The middle way of movement systems?

[Ry]

Are there any options between the two extremes of "X feet per round" of D&D and "You move an appropriate amount" of say, 7th Sea?

 

[Frostmarrow]

Sure there is; you could have a zone of operation. Anyone with a ZO higher than an opponent's can attack them but not vice versa. Add modifiers. You need to be able to ready an action of course. The DM can judge that the top mast is reachable with anyone with a ZO higher than a certain number.

 

[LostSoul]

Sure there is; you could have a zone of operation. Anyone with a ZO higher than an opponent's can attack them but not vice versa. Add modifiers. You need to be able to ready an action of course. The DM can judge that the top mast is reachable with anyone with a ZO higher than a certain number.

I like that idea!

This is for Legends, right? You could also spend a conviction point to increase your ZO up to the next higher level.

(I played the tough dwarf ratcatcher in the playtest a few weeks back.)

 

[Frostmarrow]

I'm afraid I don't know what Legends is, but it sounds intriguing!

 

[Jeph]

There's a few other cool ways to do it, too.

One way is to divide the battle map up into 'zones,' like "in the courtyard," "on the stairs," "on the wall," "at the gate," and so on. You can make close combat attacks against anyone in the same zone as you, thrown attacks 1-2 zones away, and archery attacks a few more than that. Characters can use actions to move to new zones.

Another way is to have abstract ranges -- say, striking distance, a stone's throw, a bow's shot, and spotting distance. At the beginning of each round (or whenever), everyone makes a check of some sort. Characters who score higher get to advance or withdraw a category or two with respect to characters who score lower.

And I'm sure there are a bunch of other cool options out there beyond those!

 

[Ry]

I like that idea!

This is for Legends, right? You could also spend a conviction point to increase your ZO up to the next higher level.

(I played the tough dwarf ratcatcher in the playtest a few weeks back.)

Indeed, it's for Legends. (It's Dave, right? I remember the dwarf was on my right, then on my left, then jumped out the window of the inn). The 30-foot movement thing was always filler, waiting for revision, but I never had a brilliant idea to revise it with. ZOs sound a lot closer to what I'm looking for, but the idea of dividing each battle into areas might be even better due to some other GM-side scenario design considerations.

Legends is a rules-light action / fantasy game that I'm working on for release into the Creative Commons (attribution-only, basically public domain plus the credits page).

Beyond my "lacking a plan of attack" thread, where I got some advice and hooked up with my first-glance editor, the only place I've really talked about it is in this thread:
Magnum

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

Well, I don't have anything to add, but I would like to read more about this idea (and other related ideas).

 

[delericho]

The old Storyteller system (I don't recall what the new one does) used to give you X feet per round free, then apply a one die penalty to actions for each additional Y feet moved.

Alternately, you could introduce a Hustle/Run skill to d20, where as a move action you make a Hustle check and move a distance dependent on the result. (This would have the advantage that creature Size could give bonuses/penalties rather than adjusting the base rate, Monks would gain bonuses as they level, and so forth... It would also allow an easy, consistent and exciting chase mechanic to be inserted, and so forth.)

 

[Glyfair]

One way is to divide the battle map up into 'zones,' like "in the courtyard," "on the stairs," "on the wall," "at the gate," and so on. You can make close combat attacks against anyone in the same zone as you, thrown attacks 1-2 zones away, and archery attacks a few more than that. Characters can use actions to move to new zones.

That's sort of what the original Marvel Superhero RPG did. It was closer to the x" of movement system because you movement was a fixed number. However, the areas were of varied area. The big disadvantage of the system is that it's tied to specific maps. Drawing your own can be a big headache.

 

[fusangite]

I just developed a system for an OGL game I'm putting together. I've added two skills: Run Far and Run Fast. It is set up so that if you take 10 on Run Fast, you move 30' in an action and if you take 10 on Run Far, you move 30 miles in a day. You basically make a skill roll and add 20 to it to give you a number of feet per action or miles per day. It's working pretty well so far.