Free form play, map and rules

[KRoc]

I'm looking at making a 3D map sans gridlines to be played with modified rules ala Mage Knight.

I really like the free movement that measuring allows. The big question is on the elevated terrain rules, most specifically with LOS. As it stands you'd have to be on the edge of a building to shoot another figure on the ground, but without gridlines how do you define the edge.

One solution is to attempt to draw a clear line from the firer's eyes to the target. The biggest problem with this is that it would make a blind spot at the base of the building which doesn't exist in the 2D game.

Has anyone tried this or have suggestions on how to make it as realistic as possible?

[yogsoloth]

i think the mage knight conquest rules say that you measure the range straight out from the attacker. anything within that range is ok to shoot at..........at least thats the rule i use...

[Jack Squat]

I use 3D buildings on the city map. Here's what I do: If a figure is at the edge of the roof of a building, I calculate LOS from the edge of the building, not from the center of the square. This allows for the possiblility of a person on a roof looking over the edge and shooting down at someone on the ground below, eliminating "blind spots." If I wasn't using gridlines, I'd still do it the same way, but a figure would have to be all the way to the edge of the roof before I'd allow it. If you're not at the edge, you can't shoot down to a lower elevation.

[bataleth]

Tried to post yesterday but looks like it didn't appear.

On the grid, there are two basic situations when firing across an elevation line. First, any figure standing one square or more behind the roof-edge can't see or be seen. From the centre of the square, this would place such a figure 1.5+.75 or 2.25 inches directly from the roof edge. Second, any figure standing at the roof edge has a 45 degree arc of view in each direction before the bulding edge in the next square interferes with line of fire. Doing the math, this would place the centre of the square 1.06 inches from the roof edge at the corner of the square where LOF becomes blocked.

What I'd do is roughly average these two numbers (2.25+1.06)/2 = 1.65 and say that, when tracing a line from a roof top, any LOF that crosses more than 1.5" or maybe 1.75" before reaching the roof edge is blocked. The same would apply firing up: a target more than 1.5" from the roof edge would be blocked.

Note that all these measurements are from the centre of the square, but I'd measure from the centre of the dial for these purposes.