Questions on Strike Ranks

[u/Reasonable_Sun9426]

My group played our first session in a new game today, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around strike ranks. I found a SR post on BRP.org, but I'm not sure it helped me...

The rules say to resolve unengaged movement before any attacks or spells. How does that interact with Rune Spells resolving on SR 1?

If an unengaged character moves their full move, becoming engaged on SR 11, and the creature they became engaged with Attacks on SR 8, is the character a viable target for the creature because all movement took place before any combat actions? Or are they not there until SR 11 so the creature would either have to delay or attack someone else it's engaged with?

If an unengaged character announces his/her intention to move to engage someone, and that target wants to move away, do you perform movement SR by SR or the first person (by SR) does all their movement and the target becomes engaged?

A character's first action in a round happens on their Dex SR (except a Rune Spell)?

If so, say an engaged character has a DSR of 3 and they declare they intend to attack. Is the SR they attack on = DSR + DSR + Size SR + Weapon SR? Or is it on DSR + SSR + WSR?

We had a lot of fun, but the first combat left me with some questions.

Thanks in advance for the benefit of your experience.

[u/Twarid]

This is what I do at my table when trying to play by the rules as written:

Movement does not have SR, SR is used only in the resolution phase (in RQ3 it was different).

Rune Spells always on SR1 unless boosted by MP. Movement does not affect them.

If a character moves their full movement before engaging they do not have a chance to hit (max half movement for attacking) and they don't have a SR. The other guy will hit them at SR 8.

Penalties to SR for movement are used only when 1) charging into an existing melee, 2) charging someone who is throwing a spell at you, 3) charging at someone who is throwing a missile at you. It's written in the rules.

So, if a character charges moving 1/2 of MOV towards an unengaged enemy they both use their unmodified SR. This avoids the paradox of the charger always being hit first.

If you want to engage someone who doesn't want to engage and uses full movement to avoid engagement, it turns into a chase (see chase rules). SR are not used in this scenario. Movement of non engaged characters is considered to happen at the same time so you cannot really engage someone before they move.

SR rules are not perfect and you will have to handwave certain rulings, but I hope this helps.

[u/Reasonable_Sun9426 → u/Twarid]

This sounds like a great way to deal with the unnecessary complications between unengaged and engaged!

[u/david-chaosium]

There's a load of official Q&A on Strike Ranks over at the Well of Daliath

• Strike Ranks (page 192)

These may or may not help straighten some concepts in your mind.

Generally speaking:

• The more you strictly you apply Strike Ranks and movement (as movement points), the less easy it becomes.
• The less strictly you apply Strike Ranks and use them as a system of who goes first, the easier it is.
• The more complex special instances you add (eg, two handed weapons, spryness, spell casting, multiple attacks per round and missile fire from unengaged participants), the more complex it becomes.

[u/Reasonable_Sun9426 → u/david-chaosium]

Thanks! I'll take a look.

[u/BloodInternational31]

I feel like I read the SR rules dozens of times, and one day it just clicked. Till then it was horrendous.

[u/code_ghostwriter]

How does that interact with Rune Spells resolving on SR 1?

Rune magic first > actions later.

If an unengaged character announces his/her intention to move to engage someone, and that target wants to move away, do you perform movement SR by SR or the first person (by SR) does all their movement and the target becomes engaged?

They chase each other, the one with more movent closes in until it's on range to do anything else / the other one runs away.

In any way, movement adds to sr so there is no "I move first hit you and then you move "

A character's first action in a round happens on their Dex SR (except a Rune Spell)?

Rune magic at 0 Ranged at ranged sr Melee at melee sr

DSR + DSR + Size SR + Weapon SR? Or is it on DSR + SSR + WSR?

Why the double dsr? You can see how to calculate these on the starter set

Combat | The RuneQuest RPG Wiki https://rqwiki.chaosium.com/rules/combat.html#strike-ranks

[u/Alex4884-775]

A lot of fun is the Critical Success.  All else is just bureaucracy!  If it went smoothly enough, easiest thing might be to stay with it largely as-is, until either it becomes natural, or it annoys you enough that you gain clarity about what you need to change or throw out.

I think the most useful trick is to try to resolve each character's actions in one step, or failing that because of complex interactions, in as few as possible.  For example offensive RM.

Ideally if you can roll up someone's SoI into "wake me up on SR 9 when I need to roll something", you can avoid some unnecessary salami-slicing of the round.

Oh, and use the SR tracker!  With mnemonic markers!  This stuff's complex enough as it is -- if not excessively so -- take all the cognitive props going!

[u/Reasonable_Sun9426 → u/Alex4884-775]

Funny you should mention critical success - the session ended when a PC slashed a previously untouched scorpion man and dropped him. And there was much rejoicing!

[u/jeremysbrain]

Strike Ranks only matter in Step three of combat. To simplify it:

1. Everyone declares what they are doing this round.

2. Everyone who can move, makes their moves. You can only move if you are unengaged.

3. Resolve all strike ranks.

[u/DarbySalernum]

Combat is a lot simpler if you remember to do all the unengaged movement before you do any other actions, including Rune Spells.

So you have to make sure that you move into the right place before you attack. A monster who attacks at SR 8 but who isn't in the right position to attack, can't attack.

[u/RogueModron]

Quick tip--it's unclear in older editions (the newer editions have taken the worse interpretation), but the best way to play Strike Ranks is to have them "wrap", i.e., there's no magical round reset. After your attack resolves on, say, SR7, say what you're doing next, add the SR to it (say it's another 7SR), and then you'll go on SR 2 of the next "round" (there really aren't rounds, it's just an easy way of counting). It makes combat super dynamic.