Forced Movement¶
Some actions and maneuvers allow you to push, pull, or slide another creature a specific distance across the battlefield. Collectively, these types of movement are called forced movement:
- Push X: You move the target up to X squares away from you in a straight line, without moving them vertically.
- Pull X: You move the target up to X squares toward you in a straight line, without moving them vertically. Each square you move the creature must bring them closer to you.
- Slide X: You move the target up to X squares in any direction, except for vertically.
When you force move a target, you can always move that target fewer squares than the number indicated. For example, when the conduit gets a tier 3 “push 5” result with their Thunder of the Divine ability, they can push targets any distance up to 5 squares, including choosing to not move certain targets at all.
Forced movement ignores difficult terrain and never provokes opportunity attacks. When you force move a target into damaging terrain or into terrain that produces an effect, they are affected as if they had moved into it willingly.
Vertical¶
If a forced movement effect has the word “vertical” in front of it, then the forced movement can move a target up or down in addition to horizontally. For example, if a forced movement effect says “vertical push 5,” then the creature targeted by the effect can be pushed up to 5 squares in any direction, as long as the forced movement is a straight line.
If a creature who can't fly is left in midair at the end of a vertical forced move, they fall.
Though you can't push, pull, or slide a creature unless that forced movement specifies “vertical,” you can move them along a slope. For a creature to be force moved along a slope, each square of the slope can be no more than 1 square higher or lower than the previous square.
Slamming Into Creatures¶
When you force move a creature into another creature, the movement ends and both creatures take 1 damage for each square remaining in the first creature's forced movement. You can also force move an object into a creature. The object's movement ends and the creature takes 1 damage for each square remaining in the object's forced movement.
It is possible to move a creature or object of a larger size into several creatures of a smaller size at the same time. When this happens, all creatures in the collision take damage once.
If a creature is killed by damage from an attack or effect that force moves them, the second creature still takes damage unless the Director deems otherwise.
You can force move another creature into yourself with a pull or a slide.
Tracking Object Forced-movement Damage¶
At the Director's discretion, mundane objects that are force moved into creatures or other objects take damage as if they were creatures. Sturdy objects can take damage as follows:
- For each square a wood object occupies, it can take 3 damage before it is destroyed.
- For each square a stone object occupies, it can take 6 damage before it is destroyed.
- For each square a metal object occupies, it can take 9 damage before it is destroyed.
More fragile objects are destroyed after taking any damage.
Slamming Into Objects¶
When you force move a creature into a stationary object that is their size or larger and the object doesn't break (see below), the movement ends and the creature takes 1 damage for each square remaining in their forced movement.
If you force move a creature downward into an object that doesn't break (including the ground), they also take falling damage.
Hurling Through Objects¶
When you move a creature into a mundane object, the object can break depending on how many squares of forced movement remain:
- It costs 1 remaining square of forced movement to destroy 1 square of glass. The creature moved takes 1 damage.
- It costs 3 remaining squares of forced movement to destroy 1 square of wood. The creature moved takes 3 damage.
- It costs 6 remaining squares of forced movement to destroy 1 square of stone. The creature moved takes 6 damage.
- It costs 9 remaining squares of forced movement to destroy 1 square of metal. The creature moved takes 9 damage.
If any forced movement remains after the object is destroyed, you can continue to move the creature who destroyed the object.
Forced Into A Fall¶
If you can't fly and are force moved across an open space that would cause you to fall, such as being pushed over the edge of a cliff, you continue moving the total distance you were moved first. If you are still in a position to fall when your move ends, you fall.
For The Director: Use Tactical Maps¶
This is a tactical game. To get the most out of the rules for movement, difficult terrain, and falling, you should use encounter maps with interesting environmental features. You might have ledges, pits of acid, walls of fire, mechanical traps, columns, giant webs, magical hazards, and the like for creatures to be thrown into, thrown off of, or thrown through. You'll want most of your battles to take place in environments with plenty of space to move around, avoiding a lot of long corridors that are 1 square wide.
Stability¶
Each creature has a stability that allows them to resist forced movement. When a creature is forced moved, they can reduce the movement up to a number of squares equal to their stability. Heroes start with a stability of 0 that can be increased through kit and ancestry options.