By Jon Creffield
Here is a method to determine what happens
when an avatar attempts fast paced or unusual movement during
an ABC. As with any addition to the rules it adds extra
dice rolls and a slightly higher degree of complexity to
the resolution of a battle and should only be used by a
Lejend Master who finds the material pleasing.
Note also that the movement rates proposed
here are easier to remember but less accurate
than those given in the Movement and Exploration
table (a copy of which appears at the end of this document
for your reference.)
Base Move Roll
When hazardous movement is attempted an
avatar, NAC, or other being is required to roll D%; this
is referred to as a Base Move Roll, or BMR for short.
To figure each combatants BMR add the
avatar’s (or other being’s) Precision Base Rating to his
adjusted Speed Base rating, the resulting score is
his Base Move Roll (BMR), a number that must be rolled
equal to or under on D% for a “move action” to be successful.
Avatars with Luck or Minstrelsy may add 10% of their score
in such Abilities to their BMR.
Example: Trod Truefoot has P 49 and
S 12; his base move score is 61. If Trod had Minstrelsy
Ability at 43 and Luck ability at 21 he would add 6 points
([43+21] x 10% = 6.4) for a total BMR of 67.
Normal Move
A being may move up to their adjusted
Speed BR in a single ABC and still perform attack actions.
Moving up to one’s normal movement in an ABC incurs no chance
of an accidental fall or other mishap.
Example: Trod Truefoot’s Speed of 12 allows
him to move 12 feet without risk and perform an attack,
or attacks.
Dash
If an avatar, NAC or beast needs a burst
of speedier movement then they can opt to dash and
cover 3 x adjusted Speed Base Rating in feet per ABC; doing
so might incur some risk of falling.
If the footing is poor or there are other
impediments to movement a roll must be made against BMR,
success indicates that the movement goes ahead as intended,
failure requires that a Disaster Avoidance check be made
as per the rules on page 137 of the Lejend Master’s
Lore book, if successful the avatar has stumbled
but managed to right himself but has made only a normal
move (Speed BR in feet), this ends his action for the ABC.
A partial success indicates that the avatar has fallen to
his knees; the following ABC must be spent in regaining
his feet, or else he must fight from that position. A failure
means that the avatar has sprawled to the floor; the following
two ABC must be spent in regaining his feet, or else he
must fight from a prone position.
If the disaster avoidance check resulted
in a roll of “00” some injury has been suffered; the LM
should roll on the Falling and Impact Harm table
from page 137 of the Lejend Master’s Lore book
as if the fall occurred from a height of 10 feet.
If the LM deems the situation suitably
hazardous the Base Move Roll, and distance covered, is modified
as follows:
Severe Constraints to Movement:
+21 to +50 or more. In cases where light is absent or the
ground is very slippery, rugged, cluttered with bodies or
other hazards, moving (as might the deck of a ship in a
storm), or otherwise extremely difficult to traverse the
LM should penalize base move rolls by the addition of 21
to 50 points. Movement is reduced by ½ the normal amount.
Constraints to Movement: +10
to +20. In cases where successful movement is impeded by
poor lighting, an uneven surface, a degree of clutter, mud
or some other hazard not of major sort the LM should penalize
BMR by the addition of 10 to 20 points. Movement is reduced
by ¼ the normal amount.
Example: Trod Truefoot wants to dash up
a wooded slope; the ground is broken and has roots and brambles
cluttering its surface; the LM decides that these make for
a constraint to movement and applies a +20 to the Base Move
Roll. Trod rolls a 38, which is adjusted by the +20 to
58, a success! Had the final result been in excess of Trod’s
BMS of 67 a disaster avoidance check would have been required.
Normally trod would dash 36 feet per ABC (Speed of 12 x
3) but the constraints to movement reduce this by ¼, so
Trod advances only 28 feet up the slope.
Running
There are times when an avatar needs to
flee a terrible foe or sprint to the aid of a friend. A
creature can run 5 x adjusted Speed BR in feet per ABC.
In some circumstances it will be impossible for an avatar
to run full pelt, particularly in indoor or subterranean
settings; the LM should require that an avatar first dash
for 1 ABC and only thereafter will they move at the
run rate.
