Cover
Half cover: +2 AC/DEX saves. Three-quarters cover: +5 AC/DEX saves. Total cover: can't be directly targeted.
Walls, trees, creatures, and other obstacles can provide cover, making a target harder to hit.
Half Cover: An obstacle blocks at least half of a target's body (e.g., a low wall, thick furniture, another creature). Grants +2 to AC and Dexterity saving throws.
Three-Quarters Cover: About three-quarters of the target is blocked (e.g., an arrow slit, a thick tree trunk). Grants +5 to AC and Dexterity saving throws.
Total Cover: The target is completely concealed by an obstacle. A creature with total cover cannot be targeted directly by an attack or spell, though area effects can still reach around obstacles.
Determining cover: The DM decides whether a target has cover and from which direction. A creature has cover only if the obstacle is between the attacker and the target.
Creatures as cover: Other creatures (allies or enemies) between you and a target provide half cover to the target.
Spells and cover: Some spells specify that they require a clear path to the target and are blocked by total cover. Area spells that spread around corners can still affect creatures behind cover unless the spell description says otherwise.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
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