From: rorice@nickel.ucs.indiana.edu (rosalyn rice) This section of my rules includes information on tactical movement. MOVEMENT FACING Each figure on the map must occupy one hex and "face" towards one of the six adjacent hexes. Your facing defines your front, right, left and back hexes. Your front hexes are the hexes you can see into, and easily move into. You can move into any adjacent hex, but sideways and backwards movements are slower. Normally you can only attack forward. The distance you can attack depends on your weapon's reach. For a right-handed fighter, the right side is the weapon side, and the left side is the shield side. For a left-handed fighter, these are reversed. front front\____/front left / \ right -----< >------- left \____/ right rear /back\ rear Facing Changes During Movement Most maneuvers only let you move 1 hex. If you move one hex (or stand still) you may turn to face any direction at the end of your movement. MOVE MANEUVERS On a Move maneuver, you must change facing appropriately for each hex you enter, as follows: When going forward, either turn to face the hex you enter (movement cost 1) or sidestep into it (cost 2). When you move to the side or backwards (cost 2), you keep the same facing. At the end of you move, if you have have used half or less of your possible movement, you may turn to face any direction, unless you used an all-out attack. If you have moved more than half of your Move score, you may change your facing by one hex side. You may also change facing before you start a Move maneuver, or during the move - but this costs movement points. A facing change costs 1 for each hex-side of change - thus, turning 180 costs 3. FORWARD MOVEMENT AND FACING This rule governs facing when you move forward. It is only important on a Move, Wait, or All-Out Attack Maneuver. Other maneuvers do not restrict your facing when you move. A forward move is a move into one of your three front hexes. You must turn to face the hex as you enter it. If you go straight ahead, you facing will not change; otherwise it will change by one hex-side. ^ | <\ \____/ /> \ / ^ \ / -----< | >------- \____/ / \ This means that you can change direction while moving "forward". In three "forward" moves, you can run in a half-circle and end up facing the opposite direction. If you don't want to move "forward" you can step backwards (A) or Sideways (B), keeping the same facing or turn one hexside. Backwards or sideways movement is not allowed in an All-Out attack. As part of a Move maneuver, each hex costs double - that is 2 movement points. You can also "sidestep" into a front hex while keeping your same facing (C). This is allowed on an All-Out attack, as well as a regular Move maneuver. It also counts double. (1) (2) C <\ \____/ /> C (2) \ / \ / -----< ^ >------- / \____/ \ (2) B B (2) v A (2) STEP MANEUVER Any maneuver except Change Position, Retreat, or Disengage can include a move of one hex in any direction with no penalty. The listed maneuvers commit you to some other sort of movement. Running: A character can do nothing but move during the turn if he wishes. If he is standing and moves in a straight line, and makes no attacks he can get a "Sprint Bonus". Sprinting: If you run forward for two or more turns in a row, your second (and later) moves get a "sprint bonus" of 1 extra yard per turn. You may not take the sprint bonus unless the ground is good an you are running in a more or less straight line towards some goal. Any deviation from "forward" will require you to run at normal speed for one turn before you can get the sprint bonus again. Stopping: If you have to stop quickly for some reason, you must make a DX roll to stop in the hex where you wants to stop. If you fail the roll, you must continue on into the next hex, where you can roll again. A character can always stop within 3 hexes of where he wishes to stop, unless he was moving at super speeds or was running over a slippery surface. Facing Flanking Opponents: If someone attempts a "run-around" attack on you and you are capable of turning, you have the option of immediately turning to face them, irregardless of your remaining movement or the turn order, unless the attacker's move is more than three times you move, once per turn. This maneuver prevents you from moving in a different direction, but can be combined with an All-Out Attack maneuver. Effects of Positions on Movement: All costs of movement assume that the character is standing. Other positions will increase the cost of movement. COSTS OF MOVEMENT A character has a number of movement points each turn equal to their move score. A character doesn't need use all his movement points in a turn, but any points not used that turn are lost. DIRECTION OF TRAVEL Forward: 1 Backwards or Sideways: 2 Movement on stairs costs double. POSITIONS Crouching: +1/2 Kneeling: +2 Crawling: +2 (hands and knees) Lying Down: Move only 1 hex per turn (crawl or rolling) Sitting: Can't Move FACING CHANGES If you want to change facing before or during a move, each hex-side of change costs 1. At the end of your move, you may change facing freely if you used half, or less of your movement points. If you used more than half of your Move score, you may change facing by 1 hex-side at the end of your move. If you know you have an opponent to your side or rear, you may freely turn to face your foe out of turn, unless your attacker has a move score three times or more greater than yours. Then you may turn to face the attacker on the next turn. If you choose to turn to face your attacker, you may not move more than half your move on the next turn and you may only maneuver against the foe you turned to engage. EFFECTS OF TERRAIN ON MOVEMENT OBSTRUCTIONS Minor Obstructions (weapons, other small objects): No penalty Body, Prone Character, Friendly Character: +1 per Figure Enemy Character: Can't go through unless you Evade. Severe Obstruction (pile of