Types of Movement

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Running is a great idea right about now.


This page has general rules for moving around and the many exciting, fun, and possibly painful things that happen to you when you do so.

If you are looking for what happens to you while moving around, such as getting frozen by cold or baked by the sun, caught in a wildfire or having an avalanche hit you, you should look for the Environmental Effects rules for guidelines. Have fun!


General Movement Rules

  • In Epic Path, each square on a combat map is assumed to be five feet on a side, and five feet high.
  • All objects and creatures fit into some multiple or fraction of those five foot squares.
  • Moving around on the map costs you five feet of your movement allowance for each square you move. Your movement refreshes when you get another turn.
  • The direction you are moving does not matter: Diagonal moves are the same as straight moves and may be combined with each other in any way that makes sense to you.
  • When you have moved a distance equal to your movement rate with the movement type you are using, you must stop moving for this round, switch to a different movement type with which you still have some movement left, or declare a double move (see below).
  • Some squares may require more than five feet of move to enter, and some may not be entered at all. Leaving a square is always free.
  • The GM adjudicates any unusual circumstances.

Walk

Type of Action: Move Action

Walk refers to moving along the ground at your listed speed. 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, or the creature is subject to the Squeezing rules.

The terms "base land speed" and "move" are often used interchangeably with "walk". It may be useful to note that "move" is a type of action, and "walk" is a way to use a "move action" (to move along the ground at your listed speed).

Part of a Move Action

Type of Action: Special (see below)

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 both perform the action and move up to their speed. For example, a character can walk up to their speed, and while doing so, also draw a weapon.

Nearly any action you perform with a move action (such as standing up from Prone) can also include an action which is "part of a move action".

However, if you degrade your move action to a Swift Action, take a Full Attack Action, or a Full-Round Action, you cannot perform a "part of a move action" action this round. That is, you must take an actual move action (though not necessarily to move) to include a "part of a move action" activity with it.

Some examples of actions which are "part of a move action":

  • Drawing a weapon
  • Sheathing a weapon
  • Drawing a potion or item from a bandoleer or other easy-access location
  • Pick up an item from the ground (in your space or in a space you are moving through)

Double Move

Type of Action: Full Attack Action

A double move allows a creature to move up to twice its listed speed with one (or more) of its available movement types. A double-move is considered a single action, so there is no need for the creature to stop at the end of its first move action. The creature must obey all normal rules for passing through enemy creatures, threatened squares, blocked or obstructed squares, difficult terrain, etc.

Like walking, a double move is a cautious form of movement, though it still provokes attacks of opportunity if you leave any space that is threatened by one or more enemies. Note that, because it is a single action, you can only be the target of one attack of opportunity per enemy creature you provoke, even if you leave multiple spaces threatened by the same 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 their listed speed (or three times their listed speed if they are wearing heavy armor). After any turn in which a character performs the run action, they gain the flat-footed condition until the start of their next turn, unless they have the Runner (Feat), since running is a more reckless form of movement than walking. If a character declares a 'run' action, they may not perform any 5-Foot Steps during the same round (except with an action point, or a class feature like the prowler's "Shifty"). Since it is a fast, reckless sort of movement, Run may make the character susceptible to Collision Damage, so be careful!

A character can run for a number of rounds equal to their Constitution score, but after that they must make a DC 30 might check to continue running. The character must check again each round in which they continue to run, and the DC of this check increases by +2 for each check they have made previously. When they fail this check, they must stop running. A character that has run to their limit gains the Fatigued condition.

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

5-Foot Step

Type of Action: Free Action (special; see below)

Taking a 5-foot step is a special type of free action that allows you to move one square (five feet) from your current space without provoking attacks of opportunity from nearby enemy creatures that threaten your square. A creature can take a 5-foot step before, during, or after their other actions in the round. However, there are some conditions that must be met in order to take a 5-foot step on your turn.

There are four general ways in which a creature can become eligible to perform a 5-foot step:

Perform No Other Movement

A creature can take a 5-foot step as a free action in any round in which they don't perform any other kind of movement. This means the creature cannot use any action, or perform any activity, which causes them to move from their starting location through their own volition if they want to use this mechanic. Examples of this include (but are not limited to):
Creatures cannot take more than one of these sorts of 5-foot steps in a round. This is the most common way for monsters to use a 5-foot step in combat, although players may also use this mechanic.

Trade Away Attacks From A Full Attack Action

A player character that declares a Full Attack Action may use attack actions to perform 5-foot steps, up to a maximum number of times equal to the number of attack actions their current character class grants during a full attack action.
Any attacks performed subtract from the number of attacks they can trade away for 5-foot steps, and similarly, any 5-foot steps taken by 'spending' an attack action reduces the number of available attacks in the full attack action. The 5-foot steps can occur during any part of the full attack action, including before, after, or between attacks, assuming the character has enough attacks to perform each action.
For example, a fighter declares a full attack. Since fighters get 4 base attacks during a full attack, they may make up to four attacks during a full attack action. They can use all four of these attacks to attack targets they can reach (or within range, if using ranged attacks), or they can trade away one or more of these attacks to perform an equal number of 5-foot steps, to a maximum of four, moving up to 20 feet without provoking attacks of opportunity, due to their utter combat focus. If they perform a combination of attacks and 5-foot steps, the 5-foot steps can occur before, during, or after the attacks, as the fighter prefers.
Where characters perform attacks starting with their highest to-hit numbers and working their way down to their worst to-hit numbers, action-action 5-foot steps 'use up' the worst to-hit numbers and work up to the highest to-hit numbers. This is true even if the 5-foot steps are taken between attacks.
5-foot steps taken by trading away attacks from a full attack action do not count as movement, and may therefore be combined with a free-action 5-foot step, assuming all other criteria for the free-action 5-foot step are met (see above).
Characters can never trade away more attacks for 5-foot steps than the base number of attacks provided by their character class, even if they have access to bonus attacks through feats, spells, or magic items. If the character is dual- or multi-classed, their base number of attacks during a full attack is always based on the number of attacks granted by their current character class.
Any 5-foot steps taken use up all bonus attacks that would normally be taken at the same to-hit bonus. That is, if you have a bonus attack that uses your worst to-hit, and you trade away your worst to-hit for a 5-foot step, you also lose that bonus attack. You do not get additional 5-foot steps for these bonus attacks; they are simply lost when the attack with the same to-hit bonus is traded away for the 5-foot step. Since your best to-hits are used up last, bonus attacks that use your best to-hit are only used up if you take a number of 5-foot steps equal to your full base number of attacks.
Monsters cannot trade attack actions for 5-foot steps during a full-attack actions; this feature can only be used by player characters.

Class Features, Racial Traits, Feats, etc.

A creature may gain access to a 5-foot step by using a feat, class feature, racial trait, monster ability, or any other legal source (subject to GM approval, of course). For example, some classes (e.g. Prowler) and races (e.g. Bru-Kin) have special abilities that allow them to make more than one 5-foot step in a single round, or in rounds in which they have already moved. The listed rules may also specify different limitations for using the ability (e.g. the additional 5-foot step may cost a swift or move action to perform). In these cases, the specific ability's rules take precedence over the rules listed here.

