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Old 12-16-2014, 03:14 AM   #66
vicky_molokh
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Default Re: (Unofficial) FAQ of the GURPS Fora

Q: Just what is a Step, and how precisely does it work?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
Step is simply a unit of distance equal to 1/10 of your Move, rounded up, minimum one yard. You might be accorded it once or rarely twice by your choice of maneuver. You can split up this movement however you wish. There are special cases where changing posture can replace all of this movement:
  • p. B368: You can use a step to go from a kneeling to a standing posture (or vice versa) instead of moving. This requires your entire step, no matter how far you could normally move.
  • Martial Arts, p. 98:
    • Dive forward to go from standing to kneeling, crawling, or lying prone. This counts as your entire step if making an Attack or Committed Attack.
    • Dive forward to go from kneeling to crawling or lying prone. This takes your entire movement allowance in all cases.
    • Fall backward to go from standing to sitting or lying face-up. This takes your entire movement allowance if you make an All-Out Attack, Attack, or Committed Attack.
    • Fall backward to go from kneeling or sitting to lying face-up. This uses up all of your movement in all cases.
All Committed Attack does is give you twice the usual step distance as your movement allowance. It does not allow you to bypass rules that say "instead of moving" or that use up your entire movement allowance.

I agree that it would be clearer if Committed Attack said that it gave you double your usual step as allowed movement, instead of two steps. The latter leaves itself open to rules-lawyering.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
My point is that "step is a different class of rules objects from all other movement, and can be traded in for other things" is incorrect.

Step is literally nothing more than a movement allowance – it's the distance you can move and still do a certain subset of maneuvers. It's in the exact same category as "none" (e.g., Do Nothing), "half your Move" (e.g., All-Out Attack), and "full Move" (e.g., Move); it fits in between "none" and "half your Move." And just as sprinting during a Move maneuver can add 20% to "full Move," Committed Attack can add 100% to "step." Nothing forbids adjustments to these allowances to smooth out the range of options some.

It is the property of maneuvers that give "step" as their movement allowance that you can instead change between certain postures. However, that is a property of those maneuvers. It isn't intrinsic in "step" and it doesn't mean that each unit of "step" can be traded for another such posture change.

The idea that "step" can be traded this way – that it's an object different from "half Move" or "full Move" – is interesting but also the source of the confusion surrounding Committed Attack. Committed Attack itself isn't especially troublesome; the issue is in applying the unorthodox reading of "step" to it. Rewording it as giving +100% to "step" would help to erase this odd interpretation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm
Quote:
Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

For most manoeuvres which includes a Step and an Attack of some kind, is it legal to split the components like this:
  • Move one hex.
  • Perform the Attack (strike, shot, feint etc.).
  • Change facing to whatever direction.
?
I had the impression that changing facing is considered part of the Step, and cannot be done separately from the hex-movement (but can replace the movement if desired), but I'm not sure I've the right impression.
The facing change is part of the movement, so it has to be at the same time – it can't be broken up. As p. B363 says:
  • A "step" is movement up to 1/10 your Move, minimum 1 yard, in any direction, a change of facing (for instance, to turn around), or both.
  • You can perform your step before or after the rest of the maneuver.
So the step is the movement and facing change taken together, and all of it must come before or after the maneuver.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

For those who have a Step of multiple hexes, or who enjoy multiple hexes of movement from doubled Step on a Committed Attack, how many Facing-Changes are there available:
(a) only one facing change throughout the manoeuvre, or (b) only one free arbitrary facing change, but extra facing-changes to face the direction the character steps into for each hex of movement (like on a Move or AoA) or (c) one free arbitrary facing-change per hex of movement?
Option (b), though you'll need a step of 3+ yards for it to be really useful.
Q: What happens if a Committed Attack gives me two Steps while my modified Move is less than two?
A:
Quote:
Originally Posted by PK View Post
Rule Zero definitely applies here, but if it helps, please consider this a FAQ:

Committed Attack was never intended to act as a superior alternative to Move! As a general rule, no "Step and . . ." maneuver should ever provide movement greater than what you could accomplish via a Move maneuver.
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Last edited by vicky_molokh; 12-04-2017 at 02:21 AM.
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