Dealing with Terrain

[poet]

Battlefields aren't flat, usually. In any modern warfare, you will fight in a place with lots of options for cover. rocks, a slight slope, some tall grass.
These are all things that are usually not represented on a tabletop wargame.

Can we not assume, that just about anywhere on the battlefield, our models could find something to duck behind, take a little cover, or just lay low?

Whatever the system will be, I think we should allow models to take cover even in "plain sight", as the tabletop is just a euphemism for a battlefield.

I think any model should be able to take cover, no matter where he is. If there is an actual terrain feature representing cover, it should be a bigger defense, but give some defense even in plain sight to models that bothered to take cover.

Just a thought.

[sucramreverse]

depends on the battlefield I would think. Could very well be a large flat field, however it's true that any unit that tries to take cover should have a chance, even just laying down on the ground makes someone a pretty tough target from a distance.

Trouble is how do you represent this in terms of mechanics? does the unit taking cover take a consequence? like losing a movement phase in order to take cover.

Or is any stationary unit assumed to be taking cover? then the unit would be harder to hit while moving and not moving...

[Zinkala]

I would say that it depends on the style of the game a lot. For example a game with ranked units marching in unison shouldn't give any cover bonus for open terrain. The distances are close and the units aren't trying to hide. For more modern/sci fi where skirmishing over longer ranges is standard it could be possible. If the unit doesn't move or moves very slowly they could be taking advantage of any available cover. But then you may get into identifying more types of terrain as the battlefield could really be table top flat.

[poet]

Yeah, really depends on the settings.
I can't see a knight in a full suit of armor going prone. Shooting a bow while laying flat on the ground is probably near impossible.

Depending on what other things to need to remember about the state of a unit, whether its morale or something else, a simple state of taking cover/not should be simple.

[S W Dickson]

That's why I thought of the "Target" stat - similar to the close combat stat Guard, but for ranged attacks. I would reckon most infantry and stuff would be able to make a harder target to hit from afar by "hugging cover", so you would gain a small bonus to your Target stat, but as you were concentrating on avoiding ranged weaponry, you would lose the same on the Guard stat, a crawling guy keeping his head down being easier to hit with your sword.

I'd say it'd work like -

Hug "open" terrain - +1 Target, -1 Guard
Walls and hedges - +2 Target, -1 Guard
Civilian buildings - +3 Target, -1 Guard
Bunkers etc. - +4 Target, -1 Guard

That would be about the beginning and end of it - most terrain features having similar effects as these categories.

My thought on it. It does give a wee bonus to anyone charging into a melee, but then as defender is usually trying to avoid such confrontation, it's only fair.

[poet]

I like it, Dickson, but I think that is a little more bookkeeping than you're looking for.
I mean, maybe it should be added as one of those plug-ins, but the basic system shouldn't have that, I think.

[El Grego]

It might be easiest to make this a scenario-specific rule. The modifier for 'open' terrain should be set prior to the game, as one of poet's plug-ins.

[Lanrak]

HI folks.
How about we us a 'stealth' stat?
This multiplies the concealment value we give to any terrain.
Eg light woods concealment value 2.
A Large vehilce or monster has a stealth vlalue of 1.
A veteran infantry squad has a stealth value of 3.

If they are in the light woods,
The vehicle and monster have a concealment value of 2.(1x2)

But the veteran infantery has a concealment value of 6.(2x3)

Attacking unit need to roll over the concealment value to spot the target....

Just a thought.

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