Questions tagged [cover]
For questions primarily about cover, an element in the environment that provides a measure of protection against incoming attacks.
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How does the second benefit of the Mounted Combatant feat interact with total cover?
The second benefit of the Mounted Combatant feat (PHB, p. 168) lets you force an enemy to attack you rather than your mount when they attempt to attack the latter. What happens if you do that while ...
2
votes
2answers
92 views
How does attacking through water work?
Related:How is shooting into water handled? But that's for D&D Next, not 5e, and is for shooting into a presumably fairly deep body of water.
A subquestion of: How does animated water work?
When ...
19
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2answers
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Does cover affect melee attacks?
In what circumstances would cover affect melee attacks?
If three characters are lined up as shown in the diagram, and the bottom-right man in armor makes a melee attack against the frog creature in ...
11
votes
2answers
258 views
Do tower shields provide cover from all directions?
A Tower Shield allows you to use the Take Cover action, in order to gain Greater Cover from the shield. This is confusing because the cover rules require that a source of cover must be between you and ...
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0answers
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Does the total cover provided by being swallowed work both ways? [duplicate]
Say a character ends up being swallowed by a monster, for the sake of an example say the monster is a Kraken.
The rules for being swallowed by a Kraken include this sentence:
While swallowed, the ...
4
votes
1answer
106 views
Can allies take cover behind my tower shield?
I am a champion who is wielding a tower shield. I raise my shield, and then Take Cover. On their turns, can my allies attempt to take cover behind my tower shield also?
The Take Cover action requires:...
4
votes
1answer
146 views
Can I somehow set the tower shield down as cover?
Is it possible to set a tower shield in a place to gain cover but without the the need to hold it with one arm?
8
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1answer
165 views
Does a creature have cover when moving through an ally's space?
Suppose that creatures A, B, and C are positioned in a straight line, with A at the start, then an empty space, then B in the next space, and C in the space after that.
A has a reach weapon (and is ...
2
votes
1answer
94 views
Can the Phantasmal Killer spell be cast on a target on the other side of a Wall of Force? [duplicate]
Wizard 1 casts wall of force which surrounds Wizard 2. Now both wizards have full cover against each other. For example, now they cannot cast fireball against each other, because "nothing can ...
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2answers
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Does a target have total cover from a ranged attacker positioned on an opposite corner of a hallway?
Consider the diagram below:
N ******* * = Wall
W E ....... . = Open Space
S .A***T. A = Attacker
T = Target
Does the target have ...
6
votes
4answers
364 views
What wizard spells can create cover for allies without preventing them from moving or attacking? [closed]
Cover is great when you can get it. The +2 bonus to AC/saves for ½ cover and +5 bonus to AC/saves with ¾ cover can be godsends with bounded accuracy when fighting against spellcasters and archers. ...
13
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2answers
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Does hiding behind 5-ft-wide cover give full cover?
What type of cover do you get from hiding behind a 5ft-wide (we assume it is high enough to fully cover the target vertically) tree against an opponent staying right onto opposite side?
Everything I'm ...
6
votes
1answer
262 views
Does the Eyebite Spell Work Through a Wall of Force?
Does the Eyebite spell work through a Wall of Force? Or is it blocked by Full Cover, even if the target can be seen?
This question is similar to this, but contrarily to Gaze effects the spell Eyebite ...
7
votes
2answers
625 views
Making attacks through a cage-shaped Forcecage
A PC traps an enemy inside a cage-shaped Forcecage:
A prison in the shape of a cage can be up to 20 feet on a side and is made from 1/2-inch diameter bars spaced 1/2 inch apart.
How should ranged ...
4
votes
2answers
264 views
Does a metal box with eye holes count as total cover?
I wish to play as a necromancer. However, despite the undead hordes protecting me, if someone were to snipe me I would be knocked out of the fight due to my low health as a squishy wizard. As a ...
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votes
2answers
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What happens when the wearer of a Shield of Missile Attraction is behind total cover?
The Shield of Missile Attraction, a rare magic item that requires attunement, has the following curse:
Whenever a ranged weapon attack is made against a target within 10 feet of you, the curse ...
