EMP as a weapon Options

[ludomastro]

While I recognize that it could be as much of a detriment to the PC as to his enemies, what stats would you use for an EMP (electromagnetic pulse)?

[Kanada Ten]

Probably treat it like an AOE spell with Electric effect, but no primary damage.

[maikeru]

EMP as a spell would also be kinda nice. Don't know if there is already one. :)

[FrankTrollman]

Most electronics are grounded in the future because there's no FCC regulating harmful radio emmissions. But there's a limit to what that can do. The wireless antenna of your device by definition has to accept incoming electromagnetics - and that means that an EMP is going to fuse that antenna is going to melt. There's no reason that the rest of the device is going to be particularly harmed.

So I would treat an EMP as a jammer that persisted for every affected device until someone whipped out a microtronics kit and made a hardware check. More powerful EMPs, therefore, would affect devices with higher Signal ratings.

-Frank

[Aaron]

Just throw a Combat spell with stun damage and an electrical elemental component. Vague reverse engineering yielded me these stats (names made up by me and probably bad):

Gotcha
Type: P • Range: T • Damage: S • Duration: I • DV: (F ÷ 2) - 1
Staticbolt
Type: P • Range: LOS • Damage: S • Duration: I • DV: (F ÷ 2) + 1
EMP Burst
Type: P • Range: LOS(A) • Damage: S • Duration: I • DV: (F ÷ 2) + 3

The Stun damage is ignored by devices, but they still have to roll against getting shut down. Of course, Street Magic will probably have something like this in it, but there you go.

[Shrike30]

My recollection is that most of the computer hardware in SR is optical. Wouldn't that render EMP largely useless except for screwing up wireless communications?

[ludomastro]

[Crusher Bob]

In addition, very high power EM fields may cause short (seconds to minutes) loss of consciousness, convulsions, short terms memory loss, and nausea. At least, that's what I remember from some of the literature on Transcranial magnetic stimulation (an alternative to ECT, where the strap your head to a honking electromagnet instead of giving you powerful electric shocks).

[Moon-Hawk]

Computation is done optically, but as I understand it all the optical computers in SR still use an electronic power supply. So there'd still be something in there to fry, just not as much and not as delicate as our stuff. As was mentioned, the antenna (and immediate circuitry) would also be vulnerable. I will agree with the statement that a primarily optical device would still be easier to fix after an EMP than a primarily electronic one, though.

[Aaron]

The rules as written have it covered. The worst electrical damage (an EMP, for example) can do is shut it down for a few combat turns.

[Cray74]

Basically, SR "electronics" (optical devices) were immune to EMP in earlier editions. Past discussions:

http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=7140
http://forums.dumpshock.com/index.php?showtopic=4769

[Witness]

Optical 'electronics' ok. But what about power supplies. I know they're kind of ignored in SR, but they must be there. Wouldn't they be susceptible?
EDIT: oops skimped on reading the earlier posts properly on this one. Never mind.

[Butterblume]

IIRC it was stated in previous editions, that cyberware was hardened against EMP.

[Witness]

Fair enough if some things are hardened (not that hardening is necessarily perfect) but presumably EMPs can still be bad. As Winternight were keen to prove (although I guess they were lacing their EMPs with orichalcum- for some reason I forget).

[Shrike30]

Well, see... then it's a Nuclear Weapon Focus that ignores, say, that computer built into your dresser's ability Immunity to EMP Weapons (otherwise known as "Hardened Armoir").

[Lindt]

As System Failure showed, even the new stuff isnt immune to EMP. Optical or not there is still a circit in your hardware that conducts electricty. It even had rules for cyberlimbs going foul for good with them.

Your wrist watch, gonzo. Your deck, well if it has some hardening built in it might have half a chance.

[Butterblume]

I'd rule there is a difference between an EMP Grenade and a magically enhanced Atomic Bomb.

[ludomastro]

[Lindt]

EMP gernade might fry a toaster oven in the same room. A big suitcase could be a small nuke.

[FrankTrollman]

[Edward]

In SR3 it aid EMP was useless because everything ran on optical circuits.

It doesn’t make sense but that’s what it said.

Hear is one way you could protect your antenna.

The antenna dos not connect directly to the signal interpreting sirkets but first goes threw a sirket breaker that will prevent damage and automatically reset in .05 seconds. This and primarily optical processing explains EMPs are uses.

The real reason is that an EMP is easy to make and there regular use would cause the game world to change into something quite different.

an EMP wont melt a physical antenna, they don’t have that much resistance or anywhere for the electricity to go. it /may/ happen with a sufficiently powerful EMP but it would have to be within the heat destruction radius of the nuke so the EMP is not required.

Edward