Advanced Combat

From Sword World Translation Project
Jump to navigationJump to search

Advanced Combat Rules[edit | edit source]

Features of the Advanced Combat Rules[edit | edit source]

The Advanced Combat rules described below are intended for those who are already quite familiar with combat in Sword World 2.0. By managing the battlefield in two dimensions, it is possible to create a variety of situations on the battlefield, which can allow for more intricate and tactical maneuvers.

Many of the rules for Advanced Combat are identical to both Simplified and Standard Combat. However, the relevant changes and exceptions to those rules will be detailed below.

Two-Dimensional Location Management[edit | edit source]

In Advanced Combat, the positions of the characters, referred to as their coordinates, are generally managed in a two-dimensional plane. These rules are designed with the idea of using a blank sheet of paper, whiteboard or other physical representation to define each character's position on the battlefield.

Dealing with Different Character Sizes or Altitude Differences[edit | edit source]

Given that coordinates are only being managed on a two-dimensional place, there is no height difference between the coordinates of characters within the battlefield. Even great differences in height have no bearing on combat, unless the GM should choose to rule otherwise. In particular, abilities such as the Lildraken Racial Ability [Sword's Salvation/Wings of the Wind], as well as any "Flight" or "Floating" Unique Abilities of monsters, will only modify numerical values once combat has begun, and will not alter the height of the battlefield.

Also, even if a character is massive in size, no matter how large it is relative to other characters, nor how many parts the character has, it will still only occupy one coordinate. Multiple parts of a character are treated as having the same coordinate.

Identical Coordinates[edit | edit source]

It is possible to have multiple characters at the same coordinates in Advanced Combat. As a general rule, melee attacks and "Range: Touch" spells and effects will only affect characters (or sections, for that matter) located at the same coordinates. In addition, a character who is summoned or created as by a spell or effect with "Range: Touch" is considered to have the same coordinates as the character who performed the summoning or creation.

Skirmishes represented by dots and circles[edit | edit source]

The concept of "Skirmishes" is also used in Advanced Combat. When using Advanced Combat rules, a skirmish is typically formed as a circle between 3m and 6m, depending on the number of participants in the melee. To determine the size of the skirmish, see the Skirmish Range Table under the Standard Rules. Unlike the Standard Rules, though, the center coordinates of the skirmish are instead the coordinates of the first character to enter into melee with another, with the skirmish forming around that character.

When the game is being played on paper, the GM draws a circle with the appropriate radius to define the skirmish. Any miniatures, standees, or other such markers that represent the characters involved in the melee are then moved into the skirmish, scattered around the center point. If they get in the way, they can be moved out of the way until everything is finished. For game processing purposes, the only thing that matters is that the characters are involved in the skirmish. In other words, the skirmish drawn on a piece of paper or a whiteboard in Advanced Combat is a mixture of dots representing individual characters who are not engaged in melee and circles representing the skirmish area.

Figure 1: Advanced Combat Concepts
GM Guide: Illustrate the battlefield as much as possible[edit | edit source]

In Advanced Combat, you need to keep track of the coordinates of each character, and if a skirmish is to be formed, how large it needs to be. These are difficult to explain and manage in words alone, but can be easily grasped with a diagram.

When illustrating the battlefield, as shown in "Figure 1: Advanced Combat Concepts", note the coordinates of a single character with a small mark, then circle the character to make the skirmish, to make it easier to understand. If you have a large desk, you can use pawns or character figures, and represent skirmishes with coasters or paper plates. In a conference room, a magnet and a white board may be useful. Anything that can represent "characters" and "circles" is fine, so try to visualize the battlefield as much as possible.

Be Flexible, Not Overwhelming[edit | edit source]

The Advanced Combat rules have the advantage of representing a variety of battlefield situations, as well as greatly increasing tactical capabilities. However, it also means that it is a more "crunchy" set of rules, in that there are a lot of rules in place to guide the GM rather than relying significantly on improvisation. It is not recommended to try and apply all of the rules here strictly from start to finish.

