AD&D: Movement in Combat

AD&D grew from original D&D, which in turn evolved from tabletop wargaming. As such, scale movement was a part of the game from the very beginning. In CHAINMAIL, scale models were moved around a battlefield using rulers to measure distance in scale inches. Usually, each figure thus represented several individuals at some ratio, and each inch represented some fixed distance. Normally, the book uses standard hash-marks to denote feet (') or scale inches ("). I will try and only use the double hash-marks (") to represent scale inches, and just type out the word feet to avoid confusion. Not everyone grew up knowing the shorthand method of writing feet and inches (as I've come to learn from teaching younger folks to play AD&D).

In AD&D, scale inches were carried over as movement rates for characters in the dungeon. Each scale inch of movement represented some distance in the dungeon (usually 10 feet). During exploration, a party moving at 9" movement rate could cover 90 feet of distance in 1 turn (10 minutes). This is painfully slow, but remember that the characters are busy mapping, exploring, watching for danger, checking for traps, and performing other actions as they slowly make their way into a dangerous dungeon. When traveling along known, cleared routes, movement was 5x faster than this (thus, a party with a 9" movement rate could travel 90 feet x 5 = 450 feet in 10 minutes (still slow, but much faster than normal). Alternately, you could say that each movement of 90 feet takes 1/5 less time, so the party goes 90 feet in 2 rounds (2 minutes). AD&D maps were almost always represented with 1 square = 10 feet, allowing the DM to count off the squares and see how far the party progresses before having to roll for a wandering monster (original modules had the wandering monster roll at the end of every turn or at the end of three turns, depending on how active the dungeon was). It's important to remember that group movement was at the rate of the slowest members. Thus a party with a mix of races was usually restricted to moving at dwarf, gnome, or halfling speeds.

When action was called for, the party was no longer in exploration mode and could move more freely. In this case, the characters stopped moving at the same speed and started moving at their individual speeds. Combat (or action) movement was listed as scale inches per round (1 minute). Thus, a fighter wearing armor that caused him to move at 9" movement rate could move 90 feet in a round during combat. This movement rate was also used when fleeing from an encounter, or when movement was based on individual speeds rather than the methodical plodding of group movement. This speed was used to determine how far one could get in a round of combat.

It is important to note, however, that unlike later editions of D&D, one could not generally move AND attack during the same round unless within 1" of the opponent (for melee). Also, moving while spellcasting was not possible (but movement AFTER spellcasting was entirely possible). Where is this stated? In the DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE page 66. If the combatants were further than 1" from each other at the start of a combat, they could use ranged attacks on each other if so desired, but once they closed to within 1" of each other, only melee could follow (and no other actions could be taken the round that they closed). In order to move AND attack, one needed to charge his opponent. Charging could only be performed once per turn (10 rounds). Indoors, charging doubled base speed. Therefore, the fighter who wears armor and moves at 9" can charge his opponent moving at 18" and must end his move within 1" of his opponent in order to attack. Charging causes the attacker to suffer a penalty to Armor Class for that round, allows them to attack first if they have a longer weapon, and grants +2 to hit if they survive any attacks that come before they get to strike (thus, you should charge with a spear, lance, or other long weapon, not a short sword, hand axe, or dagger). If your target has a longer piercing weapon (like a spear, pike, or pole-arm), they can set it against your charge and cause double damage if they hit (since you basically recklessly impale yourself on their weapon). Charging is the ONLY way I know to move AND attack in the same combat round. Simply closing to engage in melee means that movement is the only action you are taking that round (with perhaps the drawing of a weapon and readying a shield), but no attacks could be made unless you have, say, a throwing weapon like a dagger or hand axe in hand.

There is another form of movement during combat, but it comes up only when other actions are dependent upon precise timing. This is segment movement. A segment is 1/10 of a round, or 6 seconds. Suppose you have two parties charging at each other but they move at different movement rates. When do they meet? Where on the map do they end up? This is what you can use segment speeds to determine. Surprise segments also use segment speed to determine how far combatants can move while surprise is active. Does your thief get behind the stone wall for the cover bonus to his saving throw before the lightning bolt strikes him dead? This is also determined using segment speeds (compared to the casting time of the spell). Otherwise, all movement is performed in round speeds. So how fast is your segment speed? Just take the base number of scale inches and convert directly to feet. Thus, a fighter in armor moving at 9" speed can move 9 feet in a segment. If they were charging, that character could be moving at 18 feet per segment. If the fighter surprised his opponent for 2 segments, he could cross 18 feet in those segments to be on his opponent before he could flee. And if the magic-user across the hall was casting lightning bolt (3 segment casting time), and he was 30 feet from hard cover, he won't be able to make it to shelter before the spell gets him (since he can only cross 27 feet before the spell occurs). These are some of the only times one needs to worry about segment speeds - otherwise, just use round speeds.

