Types of Movement

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Standard Ground-Based Movement

Walk

Type of Action: Move

A character can walk its speed with a move action. For most size-medium creatures, this is 30 feet. Moving like this is a cautious walk, and is primarily used during combat. Despite this, walking provokes attacks of opportunity from enemy creatures, if you leave a space they threaten.

Characters can only walk through unoccupied spaces or spaces occupied by allies, and any walk must end in an unoccupied space.

The only technical distinction between "walk" and "move" is that moves are actions, while walk is something you do with your move action. Otherwise, the terms are largely interchangeable. Similarly, if something refers to a creature's "base land speed" it is referring to how fast they can walk in a single move action.

"As Part of a Move Action"

When something can be performed "as part of a move action," it requires a move action to perform. However, this type of action specifically allows the user to use the move action to walk, in addition to performing the action itself. A good example of this is drawing or sheathing a weapon, which is "part of a move action." The character can walk up to his speed, and while doing so, also draw or sheathe a weapon.

Another common "part of a move action" action is drawing a stowed item from storage, such as a potion, wand, etc. It is also possible to retrieve an item that is on the ground as part of a move action. Thus if you have been disarmed or otherwise lost your weapon, and then moved away from the space where the weapon is lying, you may expend a move action to walk through the space where the weapon is lying and scoop it up as you go through.

Double Move

Type of Action: Full attack action (standard and a move)

A character can walk twice its listed speed by performing a double-move. This is usually done by converting the character's standard action for the round down to a move action, and then using the character's move action to walk again. Note that a double-move is treated as a single action, so there is no need for the space between the two move actions to be unoccupied, though the character must (obviously) still be able to move through the space legally.

Like walking, a double move is a cautious form of movement, though it still provokes attacks of opportunity if you leave a space threatened by an enemy.

Run

Type of Action: Full round action

A character may declare a 'run' action as a full-round action. Running allows the character to move up to four times its listed speed in a straight line (or three times its listed speed if it is wearing heavy armor). The character loses any Dexterity bonus to AC unless it has the Run feat. If a character declares a 'run' action, it may not make a 5-foot step during the same round (except with an action point, or a class ability like the prowler's "Shifty").

A character can run for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution score, but after that it must make a DC 10 Constitution check to continue running. The character must check again each round in which it continues to run, and the DC of this check increases by 1 for each check it has made previously. When it fails this check, it must stop running. A character that has run to its limit must rest for 1 minute (10 rounds) before running again. During a rest period, a character can move no faster than a normal move action.

Characters using the 'run' action can't cross difficult terrain. Characters may not use the 'run' action if they cannot see.

5-Foot Step

Taking a 5-foot step is a free action, but there are some conditions which must be met in order to take a 5-foot step on your turn.

A creature can move 5 feet in any round in which it doesn't perform any other kind of movement. Taking this 5-foot step never provokes an attack of opportunity. Creatures cannot take more than one 5-foot step in a round, and cannot take a 5-foot step in the same round in which it moved any distance through its own actions (e.g. moving, charging, spring attack, jab, casting a spell that moves the creature from its starting location, etc.).

Standing up from prone is also considered movement, thus disallowing 5-foot steps.

A creature can take a 5-foot step before, during, or after its other actions in the round. A 5-foot step can even be used between attacks during a full attack action.

A creature can only take a 5-foot-step if its movement isn't hampered by difficult terrain or darkness. Any creature with a speed of 5 feet or less can't take a 5-foot step, since moving even 5 feet requires a move action for such a slow creature.

No creature may take a 5-foot step using a form of movement for which it does not have a listed speed.

If a creature has an action point which can be used to grant a move action, it may spend the action point to take a 5-foot step, even if it has previously moved this round, or has already taken a 5-foot step. Using action points in this manner deliberately breaks the normal rules for 5-foot steps, since action points are meant to simulate creatures performing truly heroic deeds.

Some classes (e.g. Prowlers) and races (e.g. Half-Orcs) have special abilities which allow them to make more than one 5-foot step in a single round, or in rounds in which they have already moved. In those cases, follow the rules listed for the race or class to determine how they break the limitations for normal creatures using a 5-foot step. In some cases, the listed rules may also include limitations specific to that class or race using the ability (e.g. the additional 5-foot step may cost a swift or move action to perform).

Crawling

While Prone, you can crawl 5 feet as a move action. Crawling incurs attacks of opportunity from attackers who threaten a square you are attempting to leave when crawling. A crawling character begins and ends the crawling movement with the Prone status condition.

