Rules

Seventh Sun uses one procedure for uncertain action: roll three six-sided dice, add the relevant Attribute and competency, and meet or exceed the target number.

Core Principles

Seventh Sun uses six Attributes: Brawn, Agility, Vigor, Intellect, Spirit, and Presence.

Most uncertain actions are resolved by rolling 3d6, adding the relevant Attribute and Skill, and comparing the result to a Difficulty.

Seventh Sun has no character levels. Skills improve through chosen competency ratings.

A Path is a character-building guide with a defining Gift and Talent theme; it never dictates a hero’s Skills, Formulae, or equipment.

Skills describe broad, reliable competencies; Combat is a Skill like any other.

Talents grant one clear, memorable capability. They are not small bonuses collected for future prerequisites.

Heroes spend Nerve to push beyond ordinary limits when the moment matters.

Magisters control internally generated phasm through a vinculum. Optimates are born with this organ; other peoples acquire it through reintegration, the process formally called architectonic surgery. Emissaries instead receive phasm from the Monitors.

A successful attack is followed by a damage roll made by the attacker. Ordinary damage never calls for a defensive roll.

The character driving an action rolls against Defense or Resistance; a threatened character rolls only against an impersonal hazard.

The rules do not provide separate procedures for every ledge, lock, rope, corridor, or dungeon-exploration contingency.

Core Procedures

The Basic Roll

3d6 + Attribute + Skill ≥ target number

The target number is a Difficulty, Defense, or Resistance. Roll only when the outcome is uncertain and failure would matter. If a capable character has enough time, proper equipment, and no meaningful opposition, the action succeeds without a roll.

Difficulties

Difficulty	Description	Use
9	Routine under pressure	Only uncertainty, haste, or impairment makes this worth rolling.
12	Challenging	A trained person with a useful Attribute succeeds more often than not.
15	Difficult	Calls for ability, expertise, or favorable circumstances.
18	Formidable	A serious challenge even for an accomplished hero.
21	Extraordinary	Beyond ordinary professional competence.
24+	Legendary	Reserved for deeds that should astonish witnesses.

Bonus and Penalty Dice

A favorable circumstance grants a bonus die: roll 4d6 and keep the highest three. An unfavorable circumstance imposes a penalty die: roll 4d6 and keep the lowest three. One bonus die cancels one penalty die. Additional dice of the same kind do not stack; judge the situation as a whole and roll at most one bonus or penalty die. Attributes, Skill ratings, weapon damage, Protection, and other intrinsic scores remain fixed numbers.

Degrees

The amount by which a roll succeeds or fails may matter. A margin of 5 indicates a strong result or serious complication; a margin of 10 indicates an exceptional result or decisive failure. The Narrator describes the consequence rather than consulting a separate table for every activity.

Who Rolls

The character driving the action rolls. An attacker, deceiver, coercer, or phasm user rolls against the target’s Defense or relevant Resistance. When an impersonal danger such as poison, weather, or a collapsing structure threatens a character, that character rolls an Attribute or Skill against a Difficulty. Never roll for both sides. Ordinary weapon damage requires no defensive roll.

Seventh Sun Codex
Home · The Seven Suns · Rules · Character Creation · Attributes · Skills · Lineages · Paths · Talents · Flaws · Nerve and Advancement · Combat · Equipment · Hazards · Phasm · Adversaries · Sample Heroes · Glossary