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Re: (TFT) Test of general MELEE knowledge, NUMBER IV



Additional points that occurred to me:

* For the question of whether Orc 3 could change his mind from moving 1/2 MA to full MA once seeing what was around the corner, this is what I was getting at in my second point. The example does not clearly say Orc 3 announced he was taking a 1/2 MA option. Typical play habits, and I believe the rule, don't generally involve a player saying whether they are moving 1/2 or full MA - they usually just start moving and how far they go determines what they can later do. So for a competitive game, or a situation where the orc might reasonably be running full speed (using the Running talent to get 12 MA) around the corner, I don't think the move is illegal. For roleplaying purposes, though, it seems more likely the orc would probably not be going full speed at that point. But this is really grey and deep in GM discretion land.

* It also occurs to me that an orc who has just tripped is probably not going to be considered sheltering behind the body he fell over. Not even the -4 DX to hit him. However shooting at Orc 4 is still a good option for Arron.

* On the second turn, Orc 4 is going to be at -2 DX at best after taking 7 damage the turn before. (Assuming he has at least 11 ST so he'd have more than 3 left, else he'll be at an additional -3 DX, or Adj DX 8.) Thus he'll need to make three DX rolls at Adj DX 11 (or 8) to get past the three bodies that are in his way on the second turn, in order to charge Aaron.

* The "must drop your missile weapon" rule is an exaggerated statement belied by the rule about being able to parry with a bow, ruining it as a bow. It also defies common sense, and seems clearly to mean that you just can't use it while engaged, since as it says next, you can't reload it while engaged (which would be meaningless to add if you really literally had to drop it).

* I thought I vaguely remembered this being asked and answered somewhere in print, too. My guess is a Q&A section of one of Metagaming's Interplay magazines.

PvK

At 12:05 PM 3/23/04 -0600, David Michael Grouchy II wrote:
    Well, here are the results.

Peter von Kleinsmid hit most of the major points, had the most people agreeing with him, was almost the first response. But Peter also pointed out that the orc would not drop his weapon just because he fell down. As you will see below in my prepaired answer, this is a point I missed. I guess I didn't do as well on writing this test, but I learned something myself. So in that sence I consider this Melee Test a great success.

Ty ruled against the second shot, and detailed his Snap shot rules as an alternative. Rules that would not get caught in this gray area.

Rick said in his second post "I change my ruling!", and had me laughing so hard I almost spilled my drink.

John hit several key points, and in explaining why Arron gets a second shot he used almost the exact language I did. John also had people agreeing with him that the Orcs should have invested in some light armor. He also said dropping the bow was optional as it could be used to defend.

    Dan ruled against the second shot.

Mark ruled for the second shot, advocated armor for the orcs, and empasized that a fallen figure is not the same as 50/50 shooting at figures in HTH. Another point I missed, and have learned from.

Ed had the most surprising answer to me. He said "Welcome to the my nightmare. :)" and implied that a second shot had to be taken at the same target. That the two shots couldn't be at separate targets. Is this right Ed?

==================

Here is my prepared answer. It contains 3 major points. Rather long this time, as I couldn't sum it up in one sentence. Maybe I tangled too many rules together in this one. But myself I still found it interesting.

    FIRST:
Neither orc could move that far because it _either_ cost 3 MA to jump over a prone figure (and a DX roll), _or_ their movement stops when they enter the hex with the fallen figure. So the last shot option should never have been a question.

"A figure may move into a hex with a fallen unconscious or dead fgiure and stop".
    - AM page 4, MOVING ONTO OTHER FIGURES sentence 2

"This costs 3 hexes of movement; if you jump over someone else you have expended 3 hexes of your MA in the jump."
    - AM page 5, ACTIONS DURING MOVEMENT - JUMPING, ETC. sentence 3


    SECOND:
When Orc 3 first went around the corner and saw the fallen bodies with arrows sticking out of them, he decided to run all the way up and engage the archer. This is not allowed. He had origionaly intended to move only half his MA, or 5 hexes. Now, while one can change their action after moving, they can not change their movement. I feel that Orc 3 quite obviously change from a MOVE HALF MA OR LESS to an option of MOVE UP TO FULL MA.

    THIRD:
Even without the first two points, Arron still should have gotten a second shot. Under option "1. c. fire a missile weapon" it says "You cannot reload a missile weapon while you are engaged." So of course Arron could take a second shot. He killed Orc 4, and thus was no longer engaged.

    David Michael Grouchy II

p.s.  Please remember to trim off most of the original posts when replying.
It will make reading the digest version more difficult for Grabowski and others.

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