Standing Up From Prone

Standing up from Prone requires a move action and provokes attacks of opportunity from creatures which threaten you. Standing up from prone is considered movement, so the standing character cannot also take a 5-foot step in that round.

Actions that can be performed as part of a move action can also be performed when standing up from prone. This includes picking up a weapon off the ground (in the same space as you), drawing or sheathing a weapon, or drawing a stowed item such as a potion.

Withdraw

Withdrawing from melee combat is a full-round action. When you withdraw, you can move up to double your speed, and no part of this movement provokes attacks of opportunities from opponents you can see. Invisible enemies still get attacks of opportunity against you, and you can't withdraw from combat if you're Blind. You can't take a 5-foot step during the same round in which you withdraw.

You may not withdraw using a form of movement for which you don't have a listed speed.

Note that despite the name of this action, you don't actually have to leave combat entirely.

Stepover

If a creature is 2 size categories or larger than a nearby enemy creature, it can effectively ignore that creature when moving (though moving still provokes attacks of opportunity as appropriate). By doing so, the larger creature can step over the smaller creature, ending its move either on or past the smaller creature. Neither creature is considered to be squeezing as a result of a Stepover, because the relative size differences are so great.

Note that a small enough creature can enter a larger creature's space using the Acrobatics rules for moving through an enemy space (Acrobatics check versus the creature's CMD + 5), but can only stop in the creature's space if the larger creature is at least 2 size categories larger.

Overland Movement

Characters covering long distances cross-country use overland movement. Overland movement is measured in miles per hour or miles per day. A day represents 8 hours of actual travel time. For rowed watercraft, a day represents 10 hours of rowing. For a sailing ship, it represents 24 hours.

• Walk: A character can walk 8 hours in a day of travel without a problem. Walking for longer than that can wear him out (see Forced March, below).

• Hustle: A character can hustle for 1 hour without a problem. Hustling for a second hour in between sleep cycles deals 1 point of nonlethal damage, and each additional hour deals twice the damage taken during the previous hour of hustling. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from hustling becomes fatigued. A fatigued character can't run or charge and takes a penalty of -2 to Strength and Dexterity. Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue.

• Run: A character can't run for an extended period of time. Attempts to run and rest in cycles effectively work out to a hustle.

+ Table: Movement and Distance

Speed	15 Feet	20 Feet	30 Feet	40 Feet	50 feet	60 feet	70 feet	80 feet	90 feet	100 feet
One Hour
Walk	1.5 miles	2 miles	3 miles	4 miles	5 miles	6 miles	7 miles	8 miles	9 miles	10 miles
Hustle	3 miles	4 miles	6 miles	8 miles	10 miles	12 miles	14 miles	16 miles	18 miles	20 miles
Run	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
One Day
Walk	12 miles	16 miles	24 miles	32 miles	40 miles	48 miles	56 miles	64 miles	72 miles	80 miles
Hustle	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Run	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

• Terrain: The terrain through which a character travels affects the distance he can cover in an hour or a day (see Table: Terrain and Overland Movement). A highway is a straight, major, paved road. A road is typically a dirt track. A trail is like a road, except that it allows only single-file travel and does not benefit a party traveling with vehicles. Trackless terrain is a wild area with no paths.

+ Table: Terrain and Overland Movement

Terrain	Highway	Road or Trail	Trackless
Desert, Sandy	x1	x1/2	x1/2
Forest	x1	x1	x1/2
Hills	x1	x3/4	x1/2
Jungle	x1	x3/4	x1/4
Moor	x1	x1	x3/4
Mountains	x3/4	x3/4	x1/2
Plains	x1	x1	x3/4
Swamp	x1	x3/4	x1/2
Tundra, frozen	x1	x3/4	x3/4

• Forced March: In a day of normal walking, a character walks for 8 hours. The rest of the daylight time is spent making and breaking camp, resting, and eating. A character can walk for more than 8 hours in a day by making a forced march. For each hour of marching beyond 8 hours, a Constitution check (DC 10, +2 per extra hour) is required. If the check fails, the character takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. A character who takes any nonlethal damage from a forced march becomes fatigued. Eliminating the nonlethal damage also eliminates the fatigue. It's possible for a character to march into unconsciousness by pushing himself too hard.

