Diagonal Movement

[Gansk]

From the Battle of All Alignments:

A creature is trapped in a solid fog, reducing its speed to 5 feet.

It spends the entire round moving through the fog.

Can it make two move actions, each one 5 feet diagonally?

Or is it prevented from making the second move action a diagonal?

 

[Goldmoon]

It can only move once diagonally. The second move would be 10 feet. It doesnt matter if theyre taken in sequence or in the same turn. 2 diagonal squares equals 3 horizontal squares.

 

[AuraSeer]

You've spotted one of the downfalls of playing on a square grid.

The creature cannot take both moves on a diagonal. Two diagonal moves adds up to 15', and the creature's max move for the round is 10'.

It could move 5' diagonally and then 5' in a cardinal (non-diagonal) direction.

If it needs to move several squares diagonally, the DM may allow it to move one square this round and then two squares next round. This amounts to "saving up" 5' of movement to use in the next round. (That is not permitted in normal movement, but in this case it's a workaround for a rules glitch.)

Or you could do what we do, and use a hexagonal grid. The benefit is that it removes all the weirdness of diagonal distances. The downside is that it's hard to figure the space for creatures larger than Medium.

 

[Infiniti2000]

Or you could do what we do, and use a hexagonal grid. The benefit is that it removes all the weirdness of diagonal distances. The downside is that it's hard to figure the space for creatures larger than Medium.

That's not the only downside. With a hex grid, it's impossible to go straight north and south.

 

[Machiavelli]

Thankfully I have a brilliant () solution!
Taa-daaa!

         North
    Wern .---. Ealn
        <     >
    Woth '---' Eths
         South

 

[Kmart Kommando]

Everyone knows the hex grid has to be East/West, or the world can't spin on its axis correctly. You do like gravity, don't you?

 

[glass]

Everyone knows the hex grid has to be East/West, or the world can't spin on its axis correctly. You do like gravity, don't you?

What does gravity have to do with it?


glass.

 

[Infiniti2000]

What does gravity have to do with it?

I thought it was obvious.

Hex grids create a Moiré pattern in the gravity well of the planet.




Back on topic, I'm not sure of the answer, but I'm thinking that Goldmoon and Auraseer are correct per the rules. That sucks for a diagonal corridor, though.

 

[starwed]

Back on topic, I'm not sure of the answer, but I'm thinking that Goldmoon and Auraseer are correct per the rules. That sucks for a diagonal corridor, though.

What? I thought all corridors had to be orthaganol and 5 or 10 feet wide!

 

[KarinsDad]

Back on topic, I'm not sure of the answer, but I'm thinking that Goldmoon and Auraseer are correct per the rules. That sucks for a diagonal corridor, though.

Not really unless you really wanted to be a slave to literal RAW.

If the DM prevents the following by remembering "half-diagonals" from one round to the next:

0......
.11....
...22..
.....33

where 0 is the creature's starting position and 1 is where he can move on round one, 2 is where he can move on round two, etc.

Then the DM can also allow "half-diagonals" to move down a diagonal corridor:

0........
.1.......
..2......
...2.....
....3....
.....4...
......5..
.......5.
........6

Granted, remembering this kind of thing typically does not happen in a game (even though it easily could, even without Solid Fog), but a DM could easily allow it.

For the Solid Fog in a 5' diagonal corridor situation, as DM, I would allow PCs and NPCs to do this.