What qualifies as cover and how?


Pathfinder First Edition General Discussion


I'm not sure if this is already somewhere on the site, but I think this should be clarified. What DOES qualify as cover or gives some kind of extra component to hiting the oponent?

This is something after my group rotated gms to a new campaign with the new gm having never gmed before. The only component that I feel was completely misunderstood was how concealment/ cover works.

Here is the Scenario: group of 5 going into emerald spire with fighter and rogue front, mages in the back. First encounter is a 10ft wide hallway and a goblin with two goblin dogs. wizard rolls high init, and then fires a crossbow bolt at the goblin whom is not in melee range for other players. The goblin got a +4 AC due to cover, which was the mages allies directly in front of him (He made his shot anyway but not the point). Later, more goblins arrived (still 10ft hallway) and the mage was in a line of shot and they aimed for him. One goblin got a shot off that didn't encure the wizard to have a +4 but the other did due to line of sight through the spaces.

Now, this made me think, what qualifies as cover? because even though a 5 foot square is what an average character occupies (medium or small usually) however there are 2 issues: #1 is that the Core book only refers to cover as walls and never mentions creatures unless they are large or bigger. #2 is that while (for example) a medium creature takes a 5 foot square, any creature (with physical fitness of decent proportions) only occupies the space of about 2-3 feet at most unless VERY stretched out (think jumping jacks).

So, DO creatures qualify as cover when attacking (and they are not in a "shooting into combat" situation) when shooting past them, such as past allies or enemies for that matter? are there any other situations or things that qualify as cover? Please clarify this, and bring up anything concerning cover.

I hope that this also helps anyone who reads the answers in order to understand.


Cover: any physical object that blocks line of sight. Pick any corner from your square and draw a straight line to any corner of your target's square. Does something block it? If yes, then your target has cover. This includes individuals (this is referred to as soft cover).

Concealment: any non-solid object that blocks line of sight or obscures vision, such as fog, bushes, certain spells, etc.


Quote:
Can I ask for a page reference on that soft cover? because I don't see it in the core books cover section nor appendix.

The PRD entry:

Quote:
Soft Cover: Creatures, even your enemies, can provide you with cover against ranged attacks, giving you a +4 bonus to AC. However, such soft cover provides no bonus on Reflex saves, nor does soft cover allow you to make a Stealth check.

Have to dig out the book for a page number.

Edit: Page 196 in my copy (third printing). In the section on Cover.

Liberty's Edge

DukeGurren wrote:
First encounter is a 10ft wide hallway and a goblin with two goblin dogs. wizard rolls high init, and then fires a crossbow bolt at the goblin whom is not in melee range for other players. The goblin got a +4 AC due to cover, which was the mages allies directly in front of him (He made his shot anyway but not the point).

I would have ruled that the mages allies did not provide soft cover to the goblins on the first round as the allies were not actually in combat. It was not uncommon for archers to shoot past a front line formation before the front line engaged the enemy. As long as the ally is not moving about to avoid getting hit and the archer is close enough to his allies to fire between them with relative safety, I am ok with it. It also is one more way that PCs can use tactics together (which is always a good thing).

Of course, this is purely interpretive on my part. The book will not have any rules to support my stance. However, there will be times when GMs need to make rulings using common sense that may be absent from the book or that may not quite follow the rules. Be fair and consistent, track your rulings, and be ready to reevaluate rulings as needed.

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