• Mounted Movement: A mount bearing a rider can move at a hustle. The damage it takes when doing so, however, is lethal damage, not nonlethal damage. The creature can also be ridden in a forced march, but its Constitution checks automatically fail, and the damage it takes is lethal damage. Mounts also become fatigued when they take any damage from hustling or forced marches.

+ Table: Mounts and Vehicles

Mount/Vehicle	Per Hour	Per Day
Mount (Carrying Load)
Light horse	5 miles	40 miles
Light horse (175-525 lbs.)1	3-1/2 miles	28 miles
Heavy horse	5 miles	40 miles
Heavy horse (229-690 lbs.)1	3-1/2 miles	28 miles
Pony	4 miles	32 miles
Pony (151-450 lbs.)1	3 miles	24 miles
Dog, riding	4 miles	32 miles
Dog, riding (101-300 lbs.)1	3 miles	24 miles
Cart or wagon	2 miles	16 miles
Ship
Raft or barge (poled or towed)2	1/2 mile	5 miles
Keelboat (rowed)2	1 mile	10 miles
Rowboat (rowed)2	1-1/2 miles	15 miles
Sailing ship (sailed)	2 miles	48 miles
Warship (sailed and rowed)	2-1/2 miles	60 miles
Longship (sailed and rowed)	3 miles	72 miles
Galley (rowed and sailed)	4 miles	96 miles

Space and Reach

Space

All figures are considered to occupy a given amount of space on the battlefield. Creatures of size Medium and Small take up one 5 foot square. Smaller creatures take up a smaller space: Tiny creatures take up a 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 foot space, Diminutive creatures take up a 1 foot by 1 foot space, and Fine creatures, no matter how tiny, are defined to take up a 1/2 foot by 1/2 foot space.

This means that small creatures can effectively fit multiple creatures into a 5x5 square. The space of smaller creatures were carefully chosen such they neatly "pack" into a 5x5 square. Thus, 4 tiny creatures fit into a five foot square, 25 Diminutive, and 100 Fine creatures could fit into a five foot square. For practical reasons, it is recommended that no more than four creatures be allowed into one space, no matter how tiny.

On the flip side of the coin, big creatures take up more space on the battlefield.

A Size Large creature requires a space 10 feet by ten feet to function without squeezing. A Size Huge creature requires a space 15 feet by 15 feet to function without squeezing. A Size gargantuan creature needs a space 20 feet by 20 feet to function without squeezing. A Colossal creature requires a space 25 feet by 25 feet to remain unsqueezed. A Titanic creature requires a space 30 feet by 30 feet to remain unsqueezed.

Note that creatures can be larger than Titanic, but it is recommended that all larger figures, no matter how large, be represented in table-top play by figures with a base no larger than 6x6.

A Titanic-Plus creature requires a space 60 feet by 60 feet to remain unsqueezed. A Titanic Two-Plus Creature requires a space 90 feet by 90 feet to remain unsqueezed. A Titanic Three-Plus Creature requires a space 120 feet by 120 feet etc.

This progression continues to any size you may wish, but you will likely have to resolve combats involving such creatures using the Theatre of the Mind.

Reach

Reach is how far away a figure can attack another figure with a melee weapon or other melee attack.

Size Medium and Small creatures have a reach of five feet: Namely, they can attack into and thus threaten all squares adjacent to their space.

Size Tiny and smaller figures have no effective reach: They cannot reach into adjacent squares far enough to effectively attack, and thus threaten. For very tiny creatures, they must enter a larger creatures square in order to attack and threaten it. Entering another hostile creatures space requires an Acrobatics roll, no matter the size difference, unless you are the larger creature and you are big enough to perform a Stepover.

Note that a creature always has Reach to all portions of its own space, and therefore can threaten all squares that are within it's space.

Large creatures typically have a longer reach. This is not written in stone, however, and every monster should be referred to in their writeup for what their reach is and how they threaten.

As a rule of thumb, creatures have a reach equal to the side of their space, IE, Large creatures reach ten feet, Huge creatures reach 15 feet, Gargantuan creatures reach 20 feet, Colossal creatures reach 25 feet, and Titanic creatures reach 30 feet.

Flanking

External (Traditional) Flanking

You create a flank state any time you have maneuvered on the battlefield in such a way as to inconvenience your opponent due to the threatening actions of yourself and your allies. Flanking is the most common way in which teamwork with your friends provides you with a tangible in-game benefit.

Flanking only counts for melee attacks within your threatened area. If you do not threaten, you cannot flank or gain benefits from a flank. In order to threaten, you must be proficiently wielding a weapon capable of doing lethal damage in one or more of your hands, and able to perceive the target in some way. Some classes, feats, and racial abilities may present other ways to threaten squares.

