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Ninjaxenomorph
Lieutenant
Joined: 02 Jun 2014
Posts: 92
Location: Texas
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 Posted: Sat Aug 30, 2014 5:46 pm Post subject: Triggered IEDs? |
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| I have a character who is starting to mope about not using his Demolitions skill. Besides the two presented in Cracken's Rebel Field Guide, are there any rules out there for rigging a triggered bomb? |
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14173
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 12:39 am Post subject: |
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Not sure what you are asking. Are you wondering what means of detonation (remote, radio, pressure etc) there are?
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Ninjaxenomorph
Lieutenant
Joined: 02 Jun 2014
Posts: 92
Location: Texas
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| Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 1:40 am Post subject: |
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| My players are infinitely creative in that case. I'm talking about rules for making improvised explosive devices, that are a little bit more up to date than Cracken's Rebel Field Guide. |
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Zarn
Force Spirit
Joined: 17 Jun 2014
Posts: 698
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| Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 4:09 am Post subject: |
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| Ninjaxenomorph wrote: | | My players are infinitely creative in that case. I'm talking about rules for making improvised explosive devices, that are a little bit more up to date than Cracken's Rebel Field Guide. |
Well, if you just want to chance a few rolls, you might do:
* Rolling to see what sort of damage you get out of the device, default character scale, 1D per 5, -1D damage per meter (obviously subject to GM fiat if the raw materials aren't there - very few can make a baking soda bomb go off in a sufficiently energetic way to damage vehicles, for instance)
* Rolling for placement (though an IED tends to be a target of opportunity), giving a +1 bonus per 5 or so, or just use RAW, and
* Rolling for triggering condition (which might be either a set of trigger conditions, or in the case of an actively triggered device, perhaps the difficulty of a Commo roll to triangulate the signal). Let's say a base difficulty of 10 (comlink), with +5 per extra triggering condition or modification to triggering conditions.
So, let's test run this with a 4D demo 'expert' (a professional level skill).
He can be expected to roll 4 * 3.5 = 14 on a roll, giving 2D - 3D damage character scale, get a +2 for placing the device correctly if given a chance and a static or movement-limited target, and might be able to rig it to explode with something else than a comlink - perhaps the repulsor signature of a repulsortank starting up.
Of course, a device in the 3D (character scale) range of damage will fare ... poorly when up against a repulsortank. It's still high enough to maybe be useful for cleaning up the riffraff and amateurs, with the occasional wild die explosion pushing it up to maybe 5D (and dropping off by 1D per meter radius or something like that).
And that's using a completely improvised thing. However, many IEDs in our really real world are artillery shells, modified to detonate by cellphone or pressure plate.
Rigging something to explode that is meant to explode, but shouldn't blow up right now might be in the 10 - 20 difficulty range. Probably not too difficult, but some safety features should be there in order to minimize the chance for a misfire or premature detonation (it's a problem many have when their equipment gets on in age).
I would probably just rule that it would work as if the weapon hit exactly where it was placed. Got a proton torpedo or concussion missile ready to sacrifice? Well, that's a few dice of starfighter scale damage right there. I should probably also point out that a proton torpedo is usually depicted as akin to nuclear weaponry. Also, wild dice when rolling to modify that weapon might be a very bad thing. For very, very short periods of time. And then the player or group might be given the creative opportunity of making new characters.
Also, ship weapons seem to have a design similar to shaped charges, which means a concentrated channel of destruction - a cone blast. Modifying a device or warhead to have a radius instead is likely to cost a couple of dice of damage, but might be worth it. |
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16282
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 9:05 am Post subject: |
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Rules of Engagement has a section on pages 42-43 regarding sensor trips, listing stats for heat, motion, pressure or repulsorlift units. The section header states that trips can be used to automatically trigger other devices, including mines.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14173
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 5:41 pm Post subject: |
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Good call on RoE. As for remote detonations. With sensor/comm jamming as good as it is in SW< i can see a lot more 'accidental detonations' or premature detonations in IED's remote detonated.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16282
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: | | Good call on RoE. As for remote detonations. With sensor/comm jamming as good as it is in SW< i can see a lot more 'accidental detonations' or premature detonations in IED's remote detonated. |
I recall a story about a terrorist group assassinating a government minister in Germany using a two-stage remote detonation. They rigged a shaped charge in the saddle bag of a bicycle chained to a post next to the road that the minister's convoy would be using. The shaped charge was designed to be triggered by a laser beam tripwire, but the tripwire itself had to be activated by remote so that it would hit the intended vehicle. The terrorist handling the trigger waited for the leading escort vehicle to pass, then hit the switch to activate the laser trip, and when the targeted vehicle broke the laser trip, the shaped charge detonated an explosively forged projectile into the side of the armored limousine. The targeted minister was the only person killed in the attack. But I digress...
garhkal's point about jamming signals is a good one, but just as electronic counter measures progress to meet new threats, so also do the threats evolve to overcome the countermeasures. There can be all kinds of means of overcoming electronic defenses.
And never forget the rule of cool. If it sounds more cool to have your guy be able to blow his enemies sky high than it does to curtail his efforts by allowing his remote detonator to be jammed, then go for it. AFAIAC, the real decider should be story based. If you don't want your demo-spec to be able to remote detonate the bomb, then bring signal jamming into play. Otherwise, let him have his fun.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14173
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 2:21 pm Post subject: |
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Just as long as the players would be ok with the baddies being able to use the same against them.
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