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Dumpshock Forums _ Shadowrun _ Fun with Claymores

Posted by: KarmaInferno May 28 2004, 04:06 AM

I have a noobish question about Claymore mines.

I know they detonate in a roughly conical blast pattern.

I know they can be trip or remote detonated.

I know that in most cases you want the side marked "This Side Towards Enemy" to be actually facing the enemy when you set one off, rather than at, say, your buddies. In most cases.

My question is, what about the backblast?

Is there any?

Would I be killed or maimed standing behind a detonating claymore mine?

Could I strap some to the outside of my vehicle to discourage folks hitching rides on the bumpers?

Could I strap one to my forehead?

How about to an armored cyberlimb? Perhaps to the back of the forearm, so I can simutaneously flip the bird and deliver hot shrapneled death?

Hmm...

Slightly deranged minds want to know.

-karma

Posted by: Luke Hardison May 28 2004, 04:15 AM

Shadowrun Claymore Mines? (SoTA 2063) If the person is within the blast range but not in the front 60 degree arc, they still get blasted, but at half power.

Real life claymores? My instructions (Army) were to put it up against a tree or rock and get the hell away from the back of it ... 10 meters minimum, 20 prefered, IIRC. I think it's listed lethal radius is 3 meters and damage radius is 10 behind it. If no one else does, I'll pull out my SMCT and look it up.

Posted by: The_Dood May 28 2004, 04:16 AM

According to the books the back blast is a 16 metre cone. I guess that would mostly be explosive though, as long as what is behind the claymore doesn't become shrapnel.

Posted by: Austere Emancipator May 28 2004, 04:17 AM

QUOTE (KarmaInferno)

My question is, what about the backblast?
Is there any?

There certainly is. Standing right behind one when it goes off is likely to get both your legs crushed and burnt, and the rest of you won't be just fine either. The effects could be summed up by ~8D, -2/m. Since there's little to no fragmentation effect behind the thing, being just 10 meters behind one going off would probably not do more than bust your ears if you're unlucky. Unless, of course, the backplate or the tripod/legs happen to hit you.

If the vehicle in question is heavily armored, then yes. A Main Battle Tank could probably handle that, at least in front hull and turret, without significant effect from those. On an APC, I certainly wouldn't suggest it: even if the rules would show no damage to the vehicle, the armor would quickly degrade and being inside the vehicle when one of the mines detonate will be quite painful.

Needless to say, you can forget about the cyberlimb and forehead.

[Edit]Okay, didn't know the Claymore has an effect outside the radius by canon. No worries then, that should make it lethal enough.

The Directional Mines in Cannon Companion don't have any effect outside the main 60 degree cone by canon, though, but they sure as hell should. The Claymore is to directional mines as the M16 is to assault rifles.[/Edit]

Posted by: KillaJ May 28 2004, 04:19 AM

I believe Vietnam-era tankers used to attach claymores to the outside of the tank and then run the wires up to the driver to discourage infantrymen from mounting the vehicle. As for the rest, I dont remember the exact distance, but there is definately enough backblast to keep from holding on to it whilst detonating. The Army trains you to get behind a sandbag or something but I couldnt give you any hard numbers.

So, yes to armored vehicles, no to forehead!

Edit- Damn you guys are fast

Posted by: KarmaInferno May 28 2004, 04:25 AM

Ah, well.

I suppose I could just get a metal plate and shape it to appear like a claymore. Bolt it to the forehead and try to look threatening.

Thanks, all!

-karma

Posted by: Austere Emancipator May 28 2004, 04:31 AM

If you want a large, heavy metal plate hanging on your forehead all the time, knock yourself out. I believe it's well over 4" high by 8" wide. Maybe closer to 6" by 10". [Edit]Oops. Your American directional mines are really small. [/Edit]

Posted by: Zazen May 28 2004, 06:16 AM

I found http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m18-claymore.htm a while ago when this issue came up in my game (one of them wanted to hold the mine out of a window and set it off). It has a nice diagram of the danger zones a claymore creates when it goes off, including the backblast.

Posted by: Cain May 28 2004, 07:18 AM

QUOTE (KarmaInferno)

Ah, well.

I suppose I could just get a metal plate and shape it to appear like a claymore. Bolt it to the forehead and try to look threatening.

Thanks, all!

A while back, I had a very tough and slighly suicidal troll street sam who had a claymore strapped to his chest for dangerous runs. He never used it, but the thought frightened everyone. I had planned for him to use it against high-powered spirits-- if need be, as a "Newton's Cradle" effect-- but thankfully I never had to go that far.

Posted by: CardboardArmor May 28 2004, 08:27 AM

Newton's Cradle? Explain, please.

Posted by: Omega Skip May 28 2004, 10:57 AM

You know those manager toys? http://www.walter-fendt.de/ph11e/ncradle.htm

Posted by: KarmaInferno May 28 2004, 01:09 PM

QUOTE (Austere Emancipator @ May 28 2004, 04:31 AM)

[/Edit]

Troll charater with a cyberskull. Not a real big problem.

I might put the real thing on anyway. Sort of a "I'm taking us both out!" kinda thing, but one that might not include his buddies in the blast zone.

-np

Posted by: toturi May 28 2004, 01:27 PM

Directional cranial bomb.

Posted by: Austere Emancipator May 28 2004, 02:17 PM

...for those with a fricken huge head but a weak skull.

Posted by: Nikoli May 28 2004, 02:18 PM

I've got a headache this big, and it's got claymore written all over it

Posted by: FlakJacket May 28 2004, 09:27 PM

QUOTE (Cain)

A while back, I had a very tough and slighly suicidal troll street sam who had a claymore strapped to his chest for dangerous runs. He never used it, but the thought frightened everyone.

You should have made him a mime as well.

Posted by: mfb May 30 2004, 03:51 AM

QUOTE (Nikoli)

I've got a headache this big, and it's got claymore written all over it

actually, it's got "Face Towards Enemy" written all over it.

Posted by: Hasaku May 31 2004, 06:33 PM

Really? Mine say "Front Toward Enemy"

Posted by: Kagetenshi May 31 2004, 08:32 PM

This Side Toward Enemy

~J

Posted by: Hasaku May 31 2004, 09:57 PM

Not that it matters, really, but http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m18-claymore.htm says otherwise.

Posted by: Kagetenshi May 31 2004, 10:17 PM

I was referencing the Marathon II level rather than the mine. I'd personally rather have a Claymore pointed at me than a Mjolnir Mark IV military cyborg with all the toys.

~J

Posted by: mfb Jun 2 2004, 07:49 AM

whichever. i try not to be on that side of claymores very often, so it's understandable that i forget exactly how they read!

Posted by: Hasaku Jun 3 2004, 03:09 AM

I dunno, they're apparently pretty vulnerable to just a couple of pistol whips.

edit: The cyborgs I mean

Posted by: Kagetenshi Jun 3 2004, 03:17 AM

I'm not sure where you got that impression. Sure, if you mob them you can take them down with spears (shock staves, actually, so they're augmented), but it's hard to do that to something that's filling you full of lead, lobbing grenades all around you, torching you with a flamethrower, unleashing physically improbable balls of electricity at you, backing it all up with a surface-to-surface missile launcher, and with a punch meaner than a pistol shot.

~J

Posted by: Hasaku Jun 3 2004, 03:35 AM

Ok, to be fair, I'm basing this on Halo where it's a fellow cyborg doing the whippin'. I dunno, I'd still rather face the 'borg. There's just no reasoning with a claymore. I'm sure if I pretend to be a BoB, he'll let me go...