*CLARIFICATION:* Soft Cover only applies to Ranged attacks. See here for more great Starfinder videos: th-cam.com/play/PLYCDCUfG0xJaiOsB99j8H3wyI8gGbxPuP.html Want to help support the channel? Get your name listed at the end of my videos by joining my Patreon : ▶️ www.patreon.com/HowItsPlayed/ Thank me with a cup of coffee! ▶️ ko-fi.com/HowItsPlayed
Damn, all your videos are great. Paizo should be paying you for this stuff with how concise and well laid out they are. Not to mention that you've got some really helpful graphics.
@@HowItsPlayed I've got work during the Wednesday Starfinder streams Paizo do. But plugging it there sometime, or just sending it on twitter to the guy who runs the streams might be a good idea. I know he's asked for any community resources to spot light before. Could let some more Starfinders know about your channel if nothing else :)
The rules seemed so complicated but the way you explained everything made everything so clear! Can't wait to include more nuance to my combat with this further understanding
Who's the one guy who thumbs-downed this video?? 🤣. Your videos are great! Seriously, these videos have helped clarify so many things that come up around the table.
Yakno. Paizo really should just link your videos in paizo. or the Reddit should list ya'lls videos in their FAQ section. way thorough but also simplified.
Thanks for these videos, they've been really handy with becoming clear about cover and concealment rules. I know you mention the "elephant in the room" in the text below your video and I've searched everywhere for an answer to that issue myself. I can't seem to find anything from Paizo clearing that up, which is odd as the question has been asked a bunch of times. However the best explanation I've seen someone give is in regards to "lines of effect". In the example #2 on page 253 of the Core Rulebook because they are on opposite sides of the line of effect it is what gives them cover from each other. If on the other hand you have two people standing opposite one another in a 5ft corridor they are on the same sides of the line of effect so they don't have cover from each other. One of the posts in this thread on the forums explains it better: paizo.com/threads/rzs2ul65?Cover-questions
Oh, boy... this is a debate I was hoping to avoid. LOL What you shared is a good explanation of how it could work (in fact, I almost included that example in this video, but didn't want to muddy the waters). But, I don't think the rule is intended. IMO it's pretty clear this was an editing mistake... Pathfinder had different Cover rules depending on if you're making a melee or ranged attack and Starfinder does not. The picture example that's caused the debate is a cut-and-paste of the melee cover rules from Pathfinder that no longer apply in Starfinder. At one point I considered including both versions in this video, but that would be very long and probably confusing for new players, so I chose the version I believe is correct. Text trumps table (or in this case picture) and the official wiki makes no mention of the "along the length of a wall" rule whatsoever, so that's a pretty good indication to me that the picture was a mistake, even if it hasn't been specifically addressed in the errata yet. But, I actually do have a version of this video saved where I do show the same examples using the "along the border of a wall" rule, and may include it in a supplemental video if it looks like enough people are using that rule.
@@HowItsPlayed In an advanced cover video you could mention the penetrating weapons special property and how laser weapons may treat cover different than other weapon types, etc.
Depends on the situation and environment. If it's just head and one arm from around a corner, I would say Improved Cover. If they're behind a low wall and both arms and shoulders are exposed, I'd go with Normal Cover.
Im not sure what the point of the 4 line of visibility is for at the start so if total cover is 4 lines normal would be 3 lines? and partial would be 2 lines? then if they dont have a line do they not get cover
I have a hard time reconciling that shooting from behind your ally (and thus, using them as cover) would be any different than shooting behind a wall or a crate or something. Of course *you'll* have the cover, but why the thing you're shooting at?
I have a question, in the Nevasi example in time 1:51 you stated that the creature doesn't have cover against her. However, The same example in the book states that the creature does have "cover". This interpretation makes sense, and the book explanation aligns with the cover example for melee cover in Pathfinder, however as far as I could tell there are no separated cover rules for melee in Starfinder. Is this a book mistake? Thanks and great video.
Yes, it's widely believed the example in the book is a mistake, although the devs have not made any official acknowledgement that I am aware of. So rather than get into that debate in the video, I decided to go with the rules as I believe they are intended and will update later should the devs make an announcement. But I'm pretty sure the example image in the book is just a hold-over from Pathfinder where melee and ranged attacks have different cover rules. Also, it may be worth noting that the Cover rules listed in the official Starfinder wiki make no mention of cover being granted when a targeting line runs the length of a wall.
