Mold Earth, Cover and CR

[ZenBear]

By my estimation, it should be possible for a caster to use Mold Earth to make a small trench that can be used as cover. I've placed this ability on a homebrew monster that I'll post later, but what I'm concerned about is whether or not the ability to create cover at-will on a monster with ranged attacks ought to change its CR. My current thinking is that a trench created with Mold Earth would grant half cover to a Medium sized creature, and three-quarters cover to a Small creature, and since the monster is a Small creature it will be getting +5 to AC and Dex saves pretty much all the time. I built the creature to be CR 1/2, but if its effective AC is 5 higher then that sends it up to at least CR 1 if not 2. I can tune down its HP and rule that the trench grants half cover for Medium and Small creatures, but I like where the monster is at right now.

Thoughts? Do you allow Mold Earth to be used in this way? Do you think a trench would grant a cover bonus against melee attacks? As I understand it, RAW cover works for melee and ranged, but in my mind that really doesn't make much sense.

[Darkstar952]

By my estimation, it should be possible for a caster to use Mold Earth to make a small trench that can be used as cover. I've placed this ability on a homebrew monster that I'll post later, but what I'm concerned about is whether or not the ability to create cover at-will on a monster with ranged attacks ought to change its CR. My current thinking is that a trench created with Mold Earth would grant half cover to a Medium sized creature, and three-quarters cover to a Small creature, and since the monster is a Small creature it will be getting +5 to AC and Dex saves pretty much all the time. I built the creature to be CR 1/2, but if its effective AC is 5 higher then that sends it up to at least CR 1 if not 2. I can tune down its HP and rule that the trench grants half cover for Medium and Small creatures, but I like where the monster is at right now.

Thoughts? Do you allow Mold Earth to be used in this way? Do you think a trench would grant a cover bonus against melee attacks? As I understand it, RAW cover works for melee and ranged, but in my mind that really doesn't make much sense.

Assuming you kept Mold earth requiring an action the monster won't be able to both create cover and attack in the same round so I wouldn't change it's CR.

[Unoriginal]

I agree, it wouldn't affect the CR. Not any more than fighting in a place with cover would.

[ZenBear]

Well... what if the Officer granted his troopers War Magic? 😅

[BloodSnake'sCha]

I will give full cover for Medium.
I will not change the CR, it takes an action to use the cantrip.
It will just means the PC will need to ready an action to attack the monster as it move out of cover to attack(I will give it 3/4 cover at time of attack) or get closer so the cover will not matter.

[Unoriginal]

Well... what if the Officer granted his troopers War Magic? 😅

Not the same thing at all. Favorable terrain does not affect CR, being able to boost allies independently could.

[Lunali]

Cover should work against both melee and ranged, but a trench does not provide cover against melee. If you're close enough for melee, you're at an angle where you no longer have dirt in the way. If you had a 3ft fence instead, that would restrict your attack options and provide cover.

[Chronos]

You can create a trench and a berm at the same time with Move Earth: The dirt you take out of the hole has to go somewhere, after all. The standard military strongpoint would have a trench outside with a berm inside, so that any attackers would have to go up twice the height (from the bottom of the trench to the top of the hill) before they could close to melee. And you can create such a strongpoint extremely quickly using Move Earth (much quicker than a bunch of soldiers with shovels can).

If the creature has any indication that the party is coming, or it has any reason to guard a particular spot, it's going to already have its fortifications dug before the encounter starts. And if it has any sort of ranged attack, it's not going to have any need to leave its fortification. Remember that cover is not symmetric: Most fortifications are designed so that it's a lot easier to shoot out of them than into them.