Movement

[stardog]

How does tactical movement in TRoS compare with d20? I'm interested in purchasing the system, but in every other 'independent' game I've looked at, combat movement is inadequate or non-existent. I love what little I've seen so far in TRoS. If nothing else, the concept of going back and answering crucial questions about roleplaying is commendable.

[Tash]

TRoS has some interesting mechanics for movement, especially the terrain roll.  However it lacks detailed rules for using miniatures in combat, though my group never has a problem playing without them (rules that is, we love our minis).

Movement basically falls into two catagories: general footwork, which is handled with terrain rolls, and movements as part of an attack or defense, which are handled by spending dice from your CP depending on the range between you and your target, and the optimum range of the weapon.

Terrain rolls are basically rolls the Seneschal calls for that require you to allocate dice from your CP to roll against a fixed target number.  The GM calls for these whenever movement might be potentially difficult, such as when two fighters are jockeying for position on wet ground, or when one fighter is facing multiple opponents and wants to position themselves such that only one enemy can attack them at a time.  The key with Terrain Rolls is that there is no fixed about of dice that are rolled in them, the players allocate dice from their CP, essentially deciding each round which is more important: footwork or attack/defense.

All together I like TRoSs movement mechanics better than D20 because they are more strategic without being too clunky.  Once you get comfortable with them Terrain Rolls become one of the better ways to handle in game movement that I've seen.

[stardog]

Next question is, do you fight anything besides people in TRoS, such as animals or monsters, and if so, how could the combat mechanic adjust for specific body parts when the body types would logically vary so much? This question is based on the damage table download created by Brian Leybourne that I monkeyed with. The damage table is built for a human or humanoid, but what if said monster doesn't have legs, or is headless? Are there undead or constructs, and if so how would the rules apply to them.
Forgive my skepticism, but I haven't yet found a book to see for myself.

[hkdharmon]

There are two answers here:
Apply some Seneshal modification and do what seems right, or
get acopy of "of beasts and men" it has all those animal tables in it.

What are the chances of just the animal damage tables being made available for free in pdf form, Jake and Brian?

[Tash]

Yes, the Of Beasts and Men supplement has all sorts of creatures in it, from livestock to undead to trollspawn.

[Jake Norwood]

What are the chances of just the animal damage tables being made available for free in pdf form, Jake and Brian?

Pretty good.

Jake