# Movement and Terrain

# Movement and Terrain

Movement is a PER action like any other. Terrain is paid **at the borders**:

| Phase | Source of cost |
|---|---|
| **Prep** | Departure difficulty of the tile you're on (getting off the log is hard) |
| **Exec** | The transfer itself - physical or mental traits |
| **Recover** | Arrival difficulty of the destination tile (landing on the log is hard) |

Physical traits for exec: dex for balance, strength and encumbrance for load. Mental traits can make the same transfer harder too - fighting through an illusion, or opposing a strong will to continue.

## Worked examples (log crossing)

1. **Grassy bank -> log**: minimal prep (solid footing), traits-driven exec (simple step), significant recover (getting stable on the log).
2. **Log -> log**: harder prep (concentrating on footing before shifting weight), same exec (physical or mental traits), same recover (log is still hard to settle on).
3. **Log -> bank**: hard prep (leaving the log), same exec, easy recover.

Rules that fall out of this:

- A multi-tile crossing (long bridge) pays at **every edge** - each tile-to-tile transition is its own PER cycle.
- Difficult terrain can add to all three phases (departure and arrival both hard).
- **Reactions during movement follow the normal rules.** Each movement action is a single tile-to-tile step (not a multi-tile path), so there is no special "mid-path" case - the reactor-side phase table applies exactly as with any other action.

## Danger tiles and 3D

Proposed direction: **tiles are 3D, so there are no "open" tiles.** Stepping into a space that is open in the current level means you **fall** until you hit a solid tile, then you're on that level. With a fly or levitate effect (equipment or spell), you stay at your current height unless you take an action to ascend or descend.

Why this stays an open question: ASCII display. Possible techniques: shading on terrain tiles to indicate space above, blank tile to indicate space below.

## Open decisions

- **Tile size**: leaning toward 1 tile = 1 cubic foot. A typical human is then about two wide and one deep (footprint), which roughly matches the traditional roguelike glyph (taller than it is wide). Bigger creatures occupy multiple tiles - an ancient dragon should not be the same single character as a human.
- Confirm the per-tile movement baseline at even terrain and the tick basis (see Open Questions).