7th Sea Carriage House-Rules

The following collection of carriage-related houserules and prep notes could easily be used in any 7th Sea campaign:

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In the Carriage:
It is easy to use the walls and curtains of the carriage to shield yourself

• 1 Free Raise on Passive Defense vs attacks originating outside the carriage.
• 2 Free Raises on Active Defense vs attacks originating outside the carriage.

Swords (and other large weapons) have difficulty working in this environment.

• 1 Free Raise on Passive Defense vs Large attacks made inside the carriage.
• 2 Free Raises on Active Defense vs Large attacks made inside the carriage.
• Active Parries made with a Large weapon inside the carriage must make +1 Raise to succeed.

Large scale movement is difficult as the carriage walls restrict it. Any normal Active Defense may be used, however…

• Active Defense from Footwork or Rolling must make +1 Raise to succeed.

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Climbing on top of the Carriage:
Climbing to the roof while the carriage is in motion takes one action, plus a roll of Brawn+Climbing, TN 15. Reducing it to a half-action raises the climb TN twice, to a total TN:25. Failure results in a fall.

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Battling on top of the Carriage:
This is an small and somewhat unpredictable surface to be battling upon, making it difficult to utilize Footwork.

• You cannot use any Footwork ranks beyond your highest of Balance and Drive Carriage knacks.

There is some risk of falling off if you move too severely while upon the roof of the carriage. At the end of any turn in which you used an Active Defense or were Hit by an attack, you must make a roll to stay atop the Carriage.

• The roll is Finesse+Balance or Finesse+Drive Carriage if you use an Active Defense
  
• The roll is Resolve+Balance if you are Hit by an attack.
• If both of these conditions apply, you must use whichever Attribute is lower.

• The base target number for such a roll is 15.
• +5 for every Hit you've taken during the turn.
• +10 for every Dramatic Wound you've taken during the turn.
  

Should the carriage come to a sudden stop or sharp turn, everyone atop it must make an additional roll just as if they'd been struck once during the turn.

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Reaching past the Carriage:
The carriage roof is one level above the carriage compartment and two levels above the ground. Standard "higher ground" rules apply.

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Falling off of the Carriage:
Failure on a balance roll results in a fall from the roof of the carriage.

• Falling damage = 10 Fleshwounds.
• Should you fall off the front or side of the carriage, you must roll Panache+Rolling, TN:10 or else suffer 15 more Fleshwounds from being run over.
• You may make a Panache+Swinging roll, TN:15 to grab the side of the carriage. Success on that roll reduces total damage to 1d10 Fleshwounds, and keeps you with the Carriage.
  

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Battles on run-away carriages are lots of fun, and I've used them in 7th Sea, Amber and Vampire. I suppose that means it's a cliche for me now, and I shouldn't do it again. Too bad.