6
votes
0answers
53 views
Can I benefit from cover against an effect that destroys that cover? [duplicate]
The wall of ice spell creates a destructible wall, with each 10-foot section having 30 hit points:
The wall is an object that can be damaged and thus breached. It has AC 12 and 30 hit points per 10-...
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3answers
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What happens when you cast Fog Cloud behind a wall?
I'm puzzled by the "a clear path to the target" rule.
To target something, you must have a clear path to it, so it can't be behind total cover.
This seems straightforward: you can't target a ...
39
votes
3answers
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Is it possible for a swallowed caster to cast Fireball outside of a Giant Toad?
I had a situation last week where my DM and I completely disagreed how the following situation should have been ruled:
I'm a Circle of the Moon druid wild-shaped into a Giant toad and I had swallowed ...
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vote
2answers
1k views
Does cover help against spells/effects that spread around corners (like fireball)?
The rules for cover state that half and 3/4 cover grant a bonus to both AC and (importantly for this question) Dexterity saving throws. However, some spells, like fireball, state that the area of ...
2
votes
1answer
85 views
How much cover do non-Medium tower shields provide?
Per the tower shield description, it's possible to deploy a tower shield to effectively create a wall along one edge of your space. This makes sense for Medium creatures wielding Medium tower shields, ...
6
votes
1answer
769 views
If a creature is attacking my character and another shoots from behind, does my character get half cover?
I was fighting against 3 human (A,B,C). The first one (A) was attacking just in front of me, the second (B) was 10 feet at the left side but was engaged with my partner, and the third (C) was 15 feet ...
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2answers
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Can you aim for something behind an invisible creature to avoid the disadvantage?
Inspired by the question here. I wanted to ask if someone knows that there is an invisible creature in front of him can the person declare an attack on something behind the invisible creature in order ...
7
votes
1answer
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How are attacks that hit invisible creatures acting as cover resolved?
| Y | - | C | - | T |
Y = You
C = Invisible Creature
T = Target
The DM rules that C provides half cover for T. The table uses the optional rules for hitting cover:
If a creature is ...
4
votes
1answer
111 views
How do hidden enemies interact with the soft cover rules?
A pack of wolves are fleeing from the PCs, who are shooting at them with longbows from an entrenched position. One of the wolves is injured and has abandoned stealth in favor of a more rapid escape: ...
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3answers
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Using the Hitting Cover variant rule, is it impossible to hit the covering creature if its AC is 2 higher than the target's?
After reading the optional rule of Hitting Cover, it strikes me that the rule is flawed.
The Hitting Cover variant rule states (DMG p. 272):
When a ranged attack misses a target that has cover, ...
5
votes
5answers
526 views
Could a strong character wield an object that gives them full cover?
My question is mostly in the title, but here's an example.
Jeff, a STR 19 Bear Totem Barbarian wants cover as he advances towards enemies. To do so, he rips a heavy wooden door off its hinges, and ...
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votes
2answers
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How does Wall of Force grant cover?
Which mechanic of wall of force gives cover to creatures on either side of the wall?
It grants a attributes similar to cover. It specifically states cover-like effects against physical and astral ...
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votes
1answer
164 views
Is there an example of a damage type (cold, fire, lightning, psychic, force, etc) explicity granting cover?
Wall of force is generally assumed to grant cover because it creates a "wall." The spell itself does not specifically grant the cover condition to those on either side of the wall.
That means it is ...
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votes
1answer
293 views
Can an Illusion of a wall of glass grant cover? [closed]
If I were to create the illusion of a transparent wall (of glass for example) 1/4 thick in a box surrounding my character, does this wall grant me full cover?
This question is different from: Can an ...
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2answers
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Can Dissonant Whispers target an enemy I can't see and who has total cover?
In my last D&D session I thought I was very clever when, while in ranged combat with an enemy, I ducked behind some large boulders (providing full cover) and then targeted him with Dissonant ...
8
votes
1answer
138 views
Does cover protect against an aura if it only has a gap outside the aura?
I understand that the aura originates from the target and moves with it, and that as long as the center of a creature is within the radius of the aura it is subjected to the aura's effect.
There is ...
9
votes
5answers
472 views
What constitutes the most protective degree of cover?
The rules for cover state:
If a target is behind multiple sources of cover, only the most protective degree of cover applies
In most situations, determining which cover is most protective is ...
