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Cover can be a difficult mechanic to make work inDungeons & Dragons, but it can be a vital component of several playstyles. Long-ranged archers and spellcasters need it to augment weak armour, while stealth-focused characters depend on it to avoid being seen.
Making cover work for your group takes a bit of adaptability and teamwork. A game set in the theatre of the mind can’t approach cover the same way as a map and minis game or a virtual tabletop programmed with line-of-sight and automatic roll modifiers. Here’s how cover works and how to make the most of it in your game.
How Cover Works In Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons has several types of covers with varying effects. Adding a bit more complexity, theeffect of cover is dependent on the enemy and their positioning. Crouching against a brick wall gives no bonuses against someone who snuck up behind you. Here are the different types of cover and how they interact with the various other rules:
The cover rules can be paired with the rules for concealment, which createsdifferent levels of obscurement that characters can use depending on their abilities.Halflings and elves can hide with only light obscurement, for example.
Possible Stealth Bonus
Half Cover
+2 to AC and dexterity savesagainst enemies on the other side of the cover
No Bonus
Three-quarters Cover
+5 to AC and dexterity savesagainst enemies on the other side of the cover
Light obscurement
The character is not visible andcannot be targeted for attacks.
Heavy obscurement
The bonus to AC and dexterity saving throws can be confusing because there are multiple ways it can play out depending on the type of attack. The best way is to look at a few examples of how it would work.
Let’s say a monk is taking cover behind a wall. They’re sticking their head around, so are stillvisible and have three-quarters cover.
If an enemy wizard attacks witha scorching ray, the cover bonus grants a +5 AC, since the wall is between them. If they castcatapult, the monk has +5 to their saving throw. Alternatively, they could cast fireball, targeting a spot above the wall. The cover would be tracked from the point of the explosion, allowing them to ignore the cover. Lastly, they could cast psychic lance to force an intelligence saving throw. This is not a dexterity save or an attack roll so has no modifier from cover.
Cover might also be dependent on the person using it. A halfling can get total cover from a 4ft wall that most other characters would stick out from. A larger character might stillget total cover if they choose to drop prone, but this would make them vulnerable to melee attackers and dexterity saves.
How To Use Cover As A DM
Not every game is suitable for making use of the cover rules. It is going to depend on the tone of your game as well as the format you’re playing in.
Tone
Lighthearted theater of the mind game
A gag oneshot with six melee barbarians will be soured if they’re fighting a group of archers cowering behind castle battlements.
Wargaming Groups On A Virtual Tabletop
A strategic game where everyone is playing highly optimised characters is likely going to get the best results iftheir opponents are using capable tactics of their own.Making good use of cover is an easy way to achieve this, since itencourages the players to either make the risky plays like flanking attacks or to find ways around encounters.
Experimental Games
A game where the warlock/sorcerer multiclass combines eldritch lance, spell sniper and extend spell metamagic to attack from 1,200ft is going tofeel lackluster if their unusual combo doesn’t get at least one opportunity to shine. Too many, and other players will feel unable to contribute.
Narrative Focused Games
Narrative games canstill make use of cover, but more rarely than gameplay-focused groups.A villain using a human shield might have half or three-quarters cover against attackers. A missed attack might kill the hostage without requiring a damage roll.
The rule of thumb is tomatch the tone of your players. If the scenario makes sense using cover mechanics, there is no harm in giving those bonuses but generally NPCs should only use cover strategically if the players are doing the same.
What To Do If Your Players Are Using Total Cover
Total cover can be intimidating for some DMs to handle:There’s no rule against a player using half their movement to step out from behind total cover, make a ranged attack, and then retreat back to cover.Even abilities designed to work around cover, such as sharpshooter and spell sniper only work against half or three-quarter cover. There are a few ways to handle situations where you feel your players are exploiting the system.
Notes
Flank Them
If your players are spending most of their turns crouched behind large barriers,they can’t see how their opponents are moving. Have enemies take hide actions and prepare sneak attacks until the PCs learn the difference between DnD and XCom.
Use Attacks That Ignore Cover
Unless your party somehow have cover in all directions, a well placed area spell is going to ignore any bonuses they gain from playing defensively. You may even choose togive them disadvantage on a save because they can’t see the caster throwing a fireball until its too late.
Use Prepared Actions
Preparing an attack is often weaker than making a straightforward strike at somebody. You lose any multiattacks, and if you’re holding onto a spell it can be disrupted if your concentration is broken. Despite that they’re sometimes the best tool available.Preparing an action to “cast hold person when that sniper pokes their head up” is an easy way to interrupt their turn and punish them for overusing the same strategy.
Place Less Cover
Most of the time, the players are the ones on the attack. They’re scaling the battlements or delving into the dungeon and this makes it reasonable for a prepared opponent to set up the battlefield to their own advantage.Most fortresses aren’t going to leave convenient piles of rock or large trees that people can hide behind while shooting at the defenders.
Match The Style Of Your Players
There’s nothing stopping enemies using the same tactics available to the players. Often they’ll be in abetter position to use coordinated strategies, since the DM has control over all the combatants rather than needing to discuss plans with a team.
Have A Conversation With The Players About Tone
Sometimesthese issues can pop out of a mismatch of expectations, or missed opportunities in session zero. Discuss with them whether the goal of the game is in strategic combat, storytelling or a mixture between each.
How To Use Cover As A Player
The big difference between using cover as a player and DM is accessibility. A player won’t know the terrain of an encounter until they arrive, meaning they’re more likely going to be on the back foot when it comes to leveraging that environment. An important tool for players who benefit from cover is to have some way of creating it unassisted.
Drawbacks
Wall Spells
Wall of Force is an invisible barrier that protects against almost all attacks. It doesn’t require any setup besides having the spell.
Conveniently, it can be shaped into10ft square panels that allow you to take cover and attack through the gaps.
You need to remember and communicate which parts of your invisible wall contain gaps for you to shoot through.
Since its invisible,it won’t provide you any benefits for stealth.
Portable Cover
Daern’s Instant Fortress is a magic item that can give you cover, height and locked doors protecting you in all directions.It has enough space for an entire company of soldiers to defend, and can be set up or taken down easily.
A Folding Boat is a cheaper alternative that also gives a useful piece of adventuring gear. you’re able to adjust the amount of cover between rowboats and longships.
Daern’s Instant Fortresscan only be repaired by use of a Wish spell.
Folding Boats have no bonuses to durability for being magical, so can be easily destroyed.
Hide Behind Other Players
Most DMs will rulestanding behind a willing defender to be worth half cover.This incentivises enemies to attack the tankiest party members at the front of a group.
This method meansstanding close enough together for area attacks to be very effective.
Trench Warfare
There are a few different ways of making improvised trenches quickly.A Mold Earth cantrip can create a 5ft trench in a single action, or a portable hole can create a pit for you to hide in.
Do not attempt the same trick with a bag of holding. It can be easily destroyed.
There are also a lot of weird edge cases that there isn’t a hard ruling on.Illusion spells are a good example: Minor illusion can conjure a pile of boxes for a person to hide behind. The DM will need to decide whether a person has cover, since it obstructs the view of attackers, or doesn’t because projectiles will pass through the illusion.