When making a melee attack, you get a +2 flanking bonus if your opponent is threatened by another enemy character or creature on its opposite border or opposite corner.

A size Medium or smaller figure has four border squares and four corner squares. The Border squares are the full-edge squares, and the corner squares are the ...er... corner...squares.

A size Large figure has eight border squares (two on each edge) and four corner squares. Any border square on a given side provides flanking to any of the border squares on the other side. Corner squares are of course, the same.

A Size Huge figure (3x3 squares) has twelve border squares (three per edge). A size Gargantuan figure (4x4 squares) has sixteen border squares. A size Colossal figure (5x5 squares) has twenty border squares. A size Titanic creature has twenty-four border squares.

In all cases, any border square provides flank to any other border square, as long as the other border square is on the opposite side of the figure.

Only a creature or character that threatens the defender can help an attacker get a flanking bonus.

Creatures with a reach of 0 feet can't flank an opponent because they don't threaten adjacent squares, only their own internal square.

• NOTE 1: Corner squares ONLY flank with the opposite corner squares. Yes, a corner square flank is not as 'good' as a border square flank.

• NOTE 2: If a flanker takes up more than 1 square, it gets the flanking bonus if any square it occupies counts for flanking. This may allow a larger figure to threaten both a side and a corner of an enemy.

• NOTE 3: If a single square contains more than one figure, and you establish a legal flank to that square, you have all of the figures in that square flanked and gain the flanking bonus against them all.

• NOTE 4: Creatures with reach (or reach weapons) don't necessarily have to be adjacent to a creature they're attempting to flank. However, to determine whether they are flanking, they must still be able to trace a line from any corner of their own space to any corner of an ally's space who is also threatening the target creature. Only if this line passes through opposite borders (or opposite corners) of the creature they are attempting to flank, is it a successful flank. As with normal flanks, a line that only passes through adjacent borders of a target creature, or only passes directly along a target creature's border, does not grant a flank. Note that size Large or larger creatures with reach can start this line from any corner of any square they occupy.

Internal Flanking

In cases where there are very large size differences between foes on the field (i.e. 2 size categories or more), it is possible for smaller foes to be 'underneath' a larger figure. If the size difference is large enough to allow this, then neither figure is considered to be squeezing.

A Size Huge creature can share spaces with size Medium creatures.

A Size Gargantuan creature can share spaces with size Large creatures and smaller.

A Size Colossal creature can share spaces with size Huge creatures and smaller.

A size Titanic creature can share spaces with a size Gargantuan creature or smaller.

In all cases, for a smaller creature to enter a larger creature's space requires an Acrobatics roll. However, a larger creature can simply declare that they are performing a Stepover and move right over top of or past a smaller creature, if they are two sizes larger or more.

If a small enough creature is sharing a space with a larger creature, neither is squeezing. The smaller creature can gain internal flanking against the larger creature if he has an ally on any of the larger creature's border or corner squares, or an ally that is also sharing the space of the larger creature.

The larger creature flanks the smaller internal creature if any of the larger creature's allies can get adjacent to the smaller creature.

Alternative Movement Types

A number of alternative movement types exist, allowing a wide variety of surfaces and environments to be more efficiently navigated. Note that these movement types do not provide any useful benefits to movement outside of their native element. That is, a creature with flight is not a better swimmer because of it, and similarly, a creature with earth glide can't move through the air unless it also has flight.

Burrow

• Burrowing
• Tunneling
• Earth Glide

Climb

• Lesser Climb
• Greater Climb
• Brachiating

Fly

• Hover
• Lesser Flight
• Greater Flight

Swim

• Lesser Swim
• Greater Swim
• Jet

Teleport

• Lesser Teleport
• Greater Teleport

Special Movement Rules

Encumbrance

If your character is carrying enough weight, their movement will be slowed. There are three categories of encumbrance, Light, Medium, and Heavy. The pound value of these categories are determined by the character's Strength score on the Carrying Capacity Table.

Each of the encumbrance categories affects your movement exactly as the armor of the same name category. Namely, Medium encumbrance reduces your movement by five feet if your base move is above 20 feet, and Heavy encumbrance reduces your movement by ten feet if your base move is above 20 feet and five feet otherwise. Note that these movement penalties stack!

For example: Wearing heavy armor and carrying enough weight to place you in Medium encumbrance reduces your movement by 15 feet if your base move is above twenty feet or ten feet if your move is twenty feet or below.

