10-10-2024, 10:40 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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One Foot Hexes?
So this is a crazy idea that popped into my head, probably a result of the thread about the woes of finding GURPS-scale miniatures as well as my own concerns about how Reach works. Has anyone tried working with one foot hexes, instead of one yard hexes? This would result in SM+0 characters taking up a megahex (a 7-hex area - a central hex and each adjacent one), and would give better resolution for Reach - a punch now has a 1-2-foot Reach (and you could introduce rules for grappling that allows you to grab a foe at maximum Reach, but you need to get closer for a solid grapple), a kick has a 2-3-foot Reach, a shortsword might have a 3-4-foot Reach, etc. It could also allow for better resolution of movement, although there we run into the issue that base movement rate is equal to Basic Speed, which in turn is (DX+HT)/4, when what we'd need is something that's divided by 3 (so that fractions can simply turn into feet). (DX+HT-5)/3 would give baseline characters the same Speed 5 as the default rules, with each +1 to DX or HT being a +1/3 (instead of +1/4) to Speed, and +1 foot to Move. This also allows for better resolution for Steps - we could maintain the default rules that Steps are equal to Move/10 rounded up, in which case a default character would have a 2-foot Step (instead of a full yard) and those with Speed 3.33 (Move 10) or lower would only have a 1-foot Step... but those with Speed 7 (Move 21) or higher would have a 3-foot or larger Step. Or go with something like Move/5, round down (minimum 1 foot), which would give a character with Speed 5 (Move 15) a 3-foot step, Speed 6.67 (Move 20) a 4-foot step, Speed 8.33 (Move 25) a 5-foot step, etc.
But there would be issues doing this. I don't think a megahex-shaped base is very common*. Additionally, you'd either need large miniatures (1:12 scale rather than 1:36 scale) and a large gaming mat or you'd need very small (1/3" rather than 1") hexes, which I could see being problematic**. [5] for +0.25 Speed doesn't really work well with a divisor of 3 - you'd probably want to just make it [5] for +0.33 (which still means "DX or HT that doesn't add to Speed" has a [-5] discount), but then each +1 Speed is only [15] instead of [20] (and +1 Dodge would only be [10], but I kinda prefer that anyway). The cost of Move also needs a look, although there I'd be fine keeping with [5] per yard ([2] for +1 foot, [4] for +2 foot, [5] for +1 yard; a character with, say, Move 17 would probably be able to bump that up to 18 for only [1]). *If they exist at all. Hexes line up decently well with megahexes, which may allow for hex bases to work alright, but there will probably be questions over exactly which hexes the character occupies. Particularly if using the below solution for the battle map, I suspect you'd basically need to 3d-print some custom bases and stick your figures on those. **One possible solution here would be to have a battle map basically consisting of 1-inch megahexes with smaller hexes making them up (the lines for the megahexes would be thicker to make them obvious). Then, players can largely stick to doing things with the megahexes roughly akin to GURPS hexes (although note adjacent megahexes are only 1 foot from each other, so you'd want a full megahex between characters if there's supposed to be a yard of separation), but have the increased resolution of using the smaller hexes when needed. What do people think? Is this something that would be workable, potentially-workable but requiring more effort than it's worth, or outright insurmountable?
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10-10-2024, 04:13 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Apr 2005
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Re: One Foot Hexes?
It seems like a good way to shrink the effective size of your maps by 2/3.
If you're trying to realistically fit two characters into a single hex, the smallest reasonable scale would be about 1/2-meter/yard per hex. That's enough to hold two relatively skinny Size 0 humanoids. A bigger/fatter person might take up an entire 1-yard/meter hex. For a 1-inch hex map, the really old-school 15mm or 25mm metal figures worked well to fit 2 people into a single hex. ~35mm or larger figures have trouble fitting into a 1-inch hex. That's why I prefer paper figures. |
10-10-2024, 06:10 PM | #4 | |||
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: One Foot Hexes?
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I also like that this allows for there to be a difference between "punching distance" (1-2 feet away) and "grappling distance" (overlapping megahexes - although you could still grapple at 1-2 feet away, it should probably work a bit differently). I also more organically allows Facing to work in Close Combat. Quote:
It does occur to me that this would probably be easier to implement with a tabletop program than at an actual physical tabletop.