Initially, start with simple movement and coordinate management, such as moving a few meters sideways from the hypothetical straight line of Standard Combat, until the players can fully grasp that. It is then that the GM should gradually expand the scope, referring to the rules and annotations as necessary until everyone has become used to such changes.

What is important in a TRPG is not to follow the rules strictly, but to have the game move on smoothly, with the participants in agreement. Recognize that the rules are only a tool to assist the game, rather than the entire game itself.

GM Guide: Approximation Recommendation[edit | edit source]

Trying to define the positional relationship too strictly will bog down the flow of the game, and drag combat out much longer than necessary. Keep in mind a general sense of distance in meters, and judge whether it is reachable by movement, or whether it is within range. Moves that require management in units of less than 1m should be discouraged, and players trying to take advantage of such moves should be warned. However, there may be situations where one may end up with fractions of a meter, and in such cases those fractions should be rounded up to the nearest whole meter.

Advanced Combat: Battlefield Management[edit | edit source]

Advanced Combat is basically the same as Standard Combat in terms of combat procedures and what each character can do on his or her turn. The difference between the rulesets comes when determining how many dimensions the GM and players wish to work with; Standard Combat only uses a single dimension (a line), whereas Advanced Combat uses two dimensions (a plane).

Initiating Combat[edit | edit source]

As part of starting a combat using the Advanced Combat rules, there are a few changes in establishing the battlefield and participants compared to the Standard Combat rules.

Establish the Battlefield[edit | edit source]

The GM should reveal to the players the battlefield in which combat will take place. As mentioned above, the use of a blank sheet of paper, a whiteboard or other physical representation is recommended. If the battlefield has special terrain or obstacles, the GM should make them known in advance, though it could also just be a plain battlefield with nothing on it.

The GM should limit the overall size of the battlefield as appropriate. For example, if the encounter happens as the party is entering a room, only the room where the party is and the room being entered need to be represented on the map.

Initial Character Placement[edit | edit source]

When an encounter occurs, the GM decides on a distance of about 5 to 30 meters, using the same Combat Opening Distances Recommendation Guide used in Standard Combat. However, if the size of the battlefield is limited, then that too needs to be taken into account, and may provide an upper limit for the encounter distance.

One character from each faction involved in combat is placed at this initial center point, then the remainder of each party is placed around them. Characters in the same faction can be placed at the same coordinates, with both the players' declarations and the GM's rulings affecting placement as well. Something to note is that the lead characters of each faction are the farthest forward, and so any other pair of opposing faction members cannot be further forward than that pair (though they can share the same coordinates).

Grouping Characters
Typically, the initial placement of characters in a combat situation will be determined by how the party was moving through the area before the combat had begun. Without prior knowledge of another party or group of monsters, any sort of rearranging depending upon the other party's placement should be disallowed.

For example, if the PCs were in a tight formation while moving through a small room, their placement should reflect that as best as possible. However, if there was a more loose arrangement, divided more simply into a frontline and a rearguard, the party's position would reflect that as well, though there would likely be some distance between the frontline and the rearguard. This latter method is recommended if the players don't wish to worry about a complex party formation, but still wish to follow the Advanced Combat rules.

Character Movement[edit | edit source]

The rules for character movement follow those of Standard Combat, but there are some differences due to the expansion of the battlefield into two dimensions.

Three Methods of Movement (same as "Standard Combat")[edit | edit source]

There are three methods of movement for characters: Full Move, Normal Move, and Limited Move. When moving during their turn, each character can take one of those different moves, which will affect not only how far they move on the battlefield, but what actions they can perform during their turn as well. As with Standard Combat, characters taking Full Moves will receive a -4 penalty to their Evasion for the round.

Specify the Movement Path[edit | edit source]

In Advanced Combat, characters not only need to let the GM know which kind of move they're taking, but also need to show the path they're taking through the battlefield as well. This path can be curved or crooked, though such twists and turns do not affect the total distance traveled.

For the most part, adhering to this rule doesn't have to be too strict. However, both the GM and players need to know the rough distance traveled, and it should be clear to both sides when a character would move through an area where movement can be blocked by opponents or skirmishes.

