D&D 5E Can We Come Up With Better (but still simple) Movement Rules?

[Benjamin Olson]

If the rooms are empty and everyone just attacks, everyone stands still.

I guess I'm lucky I've never run or been in that campaign. Sure I've seen fights like that, but having so many fights like that that it feels endemic to the system is just not something I can relate to. But my condolences.

 

[jmartkdr2]

I guess I'm lucky I've never run or been in that campaign. Sure I've seen fights like that, but having so many fights like that that it feels endemic to the system is just not something I can relate to. But my condolences.

It's a bit of a new-dm problem, but most figure it out pretty quick.

The DMG should cover this, but that's a whole other thread.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Huh. We find it matters quite a bit in our games. For example, this is where our game left off last night. My PC is at the top, and has a 25' move rate as a halfling. Our foes are 120' from my PC at the bottom. Movement is going to matter quite a bit in this combat I suspect. Some of us will reach the foes before others, which could cause swarming against some PCs and could also provide cover to foes from ranged attacks, and could mess with some spells. We're also unsure if there could be more foes in hiding to our right or left or even above us on some bridges. Movement will almost certainly matter a lot, and this is hardly an unusual layout for our games.

In this scenario why charge forward haphazardly rather than forming up a defensive line and walking forward as a group?

Especially if you are uncertain about what's hiding out there.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

I guess I'm lucky I've never run or been in that campaign. Sure I've seen fights like that, but having so many fights like that that it feels endemic to the system is just not something I can relate to. But my condolences.

I see it, experience it frequently, and have considered allowing a single square of shift* for free on each turn.

*You must maintain contact with any foes to shift, so you may not use it to run away and being surrounded limits your maneuverability.

 

[Mistwell]

In this scenario why charge forward haphazardly rather than forming up a defensive line and walking forward as a group?

Especially if you are uncertain about what's hiding out there.

We might. But, my guess is someone will break ranks, and we will have to catch up to make sure they don't go down. We're just not as organized as some other groups. This is our first campaign with this particular set of players, though everyone has played with someone else in the group at some point in the past.

 

[DND_Reborn]

What was your personal best running through a forest littered with leaves and crumbled ruins, while carrying a 25 pound pack, a longsword in a sheath across your back, a belt pouch with a pound of coins, and while wearing boots and a cloak? After a solid two days full of hiking at a moderate pace and eating camp rations and foraged grouse with berries? To make it fair, I should probably add while being chased by an angry bear...

No, but I guarantee you even now, over 25 years later, I could still move much faster than 10 feet PER SECOND (especially if being chased by a bear LOL), which is what a move and dash represents.

FWIW, I grew up and still live in upstate New York surrounded by woods. There is a creek across the road from my house and up into my early teens I used to run, actually run, up the creek, bounding from rock to rock and leaping over small pools of water, etc. I used to pretend I was a barbarian using my leaping and springing to move through the wilderness.

In high school and college, I ran cross country... so yes literally through a forest littered with leaves (no crumbled ruins, but plenty of tree roots, rocks, and such to avoid so I wouldn't twist my ankle or something). And that 10K was a cross-country competition in such conditions. Yes, we had some paths, but a lot of up and down hills, through a stream, and finally hit "the wall" a 300-yard straight climb of about 30 degrees about half a mile from the finish.

So, while I understand your point (true, I wasn't in traveling clothes with boots and a cloak, etc.), I stand by that I could still move faster than 10 feet per second.

 

[loverdrive]

But you are correct, other than flanking 5E has little in way of tactical movement options. And flanking isn't well thought of by many groups.

If you have ideas to address other issues, please contribute.

I don't think flanking solves this issue either, as melee fighters pretty quickly just find themselves in lines and don't have any reason to move more than 5ft.

I personally aim to emphasize movement in my monster supplement through NPC abilities that target areas and give PCs time to react.

 

[Bacon Bits]

Isn't this what the Mobile feat is for?

Of course chases involve mobile feet. They're running!

Honestly, though, I think the chase rules in the DMG are more than good enough. It takes movement speed, stealth, perception, stamina, and dashing into account.

Edit: My only problem with them is that there are way too many complications. It should be 10%, not 50%!

 

[DND_Reborn]

100 meters is 300 feet. In two rounds that is 150 feet per round. A 30 foot move and dash is 60.

A sprint, that (say) makes you have disadvantage on all saving throws and checks and others have advantage on attacking you until the end of your next turn, could work. Using it in combat is very dangerous.

We'll make it a bonus action you can take when dashing, and it adds another "movement speed" to start.

Now we only need a speed of 50 to reach sprinter speeds.

So next, you add your athletics check to your speed.

So we get (30+athletics check) times 3, or 90+3 times athletics check.

A +4 athletics with a 20 gives you 54*3=162 feet per round. Second round you have disadvantage. So you'll approach but not hit sprinter speed.

A running track and intense practice would be an example of having advantage in this check.

---

Something along these lines could work. Maybe a passive check instead of a roll?

You can increases your speed to 40 + your Strength (Athletics) modifier (30 + base 10 for passive check + modifier). Accepting the penalty would double your dash increase, so three times in total with your move as well. Someone with a Strength (Athletics) modifier of +10 total would have 50 speed, giving you 150 total (50 for move, plus 100 for dash), but attacks against you have advantage).

Looking at adding something like Mobile and max Strength (Athletics) modifier of +17 (expertise and STR 20), your speed would be 67 (40 for mobile + 27 for passive total). Times three would be 201 feet for the dash (attacks against have advantage), which would give you a 9.8 100-meter sprint over 2 rounds.

I think that is a good starting point. What do you think?

 

[jayoungr]

Honestly, though, I think the chase rules in the DMG are more than good enough. It takes movement speed, stealth, perception, stamina, and dashing into account.

I don't mean chases specifically. I just mean that if you want to differentiate the characters who can run fastest, you can do it with a feat.