Movement and Combat

Basic movement does not require a
game board. Instead, the GM should
have a general idea of the environ-
ment, and mentally keep track of rela-
tive distances between combatants or
objects – possibly referring to maps,
notes, or diagrams. Should the players
ask about reach or distance (“I want to
run up and swing at him . . . how far
away is he?”), the GM’s judgment is
final.
Since movement and facing issues
are in the GM’s head, it’s up to the GM
how much detail to give the players.
The GM might carefully keep track of
every yard of movement, taking notes
on paper . . . or he might only worry
about exact distances when they are
of vital importance. Most GMs will
want to adopt a middle ground. For
example:
GM: “You see Indigo Joe 90 yards
north of you. He’s at the edge of the
cemetery, crouched behind a tomb-
stone, aiming his laser rifle at Kim.”
Player: “Damn, he spotted us. Is
there any cover nearby? I want to run
toward it.”
GM: “An outcropping of rock starts
7 yards to your northwest, and there
are some trees about 10 yards to the
east. Your helicopter is parked 10
yards behind you, if you want to fall
back.”
Player: “No way! Kim will use a
Move and Attack. She runs her full
Move toward the rocks, while firing at
Indigo Joe with her Gauss rifle.”
GM: “Fine. You have Move 5?
Okay, you’re now 2 yards from cover.
Now it’s Joe’s turn. He fires an aimed
shot . . .”
The GM should always provide
enough detail to give the players tacti-
cal choices, but not so much as to
overwhelm them. If things get confus-
ing, a sketch map with a few notes can
often help. Groups that desire more
detail than that should consider using
the tactical combat system in Chapter
12 – or at least adopting some of those
rules to add extra detail to the guide-
lines given here.
Here are a few “rules of thumb” for
movement and combat. See Mounted
Combat (p. 396) and Vehicles (p. 462)
for notes on mounted and vehicular
combat, respectively.