Movement and Spaces

Moving
Moving may qualify as a Risk depending on context. Non-Risky movements include simple, everyday movements such as standing up from a chair, walking across a room, going up stairs, or climbing a ladder. These movements aren’t risky, so you don’t need to roll.

Some movements are Risks. These include walking across a tight-rope, sneaking past a guard, or climbing a cliff. These actions require a Good Tale, so they occupy your whole turn; you can’t cross a tight-rope and attack, because both of those actions require a Good Tale.

Spaces
A space is however much physical space a creature occupies. Every creature in Tavern Tales occupies 1 space regardless of how big it is, so the size of 1 space is relative. For a human, 1 space might only be a 5-foot by 5-foot area. For a dragon, 1 space might be a 50-foot by 50-foot area.

If a rule references spaces, use the space of whatever creature is doing the action. For example, suppose a trait says “Fling a creature 5 spaces away.” A 5-foot human can fling something 25 feet away, and a 50-foot dragon can fling something 250 feet away.

Distance
Tavern Tales uses 5 common distances, which have both qualitative and quantitative measurements. A distance includes all shorter distances. For example, If you can make an attack out to a Far distance, you can also attack creatures that are in a Close, Near , or Touch range.
 *  Touch : Physical contact, or adjacent spaces.
 *  Near : Several steps, or 3 spaces.
 *  Close : A room, or 5 spaces.
 *  Far : A building, or 10 spaces.
 *  Very Far : Several buildings, or 20+ spaces.

How far you can move depends on context and the length of your turn. However, all creatures have a default movement of Close (5 spaces) in combat. You can typically move up to 5 spaces and attempt 1 action that requires a Good Tale. You don’t have to move the full 5 spaces if you don’t want to.

Battlegrid vs Theater of the Mind
RPG players typically favor one of two play styles: battlegrid or theater of the mind. Tavern Tales accommodates both of these options.

Battlegrid
The battle grid approach uses game miniatures and a battle map to create an accurate representation of the terrain. If you prefer this method, each space typically represents 1 square or hex in the battlegrid (unless the creature is bigger or smaller than 1 space).

Theater of the Mind
Gamers who use the theater of the mind approach prefer to imagine the action. Don’t worry about exact numbers and measurements. Instead, focus on the game’s qualitative descriptions. A big creature is big — you don’t need anything more complicated than that. Just go with what feels right. This style is meant to be loose and intuitive, so don’t let math slow you down.

Previous Chapter: ← Challenges | System Rules | Next Chapter: Building a Character →