@@HowItsPlayed Thanks for the response, I think that Starfinder should keep the melee cover rules, as some interactions with large creatures and corners could create situations where large creatures ignore all cover or two creatures in a corner will hit each other as easily as being in front of them. For example, in your example, Nevasi would take an attack of opportunity because using the corner rule for melee she has no cover from the large creature since the creature could use one of its top corners to calculate cover instead of all corner as it should in melee.
But in my version of rulebook there is a sentence: "Obozaya is adjacent to the ksarik, but lines from every corner of her square to all the corners of the ksarik’s square pass through or run along the border of a wall." Or along the borde. I think, it has a sence. And that's why she has cover. And protection from an opportunity attack.
To understand why it is widely considered a mistake, think of combat in a 5ft wide corridor: Two medium creatures are 10ft away from each other in the 5ft wide corridor. As written, despite being face to face in an empty corridor, both combatants have cover as neither can draw 4 lines from any point of their space without 2 of those lines running along the walls of the corridor...Stupid, yes?
My son uses "Roll20" and there are other servers that allow you to use mapping online. In fact, this is an amazing tool as it only shows your players the map portion that they can see.
![ปฏิเสธไม่ไหว (Crush on you) - LIPTA feat. No One Else [TEASER MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VC689EgdSIw/mqdefault.jpg)
*CLARIFICATION:* Soft Cover only applies to Ranged attacks.
See here for more great Starfinder videos: th-cam.com/play/PLYCDCUfG0xJaiOsB99j8H3wyI8gGbxPuP.html
Want to help support the channel?
Get your name listed at the end of my videos by joining my Patreon :
▶️ www.patreon.com/HowItsPlayed/
Thank me with a cup of coffee!
▶️ ko-fi.com/HowItsPlayed
Damn, all your videos are great. Paizo should be paying you for this stuff with how concise and well laid out they are. Not to mention that you've got some really helpful graphics.
LOL - thanks! Although I'm fairly certain Paizo doesn't know I exist.
@@HowItsPlayed I've got work during the Wednesday Starfinder streams Paizo do. But plugging it there sometime, or just sending it on twitter to the guy who runs the streams might be a good idea. I know he's asked for any community resources to spot light before. Could let some more Starfinders know about your channel if nothing else :)
@@hoopyfrood7887 Thanks - I'll look into that!
Thanks! Another great video. When Paizo write v2 of the CRB, they need you as a subeditor.
This is a very well done video!! You manage to explain the mechanics of cover in a way easy to understand. You got a New sub, Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the support -- I appreciate it!
The rules seemed so complicated but the way you explained everything made everything so clear! Can't wait to include more nuance to my combat with this further understanding
Who's the one guy who thumbs-downed this video?? 🤣. Your videos are great! Seriously, these videos have helped clarify so many things that come up around the table.
Glad to hear they're helping! I guess there's always going to be "that one guy"... :)
These are so helpful! Thank you so much for these, it really helps to visualize a lot of these rules and makes a lot more sense that way.
Glad it was helpful!
Fantastic Job, I've distributed this to all my players! Thanks!
Fantastic guide again. I can't wait for the remainder.
Yakno. Paizo really should just link your videos in paizo. or the Reddit should list ya'lls videos in their FAQ section.
way thorough but also simplified.
I agree! :)
Thanks for these videos, they've been really handy with becoming clear about cover and concealment rules. I know you mention the "elephant in the room" in the text below your video and I've searched everywhere for an answer to that issue myself. I can't seem to find anything from Paizo clearing that up, which is odd as the question has been asked a bunch of times.
However the best explanation I've seen someone give is in regards to "lines of effect". In the example #2 on page 253 of the Core Rulebook because they are on opposite sides of the line of effect it is what gives them cover from each other. If on the other hand you have two people standing opposite one another in a 5ft corridor they are on the same sides of the line of effect so they don't have cover from each other.
One of the posts in this thread on the forums explains it better: paizo.com/threads/rzs2ul65?Cover-questions
Oh, boy... this is a debate I was hoping to avoid. LOL What you shared is a good explanation of how it could work (in fact, I almost included that example in this video, but didn't want to muddy the waters). But, I don't think the rule is intended.
