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An example here being Instinctive Pounce introduced in Tasha's. The barbarian in question gets "you can move up to half your speed" for free when going into a rage.

How does this interact with being prone?

Can they stand up (half speed being needed to stand up)?

Can they stand up and move (using 10ft to stand)?

Can they crawl (10ft because it is halved)?

Can they actually move 20ft regardless (because that is what it says)?

I should note that I am basing this on my barbarian being able to move 40ft at this level.

SeriousBri
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2 Answers2

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Movement from a special ability is still reduced by prone, etc.

To address the last point first, I think it'll be helpful to compare the basic rules about movement to this special ability.

According to the first part of the Movement and Position rules (PHB p.190), which is the basic rules of moving:

On your turn, you can move a distance up to your speed. You can use as much or as little of your speed as you like on your turn.

And Instinctive Pounce says,

As part of the bonus action to enter your rage, you can move up to half your speed.

Both rules use virtually identical wording. I don't see any possibility that they were intended to be spent differently. Movement, it seems, is just movement, even if it comes from a special ability. You spend it the same way in every case, and all the usual cost increases will apply -- such as from difficult terrain or being prone -- unless the source of movement specifically says you can ignore the cost increase, or if you're using a movement mode that lets you ignore it (such as flying over some kinds of difficult terrain).

The rules for difficult terrain and being prone, on that same page, don't care what your speed is, only that you're using movement:

Every foot of movement in difficult terrain costs 1 extra foot.

Every foot of movement while crawling costs 1 extra foot.

Whether it comes from your speed or an ability, it's all movement, and it functions as such, subject to all the usual rules.

So if you're prone, you can use your 20 feet of movement to crawl 10 feet, provided you don't have another effect (like difficult terrain) also increasing your movement costs.

Can you stand up? Yes.

Again, movement is just movement; there isn't a special kind of movement that can be used to stand up and some other kind that can't. If you can use "you can move up to your speed" to stand up, then you can use "you can move up to half your speed" to stand up.

The rules for Being Prone say:

Standing up takes more effort; doing so costs an amount of movement equal to half your speed. [...] You can't stand up if you don't have enough movement left or if your speed is 0.

Now this refers to your speed, not to how much movement a special ability granted you. It will always cost half your speed (20 feet, in your case) to stand up. If you get to move half your speed from Pounce, then you can use that to stand up, but that takes up the entirety of what Pounce gave you.

Darth Pseudonym
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  • I think your first paragraph could use some form of support, either by quoting rules, designers, the SAC, or just explaining natural language and why you think this falls onto using that – Exempt-Medic Oct 12 '21 at 16:17
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    Does this help? – Darth Pseudonym Oct 12 '21 at 16:51
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    "If you get to move half your speed from Pounce, then you can use that to stand up, but that takes up the entirety of what Pounce gave you." - I'm not sure if this is true. Instinctive Pounce says "you can move up to half your speed." However, I'm not sure whether standing up is "moving" in this sense; it says it "costs an amount of movement equal to half your speed", not that standing up is itself considered a form of movement. (SeriousBri, the OP, notes this distinction in a comment on the other answer as well.) – V2Blast Oct 12 '21 at 20:01
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    As v2blast mentions, this answer assumes that the ability 'grants movement' which can be spent as normal movement. That might be the intention, and possibly how I would rule it myself, but is there anything to say that is true? "Can move", and "can spend movement points" are different. Or are they? – SeriousBri Oct 12 '21 at 21:20
  • @V2Blast That's why I quoted the Pounce rule and the text from the basic movement rules. The word "half" aside, they're identical wording. I don't see any possibility that they were intended to somehow be spent differently. If you can use "you can move up to your speed" to stand up, then you can use "you can move up to half your speed" to stand up. – Darth Pseudonym Oct 13 '21 at 01:17
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    That last comment really does clarify it. I see the intent in the post too now but didn't make that link before the clarification. – SeriousBri Oct 13 '21 at 07:40
  • Okay, since that was unclear, I'll update my answer to be more direct about what I'm saying. – Darth Pseudonym Oct 13 '21 at 12:55
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Arguably the Barbarian can stand up

Instinctive Pounce reads:

At 7th level, as part of the bonus action you take to enter your rage, you can move up to half your speed.

If you have not yet used your bonus action, you may do so to enter your rage. On entering your rage you can move "up to half your speed". I read this as meaning you gain half your movement speed, in this case 20ft - the rationale for this interpretation is best explained in this answer, but boils down to an interpretation which sees movement as a resource which can be spent.

You now have 20ft of movement, meaning:

B. S. Morganstein
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    I think this is correct, but I also feel like it doesn't address why it's not "Can they actually move 20ft regardless (because that is what it says)?" or similar. "Things do what they say they do" is extremely unhelpful – Ifusaso Oct 12 '21 at 15:27
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    This also doesn't address being able to stand up because while that costs movement it isn't actually moving, so moving half my speed wouldn't be standing up – SeriousBri Oct 12 '21 at 15:35
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    I think this answer needs to establish why being able to move up to half your speed means you now have that many feet of actual movement. In other words, I think you need to address alternative readings such as that you just move a distance of 20 feet – Exempt-Medic Oct 12 '21 at 15:36
  • @SeriousBri hopefully the edited version makes a bit more sense, and addresses these comments! – B. S. Morganstein Oct 12 '21 at 16:01
  • It does address it, but I am not sure I agree with the core interpretation as 'gaining movement'. Still, it might be right. – SeriousBri Oct 12 '21 at 16:08