Minor Actions During Movement[edit | edit source]

With Advanced Combat, a character can take Minor Actions during their movement. When they do so, the player needs to show at which coordinates the character performed the Minor Action. This allows that character to target another character with a Minor Action with "Range:Touch" while moving through the coordinates of another friendly character. However, if you do this to an enemy character, a skirmish is immediately created, and no further movement is possible.

Blocking Movement by Characters Outside the Skirmish[edit | edit source]

Figure 2: Movement Blocking with Characters Outside the Skirmish

As in Standard Combat, characters can stop another character who is about to move by blocking their movement. The rules for this are exactly the same as in Standard Combat, and are summarized below.

  1. The blocking character must choose a point they can reach with a Limited Move that is also in the movement path of the character they wish to block.
  2. Multiple characters can work together to block movement if the blocking point is within the Limited Move range of all of the blocking characters.
  3. Once the character has been blocked from moving, the coordinates of the moving character and all blocking characters become the same as the point where movement was blocked.
  4. Characters outside the skirmish may not designate the skirmish as a blocking point, and therefore may not interfere with characters inside the skirmish.
Restrictions on Blocking Movement[edit | edit source]

In order to block a character from moving, that character must be seen by the blocking character. As such, invisible characters, or characters that are shielded from view, cannot have their movement blocked.

Additionally, the blocking character must be able to take a Limited Move in order to block movement. If that character has fallen prone, or is unable to move due to entanglement or other effects, they can't move to intercept the moving character. The character must also be willing to interfere with another character's movement, so if the blocking character is charmed or otherwise unwilling to move to block a particular character, then they cannot block that character's movement.

Advanced Combat: Melee and Skirmishes[edit | edit source]

In the Advanced Combat rules, the battlefield is managed in two dimensions, so it is much more important to know all of the rules regarding skirmishes while in combat. A basic summarization of the rules for skirmishes are listed below.

Skirmish Features Common to Standard Combat[edit | edit source]

The following features of Skirmishes are exactly the same as those of "Standard Combat".

There are Always Opposing Characters in a Skirmish
A skirmish is a space where opposing characters are fighting each other. Therefore, there will always be opposing characters involved in the skirmish, creating a state of melee. When there are no more opposing characters, the skirmish will immediately disappear.

There are Two Types of Characters involved in a Skirmish: "In Melee" and "Independent"
Characters in a skirmish are classified as either "In Melee" where they are participating in a melee, or are "Independent" where they are involved in the skirmish but not yet in melee.

A Character In Melee has its Coordinates at the Center of the Skirmish
The coordinates of a character In Melee are the center point of the skirmish in which it is participating.

Independent Characters Keep Their Own Coordinates
Each independent character has its own unique coordinates, even if those coordinates are the center point of the skirmish.

Characters With the Same Coordinates Have the Possibility of Misfires
There is a possibility of a misfire occurring when targeting characters with the same coordinates in the skirmish with a ranged attack or "Area: Shot" effect from outside the skirmish.

Movement is Not Allowed in Melee
As a general rule, a character in melee cannot move, which limits the actions a character can take to those allowed when taking a Limited Move.

Characters Can Join a Melee as New Participants
Characters can join a melee that has already been formed by moving to the center of the skirmish on their turn and declaring their intent to join the melee.

There is No "Partial Melee"
When joining a new melee, a character will be in melee with all opposing characters at the same time. It is not possible to enter into a melee with only some of the opposing characters in the same skirmish.

Forming a Skirmish[edit | edit source]

The conditions for the formation of a new skirmish are the same as for Standard Combat. In other words, it occurs when a character whose turn it is uses some kind of weapon attack, magic, or effect against a hostile character at melee range. In this case, those attacks, magic, etc. are resolved first, then the skirmish is created.

Illustrating Skirmishes[edit | edit source]

In Advanced Combat, when drawing up a skirmish onto the battlefield, it is usually drawn with a certain size. It is assumed that only the area drawn up is used for melee combat, regardless of how large the actual scenario map may be.


