Defending after moving

[Lord Twig]

If your figure moves half his MA and plans to Dodge (c), but is then engaged by an enemy, can he still Dodge? Can he Defend (k) instead? My understanding is he could switch to a Charge Attack (b) and make a melee attack, but what if he wants to take a defensive maneuver.

I think it is reasonable to allow him to Defend, but I'm wondering how other people run it.

After many years (decades), the new Legacy Edition has brought me back to the Fantasy Trip. I am enjoying it a lot, but it is a little hard to remember what you can and cannot do after you move and your engaged/disengaged status changes. So I wrote up a cheat sheet for myself. This is handy to see what options are available when you need to change what your figure is going to do after he moves.

No movement
(g,p) Stand Up (Disengaged, Engaged)
(q) Pick Up Dropped Weapon (Engaged)
(t) HTH Attack (HTH)
(u) Attempt to Draw Dagger (HTH)
(v) Attempt to Disengage (HTH)

1 or less move
(f) Missile Weapon Attack (Disengaged)
(h,r) Cast Spell (Disengaged, Engaged)
(i,s) Disbelieve (Disengaged, Engaged)
(j) Shift and Attack (Engaged)
(k) Shift and Defend (Engaged)
(l) One-Last-Shot Missile Attack (Engaged)
(m) Change Weapons (Engaged) (Drop current weapon and ready new non-missile weapon)
(n) Disengage (Engaged)
(o) Attempt Hand-to-Hand Attack (Engaged)

2 or less move
(e) Ready New Weapon (Disengaged) (Sling weapon and/or shield and ready new weapon and/or shield)

Half move or less
(b) Charge Attack (Disengaged)
(c) Dodge (Disengaged)
(d) Drop (Disengaged)

Full move or less
(a) Move (Disengaged)

[oldwolf]

I don't think he can if he has moved half his MA. Defend is linked to a 1 hex shift or stand still. I can see you having an argument for it if his unengaged movement was just one hex or standing still. A situation where the latter could arise would be a character waiting for an attack. His opponent is most likely going to attack and he is already in a good tactical position. He stands still or moves one hex and takes the defend option when his opponent charge attacks.

If he wins initiative he can simply tell his opponent to move first. Then if the opponent does charge attack he will be engaged when his turn to move comes and shift and defend is a perfectly legal choice. Things become questionable if his opponent wins initiative and tells him to move first. He chooses to stand still and opponent charge attacks. He tries to choose defend but his opponent points out that at the time he had to choose options (when his time came to move) his only choices were those for disengaged figures and those don't include defend.

I think the spirit of the rules would let you switch from dodge to defend as long as you don't move more than one hex. The RAW, not always.

[hcobb]

My house rule is to apply dodge against all attack types, but you can only get your special talent bonuses from defend with a step.

Fiction at least is full of stories of dodging sword swings while running past.

[Skarg]

Yes, you can Defend after moving 1/2 MA. It was clear in the original rules (see original Wizard p.4 and Advanced Melee p.4, Changing Options).

The new rules just made it confusing by basing its version of the Options list on the original Melee one (instead of the more informatively detailed Advanced Melee one), and by cutting the nice clear lists of what options are available to people who move how far, which explicitly listed Defend, Dodge, Attack and Drop as available to figures moving 1/2 MA or less as the only requirement. In response to a (too dense) deluge of cautions from experienced players, Steve indicated he didn't understand the confusion, not that he was trying to change the rules because of some reason to limit Defend to people who move 1 hex or less.

The Options list is incapable of describing accurately the combinations of movement and options available in one list, because really there are two phases:

During Movement, if you are engaged when it is your time to move, you can only stay put or shift one hex. Otherwise you can move up to full MA. If you move over 1/2 MA, you won't be able to do anything else.

During Action, you can perform any action (that makes sense due to current circumstances) and the distance you actually moved during Movement.

[Lord Twig]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

I am in the process of digging out my old TFT books. (They're around somewhere!) It's good to know they can still supply some insight into the working of the game.

I'll update my list to add defend to the half movement options. Whether it's RAW or not I think it matches the spirit of the game.

[oldwolf]

Originally Posted by Skarg

Yes, you can Defend after moving 1/2 MA. It was clear in the original rules (see original Wizard p.4 and Advanced Melee p.4, Changing Options).

The new rules just made it confusing by basing its version of the Options list on the original Melee one (instead of the more informatively detailed Advanced Melee one), and by cutting the nice clear lists of what options are available to people who move how far, which explicitly listed Defend, Dodge, Attack and Drop as available to figures moving 1/2 MA or less as the only requirement. In response to a (too dense) deluge of cautions from experienced players, Steve indicated he didn't understand the confusion, not that he was trying to change the rules because of some reason to limit Defend to people who move 1 hex or less.

The Options list is incapable of describing accurately the combinations of movement and options available in one list, because really there are two phases:

During Movement, if you are engaged when it is your time to move, you can only stay put or shift one hex. Otherwise you can move up to full MA. If you move over 1/2 MA, you won't be able to do anything else.

During Action, you can perform any action (that makes sense due to current circumstances) and the distance you actually moved during Movement.

I like all you have said. Any guesses on when an official PDF addendum clarifying current rules will be released? 😉