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Cover, Armor, & Shields

When an actor partially or fully interposes an object or another actor between themself and an attacker, they are said to be taking cover. Cover may be Full or Partial, and may be Obstructive, Protective, or both. Although cover may be used in situations outside of combat, for the purposes of the definitions below, the terms Target (the actor taking cover) and Attacker (the actor from which the target is taking cover) will be used.

Full & Partial Cover

A target is behind full cover from an attacker if the attacker has no direct line-of-sight to any significant part of the target for the entire Round. “Significant part” will be defined in context by the GM, but for a biological actor it generally means a full limb, the trunk of the body, or the head. An actor standing behind a wall with only the toe of one boot sticking out is in full cover. However if the actor moves partially or fully from behind the wall to take an action—even for only part of their turn—thereafter they have only Partial cover for the rest of the round.

If one or more significant parts of the target is behind cover but the target does not qualify for full cover, that target is in partial cover.

Obstructive Cover

Obstructive cover blocks visibility along line-of-sight. A target taking obstructive cover is not protected from damage by that cover, but the cover makes the target more difficult for the attacker to see or hit. Obstructive cover might be a paper screen, fog, or hiding in tall grass.

If obstructive cover is full, the attacker’s success target is increased by +5S. If partial, the attacker’s success target is +2S against targets at a range of 3m or more. Partial obstructive cover does not provide any benefits at ranges less than 3m.

Protective Cover

Protective cover blocks or absorbs a significant amount of force or energy projected along line-of-sight from attacker to target, and thus reduces the effects of an attack on the target. It does not make the target harder to hit unless it is also obstructive. Protective cover might take the form of bullet-resistant windows, a force field, or using an enemy (or friendly!) as a shield.

A target hiding behind an opaque wall is in both protective and obstructive cover.

When a target is behind protective cover, some amount of the damage (or other effects) of the attack is absorbed by the cover, depending on the damage type and cover material.

If the target is behind full cover, all damage that would have impacted the target is instead applied to the cover material with any damage not absorbed by the material’s TUF or HP passed through to the target.

 

Seeja ducks down behind a low stone wall to take cover from an enemy sniper. The sniper saw her take cover, but can’t now see her at all because she is behind Full Obstructive cover. Since the wall is stone, it’s also Protective against his bullets.

Nonetheless, he takes aim and tries for a lucky shot at where he thinks she is. At the current range, his shot would normally be 3S, but because of the full cover, that’s now 8S! Luckily for the sniper, his PRW is a staggering 4 and he’s invested 3 dice in his Weapons » Modern Small Arms skill. That puts his total pool at 14 (PRW + Weapons » Modern Small Arms + 7AD). He takes aim and rolls 8 successes—an amazing shot that does the base 4(b) damage.

Because Seeja is behind full protective cover, that damage all applies first to that cover. The stone wall resists ballistic damage and has a TUF of 4, so it absorbs all the damage of the shot. She recoils from the sound of the bullet impact inches from her face, and starts to rethink her position…

If the target is behind Partial cover, only rolls of six apply towards damage to the target. When counting successes towards the target and SM, all sixes are counted first, then fives. The dice making up the initial success threshold must all be sixes in order to count its damage against the target.

All damage resulting from fives is applied to the cover material first, and passed on to the target only if resisted damage exceeds the material’s TUF or if unresisted damage exceeds the material’s HP.

 

Seeja makes a dash uphill, closing in on where she thinks the sniper is hiding while keeping the wall between them. Peeking over the last rise, she sees him crouching behind a scrubby tree. He hasn’t spotted her yet.

He’s in range of her automatic rifle with a 2S target, but the tree gives him partial cover. Between her PRW, AD, and skills, she has a dice pool of 12d6. The tree is partial obstructive cover, and at 30m, it adds 2S to her target, for a total of 4S. She fires off a burst, rolling a lucky 6 6 6 6 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1. The tree is also partial protective cover, so although she hit her target, some of the damage will be absorbed by the tree.

She counts the initial success with the four 6s, and has an additional success with the 5. This is a total of 8 damage (4(b)HP/SM), and because the initial success is all 6s, 4 HP of the damage hits the sniper directly in an exposed arm, and 4 hits the tree. But although the tree (wood) has resistance to ballistic damage, it’s TUF is only 3. The 4th point of damage makes it through the tree to hit the sniper.

He takes 5(b)HP damage and scrambles back deeper into the treeline. Seeja closes in for the kill…

Armor & Shields

Armor and Shields are a special case of cover with the following properties

Both Armor & Shields:

  • Have a TUF rating and a set of damage type resistances based on their material and construction.
  • Always provide Partial✻ Protective Cover and absorb damage according to those rules.

 

Even a full suit of plate armor must have gaps and less protected or unprotected areas to allow the wearer to move, and these areas can potentially be penetrated

  • If worn or wielded without the appropriate skills allocated, impose a penalty to all PRW-related tests equal to the respective skill difficulty.

Armor:

  • Is always assumed to be interposed between the wearer and an attack.
  • Based on its weight, may incur a penalty against the wearer’s PRW.
  • Based on its material and composition, may transform certain damage types for any unabsorbed damage before it is passed on to the wearer.

Shields:

  • Are assumed to be interposed so long as the shield-bearer can see the attacker or the attack.
  • Can be used to actively parry attacks by weapons with the Parry feature, if the shield has the Parry feature.

 

Jaye has been beset by footpads in a narrow alley. She’s wearing her trusty mail shirt under her tabard, but as she quickly glances around, she sees the glint of blades closing in.

One attacker dashes forward and slashes with a sword, rolling 5 5 4 3 2 1 succeeding with a 2SM for 6(s)HP. Jaye’s chainmail is:

Her armor resists slashing damage and absorbs 4(s) thanks to its toughness. The flexible steel rings bunch around the blade’s edge, transforming the remaining 2(s) to 2(c) which is passed on to Jaye’s ribs. Luckily, she’s got a TUF of 2 and resistance to crushing damage, so while the blow hurts, she doesn’t take any damage.

Just as she’s regrouping from the blow and looking for a way out, there’s a snap from the darkness and a fierce pain takes her in the thigh. Another footpad has shot her with a crossbow. The attack does 3(p)HP. Unfortunately for her, the roll was 6 3 3 2 1. Since the success is a 6, it bypasses the partial cover of her armor: the bolt hits just below her mail and she takes the full brunt of the puncturing damage. Since the bolt’s damage exceeds her TUF, she also binds 1EX.

She’s now regretting taking this shortcut.