Skirmishes and Shielding[edit | edit source]
Figure 3: Shielding

Once a skirmish is formed, it blocks the view of outside characters, such that they can see the skirmish, but not anything beyond it. To determine if a character is shielded by a skirmish, draw a straight line from the character to the target and see if it crosses the skirmish. If the line crosses it at any point, the target is shielded.

Shielded by a Character Outside the Battlefield
A character outside of a skirmish creates a 1m radius shield around itself only against hostile characters. Characters inside a skirmish do not have this form of shielding, regardless of whether they are in a melee or independent state.

Blocking Movement Through Skirmishes[edit | edit source]
Figure 4: Blocking Movement Through Skirmishes

When a character moves, they must declare how they'll move, as well as the path they'll take. This will be used to determine whether or not they are crossing or entering an existing skirmish. Even if the character only skirts the border of the skirmish, they are still considered to be entering it. If the movement path crosses the skirmish even slightly, the character may be blocked from moving by characters inside the skirmish. Blocking movement by a character inside a skirmish is determined differently from that of a character outside skirmishes.

Melee Characters Blocking Movement
A character in melee can block movement anywhere within the skirmish. In this case, the character's own Limited Move range is not taken into account.

Independent Characters Blocking Movement

Figure 5: Independent Characters Blocking Movement

An independent character may only block movement that is both within their Limited Movement range and within the skirmish. Please note that this is different from the Standard Combat rules. As a result of blocking movement, the independent character also enters the melee and their coordinates are moved to the center point of the skirmish, regardless of where the movement was blocked.

Blocking Movement with Multiple Characters
As in Standard Combat, multiple characters in a skirmish can work together to block the movement of other characters. If an independent character wishes to assist in blocking movement, the blocking point must be within range of that character as well.

Determining Blocking Possibilities via Party Comparison
As in Standard Combat, Characters in melee can block movement by hostile characters trying to move through a skirmish. Compare the number of characters attempting to move plus their allies in the skirmish to the number of characters attempting to block movement, regardless of whether they are in melee or independent. If the side attempting to pass has an advantage of more than 2:1, the character's movement cannot be blocked.


Blocking Restrictions
As mentioned above, if the ratio of the number of combatants is more than 2:1 in favor of the opponent, their movement cannot be blocked. If the character has declared "Retreat" as their previous Major Action, their movement out of that skirmish cannot be blocked. Any "Area: Breakthrough" effects that change the coordinates of the user cannot have their movement blocked. Characters cannot block the movement of a character who has mastered the "Shadow Sneak" Combat Feat.

Consequences of Blocked Movement Through a Skirmish
If an opponent in the skirmish obstructs a character's movement, the coordinates of that character are set to the center of the skirmish, regardless of the point of obstruction. In addition, after obstruction has resolved, that character enters into melee even if no other action is taken.

Independent Characters[edit | edit source]

The following is a quick summary of what an "independent character" is.

Characters in a skirmish can be classified as either "In Melee" or "Independent". “Independent Characters” are a concept introduced to avoid strange behavior that would occur if all characters were always placed into melee. Because of its special nature, in many cases independent characters are handled differently from characters in melee. The following rules and notes should be read with both these concepts in mind.

Differences to Standard Combat Rules: No Automatic Transition into Melee[edit | edit source]

In Standard Combat, if an independent character takes their turn, while they're still in the skirmish, they will join the melee at the beginning of the next round. In Advanced Combat, however, this does not happen. Instead, an independent character will still be independent at the beginning of their turn.

GM Guide: Proactively Eliminate Independent Characters
The presence of an independent character can be “taxing” on the game flow. Worst case, it may cause the game to stall. The best way to avoid this is to proactively eliminate independent characters. This is also the reason why "Standard Combat" has independent characters automatically joining the melee at the beginning of their next turn. The following "How to Resolve Independent Characters" Section will explain how an independent character can easily join in the melee. GMs should actively try to resolve independent characters with the actions of NPCs.

How to Resolve Independent States

  1. If it's the independent character's turn, they may choose to join in the melee.
  2. If it's the player's turn, and they are in melee, they may target enemy independent characters with melee attacks.
  3. If an enemy independent character is present, you may block their movement through the skirmish during its turn.

