Cover

Half and full

Cover takes points off an attacker's chance to hit.

Low rocks and fallen logs are half cover. Boulders, trees, walls and a Shaper's raised stones are full cover, and they block sight as well. Scrub, doorways and ramps are no cover at all.

Which way it faces

Cover is directional. A piece of cover protects a unit only if it sits on one of the four sides of the unit's tile (north, south, east or west) and on the side the attack comes from. If more than one piece protects, the unit gets the best of them.

If no piece stands between the unit and its attacker, the unit is flanked. A flanked unit has no cover against that attack, and the attacker gets +50 to its crit chance. A Disgrace trait adds Aim when flanking. See traits.

Cover and height

A piece of cover only protects a unit standing at the same height as the piece. A boulder at the foot of a ledge covers nobody on the ledge. See height and terrain.

What ignores it

• Blades and spears. Every melee weapon ignores cover.
• Brine-glass points on arrows, darts and shot make half cover count for nothing.
• Some powers. Rockfall and Landslide ignore cover, Guided Shot ignores it, and a foe held Aloft has none.

What breaks it

• A Hurl that hits shatters the half cover its target was behind.
• Rockfall crushes every piece of half cover in its patch, and Landslide brings down half cover and raised stones.
• Fire arrows burn away the fallen log or scrub on the tile they set alight.

Defence

Some enemies also carry a Defence stat, from armour or sheer size. It comes off the attacker's hit chance like cover, from every side, and doesn't go away when they are flanked. The numbers are on the enemy pages.

Terrain at a glance