I find it curious that although Fields/Brush/Tall Grass hexes are limiting terrain a unit can spot an enemy on the other side of the Fields/Brush/Tall Grass hex without any penalty. It seems to me that if spotting at the same level, if LOS passes through a Fields/Brush/Tall Grass hex then the enemy unit should be considered in limiting terrain regardless of the terrain of the hex it is in. But f the spotter is in higher terrain than the Fields/Brush/Tall Grass this would not apply.
What is the rational for allowing LOS through Fields/Brush/Tall Grass in the way the game allows?
I always assumed it was because they are short enough to see over, but too dense to see through.
Well, you hide a tank platoon in them.
Ahh... you want to play ASL.
PG doesn't go that deep.
No, not really but I can see why you think so. I was referring to PG when I said a tank platoon can hide in field because it is limiting terrain and thus said platoon cannot be spotted outside of three hexes range. I live in the Midwest (Michigan) where there are lots of fields and I can stand on one end and not see much beyond them, especially when the crops are high. In PG, when you look beyond the field its as if they disappear when you look beyond them; there is no accounting for their presence in such a situation when in reality, they do impact longer range LoS. The only explanation I can come up with is that the observer might find terrain within his hex that is slightly high enough to allow seeing over the field. I can buy that for spotting but then all the weapons in the hex are not firing from that point. Maybe a +1 mod for firing through a field at the same level would be appropriate?
I was a game mechanics perspective, which is what I believed the question to be about. I live in Colorado, we have a couple fields around here too.
Always makes me think of this classic scene:
Oh come on Drew! Why are you mucking about in all that grass?
Fred, the original designer and the developers who revised the rules are no longer active participants on these forums. In other words, we can speculate but not know.
It's easy to create a house rule if you believe this can be improved upon. The hindrance modifier (+1) is not as impactful as., for example, a LOS is blocked if it go through 3-hex fields and the firing unit, fields, and target hex are all at the same level. The scenario you posted on your blog would have played quite differently if fields blocked LOS.
I certainly can and will play this RAW. The question is more to understand why it was done the way it is. I internalize rules and applicable tactics better if I grasp the design reason. If it is simply for rules simplicity, I can understand that. Keeping the complexity low is a big appeal for PG.