※ :Movement obstruction is possible from the starting point of the movement. If a character is independent, they are always involved in a skirmish, so movement blocking through that skirmish is always an option, unless prevented by special conditions such as the enemy to ally ratio. In Standard Combat, it is assumed that this is done by default.

Term: Pulled in
There are situations where a character is forced to join melee combat. As an example, 2. and 3. in the "How to Resolve Independent Characters" Section above explain two ways how this can happen. By definition, as a result of some kind of action, the coordinates of the targeted character are moved to the center of the skirmish, and that character is forced to enter melee combat. The term "pulled in" is used from now on in order to describe "the coordinates change to the center of the skirmish". “Pulled in” can also be understood as "pull into the center of the skirmish". However, the use of this term does not change gameplay (i.e., it is still melee combat).

Term: Engaging In Melee
Very similar to the term "pulled in" above, the terms "engaging in melee" and "join the melee" are used. Although similar, the definition of "engaging/joining melee" and "pulled in" are very different. The meaning of "engaging" is "to take some action against a character, resulting in melee". In contrast, being “pulled in” means a character is forced into melee.

Situations that Cause Independent Characters[edit | edit source]

A character can become independent in the following cases.

  1. A skirmish is formed in the vicinity, and the character's coordinates are within the range of that skirmish.
  2. The character moves into a skirmish without joining in the melee, and does not have their movement blocked (similarly, a character "moving within the skirmish" is also treated as independent).
  3. Falling asleep or falling unconscious while in melee, and being unable to move or being forcefully moved.
  4. The coordinates of the center of the skirmish have changed while the character is unable to move.
Characteristics of Independent Characters[edit | edit source]

A character in the independent state has the following characteristics.

Has Unique Coordinates within the skirmish
An independent character has unique coordinates. In order for an independent character to be the target of a ranged attack or a wide area effect, the character's coordinates must be within range or within the area of effect. It is common for this unique coordinate to be exactly the same as the center of the skirmish (e.g., if the character was in the melee but was knocked unconscious and fell prone). The skirmish includes its circumference. Characters with coordinates just on the edge will be treated as independent characters as well.

Does Not Count Towards Skirmish Size
When determining the size of the skirmish, independent characters are not counted.

Independent Characters can Move Normally
An independent character can take any type of movement on its turn in an attempt to move. However, there is a possibility that the character will be blocked by a hostile character in the skirmish. In this case, the character is immediately pulled into melee.

Direct Interference from Characters In Melee
An independent character is treated as "within touching distance" of any character in the skirmish, and is thus may be targeted by melee attacks or Range: Touch spells and effects. When this happens, if the targeted independent character is hostile to the character targeted them, they will immediately be pulled into melee. If these actions are performed on a friendly character, they will remain independent and their coordinates will not change. If an independent character wants to perform a melee attack on a character already in melee during his turn, he must move to the center of the skirmish and join in the melee. Then, as a result, the character will join into melee.

Independent Characters and Battlefield Creation[edit | edit source]

When an independent character moves to the same coordinates as a hostile independent character and uses a melee attack or a Range: Touch ability or spell, a skirmish will be created around that point. This new skirmish will immediately merge with the existing battlefield, according to the rules for merging skirmishes.

In Melee vs Independent, Moving to the Center
The aforementioned new skirmish is created when there is conflict between independent characters. If either of the two was already in melee instead, the independent character will either move itself or be pulled in, and thus move its coordinates to the center of the existing skirmish, where it will join in the melee.

Managing the Battlefield[edit | edit source]

This section describes the rules for handling the expansion, contraction, merging, and disappearance of skirmishes.

Size of the Battlefield[edit | edit source]

The size of a skirmish is determined by the number of characters in that skirmish that are in melee. If the number of characters in the melee changes, the size of the skirmish changes as well. The following table shows the relationship between the number of characters in melee and the size of a skirmish. If the battlefield is large enough, the skirmish should be circular. If there is no room for a circular skirmish (e.g. indoors), a square skirmish suffices as well.