Action Point

If a creature has an Action Point that can be used to grant a move action, they may spend the action point to take a 5-foot step instead (using up the move action), even if they have previously moved this round, or have 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 truly heroic deeds.

Other Considerations

  • A creature can't take a 5-foot step if the space they are attempting to move in to is considered difficult terrain or impeded terrain, unless they possess a movement type that allows them to ignore that type of difficult terrain, and that also allows the use of 5-foot steps (e.g. Hover).
  • A creature can't take a 5-foot step if they are attempting to move into a space that is concealed, either partially or totally (typically due to dim light or darkness, but sometimes fog, or other conditions may cause this), unless they have some means of seeing normally in those conditions (e.g. Darkvision).
  • Any creature with a move speed of 5 feet or less cannot ever 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 they do not have a listed speed.

Crawling

Type of Action: Move Action

While Quelled, Prone, or Splayed, you can crawl 5 feet as a move action. Crawling provokes attacks of opportunity from enemies who threaten a square you are attempting to leave when crawling. A crawling character begins and ends the crawling movement with the same Quelled, Prone, or Splayed status condition as they started with. Also see the Fast Crawl (Feat) and those feats it unlocks for more options while crawling.

Description

Ability Score Used: Dexterity
Armor Check Penalty Applies? Yes


You are skilled at large, powerful movements to orient your own body in space. This encompasses flying, swimming, and climbing vertical walls. "Movement" is an athletic skill that encompasses your ability to control your own body and how you are positioned. Note that this is NOT Acrobatics, which is large, powerful movements to move yourself through space. Note that the two skills are similar, and having skill ranks in Acrobatics can help with some uses of Movement. Having the Movement skill allows you to swim with a skill check, but it does NOT allow you to fly with a skill check in normal gravity and atmosphere conditions. Movement does not give you either a Swim move score or a Fly move score.

Movement is often affected by Environmental Effects.

As with all skills, the uses below are merely suggestions, and by no means the full gamut of possible ways a skill can be used. Players and GM's are encouraged to find additional ways to use each skill.

Roll Initiative

At the start of each encounter, all player characters and enemy creatures roll a special Movement skill check to determine their initiative order for that combat. Once all initiatives are rolled, each player character and enemy creature acts in order of that initiative, from highest to lowest, taking turns until everyone has gone. Once everyone has acted, the round ends, and a new one begins, starting at the highest initiative, and working down again.

In the event to that two or more characters or creatures are tied for a particular Initiative result, they are resolved using the following tie-breakers, in order, until the order is clarified:

  • The creature with the highest bonus to their Initiative check (typically their Movement skill bonus) acts first.
  • If those are both the same, the creature with the highest Dexterity score (not modifier) goes first. (Yes, even though monsters don't really use their stats, they do come in handy at times like these).
  • If both creatures are still tied, they both roll a d20, and the highest result on the die goes first. If this is still tied, reroll until someone rolls a higher number. Also, consider buying a lottery ticket.
Note that all of these tie-breakers only affect the order of the tied creatures relative to each other in the initiative. No matter what, they will still act before all other characters or creatures who rolled lower than them on the initial Initiative check.

It is possible to have modifiers to a character's Initiative check that doesn't apply its bonus to the character's entire Movement skill. An example of this is the Improved Initiative feat. Such bonuses are only applied to a character's initiative if their movement skill doesn't already have an equal or higher bonus of the same type (e.g. feat bonus). Bonuses of the same type never stack (except for Dodge, Circumstance, and Untyped bonuses); instead, only the highest bonus available is used. Also, it should go without saying that a bonus to Initiative is NOT a bonus to the character's Movement skill as a whole.

Initiative checks are always rolled at the start of each encounter, including those encounters with a surprise round. Typically, once an initiative order is set, it remains static throughout the duration of the encounter. In some rare cases, however, a character or creature may have some means of altering their initiative after the encounter has already begun, in which case, the initiative order can be rearranged. Furthermore, characters or creatures that hold their actions are moved down in the initiative order until the point at which they act; once set, they act from that spot in the initiative order for the remainder of the encounter (unless they hold their action again). Characters or creatures that ready an action do NOT alter their position in the initiative order, even though the readied action may trigger at some point outside of their normal turn.

Action Required:

Free action at the start of each encounter

DC of Check:

Opposed by everyone else's Initiative check. There is no fixed DC.

Modifiers to Check

-

Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No

Results of Success

You act earlier in the combat than those who rolled lower than you.

Note that you can critically succeed on an initiative check, as long as you possess at least 1 skill rank in the Movement skill. Normally, a critical success happens only on a result of a natural 20 on the die, and adds +5 to the final result (some feats may alter your crit range and crit bonus, if you have them).

Consequences of Failure

You cannot fail an initiative check. A low roll, even a natural 1 on the die, merely means your total roll is lower than average for someone of your ability.

Retry Allowed?

No

Provokes AOO?

No

Charge

Charge is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.

Charge allows you to move up to your move speed, and make an attack against one enemy at the end of the movement, all with a single standard action. While this is very advantageous, there are numerous restrictions that must be followed in order to perform a charge:

  • You must move before your attack, not after.
  • You must move at least 10 feet (2 squares) and may move up to your speed directly toward the designated opponent.
  • You may draw a weapon during the movement portion of the charge maneuver.
  • You provoke opportunity attacks as normal during the movement portion of the charge.
  • You must move to the closest space from which you can attack the opponent. If this space is occupied or otherwise blocked, you can't charge.
  • You must have a clear path toward the opponent, and nothing can hinder your movement. You must be able to draw a straight line from the center of your starting space to the center of the ending space, without passing through any object that blocks movement, slows movement, or contains a creature (even an ally) in order to charge.
  • If you don't have line of sight to the opponent prior to charging, you can't charge that opponent.

In addition, some weapons deal special damage during a charge, or are particularly effective against creatures that charge their wielder:

  • Lances and Charge Attacks: A lance deals double damage if employed by a mounted character in a charge. The weapon's base weapon damage dice are doubled. If the charge attack critically hits, the critical hit is treated as if the crit multiplier were two higher than normal for the weapon (this is instead of, not in addition to, the doubling of the base weapon damage).
  • Weapons Readied against a Charge: Spears, tridents, and other weapons with the brace weapon quality deal double damage when readied (set) and used against a charging character. The weapon's base weapon damage dice are doubled, and any adders due to high strength, feats, and weapon enhancement bonuses are doubled. If the Braced attack critically hits, the critical damage is resolved as if the crit multiplier were one higher than normal for the Braced weapon.
Action Required:

Standard Action or in place of the first attack of a full attack action.

DC of Check:

the target creature's Maneuver Defense

Modifiers to Check

-

Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No

Results of Success

You can move up to your speed, and end your movement adjacent the target creature. You then inflict the same as the damage you deal with your normal melee attacks (i.e. it includes your ability modifiers, feat bonuses, weapon enhancement bonuses, bonus damage from magic weapon properties, etc.). This is instead of the damage normally dealt by combat maneuvers (not in addition to it). However, you may not add any types of precision damage, such as a rogue's Sneak Attack, ranger's Quarry, etc., nor may you apply any effects that rely upon an attack, like a paladin's Smite Enemy, a prowler's Imperiling Jolt, or a fighter's Challenge.

