I suppose I’m still confused on what the problem is here.

You can only move into a static stance at the start of your turn, you can then move to a dynamic stance as a free action. After you have taken an action it is no longer the start of your turn, so once you have performed any action you can no longer go back into a dynamic stance. As per the rules of movement you can only enter a dynamic stance with the intent to cover ground, so at no point can you enter a dynamic stance unless you have at least half an action left with which to move.

So the possible scenarios are:
Static stance > Full Attack
Static Stance >Shift to dynamic > Full Move
Static Stance > Shift to dynamic > Half Move > Half Attack

That’s it. You can’t make a full attack and then use a free action to switch to a dynamic because you can no longer cover any ground, you used all your actions. You also cannot move then shift back to a static stance before the attack because it is no longer the start of your turn.

Blackrabite - 08 July 2010 08:51 AM

I suppose I’m still confused on what the problem is here.

You can only move into a static stance at the start of your turn, you can then move to a dynamic stance as a free action. After you have taken an action it is no longer the start of your turn, so once you have performed any action you can no longer go back into a dynamic stance. As per the rules of movement you can only enter a dynamic stance with the intent to cover ground, so at no point can you enter a dynamic stance unless you have at least half an action left with which to move.

So the possible scenarios are:
Static stance > Full Attack
Static Stance >Shift to dynamic > Full Move
Static Stance > Shift to dynamic > Half Move > Half Attack

That’s it. You can’t make a full attack and then use a free action to switch to a dynamic because you can no longer cover any ground, you used all your actions. You also cannot move then shift back to a static stance before the attack because it is no longer the start of your turn.

Blackrabite, the combinations you mentioned above all make sense, the confusion comes in when you try something like:

Static Stance > Half Attack > Shift to Dynamic > Half Move

The intention of the above is to attack with no penalties to your attack roll, then maximise bonueses to your defense from the movement.
It’s a loophole that is most likely exploited by someone in every group

The way i’ll be running it is:
1. Declare static to static switch at the beginning of turn.
2. Declare all actions in the static stance (attacks not included.)
3. Static to Dynamic stance switch (if any)
4. Declare movements and/or attacks in any order.

They will get one free static to static switch, and one free static to dynamic stance whereas they’ll be stuck in dynamic stance until next active segment.

I’m allowing attacks while in the dynamic stance, but all attacks have to be made at the end of your turn. All other non-movement actions such as dropping items, taking an item out of your pocket, etc. will have to be done while in the static stance. If they choose not to move then they’ll be in the static stance when they declare their attacks. If they attack in a static stance then movement won’t be allowed. This also allows the freedom to move before or after you attack while maintaining penalties for being in a dynamic stance. I thought about it and this is the best way i came up with to use the stance system, prevent abuse, and keep it reasonable/realistic.

That is definately a good way to balance it and keep the abuse down.
However, if you run in a broader forum than just your group (convention, outpost, etc) be prepared for some less than pleasant feedback from those who know the system well

How is it normally ran? I couldn’t find a solid system with the stances in the book. it says you can switch as a free action at beginning of turn only, then says you can switch as a free action at any part of your turn, says nothing about switching back from dynamic to static, says nothing about attacking before or after you switch stance. It leaves it far too open for abuse as was pointed out earlier in this post. I’ve had less then pleasant feedback before from players while running other systems and my typical response is, “i’m the GM, these are my rules, you don’t like it, there’s the door.” There hasn’t been a solid answer really given either as to how the stances are supposed to be used and players should never be allowed to freely abuse a system. In my opinion it also simplifies things and gives a solid and consistent turn structure. If i run at dragoncon next year which i’m currently planning on doing I want to use the rules directly out of the book, but they’re very vague when you get to stances.

The only stipulation (according to the rules) is that choosing a static stance is a free action done in the beginning of the active segment and that changing to a dynamic stance is a free action that can be done at any time during the course of the segment. So a savvy player will set his static stance at the beginning of the active segment, make his attacks, then change his stance to dynamic as a free action and make some movement, assuming he did not attack more than 1/2 his max attacks. That is about as far as the rules go, hence the ease of cheesing it

Though I do something similar as yourself in my personal games, if the players plan to move at all, the modifiers apply to the attacks. But that is not RAW, so prepare for some flack unless you have understanding palyers

Like i stated before, that’s going to be a house rule, if i run at conventions or shops i’ll be playing by the book.

Excellent, let us know how it goes.