stone shifting and other

[raddimusprime]

ok, ive had this game since 2003. i bust it out every now and then when i get ideas about characters i want to make and missions/issues/games i want to play out. now everytime i read the main guide, it says after you allocate stones to an action/s you can then shift them, up to the number/s you used i assume, to your defense. then the combat round plays out and damage is counted and so on.
NOW, my question:
suspose i have a character who has force blast with an AN 7. he puts 7 stones into the action. now, from what i can tell, he can then can shift those stones, all or some, into defense for that round. what i understand from this is that he can still attack with a full 7 stones AND have 7 stones in his defense for that round.
is that right? i know that as combat goes on, he will have less stones to allocate and the extra stones shifted into defense will be smaller so it could just be a bigger bonus at the start of a combat and fizzle out as the cobat continues. but am i reading this right?
and another thing. in the sample combat between gambit and blob of the main guide, blob attacks gambit with like 12 stones in his close combat. gambit, in this example has a defense of 3. but in the result part its says , " at an agility of 1 and a speed of 1, blob cant get close enough to the quicker, more agile gambit to hit him."
my impression of the game is that as long as your stones beats their stones, you hit. i can understand that a slow, fat guy might not be able to land a blow on a skinner, fast guy. it makes sense. but nowhere in the guide do i see a table or something that explains how agility or speed affect combat(not counting ability bonuses for the original attack of course).
am i just missing something here? i really like the game, but these 2 questions have bothered me since i bought the game. its really the only factor of the game that turns my off about it.
anyway, little help?

[johnstargazer]

Stones shifted to defense count only for defense. IE, in your example, if you shifted say, three stones to defense, you'd hit with a four stone force blast, and have three stones of defense against any incoming attacks.

The thing you've missed in the second case is that Gambit is moving to stay out of melee range. The key isn't that Gambit is dodging the attack better because of his speed, but that Blob's 12 stone attack never happens, because he can't reach Gambit from where they are in the round. Blob also can't put enough stones into speed or another movement ability to catch up, so Gambit can maintain a safe distance indefinitely, and still be able to hit within thirty yards due to his ranged attack.

[raddimusprime]

sounds reasonable. but why not just say i want 4 stones in an action and 3 in defense instead of first 7 in the action and then i decide to move some to defense? it just seems to me that that step is unnecessary. if its susposed to be like that, then thats cool. but i just see the gamebeing simpler with just saying like, "i have 12 stones in energy reserve. i put 7 in flight and 2 in defense. i save the rest." maybe i shouldnt be tripping on a rule like this but... it just sounds weird to me.
thanks for the other clairification on the speed and agility. if gambit and blob were going toe to toe with each other, gambit would be squashed. like in the first example right? but since hes moving and keeping out of the way of blob, blob cant get next to him and swing. so that means you can play defensively then right? put a couple of stones in speed or agility and keep out of the way of the close combat. but ranged combat nulls that; just use normal attack/defense rules for ranged combat then. right? so if your primarily a melee character then it would be wise to put more stones in speed than agility at character creation so you can catch up to your enemies and smack em.

[talismanhex]

raddimusprime said:

sounds reasonable. but why not just say i want 4 stones in an action and 3 in defense instead of first 7 in the action and then i decide to move some to defense? it just seems to me that that step is unnecessary. if its susposed to be like that, then thats cool.

Well since you only get 2 Action, Shifting Stones to Defense would eat one up. Here you can do your action, shift some Stones to Defense and still get to do another Action.

[raddimusprime]

ohhhhhhhhhhhh
its clear now. i forgot about the 2 action/panal thing. yea i guess that step does come in handy then. thanks all

[beryl]

raddimusprime said:

ohhhhhhhhhhhh
its clear now. i forgot about the 2 action/panal thing. yea i guess that step does come in handy then. thanks all

Also, it describes how you're defending yourself, as well. Shifting stones from Close Combat into defense won't work the same as doing that with Force Field.

Also, doing it this way is limiting, in that stones shifted to defense still count as being in that action. With your Force Blast of 7, you may only put 7 stones in it towards attack AND defense combined. It keeps you from being able to attack and defend at high levels at the same time... unless you have a high AN.

[marauder03]

I've been wondering the same general question, about shifting stones.

I read the thread, and I get that shifting is one action for the panel. However, in the 5th post, I just want some clarification, please.

The example was a force blast an7. So I can put 7 stones in it, and then chose to shift stones to defense. So, let's say I put in the 7 stones to knock someone through a wall, but I choose to shift 4 of the 7 into my defense. Do the stones that shifted still count as part of the attack? i.e. Do I compare a 7 stone blast, or a 3 stone blast, to their defense?

May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't. - Gen George Patton