Fatigue for Heroes

[Kieddicus]

I thought I saw a post about this earlier but I didn't see it when scrolling through the forum so here I am.

The rules state that anyone can gain fatigue by running too far too fast, by trying some great feat of strength, etc. But doesn't give exact rules (which I see as a good thing), so what are some ways you guys routinely hand out fatigue?

I was thinking every minute of combat without break gives one fatigue.

I was also thinking of putting in the house rule;
You may move full MA and perform any action that restricts you to half MA by taking one fatigue.

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by Kieddicus

I thought I saw a post about this earlier but I didn't see it when scrolling through the forum so here I am.

The rules state that anyone can gain fatigue by running too far too fast, by trying some great feat of strength, etc. But doesn't give exact rules (which I see as a good thing), so what are some ways you guys routinely hand out fatigue?

I was thinking every minute of combat without break gives one fatigue.

I was also thinking of putting in the house rule;
You may move full MA and perform any action that restricts you to half MA by taking one fatigue.

Your house rule sounds like it seriously throws the balance, since one fatigue isn't too bad and you can make a full move and defend or attack. Attacking should surely require a penalty to adjDX and defending perhaps a 3/DX roll.

In either case, it makes it difficult for missile weapons, who now are much more easily reachable. It also makes reaching the rear of an opponent and attacking a lot easier.

[larsdangly]

I think specific and detailed rules for fatigue are among the most obvious way the game could be made more interesting and challenging for activities that fall under the general umbrella of 'hex crawling' or smaller-scale exploration, chases, etc. But i don't think they should be added to routine movements or actions in combat. It might be interesting to have a fatigue rule that kicks in during really extended duels (something that can't easily happen under standard Melee combat rules, but that might be possible with some optional rules, like that we've been told will appear in hexagram #6). But taking fatigue damage every time you use your full movement or charge attack feels to fiddly and punitive to me.

[DouglasCole]

Originally Posted by larsdangly

I think specific and detailed rules for fatigue are among the most obvious way the game could be made more interesting and challenging for activities that fall under the general umbrella of 'hex crawling' or smaller-scale exploration, chases, etc. But i don't think they should be added to routine movements or actions in combat.

The miles/hour equivalent of move rates:

MA 6 - 3.3mph
MA 8 - 4.4mph
MA 10 - 5.5 mph
MA 12 - 6.5 mph

so the first is a brisk walking pace; the middle two are somewhere between a trot and a jog. The last is solidly in "jog" territory. It also includes implicitly the ability to start from zero speed, move hexes in five seconds, and stop. That's much slower than an all-out dedicated sprint.

A real sprint might be fatiguing. Typical athletes seem to run closer to 15mph; elite ones 26mph to Usain Bolt's best-ever of about 28mph.

15mph is 22 feet per second, or "MA 17"
25 mph is a blazing "MA 29"

Looks like with a bit of noodling, one might come to the conclusion that those with Running could sprint at 2x their MA in combat if they have already moved in the prior turn and maybe drop 1 FP. Even posit an Expert Runner who can sprint at 3x MA.

One would have to have drawbacks. FP loss is one. Need to accelerate and DECELERATE from a sprint is another. Predictability of movement (bonuses to hit you b/c moving in a straight line) might be a third.

But there's a LOT of room on the top end of human potential for faster combat move. At what cost in complexity is the question!

[hcobb]

An all-out running character should treat their side hexes as rear hexes and front hexes as side hexes

[larsdangly]

These sorts of rules could have a good place in a little module on chases and other tactical interactions at large scales (say, the labyrinth scale and above), but I doubt they could even come into play on the melee map scale, unless you have a truly enormous map laid out. Your suggested sprint rule would have a runner moving about 3 feet across the table in one turn (after having already moved a foot or so the turn before).

[Shostak]

The proposed one fatigue per 12 turns combat doesn't take into account the very different kinds of actions figures might be engaged in; twelve turns of swinging a mace are going to be more taxing that twelve turns of stabbing with a rapier or loosing crossbow bolts.

As for running and accelerating/decelerating, I happily sacrifice realism for reasonable simplicity, and keeping track of movement from one turn to another is just detail more than I want in a game like this. Adding two MA for Running seems a reasonable abstraction of starting/stopping, though four might be more realistic, and I'd prefer it to be across all armor types rather than ending at leather.

[David Bofinger]

Originally Posted by Kieddicus

You may move full MA and perform any action that restricts you to half MA by taking one fatigue.

I like the reverse rule: Using your full MA or full half-MA costs a point of fatigue.

[Kieddicus]

Originally Posted by Shostak

The proposed one fatigue per 12 turns combat doesn't take into account the very different kinds of actions figures might be engaged in; twelve turns of swinging a mace are going to be more taxing that twelve turns of stabbing with a rapier or loosing crossbow bolts.

As for running and accelerating/decelerating, I happily sacrifice realism for reasonable simplicity, and keeping track of movement from one turn to another is just detail more than I want in a game like this...

I too happily sacrifice some realism to make life simpler by treating maces and rapiers the same for giving fatigue. I am a little nicer to archers/crossbowmen and wizards, the former being less taxing than a full blown melee and the latter already pays their fatigue when casting.