Manhattan distance of rotation sequence
Python 3, 109 99 104 101 bytes



This is a simple answer that uses complex numbers, with input as a space-separated string or a newline-separated string. Golfing suggestions welcome!

Edit: -13 bytes thanks to Labo. +5 bytes for converting to an int.

d=p=0
for r in input().split():d+=1-2*(r&lt;'R');p+=1j**d*int(r[1:])
print(int(abs(p.real)+abs(p.imag)))


Ungolfing

def manhattan_rotation(seq, nsew=0, pos = 0):
    for rot in seq.split():
        # change direction
        if rot[0] == "L":
            nsew += -1 
        else:
            nsew += 1
        # move in that direction rot[1:] times
        pos += 1j ** nsew * int(rot[1:])
    return int(abs(pos.real)+abs(pos.imag))