This is supposed to be a simple-to-use system, and I’ve tried (everywhere I could) to keep to that thought. Granted, some things take time to set up (for ex. the character sheet), but once done properly, they are fast and simple to use during the game.
The rules speak of Skill Levels, Difficulty Levels and Dice Rolls. Although in other role-playing systems there are definitive dice to be used, The Seven allows more flexibility. It is indeed possible to use three different dice-systems interchangeably without any difficulty, as long as everything is basically decided and thought of as Skill/Difficulty Levels. (Terrible, Poor, Fair, etc…) There’s a table in the appendices to convert Levels and Rolls between the systems.
The Seven system can use different Dice Systems to manage rolling.
Everything is measured in the same way, be it an attempt to seduce a stranger or to shoot him on the leg or to translate a text from Mandarin-Chinese to Ancient Greek. There is only two ways to resolve a task.
SKILL + Roll vs. Difficulty Level
ATTRIBUTE + Roll vs. Difficulty Level
The GM will have to define the difficulty level needed to reach.
EX1.
Urgurth the Black Orc is struggling with a jammed door.
Urgurth has a Superb STR (5).
The GM has decided that the jammed door is really tough, so he has set a difficulty level of Heroic (6).
Urgurth has to roll +1 or more.
Urgurth’s roll of -1 isn't really worth the effort.
Urgurth curses the door by the name of Ushlag the Black and reaches for his evil-looking double-barreled shotgun…
EX2.
A little elven-looking girl named Elayla, who one day will become the mightiest of Channelers, is practicing her inborn talent. Her Channeling skill is still Poor (1) but the can of cookies looks half-empty… Elayla’s inborn affinity to magic reflects in her MAG attribute. Although she still very young her MAG is already Heroic (6). Totaled, this gives her a Channeling skill of 2. GM decides that levitating the can of cookies requires a “Fair” success (2). Elayla rolls and gets 0. Success! With a satisfied giggle, she begins to munch her accomplishment.
SKILL + Roll vs. Opponent’s SKILL + Roll
ATTR + Roll vs. Opponent’s ATTR + Roll
EX1.
Urgurth the Best has gotten himself in an arm wrestling competition with a huge bulking troll. Urgurth’s Superb (5) STR is marvelous when he’s kicking the smaller ones, but when compared to the troll’s Inhuman (7) STR… The battle begins and the troll rolls +2, getting a total score of 9. Urgurth needs to roll +4… Urgurth rolls -2 and gets whacked.
EX2.
Feilon, the magician of fire, is on the run from a “fellow” magician, who, for no apparent reason, got mad when Feilon just borrowed his wand of fireballs… Anyway, now he’s running like the wind (he has a Good (3) DEX and is Good at running (No Armor 3), this gives him a base score of 3. His “fellow” magician, Thoren, is a bit older with a Fair (2) DEX, but he’s had a life’s experience of running and has done it a lot, so he’s pretty Great (No Armor 4) with it. He has a total score of 3. Feilon the Windbreaker rolls +3, and has a total score of 6. Thoren must then roll +3 or more to reach Feilon’s neck. He rolls and gets +2, achieving a total score of 5. Nearly out of breath, Feilon stops after a while and thanks his young age. Thoren, breath whining in his lungs, topples back towards his tower and grumbles something about “already used up wand”.
Every time1) the player needs to roll dice, she may opt to “use Rule-of-Nought” and declare that her roll is average.2)