You do not provoke attacks of opportunity from the target creature, but you do provoke attacks of opportunity from any nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement portion of the charge maneuver.

Consequences of Failure

If you fail, your movement ends in the closest unoccupied square in front of the target creature's space, but you do not inflict any damage to the creature. You provoke attacks of opportunity from any nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement portion of the charge maneuver.

Retry Allowed?

Yes

Provokes AOO?

Only if your check critically fails.

Clamber

Clamber is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.

You can enter a larger creature's space, to set up internal flanks by moving under, onto, or amidst the target creature. Clamber is NOT used to move through an enemy's space (you have to use the Overrun combat maneuver for that), nor can it ever affect multiple creatures.

When you spend an attack action to perform a clamber, it includes a move of up to half your normal speed. This movement must include moving into the target monster's space, but it can also include moving up to the monster. This movement is considered forced movement, and normally doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity (but see 'failure' below). In addition, since forced movement is not normal movement, the movement performed during a clamber does not prevent the use of 5-foot steps. Difficult terrain in your path still costs twice as much movement to move into, which can be costly for your already-halved speed.

The target creature must be at least 2 size categories larger than you. Note that all internal squares of a creature are considered to be threatened by that creature.

Action Required:

Attack Action (i.e. as a standard action, or in place of any attack during a full attack action).

DC of Check:

the target creature's Maneuver Defense

Modifiers to Check
  • You can move an additional 5 feet per +5 you add to your target DC, to a maximum of your normal move speed.
  • Clamber may still be performed if you are wearing medium or heavy armor, or even encumbered with a medium or heavy load.
  • You can clamber while Prone, but doing so requires a full-round action, during which you may only move 5 feet, but you can add an additional 5 feet of movement per +5 you wish to add to the DC, up to a maximum of half your normal move speed. You may never move more than half your normal speed while prone, no matter how much you increase the DC.
Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

Yes (up to 1 ally). Assisting ally must be adjacent to you at the start of your clamber attempt.

Results of Success

You can move up to half your speed, and end your movement in one of the interior squares of the target creature's space (assuming you have enough movement to reach it). You do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target creature.

In addition, for every 2 by which you exceed the target creature's Maneuver Defense, you can avoid one attack of opportunity from a different enemy creature that threatens any of the squares you are exiting during the movement of the Clamber maneuver.

In addition to the special effects of the chosen maneuver, you may also deal damage to the creature equal to the base weapon damage of the weapon you are wielding, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc). Note that base weapon damage increases at 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 26th, and 31st levels, which also improves the damage done by maneuvers. If you want to do more damage with a combat maneuver, you can take feats to improve your combat maneuvers, or use weapons which are good at certain combat maneuvers.

If you have natural or class-based non-weapon attacks, you may roll just the dice you would normally roll for an attack you are allowed to make during an attack of opportunity, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc).

Example: a 3rd level fighter would roll just the dice from their +1 longsword (1d8), while a 3rd level Monk would roll just the dice of their Echoing Strike attack (2d8), and a 3rd level Brawler would roll just the dice of their Cross attack (also 2d8).
Consequences of Failure

If you fail, your movement ends in the closest unoccupied square in front of the target creature's space, and you provoke an attack of opportunity from the target creature, and from any other nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement. Any remaining movement in your attack action is lost.

Retry Allowed?

Requires another attack action. Retrying does not negate checks which have failed.

Provokes AOO?

Yes, if your check fails, or you do not exceed the target DC enough to avoid the attacks of opportunity of nearby threatening creatures.

Climb Vertical Surface

With a successful Climb check, you can advance up, down, or across a slope, wall, or other steep incline (or even across a ceiling, provided it has handholds) at one-quarter your normal speed. A slope is considered to be any incline at an angle measuring less than 60 degrees; a wall is any incline at an angle measuring 60 degrees or more.

You need at least one hand free to climb, and you may cling to a wall with one hand while you cast a spell or take some other action that requires only one hand. While climbing, you can't move to avoid a blow, so you are flat-footed against any attacks. If you are using a light shield or buckler, and are using the hand carrying that shield to climb, you also lose your Shield Bonus to AC.

Action Required:

Climbing is part of movement, so it's generally part of a move action (and may be combined with other types of movement in a move action). Each move action that includes any climbing requires a separate Climb check.

DC of Check:

The DC of climb checks is based on the surface you are attempting to climb:

Surface Movement DC
A slope too steep to walk up, or a knotted rope with a wall to brace against. 0
A rope with a wall to brace against, or a knotted rope, or a rope affected by the rope trick spell. 5
A surface with ledges to hold on to and stand on, such as a very rough wall or a ship's rigging. 10
Any surface with adequate handholds and footholds (natural or artificial), such as a very rough natural rock surface or a tree, or an unknotted rope, or pulling yourself up when dangling by your hands. 15
An uneven surface with some narrow handholds and footholds, such as a typical wall in a dungeon. 20
A typical buildings upper-story wall 21
A typical buildings lower-story wall 25
A rough surface, such as a natural rock wall or a brick wall. 25
An overhang wall with handholds but no footholds, or a typical city wall 30
A perfectly smooth, flat, vertical (or inverted) surface cannot be climbed. -
Modifiers to Check
  • Accelerated Climbing: While climb checks are normally made at 1/4 speed, you can move at half speed by adding +10 to the DC of the check. You can move at full speed by adding +20 to the DC.
  • Bracing on two opposite walls: If you are climbing a natural (or artificial) chimney, where you can brace your legs and arms against two nearby opposite walls, the DC is decreased by -10.
  • Bracing on a corner: If you are climbing in a corner, or a space with a perpendicular wall you can brace against, the DC is decreased by -5.
  • Slippery surface: If the surface is slippery (wet, covered in moss or leaves, muddy), the DC is increased by +5. If the surface is extremely slippery (coated in ice, deliberately oiled, soaked in slime or ichor) but still has handholds, the DC is increased by +10.
  • Bad Conditions: Clinging to a wall makes you surprisingly immune to bad weather. Extremely high winds and violent gusts adds +5 DC, heavy pounding hail (or similar like rocks being thrown at you) adds another +5 to the DC. Rain, fog, and snow have little to no effect.
  • Encumbered: If you try to Climb with Movement while encumbered with a Medium load, you add a +10 to the DC. If you try to Climb with a Heavy load, you add +25 to the DC. It's possible to Climb in heavy armor and while loaded down, but you won't like it. Note that if you've caught someone in the middle of a fall, their weight adds to your encumbrance until they can make a Movement check to climb out of your grasp. Best to hold still until they get themselves settled. A load heavier than a Heavy load but less than your Max Drag means you can hold on, barely, but not make any more climb checks. A load heavier than your Max Drag automatically plucks you off the wall and you fall. Be careful about trying to catch falling Giants!
  • Climb Speed: Creatures with Lesser Climb or Greater Climb get a +8 bonus on climb checks made with the Movement skill (creatures with Brachiating get a +4 bonus). This bonus does not apply to any other uses of the movement skill, unless they are specifically applicable to climbing.
  • Taking damage: Anytime you take damage while climbing, you must make an additional Climb check against the DC of the slope or wall, with any normal modifiers as above, and with an additional +5 to the DC for the Bad Conditions of getting attacked.
Take 10? / Take 20?

