We'll deal with that when it comes.

I believe we can all agree that 3 1-kilo sticks of dynamite should reliably damage someone wearing armor that barely stops a rifle bullet, even if they have no experience in using dynamite to it's unmost effect.

Lets discuss how it's impossible to strap 3 kg of explosives to someones vest instead of talking ab... oooh shiny !

Adarael, also remember that the armor is such that the average person is unable to move at all while in it. Does that help with your mental picture at all?

...hmm a jacket with a bunch of explosive armour stuck to it...?

..whoops, Arsenal isn't out yet

ohnevermind...

Seconded.

How about we instead assume that he botches and the explosive goes off immediately? Or perhaps he really wants this prank to work, so he spends a point of edge to get 3 exploding dice, statistically making it pretty sure that he'll get at least one success.

He still survives, no matter how the dynamite gets strapped to his chest, and the armor is only there for comedic effect. The point is not whether some guy can or can't tie dynamite to his chest and blow it up, it's that he can survive if dynamite on his chest blows up. You're obsessing over the wrong detail, and picking at the wrong nits.

Thank you, James.

Also, am I the only one who finds it annoying to calculate explosive DV when the mass of the explosives used is not square. I love calculating irrational roots just as much as the next guy, but it can really slow down the game if a calculator is not available.
It would be different if SR4 used π and e and other irrational numbers, but the fact that only irrational roots are used and in only one place makes non-square explosive masses one of the more disruptive aspects of the game.

i think its a traditions from as far back as at least second edition (earliest i got).

and its not like this is the first version where the problem have shown up.

also, when i think about it, im sure this topic was covered when SR4 was just released. i wonder what the conclusion was...

You are right, its quite stupid that 1kg does only a whole 3P damage. (Then again, someone standing 2 meters away, doesn't take any damage at all).

In fact, it takes 9kgs of commercial explosive to cause a base 9P damage, which would just about kill most "average" people. Then again, a HE nade is equivilent to 11kg of commercial explosive. (11.11repeating, for a square of 3.33repeating, to get multiplied by rating (of 3) to get 10 base).

Quite a grenade, especially considering that it costs a whole 45, compared to the 100/1kg for commercial.

hmm, does not the range and damage value of commercial explosive double if wrapped in fragmentary material in SR4?

as in, wrap some stuff in nails, rocks or whatever else it can toss around and things get interesting.

also, commercial explosive is meant for demolition and mining, right? both places where you want max control. so the blast will be just as much about the skill of emplacement as brute force.

take plastic explosives of about level 12, wrap them in fragments and presto, you have a fragmentation grenade. only problem with that i guess is that its harder (16 vs 10) to get hold of, and more expensive.