Looking through Fully Operational this morning and I've run across a weird thing to reconcile.

Explosive Compounds and Devices section of the new stuff, pp. 40.

Under the Blast Radius topic, it says explosives do not have a Critical rating. The Shaped Charge entry, however, has Vicious 1. Nothing in the text description for Shaped Charges addresses it. How do you use Vicious if you can't cause a Crit?

In the Baradium Charge text description, it talks about being +50 to critical injuries and critical hits if you're in Engaged range of the device when it detonates.

I think it's odd to begin with that explosives don't have Critical ratings, but then there are two bits in the descriptions that support explosives having them. Am i missing something?

That is strange.

As Blast is normally a triggered effect, I'm not sure that you can inflict a Critical unless you exceed the target's Wound Threshold (in which case it automatically inflicts a Critical).

Of course, you could always rule that you can score a Critical with a Triumph.

Regardless, this would be a good question to submit to FFG.

I understand it as an automatic critical if you're at engaged range of the explosive when it detonates.

@WolfRider

I would love to see your source, because that contradicts both Fully Operational and Dangerous Covenants .

Page 55 of DC states (under the Blast Radius section): "Explosives do not have a critical rating, and simply inflict damage or hull trauma."

(And I'm not being snarky or difficult, I really would like what you've mentioned to be an actual rule.)

So I have just read the book and it states for the Baradium charge:

"Anything engaged with the charge when it detonates should add +50 to any subsequent critical injury or critical rolls."

It doesn't state it inflicts a critical but any that occur get +50. Considering that it would likely knock down a player outright it would then indeed inflict a critical adding +50 to the roll. The shaped charged would likely act the same.

That seems to contradict what's under Blast Radius. "Explosives do not have a critical rating." Therefore, Advantages cannot be spent to cause a critical injury or critical hit. Then again , as I think about it, it's not like a grenade landing at you. In that case, there's an attack check made by the thrower and Advantages can be spent triggering criticals. With a demolition charge or a bomb going off, there's no attack roll (it was a Mechanics check to rig the bomb), there is only blast radius.

I like what @WolfRider said above, but I want to know where it came from. I think what's key under the baradium entry is that it defines subsequent criticals.

Critical injuries can be suffered by characters from "exceeding their wound threshold, or through other means." Maybe that's a subsequent critical.

An automatic critical injury incurred if you're Engaged with the boom could also be a subsequent critical. In which, baradium charges would be +50 and shaped charges would be +10 from their Vicious 1.

This makes sense to me. Is that how you all are reading it?

1 hour ago, RLogue177 said:

Is that how you all are reading it?

Yes. Sometimes I wonder what was in the authors mind to rules that explosives don't have a critical rating and then giving vicious +1 for shaped charges and critical +50 for baradium. It doesn't make any sense except if you have an automatic critical for anybody at engaged range when the explosives are detonating.

Has anyone asked the devs yet? As a GM of a serial mad bomber I'm kind of curious.

I have not. You can if you like. I have no bombers; it was just something I found while updating my weapons charts this weekend.

Perhaps, normally no possibility of crits, but if you get knocked past your wound threshold, the automatic crit resulting from that gets really nasty?

So I emailed FFG. Here is the response:

Quote

Hello Jason,

A character also receives a Critical Injury when they take wounds in excess of their wound threshold (same for vehicles and their hull trauma threshold). Both would apply in those cases (if the explosive incapacitates the character).

Hope this helps!

Sam Gregor-Stewart

RPG Manager

Fantasy Flight Games