Inside or through only an AoE?

[eepjr24]

So if I have a Change Environment, do the modifiers it applies affect only those inside the AoE or those whose line of fire passes through the area? So quick example power:

 

Focal variance: Change Environment (-5 Range Modifier), Area Of Effect (4m Radius; +1/4), Personal Immunity (+1/4) (22 Active Points); No Range (-1/2); Only versus attacks based on sight group (-1/2)

 

 

So, if the AoE is the green circle. (Assuming that 1 hex above is 1 meter between facing sides, and forgiving that my drawing is not exact)

1. Would Y attacking X be affected?

2. Would Y attacking A be affected? (the intent here is a tangential or touching at one point)

3. Would Z attacking A be affected? (start and end outside the AoE)

 

Assumptions:

A. Y attacking Z would not be affected. I guess the edge case would be for Indirect, but that is probably a different issue.

B. Anyone INSIDE the green circle would be affected, whether they were targeting someone inside or outside the circle.

 

- E

 

[Derek Hiemforth]

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it will sometimes depend on the SFX involved. For example, if the effect is atmospheric (e.g., the Range Penalty is increased because visibility in the area is bad), then shooting through the area is just as bad as shooting into or out of the area. But if the effect is, say, magical, then that might not be the case; instead, perhaps it's a curse that only affects people within the area. In other words, it might affect X attacking Y, but not Y attacking X or Z attacking A. So as always, SFX are a key determinant.

 

However, in general, yes, a line of fire passing through a Change Environment will usually have to deal with the applicable effects of the CE (if any). So Y-X would be affected, and Z-A would be affected. Whether Y-A would be affected, I'm going to leave to a GM call based on how pinpoint precise they want to be about areas of things. Typically, if Y-A's line of fire is just outside the CE area, then it would not be affected, and if it's just inside the CE area, then it would be.

 

As a final side note, I'll observe that I don't think that, as a GM, I'd personally approve Only versus attacks based on sight group for a -½ Limitation, given that, for almost all characters, Sight is their only Targeting sense for ranged attacks anyway. If non-Sight Targeting senses are unusually common in the game, I might give it -¼, but this Limitation seems like it usually wouldn't affect play.  🙂