Explosives in Ebberron? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Explosives in Ebberron? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Newbisan
06-25-06, 12:44 AM What within Eberron lore could be loaded into a wagon and strategically parked beneath a Skyship docking tower and exploded in an attempt to fell it? I'm looking for something not too expensive that a person with connections could get. Magical is ok as long as you don't have to be a magic-user to detonate it. Any suggestions?
TheRedRobedWizard
06-25-06, 12:48 AM Well, there's always a wagon full of fertilizer. Worked for that bloke in Oklahoma City. Just add fire and kaboom.

-TRRW
ChimericalWolf
06-25-06, 01:47 AM Well, if the tower's made of wood, enough strong alcohol would work. Less explodie and more lots of hard-to-put-out fire, but it would still work.
Newbisan
06-25-06, 01:59 AM Well it's not really just wood, but that gave me an idea. Maybe flasks of Alchemist's Fire, or kegs even. That might do the trick.
Bluebrush
06-25-06, 05:32 AM Maybe a wondrous some sort of Warp Wood or Rock to Mud effect would work.

There's bound to be one or two such items out there, given how the last war dragged on. Seige-breakers like that would have been invaluable.
ChimericalWolf
06-25-06, 05:38 AM Heh, splurge a little and get an Arti to cast a Disintigrate for you, and you can take down anything.
Icel
06-25-06, 04:13 PM All this magic and alchemy and no one can get some black powder?
ieattrollsforbreakfast
06-25-06, 04:31 PM How about a blast disk (from Heroes of Battle)? As a wonderous item, anyone can activate it, and at only 900gp its not amazingly expensive. Since its only a fireball effect it won't be enough to fell a stone tower, but on wooden supports it should do the trick.
Crystalforged
06-25-06, 04:40 PM If I remember correctly I belive tightly packed flower, like that in a barrel, will explode if ignited. I don't know how big of a bang you would get and this is real world physics so it could easily be subject to DM veto but it would certainly be an interesting, not to mention unconventional, tactic.
BoneLord_of_Skullthrone
06-25-06, 04:47 PM Please correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Alchemist's Fire do 1d8 fire damage and burn fo4 1d4 rounds? Assuming that the everage flask of Alchemist fire is the same size as theose red plastic party cops. you can get 141 flasks from a standard 15 1/2 gallon keg. :D

That means you would create a 141 d8 fireball if you detonated one! :mage: :devil: :evillaugh

I dont know what the blast radius would be, but setting of a keg of napalm in a deserted field far, far away from civilization should give you a good idea. Then run away before the authorites arrive. (They might mistake you for a terrorist. Or worse, they might not be mistaken.)

I would just say round that 141 to the nearest whole square (144) and take the square root of that number (12) as your blast radius in squares. This is a 60 foot blast radius, and It might be interresting to have cascading concussion damage out another 60 feet from that. :) And cascading reflex saves to avoid being knocked down another 705 feet (141 squares) out beyond that! :)

If you want to see the actual destructive power of 15 1/2 gallon keg of Alchemist Fire, for added realism in your campaign, just detonate a 15 1/2 gallon keg of napalm in a crowded city. I REALLY DO NOT RECOMEND THIS! (Just in case the FBI happens to be perrusing these boards. :) I'm pretty sure they already have my battle hive and battle mat that I ordered but never got from RPGShop.com. If so, I want them! :mad: )
Edymnion
06-25-06, 05:36 PM All this magic and alchemy and no one can get some black powder?Nope, there is no black powder in Eberron, thank God.
Acid is another good answer. Instead of trying to explode a section of tower, an acid bath on the main supporting structures would work just as well, possibly better (since there would be 0 chance of it damaging anything outside of the immediant area, unlike a raging fire which could threaten the entire city).

I wouldn't suggest alchemists fire though, as the towers are invariably going to be made out of stone, or at least something that would resist burning (see above, fire in a flammable city is a nightmare), which means the tower's hardness would apply against the damage. Something like acid could bypass that hardness, meaning you could have a less concentrated attack, which would mean you don't have all your eggs in one basket.

