Attacking around corners

By Rophan, in Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Posted at

Last night we played Descent for the first time in a long time and ran into a small disput over whether or not a character can attack around corners. Here are a couple of examples of what we ran into.

In case A, according to my reading of the rules Figure 1 has line of sight to Fig. 2 and can therefore attack it. However, in many other miniature based games this would not be allowed as the corner is considered to block the attack. Am I reading the rules correctly here?

In case B, where there is a corner involved and a pile of rubble next to the corner the rules seem to imply (based on the example on Page 10) that Figure 1 still has line of sight to Fig. 2. Does this mean that Fig. 1 can still attack Fig. 2? Again, this seems to fit with my reading of the rules, but it really doesn't make sense to me.

I've been unable to find any mention of this in the FAQ, nor have I found it in a search of the forums, so if this has been asked before, please forgive me.

Untitled.png

Posted at

Rophan said:

Last night we played Descent for the first time in a long time and ran into a small disput over whether or not a character can attack around corners. Here are a couple of examples of what we ran into.

In case A, according to my reading of the rules Figure 1 has line of sight to Fig. 2 and can therefore attack it. However, in many other miniature based games this would not be allowed as the corner is considered to block the attack. Am I reading the rules correctly here?

Yes.

Rophan said:

In case B, where there is a corner involved and a pile of rubble next to the corner the rules seem to imply (based on the example on Page 10) that Figure 1 still has line of sight to Fig. 2. Does this mean that Fig. 1 can still attack Fig. 2? Again, this seems to fit with my reading of the rules, but it really doesn't make sense to me.

I've been unable to find any mention of this in the FAQ, nor have I found it in a search of the forums, so if this has been asked before, please forgive me.

Its not in the FAQ because it is quite explicitly clear in the rules, and even in the LOS example on pg10. Check out the red spaces that Silhouette can see.

It makes sense just fine. Obstacles and even corners are not precisely square and do not necessarily fill every square millimetre of their spaces. And figures occupy more than just the dot on the centre of their space, so bits and pieces of them can see or be seen from different angles than just the centre to centre line. Remember that the gap between the wall and the rubble is actually big enough for a person to physically fit through.

The centre to centre is just a clean mathematical (geometrical) formula for defining what can and cannot be seen. The 'real' situation on the board is quite a lot more fluid and variable, but the game needs a clear rule to define what can and cannot be done/seen. The rule as given as actually quite subtly effective IMO at doing this.