If these penalties reduce your base move to zero, you can no longer use a move action to move. You must now use a standard action to move five feet, and can move no more than five feet per round unless you use an action point to take two standard actions in a round.

In addition to the above effects, weight-based encumbrance lowers your speed when you take a Run maneuver. Medium weight encumbrance lowers your Run multiplier to x4. Heavy weight encumbrance lowers your Run multiplier to x3.

Squeezing

If you end your turn in the same space as another creature, and each of you normally takes up the full space, you are both considered to be squeezing. Squeezing can only occur if the two creatures sharing a space both agree to allow that to happen, or one creature is unable to prevent it (such as being unconscious or stunned). Even if one of the two creatures sharing a space is prone, both creatures are treated as squeezing. However, if one of the creatures is dead, the squeezing rules do not apply. Instead, the dead creature is treated as rough terrain (GM's may elect to ignore the 'dead creatures are rough terrain' rule, since it's kind of annoying to keep track of).

Squeezing can also occur when a character tries to fit through a space that is designed for creatures one size category smaller than he is, but wider than his head. No creature can pass through a space narrower than its head (unless it has some special ability allowing it to break this rule). An example of a narrow space might be a door designed for size-small creatures. A medium-sized creature could fit through there, but their ability to attack or defend themselves while doing so would be greatly impaired. A large-sized creature couldn't fit through the size-small door at all.

While squeezing, a creature suffers a -4 penalty to attack rolls and a -4 penalty to AC.

Falling

Creatures that fall take 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6. Creatures that take lethal damage from a fall land in a prone position.

If a character deliberately jumps instead of merely slipping or falling, the damage is the same but the first 1d6 is nonlethal damage. A DC 15 Acrobatics check allows the character to avoid any damage from the first 10 feet fallen and converts any damage from the second 10 feet to nonlethal damage. Thus, a character who slips from a ledge 30 feet up takes 3d6 damage. If the same character deliberately jumps, he takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and 2d6 points of lethal damage. And if the character leaps down with a successful Acrobatics check, he takes only 1d6 points of nonlethal damage and 1d6 points of lethal damage from the plunge.

Falls onto yielding surfaces (soft ground, mud) also convert the first 1d6 of damage to nonlethal damage. This reduction is cumulative with reduced damage due to deliberate jumps and the Acrobatics skill.

A character cannot cast a spell while falling, unless the fall is greater than 500 feet or the spell is an immediate action, such as feather fall. Casting a spell while falling requires a concentration check with a DC equal to 20 + the spell's level. Casting teleport or a similar spell while falling does not end your momentum, it just changes your location, meaning that you still take falling damage, even if you arrive atop a solid surface.

Collisions

Adventurers frequently bash themselves into things through various circumstances. For example, a Barbarian sees a Drow Matriarch with no escorts, so he charges her full speed...only to find the Force Wall in the way. He smashes into the wall full speed, but how much does that hurt? This is treated as a collision, which is a more general case of Falling damage. In this case, since he was in a Charge maneuver which reduced his armor class, he was not considered to be moving cautiously. As a result, he takes 1d6 of damage per ten feet of his speed at the moment of the collision. If he has a base speed of 50 feet and a Haste spell to raise his speed to 80, then he takes 8d6 from this collision. Ouch. It's made even worse by the Matriarch laughing.... Beware the Run maneuver! Running is VERY fast movement, and since you lose your Dex, you are not considered to be cautious. Running full speed into a Wall of Force can be deadly.

Note that charges, overruns and other deliberate cases of a character ramming into things never causes damage to the character who instigates it, nor are the collision rules applied to the creature or object being rammed into. Collision rules only apply if the collision is unexpected, or outside of the control of the character. Combat maneuvers already deal damage, so the harm caused by an overrun is already built into the rules of that maneuver.

If a character is not moving in a precipitous manner, i.e., a normal move at his base speed, he would take no damage at all; the reward for moving cautiously! Note that making a double-move (converting your standard action to a move action and moving twice) is also considered cautious movement.

Collisions are used for many things, such as being swept away down a boulder-strewn gully by a flash flood, or being run over by a huge round stone that rolled out of the ceiling in a lost temple, or when that noble's carriage runs wild down the streets, or even when the hapless adventurer is being dragged along the ground behind a racing horse. Any time an object bangs into an adventurer in an uncontrolled and violent fashion, this can be resolved using these collision rules.

