Maneuverability

The following rules may be considered optional. They are hardly needed for most dungeon adventures, but will add measurably to combat situations in the wilderness, especially in waterborne combat situations or when some or all combatants are flying. Characters, creatures, and vehicles of various sorts have a turning distance. This is given as a distance in feet in parentheses after their movement rate, and it determines how far they must move between facing changes when moving about in combat. All normal player characters, and in fact most moderately sized creatures which walk on the ground, have a turning distance of 5'. If no turning distance is given for a creature, assume that it is 5'. In general, a facing change is any turn of up to 90º (a right-angle turn); on a square-gridded map, this means turning to face directly to the right or left of the figure's current facing. A half-turn (45º) still counts as a full facing change. If using hexes, "diagonal" movement is not available, so a facing change is the 60º turn to face toward the hex-side to the right or left of the current facing. There are a few exceptions to this rule: First, any creature that does not move away from its starting position during the combat round may make as many facing changes as desired (though circumstances, such as trying to turn a horse around in a narrow corridor, may prevent this). Incorporeal flying creatures, such as spectres, can turn freely at any point while moving. Creatures which are running (moving at double speed) may not make facing changes of more than 60º, and their turning distance increases by 10' (or, if it is 5' normally, it increases to 10'). Also, most creatures can shift one space laterally while preserving their facing (this is called "sidestepping"), but this may only be done when moving at normal ("walking") speed, not at fast ("running") speed. "One space" means either 5' or 10', depending on the map or board being used.