X-Com: Gray Dawn Cover
Cover also plays an important role, one that is often neglected in RPGs. Cover not only protects you from being hit, but provides a psychological boost; if you feel safe, your chances of being able to act out of anything other than instinct is improved. Every level of cover grants 4 points of SP to covered areas, and improves any suppression rolls by +1. Most cover ranges from 1 (light concealment like a bush) to 10 (firing through a gun slit in a bunker). Cover only protects if the direction of fire intersects; watch out for flankers! Player characters should also consider movement to flank their opponents and minimize their protection from cover. Likewise, armor grants a bonus: for every full 5 SP of torso armor, the target gains a +1 to their suppression roll, feeling they can shrug off fire and take it on the armor.
In CP2020, target numbers are used for to-hit numbers. Here, we will used an opposed-roll system. When an attack is made, the target will (usually) make a defense roll, which will determine whether the attack hits. This may reflect the target's mobility and speed, their sheer ability to evade. It can also represent the ability to take effective cover while an attack is made. However it is rationalized, some targets are much more slippery and able to avoid being hit. An exception is the ambush, as described in CP2020 FNFF rules.
To make a ranged defense roll, take the average of CL and MA+Dodge/Cover skill+1d10. This is to reflect not only how quickly you can get out of harm's way, but how well you can deal with being attacked and keep things together to effectively defend yourself. Real-life statistics show that the people most likely to survive gunfights aren't necessarily the best shots, but those who can keep it together enough to take cover and protect themselves. To make a close combat attack/defense roll, use (REF+MA)/2+relevant skill+BTM+1d10. Strong characters should definitely have an advantage over weak characters when it comes to close combat in some regard other than sheer damage dealing capability. When in doubt, bet on the big guy.
Another advantage to taking cover: If a shot manages to hit and the target location is behind cover, the shot strikes the cover first. If it is a powerful attack and/or the cover is light (tactically known as concealment), the target may still take damage, but if the cover is sufficiently sturdy (such as a boulder, tree or sandbags), all the damage may be stopped. Each level of cover will stop 4 points of damage before it is applied to the target. What hit locations any piece of cover will protect varies, but a rule of thumb is that any cover will usually protect at least the legs (hit locations 7-10); larger pieces (like a car body, low wall or Jersey barrier) will cover most of the torso as well as the legs (hit locations 3,4 and 7-10); a fortified location (sandbag MG nest, firing slit in a bunker) might cover everything except the shooter's head. A telephone pole may offer a high level of protection, but the hit locations it protects might be minimal.
Taking cover will also affect the target's ability to witness what is happening in the middle of a firefight. If the target takes full cover (which may or may not be possible depending on the nature of the cover) or is suppressed, they may lose track of where enemies are located. The benefit to full cover is that no part of the character can be targeted; only saturation fire may hit, and any hits will have to penetrate the cover, first.
If using a hex or grid map, being adjacent to a spot of cover can grant you the benefit of cover (depending on the direction of incoming fire). If using a free map, being less than one inch from cover will allow you to take cover.
