| 4 people marked this as FAQ candidate. |
1. Do line weapons consider cover bonuses in addition the hardness of whatever object is providing the bonus?
2. Would you only consider the hardness of cover if it would provide the difference between being hit or not? Or would you always have to overcome it's hardness?
3. If you are always considering the hardness of cover when determining the effect of the attack, would cover provide any bonuses to AC? What about soft cover provided by other creatures?
4. What happens when you can perceive a target behind total cover (through blindsense/blindsight or other means) and are able to deal enough damage to pierce that cover? Do they get cover bonuses then? Are they considered flat-footed against the attack if they couldn't perceive you? Are they benefiting from concealment with blindsense but not blindsight?
If you're required to pierce every object in the line then any targets behind steel cover (20 hardness) would be able to avoid your attacks without effort; which seems to make sense until you can deal enough damage to truly punch through with higher level weapons or damage.
LINE
This weapon fires a projectile in a straight line that pierces through multiple creatures or obstacles. When attacking with such a weapon, make a single attack roll and compare it to the relevant Armor Class of all creatures and objects in a line extending to the weapon’s listed range increment. Roll damage only once. The weapon hits all targets with an AC equal to or lower than the attack roll. However, if an attack fails to damage a creature or obstacle hit in the line (typically due to damage reduction or hardness), the path is stopped and the attack doesn’t damage creatures farther away. A line weapon can’t damage targets beyond its listed range. If you score a critical hit, that effect applies only to the first target hit in the line, and you roll the critical damage separately. If multiple creatures are equally close, you choose which one takes the effects of the critical hit. A line weapon doesn’t benefit from feats or abilities that increase the damage of a single attack (such as the operative’s trick attack).
It seems like you could probably ignore cover entirely and just consider the AC of creatures and vehicles modified by cover. With the only impact on whether the line continues being DR, Energy Resistance, Hardness (vehicle) and full cover. This probably alleviates a lot of the confusion surrounding how it works, but I'd love if someone could weigh in on this.