Skirmish Size and Number of Characters

# of Characters Outdoor Size (radius m) Indoor Size (m)
2 - 5 3 5 x 5
6 - 10 4 7 x 7
11 - 15 5 8 x 8
16 - 20 6 10 x 10
Leaving a Skirmish[edit | edit source]

A character involved in a skirmish may attempt to leave the area by declaring the intent to retreat as their Major Action of their turn. For more information, see "Notes on Major and Minor Actions".

Resolving Melee and Skirmishes[edit | edit source]

If all hostile characters are knocked out or slain, and there are no more hostile characters in the melee, the skirmish will disappear immediately. In addition to falling unconscious or being killed, if the hostile characters cease to be in the skirmish for whatever reason, the melee will end and the skirmish will disappear immediately. Reasons include them being forcefully moved outside of the skirmish, them retreating, them surrendering, or some sort of ability that causes the hostile characters to lose their will to fight. When a skirmish disappears, all characters that were in melee will be located at the center of the former skirmish, while independent characters will maintain their unique coordinates.

Combining Skirmishes[edit | edit source]

Multiple skirmishes may be combined when a new skirmish is formed nearby, or when the skirmish expands. Combining battlefields will be processed immediately after one of the following conditions are met.

Conditions for Combining Skirmishes

Figure 6: Combining Skirmishes
Figure 7: Combining Skirmishes 2

When two different skirmishes overlap due to the creation or expansion of another skirmish, and one of them contains the center of the other skirmish within its area, the two skirmishes merge together. The center of the new skirmish will be the midpoint of the two merging skirmishes (GMs may shift the center anywhere within 1m of the combined area for ease of management). The size of the combined skirmish is determined by the number of characters in the melee of the merged skirmish.

Characters In Melee Stay In Melee
All characters that were previously in melee in their respective skirmish will now be in melee with all opposing characters in a new skirmish.

Independent Characters Stay Independent
Independent characters will remain independent and maintain their original coordinates when the skirmishes merge. Independent Characters will not join into melee or characters in melee state will not become independent when the skirmishes are merged.

Changing States

Figure 8: Changing Skirmishes

When combining skirmishes, the center and range of that skirmish may change so that a character that was previously independent may now be outside the skirmish. At the same time, it is possible for a character that was previously outside the skirmish to become independent, although this is rare.

Skirmish Overlap[edit | edit source]

If two or more skirmishes overlap, but are not within range of each other's center, they are handled as follows.

Skirmishes Will Not Combine
The skirmish will not combine into one larger skirmish, but will remain as smaller, separate skirmishes instead.

No Shielding Between Skirmishes
Characters in either skirmish can look into both skirmishes and see every character involved.

No Direct Interaction Between Skirmishes
A melee combatant in one skirmish cannot directly interact (i.e. make melee attacks or use Range:Touch spells or effects) with a melee combatant in the other skirmish. However, they can be targeted by ranged spells or effects (assuming it has sufficient range, of course).

Targetability for Independent Characters in overlapping Skirmishes
Whether a character in melee can directly interact with an independent character is determined by whether or not they are in the same skirmish. Independent characters with coordinates in multiple skirmishes may be directly interacted with by melee characters in both skirmishes.

Independent Characters in multiple skirmishes may be Pulled Into Melee
Independent characters in multiple overlapping skirmishes may be pulled into either melee. If the independent character is hit by a melee attack or “range: touch” effect from a character already in either melee, the independent character gets pulled in that respective melee. If the independent character has their movement blocked by a character in melee during their turn, the independent character will be pulled into the melee in which the blocking character was participating. If an independent opponent intercepts movement in the overlapping area, they can decide which melee to join. If opponents in melee from both skirmishes jointly block movement of an independent character in the overlap, they get to collectively decide which melee to join.

Leaving Multiple Battlefields
If an independent character whose coordinates are in an overlapping battlefield declares to leave, he may move out of either battlefield on his next move. They can also leave one and stay in the other as an independent character, or move to the center point of the other, and join that melee.

