Position & Movement
V2 status: Position bands, voluntary and forced movement, Engaged targeting, Parting Blows, pre-movement Reaction timing, non-refundable costs, defensive mitigation and Safely Disengage approved. Forced movement still completes if Parting Blows incapacitates the target. Unusual unit-count cases and special effects remain under review.
The three positions
Section titled “The three positions”Fated Hand uses three abstract combat positions:
- Engaged — part of the shifting melee fray, rather than locked to a specific opponent.
- Near — close by, but not Engaged.
- Distant — farther away.
These represent mechanical relationships, not fixed distances measured in metres or squares. Moving around within the same position is ordinarily free when it does not change the character’s mechanical position.
Targeting within Engaged
Section titled “Targeting within Engaged”Engaged represents a fluid melee, not a one-to-one pairing of combatants. Opponents shift, opportunities arise and targets change as the fight unfolds. A character does not need to leave and re-enter Engaged, or pay a movement card, simply to attack a different Engaged creature.
When an attack or Skill specifies “Target Engaged creature”, its user can choose any eligible creature currently Engaged, not just the creature they previously attacked. Other restrictions printed on the attack or Skill still apply.
Engaged is inherently dangerous: many stronger melee attacks specifically require an Engaged target. Entering or remaining in the melee makes a character a possible target of those attacks. This targeting vulnerability is part of the position’s risk, not a newly imposed defensive penalty.
Changing target within Engaged costs no movement card; actually leaving Engaged has the ordinary movement cost and can trigger Parting Blows, as explained below.
Voluntary movement
Section titled “Voluntary movement”Moving voluntarily from one position to an adjacent position costs one Skill card, Discarded from Hand as payment. Discarding it for movement does not activate its Skill or Burn strip.
| Change in position | Normal card cost |
|---|---|
| Move around within the current position, without changing its mechanical state | 0 |
| Engaged ↔ Near | 1 Discard |
| Near ↔ Distant | 1 Discard |
| Engaged ↔ Distant | 2 Discards, passing through Near |
An Engaged character who wants to withdraw to Near normally Discards a card. Moving a further step to Distant costs another Discard. Moving from Near or Distant into Engaged uses the corresponding steps, unless the movement is included in another effect. Choosing a different Engaged target while already Engaged is not a position change.
This is consistent with Card Commitment & Burning: the Discard is payment for the movement action, not a Burn, and gives no Attribute adjustment.
Parting Blows
Section titled “Parting Blows”Parting Blows occur when a character leaves Engaged for another position, whether voluntarily Disengaging or being moved by a forced movement effect, unless an applicable Skill or effect explicitly prevents Parting Blows (such as a permitted Safely Disengage). Forced movement does not automatically count as safe.
The enemies currently Engaged in that melee are represented by a single attack with 1 Hit. The Hit deals Damage equal to the number of Engaged enemy units involved. This is not one separate attack or Hit from each enemy.
Example: a Warrior is Engaged with four Goblins and one Orc. They choose to Disengage to Near, perhaps to clear the melee for a Mage’s Fireball. The Warrior pays the normal 1-card movement Discard and suffers one Parting Blows Hit dealing 5 Damage (five Engaged enemy units). The five enemies do not each generate their own Hit.
Disengaging from Engaged toward Distant still incurs the usual movement costs (normally 2 Discards total, via Near). The Parting Blows attack results from leaving Engaged, not from the subsequent Near-to-Distant step.
Parting Blows is a Reaction
Section titled “Parting Blows is a Reaction”For voluntary Disengaging, a character must be able to pay their movement cost before declaring the action. Pay the movement cost and declare the Disengage. For forced movement, an eligible target does not pay a movement card: the effect causing the displacement initiates the movement instead. In either case, leaving Engaged triggers Parting Blows as a Reaction before successful movement. The affected character is still Engaged when the Hit resolves and may use applicable defensive Reactions and mitigation against it.
For voluntary Disengaging, if the character remains able to move after Parting Blows, they leave Engaged and reach the intended position. If incapacitated, their Disengage fails: they fall while still Engaged, not in Near or Distant.
For forced movement, the imposed movement still takes effect even if Parting Blows incapacitates the target. Resolve Parting Blows first while the target is Engaged, then move the target to the position specified by the forcing effect, even if they are now incapacitated. The forced move does not depend on the target remaining capable of moving under their own power. A specific effect might create a rare exception; apply its wording or the GM’s ruling rather than assuming a universal exemption.
Example: the Warrior declares a Disengage to Near, hoping to clear the Engaged melee for the Mage’s Fireball. The four Goblins and one Orc generate one Parting Blows Reaction with 1 Hit dealing 5 Damage. If the Warrior survives and remains able to move, they reach Near. If the Hit incapacitates them, they collapse in Engaged.
A failed voluntary Disengage does not refund its cost. If Parting Blows incapacitates the character, the movement does not happen, but the Discarded movement card stays spent. This follows the general Paid Costs and Interrupted Actions rule. If a cost can no longer be paid, the GM narrates and adjudicates the serious complication, rather than granting a free action or applying a predetermined penalty.