An avatar running full pelt incurs some
disadvantages; they lose all protection conferred by Minstrelsy
or Unarmed Combat Ability, will fall if subject to such
powers as iron agony or sticky, and would
have no chance of detecting the presence of extraordinary
effects like those produced by a Fnawar’s Invisible Inferno
activation. Furthermore Ability checks to avoid surprise
are denied to the running avatar, NAC, or beast. Lastly,
if the LM calls for a BMR check and the roll results in
a failure the runner makes his disaster avoidance check
against 2xSpeed rather than 4xSpeed and a roll of 96-00
indicates that falling harm is taken.
Example: Trod Truefoot is fleeing along
an unlit passage; his only source of illumination is a torch,
the floor is covered with bones and skulls, and to add yet
further difficulty the recent activities of an ice drake
have left all covered in a layer of slippery frost! The
LM decides that these hazards present a severe constraint
to movement; this reduces Trod’s running speed by half to
30 feet per ABC (Trod’s normal running speed is S 12 x 5,
or 60 feet per ABC). Trod’s player rolls D% and gets 32,
normally this would be a success but the LM penalizes the
roll by +40 making the final score 72, above Trod’s BMR
of 67.
The LM indicates that after a normal move
(12 feet in this case) Trod stumbles. At this point Trod’s
player must make a disaster avoidance check at 2xSpeed BR.
Trod is lucky and rolls 18 – a partial success! The LM
states that in the shadowy darkness Trod tripped on a loose
bone, skidded on a patch of ice, and ended up on his knees
up against the passageway wall. It will take Trod 1 ABC
to regain his feet, let’s hope nothing catches up with him
as he recovers from his tumble…
Moving to attack
As has already been stated an avatar can
attack a foe within range of his “normal move”.
Example: Trod Truefoot, with a Speed BR
of 12, can move to, and attack, any foe within 12 feet of
him in the course of a single ABC.
If armed with a weapon that grants considerable
reach, such as a longspear, its range may be added for the
purpose of determining which foes can be struck.
Example: Trod Truefoot, armed with a pike,
advances towards an enemy some 20 feet distant; normally
he would not be able to make an attack but his pike has
a range score of 14, thus he can move just 6 feet and be
in position to attack his foes. Indeed, any opponent within
26 feet might be made the target of an advance and attack
in that ABC.
Targets further distant than ones’ normal
move and weapon range can only be attacked in the same ABC
as movement occurs if charged. Only targets within 2 x
adjusted Speed BR in feet can be targeted. For game purposes
a charge is rapid, straight-line movement towards a foe.
A BMR check is required if the footing is poor or otherwise
treacherous and disaster avoidance chances are as given
for a run above.
Such an attack ignores the normal initiative
procedure; whichever combatant has the longest weapon makes
their attack first. Of course long weapons have disadvantages
at close quarters (see page 195 of the Lejendary Rules
for all Players book for further details.)
The charging assailant adds +5 points
to any harm they inflict. However if a bident/military
fork, pike, pole-arm, long spear, or trident strikes the
charging avatar he will suffer double the harm rolled on
the dice, sans ability adjustments that are added afterwards,
due to the impetus of the charge further impaling him.
Only one attack can be made at the end
of the charge; neither multiple weapon attacks nor two weapon
attacks can be made.
In all cases the static defender gains
a +10 bonus to his ASP when striking at a charging adversary
and, if aware of his attacker and facing him, gets to make
a free attack even if his action for the ABC has already
taken place!
As noted before the charge must be in
a straight line, if obstacles need to be circumvented or
other combatants avoided then the movement is not a charge
and no attack can be made at the end of it.
Example: Trod Truefoot, now armed with
a battleaxe, wants to attack Mog the Mad Monk who stands
some 20’ away from him across a torch-lit cave with a broken
and uneven surface. As Mog is about to kill Trod’s friend
Bella the Beautiful time is of the essence; Trod’s player
indicates that his avatar will make a charge against Mog.
The LM requires that Trod make a BMR check
but as the footing is not too bad he applies no penalties.
Trod rolls 66, a success!
Mog is armed with a trident; comparing
this weapon’s range with that of Trod’s battleaxe the LM
finds that the mad monk will attack first as the trident’s
range is 4 while the battleaxe’s range is 3.
