So what does anybody think the properties of cluster grenades/missiles/etc. would be? I'm guessing lower damage than average, decent blast, and an extension of blast to affect short range.

Same damage, a missile anyway, and bigger area effect, with each range band less than needed being an auto Blast effect activation.

So, say, blast automatically triggers against engaged range, but can be manually triggered for multiple ranges?

Half damage per grenade/warhead, but the blast radius is extended out to short range. I'd also add Inaccurate (2) to it since the mini-grenade/warhead is random on where it hits.

So, say, blast automatically triggers against engaged range, but can be manually triggered for multiple ranges?

Yup.

Half damage per grenade/warhead, but the blast radius is extended out to short range. I'd also add Inaccurate (2) to it since the mini-grenade/warhead is random on where it hits.

I forgot to add that the main grenade/warhead would split into 4-6 grenades/warheads. For every three advantages the damage increases by half to represent the spread being closer together and provides an additional Setback to avoid being hit by targets in the blast radius. This will scale up as the user gets better at using the weapon and is able to better place the shots.

Half damage per grenade/warhead, but the blast radius is extended out to short range. I'd also add Inaccurate (2) to it since the mini-grenade/warhead is random on where it hits.

I forgot to add that the main grenade/warhead would split into 4-6 grenades/warheads. For every three advantages the damage increases by half to represent the spread being closer together and provides an additional Setback to avoid being hit by targets in the blast radius. This will scale up as the user gets better at using the weapon and is able to better place the shots.

That's kind of complicated. It'd be easier just to do as 2P51 suggests and allow multiple applications of Blast, increasing range each time. With missiles, I'd say remove any ranks in Guided to represent loss of overall accuracy. I'm split on reducing damage or not though; maybe a trade off and make critical rating a tad higher.

Half damage per grenade/warhead, but the blast radius is extended out to short range. I'd also add Inaccurate (2) to it since the mini-grenade/warhead is random on where it hits.

I forgot to add that the main grenade/warhead would split into 4-6 grenades/warheads. For every three advantages the damage increases by half to represent the spread being closer together and provides an additional Setback to avoid being hit by targets in the blast radius. This will scale up as the user gets better at using the weapon and is able to better place the shots.

That's kind of complicated. It'd be easier just to do as 2P51 suggests and allow multiple applications of Blast, increasing range each time. With missiles, I'd say remove any ranks in Guided to represent loss of overall accuracy. I'm split on reducing damage or not though; maybe a trade off and make critical rating a tad higher.

I'd treat it as a custom mod for the missile or the grenade using a new weapon quality. Think of it as Autofire, but for missiles and grenades.

I don't much like adding whole new rules/qualities just for a single purpose; I'd much rather do as the game does and make exceptions or allowances to established rules instead.

I don't much like adding whole new rules/qualities just for a single purpose; I'd much rather do as the game does and make exceptions or allowances to established rules instead.

Up to you, but cluster munitions are far more lethal than what the other suggestion is. They are designed to blanket an area with each warhead/grenade doing less damage, but the blanketing effect from multiple explosions will add to the overall damage while increasing the radius. Like I said, think of it as autofire, but instead the Advantages doubles the damage and adds more setback dice to those caught in the blast. It's going to be harder to dodge all those munitions going off at the same time.

Problem is, in real life they are designed game breakers. You want to have a game breaker in real life, but you don't in a game.

So the same overall effects of an in-game grenade, but with the ability to hit a much larger amount of targets with Blast than normal.

Like the auto blast with extra AD for a larger blast area.

An added thought would be maybe to lower the initial hit damage by 1 and increase the blast damage by 1.

Seeing how the projectiles are smaller and less damaging than regular ones, however when combined, they are way more effective.

Just some food for thought.

Problem is, in real life they are designed game breakers. You want to have a game breaker in real life, but you don't in a game.

So the same overall effects of an in-game grenade, but with the ability to hit a much larger amount of targets with Blast than normal.

Then divide the damage equally between the warheads and use the advantages to increase the damage. This way you don't get a game breaker, but a cinematically accurate cluster munition going off.

Damage can be increased by either increasing Blast (which doesn't calculate soak...?) or adding Breach/Pierce (and applying it to Blast if Blast does calculate soak). The things would have to have their price/rarity cranked pretty high, and be slapped with restricted. Cinematic accuracy doesn't need a specific new rule, it just needs a descriptor, and the broad-applying rules to match.

A grenade sized one you could reduce damage. A missile sized one I'd leave damage be.

If it’s a missile that fires clusterbombs, why not just use standard grenades and grenade rules as the bomblets, and maybe the missile releases a number of clusterbombs equal to the difference in base damage from the grenade and a standard missile of that size?

So, if the missile would normally do 20 personal-scale damage, then it releases ten clusterbombs, each of which is effectively a grenade that does 10 personal-scale damage.

The area of effect could be Short instead of Engaged, and the number of bomblets that are activated on a particular target follows the standard auto-fire rules.

Mechanics-wise, you re-use as much of the existing rules as we already have in the game, and it’s easy to explain how things work. It’s also easy to visualize the effect and have that not be immersion destroying.

Yes, if enough Advantage were rolled, that would be a lot of grenades going off, and potentially a lot of damage, but each one would have to go through Soak, and so the total amount of damage that gets through would be reduced.

If it’s a missile that fires clusterbombs, why not just use standard grenades and grenade rules as the bomblets, and maybe the missile releases a number of clusterbombs equal to the difference in base damage from the grenade and a standard missile of that size?

So, if the missile would normally do 20 personal-scale damage, then it releases ten clusterbombs, each of which is effectively a grenade that does 10 personal-scale damage.

The area of effect could be Short instead of Engaged, and the number of bomblets that are activated on a particular target follows the standard auto-fire rules.

Mechanics-wise, you re-use as much of the existing rules as we already have in the game, and it’s easy to explain how things work. It’s also easy to visualize the effect and have that not be immersion destroying.

Yes, if enough Advantage were rolled, that would be a lot of grenades going off, and potentially a lot of damage, but each one would have to go through Soak, and so the total amount of damage that gets through would be reduced.

That might work... although you'll have to walk me through how that would all function.

I like the idea of adding auto-fire to the weapon in question, with a reduced damage, the only rules addition is that the targets must all be within short (Close for Vehicle) range of the original target.

Sounds like massive base damage and massive blast damage to me.

I think I'll settle on being able to extend and trigger blast.

If it's being used against PC's, I would use it narratively otherwise you would have a whole lot of dead PC's. XD