bodies, wall, table): hex must be bypassed or climbed. BAD FOOTING On treacherous ground, the cost to enter the hex is increased by 1,2, or more. It depends on the GM's assessment of the situation. Anyone in an obstructed or bad-footing hex also suffers a -2 on any attack they make (unless it is a ranged attack and they stopped to aim). Defense is unaffected. The GM might also assess a DX roll if the character trys anything really outrageous on a very slippery surface to see if he Slips or is Off-Balance. WATER - Movement in foot-deep water costs double. Deeper water reduces all movement to 1 hex per turn. If the water is very fast-moving or treacherous, roll vs. DX (minus encumbrance) each turn. A failed roll means you fall, and must make a Swimming roll to regain your feet. Every failed swimming roll sweeps you downstream (2 or 3 yards or more) and you must roll vs. HT or Swimming skill to see if you choke. If the water is less dangerous, the GM might require a roll vs. DX every minute or so to see if you are swept off your feet. Ropes and other aids to balance give a hefty bonus to the DX roll to avoid getting swept away. If you are trying to run in water, you must make a DX roll to see if you fall, but you don't need to make the swimming roll, unless the water is very fast-moving, or treacherous. MUD - Mud reduces foot movement and reduces dodge rolls. Characters in a muddy area must roll at DX+5 each turn to avoid slipping. Characters who run, turn sharply or do something that puts them off balance, like pushing something or kicking roll at Dx. If a character slips he must roll vs. Dx or fall down. Jumping and acrobatics rolls are made at a penalty equal to double the dodge penalty. In mud above thigh deep, it is impossible to fall. In mud above thigh deep, the most effective way to move is to slither across the mud. This is done at the character's normal swimming speed. Doing complicated feats of slithering requires a swim roll. Depth Move Dodge Fatigue Vehicle Mvt. Ankle Deep 2/3 -1 +0 1/4 Shin Deep 1/2 -2 +1 1/5 Knee Deep 1/4 -3 +2 1/10 Thigh Deep 1/10 -4 +4 No Waist Deep 1/20 No +6 No Chest Deep 1/20 No +8 No Wheeled vehicles move at slower in mud and the driver must make a Drive roll every minute to avoid getting bogged down, -1 per 6" of mud. If the vehicle gets bogged down roll again vs. driving skill to see if it gets stuck. If it gets stuck, make a driving roll every 5 seconds to get it unstuck, -1 to subsequent driving rolls to free the vehicle for every failed attempt to get the vehicle unstuck for every 6" of mud. +1 for every 10 strength points (people getting out and pushing, a cable attached to a vehicle on solid ground, a winch and cable attached to a tree or other solid object) +2 for putting boards or branches under the wheels, +4 if 4-wheel drive. Once a vehicle is imbedded in mud above to halfway up the wheel, it can't be freed without aid. Tracked vehicles move at the same speed as wheeled vehicles in mud, but have 1/2 the chance to get stuck. QUICKSAND - When a character first moves into an area of quicksand he must make a Vision roll at -4 to spot it. If he fails his vision roll, he must roll at DX-3 to avoid the quicksand, DX-6 if he was running, If he makes the roll he saves himself and does not enter the hex. If he fails he falls into the quicksand in up to his waist, Critical failure means the character fell in head first. If he does not panic (Will check + 4) the character can "swim" through the muck at a rate of 1 hex per 2 turns and climb out. Animals trapped in quicksand will always panic and will struggle until they are exhausted or sink. Roll vs. Swimming-2 to swim each turn, Roll ST-4 to climb out once solid ground is reached, other characters can use their strength, by grabbing the trapped character by the arm or throwning him a rope. Swimming in quicksand is exhausting and costs 1 fatigue per 10 seconds. If the character fails a swimming roll or struggles in panic, they start to sink, at at 1 to 6" per turn, more if wearing or carrying heavy items. Each turn of sinking can be countered by a successful swim roll, but once the character has his head submerged, he is at -4 to Swim. When the character is completelely submerged, he may continue to surface, until he exhausts himself or drowns. Loose items sink slowly, in proportion to their density, if they are heavier than water. Once they have sunk out of sight it is difficult to retrieve them without a rake or similar tool. TURNING RADIUS The faster anything moves, in the air or on the ground, the more space it need to turn. A tight turn on the ground can make a vehicle or creature lose tractoin and fall/spin out of of control. The safety of the turn depends on speed and turning radius. In game terms, turning radius equals the number of hexes a figure travels between one 60 (one-hexside) facing change and the next. If, for instance, turning radius is 1, you move one hex between facing changes (describing a circle whose radius is 1). If your turning radius is 2, you move two hexes between turns, and so on. To find turning radius, square the figure's current speed and divide by 10 (10 times G) where G is the G-force of the turn. Round down for movement on land or water, round up for air movement. For most cases, use G=1. More than that is unlikely for men, animals, most autos, and unlikely for an unpowered flyer. To make a one-hex-sharper turn, roll vs. your control skill (DX, Flight, Driving etc.) -4. A failed roll means you lose control, or fall, as the case may be. If you are riding on the back of a beast that is making a tight turn, you have to make a roll vs. Riding skill to stay on. Because turning at high speeds requires making a wide circle, it is often faster to slow down, turn, and speed up again. RUNNING BACKWARDS You can run backwards at double the Movement cost. Roll vs. DX each 10 seconds to avoid Slipping on all but the smoothest ground.