move

Olympia: The Age of Gods PBEM (Oct 4 2000)

## `move`

      move direction or destination [...]
      * time: varies
      * priority: 2

Travel in the indicated direction, or to the specified location. If a location is specified, there must be a direct route to it from the noble's current location.

Compass points may be abbreviated: ``n`', ``s`', ``e`', ``w`'. Units may also `move out` of a sublocation to the surrounding province or location, or `move in` to a sublocation from the surrounding province or location. Note that `move in` is ambiguous if there are two sublocations (e.g., a sacred grove and a temple). In that case you should move to the id of the sublocation you want, so that you don't end up someplace unexpected (e.g., in the sacred grove when you expected to be in the temple).

Units may also `move up` and `move down` to go up and down. Currently this is only useful when moving up and down through the levels of a mine.

Visible routes leaving each province are listed in the turn report.

For example:

      Routes leaving Plain [cw04]:
         North, to Ocean [cv04], South Sea, 1 day
         East, to Plain [cw05], 7 days
         South, to Plain [cx04], 7 days
         West, to Plain [cw03], 7 days

The following would be valid move commands from the example province:

      move e  -or-  move cw05  -or-  move east
      move s  -or-  move cx04  -or-  move south
      move w  -or-  move cw03  -or-  move west

Note that `move` cannot be used to enter the ocean region [cv04]. The noble would need to issue the `sail` order as captain of a ship to move north into the South Sea.

Route distances are rated in the number of days it would normally take a lightly loaded noble, walking, to traverse them. Actual travel times may differ from the rated times.

Nobles overloaded with belongings will make slower progress. Horses usually speed progress, but over especially rough or treacherous terrain, they may actually slow travel because they must be led and managed.

Inventory is considered for the stack as a whole. For instance, if one noble possesses enough horses for every member of the stack, the stack may ride. Similarly, if one noble is badly overloaded, but other nobles have extra carrying capacity, they will assist their stackmate. Distribution of goods between units within a stack is irrelevant to movement.

The units stacked beneath a moving noble will move with the stack leader. If the unit issuing `move` is stacked beneath another noble, he will first automatically unstack before movement begins.

For example:

      Seen here:
         Osswid the Constructor [5499], accompanied by:
            Feasel the Wicked [502]

If Osswid issues a `move` order, Feasel will go with Osswid. If Feasel issues a `move` order, however, Feasel would first unstack from Osswid before beginning travel.

Multiple destinations or directions may be given as arguments to the `move` order. If the first fails, the next will be tried, until a passable route is found, or `move` runs out of arguments.

For example, ```move` n e w`' would first try to move north. If travel north was not possible for any reason, east would next be tried, then west. In this way exploring units can attempt to deal with the case of running into an impassable province or a coast.

Some locations may charge noble to enter. See Entrance Fees.

The size of the entrance to some locations is limited, and only stacks of that size or smaller may enter (or attack) that location. For example:

      Inner locations:
         Lair [ad7n], lair, 1 day, entrance size: 4, owner:
            Harpie [jn7t], harpies, number: 12

Lair [ad7n] can only be entered -- or attacked -- by stacks of size four or less. (If you attack with more than that number in your stack, the attack will immediately fail.) Notice that this does not restrict the size of stacks inside the location, only the number that may enter at one time.

Some locations may not permit a noble to enter. For example, a province guarded by a garrison may close its border, refusing admission to nobles not on the ruler's admission list. In this case, the `move` order will fail in zero time.

To enter a closed location, a noble should use the `attack` order. It is sometimes convenient to use `move` and `attack` in combination, to ensure entry to a location. For example, if Feasel gave the commands:

      move cw05
      attack cw05

he would first try to move into cw05. If that succeeds, the subsequent attack command will fail (since Feasel will already be in cw05). If the move fails because the border is closed, the attack will happen. If the move fails for some other reason (such as the location not existing) then the attack will fail as well.

A moving stack does not leave its current location until the day it completes the move. This means that the stack can be attacked until its move completes, e.g., on an eight day move the stack could be attacked for eight days after it begins the move.