Movement in combat

[Dredwulf60]

The RAW movement rules don't *do it* for me.

In combat situations, humanoid characters can take an action to move a typical base 20m.

If they want to move and make an attack they roll their running skill, with the difficulty the number of meters they want to cover.

If the succeed they can move and still attack.

If they fail then they move the number of meters they rolled.

If there is no serious consequences they can move the base 20, but with no attack.

In either case they suffer the MAP, (unless they use the 'Firing on the Move' technique if they are moving and shooting.).

ie. if a character is 10m away from an enemy and wants to run over and cut him with his sword; he has the initiative and wants to get there before the enemy can shoot him. He rolls his running skill and needs a 10. If he only got an 8 he is 2m short when the the enemy gets HIS action.

In some cases covering ground quickly is the primary intent. The character rolls the running skill with an open-ended difficulty; they run as many meters as they rolled...or 20 whichever is lower.

[garhkal]

So you don't think a pc should have to beat a terrain difficulty to move?
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[Dredwulf60]

[Naaman]

I think perhaps a simple solution would be to have movement count as an action but take such little concentration that there is no MAP.

I always thought the running skill was kind of stupid, because it doesn't make a character faster, only more nimble. Over open terrain, the character with 12D in running is no faster than the character with 2D in running.

Seems to me like balance checks should be a simple dex check (and difficulties should rarely exceed moderate; people should only really "fail" their balance check on a horrible roll).

I think that D6 could learn a thing or two from d20 in this case:
Charging
Bantha Rushing
Overruning
Etc...

All of those actions are combat maneuvers which involve movement and they fit nicely into the system.

As for moving and shooting, I came up with some basic rules which cover that. Basically, the shooter takes a penalty on his attack rolls, moves slowly, and gets a bonus on his dodge rolls. Alternatively, he can move at normal speed, but his attacks only suppress (still might hit if lucky or enemy is stupid).

[Tupteq]

In my games players roll running quite often. But I don't use this terrain difficulties table from R&E, roll difficulty doesn't change depending on speed and is Very Easy in most situations.
But, I treat moving by distance equal to character's Move as one action. Character can make up to 4 such actions in one round, they have to be declared up front and MAP is applied. For simplicity even if character is taking multiple move actions I ask only for one running roll during one combat round (but with appropriate MAP).

For example - running at full speed (4 move actions) and shooting at the same time incur -4D MAP penalty. So, without 5D in running it's not even possible to do so, but at least 6D or even 7D in running will guarantee successful roll in Very Easy terrain.
But generally I usually disallow any other actions during all-out run (4 move actions).

[garhkal]

[Naaman]

Of course. My problem is that the running skill doesn't represent speed per se. It only represents balance. The skill description itself says that it represents the ability to keep balance while running.

Now... at the risk of getting "too" realistic, I just find it silly that the running skill is actually a balance skill.

Do we assume that if a character goes slowly enough, that he will automatically pass the "running" check? For example, can I cross a tight rope with 0 risk as long as I go slowly enough?

At what speed do I trigger a running check?

A person's balance is a result of his agility and muscular coordination. While running certainly requires coordination, even a person less than 2 years old can run, so the coordination and motor skills to at least try it are developed quite early. Now, my toddler would stumble fairly frequently because of overspeed when he would run full of excitement. Now that he's 4, that's not really a problem anymore. With my 6-year old, that was never a problem, so far as I can remember.

Anyway, running quickly is almost 100% a feat of strength, while making sudden directional changes (without losing speed), or accelerating and decelerating are feats of agility. BUT, since movement is determined by a static number, that means that all characters with that number (say, 10) will run the same speed across a soccer field whether their running skill is 3D or 10D.

In a track and field race, we have the same problem: the "running" skill (which is actually a balance skill) provides no means for one person to out run another.

Since the movement characteristic is so abstract (which is okay, if it works for the style of play), differences in athleticism are hard to express.

In my case, my character is actually an athlete, so these things have come up in play. Some of the things we have tried:

-Whoever rolls higher in running runs farther (simple, almost like RAW).
-The running check allows the character to exceed the standard movement distances (the greater the margin of success, the faster the character goes).
-Each D in running allows the character to count his movement as 1 higher when actually running.

[garhkal]

I have seen some try that too, where when making a running check, they gain a bonus to their move based on how well they do (up to species max).
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[Naaman]

Interestingly, I feel like the species max best describes walking speed, while running all out (4x) should be the base, and the running skill allows you to surpass that... say, 4x + y where y is derived from the margin of success. Perhaps y could equal the number by which the diffi ulty was exceeded.

[atgxtg]

Hmm,

I kinda like the distance being the TN of the roll.

I could see terrain modifiers just reducing the distance covered, including the base amount . It's probably more realistic. What tends to happen to me is that if the ground is slippery, muddy or otherwise too difficult to run across easily, I slow down.

[garhkal]

Which is kind of how things are done by the RAW.. The terrain sets the diff base, and your move speed, sets a modifier (can do down or up). So generally the harder the terrain is to pass, the slower you go to make it through without mishaps.
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Naaman]

Yup, Except that when terrain is flat and"very easy" a character who is well trained is no faster than a character who is not, hence why "running" is actually better described as a "balance" skill.

[Whill]

[garhkal]

So someone great at dodging is also a good long distance runner/sprinter/balance beam alfonso?
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[Naaman]

Sounds good to me!


Effectively what you have is a "reflexes" skill.