The Fortifications skill (p. 274) lists various constructions as adding advantage dice to R&C positioning/maneuvers and possibly “increase cover” or “increase cover by one”.
Cover in R&C (p. 406) says that “Terrain, cover and shields raise your obstacle to shoot your opponent.” It then lists Ob penalties for various kinds of terrain and a flat +1 Ob for shields.
Fixed Positions and Fortification (p. 419) again talk about defenses adding dice for maneuvers.
Shields vs Missiles in Field Maneuvers (p. 482) says that “shields increase the cover rating for their bearer by one step—from no cover to reasonable cover, for example”.
So… how is this all supposed to work? It reads like the concept of cover in R&C changed at some point during the preparation of BWG, but maybe didn’t get addressed in every section.
Fall Prone and Beg For Mercy in Range and Cover (p. 420) also uses the terminology in the final sentence: “…you have a 2D position.” I think this may be the only time that specific phrasing is used w/r/t R&C.
Nah, it’s consistent. Fortifications and other structures are going to grant you two things: protection in the form of raising your opponent’s Obstacle to shoot you and bonus dice to your next positioning test.
You can also choose to strategically Position yourself with your successes which also gives you bonuses to your next positioning roll.
Shields count as basic cover, making it harder to be shot. They don’t help with Positioning though.
Thanks for the clarification, Chris and Luke. I still find the references in the text to be very confusing, what with references to “steps” and all, and “Cover” and “Fixed Positions and Fortifications” in two different spots.