Do unattended shields give Cover?

[Zaruthustran]

Situation:

PC light crossbowman vs. orc longbowman. 100' encounter distance. Neither is surprised. PC has Initiative. PC is a first level fighter, is currently carrying a large square shield in one hand and a loaded light crossbow in his right hand. Terrain is flat desert. There is a rock near the PC that is the same size and shape of a large shield. The PC's square has some brush that would easily support the weight of his shield.

DM: The orc is 100' away. You have the initiative.
PC: I loose my shield as a move-equivalent. I then drop the shield as a free action. I drop it such a way that it leans against the brush, facing the orc. I drop prone as a free action, taking cover behind the shield. I then take a shot at the orc as my standard action, peeking around the shield. (rolls)
DM: You miss. The orc shoots at you. That's -4 for shooting at a prone target and...

Now what?

1. Does the PC get cover from the shield? How much?
2. What if the PC had 5' stepped and dropped prone behind the rock that is the same size and shape of a large shield?
3. What if he sat behind his dropped shield and fired over it (the shield would lean against his knees)?

-z

 

[Deset Gled]

1. Does the PC get cover from the shield? How much?

In the situation described, sounds like 9/10ths. If I were the DM, though, I would have made the character use at least a move-equivalent action, if not a full one, to set up the shield as desired (the free action of dropping is for just randomly dropping and not caring where the item falls. Setting it up should take longer).

2. What if the PC had 5' stepped and dropped prone behind the rock that is the same size and shape of a large shield?

Judgment call depending on how you want the rock to look. I would think that the set up shield would provide a more ideal cover than the rock, because the character can set it up how they want. To show that, I would give 3/4 cover in this situation. If you happen to like rocks, you may give it 9/10ths as well.

3. What if he sat behind his dropped shield and fired over it (the shield would lean against his knees)?

Again, a bit of a judgement call depending on the shape of the shield. If it was shaped in a way that made this convenient (for instance, an uneven top edge that covered the archers arms while firing) I owuld say 3/4. For a plain circle or flat-topped sheild, I would probably go with 1/2, as I imagine most of his torso would have to be open for him to use his arms effectivly.

Hope this helps.

 

[Stalker0]

I agree with gled, you have to take sometime to prepare that shield, but yeah after that I'd allow cover.

you can probably get up to half cover if your standing. If your prone, easily 9/10.