Cover in Ranged Combat, Are there variable cover levels rules? Options

[BigKnockers]

The core book just says attacking anyone with cover is a +4 TN. I thought I remember some rules about varying levels of cover and the attacker getting some modifiers to shooting out from the cover. Did I make this up or not? Anyone got a Book & Page Ref?

[mfb]

they're in CC. you can take +2, +4, or +6; your own ranged combat TNs go up by +1, +2, or +3, respectively.

[Zach21035]

Because, of course, that bunker is really going to hinder your machine-gun firing.

Personally, I give a +2/+4+/6 for light (coming around a doorframe the guy can shoot right through), medium (typical cover - leaning around a stone wall, crouching behind a car), and heavy (a bunker or gun-slits) cover, respectively, with no penalty.

First of all, it eliminates the goofy "I can't hit him because I'm resting my rifle on a sandbag" syndrome, and it also gets rid of people asking if they can take +6 cover behind a lamppost as long as they take the +3 to return fire.

[BitBasher]

I disagree, like it says in the book, cover represents you poking out to shoot anf staying behind cover as long, and as much as possible. That's what the penalty for shooting back is for, it's essentially a movement penalty, this was brought up in a thread just a week or 2 ago.

[mfb]

i give a free +1 cover mod to anyone who goes prone. i also rule that prepared fighting positions impose only 1/3 of the base cover on the firer's own TN's--that is, +0, +1, +2 instead of +1, +2, +3.

[BitBasher]

mfb, it's on the chart for combat modifiers that prone people DO get a +1 to be hit in ranged combat anyway :D

[TinkerGnome]

The phrase I liked was that CC's cover rules should be "cover as a function of time" instead of just a hard cover number. When you expose yourself to fire in order to take a shot, you can either be in a lot of cover or you can take time to get off a good shot. One has to suffer so that the other can be better.

mfb, I like the idea of prepared fire positions not being treated the same was as someone just grabbing cover and firing from there. I'd probably say that a simple action lets you drop the TN penalty by one for shots taken within a declared 90 degree arc until you fire outside of that arc (to a minimum penalty of +1, cover still makes things a little more difficult). Bunkers and other hardened firing positions (anywhere that you aren't ducking after you take your shot) would also drop the TN penalty by one when firing with a declared 90 degree arc.

Ie, if you have time to prepare your hiding spot, you can more easily take advantage of it to fire in a given direction, but outside of that area, you're still forced to duck a lot more to avoid incoming fire (and thus take normal TN penalties).

[Athenor]

Prepared cover spots = aim modifier, in my mind.

But then again, you can't aim a full auto rifle, eh?

But then -AGAIN-, that would be considered a recoil modifier, so you are getting bonuses anyways.

It's all in how you look at things. There are logical situations where the mods should be reduced (as in a pill box), but if you are in that kind of a situation, with your weapon mounted and so on, then go to town. It's up to your GM. =)

Athenor

[mfb]

hah. i knew that +1 TN versus prone targets sounded familiar. who'd have thunk it was actually in the book.