Note, being dragged by a horse really sucks; you want to get out of that as soon as possible.

Falling into Water

Falls into water are handled somewhat differently. If the water is at least 10 feet deep, the first 20 feet of falling does no damage. The next 20 feet of falling deals non-lethal damage (1d3 per 10-foot increment). Beyond that, falling damage is lethal damage (1d6 per additional 10-foot increment).

Characters who deliberately dive into water take no damage on a successful DC 15 Swim check or DC 15 Acrobatics check, so long as the water is at least 10 feet deep for every 30 feet fallen. The DC of the check, however, increases by 5 for every 50 feet of the dive.

Falling Objects

+ Table: Damage from Falling Objects

Object Size	Damage
Tiny	1d6
Small	2d6
Medium	3d6
Large	4d6
Huge	6d6
Gargantuan	8d6
Colossal	10d6
Titanic	15d6

Just as characters take damage when they fall more than 10 feet, so too do they take damage when they are hit by falling objects. Note that falling object damage is resolved differently from collisions, because falling objects are typically thrown by a bad guy, rather than being environmental hazards.

Objects that fall upon characters deal damage based on their size and the distance they have fallen. Table: Damage from Falling Objects determines the amount of damage dealt by an object based on its size. Note that this assumes that the object is made of dense, heavy material, such as stone. Objects made of lighter materials might deal as little as half the listed damage, subject to GM discretion. For example, a Huge boulder that hits a character deals 6d6 points of damage, whereas a Huge wooden wagon might deal only 3d6 damage. In addition, if an object falls less than 30 feet, it deals half the listed damage. If an object falls more than 150 feet, it deals double the listed damage. Note that a falling object takes the same amount of damage as it deals.

Dropping an object on or throwing and object at a creature requires a ranged touch attack. Such attacks generally have a range increment of 20 feet. If an object falls on a creature (instead of being thrown), that creature can make a DC 15 Reflex save to halve the damage if he is aware of the object. Falling objects that are part of a trap use the trap rules instead of these general guidelines.

Difficult Terrain

Some terrain is too tricky to move through at normal speed. Such terrain is called "difficult" though this can encompass many scenarios: obstacles, slippery or unstable footing, steep slopes, etc. When moving through difficult terrain, each square moved into counts as two squares (10 feet), effectively reducing the distance that a character can cover in a move. Characters cannot run or charge through difficult terrain, nor can they take 5-foot steps.

Impeded Terrain

Sometimes the terrain is so difficult that you must clamber over it on hands and knees, rather than just carefully navigating it. Examples include junk-strewn rooms, vine-choked jungles, or waist-deep bogs. A creature wishing to move through such terrain must use a full-round action to move 5 feet. This is not treated as a 5-foot step and does provoke attacks of opportunity. Creatures attempting to move through impeded terrain cannot run or charge through such terrain, nor can they maintain any stances, including stealth.

Note that impeded terrain is not the same as blocked terrain, such as walls, locked doors or closed portcullises.

Some impeded terrain may allow an acrobatics or climb check to move more than 5 feet per full-round action, at the GM's discretion. As a general rule, however, spending a full round to move 5 feet does not require any sort of skill check.

Blocked Terrain

Blocked terrain is terrain it is impossible to move into without such things as incorporeal powers, burrowing, earth glide, extremely small size, extremely large size, etc. Note that teleport can move through blocked terrain as long as line of sight and line of effect rules are satisfied. Further note that many types of blocked terrain also block line of sight and/or line of effect. The GM adjudicates any unusual cases. Examples of blocked terrain include solid walls, natural stone or dirt, doors, shutters, gates, and portcullises, roofs and roads, pillars, columns, and statues, etc.

Note that weapons with the Unwieldy quality, such as the Long Whip, cannot be used while adjacent to blocked terrain. Weapons with the Cumbersome quality, such as the Great Whip, suffer a -4 penalty to attack rolls made while adjacent to blocked terrain.

Cutting Corners

On a square grid, in clear terrain, a character may move into any of the eight squares adjacent to their current square. Sometimes, however, a character will want to move diagonally from one space to another, and a blocked space will occupy a space in between. Cutting a corner of a blocked space may or may not be possible, depending on the object causing the space to be blocked.

If the blocked space which you are attempting to move diagonally past is completely filled, such as the corner of a dressed stone hallway, then you cannot cut a corner to skim past that space. Most buildings and man-made areas feature corners which cannot be cut.