From the magical standpoint, blast disks are a good idea, disintegrate would be incredibly potent, but thats pretty high level for Eberron. Oh, I know, Universal Solvent!
Gurv
06-25-06, 06:03 PM The alchemists of Eberron discovered black power decades ago, and ignored it as a relatively useless invention. It was dangerous, unstable, and didn't work very well when wet. Instead, they went with alchemist fire and its kin.

From the magical standpoint, blast disks are a good idea, disintegrate would be incredibly potent, but thats pretty high level for Eberron. Oh, I know, Universal Solvent!
Blast disks and the other weapons of war from Heroes of Battle are excellent tools for Eberron warfare. I'd say that disintegrate is a little high level to be a common weapon, but I bet there were a couple one-shot items that vaporized anything within 10', being placed by stealthy soldiers on key targets. Not as common as the shatterbomb, which could be thrown or placed, sticking to it's target before blasting it to splinters with a shatter spell. No good for blowing up people...but excellent for removing pesky walls and other fortifications.
Bluebrush
06-25-06, 06:50 PM Oh, I know, Universal Solvent!Which you'll note is a CL20 item.

Though I'm sure some artificer's working on a workaround.
Edymnion
06-25-06, 08:54 PM Which you'll note is a CL20 item.

Though I'm sure some artificer's working on a workaround.Yeah, but there is a lot of stuff with caster levels so high they shouldn't be able to be produced in Eberron, but are. Airships come to mind, their caster level must be through the roof. Its never stated anywhere, but I personally think that there is some way for magewrights/artificers to link together in order to have a higher effective caster level for creation purposes.

I mean, otherwise even something as simple as a +2 sword becomes rather difficult to find.
Sythion
06-26-06, 01:48 AM I wouldn't suggest alchemists fire though, as the towers are invariably going to be made out of stone, or at least something that would resist burning (see above, fire in a flammable city is a nightmare), which means the tower's hardness would apply against the damage.

Not to mention the wood of a airship docking tower would probably be magically treated to resist fire, considering that fire elementals are very commonly what powers the ships.

