Cover (Action)
Heroic Action Role-Play |
Cover in action gives an effective Dodge rating - it is not additive. This means it is a tactic for the unskilled - skilled fighters have better Dodge than all but the heaviest cover. It can offer a significant advantage in combat among mooks.
What constitutes cover as opposed to concealment depends on the weapon or tool used, but should generally be read generously; a bullet may be able to penetrate even a rather thick wooden wall, but accuracy is usually lost completely. Still some weapons, particularly heavy sniper rifles, antitank guns, and direct artillery, are designed to shoot trough cover rather than around cover. In such cases, simply treat the cover as if it was concealment instead.
Amount of Cover | Cover | Concealment | Dodge rating |
Flimsy cover | Lying down on flat ground | Partial or flimsy concealment | 10 |
Soft cover | Lying down in terrain, partial cover | Heavily concealed. Outline is not visible. | 12 |
Hard cover | Full cover. Behind wall or corner, looking out of a foxhole | Indirect line of sight. Camera, mirror, shadow, or observer reports | 14 |
Full cover | Entrenched. Small window, line of sight but no line of effect (for effects needing no line of effect) | No line of sight | 16 |
Fortified | Fortified. Gun port, arrow slit, bunker | - | 18 |
Hidden | No direct line of effect | - | 20 |
Any degree of cover or concealment is usually enough to allow the use of Sneaking.