If the space is blocked but not completely filled, such as a rounded cave wall, a statue, a large tree or rounded pillar, then you can still cut the corner to move diagonally past it.

Note that cutting a corner around a blocked space isn't a way to pass through blocked terrain, it is a way of skirting the edges of it. Thus, you cannot cut a corner to somehow pass through a portcullis or closed door.

Hazardous Terrain

Some squares, such as pit openings, lava or the edge of a cliff, or a trapped space are considered hazardous terrain. While the exact effects of moving into a hazardous terrain space can vary, they are inevitably undesirable. Hazardous terrain is not the same as difficult, impeded or blocked terrain, as a character can freely move into spaces of hazardous terrain; they just don't want to. Weapons with the Unwieldy or Cumbersome qualities treat adjacent hazardous terrain as a normal space and can operate unimpeded.

Occupied Squares

An occupied square is any square which falls within the allocated space for a creature's Size. Medium and smaller creatures Occupy one square. Large creatures occupy 4 squares, Huge creatures occupy nine squares, Gargantuan creatures occupy sixteen squares, Colossal creatures occupy twenty-five squares, and Titanic creatures occupy thirty-six squares. Note that occupied squares are NOT blocked, impassable, impeded, or even difficult terrain simply because they are occupied. To enter another creatures squares is not simple, but is possible. Refer to the sections on squeezing, stepover, acrobatics, internal flanking, threatened area, etc.

Threatened Area

To threaten an area, a creature must be capable of inflicting harm upon a foe in a legal fashion as a reactive action, namely, be able to take attacks of opportunity. Usually this requires a creature to be proficiently wielding a melee weapon or possess natural attacks. Ranged attacks almost never threaten squares, and if they do, require special abilities or feats to do so.

Creatures who can make legal attacks of opportunity threaten all spaces they have Reach to and all spaces they occupy. Yes, moving around inside the space of a hostile creature provokes attacks of opportunity, so be careful when seeking that internal flank.

Forced Movement

Most forced movement is handled via the Combat Maneuver system, but there is an added class of "automatic" forced movement which is occasionally available via spells, class abilities, monster powers, etc. All forced movement allows the attacking creature to move an enemy one or more squares from its current location.

It is not normally possible to resist forced movement at all, unless you have a special power or ability which specifically opposes such movement. No matter how the forced movement is inflicted, either by Combat Manuevers, spells, class abilities, etc, all forced movement is resisted by any special powers or abilities that resist forced movement. Such resistance applies after CMB vs CMD rolls are resolved. Note that forced movement reductions stack, so if a character has a means of reducing forced movement from more than one source, such as a class ability or magic item, the character uses the sum of the reductions offered.

Forced movement ignores the penalties to movement for rough terrain, but must be into unoccupied squares of a size and shape equal to the creature being forcibly moved. If there are no unoccupied squares available for the creature to be legally forced into, the forced movement does not take place.

A creature subjected to forced movement may elect to fall prone at any time during the forced movement (including its starting square), immediately ending the forced movement. This tactic is especially useful to avoid being forced into a hazardous square, such as a pit or a trap.

A creature which has voluntarily dropped to Prone can elect to ignore any forced movement inflicted upon it as long as it remains prone. However, a creature which was made prone involuntarily gains no such resistance to forced movement until it has had an opportunity to stand up (usually a move action). Note the creature doesn't need to stand up (and, indeed, doing so would remove its resistance to forced movement), merely have the action available that would allow it to stand up.

Creatures which are immune to prone can still use this option and are not prone afterwards, making them incidentally immune to forced movement. Monsters with roles that render them immune to status conditions can use this tactic, for example. Tank role monsters are immune to all status conditions, so they can use the 'fall prone' election to stop forced movement at any time, and then are not prone, and can do it again as often as required.

Forced movement never provokes attacks of opportunity, unless there is a feat or ability in play which pierces this.

Push

A Push is forced movement in which a creature is moved by an attacker in a path away from the attacker. Each square of this forced movement must be further away from the attacker's square(s) than the square being exited. If any squares in the desired path are blocked or occupied by any creatures (friend or foe) the push ends in the square prior to this obstruction.

Pull

A Pull is forced movement in which a creature is moved by an attacker in a path toward the attacker. Each square of this forced movement must be closer to the attacker's square(s) than the square being exited. If any squares in the desired path are blocked or occupied by any creatures (friend or foe) the pull ends in the square prior to this obstruction.