If a magic-user just cast a 4 segment spell, he or she can now move for 6 more segments. Assuming a movement rate of 12" (since they wear no armor), such a spellcaster could then move 12 x 6 = 72 feet before the end of the round. The same applies to all other characters casting spells, using magic items with speed factors, or those characters performing some action other than combat (like opening a chest, moving a bed against a door, climbing a rope, etc.). The DM can adjudicate that some actions will take a few segments of movement or several rounds of movement to accomplish.

Now, it's important to note that while in melee with another character or creature, one can't simply move wherever they want to. Creatures and NPCs will try to keep themselves guarded and prevent others from moving around them to get at their exposed back or flanks. Thus, the only way to surround a target is to have allies who can approach from several different directions. Even so, a target will try to keep most of his adversaries to his front quarter to better defend (or use a shield). Trying to move around a target within striking range may result in a free attack from the defender (this maneuver is called an "attack of opportunity" in 3rd edition and later). Breaking from a melee is also hard to do unless both parties want to disengage. A target that attempts to break from melee by turning tail and fleeing, suffers a free attack (or attack routine) as if a rear attack on a stunned opponent! This grants +4 to hit and prevents the fleeing combatant from using Dexterity bonus or a shield for Armor Class (and would also mean that a thief could make a backstab attempt!). If a combatant has allies nearby and wants to withdraw from combat, the allies keep the attacker from advancing on the retreating combatant, allowing a fighting withdrawal. This is called falling back and is described in the PLAYER'S HANDBOOK at the bottom of page 104 under "Melee Combat." How fast one can move while falling back is not specified, although I've seen half normal movement used, or even 1/3 normal movement in some cases. You can always move a little within the 1" in order to maneuver for a better shot or allow a friend to join you, but in general, I would not allow more than 5-10 feet of movement around an enemy while engaged in melee. Any more than that and they could get a free attack on your character! Remember that the DM has final say over how much you can move, and what you can reasonably get away with, so don't get cranky if your DM denies a move he feels would be unfair.

Outdoor movement changes scale again. Outdoors the characters are more free to move as they are not confined in tight quarters. Outdoors, movement rates (and ranges) convert to yards instead of feet. Thus, a fighter with a 9" movement rate moves 90 yards in 1 turn of exploration, or 90 yards in 1 round of combat. This fighter would be able to move 9 yards in a single segment (which is the equivalent of 27 feet). Ranges are also expressed in yards outdoors, for both missiles and spells, but areas of effect for spells or grenade-like missiles are NEVER converted outdoors (this is important to remember).

The last movement I would like to discuss is encumbered movement. Now, the reason why adventurers enter dungeons is to get rich and powerful. In order to do so they have to haul out lots of treasure, but treasure is heavy and sometimes bulky. Carrying too much treasure (or gear) slows the character down and has some unintended consequences on movement in combat. Using our human fighter from the examples above, dressed in armor that puts his base speed at 9", and then referring to the ENCUMBRANCE charts in the PHB on pages 101-102, you can see what happens when this fighter becomes overloaded with gear and treasure. Per page 66 of the DMG, an encumbered character cannot charge! Being encumbered also affects Reactions and Initiative rolls. Therefore, if you intend to survive, don't overload your characters with useless gear and be careful what you pick up!

So, to sum up, all movement in AD&D is in scale inches. The scale changes based on the time interval, or if the action occurs outdoors as opposed to indoors (or in a confined space like a city street or building). Movement during an exploration turn (10 minutes) is painfully slow but permits activities that most adventurers should be doing (like mapping, examining, watching, listening, etc.). Movement used most often is combat movement or round movement (1 minute interval). Segment speeds are case specific and only used when actions outside of the normal combat are occurring and placement during the round is important to know, or when used during surprise segments. Outdoor movement changes feet to yards, but the numbers remain the same (only the scale changes). Encumbrance reduces speed and prevents some movement forms from happening. You can only move and attack on a charge, otherwise you can only move to a melee target and possibly use a ranged weapon as you are closing. You cannot move and cast (but once done casting you can use the remainder of the round to move). That's pretty much it. Again, if you need to know segment by segment where someone is for a time-dependent action, then use segment speed and go segment by segment for each participant. However, using segments bogs the game down and it's more pragmatic to use round movement unless multiple combatants are involved in specific activities that are time dependent.