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Movement and Positioning

Movement in Kaernest describes control of space, not exact distance.
The rules below are designed to support tactical play without requiring grids, measurements, or constant adjudication.

Movement answers the question: Where can you reasonably be, and what does it cost to change that?

Distance Bands

Positions between characters, terrain, and threats are described using distance bands. These bands represent tactical space rather than fixed measurements.

The GM establishes distance bands based on the fiction and the environment.

Distance Bands

  • Engaged
    A state of mutual pressure rather than a distance. Characters are bound through shield contact, grapples, clinches, or aggressive positioning.
  • Close
    Inside striking distance. Lunges, short steps, shield strikes, and most melee attacks occur at this range.
  • Reach
    Optimal weapon distance for spears, polearms, and formation fighting. Control of space matters more than raw aggression.
  • Near
    Across a room, small clearing, or similar space.
  • Far
    Across a street, field, or large interior space.
  • Distant
    Beyond immediate engagement without sustained movement.

These bands are intentionally flexible. The same band may represent different absolute distances depending on terrain and context.

Actions and Movement

Each turn, you take one action.

Your action may be:

  • Act in your current band (attack, cast, interact, shove, grapple, etc.)
  • Shift one distance band (reposition toward or away from a threat)

You cannot do both in the same turn.

Moving Between Bands

Spending your action to move allows you to shift one distance band in any direction.

Examples:

  • Near → Close (closing to melee range)
  • Close → Reach (withdrawing from engagement)
  • Far → Near (advancing across the battlefield)
  • Reach → Close (pressing forward with a short weapon)

Movement may be reduced or prevented by difficult terrain, Conditions, heavy Load, or active pressure from opponents.

Engagement

Engaged is a state that exists at Close range. It represents commitment to binding combat rather than simple proximity.

A character may be Close without being Engaged.

Entering Engagement

A character becomes Engaged when:

  • They choose to press into binding range as part of an attack
  • They successfully grapple, shove, hook, or shield-check an opponent
  • An opponent forces engagement through positioning or weapon use
  • Both sides remain at Close and neither yields ground after an exchange

Engagement is never automatic.

Being Engaged

While Engaged:

  • You are in active, binding combat with an opponent
  • Movement away from engagement is more difficult (see Disengaging below)
  • Short weapons, shields, and unarmed attacks excel
  • Reach weapons become awkward and may suffer disadvantage

Disengaging

Breaking engagement requires commitment.

To disengage:

  • Spend your action
  • Move from Close to Reach (one band shift)
  • Your opponent may choose to maintain pressure by spending their next action to follow you back to Close

If your opponent commits their next action to following, engagement continues.
If they do not, the disengage succeeds cleanly.

No "free attacks" occur. Pressure is maintained through action commitment, not automatic punishment.

Fighting at Close and Reach

Attacks may be made from both Close and Reach, depending on weapon and fiction.

  • Short weapons, shields, and unarmed attacks excel at Close
  • Reach weapons dominate at Reach but are uncomfortable when Engaged
  • Fighting at Close is fluid
  • Fighting while Engaged is dangerous

Weapon traits, Conditions, and positioning determine advantage, not fixed distances.

Difficult Terrain

Terrain such as rubble, dense foliage, steep inclines, crowds, or unstable footing may:

  • Prevent movement between certain bands
  • Require Effort to cross safely
  • Impose Conditions on failure

Difficult terrain does not require a roll unless failure would create meaningful consequences.

The GM may rule that crossing difficult terrain costs your action but does not allow you to shift a full band—you end somewhere between bands, requiring another action next turn to complete the movement.

Extended Movement

If you need to cover significant distance quickly, you must spend multiple turns moving.

Example:
You are at Far range from an enemy.

  • Turn 1: You move from Far to Near (your action)
  • Turn 2: You move from Near to Close (your action)
  • Turn 3: You can now attack

This makes positioning genuinely important. Being in the wrong band when combat starts is a real tactical disadvantage.

Movement and Conditions

Conditions may directly affect movement.

Examples:

  • Reduced ability to shift bands
  • Inability to disengage safely
  • Forced movement into or out of engagement
  • Complete prevention of movement

Movement penalties are handled through Conditions rather than numerical modifiers.

Movement and Effort

Effort may be spent to:

  • Shift an additional distance band on your turn (once per turn, costs 1 Effort)
  • Ignore difficult terrain for a single move
  • Disengage safely under pressure without allowing pursuit

Effort represents exertion, timing, or focus rather than raw speed.

Important: Spending Effort to shift an additional band is the only way to move more than one band on your turn. This is a significant expenditure and should feel like a dramatic burst of speed or desperate sprint.

Mounted Combat and Alternative Locomotion

Mounts, vehicles, flight, teleportation, or other forms of locomotion may change the scale of movement.

A mounted character may shift two bands as their action instead of one.

Flight, teleportation, or supernatural movement may allow even greater shifts, as determined by the specific ability or Gift.

These represent fundamental changes to how you move, not temporary boosts.

Optional Measured Movement

When exact positioning matters, the table may choose to use measured movement for a scene.

As a guideline:

  • One distance band is roughly 5–10 yards indoors
  • One distance band is roughly 10–20 yards outdoors

These measurements are advisory only. The GM may adjust distances based on terrain and fiction.

Using measured movement does not change any other rules.

Tactical Examples

Example 1: Closing to Melee

You are at Near range. An archer is at Close range to you.

  • Your Turn: You spend your action to move from Near to Close. You cannot attack this turn.
  • Archer's Turn: The archer can shoot you (you're at Close), or spend their action to move to Reach to maintain distance.

Example 2: Withdrawing Under Pressure

You are Engaged with a warrior. You want to retreat.

  • Your Turn: You spend your action to disengage, moving from Close to Reach.
  • Warrior's Turn: The warrior can spend their action to follow you back to Close (maintaining pressure), or use their action for something else (letting you escape).

Example 3: Desperate Sprint

You are at Far range from an ally who is dying.

  • Option A (Slow): Spend three turns moving (Far → Near → Close → Engaged), arriving in time to help.
  • Option B (Fast): Spend Effort on Turn 1 to move two bands (Far → Close), then move Close → Engaged on Turn 2. You arrive faster but are exhausted.

Design Intent

Movement in Kaernest prioritizes intent, pressure, and consequence over geometry.

One action per turn means:

  • Every decision matters
  • Positioning is critical
  • You cannot "fix" bad positioning mid-turn by spending extra actions
  • Combat flows quickly because turns are simple: act OR move

Distance matters when it matters.
Commitment matters always.

Summary

  • One action per turn: Act in your current band OR shift one band
  • Disengaging costs your action and may allow pursuit
  • Effort can grant one extra band shift per turn (expensive)
  • Mounts and special movement may allow greater shifts
  • Engagement is a state, not a distance
  • Positioning is permanent until you spend an action to change it

Combat is about where you are and what you choose to do about it.