2 Unrelated questions: druid living expense and readying

[clu2415]

A druid in my campaign has taken the vow (never sleep indoors), one of the default options on the druid template. What can I point to to justify her living expenses still being $150/week?

Can you sell me on why you can only make a step with the Ready action? Items that can’t be fast drawn require you to be nearly immobile. Items that are fast draw-able usually don’t impact your actions at all. I guess it makes sense for unwieldy items like polearms. Maybe light items could be readied while also getting half movement.

[clu2415]

The answer to living expenses is in Adventurers: make a survival roll if you don’t want to pay $150/week.

[tbone]

Originally Posted by clu2415

Can you sell me on why you can only make a step with the Ready action? Items that can’t be fast drawn require you to be nearly immobile. Items that are fast draw-able usually don’t impact your actions at all. I guess it makes sense for unwieldy items like polearms. Maybe light items could be readied while also getting half movement.

"Ready" covers a lot of actions, so it's hard to give a blanket response. But I would say that, wherever it seems possible, you should be able to Move and Ready. But just as with Move and Attack, there should normally be some drawback: roll vs DX when trying to uncork a potion, roll vs weapon skill when trying to unsheathe a weapon; on a failure, face something bad (fumble the item so the Ready doesn't count, or drop the item, etc.).

In short, I'd think of Step and Ready as the maneuver for an automatic, safe Ready; allow Move and Ready for a difficult, risky Ready.

Assuming you're willing to house-rule this in, of course. (Then again, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Move and Ready were already an option offered in GURPS Martial Arts or somewhere. Anyone know of such a thing?)

[clu2415]

Just checked Martial Arts, no mention of this issue. It may be too corner case to justify house ruling.

[Dammann]

Originally Posted by clu2415

Can you sell me on why you can only make a step with the Ready action? Items that can’t be fast drawn require you to be nearly immobile. Items that are fast draw-able usually don’t impact your actions at all. I guess it makes sense for unwieldy items like polearms. Maybe light items could be readied while also getting half movement.

1. Once, while trying to get through a busy walkway to a dinner reservation, I tried to ready my cell phone. I readied it up out of my pocket, in a huge arc, to crash down on the concrete and shatter. I’d guess I was fast walking about move 2 or 3 at the time.

2. Try to open a 20oz anything while jogging. Opening a potion is a ready maneuver. I would expect to spill anything I open at a jog, unless there is a purpose made nozzle.

3. Lifting a BL object with one hand in one second, ie a 20lb thing, is a ready action. So lifting a 20lb thing might not bring a person to a stop, but I can see how it would interfere with running.

[Dalin]

I agree with Dammann. On a one-second time scale, moving a yard is not the same as being motionless. If you are somehow so good at drawing whatever it is that you can move faster, then you have the Fast Draw skill for it. I might make occasional exceptions for small, non-fragile things like car keys. Hmm. But even then I'd probably ask for some sort of die roll; I have definitely flung my keys into more than one gutter.

[Kromm]

The GM can always extrapolate Move and Attack to Move and Ready. No worries.

Move and Ready

Move as described for the Move maneuver while hastily pulling out an item, either during or after your movement, without using the Fast-Draw skill. This requires a DX roll.

Modifiers: Any penalties for bad footing, distraction, or shock that would apply to an attack under the circumstances; -4 if using your "off" hand to ready a one-handed item (unless you have Ambidexterity); +1 if the item is in delver's webbing; -3 per level of Ham-Fisted or +1 per level of High Manual Dexterity.

Any success grants the benefit of one Ready maneuver. Normal failure means this counts only as a Move maneuver. On a critical failure, you drop the item – and on an 18, you suffer a catastrophe of the GM's choosing (a fragile item breaks, while a durable one might slip down a grating or fly into the air and land at an enemy's feet).

You can combine Ready and Move and Ready maneuvers to ready items that require multiple turns to ready. Failed Move and Ready attempts don't advance your progress, but don't set it back. Critical failures always undo all previous efforts!

Movement: You receive movement points equal to your current Move score – but trying to do two things at once gives you -2 on all rolls to avoid falling down, and to avoid obstacles or traps.

Active Defense: Any – but you cannot parry or block with the hand you're using to ready, or with either hand if readying a two-handed item, and you cannot retreat.

[sjmdw45]

Originally Posted by Kromm

The GM can always extrapolate Move and Attack to Move and Ready. No worries.

Ah, excellent--Move and Ready is both logical and very tactically important for anyone who is not a Heroic Archer and yet is trying to Move and Attack enemies to death with ranged weaponry. (Especially for weapons such as slings that have no Fast Draw option.)

I had wondered if there were a reason why movement during a Ready was drastically limited--good to know that nothing breaks if you allow Move and Ready at a minor penalty.

Originally Posted by Dalin

I agree with Dammann. On a one-second time scale, moving a yard is not the same as being motionless. If you are somehow so good at drawing whatever it is that you can move faster, then you have the Fast Draw skill for it. I might make occasional exceptions for small, non-fragile things like car keys. Hmm. But even then I'd probably ask for some sort of die roll; I have definitely flung my keys into more than one gutter.

Moving a yard a second is only 0.5 mph. It's a very slow walk. You shouldn't need to show down that much to unsheathe a weapon.

Edit: bad math, sorry. It's 2mph, which changes everything.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by clu2415

The answer to living expenses is in Adventurers: make a survival roll if you don’t want to pay $150/week.

Also, just because you aren't using a room in the inn doesn't mean they don't charge you. Most towns don't let you sleep in the street, and if you are somewhere else actually in town, well, somebody probably owns the space, you're going to need to pay them to let you set up your tarp or whatever.

Pay up or go camp in the wilderness with a survival roll. Or risk sleeping in the gutter and hope the GM doesn't turn it into an adventure hook that starts with the local homeless being rounded up and sold into slavery.

[corwyn]

Originally Posted by malloyd

Also, just because you aren't using a room in the inn doesn't mean they don't charge you. Most towns don't let you sleep in the street, and if you are somewhere else actually in town, well, somebody probably owns the space, you're going to need to pay them to let you set up your tarp or whatever.

Pay up or go camp in the wilderness with a survival roll. Or risk sleeping in the gutter and hope the GM doesn't turn it into an adventure hook that starts with the local homeless being rounded up and sold into slavery.

My Wizard/Scout usually sleeps on the highest rooftop in my area if it's impractical to sleep outside of town altogether.