So as I spend more time working on my character and looking over the shiny new crafting rules I started looking in to grenades. They are on the list, take a couple hours and cost less than 50 creds. Woo hoo. I usually spend 50 for my frags so cool beans. Then I got to looking at the list and had to wonder.

If I use my advantage to raise the limited ammo trait, could I build more than one at a time? Small item, so it makes more sense than a reusable grenade imo. As usual for my own game I will be conferring with my gm but I thought it was an interesting idea and wondered what you guys thought. They are still encumbrance 1 so while you could make a decent stock pile in an afternoon you won't be packing them all around. Only thing that could go sideways as I see it if you roll /really/ well and can apply a bunch of other bonuses they should all have those bonuses as well, pierce, increased blast etc. but then you are giving up on something to get more than one. Want to up that blast or make 4 normal frags?

Side note- While most of the crafting can get you some nice stuff, they seems to hover right around where the printed material is unless you do some /crazytown/ dice pool adding. Good game balance. The one place this does not hold true is the punch weapons that use brawl. There are so few of them in the game that with crafting rules you can make a whole plethera of cool punchy stuff. My current Technician has Brawl as a class skill, time to get with the mighty punching!

If I use my advantage to raise the limited ammo trait, could I build more than one at a time? Small item, so it makes more sense than a reusable grenade imo. As usual for my own game I will be conferring with my gm but I thought it was an interesting idea and wondered what you guys thought. They are still encumbrance 1 so while you could make a decent stock pile in an afternoon you won't be packing them all around. Only thing that could go sideways as I see it if you roll /really/ well and can apply a bunch of other bonuses they should all have those bonuses as well, pierce, increased blast etc. but then you are giving up on something to get more than one. Want to up that blast or make 4 normal frags?

1 advantage to double grenade production seems a little cheap, but at the same time it would make for multiple, less potent grenades, so it seems balanced to me. A stingy GM might increase it to 2 advantage.

I wouldn't allow it. While it's not explicitly stated in the rules, Limited Ammo on a gun means "this weapon needs to be reloaded after X uses", while limited ammo on a grenade means "this is a one use item". With a gun, you're simply changing the amount of charges you can load into it. With a grenade, you'd actually be changing the number of items you're making. It's a complete apples and oranges situation, and I don't think it takes a stingy GM to say no to that one.

In all honesty, I don't think grenades should have needed the "limited ammo" modifier. That's like telling someone their stimpacks have "limited use" on them.

If my players didn't abuse it, I'd allow it. If they got exploitative, bad things would happen.

In all honesty, I don't think grenades should have needed the "limited ammo" modifier. That's like telling someone their stimpacks have "limited use" on them.

Star Wars has previously described grenades that release a burst of energy rather than a typical explosion. These could be recovered and recharged as easily as a blaster power pack.

Not sure if it's applicable (actually, pretty sure it's not) and unfortunately AFB, but I saw a little paragraph saying that "if the limited ammo quality is increased in a an item that uses one piece of ammo at a time, you craft an additional source of ammo; once those are used up, you will have to craft or buy more ammo". I'd say it's more for the bows or other "simple projectile weapons" template items; after all, you aren't crafting a bow that can hold two arrows at a time, you craft a bow and two arrows. Maybe there's some kind of thematic advice you can pull from it.

As always, look for the actual exact wording in your book. I'd give you mine, but I left it at home.

There is premise on making a 2nd for the price of one (doppleganger in droids). Now droids are SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive than grenades so I would still allow expanded magazine on grenades for 1 or 2 advantage. The crafter can either spend the advantages to make 1 REALLY good grenade, or 2 less good grenades, or a bunch of stock grenades. It could be justified by economies of scale. The cost and time of making one grenade is higher per grenade than the cost of making 2, 6, or 600, or 6000, etc. At the end of the day I do not see it as being game breaking and thus, would allow it.


If you are that worried about abuse, you can always put a cap on it or increase the advantage cost.

The tables in the book, as most FFG books, are suggestions and not all inclusive.

I wouldn't allow it. While it's not explicitly stated in the rules, Limited Ammo on a gun means "this weapon needs to be reloaded after X uses", while limited ammo on a grenade means "this is a one use item". With a gun, you're simply changing the amount of charges you can load into it. With a grenade, you'd actually be changing the number of items you're making. It's a complete apples and oranges situation, and I don't think it takes a stingy GM to say no to that one.

What if the grenade is ammo for a grenade launcher??? Or missiles...missiles are ammo.

Personally I'd treat "Limited Ammo 3" grenades as being rechargeable like guns; a small charge of energy that doesn't destroy itself when used, but must be reset (reloaded) after every detonation up to the amount of charges it can carry at a time (in this case three). So you get a grenade that you only have to buy once, can use three times in combat (assuming you retrieve and reset it each time), and then must recharge in your downtime. Perhaps it works kinda like a small disco-ball of death? Spewing blaster bolts in every direction?

Personally I'd treat "Limited Ammo 3" grenades as being rechargeable like guns; a small charge of energy that doesn't destroy itself when used, but must be reset (reloaded) after every detonation up to the amount of charges it can carry at a time (in this case three). So you get a grenade that you only have to buy once, can use three times in combat (assuming you retrieve and reset it each time), and then must recharge in your downtime. Perhaps it works kinda like a small disco-ball of death? Spewing blaster bolts in every direction?

The big problem with something like that is the enemy picking it up and throwing it back...

As a Gm I would say that you can spend a triumph to get a additional grenade with same stats as what you were going for. Otherwise I would stick to as per rules however if you are going for a beam blast grenade like a deck gun but a 360* arc then I would consider the possibility of such a grenade having a larger than normal power pack to have an extra blast in it. It's a matter of what you are looking for trying to make that comes down to the final product. Gm's are there to prevent the players from being gods and still have fun same for players they should not be trying to game the system or the Gm otherwise what's the point.

Making Grenades - Tell the players they better not roll Despair.

Oh I would love it if they did or a lot of threat.. Yes yes blow hands off you will.

The big problem with something like that is the enemy picking it up and throwing it back...

Hmm. Genelock on a grenade? Interesting concept….

Something I have said before when relating to crafting.

Keep in mind that the crafter has spent XP to do this. They could have spent XP increasing their agility and ranged light to make all grenades more effective, not to mention the slew of potentially applicable combat talents, but instead they put XP into intelligence and mechanics to gain combat advantages through crafting, including being able to make mass grenades.

so if the crafter PC wants to make bulk large grenades via economy of scale...I say let them. Otherwise you are being a STINGY gm.