Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 lordbobiv Aug 04, 2011 15:13:22	Hey I'm writing an adventure dealing with the players down behind enemy lines in an civilian area. part of the scenario is to discover/create improvised explosives to blow an entry way into the enemy base. What are some homemade explosives? I know Diesel fuel and Fertilizer. But are there others that the party could find in the back woods and byways of a country? I want to be realistic but I also understand this area is pretty sensitive when it comes to terrorism, and the terrible tragedies that have typically happened with such improvised explosives. But in this case, the explosives are being used to save the world. Should I be specific or should I keep the ingredients more abstract? How would I keep them abstract without being silly? And if you think being specific can still be tastefull what are some ideas?
#2 kronos182 Aug 04, 2011 18:02:15	You could be abstract by give them a list of random things and let them go all McGuyver with them.  Like.. they find a shed with a lawnmower, some fertilizer, fireworks, assorted plumping tools and equipment. It's amazing what you can turn into an explosive or incendary device. Heck, a box of cornflakes can be made dangerous.
#3 AnimeSniper Aug 04, 2011 20:49:13	Don't forget about flour... ah the scene in New Dominion Tank Police where Fiona and her partner get their mini-tank Bonparte back and as they leave the warehouse one of the gang members tries to fire his RPG and the warehouse goes boom because of several large flour sacks having been ripped open by Bonapartes treads...
#4 lordbobiv Aug 05, 2011 14:53:17	Hmmm the Mcguyver thing might work. The adventure is set in German Occupied Iceland, so I don't know if there'd be many materials for them to work with. But maybe they can find some mining equipment as an alternative to actual explosives.
#5 kronos182 Aug 05, 2011 17:51:07	Hmmm the Mcguyver thing might work. The adventure is set in German Occupied Iceland, so I don't know if there'd be many materials for them to work with. But maybe they can find some mining equipment as an alternative to actual explosives. Blasting caps for mining explosives would be easy to find in a mine, just combine with other stuff. Oh, oxygen tanks, bbq fuel tanks, gas cans. It's scary just how many things around your house can be used as an explosive. Take a bunch of aerosol cans and heat them up and boom. Maybe not quite as dangerous as other explosives, but put lots of scrap metal around them...  Barn explosions are always fun.  Happens when hay/wheat is rolled and not allowed to dry properly outside first, then put in a barn, which has a lot of dust particles. Stuff in the bail heat up over time and catch fire then as it hits the dust particles, BOOM! In science class we got to turn corn starch into nice little controls explosions.  DISCLAIMER!!! I don't condone actually making explosives in your home, don't do this stuff at home kids! You'll get seriously hurt!
#6 AnimeSniper Aug 06, 2011 5:24:59	Anything from scrap to glass to rocks could be use as packing around the explosive i.e. the blasting caps core or stuff enough old dynamite listed in the book inside say an old mine truck/cart and wheel it done the tracks to the enemy npc's with a fuse burning and 'BOOM'... no more approaching enemies and the tunnel could collapse down on top of the them
#7 bone_naga Aug 07, 2011 14:49:04	There are hundreds of varieties of homemade explosives. Some are stable, many are not. In particular, lots of types that are stable in a lab or factory can become extremely dangerous when made in someone's house due to the impurities (some are even touch-sensitive). Tons of household ingredients can be used. They can also make improvised detonators. That said, there's really no reason you have to be specific on the type of explosive or how it was made. Just describe it as a white-ish power or something and you could be describing dozens of different explosives. No need to get into the details of making it, either. Skill checks determine if they can find what they need and if they can successfully (and safely) mix it and/or cook it. And no matter what the setting, if the characters have the knowledge, they can get the materials. There is a scary number of materials that can be used to make explosives. Just keep in mind that making explosives isn't safe. They will most likely be more sensitive and less powerful than military explosives.
#8 backstabbist Aug 14, 2011 13:01:44	The actual ingredients needed are an easy gaming fix: You just make a Knowlege Physical Sciences check to find an explosive combination of ingredients from the stuff on hand (then the Demolitions skill to fabricate the actual device.  The DC of the K-check is set by the relative innocence of the source of ingredients: Its easier to make a bomb in a janitors closet than when locked in a walkin freezer or in a sewer. What you dont want to do is allow dimwitted dropout TWF Gunbunnys to be master bombmakers because of PLAYER knowlege, thereby elilminating the need for folks to take levels in Smart class (aka, invalidating the existance of Smart class chars) To know if the CHARACTER can make a bomb you use the characters skills, not the players google-fu. DC10 to find materials (3d6dmg) in a hardware store, DC25 while sitting in a Psych101 lecture hall, add DC if specifc effect is wanted, then a simple Make Bomb check with Demolitions skill, add DC for more effect My mother has no idea how dangerous the stuff in her house can be, characters without skills are like my mother ... and NO, kTactics is NOT a substiture for kPhysScience