Alternative Move

Alternative Move is the concept of using Alternative Abilities rules for buying up secondary traits like move.
Given that Basic Speed per B17 is a Secondary Characteristic (derived from the Basic Attributes of DX and HT) since Basic Move is derived from that, it could actually be thought of as a Tertiary Characteristic.
The Active Defense of dodge could similarly be thought of as that, since it too is derived from Basic Speed.
"Basic Move" is often thought of as Ground Move. Indeed the description implies this: "your ground speed in yards".
"ground" is more descriptive as a contrast to Water Move and Air Move stats on B18 Move in Other Environments.
Indeed the Water Move notes actually contrast the two:
:If you’re Aquatic (p. 145), water move equals Basic Move and ground Move is 0.
In that sense, "basic" and "ground" are NOT synonymous: effectively for Aquatic lifeforms, "aquatic" is the new "basic", however unlike normal where there's 1/5 aquatic derived from basic (ground) there is no 1/5 ground derived from basic (aquatic).
*this does not necessarily mean complete immobility. Fish are known to flop around on the ground, after all. Using Tactical Combat rules ANY creature who takes an All-Out Attack maneuver can always move a minimum of 2 yards, so this option would exist to create movement for those with a Move attribute of 0. Also a "step" is always a minimum of 1 yard, so a fish could move 1 yard while using an attack, most all-out defences, readying or concentrating. It only makes the Move and Move and Attack maneuvers worthless to have move 0.
In normal situations (humans) where basic=ground, since Basic Speed is secondary and Basic Move is tertiary, this effectively makes Water Move a quaternary characteristic.
*it can't be increased (only bought down) without the swimming skill
*non-aquatics can't increase it more than 2 points (costing 10 character points)
**B17 suggests reduced fitness can decrease basic/ground move down 3 points. The 1/5 default rounds down, so someone with basic move 4 or less has water move ZERO by default, but by buying it up 2 points can have water move 2. This is 1 point slower than Basic Move 3, tied with Basic Move 2, 1 faste rthan Basic Move 1 and 2 faster than Basic Move 0.
***weirdly only leg-altering traits seem to influence basic move and thus the default 20% speed, which means having One Arm doesn't make you a slower swimming, even though it ought to
****unclear how posture matters here unless you read Horizontal on B139, incompatible with Aerial or Aquatic due to adaptation to 3D environments. Technical Grappling establishes that horizontal creatures are "crawling" meaning they would suffer penalties.
*one perhaps reasonable house rule is to not round down fractions, and allow 'fractional move' (though not usable on it's own) to allow Water Move to be bought more cheaply. For example, give someone with Basic Move 4 "Water Move 4/5". This is 0.8. Since Water Move costs 5 points per level, 0.8 worth of water move could be 4 points value, making it only a perk (instead of full 5 points) to buy up to Water Move 1. That would mean 4 points to buy Water Move 1 for someone with Basic Move 1, and only the full 5 points for someone with Basic Move 0.
Air Move is normally 0 (derived from nothing) and it is unclear if it's even legal to buy it up without a non-0 base.
B56 Flight establishes a baseline derived Basic Speed (not Basic Move, unlike Water Move) which would make it a tertiary (not quaternary) characteristic, such as basic/ground move for humans or basic/water move for Aquatics.
Air move has lower value than basic/ground or basic/aquatic move, being only 2/level in either direction. Why is unclear.
Walk on Air is a special case. It's unclear if you can buy Air Move up or down at all (in which case it is a Quaternary characteristic, as Water Move normally is), or if it always just uses ground move in which case it's not a separate characteristic at all.
Having Flight effectively gives added value to Basic Speed. This clearly is not taken into account via an increased cost in Basic Speed: Basic Speed being worth 20 per points is 5 for Basic/Ground move and 15 for increased dodge. Initiative is basically 0-point value (buying up/down IS allowed as a quirk though, weirdly)
Probably an easier way to account for this is to have Flight always be 0 by default, and to just require Flight to buy it up, like an Unusual Background although Lighter Than Air can allow for movement while having Air Move 0, and flight always allows Hover unless you take Cannot Hover or things that include it like Controlled Gliding or (uncontrolled) Gliding.
Not doing so creates potential exploitation like someone gaining more points from reduced Air Move disadvantages than it would cost to gain Flight in the first place. "free flight" essentially.
Example 1: averag Basic Speed 5 gives Air Move of 10. Someone with 20 DX 20 HT (40/4) would have Basic Speed 10 and Air Move 20. Buying down Air Move 20 points (20x2=40) completely pays the cost of flight: they gain hovering abilities for free. They'll even gain points (4) by taking "Lighter than Air" which would allow them some movement with air currents.
Example 2: with Gliding -50 5ft ceiling -25, 1/4 cost of 40 is only 10 points, which can be gained by buying down air move 5 points. Gliding derives initial air move from Basic Move (ground move)
This problem can be avoided by ONLY allowing buying down air move as a Temporary Disadvantage to make flight cheaper, but never to pay for it entirely as a separate trait
*special allowance could be made for No Legs variant on B145, ground move is 0 without giving points for it, presumably meaning that the benefit of not having legs to target for injury pays for this, even though it's like having Cannot Kick disadvantage. Weirdly Legless which should be No Legs variant is still Lame because you're a species intended to have them and suffer -6 DX penalties.
Anyway getting to the point, the 1/5 cost of alternate abilities could mitigate the cost of having to buy up air move.
Almost to the point of exploitaiton, really.
For example:
*-2 to Ground Move [-10]
*-5 to Air Move [-10]
*Alternative abilities: Ground Move +2 or Air Move +5 [12].
The net value of this is a -8 disadvantage, and all it requires is the use of a ready maneuver to switch between ground move and air move, and also has mutual crippling between both.
Viewing "reduced air move" as a temporary disadavantage (a tiered limitaiton) on flight could have an inverse interpretation: rathe rthan permanently buying air move, buy "increased air move" as an enhancement on that too.
That doesn't necessarily mean making air move cheap (2% of 40 is only 1 point instead of the usual 2) but perhaps converting it into an appropriate enhancement % equivalent to its gains cost: say for example +5% which is 1/20 of 40: 2 points.
this opens the potential for using Temporary Enhancements to buy air move even for someone with air move 0.
Extra Effort is an existing option but actually B356 doesn't explicitly allow it: "Move when running or swimming;"
Powers presumably could be used as a stand-in here. P160 Trading Fatigue for Effect increases OUTPUT of active abilities. "Top speed, for movement abilities (Flight, Tunneling, etc.), after multiplying for any Enhanced Move."
That only applies to POWERS though, it is not normally an option for wild advantages. Then again, the same applies to Temporary Enhancements.
Both approaches could be used depending on what is more attractive. TE has a minimum cost of 2 but is the only way to increase Air Move 0 to Air Move 1 (if not allowed an enhamcenent, you would otherwise have to spend 3 FP for Using Abilities at Default to get it)
Extra Effort OTOH is much better for those with a high move already since that base establishes their gains.
Category:Concepts