Defending against Parting Blows
Section titled “Defending against Parting Blows”Parting Blows is treated as a normal attack for damage mitigation and defensive responses. The character can use applicable defences and Reactions to reduce or prevent its Damage. For example, Evasion may reduce the Damage through a skilful withdrawal, while a shield-based defence may absorb some of the incoming blows. Apply the particular defence’s normal rules; this paragraph does not give any defence an automatic new benefit.
Parting Blows has no individual attack source. It represents the combined threat of all Engaged enemy units as one Hit, not an attack performed by a specific Goblin, Orc, or other combatant. Effects that require an identifiable attacker — such as hitting back against the attacker or dealing Thorns Damage to the attacker — cannot trigger against Parting Blows. The defensive response can protect the withdrawing character, but it cannot select a particular enemy as the source of this Hit.
Safely Disengage
Section titled “Safely Disengage”A Skill or other effect may explicitly permit a character to Safely Disengage. When it does, the character can leave Engaged without suffering Parting Blows.
Safely Disengage does not by itself imply that the movement is free: use the effect’s printed movement and card-cost instructions. A Skill that itself provides the movement follows the existing rule for movement included in an effect.
Questions reserved for later combat reviews
Section titled “Questions reserved for later combat reviews”Ordinary defences and damage mitigation are approved. The following finer interactions remain open:
- How Mob units, multiple distinct melees and unusual unit counts contribute to the Damage total.
- How uncommon defensive effects with attacker/source-dependent conditions apply to an attack that has no identifiable attacker. The default is that effects requiring an attacker, such as counters and Thorns, have no valid source to affect.
Forced movement
Section titled “Forced movement”Forced movement is resolved when a Skill or other effect moves an eligible character against their will. Unless the target has a way to prevent or avoid the forced movement, the movement takes effect. No movement card is paid by the target: the effect’s own source and costs govern the move, normally as part of the Skill or effect that caused it. This remains true if the displacement crosses more than one position.
A forced move out of Engaged triggers Parting Blows, unless an applicable effect explicitly prevents them. This is the same single, source-less attack with Damage equal to the number of Engaged enemy units, and the target may apply normal defensive responses and mitigation. A forced move has no automatic Safely Disengage exemption.
Hidden and Flying do not by themselves make a character immune to forced movement. A Skill or other effect can force movement on a Hidden or Flying creature if it is an eligible target under that effect’s targeting rules. This does not automatically remove Hidden, end Flying, or otherwise change those overlays; such effects need their own rules.
Additional consequences (extra Damage, Conditions, special placement, etc.) are generally specified by the Skill or effect causing the movement; do not invent general extras for forced movement.
Resolution: Parting Blows resolves before the change of position. Incapacitation prevents completion of a voluntary Disengage, but does not prevent the forced movement from completing. For example, if an enemy’s effect pushes a Warrior from Engaged to Near and Parting Blows incapacitates them, they still end up incapacitated in Near. Rare effect-specific exceptions (potentially involving effects such as Fear) are not yet defined; use the general GM adjudication principle when necessary.
Movement included in another effect
Section titled “Movement included in another effect”An effect can move a character into another position as part of its resolution without an additional movement Discard. Becoming Engaged is commonly part of an attack or other Skill effect, so its included movement does not incur a separate card cost. A forced move likewise does not cost the target a movement card. This movement-cost rule does not automatically grant Safely Disengage: leaving Engaged safely requires an explicit exception.
Follow the wording of the effect. This is not a blanket waiver of other costs or of subsequent voluntary position changes.
Movement during activations
Section titled “Movement during activations”Position changes requiring payment are ordinary meaningful actions and follow the default activation timing. A character can pay for multiple legal moves within an activation, subject to available cards and any rules that specifically restrict the action. Moving inside the same position purely for narration remains free.
Freeform movement
Section titled “Freeform movement”Outside structured combat positions, the GM may decide that meaningful travel or effort requires a card, while incidental movement is free.
Examples:
- Crossing a tavern: free, if no meaningful mechanical challenge or position change is involved.
- Rushing from the tavern’s front door, up the stairs to a room: Discard 1 card, as the GM judges this distance/effort significant.
The GM should use the fiction and circumstances rather than measuring exact distances. A specific Skill or other rule may provide a different movement cost.
Open design points
Section titled “Open design points”- Forced movement: targets pay no movement cards, and qualifying Hidden/Flying targets can be moved; Parting Blows applies when leaving Engaged. Forced movement completes even when Parting Blows incapacitates the target. Rare effect-specific exceptions are resolved through the established GM-adjudication principle.
- Parting Blows interactions: for voluntary Disengaging, the movement card is paid before the Reaction and stays spent even if the move fails. Parting Blows also triggers on forced exits, but the target pays no movement card. The Reaction resolves while the character is Engaged. Ordinary defences and mitigation work; source-dependent edge cases and special unit counting remain open. See the Parting Blows section above.
- Effects without band changes: cover, terrain, obstacles and interaction with objects may have mechanical consequences even inside one position. Define those costs with their individual rules rather than assuming that all such changes are free.
- Separated conflicts: how the Engaged fray and the Near/Distant bands work when combat is split across distinct areas, or when targets cannot reasonably be reached despite sharing a position label.
Free intra-position movement means no mechanical position change. Target changes within the Engaged fray are free, but do not bypass a Skill’s other targeting requirements or action costs.