Cover (no ontology)
From Mazeworld
Cover is a part of most rooms in Mazeworld. They are objects that serve as passive defense and is essential to maintain stealth in order for the contestant to attempt a stealth shot.
Taking cover
In order to take cover, a creature must first seek for available cover in the battlespace.
As explained in the link above, there are four sides in each battlespace. There can only be one piece of cover per side, barring exceptional situations; in turn this means there is generally only up to 4 pieces of cover in any given room. When combat begins, the GM may determine in advance what types of cover can be found on each Side. To figure out whether there is cover on their Side, the player may simply ask for the information, with a statement such as "I am looking for cover" or "Is there cover on my side?", and the GM may detail what type of cover is on their side. If any creatures on other sides are attempting to take cover, the cover on their side is also detailed and explained.
Taking cover is a non-combat action with a special trait; this action always succeeds, but may require a check (the Stealth cover check, see gameplay mechanics) if the creature about to take cover has stealth and wishes to maintain stealth.
Exceptional cases
- There exist exceptional instances where there may be more than one piece of cover per side. In such situations, a roll to take cover must be made each time a creature wants to switch from one piece of cover to another, even if they were already behind one previously.
- There also exist exceptional instances where cover types may be pre-determined, which may include situations where cover is guaranteed to never appear.
Types of cover
Cover may be randomly generated in rooms that have an encounter inside, even those that are not hostile. When the contestant enters such a room, the player may type @cover to prompt the IRC bot to generate cover. Cover damage is regulated solely using LDV rather than Pain, making cover potentially more durable, with each type having a set health and LDV modifier, similar to how Armor Class works in regards to limb damage.
| Cover type | HP | LDV | AC Eqv. | PTT | Pain mod. |
| Wooden barrel | 24 | -1 | A1 | 6+ dmg | x1 |
| Wooden crate | 36 | -1 | A1 | 6+ dmg | x1 |
| Flipped wooden table | 36 | -1 | A1 | 6+ dmg | x1 |
| Flipped thin metal table | 48 | -1 | A2 | 8+ dmg | x1 |
| Empty plastic crate | 30 | -2 | A1 | 6+ dmg | x0.75 |
| Plastic crate full of garbage | 39 | -2 | A2 | 8+ dmg | x0.75 |
| Metallic file case | 45 | -2 | A2 | 8+ dmg | x0.75 |
| Metallic file case full of papers | 53 | -2 | A2 | 8+ dmg | x0.75 |
| Tactical Shield "Guardian" model | 60 | -2 | A3 | 10+ dmg | x0.75 |
| Brick wall | 39 | -2 | A2 | 8+ dmg | x0.75 |
| Pile of garbage | 59 | -2 | A2 | 8+ dmg | x0.75 |
| Wooden crate with metal covers | 59 | -2 | A2 | 8+ dmg | x0.75 |
| Fridge | 78 | -2 | A3 | 10+ dmg | x0.75 |
| Dishwasher | 45 | -3 | A2 | 8+ dmg | x0.50 |
| Metallic container | 60 | -3 | A3 | 10+ dmg | x0.50 |
| Empty dumpster | 68 | -3 | A3 | 10+ dmg | x0.50 |
| Dumpster full of trash | 83 | -3 | A3 | 10+ dmg | x0.50 |
| Improved Tactical Shield "Super Guardian" model | 90 | -3 | A3 | 10+ dmg | x0.75 |
| Tactical Shield "Defender" model | 90 | -3 | A4 | 12+ dmg | x0.50 |
| Sandbag nest | 96 | -3 | A4 | 12+ dmg | x0.50 |
| Block of concrete | 60 | -4 | A3 | 10+ dmg | x0.25 |
| Reinforced concrete wall | 90 | -4 | A4 | 12+ dmg | x0.25 |
| Steel crate | 120 | -4 | A5 | 14+ dmg | x0.25 |
| Improved Tactical Shield "Super Defender" model | 135 | -4 | A4 | 12+ dmg | x0.50 |
| Tactical Shield "Colossus" model | 200 | -4 | A5 | 14+ dmg | x0.25 |
| Blast shield | 240 | -5 | A5 | 14+ dmg | x0.1 |
| Improved Tactical Shield "Titan" model | 300 | -5 | A5 | 14+ dmg | x0.25 |
Overpenetration
Cover is not completely infallible, and generally speaking, the weaker a piece of cover is, the less "health" it will have until breaking down; but even then, covers react differently to attacks. Overpenetration is a concern; certain Bullet-type attacks have sufficient power to pass through and hit encounters hiding behind a piece of cover.
- In order for a pass-through to occur, covers now have a Pass-through Threshold ("PTT" on the table above). It details the minimum amount of limb damage required for a given Bullet-type attack to overpenetrate and pass-through the piece of cover.
