Re: Phased-turn in ranged combat

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: : Thanks. That was helpful. Let's see if I understand it correctly.

: : (1) If I stand still and don't do anything at all, a group of monsters that happens upon me will be able to make one attack each, and that's it. After they each made their single attack, they have to wait (not attack, and not move) until I make an action and "their time starts again".

: >>YES, except that when they get to "start again" is dependent upon how fast your characters can perform their actions, so that fast characters might be able to swing two or three times before the monster gets to "start again". With very fast monsters, this situation can be reversed!

: : (2) While a monster approaches me, his is not in time-phasing yet, but still in real-time. Only when he makes his first attack, does he switch to phased-time. Is this correct? 

: >>YES

: Does his movement count as action before he launches an attack? 

: >>NO, until the monster performs an action, it is allowed to move, and you will always have a character available to attack it (i.e. you will never have a situation where none of your characters can do anything unless they are all paralyzed or asleep or something).

: Is it possible for a monster (without any ranged attacks) NOT to reach melee range because I am standing perfectly still and he spends all his action on movement and still cannot reach me?

: >>NO, the monster can always continue to advance toward you until it attacks. As long as no other monsters are involved in the attack, you will be able to continue blasting it as it approaches, to balance out this ability. Once any single monster is in time-phase cycle, then time-phase will continue until the battle is done, or there are no monsters in time-phase any longer (you may have moved out of range and they have to start moving toward you). 

: : (3) A little bit of movement (and all turning, I assume) does not count as an action.

: >>You may turn as much as you want to check the situation around you and this does not advance any time-phasing. Only actual movement in a direction will advance the time-phase clock. In this way your characters can attack some monsters behind them, some in front, etc. and you're not penalized just because they're grouped together.

: >>As for movement, perhaps a better way to put it is that with each amount of movement you take, the time-phase clock is advanced by a proportional amount - when the clock has advanced enough, the monster will again be able to attack. Faster characters get to "move more" for a specific amount of clock time, hence they can move further without advancing the time-phase clock enough to trigger the monster's next action.

:  Moving more than a certain distance (speed-dependent) does count as an action. This distance is an internal variable and not visible to player (other than by consequences ;-)

: >>The STAT page has an overall SPEED rating for your character, but since you don't have a rating for the monsters, it only gives you a relative sense.

: : However...

: : "Ranged combat (spells, bows&arrows, etc.) progresses in the psuedo-real-time to allow you to keep toasting monsters before they reach you. Once they do, and
: : take a whack at you, time-phase is invoked as described above"

: : That I don't understand.

: : Above you said that any action, by a monster or by a player invokes time-phase mode. Then you said that movement (more than a certain distance) counts as an action. Casting a spell is certainly an action, and so, I assume, is shooting an arrow. That all would seem to imply that ranged combat, just like any combat, should proceed in time-phase mode from the very beginning.

: >>Yes, it can be a little confusing in english - I'll attemt to clarify: When a monster makes an "attacking" action (not movement) the monster will immediately be in time-phase mode. Until a monster (at least one) is in time-phase mode, you can continually fire away with arrows and spells as if in real-time. Once a monster initiates a time-phase by taking an action, then both it and your next character that takes an action will be in time-phase mode - note that you could manually choose any of your available characters for the next action, you do not have to use the one automatically selected for you. As each of your characters make an action, they will also be in time-phase mode. As long as you have a character who can make an action (and you always will unless paralyzed, etc.) then that character is allowed to move (which advances the time-phase clock) and you will notice the monsters able to attack you as you move, but also your other characters who had taken action becoming ready again.  

: : Yet now you say that time-phase mode gets invoked only when *melee* combat commences, and before that it's all real-time.

: >>The time-phase will be started even if a monster is at range and fires a bow or casts a spell - any offensive action by a monster will start it.

:  So does it mean that if, say, a skeletal mage stands some distance from me and I do absolutely nothing, that mage can throw multiple spells at me? 

: >>NO, if you don't move, the mage gets to cast one spell and all of your characters will get to return fire before the time-phase advances. If you have a character faster than the mage, this character will get to make another action before the mage can cast another spell.

: I understand that he has to wait for certain time between his spells, but, again, if I do nothing at all, will he be able to make multiple attacks?

: >>NO, unless he is faster than your characters and then only after all of your characters have taken their first action. If your character takes 5 seconds to take an action, and the mage can cast a spell every 2 seconds, the order would be like this:
:  The mage casts a spell
:  Your character casts a spell
:  Time-Phase advances 2 seconds
:  Mage casts a spell
:  Time-Phase advances 2 seconds
:  Mage casts a spell
:  Time-Phase advances 1 second
:  You cast a spell...
:  And so forth...

: 
: : The beginning of your explanation was consistent and understandable, but the end confused it all again.

: >>I don't know if I've made it clearer or confused it more at this point!

: : So, how does it work? When does a monster get into time-phase mode? (a) when he becomes hostile, even before doing anything including moving; (b) when he makes the first attack (and the movement before that is free); (c) when he makes the first *melee* attack.

: : Is it (a), (b), or (c)?

: >>(b) would be correct.

: : And one more question which popped into my mind: are spells homing? I saw a burn spell of mine follow its target as it was walking, so I assumed that once a spell was launched you cannot dodge it. Yet you mentioned moving to avoid a flamestrike -- so, is it possible to dodge a spell? 

: There is some logic to account for "leading" a moving target, so you can see some bend in the trajectory - this is a limited amount, in part based upon the skill of whoever is doing the casting. This means that you can dodge spells, but you will have to move out of range of the "bend" so to speak - if you don't move enough, it may still hit you...

: Can you run away from one? Move to the side so that it misses? 

: >>Yes, again as long as you move enough to avoid the monster's skill at "leading" the target, your party in this case... 

: Or the spell is resolved at launch time and all you are looking at is pretty animation?

: No, all actions are resolved when they strike, not when they are initiated, this is true for both spells and for attacks - if a monster starts to swing at you, and you hit him first, he will be momentarily wounded, which gives more time for your characters to attack and wound him again - until he is able to complete the strike, you won't get hit - when the strike is completed, only then are all registers evaluated for whether it did damage or missed, etc.

: : Karla [still confused]

: >>Hope not as much anymore...



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