I'd rule that the inflict damage spells should be able to be used against any man made, non magic item. The problem with that is that a clever PC would use it to walk through walls ;)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Newbisan 06-25-06, 12:44 AM	What within Eberron lore could be loaded into a wagon and strategically parked beneath a Skyship docking tower and exploded in an attempt to fell it? I'm looking for something not too expensive that a person with connections could get. Magical is ok as long as you don't have to be a magic-user to detonate it. Any suggestions?
TheRedRobedWizard 06-25-06, 12:48 AM	Well, there's always a wagon full of fertilizer. Worked for that bloke in Oklahoma City. Just add fire and kaboom. -TRRW
ChimericalWolf 06-25-06, 01:47 AM	Well, if the tower's made of wood, enough strong alcohol would work. Less explodie and more lots of hard-to-put-out fire, but it would still work.
Newbisan 06-25-06, 01:59 AM	Well it's not really just wood, but that gave me an idea. Maybe flasks of Alchemist's Fire, or kegs even. That might do the trick.
Bluebrush 06-25-06, 05:32 AM	Maybe a wondrous some sort of Warp Wood or Rock to Mud effect would work. There's bound to be one or two such items out there, given how the last war dragged on. Seige-breakers like that would have been invaluable.
ChimericalWolf 06-25-06, 05:38 AM	Heh, splurge a little and get an Arti to cast a Disintigrate for you, and you can take down anything.
Icel 06-25-06, 04:13 PM	All this magic and alchemy and no one can get some black powder?
ieattrollsforbreakfast 06-25-06, 04:31 PM	How about a blast disk (from Heroes of Battle)? As a wonderous item, anyone can activate it, and at only 900gp its not amazingly expensive. Since its only a fireball effect it won't be enough to fell a stone tower, but on wooden supports it should do the trick.
Crystalforged 06-25-06, 04:40 PM	If I remember correctly I belive tightly packed flower, like that in a barrel, will explode if ignited. I don't know how big of a bang you would get and this is real world physics so it could easily be subject to DM veto but it would certainly be an interesting, not to mention unconventional, tactic.
BoneLord_of_Skullthrone 06-25-06, 04:47 PM	Please correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Alchemist's Fire do 1d8 fire damage and burn fo4 1d4 rounds? Assuming that the everage flask of Alchemist fire is the same size as theose red plastic party cops. you can get 141 flasks from a standard 15 1/2 gallon keg. :D That means you would create a 141 d8 fireball if you detonated one! :mage: :devil: :evillaugh I dont know what the blast radius would be, but setting of a keg of napalm in a deserted field far, far away from civilization should give you a good idea. Then run away before the authorites arrive. (They might mistake you for a terrorist. Or worse, they might not be mistaken.) I would just say round that 141 to the nearest whole square (144) and take the square root of that number (12) as your blast radius in squares. This is a 60 foot blast radius, and It might be interresting to have cascading concussion damage out another 60 feet from that. :) And cascading reflex saves to avoid being knocked down another 705 feet (141 squares) out beyond that! :) If you want to see the actual destructive power of 15 1/2 gallon keg of Alchemist Fire, for added realism in your campaign, just detonate a 15 1/2 gallon keg of napalm in a crowded city. I REALLY DO NOT RECOMEND THIS! (Just in case the FBI happens to be perrusing these boards. :) I'm pretty sure they already have my battle hive and battle mat that I ordered but never got from RPGShop.com. If so, I want them! :mad: )
Edymnion 06-25-06, 05:36 PM	All this magic and alchemy and no one can get some black powder?Nope, there is no black powder in Eberron, thank God. Acid is another good answer. Instead of trying to explode a section of tower, an acid bath on the main supporting structures would work just as well, possibly better (since there would be 0 chance of it damaging anything outside of the immediant area, unlike a raging fire which could threaten the entire city). I wouldn't suggest alchemists fire though, as the towers are invariably going to be made out of stone, or at least something that would resist burning (see above, fire in a flammable city is a nightmare), which means the tower's hardness would apply against the damage. Something like acid could bypass that hardness, meaning you could have a less concentrated attack, which would mean you don't have all your eggs in one basket. From the magical standpoint, blast disks are a good idea, disintegrate would be incredibly potent, but thats pretty high level for Eberron. Oh, I know, Universal Solvent!
Gurv 06-25-06, 06:03 PM	The alchemists of Eberron discovered black power decades ago, and ignored it as a relatively useless invention. It was dangerous, unstable, and didn't work very well when wet. Instead, they went with alchemist fire and its kin. From the magical standpoint, blast disks are a good idea, disintegrate would be incredibly potent, but thats pretty high level for Eberron. Oh, I know, Universal Solvent! Blast disks and the other weapons of war from Heroes of Battle are excellent tools for Eberron warfare. I'd say that disintegrate is a little high level to be a common weapon, but I bet there were a couple one-shot items that vaporized anything within 10', being placed by stealthy soldiers on key targets. Not as common as the shatterbomb, which could be thrown or placed, sticking to it's target before blasting it to splinters with a shatter spell. No good for blowing up people...but excellent for removing pesky walls and other fortifications.
Bluebrush 06-25-06, 06:50 PM	Oh, I know, Universal Solvent!Which you'll note is a CL20 item. Though I'm sure some artificer's working on a workaround.
Edymnion 06-25-06, 08:54 PM	Which you'll note is a CL20 item. Though I'm sure some artificer's working on a workaround.Yeah, but there is a lot of stuff with caster levels so high they shouldn't be able to be produced in Eberron, but are. Airships come to mind, their caster level must be through the roof. Its never stated anywhere, but I personally think that there is some way for magewrights/artificers to link together in order to have a higher effective caster level for creation purposes. I mean, otherwise even something as simple as a +2 sword becomes rather difficult to find.
Sythion 06-26-06, 01:48 AM	I wouldn't suggest alchemists fire though, as the towers are invariably going to be made out of stone, or at least something that would resist burning (see above, fire in a flammable city is a nightmare), which means the tower's hardness would apply against the damage. Not to mention the wood of a airship docking tower would probably be magically treated to resist fire, considering that fire elementals are very commonly what powers the ships. I'd rule that the inflict damage spells should be able to be used against any man made, non magic item. The problem with that is that a clever PC would use it to walk through walls ;)