Running
Use: Macro skill use for long-distance travel.
Sample specializations: Sprinting, long distances
Running is primarily used for speed pushes (see Chapter Four) when a character wants to move faster than her running limit value as given in Chapter One. It can also be used as a macro skill to determine how long it takes a character to run a certain distance or how far she can get in a certain amount of time. It may also be used to determine if a character can successfully run over difficult terrain. The following modifiers are used when a character makes a speed push roll with running. The gamemaster can also take them into account when determining the difficulty number for non-push runs.
RUNNING MODIFIERS
Condition Modifier
Smooth track -2
Rough/uneven terrain +2 Or more
Yielding obstructions (tall grass, brush) +2
Unyielding obstructions (boulders, trees) +4
Uphill, gentle grade +3
Uphill, steep grade +5
Downhill, steep grade +2
In non-combat situations, characters can move at their full running speed for only a short amount of time. For macro uses of the skill, reduce the character’s running limit value by two for distances over and reduce it by three for distances over (about three miles).
Timed Movement
You can find out the time value for how long it takes a character to move a particular distance by subtracting the appropriate movement limit value (or speed value if the character is moving at less than his limit value) from the distance value, then adding five. That value, when converted through the Value Chart in Chapter Four, is about how long it takes the character to cover that distance. Characters can increase their speed above their limit value with a macro use speed push, reducing the amount of time required, but they will suffer the detrimental effects of the speed push at the end of their movement (see Chapter Four for the details.)
Example: Paul’s character Quin is trying to run a kilometer as fast as he can. His running limit value is 9, reduced by two because of the distance involved, to a 7. Quin does not have the running skill so his Dexterity is used to generate the action total for the speed push. Paul rolls fairly well and Becky tells him the result of his speed push is a +2 bonus to his speed value. This brings his speed value back up to 9.A kilometer has a distance value of 15, so subtracting nine from that and then adding five produces a time value of time value of 11 is 150 seconds, so the run takes Quin about two and a half minutes. If Quin was not trying to run as fast as possible and just ran at his running limit value, his time value would have instead been 13 which converts to about six minutes. It takes longer, but Quin doesn’t suffer the side effects from making a speed push. To calculate how far a character can travel in a specific amount of time, the formula is only slightly different. The time value is added to the character’s limit (or speed) value and five is subtracted from that number. That value, when converted through the Value Chart, will be the distance covered in that amount of time. For example, a character with a speed value of 8 who runs for one minute (a time value of 9) will cover a distance value of (8 + 9 - 5) 12, which is . These formulas work with all of the macro use movement skills; beast riding, climbing, flight, running and swimming. They can also be used with Sailor