knighkrawler's krap [rules]: LINE OF SIGHT

[knightkrawler]

I want feedback. So here goes, the first of my important changes to the game, supposed to clarify and make interpretation more or less obsolete.
I want mistakes in my thinking, grammar, style, absolutely anything, pointed out to me.
If there are questions, shoot. The wording aims at there being none. If there are no questions, let me know by posting "no questions". I need feedback before I go on in this style.

Line-of-Sight
If an imaginary straight line can be drawn from the chest of one figure to the chest of another figure, the figures are in each other's Line of Sight. Thus, the attacking figure may make a Ranged Attack. However, for each figure or piece of furniture that stands on a square that would be crossed if the Line of Sight was on the ground, the attacker must subtract 1 Combat Die. Line of Sight is automatically and completely interrupted by walls, closed doors, blocked squares, and certain pieces of furniture (according to their rulebook entries) making Ranged Attacks over them impossible. Line of Sight is from now on and on all cards called LoS.

OPTIONAL: For each obstacle occupying a square crossed by the LoS in a ranged attack, the attacker has to subtract 1 CD from his Attack Dice. In addition, he must roll 1 CD for each obstacle in succession following the LoS from attacker to target figure. As soon as a skull is rolled, the projectile hits the obstacle. This obstacle then has to defend itself (if applicable) and the projectile is stopped immediately.

Casting Spells
By default, spells can be cast on any one figure that is in the same room or hallway section as the casting figure. The casting figure can by default cast a spell on himself.
If a spell makes an exception to any of this, the card text explicitly says so and thus overrules this.
When a spell card references a "target figure", it means that figure which is affected by the spell according to the spellcaster player's announcement on which figure he is casting his spell. This figure can be a victim, a thrall, or even a benefactor of the spell.

[sajungzak]

No questions except why did you choose not to require los for spells?

[Sjeng]

However, for each figure or piece of furniture that stands on a square that would be crossed if the Line of Sight was on the ground, the attacker must subtract 1 Combat Die.

what do you mean, on the ground? Are you suggesting heroes can lie flat? Or stand on top of furniture and attack?

[knightkrawler]

No questions except why did you choose not to require los for spells?

Because I wanted to empower the Wizard a little by making it possible to cast a spell on any one "activated" monster in a room or - more importantly - in a hallway "section", i.e. all hallway squares between each next corner and the wizard. Also, I don't want a spell to work like a ranged weapon. I don't see a point why a magical effect should go straight as long as the wizard can "remember" or just knows where his target is, how it looks, and so on.

However, for each figure or piece of furniture that stands on a square that would be crossed if the Line of Sight was on the ground, the attacker must subtract 1 Combat Die.

what do you mean, on the ground? Are you suggesting heroes can lie flat? Or stand on top of furniture and attack?

No, I do not allow heroes to lie flat. [Or I have to think about it]. The rule is supposed to say that the imaginary LoS you drew between the chests of attacker and attacker to determine if the shot is possible at all is pulled onto the floor (2-dimensional now, if you will) and any square that is crossed by this 2D LoS is a modifier to determine the number of Attack Dice.
And partially yes, I'll define each piece of furniture individually, cause I indeed want there to be differences and some game props to them. Among those, I want the table to be usable by figures. That means, a ranged attacker gains an advantage by climbing onto a table because of the 3-dimensional LoS in terms of the sheer number of targets in a crowded room, yet I retain the negative modifiers through figures and furnitures standing on the 2D LoS.

This all is really much more simple and intuitive than it sounds when written. It's been playtested and my players have taken and used it without any problems. I still have to playtest some tactical subtleties.

[Teldurn]

I want feedback. So here goes, the first of my important changes to the game, supposed to clarify and make interpretation more or less obsolete.
I want mistakes in my thinking, grammar, style, absolutely anything, pointed out to me.
If there are questions, shoot. The wording aims at there being none. If there are no questions, let me know by posting "no questions". I need feedback before I go on in this style.

Line-of-Sight (LoS)
If an imaginary straight line can be drawn from the chest of one figure to the chest of another figure, the figures are in LoS of each other. Thus, an attacking figure may make a Ranged Attack. However, for each figure or piece of furniture that stands on a square that would be crossed if LoS was on the ground, the attacker must subtract 1 Combat Die. LoS is automatically and completely interrupted by walls, closed doors, blocked squares, and certain pieces of furniture (according to their rulebook entries), making Ranged Attacks over them impossible. Line-of-Sight is from now on and on all cards called LoS.

OPTIONAL: For each obstacle occupying a square crossed by the LoS in a ranged attack, the attacker has to subtract 1 CD from his Attack Dice. In addition, he must roll 1 CD for each obstacle in succession following the LoS form attacker to target figure. As soon as a skull is rolled, the projectile hits the obstacle. This obstacle then has to defend itself (if applicable) and the projectile is stopped immediately.

Casting Spells
Normally, spells can be cast on any one figure that is in the same room or hallway section as the casting figure. The casting figure can always cast a spell on himself.
If a spell makes an exception to any of this, the card text explicitly says so and thus overrules this.
When a spell card references a "target figure", it means that figure which is affected by the spell according to the spellcaster player's announcement on which figure he is casting his spell on. This figure can be a victim, a thrall, or even a benefactor of the spell.

Corrections/suggestions in red.

[knightkrawler]

Thank you very much, kind sir. Edits will be done, though I think I'm gonna keep unabbreviated Line-of-Sight in the entry dedicated to it and only then use the LoS.
Thinking about this.

