Diagonal Gameplay

[j_dean80]

You are comparing one chess piece (a special skill). Not the entire board of pieces.

[TMU]

-What if the diagonal movement would only be allowed in rooms, double hallways and then also only if no monsters/furniture would be blocking the way?
+This requires an extra rule that simply doesn't need to be there - and an extra governance on the part of the Architect (Evil Wizard) who needs to operate two ruling systems. If Players and monsters can move diagonally at all times it simplifies the game for both them and us.

I'm already baffled by all the rules that already exist

[sorcerersapprentice]

You are comparing one chess piece (a special skill). Not the entire board of pieces.

I am equating all pieces to Queens.

[j_dean80]

You are comparing one chess piece (a special skill). Not the entire board of pieces.

I am equating all pieces to Queens.

Yes, and if every piece moved like the queen in chess it would be boring. Each piece gets it's own unique movement instead to make it challenging and fun.

[Pancho]

I don't think the chess analogies are helping at all. No one wants to play a dungeon crawler that resembles chess.

[Goblin-King]

- You get weirdness when models literally cut corners.
- You get weirdness when a model slides between two diagonally adjacent models or furniture.
- It's hard to make a roadblock of models because of the above point.

What if the diagonal movement would only be allowed in rooms, double hallways and then also only if no monsters/furniture would be blocking the way?

I'll say this... Exceptions should be reserved for special situations - not stuff that happens all the time. Either you can move diagonally or you can't.

[cornixt]

I call you out on the rediculousness which is moving 41% faster and shooting 41% further on the diagonal. If you can't understand how this is a reasonable objection a potential buyer/player can pose, then I can't help you.

It's no more ridiculous than monsters being assumed to be cubes that take up 5 feet in each direction, so nobody can pass them.
On the HQ board, the rooms are so small that you are only gaining a square or two, which is far less weird than the searching rules that assume you move 20 squares and search in that short space of time, or that someone will only be able to move two squares one minute and 12 the next while everyone around him can do the opposite. I've played many movement-based games that allow diagonals and no one has ever had an issue with it.

There's a level of abstraction between playability and reality, and this seems like a silly hill to die on when there are so many bigger ones.

[sorcerersapprentice]

The fact there are so many styles of gameplay and personal preference for gameplay representation is why Geas has been made rule-modular. Ultimately, people may just find they want all the pieces I make for their own purposes, and that's perfectly fine.

As to the Queen analogy: I think it is useful, and it is also useful to refer to chess because chess has a particular movement style where 1 square equals 1 square no matter which direction and is by far the easiest way to teach children to play. It simply means you get to move say 12 squares, of your own choosing. And while I am treating each piece's base movement as equitable to a queen that moves in any of the 8 directions by calling each square a unit - whether diagonal or adjacent: some characters can move further than others per turn, and some have a special extra factor that allows different types of movement. So in no way are they all the same - movement is just 1 of 15 different base attributes of geasian characters - with 1 other chosen and 2 others randomly assigned. Geas also includes Facing (the direction your characters facing toward affects some elements of gameplay - particularly combat).

I agree with you cornixt - its a game with Orcs and Monsters the focus on one element of realism over another is personal preference only - rules don't drop as sacred commandments from some omnipotent unchangeable sky man, they are made up to suit a need. That, is why there are so many - because so many people have made them up, to suit a need and their playing style.

I am reviewing the cut-a-corner with a wall diagonal movement however - I tend to agree with what was said there, so that would be the one time players cannot move diagonally.

In Geas the biggest room is 10x10". The board design took a while but it allows different size rooms to fit over the board without covering or blocking any of the corridors. I will reexamine the base free movement of the characters and see if it should be shortened.

[sorcerersapprentice]

On that note cornixt: Geas separates traps from treasure. You can search for traps in rooms or corridors - they can be on doors. In corridors you can reveal traps up to the area you can move, in rooms that room only, though some traps may be beyond your level to detect, or disarm. Requiring someone better at it or you to upgrade. You can also set your own.

Treasure is found only in certain rooms and occurs once per item in that room. Corridors cannot be searched as a general area for it though some individual features in corridors can be - such as grates, crates, fountains etc by moving adjacent and conducting a search.

[sorcerersapprentice]

I'll share some other aspects of the game in the right threads.