Movement vs combat option

[hcobb]

IIRC the options a standing figure (who didn't dodge or drop to the ground during movement) can choose from as their turn to act arrives are:

• Stand still: Bend over and pick something up then stand up at the end of the turn, or any of the following.
• Moved up to one hex: Missile Weapon attack, cast spell, disengage (including disengage onto an enemy for HTH attempt), disbelieve, or any of the following.
• Moved up to two hexes: Change/drop weapons. (If disengaged during move this is a full swap out, otherwise expend MA during move to ready.), or any of the following.
• Expended no more than half MA: Attack with wielded or thrown weapons, defend, or attempt HTH on a figure that doesn't stop your movement via engagement.
• Expended more than half MA: No action.

Example: Sam has adjMA 10. She moves two hexes, spends 3 MA to pick up a crossbow along the way, then drops to kneeling behind a log in the second hex entered. She now has the -4 to be hit by missile weapons for her cover starting this turn, and starting next turn she can reload (if needed) the crossbow, or fire the crossbow with the +2 bonus for bracing against the log. If the cover wasn't available she could have dodged instead of dodging.

[Drakenbow]

Originally Posted by hcobb

IIRC the options a standing figure (who didn't dodge or drop to the ground during movement) can choose from as their turn to act arrives are:

• Stand still: Bend over and pick something up then stand up at the end of the turn, or any of the following.
• Moved up to one hex: Missile Weapon attack, cast spell, disengage (including disengage onto an enemy for HTH attempt), disbelieve, or any of the following.
• Moved up to two hexes: Change/drop weapons. (If disengaged during move this is a full swap out, otherwise expend MA during move to ready.), or any of the following.
• Expended no more than half MA: Attack with wielded or thrown weapons, defend, or attempt HTH on a figure that doesn't stop your movement via engagement.
• Expended more than half MA: No action.

Example: Sam has adjMA 10. She moves two hexes, spends 3 MA to pick up a crossbow along the way, then drops to kneeling behind a log in the second hex entered. She now has the -4 to be hit by missile weapons for her cover starting this turn, and starting next turn she can reload (if needed) the crossbow, or fire the crossbow with the +2 bonus for bracing against the log. If the cover wasn't available she could have dodged instead of dodging.

Is moving a hex the same as expending MA? The example of using 3MA to pick up the crossbow in one of the hexes. She used 3 MA but only moved one hex.

I see Drop is an action, so no other actions possible that turn. check

But I'm not understanding the last part with "starting next turn she can reload... or fire the crossbow with +2 bonus".

I get the part of +2 bonus for the log, but why either reload or fire. Did you mean reload "and" fire with a +2?

[hcobb]

Originally Posted by Drakenbow

Is moving a hex the same as expending MA? The example of using 3MA to pick up the crossbow in one of the hexes. She used 3 MA but only moved one hex.

I see Drop is an action, so no other actions possible that turn. check

But I'm not understanding the last part with "starting next turn she can reload... or fire the crossbow with +2 bonus".

I get the part of +2 bonus for the log, but why either reload or fire. Did you mean reload "and" fire with a +2?

Some crossbow users skip the reload turns, some don't. Bracing won't change this.

[Steve Plambeck]

I've sometimes wondered just how the rules intended us to view reloading a bow, starting with regular bows. Does it start immediately after firing, in which case the Movement Phase was spent aiming? Or does one spend the Movement Phase reloading, to be ready to fire later in the same turn? Does it even make any difference how that is interpreted?

[hcobb]

Originally Posted by Steve Plambeck

I've sometimes wondered just how the rules intended us to view reloading a bow, starting with regular bows. Does it start immediately after firing, in which case the Movement Phase was spent aiming? Or does one spend the Movement Phase reloading, to be ready to fire later in the same turn? Does it even make any difference how that is interpreted?

The last part of the action is the firing. Hence the inability to reload while engaged during movement.

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by hcobb

The last part of the action is the firing. Hence the inability to reload while engaged during movement.

Hence, allowing the archer to get one last shot off if they were engaged during movement. If the engagement continues, the archer must use one turn to disengage or change weapons. Hopefully, they have the higher DX which would allow them to disengage before getting hit. The archer can then fire again the next turn when the foe re-engages them.

It's a sticky situation for an archer that has just been engaged. Hopefully, the archer is a more serious one with an above average DX.

[Drakenbow]

Yep. Most games need to use a set of steps to simulate things. Computer games get to be more real time. I'm not sure since I only played it a few times and many years ago, but didn't the Star Trek game break all down by Impulses? The fastest movement, recharging weapons, and all happened while counting through the impulse steps.

A melee&wizards like variant using the impulses would be to step through a count. Movement speed, spell casting speed, and weapon speed would be used to step throught the chart. When the count hits a certain number, a character can act with that action. It might mean a character with a dagger (fast weapon speed) might be able to stab a couple of times before another could swing a Great Sword. A person charging towards an archerer would have movement count versus bow reloading speed. etc