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Old 11-13-2020, 08:48 AM   #1
FeiLin
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Default Multi-hex figures

I'm looking at image of multi-hex figures on B392. An elephant (SM3) has a central row of 4 with 3 on each side for a total of 10. That's a quite convenient example. A lion has SM1 and occupies 0 hexes - also a fairly convenient example. What if I had a baby/adolescent elephant of SM2 (or, you know, just your average SM2 quadrupedal creature...); what configuration would it have?

Also, at what point does a bipedal occupy more than 1 hex? I find this particularly annoying, because the logical step would be 3 hexes sharing one corner together, but that aligns poorly with GURPS facing. The best shape I've come up with is the lion but with the left and right hexes occupied as well, for a total of 4 hexes, but what SM would that be; SM3, SM4? Also, what about something between that and the single hex of an SM0 (say SM1 or SM2); would they be a single hex or something else?

So, my take on this is "half hexes". A half hex is defined as "part of the creature" for the purpose of being in close combat but may be occupied by another creature as if it were adjacent and doesnt count as a hit for ranged (ie you need to hit the closest full hex). For a slam or similar body attacks, the half hex has +5 to Do (or just to any active defence, perhaps), both as attacker and defender.

With half hexes, my baby elephant would have 3 hexes in a line, and the 2 side hexes och each side (a total of 4) are "half". For the giant I'm considering saying SM1 is a single hex but SM2 also occupies the 3 hexes labeled back, left and right on B388 as half hexes.

I've seen tons of layouts of monsters in various sizes and shapes for square grids (some even detailed to a point where they could turn 45 degrees!). I have yet to find an equivalent for the hex grid.

Last edited by FeiLin; 11-14-2020 at 04:34 AM.
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Old 11-14-2020, 04:44 AM   #2
FeiLin
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Default Re: Multi-hex figures

No one with any input? Everyone play without hexes and tokens?
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Old 11-14-2020, 08:55 AM   #3
Anaraxes
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Default Re: Multi-hex figures

TFT had triangular counters for large bipeds. One point facing forward, four front hexes (two on either side of that point), two side hexes (adjacent to the front zone, next to the rear points), three rear hexes along the back side.

Crawling humans are still one-hex figures, but also lose half their height. You could argue about whether to count the trailing parts of the legs, which will be the same argument as one about whether to count a tiger's tail. I'd just use the length of the body and head for quadruped, and make them two hexes if they're at least 4 feet long. Feel free to draw the line at three feet.

An elephant is about half as wide as it is long, so it's certainly more than one hex wide. It's not nine, but then humans aren't three feet wide, either; being in a hex isn't the same as completely filling the hex. The three-wide elephant is probably more an aesthetic consideration being generous with the extra space on the sides for the sake of symmetry. A two-hex-wide elephant would be skewed, a parallelogram, which would probably offend more sensibilities than just being a little wider than necessary.

For other cases, just use the same principles. Take the SM, round up. Be a little generous on "front" and the stingiest on "side".
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