Quote:
Originally Posted by Kloster
Thanks Nick.
Does that means you're slower with SR than without?
It seems strange.
Runequestement votre,
Kloster
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I'm not sure what the anwer is in BRP zero, but a similar question dogged me in RQ3. I expect the answer is "yes, you're slower if you use the SR rules, but then everyone else is proportionally slowed, and the result is a wash (except that higher DEX characters will be faster than lower DEX, because of the strike rank)." But read on.
In the Combat chapter of RQ3, it says you commence movement on your DEX SR. Does this apply every round, or only when you commence a new movement? In subsequent rounds, if you have not reached or changed your objective, do you continue to move on SR 1, 2, and so on, since you're not
commencing movement that round?
I know this sounds like a spurious argument. The general rule was that didn't carry over action from one round to the next-- you start moving on your DEX SR every round, and never do anything before that (except sometimes spells, but that was the only named exception).
However, in my most recent campaign game (Elfquest-- but it used the same SR rules as RQIII) I allowed movement on all SR as long as it was movement commenced in some previous round. For example, a PC sights a deer at just outside his thrown spear range; the deer hasn't noticed him. The PC's wolf starts to move at its DEX SR. The deer starts to move at its DEX SR +3 (because it's surprised-- failed its Listen and Scent rolls, I guess). The wolf gains some ground on the deer, showing the intended effect of the SR rules: giving an advantage in speed to the character with the quicker reaction time.
In the following round, assuming the deer's still on its feet, both animals move in all 10 SR (10 x their basic move)... or faster if they push it. The deer doesn't need to leap into a run from a standing start-- it's already going. The wolf's surprise advantage evaporates, and it becomes a pure contest of running speed and endurance.
To continue the example, let's say the following round the PC hears a distress cry from one of his tribe mates behind him. He gives his wolf the signal to break off the chase and turn around... but he can't give that signal to the wolf until his own DEX SR. He ends up 2 full SR of movement further away before the wolf can turn around. If I were feeling particularly mean, I might have the signal given on the PC's DEX SR (say SR3), and have the wolf react on its own DEX SR after that (say SR5).
Anyway, sorry for the digression. I thought this might be of use in the case that BRP Zero uses the RQ3 SR rules verbatim.