Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 (Denver Mods 7/26/84) 6/24/83; site drutx.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!drutx!slb
From: slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Movement and Dying Nasties
Message-ID: <117@drutx.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 3-Oct-85 08:51:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: drutx.117
Posted: Thu Oct  3 08:51:12 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 4-Oct-85 04:45:46 EDT
Organization: AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Denver
Lines: 54

The last posting I did reminded me of something that has been
bothering me, and that might make some kind of discussion on
the net.

It concerns movement.  The way we've been treating movement goes 
like this:

Before you are actually involved in combat (i.e. charging in
to get your first blow), you can move your movement rate in
feet per segment, taking initiative into account.  For instance,
an unamored magic user charging into battle (assuming he really
wants to do something stupid like that) rolls a 4 initiative.
He can move 12' on 4, 3, 2, 1--for a total of 48'.  If he still
hasn't reached his goal, he can continue moving from his initiative
on the next round.  Once he is in battle, it is assumed that he
can only move 12' per round, since he has to be doing other things
at that point.

I like this system because the distances seem to be within the
realm of reason, and it takes initiative into account for movement
as well as spell casting, blows, etc.  However, the problem I am
having when I DM is that the fighters, unless they get really
atrocious initiative rolls, manage to get up and impale my spell-
casting NPCs before they can do much damage.  Once you have someone
hitting you, and once the PCs are close in, you do a lot less damage.
I have lost some nasty NPCs much too easily.

It is true that the NPCs have the same movement possibilites, but
you can't cast while running, either.

So I'm throwing it open for discussion, flames, etc.  How do you
handle movement, especially before and in combat?  And even more 
importantly, how do you handle spellcasting NPCs so as to inflict 
appropriate pain and suffering? Is this just something I'll have to 
learn by trial and error, or are there some good rules of thumb that 
will help?

Thanks,



-- 

                                     Sue Brezden
                                     
Real World: Room 1B17                Net World: ihnp4!drutx!slb
            AT&T Information Systems
            11900 North Pecos
            Westminster, Co. 80234
            (303)538-3829 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
        Your god may be dead, but mine aren't.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~