Cover

Cover incurs penalties to hit something behind something else. This is a shield benefit which many do not know.
In ranged combat, breaking line of sight completely (such as total cover behind a boulder, wall, siege pavise, etcetera) will often help prevent you from getting hit. Even if the target's projectiles can get through your cover, firing blind gives them a capped Skill-9 to hit! One can still achieve line of sight with various types of super-vision, or having ultra-tech HUDs attached to drones or scanning devices.
Basic Set: Campaigns discusses penalties for varying degrees of coverage such as 50%, on page 407-408. Half coverage is a body part is a mere -2 to hit, but complete cover means it can never be hit. Doesn't really address other intervals. Presumably -1 for 25% and -3 for 75% covered? What about 99%? Advanced rules are needed!
==Roleplayer==
1993 http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/Roleplayer/Roleplayer30/Optional-AdvancedCombat.html by Steffan O'Sullivan
==Quotes==
===Kromm===
2008 http://forums.sjgames.com/showpost.php?p=566822&postcount=2
:You certainly could sacrifice active defense by crouching behind your shield as cover, but that's at most going to buy you a -2 to be hit; skilled foes will just aim around it.
==House rules==
*https://www.gamesdiner.com/rules-nugget-gurps-shields-and-size/
*http://www.gamesdiner.com/rules-nugget-gurps-shields-and-cover 2009 by tbone
*http://djgurps.blogspot.com/2014/05/gurps-house-rules-shields-as-cover.html
*http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ConcealmentEqualsCover
== Old Rules ==
3e originally called these rules Cover and Concealment and described them on page 118 with helpful illustrations. These were much more thorough and included:
*-5 for head
*-4 for head and shoulders (able to fire an arrow)
*-3 for half body
*-2 for light cover
*-4 for behind someone
*-4 for lying without cover
*-5 for lying with minimal cover ("head up", ties the -5 for first case)
*-7 for lying with minimum cover ("head down")
*-2 for crouching or kneeling
Sitting/Crawling are not addressed.
==See Also==
*Shield Cover
== References ==
Category:Concepts