IMO it's pretty clear this was an editing mistake... Pathfinder had different Cover rules depending on if you're making a melee or ranged attack and Starfinder does not. The picture example that's caused the debate is a cut-and-paste of the melee cover rules from Pathfinder that no longer apply in Starfinder. At one point I considered including both versions in this video, but that would be very long and probably confusing for new players, so I chose the version I believe is correct. Text trumps table (or in this case picture) and the official wiki makes no mention of the "along the length of a wall" rule whatsoever, so that's a pretty good indication to me that the picture was a mistake, even if it hasn't been specifically addressed in the errata yet.
But, I actually do have a version of this video saved where I do show the same examples using the "along the border of a wall" rule, and may include it in a supplemental video if it looks like enough people are using that rule.
Please comeback to covering Starfinder.
Was it mentioned that melee attacks are not affected by Soft Cover? Soft Cover specifically states "ranged attacks" in the CRB.
You're right! Thanks for pointing that out!
@@HowItsPlayed In an advanced cover video you could mention the penetrating weapons special property and how laser weapons may treat cover different than other weapon types, etc.
Thank you for this!
yeah good video. very helpful. clear english. thumbs up
Thanks!
If someone is behind a wall they have total cover ... BUT they expose their head and arm to shoot at you ... what cover do you assess?
Depends on the situation and environment. If it's just head and one arm from around a corner, I would say Improved Cover. If they're behind a low wall and both arms and shoulders are exposed, I'd go with Normal Cover.
Im not sure what the point of the 4 line of visibility is for at the start
so if total cover is 4 lines
normal would be 3 lines?
and partial would be 2 lines?
then if they dont have a line do they not get cover
I have a hard time reconciling that shooting from behind your ally (and thus, using them as cover) would be any different than shooting behind a wall or a crate or something. Of course *you'll* have the cover, but why the thing you're shooting at?
I have a question, in the Nevasi example in time 1:51 you stated that the creature doesn't have cover against her. However, The same example in the book states that the creature does have "cover". This interpretation makes sense, and the book explanation aligns with the cover example for melee cover in Pathfinder, however as far as I could tell there are no separated cover rules for melee in Starfinder. Is this a book mistake? Thanks and great video.
Yes, it's widely believed the example in the book is a mistake, although the devs have not made any official acknowledgement that I am aware of. So rather than get into that debate in the video, I decided to go with the rules as I believe they are intended and will update later should the devs make an announcement. But I'm pretty sure the example image in the book is just a hold-over from Pathfinder where melee and ranged attacks have different cover rules.
Also, it may be worth noting that the Cover rules listed in the official Starfinder wiki make no mention of cover being granted when a targeting line runs the length of a wall.
@@HowItsPlayed Thanks for the response, I think that Starfinder should keep the melee cover rules, as some interactions with large creatures and corners could create situations where large creatures ignore all cover or two creatures in a corner will hit each other as easily as being in front of them. For example, in your example, Nevasi would take an attack of opportunity because using the corner rule for melee she has no cover from the large creature since the creature could use one of its top corners to calculate cover instead of all corner as it should in melee.
But in my version of rulebook there is a sentence: "Obozaya is adjacent to the ksarik, but
lines from every corner of her square to all the corners of the ksarik’s square pass through or run along the border of a wall." Or along the borde. I think, it has a sence. And that's why she has cover. And protection from an opportunity attack.
To understand why it is widely considered a mistake, think of combat in a 5ft wide corridor: Two medium creatures are 10ft away from each other in the 5ft wide corridor. As written, despite being face to face in an empty corridor, both combatants have cover as neither can draw 4 lines from any point of their space without 2 of those lines running along the walls of the corridor...Stupid, yes?
I notice all these videos use a map...
I'm a GM on a discord server...a map simply will not do. Is one required?
No, strictly speaking maps are not required for play, but they do help illustrate the rules. You could play "theater of the mind" without maps too.
My son uses "Roll20" and there are other servers that allow you to use mapping online. In fact, this is an amazing tool as it only shows your players the map portion that they can see.
i'm here because of the 'elephant in the room' (or should that be 'Ksarik in the room'). i don't like it, but i don't think it is an editing error.
but yeah pretty long vid. maybe a bit shorter wouldnt hurt