Leaving a Single Battlefield
If a character whose coordinates are only in one side of a battlefield declares that they are leaving, whether they were an independent character or in melee, they only have the right to move out of that battlefield on their next turn. Therefore, if that move attempts to enter or pass through the other battlefield, it may be subject to having their movement blocked.

GM's Guide: Eliminate Characters You don’t need anymore[edit | edit source]

When an enemy or other NPC falls unconscious or is killed, GMs are encouraged to immediately remove the character from the battlefield if they do not plan to use those characters further. This will make the game much easier to run.

Immobilized Characters[edit | edit source]

Characters who are subjected to the "Immobilized" effect in a battlefield will be subjected to special treatment.

Sleeping, Falling Unconscious, or Dying in a Battlefield[edit | edit source]

If a character falls asleep, falls unconscious, or dies in a skirmish or otherwise is unable to move of their own volition, they will fall prone and become independent. If the character was in melee, the coordinates will remain at the center of the skirmish, however the character will still become independent. In such cases, the size of the skirmish may change, typically shrinking in size, due to the change in the number of characters in melee. Even if a character is unconscious, they are still considered to be "within touching distance" of the characters in the melee and may be attacked. In this case, even if the character is hit by these attacks, the character won’t be pulled into melee, remaining independent instead.

Immobilizing Effects[edit | edit source]

A character who has been subjected to a restraining effect, such as being trapped by a bear trap, or being subjected to the 13th level Truespeech spell "Lightning Bind", becomes immobilized. In this case, if the character is already in a melee, they will remain in melee as long as the center of the skirmish is not changed. However, they are no longer able to perform melee attacks or "Range: Touch" effects on independent characters that are not located at the center of the skirmish.

Also, if the skirmish's center moves away from the character's coordinates (and they are still within the skirmish) due to the combining of multiple skirmishes, that character will immediately become independent. From here, the character is considered to be within touching distance of the characters in the melee, and is subject to one-sided melee attacks and "Range: Touch" effects. Even if the character is hit by these attacks, the character won’t be pulled in, remaining independent. This prevents immobilized independent characters from moving to the new center of the skirmish, as well as preventing them from making any melee attacks.

Entangling Effects
If a character is rendered immobilized by a monster attack that entangles or grapples the character, the character may not be able to move on their own. They may, however, be forced to move by that monster. In this case, the situation is handled as follows. If a character is subjected to these effects as well as the previously mentioned "Immobilizing Effects" at the same time, the rules for “Immobilizing Effects” will take precedence.

Terminology: Tangling Character and Entangled Character
In the following explanation, the terms "Tangling Character" and "Entangled Character" are used. An entangled Character is a character who is being subjected to an immobilizing effect, such as entanglement, which is the focus of this section, i.e., a character who is being entangled or strangled. A Tangling Character is a character who is causing that effect on an entangled character.

Changes to Melee and Independent Characters
When a character is subjected to a Chaining Effect, the entangled character remains in melee. However, they cannot perform melee attacks or "Range: Touch" effects on independent characters that are not located at the center of the skirmish anymore. If the coordinates of the center are changed due to the merging of skirmishes, the tangling and entangled characters will simultaneously move to the new coordinates and the entangled character will stay in the melee. If the tangling character becomes independent by any means, the entangled character will also become independent. In this case, the entangled character can attack the tangling character as if they share the same coordinates. If the tangling character is mobile, this will cause both characters to enter melee, creating a new skirmish. As a result, this will immediately lead to the merging of skirmishes, if one already existed beforehand. If the tangling character is immobile (suffering from the aforementioned immobilizing effect), both characters are treated as independent. A melee attack from the tangling character to an entangled character is treated in the same way.

Interfering with Independent Characters
If a tangling or entangled character is independent and interacted with by a character in melee (i.e. they are subject to a melee attack or the target of a Range:Touch spell or effect), both the tangling and entangled characters will be pulled into melee. However, if either the tangling or entangled character are completely immobilized (i.e., has the aforementioned immobilized effect), the character in question will not be drawn into the melee, even if they are attacked by a character in the melee.