Before making Mog’s attack the LM increases
his Weapons score from 47 to 57 as the monk is a static
defender receiving a charge. The LM rolls a 22 and tells
Trod’s player that his unfortunate avatar has run on to
the points of the monk’s trident. When rolling for harm
on d20 the LM doubles the number rolled and then adds Mog’s
harm bonuses from abilities. Rolling a 12 he doubles this
to 24 and then adds 8 more points because of the monk’s
Tricks and Physique Abilities, 32 points in all.
Thanks to a healthy disposition and some
leather half armor Trod survives this harm and counter attacks,
rolling a 04, a special hit bypassing armor! When rolling
for harm Trod adds an extra 5 points because he was charging,
hopefully the total will kill the mad monk outright.
Missiles and Movement
The discharge of a crossbow, bow or sling
cannot be combined with movement, save for minor adjustments
to facing. A Knife or other very light projectile can be
thrown after, or before, a normal move.
Other hand hurled weapons can be thrown
after a normal move or a charge and in the latter case gain
a +5 harm bonus. Note that if the charge move brought the
assailant within 5 feet of the defender then the weapon
cannot be hurled and a normal mêlée attack must be made.
In summation: one may move and attack
an opponent within one’s Speed Base Rating in feet, or charge
and attack an opponent within 2 x S BR, or dash, but not
attack, 3 x S BR, or run, but not attack, 5 x S BR after
1 ABC of dash movement.
Note that BMR rolls can be used to adjudicate
situations in which avatars are jumping over obstacles,
swinging from chandeliers, running across tabletops or any
other circumstances where movement is unusual. The LM should
apply whatever penalties (or bonuses) he sees fit when judging
such endeavors.
For purposes of comparison the Movement
and Exploration table is appended hereafter. This table
gives a more accurate model for movement speeds than that
given above.
Movement
and Exploration:
Speed Base Rating Table for Movement
in Feet per Second:
Speed |
Walking |
Trotting* |
Running |
(MPH
Running) |
5 |
1.5 |
4.5 |
9 |
(6+) |
5.5 |
1.65 |
4.95 |
9.9 |
(7-) |
6 |
1.8 |
5.4 |
10.8 |
(7+) |
6.5 |
1.95 |
5.85 |
11.7 |
(8-) |
7 |
2.1 |
6.3 |
12.6 |
(8+) |
7.5 |
2.25 |
6.75 |
13.5 |
(9) |
8 |
2.4 |
7.2 |
14.4 |
(9+) |
8.5 |
2.55 |
7.65 |
15.3 |
(10) |
9 |
2.7 |
8.1 |
16.2 |
(11-) |
9.5 |
2.85 |
8.75 |
17.1 |
(11+) |
10 |
3 |
9 |
18 |
(12) |
10.5 |
3.15 |
9.45 |
18.9 |
(13) |
11 |
3.3 |
9.9 |
19.8 |
(13+) |
11.5 |
3.45 |
10.35 |
20.7 |
(14) |
12 |
3.6 |
10.8 |
21.6 |
(15-) |
12.5 |
3.75 |
11.25 |
22.5 |
(15) |
13 |
3.9 |
11.7 |
23.4 |
(15+) |
13.5 |
4.05 |
12.15 |
24.3 |
(16) |
14 |
4.2 |
12.6 |
25.2 |
(17-) |
14.5 |
4.35 |
13.05 |
26.1 |
(17+) |
15 |
4.5 |
13.5 |
27 |
(18) |
15.5 |
4.65 |
13.95 |
27.9 |
(18+) |
16 |
4.8 |
14.4 |
28.8 |
(19) |
16.5 |
4.95 |
14.85 |
29.7 |
(20) |
17 |
5.1 |
15.3 |
30.6 |
(21-) |
17.5 |
5.25 |
15.75 |
31.5 |
(21+) |
18 |
5.4 |
16.2 |
32.4 |
(22) |
18.5 |
5.55 |
16.65 |
33.2 |
(22+) |
19 |
5.7 |
17.1 |
34.2 |
(23-) |
19.5 |
5.85 |
17.55 |
35.1 |
(24) |
20 |
6 |
18 |
36 |
(24+) |
21.5 |
6.15 |
18.45 |
36.9 |
(25) |
22 |
6.3 |
18.9 |
37.8 |
(25+) |
*Also normal movement in one ABC
of time:)