FAQ?

[Terrainosaur]

Hi. Is there an FAQ?

I've played TFT since forever and was surprised by questions from new players today.

1) Can you Charge and not reach any enemy? If so, can you stand still and attack someone who Charges you (assuming you can reach them)?
2) Why can't you Defend in case someone Charges you?

Thanks

[timm meyers]

Originally Posted by Terrainosaur

Hi. Is there an FAQ?

I've played TFT since forever and was surprised by questions from new players today.

1) Can you Charge and not reach any enemy? If so, can you stand still and attack someone who Charges you (assuming you can reach them)?
2) Why can't you Defend in case someone Charges you?

Thanks

1) yes. You may wish to read "Charge" as a subjective term. Moving 3 or more in a straight line (and of course no more than 1/2 your MA) will result in the bonus of a "charge attack" for pole weapons.

2) You can defend when someone charges you. You are still bound by you turns movement choices (Stood still or moved no more than 1/2 your MA) and you have not already used an action this turn.

TFT combat is trying to model a real time simultaneous situation. Just like most wargames this means the time frame is broken down into segments with various decision points ie phases, turns, actions.
As such you take movement actions, often by alternating sides, then proceed to exchanging blows with weapons, again done in order based on speed and skill.
All of these actions and moves are realistically happening all at once, but seem disjointed and sometimes strange if solely viewed as the game board/rules dictates.

Example. Spearman 1 (MA=10) moves 5 hexes in a straight line ending with no enemy in their front engagement hexes.
Enemy man at arms (MA=10 also) then moves 5 hexes ending up adjacent and engaged to Spearman 1 front hex.
By RAW both the spearman and enemy may choose to attack or defend when it is their turn to strike.

Maybe if you explained the situation your friend had that brought up the questions, we can better define the misunderstanding?

[Shostak]

It is best to not declare what option a figure is taking until their turn to act. This is because your allowable action options are determined by how far you moved and engagement status. So, it is possible to move up to half-MA but be unable to Charge Attack due to not being engaged. In that case, the figure could instead Dodge. If they did not move too far, other options open to them could include Ready an item, Disbelieve, cast a spell.

An FAQ could be helpful—feel free to add one!

[hcobb]

See In the Labyrinth page 102: "During a turn, a player may change his mind about a figure’s option, as long as"

[Terrainosaur]

Originally Posted by hcobb

See In the Labyrinth page 102: "During a turn, a player may change his mind about a figure’s option, as long as"

Ha you beat me to it!

[Terrainosaur]

Ah, thank you both. It's this part that fixes everything.

During a turn, a player may change his mind about a figure’s option, as long as
• that figure has not yet acted, and
• that figure did not move too far to allow it to take the new option.