Ranged attacked through a portculis

[scottchiefbaker]

We were recently playing an encounter where enemies were behind a portculis that was providing them "cover" from ranged attacks. My wizards was casting cloud of daggers onto the enemies ignoring the cover. My logic was that it wasn't a ranged attack, more that that daggers appeared on the enemy square (i.e. conjuration). They never travel from my wizard through the portcullis to the enemy. Is this correct?

What about scorching burst which is a burst 1 in 10 squares. Does that travel from my wizard through the portcullis? It's not a ranged attack by definition, but I could see that it my be interpreted as such for this example.

 

[Mort_Q]

That's how I'd play. Cloud of Daggers is Area 1 square within 10 squares, and Scorching Burst is Area burst 1 within 10 squares. Both determine cover from the targetted square, not the Wizard.

 

[Amaroq]

Right.

For determining Concealment, the important question is line of sight from you to the target.

For determining Cover, the important question is line of effect from the origin square of the power to the target.

For an archer's arrow, "origin square" is the archer's square, and target is the target's square, of course.

For an area-effect power, however, "origin square" is the center of the burst.

So, a "Close Burst 2" would have as its origin, your square. An "Area Burst 2 within 10" would have as its origin any square you selected within 10 squares.

Note also that "Concealment" doesn't affect your to-hit roll with an area-effect power.

Imagine the case where you are in a 5' wide hallway that turns 90 degrees to the right 40' away from you. Urkk the Orc is hiding out of sight around the 90-degree turn. You can't see him, and there's a wall between you and him.

He's obviously got great Concealment from you: you can't see him.

He's got perfect Cover from your square: an archer can't shoot through the stone walls of the hallway to hit him.

However, if you tossed a grenade to the "elbow" square of the hallway, the spot where it turns, and the grenade blows up ... the wall provides Urkk no Cover from the grenade, and the fact that he has Concealment from you doesn't make it any harder for the grenade blast to hit him.

In your example, I think you played it perfectly: the spell is, essentially, a grenade which you are able to magically wing through the portcullis .. and once it blows up, the bad guys get no Cover benefit.

 

[DracoSuave]

Absolutely correct.

Cloud of Daggers is not a ranged attack, it's an area attack, and concealment has butkiss to do with it, neither does concealment.

Also, for the record, Portcullises are iron bars lattices designed to let ranged attacks through to slaughter those trapped between them. They're not traditionally used as cover to prevent them, they're used as a trap to encourage them.