You can take 10 (as long as you are not in combat), but you cannot take 20.

Allows Assists?

Yes (up to 5 allies). Allies must either be adjacent to you, or adjacent to a rope or similar implement you are using to climb. If there is not enough room, they cannot assist.

Results of Success

You climb up the surface a distance equal to 1/4th your normal Walk speed, rounding down to the nearest 5 foot increment. This distance can be greater, if you increased the DC for accelerated climbing. If you reach the top of the surface at some point during this movement, you move to a standing position at the top, and may continue your movement at your normal speed, if you have any remaining.

Once at the top, you are no longer flat-footed. However, if you have a shield or buckler, because you used that hand for something besides defense this round, you do not recover your shield bonus to AC until the start of your next turn.

Consequences of Failure

A Climb check that fails by 4 or less means that you make no progress but do not fall, and one that fails by 5 or more means that you fall from whatever height you have already attained.

Retry Allowed?

Yes

Provokes AOO?

Yes, as with any voluntary movement.

Fly

You are able to perform skillful maneuvers and fly competently, remaining oriented and even fight, while airborne. This skill use pertains only to flight from either an innate ability, a spell, or a magic item which allows you to propel yourself through the air without the aid of a vehicle or other conveyance. If an item grants you a flight speed, this skill use applies to you. If an item requires you to be in/on it (e.g. a flying carpet), this skill use does not apply (see Piloting instead).
Action Required:

A move action, or part of a move action

DC of Check:
Flying Maneuver Movement DC
Move less than half speed and remain flying 10
Hover in open space (Lesser Flight only) 20

You generally need only make a Fly check on calm days when you possess Lesser Flight. Without making a check, a flying creature with Lesser Flight can remain flying at the end of its turn so long as it moves a distance greater than half its speed. At the beginning of the next turn, you can move in a different direction than you did the previous turn without making a check. Taking any action that violates these rules requires a Fly check. The difficulty of these maneuvers varies depending upon the maneuver you are attempting, as noted on the chart, and modified below.

If a creature possesses Hover they must follow the more restrictive rules of that movement type. Note that you cannot hover in open space with only Hover, no matter how well you may roll on a Movement check.

If a creature possesses Greater Flight they are not required to roll a Movement check to either fly at less than half speed or Hover in open space. If a creature possesses Greater Flight, they receive a +8 modifier on all Movement skill rolls and ignore all modifiers for winds or gusts, although they are still affected by fog, clouds, rain, snow, sleet, hail, lightning, etc.

Modifiers to Check
Modifier Movement DC
Clear, calm skies +5
Clear air or calm air +0
Strong Winds -5
Severe Winds -8
Windstorm -10
Hurricane-force Winds -20
Tornado -25
erratic gusts -10
violent gusts -20
fog or mist -5
opaque clouds -10
dark clouds -20
rain, snow, and/or sleet -5 each
hail -10
massive hail -20
lightning visible -5
lightning close -10
inside a lightning storm -20


Size Movement DC
Tiny or smaller -4
Small or Medium +0
Large +4
Huge +10
Gargantuan +20
Colossal +30
Titanic +40

Yes, a Dragon can fly through a tornado a lot better than a Fairy. Size matters!

Note that many/most of these modifiers are cumulative! A hurricane is a different environment than a thunderhead, but both are very difficult to fly through. GM's adjudicate all modifiers and conditions. A violent storm is nigh-impossible to fly through even for extremely skilled and very high-level characters and should be approached with great caution.

Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No

Results of Success

You fly up to your flight speed, or are able to perform the intended maneuver without losing altitude or orientation.

Consequences of Failure

A failed check often results in Falling (or losing altitude), as described on the Lesser Flight, Greater Flight or Hover pages, respectively.

Retry Allowed?

Varies. You can attempt a Fly check to perform the same maneuver on subsequent rounds. If you are using wings and you fail a Fly check by 5 or more, you plummet towards the ground, possibly taking falling damage.

Provokes AOO?

Yes, as with any voluntary movement.

Mitigate Falling Damage While Flying

You can attempt to lessen the damage you take from a fall while you are flying. This is different than trying to reduce falling damage when you fall off of or jump from a cliff or structure, in that you have a means to stop the fall before you hit the ground, and you are not close to a solid object. At the GM's discretion, it may be possible in crowded conditions (such as flying through trees or along city streets) to make a Might skill check to catch hold of something nearby as you plunge toward the ground.

These rules are strictly for creatures flying: Vehicles and Bogeys use the vehicle rules for all aspects of their movement. Most vehicles and Bogeys are large and sturdy enough to ignore most weather effects less severe than a full-on raging storm, for example.

Action Required:

an immediate action

DC of Check:
Flying Maneuver Description Movement DC
Forced Descent If you take damage while flying, you lose 10 feet of altitude at the end of the attacking creature's turn (or after the attack is resolved, if it was an attack of opportunity). This descent is treated as forced movement &mdash it does not provoke an attack of opportunity and does not count against your movement for the round. If you are brought all the way to the ground by forced descent, you do not take any falling damage. However, each time you are subjected to forced decent, you must make a movement check (modified by conditions, see below) to avoid falling the remaining distance to the ground, taking the appropriate damage for your flight type. 10
Avoid Falling After Collision If you are using Hover, Lesser Flight, or Greater Flight to fly and you collide with an object equal to your size or larger (whether you initiate the collision or are struck by the object or creature), you must immediately make a movement check (modified by conditions, see below) to avoid plummeting to the ground, taking the appropriate falling damage for your flight type. Your own size modifier does not apply to this roll, since the rarity of finding something bigger then size Titanic to crash into is its own advantage. 25
Negate Falling Damage If you are falling and have the ability to use Lesser Flight, you can make a Movement check (modified by conditions, see below) to attempt to start flying in mid-fall and negate the damage. You cannot make this check if you are falling due to a failed Movement check (caused by combat or any other source) or a collision. See Falling Damage if you fail this check. 10
Modifiers to Check
Modifier Movement DC
Clear, calm skies +5
Clear air or calm air +0
Strong Winds -5
Severe Winds -8
Windstorm -10
Hurricane-force Winds -20
Tornado -25
erratic gusts -10
violent gusts -20
fog or mist -5
opaque clouds -10
dark clouds -20
rain, snow, and/or sleet -5 each
hail -10
massive hail -20
lightning visible -5
lightning close -10
inside a lightning storm -20


Size Movement DC
Tiny or smaller -4
Small or Medium +0
Large +4
Huge +10
Gargantuan +20
Colossal +30
Titanic +40
Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No

Results of Success

You are able to use your ability to fly to avoid falling. If you took damage while in flight (forced descent), your altitude is still reduced by 10 feet at the end of the attacking creature's turn (or after the attack is resolved, if it was an attack of opportunity).

