Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Rice
Skarg, as I said, I do agree someone behind an arrowslit would be almost impossible to hit in real life, so you could impose very harsh penalties if you really wanted to model that like -10/-12 or perhaps -6 at 4 dice (arrowslit gives automatic dodge bonus).
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Yes. Adding dice (and not scaling up the auto-hits) is probably even better than just having a high DX penalty.
I think it's important (if/when it ever does come up in a relevant way in play) for someone to have pointed this out, because otherwise some players have shown a tendency to just take the highest penalty they can find in the Cover & Concealment rules because they have not thought about it or the math or implications sufficiently. But that's -6, the head & shoulders penalty, or just the Aimed Shot penalty for the head, as if it were someone peeking over a wall. And -6 is quite doable, even with a few more points off for range and height, especially when you get to try many times in a siege situation. And so effectively you don't get to play a game where there is anything like an arrow slit, because the GM doesn't get how to model it.
Arrow slits are one of the reasons castles could be garrisoned by a couple dozen men and stand for months or years against armies. Even crack archers were not generally able to pick off defenders through arrow slits. Certainly not as easily as they could shoot someone in the open in the head.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Rice
I don't think it ever came up in many years of play so I'm not sure it needs a rule. A good GM can come up with a scenario appropriate modifier on the fly, if needed.
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Maybe not, though:
1) It did come up in GURPS Orcslayer, which someone's suggestion to port to TFT is the occasion for this coming up now.
2) Some things are useful to know an accurate answer for, even if they don't come up, or at least to correct when someone keeps suggesting answers that will give inappropriate results.