Slide

A Slide is forced movement in which a creature is moved by an attacker in any path the attacker wishes. If any squares in the desired path are blocked or occupied by any creatures (friend or foe) the slide ends in the square prior to this obstruction.

Three Dimensional Movement

For three dimensional movement, it is strongly recommended to use the above variant rules for counting movement, distance, and areas of effect. The reason is simple: when calculating the range between two objects at different altitudes, using the old rules required trigonometry or guesswork. In the 1 for 1 counting rules, the different altitudes can be ignored, as long as the difference in altitude is equal to or less than the difference between the figures.

For example, a ranger wants to shoot an orc who is hiding thirty feet high in a tree. In these rules, as long as the ranger is thirty feet or more away from the base of the tree, the range is simply defined as the range to the tree's square. If the ranger is closer than thirty feet to the base of the tree, the range is simply thirty feet, no matter where he moves around the base of the tree. This is a tremendous simplification and makes gameplay much faster and smoother.

For this reason, it is strongly recommended that referees enforce 'altitude ceilings' in three dimensional encounters. This is readily accomplished inside large buildings and caves, etc. Outdoors, it is usually simplest to abstract 'up' and 'down', so that the maximum distance between two combatants is always defined as the distance between their figures on the map. Alternatively, the referee may rule by fiat that cloud cover, or a tree canopy, or hazardous smoke/vapor, etc, limits the maximum altitude at which combat is possible.

If these rules are followed, then range and area of effect in three-dimensional movement is no different than in 2-dimensional movement. All squares are visualized as cubes. Moving from cube to cube may be done from face-to-face, or edge to edge, or corner to corner. All moves and ranges are counted as 1 for 1.

As a corollary to this, when three dimensional movement is being used, all characters are considered to be represented as cubes in space, not squares on the map. The cube is a number of squares high equal to the number of squares per side of the figure's size.

Thus, a small or medium creature occupies a cube five feet on a side. A large creature occupies a cube ten feet on a side. A huge creature occupies a cube fifteen feet on a side. Larger creatures continue using this same progression. For game balance reasons, the same number of smaller creatures will fill a cube as fill a same size square. Two Small creatures may occupy a five foot cube without squeezing. Four tiny creatures fill a cube, etc. This rule is to prevent dozens and dozens of enemies from filling a single space.

This system makes it much easier to accommodate feats of derring-do. For example, how high up is a Huge Elephant's back? Fifteen feet! So if a player character jumps to the back of an elephant, that is how far away they are from the ground. The bottom of the character's cube rests upon the top of the elephants cube, and reach and range are determined accordingly.

All cubes that border either a side, edge, or corner are considered adjacent in three dimensional movement.

Reach now affects all adjacent cubes, including the one above your head (and beneath your feet) as well as the ones above and below your adjacent squares.

Areas of effect, defined above as squares, are simply counted as cubes in three dimensional movement. Odd-sized cubes are centered upon a target cube, even-sized cubes are targeted upon the three-axis intersection of eight cubes.

Forced Movement In 3-D

Generally speaking, most forced movement occurs in two dimensions, along the ground. This is true even if the forced movement occurs underwater, as long as the creature being moved is on the bottom of the body of water.

Creatures in the middle of water, with no nearby surfaces, who are subjected to forced movement are moved laterally, as though they were in two dimensions. While this limitation is completely artificial, it makes it simpler to track a battle. Since you can't suffer falling damage when swimming underwater, there's no actual tactical value for treating the environment as truly 3-D, even though it is. Adding 3-D elements to such an encounter needlessly complicates it, without providing any benefit.

In cases where the forced movement occurs to a creature in the air, the forced movement is nearly always directly down. In cases where the type of forced movement (such as a Push) could not be downwards, (for example, a creature on the ground Pushes a creature in the air), then the Pushed creature moves directly up.

Creatures underground cannot be forcibly moved into blocked terrain (such as the ground) even if the acting creature and the target creature have burrowing move speeds (like Earth Glide). Forced movement can never be used to force someone into blocked terrain.

Some special abilities exist which allow forced movement to use three-dimensions. For example, a giant may have the ability to knock a creature up into the air, even when it starts off on the ground. Refer to the special ability for the exact rules to follow in these cases.

GM's should strive to keep this as simple as possible, and limit 3-D forced movement to only directly up or directly down whenever possible. Keep in mind how complicated it can become to track everyone's exact elevation, and evaluate that against how useful or memorable that complexity actually makes the battle. In most cases, 2-D is complicated enough.