Embers Explosives
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Most rules here are adapted from Star Wars: Fully Operational but adjusted for the Imperium. The rules for improvised explosives are original content.
Using Explosives
Setting an explosive requires a Mechanics check. The difficulty is equal to the number of charges used; e.g., setting a single charge is Easy (1) while setting four charges would be Daunting (4). Every charge past the fifth upgrades the difficulty rather than directly increasing it.
Setting things up usually takes (Difficulty × 5) minutes. For each halving of this time, add 1 Setback die. Alternatively, spending (Difficulty × 30 minutes) or more adds a single Bonus die.
Success inflicts the listed damage, +1 per Success. Failure means the charge fails to detonate, but the saboteur can try again. Spend 2 Threat (or 1 Despair) for the charge to detonate uselessly, drawing attention and wasting the materials. However, if the explosive has the Volatile quality, 1 Despair must be instead spent to have the explosive detonate while the saboteur is still setting it up!
All explosives here include detonators which can be set off via a timer or radio signal (as a Maneuver).
Explosive Statistics
Explosive compounds use the usual gear statistics with a few exceptions or changes. Despite inflicting damage, they are not weapons and have no Range or Crit rating.
Damage
Damage has two columns: Base Dam is the damage of a single charge and Add Dam is the additional damage added by further charges. For example, three bricks of Polymer Charge inflict 35 damage.
Radius
Everyone within this range band takes full damage from the explosion.
Qualities
Planetary Scale: Does full damage to vehicles, etc., and 10× damage to individuals; see p. 225 of the Genesys Core Rules. This does not alter the blast radius.
Volatile: On the Mechanics check to set this up, 1 Despair can (and must) be spent to detonate it immediately. Very Volatile compounds spend either 1 Despair or 4 Threat. Explosives with neither quality won't detonate spontaneously; most can even be lit safely on fire.
Sample Explosives
Name | Base Dam | Add Dam | Radius | Encum | Price | Rarity | Special |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Det-Tape | 5 | +2 | Engaged | 1 | 50 (R) | 3 | Simple (see description) |
Polymer Charge | 15 | +10 | Short | 2 | 100 (R) | 4 | |
Shaped Charge | 15 | +5 | Engaged | 2 | 1,000 (R) | 6 | Breach 1*, Vicious 1* |
Superpositional Isotopes | 3 | +1 | Long | 2 | 1,500 (R) | 8 | Planetary Scale, Volatile, Deadly (see description) |
Thermobaric Gas | 10 | +9 | Medium | 3 | 300 (R) | 4 | Concussive 1*, Knockdown, Volatile |
Det-Tape
This resembles a bulky roll of thick tape about a meter long per charge. It can be stuck to a surface or wrapped around an object. Due to how easy it is to use, the difficulty of the Mechanics check never increases beyond Easy (1), though the GM will rule on how many strips (charges) could realistically be applied to any situation.
Polymer Charge
This "plastic explosive" of polymer-stabilized explosive molecules is commonly used in mining operations.
Shaped Charge
A special polymer charge, crafted so that the explosive force is channeled into a fairly small point. Both the Breech and Vicious quality levels equal the number of charges used.
Superpositional Isotopes
These large "bricks" use inert compounds and magnetic fields to stabilize the explosive, dimensionally unstable isotopes within. While dangerous in a large radius, these are especially deadly up close; targets in Engaged range add +50 to any Critical Injury or Critical Hit rolls.
Thermobaric Gas
More often used against personnel than buildings and vehicles, this bomb releases aerosolized liquid explosive before detonating it. Its lack of legitimate mining/demolition use means civilians with it tend to be suspected of potential terrorism. The Concussive quality level equals the number of charges used.
Improvised Explosives
Characters with access to appropriate chemicals may use Knowledge (Science) to improvise any of the following explosives.
- Polymer Charge: Difficulty Average (2)
- Shaped Charge: Difficulty Daunting (4), or just Hard (3) to convert a non-improvised Polymer Charge into a Shaped Charge
- Thermobaric Gas: Difficulty Average (2)
Only one attempt is allowed. Failure wastes the supplies; spend 4 Threat or 1 Despair to also detonate one charge of the attempted explosive. Success creates one charge per Success. The improvised explosives gain the Volatile quality (Very Volatile for Thermobaric Gas) unless 2 Advantage or 1 Triumph are spent to avoid this.
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