(KotS) Normal Cover vs. Superior Cover

[drjones]

Edit: doh.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

I thought this was about the alleged printing issues.

 

[Dragonbait]

So, yes. I stick to my original statement. There was just cover, and it gave a +4 to AC. Soft, hard, whatever. Except in this nebulous time when it's somehow improved and that modifier doubles. Of course, "improved" has no definition, and we're back to square one.

the wok, Egres was posting from teh 3.5 SRD. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/combatModifiers.htm#cover not 4E.

 

[phil500]

lol, from the title i thought they had released Keep on the shadowfell with a hardcover rather than magazine format.

 

[WyzardWhately]

While we're on the topic: I've read the cover rules in KotS and I think I'm missing something. Am I reading it correctly that if a bad guy stands in the first square of treeline, not only do the PCs get a penalty to hit him, but he ALSO gets a penalty to fire out? Because I don't think I'm too big a fan of that.

 

[MindWanderer]

From the PrRC: "Pick any corner of the attacker's square. Draw lines to each corner of the target's square. If there are one or two corners blocked on these lines, the target has cover; if there are three blocked, the target has [superior] cover."

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Welcome to the Internet?

Har!

 

[Festivus]

While we're on the topic: I've read the cover rules in KotS and I think I'm missing something. Am I reading it correctly that if a bad guy stands in the first square of treeline, not only do the PCs get a penalty to hit him, but he ALSO gets a penalty to fire out? Because I don't think I'm too big a fan of that.

I'd rule it like this: Standing at the edge, where the kobold is inside the treeline firing out, no penalty on his attack and he has cover. Standing in the middle of the trees, superior cover and attack penalties.

 

[thewok]

I think you may want to define your definition of 'definition'...

Sure thing.

def·i·ni·tion /ˌdɛfəˈnɪʃən/ [def-uh-nish-uhn] –noun
1. the act of defining or making definite, distinct, or clear.

Varying Degrees of Cover

In some cases, cover may provide a greater bonus to AC and Reflex saves. In such situations the normal cover bonuses to AC and Reflex saves can be doubled (to +8 and +4, respectively). A creature with this improved cover effectively gains improved evasion against any attack to which the Reflex save bonus applies. Furthermore, improved cover provides a +10 bonus on Hide checks.

This is not a complete definition; it is unclear. It says that, yes, the AC bonuses can double in some cases. But it does not define those cases. In this example, we're left with a useless rule, due to the fact that it is incomplete. A complete definition would be something like the following:

"If more than half of the target's body is behind cover, the normal cover bonuses to AC and Reflex saves can be doubled (to +8 and +4, respectively). A creature with this improved cover effectively gains improved evasion against any attack to which the Reflex save bonus applies. Furthermore, improved cover provides a +10 bonus on Hide checks."

This defines the modifier and the times at which it would come into play.

This:

Pick any corner of the attacker's square. Draw lines to each corner of the target's square. If there are one or two corners blocked on these lines, the target has cover; if there are three blocked, the target has [superior] cover.

... is a true definition. And thank you to MindWanderer for pointing it out. It's a shame that one has to go outside the official product to learn the rules for the product. Now, if I have somehow missed rules for cover in the product itself (other than the foliage for the King's Road, whcih provides normal cover), then I apologize and would like to be pointed to the page