Tower Shields, Cover, and Volley Rules/Tactics

[RNightstalker]

Will tower shields provide total cover to those behind the wielder of the tower shield?

I'm working on an encounter that's going to be a large scale battle with hundreds of enemies. I'm looking for a consensus on how far back total cover would go depending on terrain and line of sight. I'm also looking at cover bonuses from the Rules Compendium. A tower shield seems to have no effect against area attacks if they're properly placed. For example, if the front line of troops all has tower shields, would they still have cover from a fireball targeting two squares above and behind said front line?

I'm also looking at volley rules, and I think Heroes of Battle Concentrated Volley (which essentially treats the attack like a breath weapon) is a little more palatable than the PHII Missile Volley teamwork benefit, since with enough in a grouping only those that roll a natural 1 will miss. Has anyone else used with the volley rules?

[Saintheart]

I'm working on an encounter that's going to be a large scale battle with hundreds of enemies. I'm looking for a consensus on how far back total cover would go depending on terrain and line of sight. I'm also looking at cover bonuses from the Rules Compendium. A tower shield seems to have no effect against area attacks if they're properly placed. For example, if the front line of troops all has tower shields, would they still have cover from a fireball targeting two squares above and behind said front line?

Let's get back to the rules about cover:

To determine whether your target has cover from your ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target’s square passes through a square or border that blocks line of effect or provides cover, or through a square occupied by a creature, the target has cover (+4 to AC).
...
Low Obstacles and Cover
A low obstacle (such as a wall no higher than half your height) provides cover, but only to creatures within 30 feet (6 squares) of it. The attacker can ignore the cover if he’s closer to the obstacle than his target.

Tower shields provide total cover, which is:

Total Cover
If you don’t have line of effect to your target he is considered to have total cover from you. You can’t make an attack against a target that has total cover.

And lastly, there's soft cover:

Soft Cover
Creatures, even your enemies, can provide you with cover against ranged attacks, giving you a +4 bonus to AC. However, such soft cover provides no bonus on Reflex saves, nor does soft cover allow you to make a Hide check.

I read cover as relative to a given character or effect. If you've got a tower shield between you and the Wizard, you've got total cover relative to him, but not to the Fireball that's air-burst above and behind him; that shield can't be angled in all directions at once.

As for characters behind the character with the tower shield, it comes down to drawing the line from the corner of your square to the corner of the opponent's square. For those directly behind the character with the tower shield, they have cover (at least +4 AC), but it's not total cover - that only applies to the character right behind the tower shield.

Does it block line of effect against anything behind the character with the tower shield? I'd say not, given how line of effect works:

Line of Effect
A line of effect is a straight, unblocked path that indicates what a spell can affect. A line of effect is canceled by a solid barrier. It’s like line of sight for ranged weapons, except that it’s not blocked by fog, darkness, and other factors that limit normal sight.

You must have a clear line of effect to any target that you cast a spell on or to any space in which you wish to create an effect. You must have a clear line of effect to the point of origin of any spell you cast.

Soft cover =/= break in line of sight, and not line of effect. Line of effect is only broken by total cover, and even then the tower shield allows you to target the person behind it by targeting the shield.

[Zombimode]

Has anyone else used with the volley rules?

No, and I think they don't fit within the rest of the system assumptions.

[Darg]

I read cover as relative to a given character or effect. If you've got a tower shield between you and the Wizard, you've got total cover relative to him, but not to the Fireball that's air-burst above and behind him; that shield can't be angled in all directions at once.

As for characters behind the character with the tower shield, it comes down to drawing the line from the corner of your square to the corner of the opponent's square. For those directly behind the character with the tower shield, they have cover (at least +4 AC), but it's not total cover - that only applies to the character right behind the tower shield.

A shield's benefit is not dependent on facing as facing is not a mechanic in 3.5. The only exception is what's mentioned in the tower shield's description: targeted spells can target the shield. So yes, it can protect the wearer from a fireball (which facing doesn't even matter because spreads go around corners anyways.)

As for others getting the benefit of the tower shield's cover, they don't. The description says you get total cover. Unlike in 3.0 where it doesn't specify.

To OP: the PHBII Missile Volley isn't that overpowered. Assuming the standard group of 4-6 members in a team, that's only a +4-6. The prerequisite is quite costly too taking up a precious feat slot. It also has other major downsides like needing to ready an action as a group and you can only attack one target at a time. Personally, I think the power is just right for the drawbacks.

[Buufreak]

So I see 2 instances of mentioning gaining +4 to AC, and then an instance of not getting a reflex bonus, but didn't see anywhere it defining said reflex bonus.

Just found that funny.

[Darg]

So I see 2 instances of mentioning gaining +4 to AC, and then an instance of not getting a reflex bonus, but didn't see anywhere it defining said reflex bonus.

Just found that funny.

Cover and Reflex Saves

Cover grants you a +2 bonus on Reflex saves against attacks that originate or burst out from a point on the other side of the cover from you. Note that spread effects can extend around corners and thus negate this cover bonus.

It's a separate paragraph.

[RNightstalker]

To OP: the PHBII Missile Volley isn't that overpowered. Assuming the standard group of 4-6 members in a team, that's only a +4-6. The prerequisite is quite costly too taking up a precious feat slot. It also has other major downsides like needing to ready an action as a group and you can only attack one target at a time. Personally, I think the power is just right for the drawbacks.

When I've got hundreds of archers and can put 20 into a group?

[Darg]

When I've got hundreds of archers and can put 20 into a group?

One, the DM is the one that gets to build npcs and thus they may not possess the prerequisites. Two, every single person on the team has to have the prerequisites and there is no way in game to know if someone has them. Lastly, the team needs at least 2 weeks of training to qualify for the benefit.

If as you say you can put 20 out of hundreds of archers into a group, you get to murder one thing every round. Then again, if you have an army of hundreds of archers you are likely facing opposition of appropriate scale and thus will be extremely limited by that 1 kill per round.

[RNightstalker]

One, the DM is the one that gets to build npcs and thus they may not possess the prerequisites. Two, every single person on the team has to have the prerequisites and there is no way in game to know if someone has them. Lastly, the team needs at least 2 weeks of training to qualify for the benefit.

If as you say you can put 20 out of hundreds of archers into a group, you get to murder one thing every round. Then again, if you have an army of hundreds of archers you are likely facing opposition of appropriate scale and thus will be extremely limited by that 1 kill per round.

Odds are similar to the final assault on the Alamo.