Consequences of Failure

A failed check often results in Falling (or losing altitude), as described on the Lesser Flight, Greater Flight or Hover pages, respectively.

Retry Allowed?

No. You may only attempt a movement check once per mishap.

Provokes AOO?

No

Overrun

Overrun is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.

You attempt to overrun your target, passing through its square. You move up to your speed as part of the maneuver. Overrun does not require you to move in a straight line. You must end your movement after an Overrun in an unblocked, unoccupied space. If there is no open space past your opponent in which to end your movement, you cannot perform the maneuver. You can only overrun an opponent who is no greater than one size category larger than you.

When you attempt to overrun a target, it can choose to avoid you, allowing you to pass through its square without requiring a Movement check. If all of your overrun targets avoid you, you complete your movement, as though you had degraded your standard action to a move action.

Action Required:

Standard Action, or as Part of a Move Action (special; see below).

DC of Check:

The target's Maneuver Defense

Modifiers to Check

Multiple Opponents: You can overrun multiple opponents if you have enough movement to do so. Lay out your desired path and determine how many foes you wish to overrun. Each of your overrun attempts takes a cumulative -3 penalty for each enemy after the first. Thus, if you wish to overrun one enemy, there is no penalty. Overrunning two enemies incurs a -3 penalty to both checks. Overrunning three enemies incurs a -6 penalty to all three checks.

Part of a Move Action: You can perform an overrun maneuver as Part of a Move Action. However, when you do so, you may only perform it against a single creature. If successful, you can only pass through its space. You do not deal your combat maneuver damage to the creature, and you cannot knock the creature prone, no matter how much you exceed its Maneuver Defense. If the move-based overrun fails, it is resolved as described in the 'failure' section below.

Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No

Results of Success

If your target does not avoid you, make a Movement check. If your maneuver is successful, you move through the target's space, inflicting your normal damage for a combat maneuver. If your target occupies more than one square, one overrun check will get you through its entire space, but you must have enough movement to make the whole trip. You only deal your combat maneuver damage to an overrun creature once, regardless of how many of its squares you pass through.

If your Maneuver Offense check exceeds your opponent's Maneuver Defense by 5 or more, you move through the target's space and the target is knocked Prone.

In addition to the special effects of the chosen maneuver, you may also deal damage to the creature equal to the base weapon damage of the weapon you are wielding, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc). Note that base weapon damage increases at 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, 26th, and 31st levels, which also improves the damage done by maneuvers. If you want to do more damage with a combat maneuver, you can take feats to improve your combat maneuvers, or use weapons which are good at certain combat maneuvers.

If you have natural or class-based non-weapon attacks, you may roll just the dice you would normally roll for an attack you are allowed to make during an attack of opportunity, not including any adders (such as enhancement bonuses, STR modifiers, feats, spell effects, precision damage, bonus damage, etc).

Example: a 3rd level fighter would roll just the dice from their +1 longsword (1d8), while a 3rd level Monk would roll just the dice of their Echoing Strike attack (2d8), and a 3rd level Brawler would roll just the dice of their Cross attack (also 2d8).
Consequences of Failure

If your overrun attempt fails, you are stopped in the space directly in front of the opponent that you failed to overrun. If there are other creatures occupying that space, you are shunted back along your declared path to the first unoccupied space.

Retry Allowed?

Yes

Provokes AOO?

No

Swim

You can swim in a liquid without the proper movement ability (one of Lesser Swim, Greater Swim, or Jet).

Movement is used to move around in liquids, such as water, blood, alcohol, lava, etc. The movement skill conveys no protection against the liquid (such as drowning, burning, the ick factor of swimming in blood, etc). Most movement checks in a liquid are used to swim on the surface, where there is air to breathe. If you do not need to breathe, and can withstand any environmental effects of the fluid, you may make Movement skill rolls to move in any direction below the surface.

If you are under the surface, either because you failed a movement check or because you are swimming under the surface intentionally, you must hold your breath. Outside of combat, you can hold your breath for up to a couple of minutes (subject to GM discretion), but only if you do nothing other than take move actions or free actions. If you take a standard action or a full-round action (such as making an attack), the remainder of the duration for which you can hold your breath is measured as though you are in combat, following the Holding Your Breath rules. A character who cannot hold their breath, or decides to just suck in a lungful of water for any reason, gains the Asphyxiating condition.

Action Required:

Move action

DC of Check:
State of Liquid Movement DC
Calm water at the surface 10
Rough water at the surface 15
Stormy water at the surface 201
  • 1 You can't take 10 on a Swim check in stormy conditions, even if you aren't otherwise being threatened or distracted.

Note: Each hour that you swim, you must make a DC 20 Swim check or take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage from fatigue.

Modifiers to Check
State of Liquid Movement DC
Opaque Fluids below the surface +5
Dense Fluids at the surface -10
Dense Fluids under the surface +10
Acid, Lava, other damaging fluids you cannot resist +15
viscous fluids (tar, honey, blood) +5 to +20
Violent gusts at surface +10
rain, snow, sleet at surface +5 each
Hail at surface +5
massive hail at surface +10
strong currents +5
violent currents +10
vortexes, riptides, whirlpools, rapids +20
small falls +20
large falls +30
cataracts +40

Swim Speed: A creature with a swim speed from either Lesser Swim, Greater Swim, or Jet, can move through water at its indicated speed without making movement checks. If it has Greater Swim it gains a +8 racial bonus on any movement check to perform a special action, or avoid a hazard. The creature can always choose to take 10 on a movement check to swim, even if distracted or endangered when swimming, such as moving through a damaging fluid it cannot fully resist. Such a creature can use the run action while swimming, provided that it swims in a straight line.

Note that many/most of these modifiers are cumulative! Trying to swim up a cataract of lava you cannot resist while staying under the surface is challenging even to high level adventurers. The GM adjudicates all modifiers.

Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No

Results of Success

You may swim at up to half your Walk speed as a double-move action, or at a quarter of your Walk speed as a move action.

Consequences of Failure

If you fail by 4 or less, you make no progress.

If you fail by 5 or more, you go under the surface if you were attempting to stay on the surface to breathe.

Retry Allowed?

Yes

Provokes AOO?

Yes, as with any voluntary movement.

