Cover

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!style="font-size: larger; text-align:Left; color: white" bgcolor="#CC6600"|COVER AND OBSTACLE SIZE||style="text-align:right; color: white" bgcolor="#CC6600"|Condition
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|style="text-align:Center" bgcolor="#FFCC99"|Light Cover (Bush, Fence; Object at Least 1 Size-Category Smaller than Character or Larger)||style="text-align:Center" bgcolor="#FFCC99"|1 penalty to attack rolls against covered character, can hide
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|style="text-align:Center" bgcolor="#ffffff"|Heavy Cover (Stone Walls, Large Tree, Heavy Machinery; Object at Least 1 Size-Category Smaller than Character or Larger)||style="text-align:Center" bgcolor="#ffffff"|2 penalties to attack rolls against concealed character, can hide
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|style="text-align:Center" bgcolor="#FFCC99"|Total Cover (Object at Least the Same Size-Category as Character)||style="text-align:Center" bgcolor="#FFCC99"|Completely block's line of effect, character not a valid target, can hide
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Taking cover behind a wall, tree, or other obstacle provides some of the benefits of concealment (making you more difficult to hit by imposing a penalty on attack rolls against you), but does not grant you Combat Advantage (though if you use cover to hide, you can gain combat advantage over foes who can't perceive you). Further, the penalty to attack cover imposes on your opponents applies to both normal and area attacks (since cover can shield you from explosions very well). A character must spend a Move as part of a Move Action to take cover, unless the character has a means to move the cover to them, or create their own cover.
Many characters can take cover behind a single obstacle, especially when the obstacle is very large:
COVER 	COVER
Obstacle Size 	Number of Characters Who Can Take Cover
Smaller than Character 	1 Character, no Total Cover
Same Size-Category as Character 	1 Character
1 Size-Category Larger than Character 	2 Characters
2 Size-Categories Larger than Character	5 Characters
3 Size-Categories Larger than Character	10 Characters
4 Size-Categories Larger than Character	25 Characters
5 Size-Categories Larger than Character	50 Characters
With the exception of all-around cover (such as a pillbox or the like), a character can spend a Move to double around and deny an enemy the benefits of cover.
* Cover and Infiltration Checks: You can use cover to make an Infiltration check to avoid being seen. Without cover, you need concealment to make an Infiltration check to hide.
* Total Cover: Total cover is harder to come by, but still quite useful, usually a full-sized wall or a large truck. A character needs an object at least the same Size-category as he or she is to claim Total Cover. You can’t make an attack against a target with total cover without using a Ricochet attack or an Indirect FX.
* Varying Degrees of Cover: In some cases, cover may provide a impose a greater penalty on attack rolls (such as a heavy stone wall instead of a thin wooden one). In such situations, characters attacking you suffers 2 penalties to attack rolls.
* Striking Cover: If it ever becomes important to know whether the cover was actually hit by an incoming attack, the GM should determine if the attack roll would have hit the protected target without the cover. If the attack roll falls within a range low enough to miss the target with cover but high enough to hit the target if there had been no cover, the cover is hit. This can be particularly important to know in cases when a character uses another character as cover. In such a case, if the cover is struck and the attack roll exceeds the Defense of the covering character, the covering character takes the damage intended for the target. If the attack roll is lower than the Defense of the covering character, but higher than the Defense of the covered character, the original target is hit instead. The covering character avoided the attack and didn't provide cover after all! Covering characters can voluntarily lower defense bonus to ensure they provide cover.
Category:Rulebook
Category:Action
Category:Environment