[JasonMCM]

I was actually in the process of making rules like this. But it had different names. (Targetable and Line of Sight)

In the above picture the Orc is Targatable by the Barbarian and the Elf, but not the Wizard, as the Barbarian would probably catch a thrown dagger in his back (if the wizard was so foolish as to throw one)
In the same picture the all the heroes have LoS with the Orc, this is because though the Barbarian might be in the preferred flight plan of a projectile, he just can't block the the Wizard (or the Orc) from leaning a little to the left and seeing what stands behind him.

Does this make sense or am I just muddying the water?

[Big Bene]

Line-of-Sight
If an imaginary straight line can be drawn from the chest of one figure to the chest of another figure, the figures are in each other's Line of Sight.

I think this somewhat overcomplicated. Much of the charme of HQ comes from it's simplicity, and after all, all game rules are simplifications of more complex real processes (at least in role playing and dungeon crawling games, perhaps not so much in nine men's morris). Of course, the original rules can use quite some clarification, but I would tend to define base=figure or even gameboard square=figure. So my choice would be:
"If an (imaginary) straight line can be drawn from any point of the square one figure stands on to any point of a a square another figure stands on, the figures are in each other's Line of Sight".
After all, the LoS is pretty clear in most cases. Only when there are doubts players would like to really trace the LoS on the gameboard, and then they are probably thankful when not having to find the point that is defined as "chest" on the figure and then raise a perpendicular to the ground level.

and certain pieces of furniture (according to their rulebook entries).

I would tend to simplify this by ordering the furniture in classes like "high" and "low", and apply other other rules from different chapters to these classes. For example: low furniture can be jumped, climbed on and does not interrupt a LoS, the opposite is true for high furinture. Of course, this does not belong in the LoS rule. Furniture should have its own chapter, defining the appropriate classes (there may be others besides high/low, such as "(non)searchable", "moveable", "destoyable" ...). The LoS chapter just uses the "hight" class:
"However, for each figure or piece of low furniture that stands on a square that would be crossed if the Line of Sight was on the ground...",

Line of Sight is automatically and completely interrupted by walls, closed doors, blocked squares, and certain pieces of furniture (according to their rulebook entries) making Ranged Attacks over them impossible.

I would put this before the part describing the "soft" obstacles, as it belongs to the basical definition if there is a LoS at all, whereas the latter are the "ranged attack" rules using the LoS.
My wording:
"Line of Sight is automatically and completely interrupted by walls, closed doors, blocked squares, and high furniture, meaning there simply is no Line of Sight in these cases. Always use the squares the obstacles stand on (or are drawn on) for determining the Line of Sight, not the outlilne of the model or picture. The Line of Sight must steer copletely free of such squares, touching them by a side or corner interrupts it. ...making Ranged Attacks over them impossible. Line of Sight is from now on and on all cards called LoS".

A: for each figure or low piece of furniture that stands on a square that would be crossed if the Line of Sight was on the ground, the attacker must subtract 1 Combat Die.
B: OPTIONAL: For each obstacle occupying a square crossed by the LoS in a ranged attack, the attacker has to subtract 1 CD from his Attack Dice. In addition, he must roll 1 CD for each obstacle in succession following the LoS from attacker to target figure. As soon as a skull is rolled, the projectile hits the obstacle. This obstacle then has to defend itself (if applicable) and the projectile is stopped immediately.

I think you should aim for a combination of A and B. B is more realistic, as abstacles can really be hit, but a bit complicated (many dice rolls), whereas A represents the fact that hitting an obstacled target is more difficult but can still be done with good skill.
I have the following idea, but it's just somthing that came spontaneousely to my had, its not necessarily really good or useable:
"Each obstacle occupying a square crossed by the LoS in a ranged attack counts as one addtional black shield. When, after throwing the dice, the skulls equal or ecceed the black shields (both rolled on the dice and the addtional ones), the attack may hit (the target still can defend). If the black shields ecceed the skulls, an obstacle is hit. If there is more than one obstacle, then use the "remaining" black shields (just subtract the skulls) to determine which obstacle is hit. Start counting with the obstacle nearest to the target and count along the line of sight towards the attacker (this way a better attack will avoid more obstacles and tavels more of the way to the target).
Well, perhaps this is more complicaed than your version...

Casting Spells
By default, spells can be cast on any one figure that is in the same room or hallway section as the casting figure. The casting figure can by default cast a spell on himself.
If a spell makes an exception to any of this, the card text explicitly says so and thus overrules this.
When a spell card references a "target figure", it means that figure which is affected by the spell according to the spellcaster player's announcement on which figure he is casting his spell. This figure can be a victim, a thrall, or even a benefactor of the spell.

OK - indeed, quite good - by me.
Some spells may still use the LoS, but this can be placed into the spell description.

[knightkrawler]

BB, this is quite useful. Your 2-dimensional LoS was actually my very first version, almost down to the word.
This is why I presented the matter here. Ideas being pushed around. This is after all the most important game prop of them all.

And JasonMCM, yes, I completely concur. That's why even in a one-square-wide corridor (section) I will activate ALL monsters as soon as a hero enters it.
The smell, the sound, the screaming, the second monster being warned by the first, and even the help factor when the first monster attacks the hero, what have you. LoS - for me - is not just eyesight, but perception in general.

[drathe]

I draw my imaginary line from the centre of each square. Keeps it simple.