brawn is useful in dealing damage, and dealing with the effects of damage. For his Wound Check, he rolls a 7, which is 26 less than hit TN of 33. Normally, if you fail a Wound Check, you remove all Flesh Wounds and take one Dramatic Wound. However, for non-firearms, for each 20 points you fail the Wound Check by, you take another Dramatic Wound. For firearms, it is for each 10 points you fail the Wound Check by. Since Renaldo failed by 26, he takes Two Dramatic Wounds.

His Resolve is 1. Had he taken just 1 Dramatic Wound, equal to his Resolve, he would be Crippled: none of his dice, except Drama Dice, would explode. However, he took equal to or greater than twice his Resolve, so he is Knocked Out.

In this genre, people don't usually die. This is cinema, a grand story where the vanquished return for revenge and the good-ish guys (and gals) are known for mercy. This goes for both sides of the PC/NPC scale; it is highly unlikely that an NPC will kill a Knocked Out PC unless they have a known Reputation for doing so.

The fair (?) lady gasps as Renaldo limply falls, and she runs to his side weeping and wailing. Antonio shrugs, drains his goblet, and goes off to find a more suitable and enthusiastic companion.

[Leitz]

Rules for Brute Squads

In combat, there are three types of opposing NPCs: Villains, Henchmen, and Brutes

An Ally or Villain fights just like a PC; they have Traits and Knacks, they can use the DM's Drama Dice, and they take Wounds like PCs.

Henchmen are slightly less than Villians. There are none on the pirate ship, so we won't worry about them.

Brutes are riff-raff, and they usually travel in Brute Squads. The normal TN to hit a Brute is 10. If you score a hit against them, they are Knocked Out. You don't even have to roll Damage. Even better, you can "Take a Raise" and if you make the roll, you Knock Out an extra Brute for each Raise. For example, a group of three Brutes attack you. To hit, your starting TN is 10. If you take one Raise, and you roll a 15 or greater, then you take out two of them. If you take two Raises, and score a 20 or greater, you take out all three!

In this fight, the pirates and almost all NPCs are Brutes. The priest is classed as an Ally.

[jemmus]

Very helpful! Many Brutes means many enemy potentially damaging d20 rolls. And flanking and swarming opportunities for NPCs as well. Seems best to take them out first, then go up the tiers, as can be done.

[Leitz]

7th Sea Combat Sequence

The 7th Sea Combat Sequence is different than D&D (and Traveller) and can take some getting used to.

In a D&D Combat Round:
- Roll for Initiative; highest goes first
- Roll for Attack plus mods.
- Defender has Passive Defenses of Armor Class, Range, Cover, and Magic.
- On a successful hit, the Attacker rolls Damage.
- The Defender removes that much Damage from their Hit Points.
- - If the Defender goes to 0 HP or below, they are out of the fight.
- Otherwise, the Defender and Attacker switch roles, and the process is repeated once.

Thus there is one roll for the Attack, and if that was successful, one roll for Damage. If able, the Defender responds in kind, and then the next Combat Round begins.


The 7th Sea Combat Sequence is more like HERO system, with a variety of rolls and actions.

In a 7th Sea Combat Round:
- Roll 1d10 (non-exploding) per point of Panache.
- - Each die gives the Phases in that Combat Round that the character can act.
- - The total of all the character's d10s is their Initiative, if two or more characters act in the same phase.
- The DM begins counting Phases, beginning at 1, and going up to 10.
- On a Phase that a character can act, they have choices to make:
- - Hold their Action
- - Attack
- - Perform some other action

- If a Character chooses to Attack, they roll XkY dice vs the Defender's Passive Defense.
- - Passive Defense comes from a base 5, plus relevant Skill (Skill * 5).
- - If the Attack misses, the Attacker may choose to add one or more Drama Dice to try for success. Otherwise, the Attack is done for this phase.
- - If the Attack is successful, the Defender may choose to Interrupt their next action, if they have two more actions this round, or they may have a single Held Action from earlier in the Round. Either of these allow the Defender an Active Defense. It takes two Interrupt dice Actions, or one Held Action, for an Active Defense.
- - For an Active Defense, the Defender picks the relvant skill, and rolls XkY dice. They must equal or beat the Attacker's roll.
- - - The Defender may, after their Active Defense roll, add one or more Drama Dice to try for success. Otherwise, the Attacker rolls damage.
- - If the Attack is successful, the Attacker rolls XkY damage, and the Defender adds that to their Flesh Wounds.

- When a Character is damaged, they take that amount of Flesh Wounds.
- - They roll a Wound Check vs Brawn. If they roll less than their Flesh Wounds,
- - - They take one or more Dramatic Wounds.
- - - - For each 20 points they fail the Wound Check by, or each 10 points dealt by a firearm, they take an additional Dramatic Wound.
- - - They erase all Flesh Wounds.
- - If their Dramatic Wounds are Equal to but less than twice their Resolve, they are Crippled, and no dice but Drama Dice explode.
- - If their Dramatic Wounds are Equal to or greater than twice their Resolve, they are Knocked Out.

- If any other characters can act in that Phase, they do so in Initiative order, otherwise the DM moves to the next Phase with actions.