7
votes
2answers
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How much cover does Wall of Stone give against a dragon's breath weapon if arrow slits are included in the wall?
I am currently a sorcerer in the Rise of Tiamat campaign (plenty of dragons to come I assume). I am obviously asking this as a player; I am not a DM and never go through the DMG/Monster Manual (so ...
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6answers
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Can an illusion give a player partial cover?
I'm in an argument with a player at my table, he says hiding behind some bushes while shooting arrows at my monsters gives him partial cover because they can only see his head and shoulders. So they'...
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4answers
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Does Minor Illusion break only when someone spends an action to investigate it?
Using Minor Illusion to create a 5x5' cube of stone, one of my players who was a 6'4" ranger claimed it gave him three quarters cover and that he was shooting over it. I was okay with that. But after ...
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votes
2answers
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Is hiding different when invisible than when behind total cover?
A character rolls stealth with advantage if he is invisible, because he can't be seen. Why doesn't a character get advantage for being behind total cover? The senses you rely on to detect the ...
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1answer
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Which dexterity save spells are made easier to resist because of “half cover” bonus to dexterity saves [closed]
I was rereading the Player’s Handbook section on partial cover and I came to this statement:
A target with half cover has a +2 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws.
If the PC/NPC has half cover ...
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votes
9answers
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Does hiding under a bedsheet provide Total Cover by RAW?
The Situation
I am a high level caster surrounded by multiple high level archmages, all ready to 9th-level counterspell me if I cast a spell. For reasons unimportant to this question, I have no time ...
19
votes
2answers
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Can a Fireball be cast at the air to bypass cover?
I was sitting here, thinking to myself, "How does one hit multiple enemies that are behind total cover and low to the ground?"
Fireball states that it targets "a point you choose within range", and ...
2
votes
1answer
140 views
Readied actions vs spells
If a kineticst were to ready an action to use Kinetic Cover when an opponent acts aggressively towards him, how would that interact with a Cleric casting Blindness/Deafness on the kineticist?
...
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2answers
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Shooting at larger creature behind the smaller creatures crowd
In a recent gaming session the PCs were shooting a Medium-size slaver ghoul over the heads of Small-size kobold crowd (say, a dozen of them). The Ghoul was obviously an enemy but the kobolds were ...
4
votes
3answers
231 views
Obscurement encounter advice with size differences
I would like to run a 5e encounter in a grassy plains, with tall grass about 3–4ft high. Based on the RAW in the PHB, I am taken to thinking that small creatures (goblins) are effectively under heavy ...
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vote
3answers
442 views
Does using a tree trunk for Cover work no matter what direction of the attack on Battle Maps?
Combat is characterized in the game as a series of feints, parries, and footwork until finally a character gets an opportunity to attack. The Initiative systems are proposed as an abstraction of those ...
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1answer
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Can a steed provide cover while riding it?
If I cast Greater Steed and fly straight up directly over my foe, can I get a cover bonus to my AC if the foe attacks me with a ranged weapon?
13
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1answer
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Cover with reach weapons
If I have a reach weapon will the target get a cover with this setup:
T is target
X is me
F is Friend
I feel not, as I can do a straight line from the X square to the target, without crossing the F.
...
19
votes
1answer
2k views
Does Spiritual Weapon ignore cover?
A tree is between me and the enemy. It provides half cover to an enemy.
If I cast Spiritual Weapon adjacent to him, does Spiritual Weapon ignore the cover provided by the tree? Or, because my line of ...
34
votes
1answer
4k views
Can I deny a counterspell by readying my spell behind full cover?
Suppose I am within counterspell range of an enemy mage (who has counterspell) and want to guarantee that my spell won't be countered.
Could I do so entirely on my turn by moving behind full cover, ...
20
votes
2answers
3k views
Can sacred flame target someone that is behind total cover?
One of the rules for targeting spells in the Player's Handbook says that spells must have a clear path to the target:
A Clear Path to the Target
To target something, you must have a clear path ...
2
votes
1answer
228 views
Does breaking cover/concealment end stealth, post-errata?
Once again, stealth is causing problems in Pathfinder, with the stealth errata adding the following line:
When you start your turn using Stealth, you can leave cover or concealment and remain ...