Burrow

You are able to dig in loose solid material with or without the use of a dig based movement ability (one of Burrowing, Tunneling, or Earth Glide). This dig speed only works on loose, non-packed, non-fluid material like uncompacted loam, freshly deposited damp silt, moist talc, etc.
Action Required:

full round action

DC of Check:
Burrow Maneuver Movement DC
Move one square in loose, non-flowing material such as silt, talc, etc, without a Burrowing, Tunneling, or Earth Glide speed 30
Move one square in normal soil, sand, gravel, etc, without a Burrowing, Tunneling, or Earth Glide speed 40
Ignore rock as difficult terrain with Burrowing or Tunneling speed 50
Avoid underground hazards (pockets of deadly gas, water, cave-in's) Challenging DC for CR of Hazard
Modifiers to Check
Burrow Modifier Movement DC
Use Tunneling speed in unstable material and still leave an open tunnel +10
Use Burrowing to leave an open (temporary) tunnel behind +10
Cause tunnel left by Tunneling to collapse after a time interval +10
Dig through heavy fluids (lava, tar, marrow, quicksand, loess) +15
Burrow, Tunnel, or Earth Glide through loose, unconsolidated material (glacial debris, faultlines, volcanic ash) +5
Dig through harmful material that you are unable to resist (lava, caustic ash, shattered obsidian) +20
Dig during violent ground movements (avalanche, eruption, earthquake) +20
Using a dig speed on non-earth solids (ice, bone, flesh, leather, crystal, warp-stuff, diamond) +10 to +50

Note that many/most of these modifiers are cumulative! A volcano is a different environment than a glacier, but both are very difficult to dig through. GM's adjudicate all modifiers and conditions. Note that a volcanic eruption is nigh-impossible to dig through even for extremely skilled and very high-level characters and should be approached with great caution.

Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No

Results of Success

You successfully burrow 5-feet in the intended direction.

Consequences of Failure

You make no progress this round, if that applies to the attempted action

Retry Allowed?

Yes, assuming circumstances have not changed (such as a volcanic eruption that hurls you skywards).

Provokes AOO?

Yes, as with any voluntary movement.

Withdraw

Withdraw is a combat maneuver. You can never perform more than one combat maneuver per round, even if you have sufficient actions to do so. The only exception to this is spending an action point, where that action point grants you an action sufficient to perform another maneuver, in which case a second maneuver in the same round is permitted.

You can use the withdraw maneuver to attempt to move out of a location without provoking attacks of opportunity from nearby enemies.

To perform the maneuver, you must choose one enemy creature that you can perceive and that is threatening you. This creature is considered the 'primary target' of this maneuver. You may then move up to your speed, and the primary target may not make any attacks of opportunity against you during this movement. Each square of your movement must take you further away from the primary target (it cannot include any squares that are the same distance or closer than any previous square of your movement). This portion of the withdraw maneuver is automatic, and occurs regardless of whether you succeed or fail on the Movement skill check.

If you wish to avoid attacks of opportunity from other creatures in the path of your movement, you must roll a Movement check versus the Maneuver Defense of the target creature. If you succeed on the check, you may choose one other creature you can perceive and that threatens any squares in the path of your movement, and that creature may not make an attack of opportunity against you during the move, either. For every 2 by which you exceed the target DC, you may prevent one additional enemy creature you can perceive from making an attack of opportunity against you during your move.

Note that you do not need to move directly away from any creatures other than the creature you designated as the primary target.

Enemies you are unable to perceive may still make attacks of opportunity against you, and you can't withdraw from combat if you're blinded. Because the withdraw action is considered movement, you can't perform 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.

Action Required:

Standard Action or in place of the first attack of a full attack action.

DC of Check:

the target creature's Maneuver Defense

Modifiers to Check

-

Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No

Results of Success

You move up to your speed, and you do not provoke attacks of opportunity from your primary target, and also from one additional creature you can perceive, as a result of this movement.

In addition, for every 2 by which you exceed the target creature's Maneuver Defense, you can avoid one attack of opportunity from an additional enemy creature that threatens any of the squares you are exiting during the movement of the Withdraw maneuver.

Unlike other combat maneuvers, the Withdraw maneuver does not inflict any damage.

Consequences of Failure

If you fail, you complete your movement, but you provoke an attack of opportunity from any nearby creatures that threaten any squares you exited during the movement, other than the primary target (who does not get an attack of opportunity against you).

Retry Allowed?

Yes, but retrying does not prevent the consequences of failing a previous attempt.

Provokes AOO?

Only if you fail the check.

Climb On Inverted Surface (Epic)

You can attempt to scramble along the underside of a surface, such as an overhang or a ceiling. As with climbing, you can't move to avoid a blow, so you are flat-footed. If you are using a light shield or buckler, and are using the hand carrying that shield to climb, you also lose your shield bonus to AC.

This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted. If you have a Greater Climb speed, you do not need this skill use to climb on inverted surfaces.

Action Required:

Move action, or part of a move action

DC of Check:

45

Modifiers to Check
  • Good handholds: A surface with available hand- and foot-holds lowers the DC by -5.
  • Accelerated Climbing: While climb checks are normally made at 1/4 speed, you can move at half speed by adding +10 to the DC of the check. You can move at full speed by adding +20 to the DC.
  • Bracing on a corner: If you are climbing in a corner, or a space with a perpendicular wall you can brace against, the DC is decreased by -5.
  • Slippery surface: If the surface is slippery (wet, covered in moss or leaves, muddy), the DC is increased by +5. If the surface is extremely slippery (coated in ice, deliberately oiled, soaked in slime or ichor) but still has handholds, the DC is increased by +10.
  • Bad Conditions: Clinging to a wall makes you surprisingly immune to bad weather. Extremely high winds and violent gusts adds +5 DC, heavy pounding hail (or similar like rocks being thrown at you) adds another +5 to the DC. Rain, fog, and snow have little to no effect.
  • Encumbered: If you try to Climb with Movement while encumbered with a Medium load, you add a +10 to the DC. If you try to Climb with a Heavy load, you add +25 to the DC. It's possible to Climb in heavy armor and while loaded down, but you won't like it. Note that if you've caught someone in the middle of a fall, their weight adds to your encumbrance until they can make a Movement check to climb out of your grasp. Best to hold still until they get themselves settled. A load heavier than a Heavy load but less than your Max Drag means you can hold on, barely, but not make any more climb checks. A load heavier than your Max Drag automatically plucks you off the wall and you fall. Be careful about trying to catch falling Giants!
  • Climb Speed: Creatures with Lesser Climb or Greater Climb get a +8 bonus on climb checks made with the Movement skill (creatures with Brachiating get a +4 bonus). This bonus does not apply to any other uses of the movement skill, unless they are specifically applicable to climbing.
  • Taking damage: Anytime you take damage while climbing, you must make an additional Climb check against the DC of the slope or wall, with any normal modifiers as above, and with an additional +5 to the DC for the Bad Conditions of getting attacked.
Take 10? / Take 20?

No

Allows Assists?

No

Results of Success

You cling to the inverted surface like some sort of man-spider.

Consequences of Failure

You fall from the surface to the ground below.

Retry Allowed?

No

Provokes AOO?

Yes, as with any voluntary movement.

Stepover

Type of Action: Part of a Move Action

If a creature is 2 size categories or larger than a nearby creature, it can effectively ignore that creature when moving (though moving still provokes attacks of opportunity as normal). 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.

If the larger creature chooses to end its movement while sharing one or more squares with smaller creatures, those creatures may remain in those spaces, and provide easy Internal Flanking for their allies. The smaller creatures may also move out of the occupied space (provoking as per normal movement rules) if they prefer, using normal movement (or they can tumble out using Acrobatics, to attempt to avoid taking attacks of opportunity). All internal spaces of a creature are considered to be threatened squares of that creature.

