Next up - Ranged combat and prone.

[Alibear]

In a long ranged combat 100+m the first thing anyone would do would be to lie as flat as possible.

 

So I had a quick and dirty house rule that said range mods were double against a prone character. 

 

I don't like this rule really so decided to have another think and notice that the size penalties work well for this. So if you lie flat and your opponent is sufficiently far away that they can only see you in at ground level then I'd rule to them you are roughly 30cm tall and give you both the advantages to dcv accordingly.

 

What do you think?

 

[Ninja-Bear]

I believe that there is already a penalty to hit a target at range and prone. Will have to check book when I get time. Probably-2 to attacker.

[dsatow]

I believe when prone the character gets cover.  If facing the attacker and prone, they get cover for a headshot (+4 DCV I think) to half their DCV unless the attacker is adjacent.

[mrinku]

The target gets a DCV penalty for going prone because they've sacrificed mobility. But in most cases the reduced target size offsets this (the exception are high DCV defense supers. Up to DCV 6 you're usually better off going prone if it reduces their target to your head and shoulders).

 

It's basically a form of taking cover, so you could use those modifiers instead of target size. If you're using hit locations you can instead go with requiring them to take the penalty to hit for the body parts they can see (i.e. if Head and Shoulders, -4 OCV), with a successful hit rolling the appropriate hit location dice. Or, you could use normal hit location rolls with any results that are not visible being misses.

 

Even if not using hit locations you can use those penalties as a guide to target size - they match up.

 

Keep in mind that actual target size penalties may also apply (i.e. the target is both small AND falling prone or taking cover), so I'd tend to stick with OCV penalties for cover/visible hit locations.

 

Also, the actual locations visible/cover provided may vary based on the shooter's location. Dropping prone to avoid gunfire ahead of you may actually make you a bigger target to a sniper above. 

[Doc Democracy]

There was a decent conversation on the benefits of being prone etc in this forum quite recently.

 

I'm not sure the size thing works as part of the issue with prone is that you are also immobile.  I might be tempted to half the size bonus due to the relative immobility involved in being prone.  The value of that size is also dependent on everything being on a level.  if the opponent had a height advantage or could quickly achieve one, then prone would become only a disadvantage.

 

 

 

Doc

[mrinku]

Yeah, that's why I prefer to use the cover rules to handle it.