Maelstrom's Edge V2 - Line of Sight

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**Spiral Arm Studios**

Over the last little while, we've been running through a series of articles on the Comm Guild Blog looking at different aspects of the V2 rules for Maelstrom's Edge. This week, we're casting our eyes towards the Line of Sight rules!

In order to shoot at an enemy, a unit generally needs to be able to see it. Maelstrom's Edge uses simple rules to establish whether or not an enemy is a valid target. Read on for details!

CHECKING LINE OF SIGHT

Maelstrom's Edge uses a model's eye view for determining line of sight. This means checking from behind and just above the model to check if they could see their target. If you can see any part of the enemy unit, then you have line of sight to them. For units of more than one model, line of sight is only checked from the squad leader, as they direct the shooting of the rest of the unit. This helps to speed up gameplay - having to check from each individual model in the unit can get a little tedious. If the squad leader can see the enemy, then the whole unit has line of sight.

A Broken Sniper draws a bead on a squad of Epirian SecDef troops.

WIDE OPEN SHOTS

Generally on a battlefield, troops aren't actually just standing around in funky action poses waiting for their turn to move. With this in mind, Maelstrom's Edge assumes that models are making use of whatever cover is around them, and this is factored in to the Skill and Evasion stats that are used to resolve shooting attacks. (Check out the Sample Unit Activation article for more details on how that works!)

Sometimes, though, a unit will be caught completely in the open, and this can give an attacking enemy a boost to their shooting. Attacking units gain a +2 bonus to their Skill for that round of shooting if their target is completely visible, without being even partially obscured by intervening terrain or other models. This Wide Open Shot bonus can be negated by certain unit actions, however - units that are On The Move or Taking Cover will not confer the bonus. (See the Unit Actions article for details on what those actions do for your units!)

A Karist Alessi Novitiate gets a little caught up in the moment and breaks cover.

TAKING COVER

As mentioned above, units are generally assumed to be making use of whatever cover is available as they move. They also have the option of using the Taking Cover status action to maximise this protection by huddling up against obstacles or going prone in more open ground. This doesn't affect line of sight or attack resolution, but does give them a bonus to their defense before rolling for armor. We'll go into this in more detail in a future article.

A Remnant Longshot takes cover on the roof, waiting patiently for a target to present itself.

Check out the Beta version of the V2 rules, which you can download from the Trial Rules section of the Maelstrom's Edge website here. The Beta rules documents contain all of the rules for playing V2 games, but keep in mind that these are just 'preview' documents - some rules may be revised based on feedback, and the final layout including background material for the factions and the Maelstrom's Edge universe, artwork and other 'flavor' material is missing.

If you have any thoughts on the new rules, pop on over to the Comm Guild Facebook group or the Maelstrom's Edge section here on Dakka. We welcome any feedback, and would love to hear how the new rules are working out for you!