If the larger creature is subjected to forced movement, it is possible to make the larger creature stepover legally sized (smaller) creatures as part of that movement.

Note, however, that smaller creatures cannot enter the square of larger creatures with normal movement, but must instead use the Might skill (if they want to stop inside one of the spaces the larger creature occupies), or Overrun (Combat Maneuver) (if they want to move to an unoccupied space on the other size of the larger creature).

Overland Travel

Characters covering long distances cross-country use overland movement. While performing overland movement, the characters are subject to Environmental Effects, which can certainly make travel very hazardous in hostile terrains or weather conditions.

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 before a full nights rest deals 1 point of non-lethal damage, and each additional hour deals twice the damage taken during the previous hour of hustling. This non-lethal damage from hustling stacks with any non-lethal damage caused by Environmental Effects, and can quickly become extremely difficult to mitigate, so be careful! The Endurance (Feat) is extremely useful in such circumstances. Even worse, any character who takes any nonlethal damage from hustling becomes fatigued. The fatigued condition persists until all non-lethal damage has been healed.
  • 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 5 ft 10-20 ft 25-30 ft 35-40 ft 45-50 ft 55-60 ft 65-70 ft 75-80 ft 85-90 ft 95-100 ft 105-120 ft 125-140 ft 145-160 ft 165-180 ft 185-200 ft 205ft +
One Hour
Walk .5 miles 2 miles 3 miles 4 miles 5 miles 6 miles 7 miles 8 miles 9 miles 10 miles 15 miles 20 miles 25 miles 30 miles 40 miles 50 miles
Hustle 1 mile 4 miles 6 miles 8 miles 10 miles 12 miles 14 miles 16 miles 18 miles 20 miles 30 miles 40 miles 50 miles 60 miles 80 miles 100 miles
Run - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
One Day
Walk 4 miles 16 miles 24 miles 32 miles 40 miles 48 miles 56 miles 64 miles 72 miles 80 miles 120 miles 160 miles 200 miles 240 miles 320 miles 400 miles
Hustle - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Run - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


  • Note: The Movement and Distance chart is fairly self-explanatory, but a note is in order about the 'Move 5 ft' column. This column assumes the characters are attempting to move a long distance through Impeded Terrain. A real-world example would be climbing Mount Everest. Mountain climbing is a classic example where it takes a full round effort to move five feet, and doing so all day long will get you a scant four miles, and looking at the table below, doing this in trackless mountains lowers that to a paltry two miles. This seems terrible, and it is. Moving long distances through impeded terrain is punitive and awful, and unless there's a really good reason, players should not try it. Or, get some way of bypassing that terrible terrain. Just ride the eagles, guys. Now, if the GM wants a story of truly epic struggle, that's fine, but it's going to be a brutal slog.


  • 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, the character takes 2d6 points of non-lethal damage and becomes fatigued until such time as all non-lethal damage is healed. It is possible for a character to march into unconsciousness by pushing himself too hard.
  • Mounted Movement: Mounts tend to have better move speeds than characters traveling on foot, and unless the mount specifically states otherwise, it provides no additional benefits to overland movement. Mounts can be coerced to hustle, or even forced march. Since mounts have no hit points of their own (they share the rider's hit points), non-lethal damage caused by hustling or forced marching is applied the same way as described above, except that the mount is also fatigued, which negatively affects Ride and Handle Animal skill checks.
  • Vehicle Movement: Ships, and other vehicles that are propelled by means other than draft animals, may be capable of operating non-stop for all 24 hours of a day. In such a case, their overland movement numbers are tripled when calculating the distance traveled per day. Some examples are listed below:
Table: Overland Travel By Vehicle
Vehicle Per Hour Per Day
Cart or wagon 2 miles 16 miles
Raft or barge (poled or towed) 1/2 mile 5 miles
Keelboat (rowed) 1 mile 10 miles
Rowboat (rowed) 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.

  • A Size Fine creature requires a space 1/2 foot by 1/2 foot to function without squeezing.
  • A Size Diminutive creature requires a space 1 foot by 1 foot to function.
  • A Size Tiny creature requires a space 2 and 1/2 feet by 2 and 1/2 feet to function.
  • Size Small and Medium creatures require a space 5 feet by 5 feet to function.

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 120 feet by 120 feet to remain unsqueezed.
  • A Titanic Three-Plus Creature requires a space 240 feet by 240 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 a Might roll to Clamber, no matter the size difference, unless you are the larger creature and you are big enough to perform a Stepover. If you wish to move through a hostile creature's space, you must declare an Overrun.

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

You create a flank 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.

If you have a flank against an enemy creature, you gain a +2 flanking bonus to your attack rolls against the creature. The same is true for your ally who is also flanking the creature.

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.

To determine whether you have a flank, both you and an ally must be threatening the same creature. Trace a line from the center of a square you occupy to the center of a square your ally occupies, and if that line passes through opposite sides or opposite corners of the enemy's space, you have a flank against that enemy.

Corner squares ONLY flank with the opposite corner squares. Thus, a line which passes through a side of the creature's space and exits out a corner of its space (or passes through a corner of the creature's space and exits out a side of its space) is not a flank.

If your line to determine a flank enters the side of a target creature's space and exits an adjacent side (i.e. through the south edge of the creature's space, and out the east or west edge of its space) it is not a flank. Also, any line which passes directly along the border of a target creature's space is not a flank.

However, when determining a flank against a size-large or larger creature, you only have to be able to trace the line against any portion of the opposite side of its space. This means that, against larger creatures, it is usually easier to establish a flank against its side squares than its corner squares.

Only allies which threaten the creature you are threatening can provide flanks. NPC's who are not allies, or allies who are not threatening the creature in question, cannot contribute to a flank. Creatures not wielding a weapon which threatens, or that have a reach of 0 can't flank an opponent because they don't threaten adjacent squares. (Such creatures only threaten squares in their own space.)

If a creature is size-large or larger, it can choose which of the squares in its space it wishes to determine flanks from (i.e. it does not draw its line from the center of its total space, but from the center of any one square within its space). Thus, larger creatures often have an easier time flanking smaller creatures.

If a single square contains more than one creature, and you establish a legal flank to that square, you flank all creatures in that square.

Reach and Flanking

Creatures with reach (or reach weapons) don't have to be adjacent to a creature they're attempting to flank.

In addition, when determining whether they flank a creature or not, they can 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. If this line passes through opposite sides (or opposite corners) of the creature they are attempting to flank, it is a successful flank. As with normal flanks, a line that only passes through adjacent sides of a target creature's space, 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 inside the space of a larger figure. In such cases, then neither figure is considered to be Squeezing.

This often occurs because the larger creature makes use of the Stepover feature to move over top of, stop in the space of, or move past a sufficiently small creature.

For a smaller creature to enter a larger creature's space requires the Clamber feature of Might. Creatures wishing to pass all the way through another creature's space must use the Overrun maneuver. Simply avoiding attacks of opportunity while moving through threatened squares requires the Tumbling feature of Acrobatics.