- Every cover also has an AC equivalence ("AC Eqv." on the table above), which is relevant for certain bullet-types which apply damage bonuses depending on the AC of its target.
- Example: A piece of cover with an A3 AC equivalence will be considered to be a target with A3 AC if hit by a bullet with a projectile type that does varying damage depending on armor class, such as AP or JHP.
- The amount of damage checked is the final amount, after all LDV modifiers have been applied; including that of the piece of cover. A piece of cover needing at least 8 damage to be overpenetrated requires a bullet that will do 8 or more damage even after applying the cover's LDV malus.
- Each piece of cover has a listed Pain modifier ("Pain mod." on the table above) which applies a multiplication (between x0.25 and x1) to the amount of Pain damage the bullet will deal after successfully overpenetrating.
In short: A bullet which successfully passes all of the requirements (can be passed through, correct bullet type, sufficient damage) will do the following: Hit one of the creatures behind the piece of cover at random (equal chances), on a random body part (@bodyaim), with Pain multiplied by the listed modifier, and LDV reduced by the same amount as the piece of cover's (if the cover hit had LDV-2, then the overpenetrating bullet will have a LDV-2 malus before hitting a victim). Note that two LDV rolls are done in total if overpenetration occurs; one for determining damage done to the cover, and another separate one for damage done to the victim.
Direct targeting of cover
Cover can be targeted directly (and in certain cases, mainly when using explosive weapons, it is the only target possible), rather than one of the creatures behind the piece of cover, and so for multiple purposes.
- First and most evident purpose: Destroying the cover rather than attack the opponents, and as such deprive them of concealment from targeting and from defense.
- If attempting to overpenetrate through a piece of cover while targeting the cover itself, the overpenetrating bullet will hit a random creature among those behind cover, including any that are currently set to Hidden, as a method to allow attacking them without a way to directly target them.
Blast resistance
Usually, most cover is practically ineffective against the power of explosive weapons, which have the ability to splash around cover and damage creatures hiding behind anyway.
Enter blast-resistant cover. These extra tough, purpose-built pieces of cover have the ability to fully absorb explosive damage, negating splash entirely. Such cover is the only way to have true protection against Explosive-type damage.
Such cover is not invulnerable however, and repeated damage can eventually destroy them.
Blast-resistant cover types are:
- Tactical Shield "Defender"
- Tactical Shield "Colossus"
- Blast shield
Full Protection
Most cover does not protect the whole body when the users are Exposed, unless they are behind Full Protection cover, which have the ability to shield a standing human being completely. Thanks to the presence of firing ports, shooters behind Full Protection cover can still attack as well. Additionally, they protect against Bouncing explosives, which normally have the ability to jump above or around cover; the bouncing trait is simply ignored when used against a piece of cover with Full Protection, as though it wasn't there at all.
Such cover is naturally extremely rare and only encountered in very secure areas. Such cover is still not invulnerable, despite being improved versions of existing cover, and repeated damage will eventually destroy them as well.
Full Protection cover types are:
- Improved Tactical Shield "Super Guardian"
- Improved Tactical Shield "Super Defender"
- Improved Tactical Shield "Titan"
Strategy
Cover is an essential aspect of combat in the Mazes, as it has many uses - primarily stealth and protection from hits via passive defense.
Cover can absorb damage intended for the encounters using it, unless said encounters are exposed and hit in exposed body parts; there is an innate sense of strategy - should one remain exposed in order to be able to keep returning fire, or be hidden so as to be fully protected, but unable to attack? The answer wholly depends on the situation, the context, and the personal strategy of the Contestant and the other combatants.
Cover provides passive protection to all the encounters using it, until it is destroyed, or unless explosives are used. In such cases, splash damage hits ALL encounters and anything damageable on the same side as the point of detonation, this includes cover and encounters taking cover, though this only applies for the blast; fragmentation, for example, will hit the cover.
When a contestant first enters a room and sees an encounter, he/she can attempt taking cover stealthily, as dictated by gameplay mechanics.
Should the contestant succeed the roll, he/she will successfully take cover, stealth will be preserved, and (in most cases) the enemy inside will not notice the contestant's presence.
However, should he/she fail the roll, the contestant will succeed in taking cover but will be noticed by the enemy, ending his/her turn; this leaves a window for the opponent to attack.
During combat, if a piece of cover is struck by a critical hit (rolling 12), rolling @critwin is not needed - cover is unaffected by the effects of critical successes and simply succeed as normal.
Cover becomes more interesting if the contestant is attempting a stealth shot.
As noted above, cover is only useful for ranged combat. If an encounter behind cover wishes to attack a target in melee, they will have to leave their side, and thus their piece of cover, to bypass their opponent's and attack them. However, nothing precludes going -back- behind cover afterwards; all that needs to be done is to roll to take cover once again. Just as if it was done on the first turn of a fight, all effects apply as normal.