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10-10-2024, 06:15 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: One Foot Hexes?
Definitely. Just disable snap to grid on a VTT and you're done.
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10-10-2024, 07:40 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Panama
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Re: One Foot Hexes?
A good solution is going the other way around and make it more abstract.
Instead of hexes use areas and weapon reach have an impact in combat by comparing attacker vs defender reach and stuff like that. Making an already abstracted construct more granular usually have the wrong impact in a game. It usually just make rules and in-game actions take longer, while not really simulating any reality better, just a more detailed and cumbersome abstraction. |
10-10-2024, 10:16 PM | #7 | |
Join Date: Jun 2022
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Re: One Foot Hexes?
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10-11-2024, 11:48 PM | #8 | |
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Earth
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Re: One Foot Hexes?
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https://warehouse23.com/products/gurps-range-ruler
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- "Knowledge Brings Fear" -- Motto of Mars University, Futurama Last edited by Eric Funk; 10-11-2024 at 11:49 PM. Reason: spell |
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10-11-2024, 11:57 PM | #9 |
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Earth
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Re: One Foot Hexes?
I apologise for a partial reply but will re-read and try to ponder the implications during daylight.
I will start with RAW p. B384 indicates four average humans not fighting can fit in a normal hex. ( I assume such as in a crowded train/bus). Note also a prone average human occupies two standard hexes (assuming 6'/2y long, although technically an SM+0 humanoid could be 6.9 feet tall p.B20) I'm thinking one might need to do something with extending the free "Step" for combat manevbers to 3 similar 1' hex movements, but will weigh more. Thanks for the thought experiment!
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10-12-2024, 12:28 PM | #10 | |
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Re: One Foot Hexes?
Apologies, what I meant was that the 1 foot hex would be easier on a VTT, as you don't have to worry about hexes that are too small to interact with, taking up an excessive amount of space, attaching figures to appropriate-shaped bases, etc. But if VTT's also allow for freeform movement, and do the measuring for you, you could certainly just do away with the grid from the beginning.
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Step RAW Opt1 Opt2 1 - 1 1 2 - 11 10 3 3 21 15 4 - 31 20 5 - 41 25 6 33 51 30 7 - 61 35 8 - 71 40 9 63 81 45 10 - 91 50 11 - 101 55 12 93 111 60 13 - 121 65 14 - 131 70 15 123 141 75 16 - 151 80 17 - 161 85 18 153 171 90 19 - 181 95 20 - 191 100 21 183 201 105 22 - 211 110 23 - 221 115 24 213 231 120 25 - 241 125 26 - 251 130 27 243 261 135 28 - 271 140 29 - 281 145 30 273 291 150 Something that occurs to me, if opting to generally use megahexes and only use the constituent hexes when needed, it may be useful to list things like Move, Reach, etc as a smaller number. Flashing back to when I first started learning division (a long time ago), before we learned about decimals, fractions, etc, things that didn't divide perfectly wound up with a Remainder, which I believe was designated R1, R2, etc. For example, 10 divided by 3 would be 3R1. Using something similar here would also work. For a character with, say, DX 13 and HT 12, rather than having Speed 6.67 and Move 20' (Step 2' or 4', depending on which option you go with), you could simply write both as 6R2. This also makes it easier to explain the pricing for Move - it's [2] for +R1, [4] for +R2, and [5] for a full +1. Note this means the above character could go up to Move 7 for only [1], as that's the difference between +R2 (what they have now) and +1. A weapon with Reach 5'-6' would instead have Reach 1R2-2. That's tougher to handle Steps with, but as that's not something you generally need to calculate at the table, it's probably alright to have that calculation be a bit more involved. This would be as follows: multiply the integer value by 3, then add the remainder value as an integer to the result. Divide by either 10 or 5, then round either up or down. Finally, divide this final value by 3 and designate the remainder as such. For 6R2, that becomes 3x6 = 18 + 2 = 20; dividing by 10 makes this 2, dividing by 5 makes it 4. The former becomes R2, the latter becomes 1R1. Note some groups would be perfectly fine keeping Speed a decimal value and/or Move in feet rather than yards, in which case you could do it that way and ignore the Remainder designations. But it's an option.
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