I think for most people there is no question that in his turn, a hero may spend movement points only in step 3 (Perform actions). Movement points gained at the start of the turn (Elven Boots, Okaluk and Rakash, etc.) cannot be spent in the start of turn step.

However, does somebody have an official or unofficial answer from FFG on this? I was pretty sure I had one, but cannot find it anymore.

I found https://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/11091079#11091079 , the poster is claiming the info was originally posted by Justin Kemppainen, Creative Content Developer, Fantasy Flight Games. I didn't do extensive back-searching to verify it, short on time at the moment.

Quote from the post:

"Q. What's the deal with Movement Points, when can you use them?

A. Think of movement points like a pool you have available to a figure during its turn. When you take a move action, you're adding movement points equal to your Speed to that pool. You can also suffer fatigue to add movement points in the same way. There is no restriction on when you can use these movement points (before, during, or after your actions), but you have to keep track of and declare when you're using fatigue to move.

Also keep in mind that the rule requires you to suffer fatigue to gain movement points. If you're worried about something like a pit traps, you are absolutely free to suffer 2 fatigue to gain that extra movement point that would normally land you in a stun."

Sadgit is probably very aware of that uFAQ, but it doesn't answer his question.

Sadgit I think I remember seeing that ruling as well, but I can't find it either.

I may be missing a subtlety here, as I'm still relatively new to the game, but the developer was talking about movement points, and those skills/cards are also talking about movement points. Granted, these points are from a different source than the hero sheet (Speed), but they are still worded as movement points.

The question was when they were able to be used, and he said movement points can be used before/during/after actions. If the only way to spend movement points was at Step 3, then he would not have typed "before" an action, or in this case a Move Action.

My interpretation of all of that is this: Movement points can be used before Move Actions if you have a way to obtain them prior to step 3, and those cards/abilities do exactly that. They literally even say "at the start". Step 3 is just where your Speed stat comes into play, and a Move Action is used to convert your Speed stat into even more movement points. It is nothing more than a movement point generator and spender of those specific movement points that you just generated.

I think the confusion is at the start of your turn your 4 Speed hero doesn't actually have those 4 movement points. You have 0 movement points at the start of every turn unless otherwise granted by gear/abilities/etc. You create them fresh every single time at Step 3 before you are allowed to move via Move Action. It's a blurred 2 step process of converting speed into movement points, then using them.

At least that's how I see it, and it goes in line with what the developer was saying, which is why I felt it answered Sadgit's question.

Maybe I'm missing the point of the question entirely. If I'm wrong or muddying the topic, I seriously don't intend to. I'm about to dive in with a full party this coming weekend and want to be sure I'm playing it properly. They're all new and counting on me for the rules, and I have a feeling the dog lover of the group is going to pick Okaluk and Rakash, so I need to know this as well.

@Zotiskarr: Thanks for your input and welcome to this great game.

My question is connected to the turn sequence:

1. Start of Turn
2. Equip Items
3. Perform Actions
4. End of Turn

I am looking for a reference that unambiguously confirms that movement points (regardless of the source) may not be spent in step 1. To get this right you have to know that heroes can suffer fatigue to gain movement points only "during your turn" and that the term "during your turn" has been confirmed by FFG to refer to step 3 only.

Quote

You can also suffer fatigue to add movement points in the same way. There is no restriction on when you can use these movement points (before, during, or after your actions), but you have to keep track of and declare when you're using fatigue to move.

This uFAQ (emphasis mine) answers the question when movement points from fatigue may be spent. As those can only be gained in step 3 , the answer is referring to that step alone. It confirms that in step 3 the following is possible:

3. Perform actions

Suffer fatigue and spend movement point(s) ("before your actions")
Action #1
Suffer fatigue and spend movement point(s) ("during your actions")
Action #2
Suffer fatigue and spend movement point(s) ("after your actions")

It is not very clear if the "during your actions" in the uFAQ refers to after action 1 (as implied above) or during a move action (which can be interrupted to suffer fatigue and gain movement points). But either way it would still be in step 3. So unfortunately this uFAQ does not refer to movement points gained in step 1 of the turn. As I said in the OP, those movement points may also be spent only in step 3. So if you are going to take Okaluk, you should spend movement points from his Hero ability only in step 3. I am just looking for an official FFG reference for that to include in the CRRG.

Quote

It's a blurred 2 step process of converting speed into movement points, then using them.

There might be a misconception here. The Speed of a figure defines how many movement points it receives when it performs a move action. As every action, move actions can only be performed in step 3 of the turn. Thus, converting Speed to movement points can take place only in step 3. Syndrael's Heroic feat granting a move action outside of a hero's turn is the only exception that comes to my mind at the moment.