Instead of hijacking the post that caused this thought to trigger in my brain... I just re-read the General Movement Rules, specifically the bit on Ladders and I noticed something odd. We have always played Ladders as to be treated exactly like walking along a horizontal surface, except going vertical. I'm pretty sure that's commonly accepted. But as I'm looking at this, suddenly I'm wondering if we've been doing it wrong all this time. Every place in the rules text actually sounds as if you aren't supposed to measure the vertical distance at all, you simply ignore it and measure horizontal only. Let's go through it, starting with Vault: A trooper can vault over any obstacle not higher than his Silhouette Template (as determined by his Silhouette Attribute) at no cost, without declaring Jump or Climb. We know that you Vault by ignoring the up and down movement for measurement purposes, but it triggers AROs. There's a FAQ and an Example covering this. The Yellow Box under Jump: Troopers can vault over obstacles smaller than their Silhouette Template at no cost. And then Super Jump: When the user of Super-Jump moves normally on the ground, he may vault over obstacles up to his height without penalty. And then Super Jump Example A: An obstacle of the same height as the trooper (for simplicity's sake, 1 inch tall). Tarik may move straight through it, traversing the entirety of this first MOV value. The FAQ answer: Troops can vault and they are considered to be moving “up and down”. Now with all that in mind... Look at the wording for Ladders and Stairs: Those pieces of scenery representing stairs and ladders allow to move vertical or diagonal surfaces using the Move Skill at no cost, without declaring Jump or Climb. The language used is practically identical to how Vault is defined in multiple places in the rules. The Move Skill is used at no cost for vertical movement. Am I losing my marbles?
That sounds rather like "ignore the rules text, no one plays it this way" which is completely irrelevant to what I'm saying.
No....you asked if weve all been playing it wrong.... Given community consensus is in some ways more important than RAW in a translated game i gave you an answer..... But sure you do you and climb 10 up a ladder.
So what you are saying is if I put a ladder on the infinity tall objective rooms I can make my model move infinity inches finally achieving the true goal of the game infinity
The Spanish reads a bit differently, separating the "at no cost"-type line under a different clause: Aquellas piezas de escenografía que representen escaleras permiten recorrer superficies verticales y diagonales con la Habilidad Mover, sin necesidad de declarar Saltar ni Trepar, y sin afectar a los valores de Atributo de MOV. "Afectar" there is the same verb that is used to say that standing up / dropping prone does not affect your MOV attribute movement. We know of course this means—particularly in the case of standing up—to not "cost" movement for the model to stand. We could indeed be playing this wrong. Oye @HellLois This is probably just saying that the ladder itself does not add some extra penalty to MOV, but it would be hilarious if ladders were intended to just pop you up.
I believe it would be clearer if the text was changed to Those pieces of scenery representing stairs and ladders allow to move vertical or diagonal surfaces using the Move Skill without penalty, without declaring Jump or Climb.
If we're talking about a rules re-write, having a proper entry for Ladders and Stairs that isn't just a blue reminder box in the General Movement Rules would be nice. Retaining the status quo, it might perhaps look something like: Those pieces of scenery representing stairs and ladders allow vertical or diagonal movement as if the surface was horizontal, using the Move Skill without penalty, and no need to declare Jump or Climb. Movement should be measured following the path of the base of the trooper's silhouette.
Funnily enough, RAW that can be read as "ignore terrain rules for this!" (there is a lack of something on the lines of "further affecting the MOV attribute") XD. Now, seriously, RAW you might be correct, but RAI that would either equate the stairs to Elevators... or even make them better.
I don't follow that logic. It specifically says using the Move skill, which will cost you an order. What you do with your movement before or after is up to you. EDIT: I suppose you could be right, but it seems like a stretch. Either way the rule should specify exactly what cost is free.
My presumption is that this was intended to mean 'additional cost' hence "measure movement on ladders just like you measure movement on horizontal surfaces; there is no additional cost for using the ladder"; is that what others do?
Yes, this is what it means, and is also in keeping with the other quoted examples: When you vault obstacles "at no cost" you don't appear on the other side of them without measuring, you just don't reduce your move for having moved through them, it's not free, it's at no additional cost beyond the scope of a normal move. Similarly, when you climb a ladder it doesn't mean you can move an infinite distance on it without it "spending" your allotted movement, just that your allotted movement is not negatively impacted. Given stairs which impart both a horizontal and vertical component to your move are included in the same clause the idea that you would somehow separate out the vertical component of a ladder from the rest of your move just doesn't hold up. In fact, I'm not sure the idea of a distance "costing" you MOV is something that's actually borne out in the rules either.
When you Vault, you don't measure the up and down movement. Horizontal only, not vertical. This is what the "no cost" refers to.