While inside the space of a creature two size categories larger than itself (or more), a smaller creature can gain internal flanking against the larger creature if he has an ally that threatens the larger creature from any space.

The larger creature flanks the smaller (internal) creature if any of the larger creature's allies are able to threaten the square the smaller creature occupies. The larger creature's ally also gets a flank against the smaller (internal) creature, in this case.

ALL of any creature's occupied squares are considered to be part of its threatened squares.

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.

Walking

Burrow

Climb

Fly

Swim

Teleport

Combining Movement Types

If a creature has more than one movement type, it may sometimes wish to use more than one movement type during a single move action. This is allowed, using the following rules:

1. The cost to enter each square in the creature's path is subtracted from the speed of all movement types the creature possesses, regardless of which type of movement is used to actually enter that square. Difficult terrain or other movement-impairing obstacles are counted in the cost to enter the square.
2. Once a movement type has had its speed reduced to 0, it can no longer be used during this move action. Remaining movement types with available speed can still be used, if the appropriate terrain is available in the next square of the chosen path.
3. A creature must end its movement in its current square if the next square it wishes to enter requires a movement type whose remaining speed has been reduced to 0.

By way of example, let us imagine a creature with a Walk speed of 30 feet, and a Lesser Swim speed of 120 feet.

  • As a single move action, that creature could Walk on the ground up to 30 feet, and if the next square it entered was swimmable water (e.g. a lake), it could swim up to 90 additional feet during the same move action.
    • If the lake requires more than 30 feet of Walk speed to get to, the creature cannot reach the lake in a single move action, even though it still has Lesser Swim speed available to it.
  • Conversely, if it uses a move action to first swim 35 or more feet, it cannot use its Walk speed during any later portion of that move action, as its Walk speed has been reduced to 0.

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. This number can be increased by increasing the character's Strength score, or by placing one or more skill ranks into the Might skill. Some magic items may also improve a character's carrying capacity.

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 Walk speed is above 20 feet and five feet otherwise. Note that these movement penalties stack with the movement penalties for wearing medium or heavy armor!

For example: Wearing heavy armor and carrying enough weight to place you in Medium encumbrance reduces your movement by 15 feet if your Walk speed is above twenty feet or 10 feet if your Walk speed 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 action. A normal Run action is made at 5x the character's Walk speed. However, if that character has medium encumbrance, the multiplier is reduced by one to x4. Heavy weight encumbrance lowers the Run multiplier by two to x3. These penalties also stack with the reductions from wearing medium (-1 to the multiplier) or heavy armor (-2 to the multiplier). As a result, a creature wearing heavy armor and carrying a heavy encumbrance has a Run multiplier of only x1, meaning they gain no additional speed when performing the Run action.

Squeezing

Entering a square which requires you to squeeze counts as difficult terrain.

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.

Squeezing:   Entering a square which requires squeezing is treated as difficult terrain. While squeezing, a creature suffers a -4 penalty to attack rolls and a -4 penalty to AC.

Falling

Creatures that fall onto a solid surface take 1d6 points of damage per 10 feet fallen, to a maximum determined by the GM. In normal air on the Prime Material, the normal maximum for falling damage is 20d6. Falling in the Aether, where there is no normal air, may have no maximum limit at all, while falling in the Plane of Earth might be flat-out impossible. This may also be modified by the surface being impacted. Falling onto jagged broken obsidian shards might add +2 per die, a jumble of broken tree-trunks or solid stone may add +1 per die. Normal unremarkable 'ground' is base damage. Soft loam or deep grass might remove -1 per die. Falling allows no saving throw to reduce the damage, although you may attempt an Acrobatics check to take some of the sting off (see below). Falling damage is a form of uncommon physical damage, related to, but different from, bludgeoning damage. Creatures that sustain damage from a fall (after any mitigation they might have, such as DR) also gains the prone condition.

If a character deliberately jumps instead of merely slipping or falling, the first 10 feet of the fall inflict no damage. A DC 15 Acrobatics check allows the character to avoid any damage from the second 10 feet as well. Thus, a character who slips from a ledge 30 feet up takes 3d6 falling (physical, uncommon) damage. If the same character deliberately jumps, they take 2d6 points of falling damage. If that character leaps down with a successful Acrobatics check, they take only 1d6 points of falling damage from the plunge. In all three scenarios, since the character takes damage, they would also fall prone, unless they could somehow reduce that damage to zero through some mitigation such as DR.

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 (Sorcerer/Wizard Spell). Casting a spell while falling requires a Caster Check to concentrate with a DC equal to 10 + (spell level x 4). Casting Teleport (Sorcerer/Wizard Spell) 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, 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....

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.

Collisions only happen when you are not moving in a cautious way. If you are swept away by a raging current or massive blast of wind in the Plane of Air, you are not moving cautiously. If you are making a Charge, you are not moving cautiously. 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. The GM adjudicates any strange or unusual cases.

If a character is moving in a cautious manner, i.e., a normal move at his base speed, he would take no damage at all from bumping into things; 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 most obviously occur when a player character fails a Ride skill roll or is otherwise dismounted and falls off a horse or other mount. To put it mildly, falling off a horse at a full gallop, even though it is only a few feet down, still hurts a LOT. Similarly, falls off wagons and other close-to-the ground vehicles are resolved using collision rules, as are cases where wagons run into you. Indeed, 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 nobles 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.

Collisions rarely occur between creatures, who are assumed to duck, dodge, or otherwise allow a hurtling character to pass by.

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. See Acrobatics for more details.

Thrown or Dropped Objects

Object Size Damage
Tiny +1d6
Small +2d6
Medium +3d6
Large +5d6
Huge +8d6
Gargantuan +13d6
Colossal +21d6
Titanic and larger +34d6

Just as characters take damage when they fall more than 10 feet, so too do they take damage when they are hit by thrown or dropped objects. Note that thrown or dropped object damage is resolved differently from collisions, because such objects are typically thrown by a bad guy, rather than being environmental hazards. Note further that it is possible to have an environmental falling object, such as a tree toppling in a storm, which is resolved via slightly different rules, since there's no bad guy to make a touch attack.

Objects thrown or dropped upon characters deal damage based on their size and the distance they have fallen. The table above details how much damage such an object inflicts. The nature of the object can raise or lower this damage. A nice, soft mass of falling feathers might do -2 points per die, while loose brush and debris does -1 per die. Thrown or dropped objects that are exceptionally dense, strong, and hard, like solid boulders, might inflict +1 points per die, while objects specifically intended to cause harm in a fall, like pointy stone stalactites, a portcullis, or a pile driver, might inflict +2 points per die.

Dropping an object on, or throwing an object at, a creature requires a ranged touch attack. Such attacks generally have a range increment of 20 feet. If an extremely large object is being thrown at you it affects an area, and the attacker may roll to-hit against all creatures in the area. What fun!

NOTE: 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 (if obstacles), Might (if climbing) or Movement (if swimming or flying) 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 Maneuver Offense vs Maneuver Defense 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 a pulled creature is already adjacent to your space, you can continue to pull them into any other square adjacent to your own space within the range of the pull. 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.