Line of sight question. partial cover or not

[whiteshadowzo]

M
M 2  M
1_2_M

ABCDE


Hopefully my diagram makes sense. Mech on hex A stands on a level 1 hill and is not adjacent to a level 2 hill in between it and another mech on level 0 ground.

I know they can see each other, but partial cover rules in my FanPro version of TW states a mech be adjacent to a feature 1 level lower than its LOS height to get partial cover and yet I still feel like mech in A should get partial cover from mech in E. And mech in A can see all of mech in E.

Any page references would help

Thanks for your help

[Lagbreaker]

Your mechs in your example dont have LOS to each other, if the mech on lvl 0 is adjacent to the lvl 2 hill.

[whiteshadowzo]

It's not. They are both 2 hexes away from the level 2 hill.

[Kovax]

The tricky part is that a 'Mech can be in any part of a hex, so depending on relative distance from the hill, 'Mech A could either be close enough to look over the hill and see 'Mech B completely, or far enough from it not to see 'Mech B at all.  According to the rules, the hill would NOT block line of sight as long as B is not adjacent to the hill.  From a more realistic perspective, it would likely be a rather nebulous situation where B would have varying degrees of coverage depending on the exact distances of both 'Mechs and the exact topographical shape of the hill.

I believe there may be optional rules where 'Mech B would be hidden or partially covered if 'Mech A were further from the hill than B, but I've never used or taken more than a cursory glance at the "diagramming line of sight" optional rules.

[nckestrel]

Total Warfare p102.
"to receive partial cover, a 'Mech must be adjacent to a hex one level higher.."
You've already answered your own question, since you've already referenced the adjacent requirement. LOS itself can depend on non-adjacent, but partial cover is for adjacent.
There are some additional options for partial cover in TO, but they don't remove the adjacent requirement.

[whiteshadowzo]

Total Warfare p102.
"to receive partial cover, a 'Mech must be adjacent to a hex one level higher.."
You've already answered your own question, since you've already referenced the adjacent requirement. LOS itself can depend on non-adjacent, but partial cover is for adjacent.
There are some additional options for partial cover in TO, but they don't remove the adjacent requirement.

I thought that was the case. I wasn't sure if my book was outdated and there was an edge case where the bottom half of one mech was equal level to the top half of another mech where adjacency didn't matter.

I am aware of the additional blind spot rules in TacOps.

Let me rephrase the situation then

V  2  M
1_2_ M

standard sized vehicle on level 1 hill. All other conditions the same. Don't have TW on me right now to read the rules myself but LOS would be blocked to/from either unit, no?

[Weirdo]

Correct, LOS is blocked in that case.

[Demon55]

If the legs are severely damaged and the torsos only slightly damaged and the head undamaged then use partial cover.  Otherwise stay mobile as it will decrease your chances of being headshot.  Correct me if I am wrong on that one.

[nckestrel]

Partial cover no longer, as of Total Warfare, increase the chances of headshots when using partial cover.

[Weirdo]

You are incorrect, but I can see the misconception. Before Total War, partial cover meant a +3 to hit your target but hits were rolled on the punch chart. You were hard to hit, but any hits that did land were extremely dangerous due to the increased odds of head hits.

When Total War came out, there were two subtle yet very important changes. First, the +3 was reduced to a +1, so the odds of getting hit went up, but not so much that it wasn't worth it in light of the second change: The punch chart usage was eliminated completely. You roll on the normal chart, but any hits that roll a leg location are ignored, treated as if they struck the covering terrain instead. This adds a second layer of protection since shots that beat the +1 still have a chance to miss, and also the odds of rolling a hit to the head are no better than against a mech with no cover. There's essentially no downside to taking partial cover every time you can get it, unless you're fond of firing leg-mounted weapons.

(Also, quads gain immensely from partial cover, due to having more potential leg hits on the hit location tables.)